Europe

NATO chief: Ukraine’s path to alliance still ‘irreversible’

Ukraine’s path to join NATO is still “irreversible” despite the Trump administration’s public proclamations that the war-torn country will not join the military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at…

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US urges Americans in Sweden to remain vigilant, citing threat of attack

The U.S. embassy in Sweden said Americans in the country are "advised to exercise increased caution" due to local media reports on Iran potentially pressuring local criminal gangs to attack…

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Germany to hire 11,000 more military personnel this year

The German government will provide funds for an extra 11,000 military personnel by the end of the year, an increase of around 4%, tabloid Bild reported, citing government sources. The…

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Gift shops and fast food banned in Bergamo Alta in Italy

Fast-food outlets and sex shops are among the commercial activities banned from Bergamo Alta in an ordinance from the local government in the Lombardy town concerning its historic and picturesque…

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Greece sending Navy ships to monitor migrant vessels off Libya

Greece is planning to sent Navy ships outside Libya’s territorial waters “as a precaution” to monitor migrant flows, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, during a regular meeting with the President…

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Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Kyiv

Russian drone and missile attacks in and around Kyiv overnight killed five people, injured scores, sparked fires in residential areas and damaged an entrance to a metro station that serves…

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NATO allies agree to 5 percent defense spending goal

NATO members agreed on Sunday to a big increase in their defence spending target to 5% of gross domestic product, as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Spain said…

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UPDATED:Man arrested on suspicion of spying in Crete and another in Cyprus

A man has been arrested on suspicion of spying in Crete, which is home to a NATO military base. Greek police said the 26-year-old Azerbaijani man was detained on Sunday,…

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Italy’s immigration and emigration both soaring, stats agency says

The numbers of Italians leaving their country and of foreigners moving in have soared to the highest in a decade, official data showed on Friday, fuelling national concerns about brain…

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Belgium announces border checks in migration clampdown

Belgium will introduce border checks on people coming into the country to clamp down on illegal migration, the government said, in another limit on free movement across Europe's Schengen zone.…

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Pro-Palestinian activists damage planes at UK military base

Pro-Palestinian activists in Britain broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England on Friday where they damaged and sprayed red paint over two military aircraft used for refuelling…

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Pope Urges Leaders to Reject War, Citing Predecessors in Peace Appeal

Pope Leo XIV issued a back-to-back plea for peace this week, urging the international community to reject armed conflict and embrace diplomacy amid mounting global tensions. Speaking Wednesday during his…

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Patriot missile systems being moved to Souda base in Crete

An undisclosed number of Greek Patriot missile systems are being relocated to the Hellenic Navy and NATO base at Souda Bay in Crete to provide anti-ballistic protection to American assets…

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Spanish operation against migrant smuggling and drug trafficking across the Mediterranean

Europol has supported Spanish authorities (Policía Nacional) in a transnational operation against a highly-organised network involved in both migrant smuggling and drug trafficking between Spain and Morocco. Authorities believe the…

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Putin on Iran, Khamenei, regime change, Ukraine and NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin made the following comments to senior news agency editors on the conflict between Iran and Israel, NATO and the war in Ukraine. The remarks were translated…

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Austria plans to tighten gun control rules after school shooting

Austria plans to tighten its gun control laws following its deadliest school shooting in Graz, where a 21‑year‑old former student killed ten people before taking his own life. Under current…

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EU slaps Greece with record fine over agricultural subsidy fraud

The European Commission has fined Greece €392.2 million for mismanaging EU agricultural subsidies between 2016 and 2023. The penalty relates to serious oversight failures by OPEKEPE, the now-dissolved agency overseeing…

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G7 Summit ends without Ukraine statement as Trump balks at tough Russia stance

The 2025 G7 summit concluded without a joint declaration on Ukraine — and without the U.S. president in the room. Despite early hopes among delegates for unified language, U.S. President…

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UK parliament votes to decriminalise abortion, repeal Victorian-era law

British MPs have overwhelmingly backed a landmark change to abortion legislation, voting to end the prosecution of women in England and Wales for ending their own pregnancies. This significant move…

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Dutch government says children should not have access to TikTok, Instagram before 15

The Dutch government has issued new guidelines advising that children under 15 should not use social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While it supports allowing those over 13 to…

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Poland adds minefields to protective barrier with Russia and Belarus

Poland has added minefields to its “East Shield” border defence project along Russia and Belarus, as construction continues year-round since starting in November. The fortified barrier, spanning over 20km near…

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London’s Oxford Street to go traffic-free in shopping area makeover

London's Oxford Street, one of Britain's busiest and most famous shopping districts, will be pedestrianised, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday, in a move designed to smarten up…

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Pope to Rest at Castel Gandolfo from July 6 to July 20

The Prefecture of the Papal Household has announced that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV will spend a period of rest at the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo. The pontiff is…

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Britain appoints first female head of MI6 spy agency

MI6 will be led by a woman for the first time in the foreign intelligence service's 116-year history. Blaise Metreweli, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1999, will become…

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Russia attacks Kyiv with waves of drones, missiles

Waves of Russian drones and missiles struck districts across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday, damaging an apartment building, sparking fires and injuring up to 16 people, city officials…

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Russia is ready to mediate on Iran, and to accept Tehran’s uranium

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the…

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Europe and China in midst of record-breaking heat

Temperature records for early June are being broken across large parts of Europe, with the mercury reaching 40.5C (104.9F) in Mértola, Portugal, on Sunday. On the same day, several weather…

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Greece arrests US man with Malta link over mother and child deaths in Rome park

Italian police arrested a U.S. citizen on Friday in connection with the death of a woman and her baby daughter whose naked bodies were found in a park in central…

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Cruise passenger fees in Greece set to rise

Reports in the Greek media indicate that cruise ship passenger fees will increase from July 1. The fee will be imposed per passenger and per port and its amount will…

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Israel’s state plane, Wing of Zion, departs for Athens amid fears of Iranian retaliation

The Wing of Zion, Israel’s own version of Air Force One, took off from Ben-Gurion Airport on Friday morning as Israel initiated an assault on Iranian nuclear facilities as part…

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Pope Leo to make Carlo Acutis first millennial saint on September 7

The canonisation of the first Catholic saint of the millennial generation, Carlo Acutis, will take place on September 7, Pope Leo announced on Friday. Acutis, a British-born Italian who died…

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Lithuanian cities prepare their defences

A new defence infrastructure park dubbed the Vilnius Shield has been unveiled in the Lithuanian capital. According to Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, the site contains anti-tank barriers and other equipment that…

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Drug route from Costa Rica to Europe dismantled

n international operation coordinated on the European side by Europol has dismantled a transnational criminal organisation trafficking large quantities of cocaine from Costa Rica to Europe via Spain and Portugal.…

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UK and Spain strike ‘historic’ deal over Gibraltar’s future and borders

Britain and the EU have agreed a fresh Brexit deal that will see Gibraltar open its borders with Spain, abolish passport controls with the EU, and join the EU customs…

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Northern Ireland hit by third night of violence

Violence erupted in different parts of Northern Ireland for the third successive night on Wednesday, with masked youths starting a fire in a leisure centre but unrest in the primary…

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Poland may introduce partial controls on German border in summer

Poland is likely to introduce partial controls on its border with Germany in the summer if the number of migrant crossings continues to grow, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told…

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British Foreign Secretary in Gibraltar negotiations over post-Brexit deal with Spain

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy was in Gibraltar ahead of a potential post-Brexit deal with Spain. Ever since the UK left the EU, the situation in the British Overseas Territory…

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Kosovo accepts US request to host third-party deportees

Kosovo has accepted a request to receive migrants deported from the United States, with an initial plan to take in 50 deportees per year, the government said in a statement…

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Lithuania Told to Boost Civic Readiness: Focus on Schools and Inclusive Defence Training

Knowledge of national defence needs to be strengthened among schoolchildren, and civil resistance training for adults should cover a wider area of the country and be adapted for people with…

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Two men jailed for life for procuring bomb that killed Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

Two men were jailed for life by a Maltese judge on Tuesday for having supplied the bomb that killed anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017. Caruana Galizia's murder shocked…

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May was world’s second-hottest on record

The world experienced its second-warmest May since records began this year, a month in which climate change fuelled a record-breaking heatwave in Greenland, scientists said on Wednesday. Last month was…

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Fatal school shooting in Graz, Austria

Multiple people have been killed in an attack on a school in the southern Austrian city of Graz, according to authorities. Police said that there had been "several deaths" after…

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Decline in the number of applications for Greek “Golden Visa”

The number of new applications for residence permits through the “Golden Visa” program declined significantly in April, showing the first signs of de-escalation. Based on data from the Ministry of…

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Russia could be ready to attack Nato within five years, says secretary general

Russia could be ready to attack Nato within five years and leaders of the western alliance are expected to agree to increase military spending to 5% of GDP this month…

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Low turnout sinks Italian citizenship, labor referendums, strengthens Meloni’s government

Low voter turnout on Monday sank Italian opposition referendum proposals to ease citizenship laws and tighten job protection rules, with senior figures in the coalition of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni…

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Putin launches biggest ever drone attack at Ukraine

Kyiv said Russia unleashed its largest drone attack since 2022 in the early hours of Monday morning as President Vladimir Putin shows no sign of scaling back his all-out war on Ukraine. Kremlin forces…

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Poland scrambles aircraft as Russia launches strikes on Ukraine

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Monday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched air strikes targeting western Ukraine, near the border with Poland, the…

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Italians vote on easing citizenship requirements, reversing labour reform

Italians will start voting on Sunday in a two-day referendum on whether to ease citizenship laws and reverse a decade-old liberalisation of the labour market, but the vote may fail…

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Pope Leo, in first month, makes a break in style from Francis

In his first month, Pope Leo has taken a very different approach to his predecessor Francis. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has led some two dozen public events since…

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Lithuania opposes EU proposal for annual inspections of older cars

Lithuania has voiced opposition to a European Commission proposal that would require annual technical inspections for cars older than 10 years, citing the country’s ageing vehicle fleet and calling for…

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Netherlands to hold election on October 29

The Netherlands will hold a general election on October 29 following the collapse of the government earlier this week, Dutch news agency ANP reported, citing the country's caretaker government.

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Police conclude searches in Portugal in Madeleine McCann investigation

Searches for Madeleine McCann in Portugal on land a mile from where the British toddler was last seen in 2007 have concluded. German and Portuguese investigators embraced each other on…

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Earthquake damages part of Pompeii site in southern Italy

A minor earthquake in southern Italy has caused the partial collapse of a wall and a portion of a vault at the Pompeii archaeological site, authorities said. The quake with…

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Intense Russian air attack on Ukraine’s capital

Russia mounted an intense missile and drone barrage of the Ukrainian capital overnight, killing at least four people, according to Ukrainian officials, and sending powerful explosions reverberating across the city.…

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Bulgarian authorities arrest 18 for smuggling migrants across its southern border

A criminal network smuggling mainly Syrian migrants from Türkiye to Western Europe has been taken down following a coordinated action led by the Bulgarian authorities and supported by Europol. On…

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Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca completely free

Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca, one of Italy's most notorious mobsters, is completely free after serving the four years of probation imposed on him following his release from jail in 2021.Among…

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Germany will need thousands more troops under new NATO targets, says defence minister

Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, will require an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 additional troops to meet NATO's updated defense requirements amid the growing threat from Russia, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said…

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