The Dispatch

Spain proposes tightening rules on media to tackle fake news

Spain announced measures designed to curb the spread of fake news, an initiative blasted by the country's conservative opposition as an attempt to censor critical media. "Without free media of…

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Cyprus plans to build a major naval base to play a larger geopolitical role

Cyprus’ defense minister said that plans are in motion to build a major naval base on the east Mediterranean island nation’s southern coast capable of hosting large ships from European…

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Spain warns workers of heat risks as summer’s first heatwave looms

Spain will suffer its first heatwave of the summer starting on Thursday, the meteorology service AEMET said, as the government kicked off on Wednesday a heat risk awareness campaign for…

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Italian Antitrust Authority opens probes into Armani, Dior

The Italian Antitrust Authority said Wednesday that it has opened investigations into the Armani Group and the Dior Group over the alleged exploitation of workers by suppliers to the luxury…

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Southern Europe bakes under heat wave

The Italian health ministry placed 12 cities under the most severe heat warning Tuesday as a wave of hot air from Africa baked southern Europe and the Balkans and sent…

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French government resigns, stays on for now in caretaker role

French centrist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government resigned on Tuesday, but will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is appointed following an inconclusive snap…

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French left targets speaker role as struggles to form government

Some lawmakers in France's left-wing bloc argue that they should aim to secure the speaker's role to demonstrate their influence over parliament, despite lacking a majority and struggling to form…

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Macron Calls for Unity in Letter to French People

Three days after France's snap parliamentary elections failed to produce an absolute majority, President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation in a letter published on the media. With the left-wing Nouveau…

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By 2050 a third of Mediterranean sea creatures will be alien

A third of Mediterranean fish, mollusc and crustacean species will be aliens by 2020, a report said Saturday amid an invasion of clam-killing blue crabs, the piranha like fireworm, lethal…

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Cardinal Mario Grech announces consultation process to discuss women as deacons

The global Catholic Church remains divided on whether to allow women to serve as deacons, according to a Vatican document released on Tuesday, just weeks after Pope Francis ruled out…

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Catholic Church split on women deacons, Vatican document shows

The global Catholic Church is split on whether to allow women to serve as deacons, a Vatican document showed on Tuesday, just weeks after Pope Francis ruled out any opening…

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Santorini faces overbuilding and overtourism crisis

The popular island of Santorini, which is already a globally negative example of an oversaturated destination, is being gradually covered by buildings, making an already difficult situation untenable. “The surface…

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87% of the Mediterranean Sea is polluted

Some 87% of the Mediterranean Sea is polluted and there is a record level of microplastics in the sea, the WWF said in a new report.The sea is full of…

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Key figures to know in the left-wing New Popular Front bloc

France's left-wing New Popular Front (NFP), an alliance of parties hastily assembled after President Emmanuel Macron called a surprise snap parliamentary election, scored a shock win in Sunday's vote over…

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Pope warns democracy is in bad health

Pope Francis denounced populist politics and what he called "the dross of ideology" on Sunday, warning that democracy was not in good shape in many parts of the world. The…

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Thousands protest in Barcelona against over-tourism

More than 150 organisations and social movements took to the streets of Barcelona with some symbolically sealing off hotels and restaurant terraces. The demonstrations against tourist overcrowding that have already…

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France election: political leaders react to upset result

Following are reactions to the upset results of France's parliamentary election on Sunday. The country was on course for a hung parliament with the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coming…

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French voters deliver a win for the left, a blow for Le Pen and a hung parliament

France faced potential political deadlock after elections on Sunday threw up a hung parliament, with a leftist alliance unexpectedly taking the top spot but no group winning a majority. Voters…

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Challenges and Uncertainties in France’s Second Round of Parliamentary Election

Here's how the second round of France's parliamentary election on July 7 will work and the possible scenarios after official results showed Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party…

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French election run-off: How does it work and what to look out for

The second round run-off vote in France's parliamentary election on Sunday may lead to a hung parliament with no clear majority, opinion polls show, unless the far right wins enough…

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France to deploy more police to prevent trouble after Sunday election

Some 30,000 police will be deployed across France late on Sunday following the high-stakes runoff of a parliamentary election to ensure there is no trouble, a minister said, as two…

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Greece introduces ‘growth-oriented’ six-day working week

While companies in countries worldwide are considering shorter working weeks, Greece has taken an unorthodox step by permitting employees to work a sixth day to boost productivity. Despite its recent…

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France’s political alliances and their election pledges

France's political parties have scrambled to form political alliances after President Emmanuel Macron's surprise move to call a parliamentary election, reshaping the political landscape into three large blocs. From the…

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Italian Archbishop Vigano found guilty of schism, excommunicated by Vatican

Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a fierce ultra-conservative critic of Pope Francis, has been found guilty of schism and excommunicated, the Vatican's doctrinal office said in a statement on Friday.…

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Italy’s Etna and Stromboli volcanoes erupt, Catania Airport closed

Eruptions at Italy's Mount Etna and the smaller Stromboli volcano spewed hot ash and lava, raising alert levels on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and forcing a temporary shutdown of…

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National Rally to fall short of absolute majority in French parliamentary elections, poll shows

France's far-right National Rally (RN) party will likely fall short of an absolute majority in forthcoming parliamentary elections, OpinionWay said in a poll for business daily Les Echos published on…

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Spain to crack down on holiday rentals

Spain's government announced a crackdown on Wednesday on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings amid rising anger from locals who feel priced out of the housing market. The government will investigate…

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Mount Etna spits lava into the night sky

Europe’s tallest active volcano roared as it spewed lava from one of its largest craters. At around 3000 meters of altitude, the volcano showed off a spectacle of its unusual…

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Lourdes won’t remove mosaics by priest accused of abuse, for now

The sanctuary of Lourdes, one of the world's most popular Catholic pilgrimage sites, will not for the moment remove mosaics made by a prominent Slovenian Jesuit priest accused of sexual…

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Libya bound drone parts for weapons use seized at Gioia Tauro

Components for the assembly of war drones were seized in the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro by the Reggio Calabria Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in cooperation with…

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Police detain 13 in raids across Europe targeting Italian organised crime

An operation across Europe led by the Italian Carabinieri and supported by Europol has resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals believed to be linked to Italian organised crime. In…

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Greece battles wildfire on Kos island for second day

Greek firefighters battled a blaze on the island of Kos for a second day on Tuesday, as hundreds of tourists and locals who had been forced to evacuate overnight returned…

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Far right wins first round in France election

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains to win the first round of France's parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, but the final result will…

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France’s far-right National Rally seen winning 37% of vote in first election round

An opinion poll published in the newspaper Les Echos on Friday showed that French far-right party National Rally (RN) might win as much as 37% of the popular vote, two…

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Heat alert for 17 Italian cities this weekend

An orange heat alert has been issued for 17 cities across the country this weekend as the mercury is set to rise above 40 degrees C amid the return of…

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A Presidential Plea for Truth 44 Years After the Ustica Tragedy

President Sergio Mattarella called on "friendly" countries to help Italy finally get to the bottom of the 1980 Ustica plane crash on the 44th anniversary of the incident that killed…

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French far right dominates polls three days ahead of snap elections

France's political future was up in the air Thursday with the far-right surging in polls but other forces fighting to the end three days before a high-stakes parliamentary vote. Depending…

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YouGov Poll: UK and France Lead European Pessimism

Britons are the most likely of seven European nations to say their country is in a sorry state, but the French are the most likely to think things will get…

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Pope Francis warns against legalising drugs, denounces drug traffickers

Pope Francis spoke out on Wednesday against the legalisation of drugs and denounced drug traffickers as "assassins", while also calling for help and support for addicts. "A reduction in drug…

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Italy’s Meloni says EU top jobs deal ignores voters’ wishes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised on Wednesday plans to share out the top jobs in EU institutions, saying they ignored the wishes voters had expressed during elections earlier this…

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Former Portuguese PM ‘optimistic’ as EU Council top job decision nears

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, a front-runner to become the next president of the European Council, said he was optimistic ahead of the bloc's summit this week during which…

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Macron warns podcast of ‘civil war’ risk as French elections loom

French President Emmanuel Macron told a podcast episode shown on Monday that both the far right National Rally (RN) party and the left-wing New Popular Front coalition - front runners…

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Pope Benedict’s ex-aide Archbishop Gaenswein appointed Vatican ambassador to Baltic countries

Pope Francis has given a new job to the former secretary of the late Pope Benedict XVI, in an apparent sign of reconciliation with the prelate after publicly falling out…

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Capri lifts ban on tourists after resolving problems with water supply

The Italian island of Capri has lifted a ban on tourists after problems with the water supply to the holiday hotspot were resolved. The ban had been announced early on…

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Barcelona plans to shut all holiday apartments by 2028

Barcelona, a top Spanish holiday destination, announced on Friday that it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly drastic move as it seeks to rein in soaring…

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What’s at stake in Macron’s shock snap election call?

In a high-risk gamble, President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he would dissolve France's parliament and call legislative elections later this month after he was trounced in European elections by…

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Roberto Baggio injured in armed robbery

Former Italian footballer Roberto Baggio was injured in an armed robbery at hishome in northern Italy. The incident occurred at 22:00 local time when at least five individuals broke into…

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Portugal tightens anti-corruption rules to confiscate assets

Portugal's minority centre-right government approved on Thursday a set of tougher measures to combat corruption, including allowing courts to confiscate suspects' assets without a criminal conviction. Former Portuguese premiers, politicians, bankers,…

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