Category: Europe

Paris: France has suspended the use of stun grenades during student protests after a 15 year old boy lost his hand in a police operation, as anger grows over the force used against young demonstrators. The suspension applies only to the student protests for now, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told RTL on Wednesday. He said […]

Spain will head back to the polls on November 29, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in an online address, closing a tense political chapter with a sudden and dramatic turn. The Socialist leader spoke just days after his left-wing government was defeated in parliament last Friday. Two decrees, meant to answer massive nationwide protests against […]

RIGA: Latvia’s pro-European Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has won a commanding victory in the country’s parliamentary election, securing a mandate to continue his government’s firm support for the European Union and Ukraine, according to Hurriyet Daily News. Kulbergs’ centre-right United List won 42 of the 100 seats in parliament, an unprecedented result in Latvia’s post-independence […]

Airlines operating in the European Union may soon be barred from charging passengers for a standard piece of cabin baggage. Under proposed reforms to EU air passenger rights, travellers with a standard ticket would be allowed to bring two pieces of hand luggage on board free of charge. For many passengers, the change could make […]

Austrians are growing more attached to the European Union, but they remain deeply reluctant to see it expand. A new survey by the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE) paints a country that values the security of EU membership, yet hesitates at the thought of opening its doors to new members, reported by Austrian Press […]

PARIS: More than 5,000 people have been arrested in France since Monday as student protests over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and poor school conditions spread across the country. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 1,747 arrests were made on Friday alone. He described the unrest as unacceptable violence, as clashes and damage were reported near schools […]

MADRID: Thousands of people marched in cities across Spain on Saturday, demanding stronger protection for tenants after parliament rejected the government’s emergency housing measures. More than 50 demonstrations were planned in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and other cities. The protests followed Friday’s double defeat for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s minority left wing government, which failed to […]

BERN: Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced on Friday that he will step down from the government at the end of the year, ending more than a decade of ministerial service in a surprise move, reported by Euro News. Parmelin told a press conference in Bern that he had informed colleagues of his decision to leave […]

MOSCOW: Russia has ordered Hungarian diplomats to leave the country, escalating a dispute that marks a sharp break from the era of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who kept closer ties with Moscow than any other EU leader. The move comes weeks after Budapest expelled 10 Russian diplomats on national security grounds in September, the […]

BUCHAREST: Romania’s political crisis deepened on Wednesday after Parliament rejected the centre right government proposed by Prime Minister designate Siegfried Mureșan, increasing the possibility of early elections and giving fresh momentum to the country’s far right. Mureșan, a liberal member of the European Parliament, won 182 votes, well below the 233 needed to form a […]