Category: Europe

BERLIN: Germany expelled Russian diplomats mid-April in order “to reduce the presence of intelligence services” in the country, the government said Monday, in justifying a decision that triggered retaliatory expulsions by the Kremlin. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the activity of these people was not in line with their diplomatic status,” adding […]

Italy’s right-wing government on Monday rolled back anti-poverty subsidies introduced four years ago that helped some four million people last year, as critics denounced a “provocation” on the international May Day labour holiday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads the country’s most far-right coalition since World War II, said the “citizens’ income” benefits would be […]

At least 108 police officers have been injured in clashes across France with protesters angry at pension reforms, the interior minister has said. Gerald Darmanin said such a large number of police wounded was extremely rare, adding that 291 people had been arrested during the unrest. Hundreds of thousands have been taking part in May […]

BERLIN: Germany launches on Monday a new flat-rate public transport ticket valid across the country, but the 49-euro ($54) price point has raised doubts about the pass’s potential impact. Touting the monthly pass as a “revolution”, policymakers hope it will bring some relief for consumers amid soaring inflation, and encourage people to favour mass transit […]

Russia conducted heavy airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, between Sunday and Monday night, injuring 25 civilians, including three children, security sources said. According to preliminary findings, the attacks were carried out with Tu-95 strategic aircraft, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration, said in a statement on his social […]

France will go ahead with structural reforms to overhaul its economy after credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country’s debt worthiness, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has told AFP. Fitch downgraded France’s debt worthiness a notch to “AA-” from “AA” on April 28, claiming the country’s “fiscal metrics are weaker than peers”. “I believe that […]

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dives Sunday into the final two-week stretch before a momentous election that has turned into a referendum on his two decades of divisive but transformative rule. The 69-year-old leader looked fighting fit as he strutted back on stage after a three-day illness and tossed flowers to rapturous crowds at […]

More than 130,000 civil and public servants across the UK walked out on Friday over pay, pensions, redundancy terms, and job security. The government announced that pay rises would be limited to 4.5% to 5%, which according to the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is an “insult.” “Our members are on strike today because […]

A wave of Russian air strikes on cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, has left at least 25 people dead. 23 people – including four children – were killed in an attack that hit a block of flats in the central city of Uman, officials said. And a woman and her three-year-old daughter were killed in […]

A total of 13 irregular migrants have been rescued from a rubber boat in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the country’s western town of Kuşadası on April 26. Turkish Coast Guard Command teams were dispatched to the region upon the information that there were migrants in life rafts off Aydın’s Kuşadası district. The […]