A pro-Western party in North Macedonia is trying to form a coalition government after it claimed victory in somewhat historic but troubled elections. The Balkan nation’s first national vote under a new state name faced a suspected hacking attack impacting the publishing of results.
A French court has launched an inquiry into the alleged mishandling by the outgoing French government of the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement comes while elsewhere in Europe, and the former Soviet Union, tensions also rise over the way leaders deal with the crisis.
Borders reopened across Europe on Monday after three months of coronavirus lockdowns. But many restrictions persist and remain unclear how willing Europeans will be to travel this summer.
Thousands of demonstrators ignored social distancing rules across Europe on Wednesday to protest against police violence and racial injustice.
A survey by the world’s largest journalism group shows three in every four journalists have faced official restrictions, obstruction or intimidation in reporting on the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also noticed that most staff and freelance journalists have “suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, canceled commissions, or worsening working conditions.”
Thirteen European Union nations say they fear that emergency measures to contain the new coronavirus pandemic could threaten “democracy and fundamental rights.” Their statement came after EU-member Hungary introduced coronavirus legislation that allows the increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to rule by decree without parliamentary approval.
Authorities in Africa and Europe are evacuating churches and detaining pastors as governments say they prohibit worship services to halt the spread of the new coronavirus COVID 19. Video footage obtained by Worthy News showed the head pastor of the Open Arms Ministries congregation in Ghana’s city of Kumasi taken into custody during a recent worship service. The pastor, Kofi Nkrumah Sarkodie, was rushed to a police pickup truck. Several worshippers protested the move and applauded the pastor.
The Greek military and police are clashing with refugees rushing to cross the border from Turkey as islanders to the south cope with hundreds of new arrivals.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to bus thousands of migrants from refugee camps to Turkey’s border with Greece was the wrong approach, even if Ankara ‘currently does not feel sufficiently supported’ by Europe.
MPs in Turkey passed a bill approving the deployment of troops to Libya last Thursday in support of the embattled UN-backed government there, shoring up a relationship that experts say is a consolidation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s idea of a ‘greater Turkey’ resembling the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey is preparing to send troops and advanced weapons to the embattled UN-backed Libyan government. The military muscle-flexing puts it at odds with Russia and several Arab states backing Libya’s rival government.
The leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel plan to sign an agreement early in the new year for the building of the eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline, the Greek prime minister’s office announced Sunday.
Greek energy firm Energean has made a vast discovery of 28-42 billion cubic meters of natural gas at the North Karish field off Israel’s northwest coast, the company said on Monday.
Following the delivery of advanced Russian air defense systems to Syria, the Israeli Air Force held joint drills with the Hellenic Air Force in Greece over the last 12 days, as part of the growing defense cooperation between the two countries.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling Iran the ‘most potent force of militant Islam’ and is warning Europe of possible Iranian attacks on its soil.
Gale-fanned wildfires raged through holiday resorts near Greece’s capital, killing at least 20 people by early Tuesday and injuring more than 104, including 11 in serious condition, in the deadliest blaze to hit the country in more than a decade.
A group of Iraqi Muslims living in a refugee camp in Greece recently targeted a group of Iranian Christians who were holding a Bible study.
The leaders of Israel, Cyprus and Greece said Tuesday they are determined to push ahead with plans for a pipeline that would supply east Mediterranean gas to Europe as the continent seeks to diversify its supplies.
The largest seen aerial exercise in Israel began on Thursday and is to continue for the next two weeks. 1,000 highly-trained fighter pilots from eight different countries opened the “Blue Flag” exercise, which includes roughly 100 of fighter jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is the most immense military drill to take place so far this year.
Venezuela’s triple-digit annual inflation rate is set to jump to more than 2,300 percent in 2018, the highest estimate for any country tracked by the International Monetary Fund.