Entertainment
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Greece introduces ‘MyCoast’ App to tackle beach violationsIn an effort to enforce newly implemented stringent beach regulations, Greece has launched the ‘MyCoast’ app, empowering users to report beach violations effortlessly.03 May 2024Read More...
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European Court of Human Rights rejects Kirkorov’s case against Lithuania entry banThe European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dismissed a complaint filed by Russian pop star Philipp Kirkorov against Lithuania's decision to bar his entry into the country.23 April 2024Read More...
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Risnjak National Park: Croatia's hidden gem wins Europe's top spotNestled within Croatia's picturesque Gorski Kotar region, Risnjak National Park emerges as a beacon of untouched beauty, earning recognition as one of Europe's premier destinations sans the23 April 2024Read More...
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Swiss castles experience record visitor numbersIn 2023, the National Association of Swiss Castles witnessed a historic milestone, welcoming over 1.3 million visitors to its 28 castles. This achievement marks a new record for the organization,23 April 2024Read More...
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Underground surge: Belgium grapples with 2,214 illegal gambling websitesResearch conducted by gambling analysis firm Yield Sec has unveiled a concerning trend in Belgium's online gambling landscape. According to their findings, a staggering 2,214 illegal gambling14 April 2024Read More...
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Flanders and Brussels Embrace Slow Art Day, inviting visitors to savor artistic experiencesOn April 13th, several museums in Flanders and Brussels will once again host a variety of activities as part of Slow Art Day, an annual tradition aimed at encouraging a deeper12 April 2024Read More...
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4 Croatian beaches named Europe’s bestAs Croatia gears up for what promises to be its most spectacular summer season yet, the BookRetreats Summer 2024 Report has officially unveiled the top beaches across Europe, catering to10 April 2024Read More...
Politics
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Gabriel Attal announces a "major national exhibition" on slavery in 2026Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Friday in La Rochelle the holding of a "major national exhibition" in 2026 on the memory of slavery, as well as the future creation of aRead More...
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Swedish PM grapples with allegations of far-right 'troll farm' as coalition faces strainRead More...
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has affirmed his serious consideration of allegations regarding a "troll farm" reportedly operated by the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), a party on -
Ukraine's soldier salary conundrum: the cost of defense amidst Russian aggressionFor many months, there have been inexplicable phenomena in the Ukrainian army. The number of volunteers is decreasing, many people with military specialties and even military retireesRead More...
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EU investigates Meta over Russian disinformation concernsThe European Commission has initiated formal investigation proceedings against Meta regarding its management of political content, including a suspected Russian influence campaign, amidRead More...
News
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Belgian Princess Elisabeth sets course for HarvardThe Belgian Royal Court has confirmed that Princess Elisabeth, the heir to the throne, will pursue her education at Harvard University in Boston, marking a significant step in herRead More...
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Education unions initiate series of strikes across FlandersEducation unions ACOD Education, COC, and VSOA Education are set to organize demonstrations across five Flemish cities in May as part of a series of strikes. The unions' discontent stemsRead More...
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Algerian nationals can now be detained prior to deportation, court decidesThe highest Dutch court ruled on Monday that Algerian nationals whose asylum requests have been rejected can once again be detained pending their deportation.Read More...
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Transfers of asylum seekers to other EU member states increasingBelgium transferred 1,241 asylum seekers to another European Union member state last year, where they already had a pending procedure. The number of transfers by Belgium has been onRead More...
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Polish cheesecake ranked as world's No.1Polish ‘sernik’ has claimed the top spot on the list of the Top 8 cheesecakes in the world. Cheesecake. Cheesecake. Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz According to TasteAtlas, which curated theRead More...
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Wealthy family to clear debts for 3,000 Rotterdam families, mirroring Arnhem's initiativeFollowing Arnhem's announcement to absolve debts for around 50 households in Immerloo, recognized as the most financially distressed area in the Netherlands, a Rotterdam-based family,Read More...
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'Good to be together': celebrating 20 years of Poland in the EUPoland's government has initiated a special social and informational campaign titled "Good to Be Together: 20 Years of Poland in the European Union," marking a significant milestone in theRead More...
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ÖBB unveils Summer Train Timetable with construction updatesAs summer approaches, Austria's ÖBB gears up for extensive construction activities in the eastern region, leading to adjustments in train schedules along certain routes.Read More...
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Rare book theft: Europol cracks down on international gangIn a collaborative effort involving European law enforcement agencies, Europol successfully apprehended four suspected individuals involved in the theft of antique and rare books.Read More...
Most Read
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Economics
Men and boys from Iraqi villages recaptured from the Islamic State group in the operation to retake Mosul have been unlawfully detained, tortured and ill-treated by tribal militia, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The Hashed al-Ashaeri (Tribal Mobilisation), made up of Sunni tribal militiamen, have been carrying out revenge attacks in villages south-east of Mosul against those residents suspected of having ties to IS, the London-based rights group said.
Some were beaten with metal rods and given electric shocks, and some were tied to the bonnets of vehicles and paraded through the streets or placed in cages, it said, citing interviews with local officials and village witnesses.
"There is strong evidence that Sabawi tribal militia members have committed crimes under international law by torturing and otherwise ill-treating residents in Qata al-Sabaween (Sabaween sector) in revenge for crimes committed by IS," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty's deputy director for research in Beirut.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, will visit Northern Ireland in November to learn about its peace process, the Colombian embassy said on Thursday.
Santos, who is struggling to implement his peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after it was rejected by voters, will visit the British-ruled region on November 2.
The embassy said in a statement that the Colombian leader's visit was due to Northern Ireland's "importance as a model of peace and reconciliation".
Santos will meet officials and visit the Girdwood community centre in north Belfast on November 3 to discuss peace and reconciliation with local residents.
His state visit to Britain at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II will begin on November 1.
Saudi Arabia raised $17.5 billion in its first international bond offering, HSBC said Thursday, reflecting strong interest as the kingdom seeks to diversify its oil-dependent economy.
The bond issue -- the first time Saudi Arabia has turned to international markets for financing -- was hailed as historic by investors and according to official media was nearly four times oversubscribed.
"It was the biggest syndicated issue ever by any country," said Jean-Marc Mercier, co-director of the debt capital markets division at HSBC, which took part in the transaction and confirmed the figure.
The world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia is seeking financing as it moves to diversify its economy following the global collapse in crude prices.
The kingdom is projecting a budget deficit of $87 billion this year after a fall in oil revenues, which still account for most of its income.
It has taken a series of austerity measures, including subsidy cuts and reductions in cabinet ministers' salaries, and earlier this year announced an ambitious plan to diversify its economy.
The United States, Britain and the UN peace envoy to Yemen on Sunday urged the warring parties in the country's civil war to declare a ceasefire they said could start within days.
The United Nations envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said: "We are here to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, which will be declared in the next few hours."
Cheikh Ahmed said he had been in contact with the rebel Huthi militia's lead negotiator and with Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government.
But he also warned that he hoped for "clearer plans" for a ceasefire in coming days.
US Secretary of State John Kerry would not predict whether Yemen's government or rebel forces had accepted the demand, but said the diplomats were not operating "in a vacuum."
Asian and European stocks mostly rallied Thursday but failed to provide momentum to Wall Street which edged lower as traders weighed OPEC's surprise deal to limit oil output.
After initially lighting a fire under oil prices, enthusiasm for the announcement by major oil producers fizzled on questions about OPEC's ability to seriously tackle a supply glut.
Crude prices fell back as doubts set in about the deal, struck in Algiers Wednesday, but energy-linked currencies and petroleum-linked shares held on to strong share price gains.
The oil price then recovered to show small gains in the late European afternoon.
Visiting London mayor Sadiq Khan criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments on Muslim immigration.
Khan, who is of Pakistani descent and became the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital when he was elected in May, arrived in Chicago to begin a US trip promoting trade ties.
Trump at one point called for a ban on Muslim immigration into the US. The candidate has since modified his stance to urge an immigration ban from countries with "a proven history of terrorism" and for "extreme vetting" of immigrants.
"We play straight into the hands of those who seek to divide us, of extremists and terrorists around the world, when we imply that it's not possible to hold Western values dear and to be a Muslim," Khan said to applause from an audience at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. It was his first visit to the US as London's mayor.
US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden called on President Barack Obama to pardon him, saying in comments published Tuesday it had been morally "necessary" to shine a light on mass surveillance.
The former intelligence contractor has spent three years in exile in Russia after initiating the largest data leaks in US history, fuelling a firestorm over the issue of mass surveillance.
"If not for these disclosures, if not for these revelations, we would be worse off," he told Britain's Guardian newspaper in a video-link interview from Moscow on Monday.
"Yes, there are laws on the books that say one thing, but that is perhaps why the pardon power exists -- for the exceptions, for the things that may seem unlawful in letters on a page but when we look at them morally, when we look at them ethically, when we look at the results, it seems these were necessary things," he said.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday issued a stark warning to Britain that it would face costly barriers to the European Union trade zone if it left the bloc.
The comments by one of Europe's most senior officials is a blow to Brexit supporters, who have argued that Britain could negotiate deals to access the single market similar to those in place for non-members Norway and Switzerland.
"That won't work," the veteran minister told Germany's Der Spiegel weekly, which on Saturday plans to publish a German-English edition at home and in Britain with "Please don't go!" on the cover.
"That would require the country to follow the rules of a club which right now it wants to leave."
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker last month said that British "deserters will not be welcomed with open arms" by European partners if Britain votes to leave in the June 23 referendum, but Schaeuble's intervention is the most explicit threat so far.
Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott hit back, saying there was "no question about it, Britain will still have access to the single market.
"It would be perverse of the eurozone to try to create artificial barriers -- and would do far more damage to them than to anyone else," he said.
The EU accounts for 47 percent of British exports and 54 percent of imports, according to latest government figures.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen boosted Wall Street Friday, restating her confidence in the US economy but softening her view on interest rate hikes after a poor US employment report.
Meanwhile London stocks rallied despite new polls that put the British referendum vote back on a knife-edge and sent the pound tumbling.
Yellen helped markets tentatively put last Friday's surprisingly dismal US jobs report behind them, saying one month's data is not so significant and that the overall labor market situation has been "quite positive".
But she backed away from previous Fed hints for a rate increase in June or July, only saying that tighter monetary policy should come gradually.
Twin bombings claimed by the Islamic State group hit Yemeni forces in Aden on Monday, killing at least 41 people in the latest of a spate of attacks in the southern city.
The attacks in Aden -- which is serving as the temporary government headquarters after rebels forced authorities from the capital -- follow a major military operation against jihadists in parts of southern and southeastern Yemen.
Backed by a Saudi-led coalition, forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi are battling both Sunni extremists and Iran-backed Shiite rebels.
In the first attack, a suicide bomber killed 34 people queueing to enlist at a recruitment centre near the Badr base in Aden's Khormaksar district, said Brigadier General Nasser al-Sarei, the commander of Yemen's special security forces.
A subsequent explosion inside the base killed seven soldiers, he said.
In a statement posted online, IS said one of its fighters detonated an explosives belt among "apostate soldiers" at a recruitment centre, followed by the bombing at a gate of the Badr base.
The jihadist group, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, also claimed responsibility Monday for a wave of bombings in Syrian coastal cities that killed more than 100 people.
A local resident in Aden described the scene of the Badr explosions as "horrible", saying body parts had been blown dozens of metres (yards) away.
"They came to complete the procedure of their recruitment and receive their first salary," he said, speaking of the young men who had gathered outside the army centre.