Polish F-16 pilot dies in jet crash in central Poland
A Polish F-16 fighter plane has crashed killing the pilot during a practice flight.
From the capitals
Latest reporting and analysis on from the capitals.
French Right and Left reject compromise deal to save PM
France's hard-right and hard-left parties on Thursday rejected a compromise with Prime Minister Francois Bayrou over his government's cost-cutting budget, saying…
Russian rockets damage EU mission building, British Council in Kyiv
Russian missile attacks in Kyiv have severely damaged the EU delegation to Ukraine, sparking outrage among European leaders.
Ignoring the populist-right vote creates chaos in parliaments
Chaos! That seems to be the name of the game when it comes to French politics the past few years.
Russia restates opposition to European peacekeepers in Ukraine
The Kremlin says it is against European countries sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine and has pushed back against the idea of a speedy meeting between Presidents…
Macron vows ‘full support’ for under-fire PM Bayrou
French President Emmanuel Macron has given his "full support" to his embattled Prime Minister, who has called a confidence vote that could see his government collapse…
EC chief von der Leyen put forward as next German President
The current President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is rumoured to be in line to become the next President of Germany.
Tusk lashes out with frantic prosecutions against ‘heavy calibre’ Conservatives
Since December 2023, Poland has been living under a form of liberal autocracy, branded by Prime Minister Donald Tusk as “militant democracy.
French PM Bayrou calls for confidence vote in ‘calculated risk’
France's embattled Prime Minister François Bayrou said his government would request a vote of confidence, seeking parliamentary backing for his battle against soaring…
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war in Belarus
Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange after mediation by the United Arab Emirates.
US ambassador to France slams Macron over ‘lack of action on anti-Semitism’
The US ambassador to France has written to French President Emmanuel Macron to denounce what he said was the French Government's insufficient action against anti-Semitism,…
Alleged Nord Stream pipeline saboteur arrested in Italy
Italian police have arrested a main suspect in the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022.
European leaders ‘asked Trump to pressure Orbán’ on EU membership for Ukraine
US President Donald Trump reportedly called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the behest of European leaders in a bid to convince him to support Ukraine…
Israeli PM Netanyahu slams France and Australia for ‘anti-Semitism’
A row between Israel and France over Paris' plan to recognise a Palestinian State in September escalated to crisis level when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused…
Belgium’s Congo trip highlights mineral stakes amid rebel-controlled region
Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prévot is due to visit Congo in the next few days for peace talks and discussions on mining governance, an agenda that connects…
France’s hard left leader call for mass protest to ‘oust government’
France's hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon calls for mass protests to topple Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government.
London council demands British and English flags taken down from lampposts
A recent decision by Tower Hamlets Council in east London to remove the English flag St George’s Cross and the Union Jack flags from lampposts has ignited a fierce…
French left-wing MP honours Algerian FLN that fought against France
During a visit to Algiers, Aly Diouara, MP with the French left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), paid tribute to the Algerian combatants of the National Liberation…
The sheer evil of the Hamas attack means Israel has become an international pariah
This is a column I hoped never to write. The terrible truth is that Hamas has already won its Gaza war.
German Chancellor Merz under fire from own party after surprise Israeli weapons embargo
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing heavy backlash from within his own Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party after his surprise decision…
Germany to extend border controls in migration crackdown
Germany will push on with temporary border controls beyond a September deadline as it cracks down on irregular immigration, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt…
French PM Bayrou’s budget-cuts video fuels anger
The French Prime Minister François Bayrou has launched a new video series aimed at defending his government’s €45 billion savings plan, fuelling widespread…
Recognising Palestine shows ‘desperate weakness of judgment and purpose’
The movement initiated by France and slavishly followed by the United Kingdom and Canada to recognise a Palestinian state reveals the almost desperate weakness of…
Moldovan pro-Russian opposition leader gets seven years in jail
Evgenia Gutul, leader of the Moldovan opposition and head of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, was sentenced to seven years in jail for funnelling Russian money…
Ukraine: Russians understand ‘the longer term,’ the West does not
When, as they have done, the Visegrad Four talk about events in central Europe, wise folk listen.
France to air-drop aid into Gaza
France will air-drop aid into Gaza in the coming days, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday, as UN-backed experts warned the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory…
Polish Speaker of Parliament claims he was pressured to ‘stage a coup’
Szymon Hołownia, Poland’s parliament Speaker and leader of Poland 2050 party, claimed he was pressured to stage a "coup" to stop Karol Nawrocki, the opposition…
Austrian minister claims State TV interview manipulated regarding Israel
Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Austria’s foreign minister, has accused State broadcasting behemoth ORF of deliberately cutting a passage from a television interview in…
Kyiv pushes for direct talks between Zelensky and Putin as US boosts Ukraine military aid
Ukraine has proposed direct talks within weeks between its President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin but Moscow tempered prospects for progress at…
German Chancellor Merz tells Muslim students: Respect our constitutional order
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has used a visit at a university in Hannover (Lower Saxony) to remind Muslim students to respect the Liberal constitutional order…