Puigdemont’s return to Spain sparks Barcelona police ‘cage’ operation
Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police, on August 8 activated a "cage" operation lasting more than three hours to capture the region’s former president…
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
German police raid Last Generation members’ homes
German police have searched the homes of Last Generation members after the group's protests at several German Airports.
EC and NGOs left smarting over attacks on Poland for jailing Russian spy
NGOs and the European Commission have egg on their faces after they lambasted Poland over the imprisonment of Pavel Rubtsov, a Russian spy who was part of the recent…
Bulgarian Parliament approves ban on ‘LGBTQ propaganda’ in schools
The Bulgarian Parliament has approved a ban on "LGBTQ propaganda" in schools to tackle what it called "incitement" to "non-traditional sexual orientation" or "gender…
Now youth frisbee gets political: Israeli team forced out over ‘security threat’
Israeli teens in Belgium to take part in an international frisbee tournament have been forced out after pro-Palestine activists campaigned against their presence…
The Spy Who Loved Me? German State bans agents from having sex with targets
A German State has banned its intelligence agents from having sex with their targets.
German teens taught that US schools are still ‘divided by skin colour’
Pupils reading the book are asked to answer the following questions: "Do you see the USA as a racist society?
Demand for alcoholic beer declines in Europe
According to new Eurostat figures, the European Union's production of alcoholic beer has declined, while non-alcoholic beer production has risen.
Conservative Dutch broadcaster ON suspends its own chief
Ongehoord Nederland (ON), a Conservative Dutch public broadcaster, has ousted its own president and founder, Arnold Karskens, citing serious complaints about his…
A mother, a widow, cut off her head and French culture finds it amusing
The opening of the Paris Olympic Games turned the state-murder of Marie Antoinette in 1793 into a comic opera and marked another milestone in the cultural death…
‘EU values economic interests over rule of law and democracy,’ claims Balkans expert
The EU-Serbia lithium deal, aimed at reducing Chinese influence, faces sharp criticism over Serbia's rule of law issues and the EU's perceived prioritisation of…
Olympics sex controversy: Meloni backs boxer after loss to Khelif
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has come out in support of the Italian boxer who lost an Olympic bout to Imane Khelif, the Algerian fighter who is currently…
Turkey blocks public access to Instagram
Turkey has blocked access to social media platform Instagram.
Polish journalist who called Lennon song ‘Communist’ reinstated
Przemysław Babiarz, a Polish State television (TVP) journalist, will return to commentating on the Olympics after his suspension.
Destroying the world in French style, anything goes, nothing stands
What we saw a week ago at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympiad did not just come out of the blue.
AfD politician fined €50,000 for calling journalist a ‘fascist’
Stephan Brandner, a politician with the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has been fined €50,000 for referring to a journalist as a "fascist".
Venice brings in new measures to control mass tourism
Following recent demonstrations against mass tourism that erupted across Spanish regions including Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Venice has limited group visits…
Patriots demand answers over ‘disgusting’ plan to censor Musk’s X
The Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament has demanded that the European Commission provide details of what it claimed was a "disgusting" plan to…
Aiming for EU membership, Moldova plans Transnistria reintegration
Moldova is trying to advance Transnistria's economic and political reintegration.
Meloni responds sharply to Von der Leyen on freedom of expression in Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been quick to respond to the rule-of-law report published by the European Commission, which accused her of eroding freedom…
German State police set to reveal suspects’ nationalities
A new ruling means that police statements in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia will soon have to reveal the nationality of suspects - regardless of whether…
French communication networks victims of ‘sabotage’
In several places in France, vandals have destroyed installations belonging to telephone operators SFR, Free and Bouygues.
Seine still too dirty to swim in despite Macron’s ‘anti-poop plan’
The Seine in Paris is still too dirty to swim in despite French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to reduce the amount of excrement-related contaminants in the river.
Macron tells us this is France now, like a gay club in San Francisco in 1980
In the midst of the rain-soaked opening ceremony of the Olympics, President Macron tweeted: "This is France." He was right, though perhaps not in the way he intended.
Polish TV presenter suspended for describing Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ as ‘Communist’
Polish TVP presenter Przemysław Babiarz has been suspended after saying John Lennon’s song Imagine carried a “Communist” message.
German publisher drops Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy over alliance with Trump
German publishing house Ullstein Buchverlage has sparked outrage by deciding against a reprint of the sold-out German translation of Hillbilly Elegy, the 2016 autobiography…
Revolting Brussels Metro YouTube ‘prankster’ strikes again
An infamous Brussels-based YouTuber who is known for throwing buckets of excrement, oil and other filth over unsuspecting victims on the city’s Metro system has…
As Olympics due to start, French high-speed train system ‘under massive attack’
Just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in France, the TGV network, the country's intercity high-speed rail service, has apparently been deliberately…
German ministry mistakenly targets CHANEL in Islamic extremism purge
In its clampdown on Islamic extremists in Germany, the country's interior ministry has targeted several Islamic centres, a mosque, and their affiliated online media…
German magazine Compact files lawsuit against government over ban
Controversial right-wing German magazine Compact a has filed a lawsuit with the country's Federal Administrative Court against a ban.