Europe

London — Britons look set to elect a new government by landslide as the country prepares to head to the polls on Thursday July 4. The vote comes amid weak economic growth and struggling public services, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza among the major foreign policy challenges lying ahead for the next administration. The current opposition Labour Party under Keir Starmer …

Västernorrland, Sweden — Björn Alexander Düben, a German assistant professor at Jilin University’s School of Public Diplomacy, was mysteriously dismissed and instructed to leave China after a nine-year tenure, following his participation in an interview with Voice of America (VOA). This dismissal highlights the severe restrictions on free speech imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Düben’s troubles began shortly after he commented on Chinese leader …

PARIS — Candidates in France on Tuesday faced a deadline to register for the run-off round of a high-stakes parliamentary election, as President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp and a left-wing alliance scrambled to prevent the far right from taking power. On Sunday, French people go to polls for the decisive final round of the snap election Macron called after his camp received a drubbing in European …

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France’s far-right has never been closer to power after winning the first round of snap legislative elections Sunday. It’s a stunning result that could see the far-right taking control of the government — and a far-right prime minister ahead of the Paris Olympics — if it wins big in the second round of voting July 7. The left and center are now calling for an …

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Paris — France’s far-right has never been closer to power after winning the first round of snap legislative elections Sunday. It’s a stunning result that could see the far-right taking control of the government — and a far-right prime minister ahead of the Paris Olympics — if it wins big in the second round runoff July 7. The left and center are now calling for an …

Athens — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday the country faced a dangerous summer for wildfires, with a prolonged drought and unusually strong winds contributing to tinderbox conditions. Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of climate change has increased their frequency and intensity. This weekend, dozens of fires broke out across …

Budapest, Hungary — Hungary takes over the EU’s rotating presidency on Monday, promising to be an “honest broker” despite widespread concerns over what critics see as an authoritarian, Russia-friendly government. Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has run the central European country since 2010 aiming to transform it into an “illiberal democracy,” frequently clashes with Brussels on rule-of-law and human rights issues. He is also the …

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Sofia, Bulgaria — Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church elected Daniil, a 52-year-old metropolitan considered to be pro-Russian, as its new leader Sunday in a vote that reflected the divisions in the church and wider society since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. Growing divisions between pro-Russian and anti-Russian factions within the senior clergy began after some of them attempted to warm relations with the Orthodox Church …

Athens, Greece — Firefighters were battling a series of wildfires near the Greek capital, Athens, on Sunday evening, as the country braces for another scorching summer. Greece faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heat wave on record, with temperatures hitting 44°C (111°F).   “Today in Attica two extremely dangerous fires that broke out in residential areas and spread rapidly due to …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Long-serving Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged his country to support Ukraine and international cooperation in his final address to his compatriots Sunday, as an inward-looking new government is set to take over the Netherlands in two days. “It is crucial that our country is embedded in the European Union and NATO. Together we are stronger than alone. Especially now,” the 57-year-old …

ISTANBUL — Turkish police detained at least 15 protesters in Istanbul on Sunday for participating at a banned LGBTQ+ Pride rally, after searching the streets having arrived at the scene after participants had dispersed, a Reuters witness said.  Police declined to comment.  The Istanbul Governor’s Office said earlier Sunday that the Pride March would not be permitted. Turkish police blocked central Istanbul to prevent the march …

Vienna — Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz and the populist Czech ANO party led by Andrej Babis are forming a new alliance in the European Parliament, they announced on Sunday.    The move would reorder but possibly also split nationalist forces in the assembly, provided four more parties join. Parties from at least a quarter of the European Union’s 27 member …

GENEVA — Two people have died and a third is missing after torrential rains triggered a landslide in southeastern Switzerland, police said Sunday. Violent storms lashed the Alpine country with rain this weekend, with hundreds of people evacuated in the west after the Rhone River and its tributaries broke their banks. “The bodies of two people were found by rescuers in connection with the landslide in …

NANTERRE, France — One year after a French teenager with North African origins was killed by police — a shooting that sparked shock and days of rioting across France — his mother led a silent march Saturday to pay homage to her son. It comes at a politically fraught time. Hate speech is blighting the campaign for snap parliamentary elections taking place this weekend, and an …

THESSALONIKI, Greece — About 15,000 people attended the annual EuroPride parade Saturday, police said, in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki amid a heavy police presence. The parade, whose motto is “Persevere, Progress, Prosper,” was staged on the ninth and last day of a series of events across the city. It was to be followed later Saturday by a concert …

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helsinki — Estonia’s ruling center-right Reform Party has chosen Climate Minister Kristen Michal to replace outgoing leader Kaja Kallas as prime minister of the Baltic country Saturday.  The unanimous decision to nominate Michal was made following a closed-door meeting by the party’s governing board, only two days after the European Union tapped Kallas to become the bloc’s new foreign policy chief.  Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime …

Despite the war, schools across Ukraine are celebrating the end of the academic year. Some of them have a military air to them. About 7,000 Ukrainian teenagers are studying in more than 20 military academies around the country. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Videographer: Yuriy Dankevych. …

BELGRADE, Serbia — An attacker with a crossbow wounded a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade on Saturday, Serbia’s interior ministry said. The officer responded by fatally shooting the assailant. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said in a statement that the attacker shot a bolt at the officer, hitting him in the neck. He said the officer than “used a weapon in self-defense to …