Switzerland’s policy on fighting climate change has been thrown into doubt after voters rejected key measures in a popular vote. A referendum saw voters narrowly reject the government’s plans for a car fuel levy and a tax on air tickets. The measures were designed to help Switzerland meet targets under the Paris Agreement on climate […]
Europe migrant crisis A Greek court has sentenced four young Afghan asylum seekers to 10 years in jail each after they were charged with starting fires that destroyed Europe’s largest migrant camp last year. Defence lawyers said the men, who denied the accusations, were found guilty of intentional arson. The defence described the trial as […]
Srebrenica massacre Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic has lost his appeal against a 2017 conviction for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN court upheld the life sentence for his role in the killing of around 8,000 Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. The massacre, in an enclave […]
Germany’s centre right has fended off a challenge by the far right in the last regional test before national polls in September, partial results show. The Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel won 37% of the vote in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, in the former East Germany. It did much better than opinion […]
Germany’s centre right has fended off a challenge by the far right in the last regional test before national polls in September, an exit poll suggests. The Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel won 36% of the vote in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, a former part of East Germany. It did much better […]
Thousands of people marched through Budapest to protest against plans to open a Chinese university campus in the Hungarian capital. Opponents of the project say it will undercut the country’s own higher education and increase the influence of China’s Communist authorities. The right-wing government of PM Viktor Orban has close ties with Beijing. Earlier this […]
Sicilian Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca, whose grisly crimes include having a child’s body dissolved in acid, has been released from prison. Dubbed the “people slayer”, Brusca has confessed to his role in over 100 killings, including the assassination of Italy’s top anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone. But Brusca became an informant, helping prosecutors hunt down fellow […]
By Hazel Shearing & Kathryn Snowdon BBC News Prime Minister Boris Johnson has married his fiancee Carrie Symonds in a secretly-planned wedding at Westminster Cathedral. The marriage took place in a “small ceremony” on Saturday afternoon, a Downing Street spokesman said. The spokesman added that the couple would celebrate again with family and friends next […]
After years of talks, Switzerland has scrapped efforts aimed at agreeing an over-arching treaty with the EU. Switzerland is not in the European Union but has signed up to many of its policies, such as freedom of movement. The relationship is currently governed by more than 120 bilateral deals, and a failure to replace them […]
The president of Belarus has said his critics are “strangling” his country and waging “hybrid warfare”. Alexander Lukashenko told parliament common sense had been abandoned and “many red lines” crossed as Western countries imposed sanctions on Belarus. He was defending the move to forcibly divert a Ryanair plane, which was flying from Greece to Lithuania, […]
