Europe
Europe
687 anti-Semitic acts in France during 2019, up from 541 during 2018, anti-Muslim acts at 154 compared to 100, anti-Christian acts stable at 1,052, no information regarding perpetrator backgrounds, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner calls hate crimes an intolerable attack on our common project and the foundations of our social pact
13 police officers injured after being pelted with stones, glass bottles and fireworks during leftist demonstration in eastern German city of Leipzig during Saturday, windows of several cars and buildings also damaged and journalists threatened as around 1,600 people protested the 2017 government ban of a left-wing extremist web forum, six people arrested, case against the ban to be heard in federal court on Wednesday
Police physically remove 1,436 migrants of which 1,187 single men from makeshift camp in northern Paris on Tuesday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had promised to clear all city's migrant camps by the end of last year, some 20,000 people removed from camps in or near Paris in the past year
Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) says it investigates 550 Bundeswehr soldiers suspected of right-wing extremism, MAD head Christof Gramm says 14 cases of extremism including 8 right-wing were confirmed during 2019 and that an additional 40 individuals failed to uphold German constitutional values, 20 of the investigations concern the elite unit KSK
More than 9,000 people gathered in largest ever protest in Greek island of Lesbos' history to protest the migrant situation, over 20,000 migrants live in the island's camp and 50,000 in total live in camps on the northern Aegean islands
Shooting in Rot am See in Baden-Württemberg leaves six dead more injured, apprehended shooter reportedly knew the victims
Politicians wreak revenge on Dutch farmers for last year's protests, lower house votes in favour of mandating all tractors to carry license plates, keeping tabs on recalcitrant anti-government farmers cited as reason
Dozens arrested as French police resort to tear gas in effort to placate Yellow Vest protesters in Paris, Emmanuel Macron and his wife forced to leave theatre performance prematurely when protesters besiege the premises, longest French transport strike in decades
10-year-old boy stabbed in the street in Leicester during Saturday evening – police describes the suspect as light-skinned, chubby 178 cm South Asian mid-20s man wearing a brown jacket, boy's condition described as non-life-threatening and his mother who was with him is not physically injured
Viktor Orbán describes Austria as a natural partner of the Visegrád Group on migration issues at summit in Prague between V4 leaders and Sebastian Kurz, also wants to invite western Balkan countries seeking EU membership to a conference on Europe’s future
President Putin rejects returning to Soviet era practice of lifelong rulers dying in office without proper succession strategy, earlier said he wants to limit future presidents to two terms in power
Viktor Orbán describes George Soros as world’s number one oligarch who controls political activities via mafia-like network and exerts influence on European politics, after European Parliament adopted resolutions targeting political development in Hungary and Poland
Sex attacks on young girls by Asian grooming gangs ignored by South Yorkshire Police for fear of stoking racial tensions, despite knowing it has been happening for three decades, damning report reveals
Finance minister Sajid Javid aims to double Britain’s economic growth and says there will be no alignment with EU regulations post-Brexit, leaving the single market and customs union by the end of the year
Germany's population only growing due to migration, maximum 790,000 people were born during 2019 while 930,000 died with at least 300,000 net arrivals, the country has one of Europe's oldest populations due to chronic birth deficit in recent years
Inquiry reveals Manchester Police and Social Services turned a blind eye to Manchester pedophile ring in the early 2000s, 97 identified offenders systematically abused, groomed and raped underage girls
German police raid Chechen Islamists in four states after suspicion of "planning a serious violent act endangering the state", no mention of number of detained nor questioned by police, authorities prompted to carry out the raids after discovering suspicious cellphone pictures during police check
Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they intend to step down as senior royals, development foreshadowed by growing rifts in Buckingham Palace according to BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond, the couple will work towards financial independence through charity work
St. Thomas church in Leipzig vandalised over New Year's Eve, miscreants send rocks crashing through two 19th-century stained glass panels before smashing more than 20 art noveau panes, J.S. Bach held a tenure as Cantor at St. Thomas from 1723 until his death in 1750
Conservative incumbent Kitarovic neck and neck with liberal opponent Milanovic in Croatian presidential elections, support for conservative Croatian Democratic Union dwindles as rhetorical blunders mount, outcome will be predictor of upcoming parliamentary elections, Croatia assumed rotating EU presidency Jan. 1., meaning the winner will preside over upcoming Brexit proceedings
Austria’s Greens set to approve coalition deal struck on New Year’s Day with conservative ÖVP led by Sebastian Kurz, in move to keep FPÖ party from power and in hope for a climate-related tax reform in 2022
Muslim population of England passes three million mark for the first time and is fastest-growing faith group in the country, Christians become fewer, number of non-religious almost third of population
Resultant air-pollution from nuclear phaseout claims 1000 lives a year in Germany, renewal of coal-fired power spews an additional 36.3 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually, net cost gauged to be 10 billion USD per annum according to American economists, study yet to undergo peer review
Electric cars projected to have a 100% market share in Norway by 2025, trend largely owes to tax exemptions for battery powered vehicles, 42% of cars sold in 2019 were electric with Tesla Model 3 as Norway's best-selling car of 2019
Man who stabbed four people in the town of Villejuif south of Paris shot dead by police, one person seriously injured in the attack which took place in Hautes-Bruyères State Park
Dutch fishermen from Urk encounter makeshift dinghy with Iraqi migrants en route to the UK, 16 men, 1 woman and 2 children towed to safety in Dunkirk, skipper Tiemen Klaas Wezelman says he's heard tell of similar stories, only never thought he would see it with his own eyes, sincerely doubts whether they would have been able to cover the remaining 65 km to the UK border
Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine start a full prisoner swap on Sunday, the swap in the Donetsk region is expected to see Ukraine hand over 87 separatists in exchange for 55 pro-government Ukrainians
UK Cabinet Office publishes home and work addresses of more than 1,000 recipients of New Years' Honours to government site, including Elton John, Ben Stokes and Iain Duncan Smith, Cabinet has reported itself to the Information Commissioner's Office
Record label boss Flamur Beqiri shot dead outside his London home on Christmas Eve was friends with Naief Adawi who was involved in 2008 GBP 7 million heist in Denmark and whose wife Dr Karolin Hakim was shot dead holding their two-month old baby in Malmö, Sweden in August
Dissident Ruslan Shaveddinov, key ally of Aleksei Navalny, is detained and sent on compulsory military service at military base on Novaya Zemlya, lawyers will challenge his conscription on medical grounds and argue he was illegally kidnapped and imprisoned
Record snowfall on Iceland cover nine meter tall buildings on northern part of Iceland, country has never had snow on same scale according to government employee, dozens of horses dead due to lack of facilities to protect them from extreme weather
Boris Johnson on collision course with EU in post-Brexit trade talks after he says there will be no alignment to EU rules once transition period ends in 2020, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar fears a harder Brexit after Tories' thumping General Election win
Vladimir Putin suggests in interview that law restricting Russian presidents to two consecutive terms could be removed - paving way for him to rule for life
Poland's lower house of parliament approves law allowing dismissal of judges questioning their peers’ legal status, ruling Law and Justice party says reforms necessary to tackle corruption and make judicial system more efficient, European Commission says legislation would imperil rule of law
British parliament votes in favour of Johnson's Brexit deal with 358 to 234 majority, concessions on issues like immigrants and workers' rights made by government during last hung parliament removed from Withdrawal Agreement Bill before vote
Boris Johnson considers decriminalising non-payment of BBC licence fee, comes after ministers boycott BBC Radio 4's Today programme due to pro-EU bias, says you have to ask yourself whether it makes sense to tax fund a particular media organisation while others manage to fund themselves
Emmanuel Macron says he hopes Britain won't be an unfair competitor against EU after Brexit as EU leaders express fears Britain might try to reinvent itself as a low-regulation rival
Flagship of Russian fleet Admiral Kuznetsov on fire after accident in Murmansk port, at least 12 injured and 3 missing, country's only aircraft carrier has had large number of serious accidents in last few years
Final Opinium survey ahead of Thursday UK election puts Tories on course to win majority with 45% to Labour’s 33% while one in ten voters yet to make up their mind, YouGov poll suggests hung parliament still very real possibility
Finland's Social Democrats name 34-year-old transportation minister Sanna Marin to become country’s youngest ever prime minister, heading the five-party coalition government which took office just six months ago, Marin won narrow vote among party leadership to replace Antti Rinne
German military suspends officer from elite unite after suspected ties to right-wing extremism following long investigation by military counterintelligence service, two soldiers suspected of making Nazi-era salute at private party in home of suspended officer
Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tells associates he plans to resign over political and legal crisis stemming from murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Muscat's chief of staff and two members of cabinet already stepped aside this week
Terrorist armed with a knife injures up to five people on London Bridge, several people struggles with perpetrator before police arrive, drag the suspect away and shoot him dead, comes two and a half years after 2017 terrorist attack on London Bridge
Hungary submits draft legislation to EU to amend country’s nuclear safety protocols to custom-fit EUR 12 billion expansion of its 2 GW Paks nuclear power plant with two 1.2 GW Russian-made VVER reactors, wants to accelerate project awarded to Rosatom in 2014
Hungarian government scheme to promote marriage and childbirth with tax benefits and subsidised loans produce boom in weddings with a 20% surge in number of weddings during first nine months of the year and the highest number since 1990
Labour Party wants to be most radical socialist government in British history by confiscating 10% of big companies’ shares, move to four-day week, nationalise rail, utility and water companies, and delist firms from stock exchange who fail to take adequate steps to deal with climate change
At least 25 illegal migrants found stowed away on cargo ferry bound for Britain shortly after leaving the Netherlands, vessel quickly returned to Dutch port of Vlaardingen
Boris Johnson refuses to name new EU Commissioner as UK don't make nominations for international appointments during election campaign, Brussels launches legal action against Britain with Ursula von der Leyen saying UK is in breach of its EU treaty obligations
Jeremy Corbyn says ISIS terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi should have been apprehended and not killed, in 2015 he called killing of Usama bin Laden a tragedy and in 2009 described Hamas and Hezbollah as friends, is called terrorist sympathiser by local vicar during Scotland tour
Jeremy Corbyn warns photographers on election campaign trail "under Socialist you will all cooperate", while in Blackpool announcing latest part of Labour's big-spending campaign platform which Tories says would cost GBP 1.2 trillion
Holland plans change name to the actual name of the country, the Netherlands, the name, together with a new logo will be used to promote trade an tourism, the Netherlands will also be the official name used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, orange will remain as the national colour
Detailed New York Times report alleges EU's Common agriculture policy (CAP) is warped by corruption and self-dealing, claims farm subsidies are used to prop up oligarchs and political patrons in eastern countries, CAP consumes about 40% of bloc's overall budget
Boris Johnson focus on achieving Brexit immediately while taking no-deal off table, election manifesto promises tax cuts, rejects offer of pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party supported by Donald Trump
Parliament backs snap elections on December 12, Jeremy Corbyn caves in after having blocked motion last night, Boris Johnson wins bid for first pre-Christmas polls in a century
Boris Johnson ditches Brexit bill and launches bid tonight for snap elections on December 12 after EU agrees extension to January 31, will else tomorrow introduce bill in accordance to SNP's to hold polls on December 9 which only needs simple majority, while Labour fears voter’s verdict
Boris Johnson challenges Jeremy Corbyn to Monday next week back snap election on December 12, would then give MPs until November 6 to pass Brexit deal followed by parliament being dissolved ahead of polls, EU expected to grant UK extension until January 31 tomorrow
39 dead found in lorry container in Essex traveling from Bulgaria, 24-year-old male driver from Northern Ireland arrested as a murder suspect
MPs support Brexit Bill by 329 votes to 299 but rejects Boris Johnson's efforts to rush laws through Commons in 72 hours, Johnson pauses legislation while Brussels decides its response over possible delay
Boris Johnson threatens to pull Brexit Bill and demand snap election if MPs block efforts to rush laws through Commons in just 72 hours in crunch votes tonight
Speaker John Bercow blocks vote on Brexit deal Monday, sparking fury among Tories branding him "poor man's Cromwell", while Boris Johnson with support of 15 Labour MPs believes he can push package through on Tuesday
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez refuses phone calls from Catalan leader Quim Torra until he denounces violence, Torra says he will always defend Catalonia's right to self-determination, more than 600 injured since protests started last Monday
Tory MP Oliver Letwin tables Brexit amendment denying approval of deal until after implementation law has been passed, "act of sabotage" would force Boris Johnson to ask for an extension, despite him being within touching distance of getting majority for his deal on Saturday
Boris Johnson starts 36 hours of deal-making to get new Brexit deal through Commons vote without DUP on "Super Saturday", he needs backing of all 287 Tory members of parliaments plus 33 others, Jean-Claude Juncker warns if MPs fail to back deal it would result in an extremely complicated situation
President of Catalonia Quim Torra says he will push for new referendum on independence from Spain within two years, as protests continues into a fourth day after arrest of nine separatist leaders, at least 96 people have been hurt across the region
Britain and EU make headway to work out Brexit deal in time for leaders' summit on Thursday, reports say gaps on agreement has narrowed and the two sides are close to agreeing, any deal must be passed by British parliament
EU agrees to enter intense talks with Britain to secure a Brexit deal, EU negotiator Michel Barnier tells member states UK has accepted its proposed replacement of the backstop cannot involve a customs border between Ireland and Northern Ireland
Boris Johnson and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar say they see pathway to possible Brexit deal, after meeting in English Cheshire with just three weeks before UK is to leave EU
Boris Johnson says EU made Brexit deal impossible after he and Angela Merkel clash in phone call where she demands Northern Ireland to stay in customs union forever, the bloc accuses PM of a "stupid blame game"
BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb suggest as a white man Rory Stewart shouldn't stand for London mayor against black and Muslim candidates, saying it "is not very 2020"
IT specialist from Martinique who recently converted to Islam stabs four people to death at the police headquarters in Paris, may be related to workplace dispute regarding the man's refusal to work with women, used ceramic knife, shot to death
Boris Johnson presents Brexit proposal scraping Irish backstop, Northern Ireland would leave EU customs union but remain in single market for goods, the Northern Ireland Assembly to give its consent every four years, the PM says this is only alternative to no-deal Brexit, threatening to boycott EU summit if Brussels rejects it
Sebastian Kurz's People's Party (ÖVP) heading for clear victory in Austrian general election, projected to win 37% of the vote, up from 31%, former coalition partners Freedom Party (FPÖ) receives under 17% and Social Democrats 22.5%
Jacques Chirac dies at 86, served as president from 1995 to 2007, was a strong supporter of EU and was blighted by corruption scandals in later years, best remembered for his opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003
Spain's Supreme Court rules former head of state Francisco Franco's remains to be exhumed from Valle de los Caídos, family's wish for him to lie in the family crypt in the Almudena Cathedral denied, decision hailed by socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
UK Supreme Court rules suspension of Parliament illegal, saying Boris Johnson gave unlawful advise to Queen with effect of frustrating Parliament, a furious PM again demands an election but Jeremy Corbyn to refuse
Amsterdam museum decides to ditch the term Golden Age to describe golden era of city and country, will instead use the inclusive phrase 17th century
Russia's newest passenger jet Irkut MC-21-300 makes first international flight between Moscow and Istanbul, producer United Aircraft Corporation hopes it will become a potential competitor to Boeing's 737 MAX
Scottish judges rule Boris Johnson suspension of Parliament illegal, setting the stage for a showdown at the Supreme Court in London next week, No10 source swipes Remainers chose Scottish courts for a reason
Several people injured in shooting in southern edge of Dutch city of Dordrecht, local media reports of three fatal victims and that shooting was at a home
Tories open up 14 point poll lead over Labour despite Brexit chaos, Boris Johnson says he will refuse to ask EU for Brexit delay at meeting on October 17
25 dogs die from mystery illness in Norway, a total of 40 dogs has fallen ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, salmonella and rat poison ruled out, cases reported in at least 14 towns
Russia and Ukraine complete long-awaited exchange of prisoners, the 35 released Ukranians were reunited with relatives at Kiev's Boryspil airport and include 24 sailors detained off Crimea last year, Russia has not confirmed names of prisoners released and arranged a low-profile arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn orders his MPs to abstain, blocking Boris Johnson's call for snap election, after Remainers succeed in pushing legislation through Commons that rules out No Deal Brexit at end of October
Boris Johnson lose vote giving rebel alliance control of Commons business with aim of passing law to stop UK leave EU at end of October, 21 Tory MPs who side with opposition axed from the party, Jeremy Corbyn says he won't back general election until after bill delaying Brexit until January is given effect
Remainer Phillip Lee wipes out Boris Johnson's majority by joining Liberal Democrats, PM vows never to ask EU for an extension and will call for a general election on October 14 if Remainer MPs stop a No Deal Brexit, but needs a two-third majority to force a poll and unclear if a Labour which lives and breathes for an election will back the idea
Dutch government coalition party D66 sketching on proposal to expand euthanasia laws to also include elderly people who feel they have lived a full and complete life, is expected to face heavy resistance from other coalition parties that would rather focus on help to live instead of help to die
Former Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten and Public Prosecution Service discussed prosecution of PVV leader Geert Wilders before decision to prosecute, leaked official documents reveal, Ministry also adjusted press releases from Public Prosecutor to make a better political impression, Wilders demand case against him be dropped while politician from several parties calls for clarifications
One dead and nine injured after two knifemen rampage at metro station in Villeurbanne outside Lyon in eastern France, 33-year-old Afghan migrant arrested, reports of a second attacker being hunted unconfirmed, he is said to have given three reasons why he carried out the attack
Paul McCartney says grandson robbed at knifepoint in west London, says it's scary how much knife crime there is in UK, comes amid crime wave in London with 92 murders this year as politicians and police struggle to deal with what has been labelled Wild West Britain
Woman randomly stabs three-year-old boy in Georgia in front of his perplexed mother and father, tries to go after the boy again and his sister but fails, calmly walks away after scaring off the father who confronts her, the boy survives and the woman is arrested on Friday morning
Japanese couple living in the Netherlands face attempted manslaughter charges for starving six of their seven children, who were regularly denied food and locked up in a shed, parents say children were raised on a healthy diet without sugar and blame each other for their children's condition, six of the kids are being cared for by their grandparents in Japan and the youngest by a foster family in the Netherlands