European Union

The European Union said Thursday (13 August) it had reserved up to 400 million doses of a potential new coronavirus vaccine being developed by US giant Johnson & Johnson.

Hungary's six largest opposition parties pledged Thursday (13 August) to form an unprecedented wide-ranging alliance to challenge Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the next general election in 2022.

Tens of thousands of Belarusians staged a wave of peaceful protests on Thursday (13 August) against President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election and an ensuing brutal police crackdown.

Cyprus marks 60 years since independence from Britain without fanfare on Sunday (16 August), as the small island remains divided and home to foreign bases and a UN peacekeeping force.

Britain's decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France will lead to a reciprocal measure, French junior minister for European affairs Clément Beaune said late on Thursday (13 August).

The US National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday (13 August) in a rare public report offering new insight on Russia’s arsenal of digital weapons.

Some corals have lived for centuries at the fringes of Mauritius. Now smothered for days in heavy fuel oil spilled from a wrecked Japanese tanker nearby, parts of those reefs may be in trouble.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday (13 August) that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that by signing a 5G declaration on Thursday (14 August) Slovenia has secured protection against "authoritarian threats" including China's effort "to control people and information."

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha appealed for unity in a televised address to the nation on Thursday (13 August) amid almost daily student-led anti-government protests since mid-July.

Belarusian authorities on Thursday (13 August) began releasing some of the thousands of people detained in a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider imposing sanctions.

Donald Trump's rival Joe Biden presented his candidate for vice-president at a high school in his hometown of Wilmington on Wednesday: Senator Kamala Harris. Both blamed Donald Trump for the crises in the country and especially for the many coronavirus deaths. Harris's nomination has stoked high hopes in Europe's commentary columns, but not all journalists share these expectations.

The European Union is considering sanctions against Belarus over allegations of manipulation in the country's presidential election. EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell has said the election was neither free nor fair. He also criticised brutality on the part of law enforcement authorities and the mass imprisonment of demonstrators and journalists. What steps should Brussels take?