European Union

Britain’s new regulator for tech giants Facebook and Google launched on Wednesday (7 April) with an initial remit to see if a code of conduct could improve the balance of power between the platforms and news publishers.

Following a meeting in Ankara with President Erdoğan, President Michel reiterated the EU's strategic interest for a mutually beneficial and positive relationship with Turkey.

Voting stations closed in Greenland on Tuesday evening (6 April) in a snap election that could unseat the ruling party and help decide the fate of vast deposits of rare earth metals that international companies want to exploit.

The US said that it is looking to discuss with allies how to proceed with participation in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in a coordinated way, amid growing calls for a boycott of the Games over China’s human rights record.

Myanmar troops stormed an anti-coup protest camp on Wednesday (7 April), in a pre-dawn operation that local media said killed and wounded several demonstrators, as activists defied a bloody crackdown and internet blockade by the ruling junta.

As the world looks to rebuild after COVID, we need to change our approach to the environment, particularly the chemicals and single-use plastics involved in food packaging, writes Frédérique Ries.

Taiwan will fight to the end if China attacks, its foreign minister said, adding that the United States saw a danger that this could happen amid mounting Chinese military pressure, including aircraft carrier drills, near the island.

As the United States' vaccination campaign accelerates, so-called vaccine passports are gaining traction despite political divisions and a fragmented health care system that complicates the centralization of data.

The number of people in France being treated at intensive care units (ICU) for Covid-19 is the highest in almost a year. The French health ministry on Tuesday said the number of people in ICU increased by 193 over 24 hours to 5,626 - a peak since 20 April, 2020.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky says Nato should speed up his country's path toward membership, arguing that there is no other way to prevent further conflict in the eastern Donbass region, Deutsche Welle reports. Zelensky said his government hoped to be invited this year to join a Nato Membership Action Plan (MAP). "Nato is the only way to end the war in Donbass," he said.

The European institutions were hit by a cyber attack last week, reports Bloomberg. A European Commission spokesperson told the media outlet that it was too early to tell the origins of the attack. "Thus far, no major information breach was detected," said the spokesperson.

European Council president Charles Michel got top diplomatic seating alongside Turkey's president, leaving European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sitting on the couch during a meeting in Ankara on Tuesday. Seating arrangements in diplomatic arenas are generally symbolic, suggesting possible power plays.

Australia has said it will ask the EU to release more than 3.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine - testing Brussels claim it is not blocking shipments, as the country struggles to vaccinate its population, Reuters writes. The EU denied blocking vaccine shipments to Australia, saying it was not responsible for AstraZeneca's failure to uphold commitments to other countries.

Australia's prime minister on Wednesday (7 April) blamed restricted vaccine supply from Europe for his country's halting coronavirus inoculation efforts, as he faced down growing public frustration over the sluggish rollout.

Portugal's Secretary of State for European affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias, assured Lusa on Tuesday that there is a prospect of moving "from principles to action" at the planned Social Summit of the European Union to be held next month in Porto, which is to be a centrepiece of the country's six-month presidency of the Council of the EU.

Iran and world powers held what they described as "constructive" talks and agreed to form working groups to discuss the sanctions Washington might lift and the nuclear curbs Tehran might observe as they try to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

The European Commission is working on a new proposal on financing Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. "I am very much committed to ensuring the continuity of European funding in this area ," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. "EU funding should in the future increasingly provide better opportunities for refugees to earn their livelihoods," she added.

In a Viennese hotel, officials from Britain, France and Germany, will act as intermediaries between Iran and the US, shuttling between both delegations. Russia and China, the other parties to the 2015 nuclear pact, are also attending, Reuters reports. Tehran has repeatedly rebuffed "direct and indirect negotiations" while Washington said on Monday it expected the talks to be difficult. Neither side expected any early breakthrough.