European Union

Authorities in Germany have appealed to thousands of people to get another shot of Covid vaccine after a police investigation found that a Red Cross nurse may have injected them with a saline solution instead, The Guardian writes. The nurse is suspected of injecting salt solution into people's arms instead of genuine doses at a vaccination centre in Friesland, a rural district near the North Sea coast.

A BBC investigation has revealed the scale of operations by a shadowy Russian mercenary group in Libya's civil war, which includes links to war crimes and the Russian military. A Samsung tablet left by a fighter for the Wagner group exposed its key role - as well as traceable fighter codenames. Wagner's fighters appeared in Libya in April 2019 when they joined the forces of a rebel general, Khalifa Haftar.

Ethiopian and Eritrean troops raped hundreds of women and girls during the Tigray war, Amnesty International said. "Rape and sexual violence have been used as a weapon of war to inflict lasting physical and psychological damage on women and girls in Tigray," said Amnesty's secretary-general Agnes Callamard, adding that "the severity and scale of the sexual crimes committed are particularly shocking, amounting to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity."

Facebook said it has shut down a smear campaign that spread disinformation about Covid-19 vaccines made by BioNTech-Pfizer and AstraZeneca, Deutsche Welle writes. In recent months, anti-vaccine and coronavirus conspiracy theories have spread on social media sites, putting major tech firms under pressure from governments fighting the pandemic. Facebook said it traced hundreds of accounts back to Fazze, a UK-registered marketing firm operating out of Russia, which is now banned.

Poland's ruling coalition is aiming for a 'Putinisation' of Polish media and is therefore following three steps to silence journalists. Now not only the EU, but the US too is reacting saying this is incompatible with Nato membership.

Voting on a new media law in Poland on Wednesday will test if ruling party chief Jarosław Kaczyński still has a grip on power after six years of clashes with the EU.

Other EU countries have halted deportations of failed asylum seekers after the Afghan government asked for a suspension of returns. An EU official said the bloc was not facing an imminent surge in migrants.

All the countries in the eurozone use the same currency, but not all coins are the same. Watch our video to learn about the differences.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

All the countries in the eurozone use the same currency, but not all coins are the same. Watch our video to learn about the differences.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU is based on a common set of rules and values. Watch our video to find out what happens when these rules are broken.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU is based on a common set of rules and values. Watch our video to find out what happens when these rules are broken.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

You choose your MEPs every five years, but did you realise you also have an impact on the set up of the other EU institutions?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU has a positive impact that reaches far beyond Europe’s borders. Watch the video to find out how.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

You choose your MEPs every five years, but did you realise you also have an impact on the set up of the other EU institutions?

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The EU has a positive impact that reaches far beyond Europe’s borders. Watch the video to find out how.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Germany's coronavirus vaccination drive has slowed and those people who have not taken up the opportunity to have shots will have to take COVID-19 tests to take a full part in public life, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday (10 August), now controlling 65% of the country, as US President Joe Biden urged the nation's leaders to fight for their homeland.

Latvia on Tuesday (10 August) declared a local state of emergency along its border with Belarus, as Lithuanian lawmakers approved the construction of a fence to stem an influx of illegal migrants.

Poland's prime minister dismissed the head of a junior coalition partner from government on Tuesday (10 August), creating uncertainty over the future of an administration that has set Warsaw on a collision course with the European Union.

Six EU countries have called on the European Commission not to halt the deportation of Afghan migrants despite an accelerating Taliban advance, officials said on Tuesday (10 August).