European Union

On 9 August 2020, Belarus's long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenka had himself proclaimed the winner of the presidential election, even though according to the opposition and international observers his challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had won. Protests of an unprecedented scale followed, but Lukashenka brutally crushed them. One year on Europe's press discusses whether there is any hope of change, and if so, how.

A record number of migrants have crossed the Polish border from Belarus since Friday, the Polish Border Guard said, Reuters reports. Authorities in Poland and Lithuania have accused Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants to put pressure on the EU to reverse recent sanctions and to hit back at Poland for giving refuge to Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian athlete who refused to return home from the Tokyo Olympics.

A Rwandan refugee suspected of causing a major fire that ravaged the cathedral in the French city of Nantes last year on Monday murdered a Catholic priest in western France, officials said to AFP. Father Olivier Maire, 60, was killed in the town of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre at the Montfortains religious community where he lived and where the suspect had also been given shelter.

Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko has denied claims that his security services were involved in the death of dissident Vitaly Shishov, who was found hanged in neighbouring Ukraine last week, the BBC reports. "Who was he for me and for Belarus? For us he was simply a nobody," Lukashenko told reporters. Vitaly Shishov was organising help for Belarusians who fled to Ukraine from Lukashenko's post-election crackdown.

Norway's centre-left opposition parties are expected to defeat the incumbent Conservative-led coalition government by a two-to-one margin in next month's election for parliament, a new opinion poll showed on Tuesday, Reuters writes. Widely praised last year for a swift coronavirus lockdown, giving Norway one of Europe's lowest Covid-19 mortality rates, prime minister Erna Solberg nevertheless faces a backlash over economic inequality and public sector reforms that have proven unpopular.

The Taliban seized a sixth Afghan provincial capital on Monday following a weekend blitz across the north that saw urban centres fall in quick succession and the government struggle to keep the militants at bay, France24 writes. Insurgents entered Aibak without a fight after community elders pleaded with officials to spare the city from more violence. A Taliban spokesman confirmed the city had been taken.

Big data and evidence-based decision-making provide immense opportunities to improve health and well-being and prepare for the next crisis, if this force is applied for the good.

Non-essential travel from the US to the EU can continue for now despite a surge in US infections and lack of reciprocity, according to the latest European recommendation.

The EU said that Around 1,000 firefighters, 9 planes, and 200 vehicles have been sent to Greece from other European countries to help with the wildfires.

The Czech government delayed appointing a new head of its BIS counterintelligence agency on Monday (9 August) in a move seen as allowing Prime Minister Andrej Babis to keep the country's president on his side going into an October election.

The United States said it was up to Afghan security forces to defend the country after Taliban militants captured a sixth provincial capital on Monday (9 August), along with border towns and trade routes.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order imposing new measures aimed at punishing Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko as the United States steps up pressure against his government in coordinated action with the United Kingdom and Canada.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologised on Monday (9 August) for failures in tackling the devastating wildfires that have burned across Greece for the past week as the country counted the cost in lost homes and livelihoods.

The French morning ritual of a coffee and croissant became more complicated as people had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before taking a seat at their favourite cafe, though numerous eateries ignored the new rules.

World leaders, green groups and influencers reacted Monday to a "terrifying" UN climate science report with a mix of horror and hopefulness as the scale of the emergency dawned on many.

EU countries are stepping up their help to Greece to fight forest fires devastating its mainland and some islands, the European Commission said on Monday as it coordinated the assistance.

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo had been "manipulated" by outside forces and would not have fled abroad otherwise.

EU antitrust regulators have extended the deadline for a decision on Facebook's acquisition of U.S. customer service startup Kustomer by a week to Dec. 15, a European Commission filing showed on Monday.