European Union

Iran fired two waves of missile attacks on two different US military air bases in Iraq in retaliation against the assassination of Iranian top general Qassem Suleimani. So far, it seems that there were no casualties. Nevertheless, Iranian state TV claimed 80 people died in the attacks. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it was an act of self defence within the boundaries of international law.

Poland's left-wing parties on Tuesday (7 January) approved Robert Biedron, an openly gay politician, as their candidate in the May presidential election.

Spain's parliament on Tuesday (7 January) narrowly confirmed Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez as premier for another term, paving the way for the country's first-ever coalition government since its return to democracy in the 1970s.

As EU policymakers worry about global tensions threatening raw material imports, one option could be getting more from their own backyard.

The EU's foreign policy chief - along with French, German, Italian and British foreign ministers - have rejected Turkey's troop deployment in Libya.

Legal action related to climate change is set to grow considerably in the next few years - especially after a largely-overlooked ruling over Christmas by a Dutch court forced the government to reduce its emission by 25 percent by 2020.

A nation, Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, is not capable of altruism. Even less so, if such a group has formed on the basis of strong emotions and casts itself as the "saviour of the nation".

I am a strong Atlanticist, but how can the US expect its allies to follow when it gives them no idea where they are being led?

An Irish Supreme Court judge will participate in a protest on Saturday in Warsaw in support of Polish colleagues who say their independence is being systematically eroded by the country's nationalist government, the Irish Times reported. Justice John MacMenamin will represent the Association of Judges of Ireland (AJI). Dutch judges also plan to participate. In 2018 an Irish judge raised concerns over Polish judicial independence in an extradition case.

Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, attended the government's national security council to tell them how Iran should retaliate for the killing of general Qassem Suleimani, the New York Times reports. Khamenei said the reprisal should be a direct and proportional attack on American interests, carried out openly by Iranian forces. So far, Iran has mostly used proxy groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

The EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan said the EU considers the US investigation into the French digital tax as a "European matter", and confirmed that the "EU will act and react as one" after his visit to Paris on Tuesday. Hogan will travel to Washington next week for talks. US president Donald Trump has threatened to impose punitive sanctions on French luxury goods after France taxing digital tech giants.

An appeals court in Malta on Tuesday overturned a conviction for a German captain of a migrant rescue ship, Deutsche Welle reported. Claus Peter Reisch was found guilty in May for not having the correct ship registration to enter Maltese waters when he transported migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The appeals court ruled that the captain did not have the specific intent to break the law.

Contrary to what president Donald Trump said on Twitter, US defence secretary Mark Esper has acknowlegded that bombing cultural heritage sites in Iran would be a war crime, the New York Times writes. "We will follow the laws of armed conflict," Esper said at a news briefing. On Monday Republican senator Lindsey Graham said "We're not at war with the culture of the Iranian people."

A British teenager convicted of falsely accusing 12 Israelis of gang-rape in Cyprus said she would go to the European Court of Human Rights to clear her name, the Guardian reported. On Tuesday, the 19-year-old student received a suspended jail sentence in a case that sparked criticism in Britian. Her lawyers called it a "sad and tragic case" for a woman whose crime had been to report a sexual assault.

Consumers’ preferences must be considered as the EU strives to become a leader in tackling climate change and the new European Commission is devising a Green Deal for Europe. The role of consumers in decarbonising the heating sector is especially important as the new EU legislative cycle begins.

The European Commission will be represented by its President at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) towards the end of January, signalling the closer ties Ursula von der Leyen has with the exclusive gathering, compared with her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker.

Polish mobile operator Play Communications is planning to roll out a 5G network in the northern city of Gdynia, its chief executive said, as the country’s telcoms providers rush to be the first to offer commercial next generation services.

The new Austrian coalition government of conservatives and greens was sworn in on Tuesday by president Alexander van der Bellen. While Sebastian Kurz, the chancellor, is male, in total nine of the 17 ministers are women. In Austria it is the first time the Green Party has been part of the government.

The Party of European Socialists (PES), the EU's second-largest political family, usually holds its Congress after the EU elections in autumn. However, currently, there are only rumours that it’s going to take place at some point in spring.

Greece will flag concerns over Turkey's efforts to impose its authority on the eastern Mediterranean at a meeting on Tuesday between Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and US president Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported. Greece is concerned that Turkey could drill for oil and gas in its waters after Ankara sealed a deal with Libya in December. A gas pipeline agreement between Greece, Israel and Cyprus signed last week irks Turkey.