Europe
Greece, Turkey: Mediterranean crisis talks
Greece and Turkey were on the verge of military confrontation last August, after Turkey launched its seismic survey ship and a small naval fleet to explore for undersea oil and gas in Eastern…
France: Irish truck drivers might need Covid-19 tests
Large numbers of Irish trucks have begun transporting goods via ferries to France, to avoid delays on the more traditional route to continental Europe via Britain, which withdrew from EU trading rules on…
Germany: pragmatic Armin Laschet to succeed Merkel
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a centre-right party, has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader - sending a signal of continuity before the 26…
Germany: 300 bodies waiting for cremation
Caskets are stacked three high in the crematorium, piled up in empty offices, and stored in hallways. Many are sealed with plastic, others labelled ‘infection risk,’ ‘urgent’, or ‘Covid’. A surge of coronavirus…
Spain / Greece: extreme weather
Deep snow left by Storm Filomena turned to ice, disrupting transport and lowering temperatures to -25C (-13F). The elderly are warned to stay at home. At least seven people have died due to…
British EU residents in post-Brexit ‘travel chaos’
Days after a ‘mutant’ coronavirus strain ruined Christmas plans of holidaymakers on both sides of the Channel, red tape and confusion have raised hurdles for Britons attempting to return to their homes in…
Russia: aggression
Russian aggression has taken on many different forms. The most glaring example remains the undeclared and ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, which has cost over 14,000 lives and displaced millions. President Putin has…
Europe’s Covid Christmas
Across Europe there will be further lockdowns, curfews and travel bans as the number of people infected with Covid has increased. Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte summed it up when he told Italians…
Holy See: Christmas lighting-up ceremony
'Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort’, Pope Francis said at the Vatican’s traditional lighting ceremony: ‘Let there be light.’ A 30-metre-tall spruce was placed just…
Venice flooded again as new dam system fails
A massive new flood defence system called MOSE, aimed at protecting Venice's lagoon during high tide, was finally installed in October. This week St Mark's Square was again under water, after MOSE did…
