UN: Over 2.5K Migrants Lost to the Mediterranean in 2023 On Thursday, the UN's refugee agency said that more than 2.5K people had died or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean between Jan. 1 and Sept. 24.... Social issues
Europe's Automakers Seek to Match PRC EV Prowess During Munich's IAA ("Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung") mobility show, European carmakers, including Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes Benz, and BMW, announced plans to rival Chinese companies in making affordable electric vehicles (EVs). Europe
Europe Cracks Down on 'Direct Action' Climate Protests European countries are reportedly clamping down on "direct action" climate change protesters who have made headlines recently for high-profile acts including defacing famous art and blocking traffic. Social issues
HSBC Doubles Profits as Interest Rates Soar On Tuesday, HSBC announced its pre-tax profits more than doubled in the first half of 2023 — from $8.7B in 2022 to $21.7B this year — amid heightened interest rates around the world. Europe
UEFA Bans Juventus From European Competition Next Year On Friday, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) banned Italian soccer club Juventus from European competition next season over a false accounting case that deducted 10 points from the Serie A club and disqualified it from the Champions League. World
Amsterdam Bans Cruise Ships In an effort to curb an unsustainable number of visitors and limit pollution, Amsterdam's city council voted to ban cruise ships from entering its city center ports. Accordingly, the central cruise terminal on the River IJ near Amsterdam's main train station will close. Social issues
Klimt Painting Sells for Record $108M On Tuesday, Gustav Klimt's painting titled Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) became the most valuable work of art to ever be sold at a European auction, fetching $108M (£85.3M) at Sotheby's in London. Culture
Bank of England Hikes Interest Rates to 5% UK interest rates reached a 15-year high Thursday after the Bank of England (BoE) raised the key rate by half a percentage point to 5%. This came just one day after new data showed inflation was still higher than anticipated, sitting at 8.7% in May. Money
Turkmenistan Moves to Curb Methane Emissions On Tuesday, Turkmenistan's Pres. Serdar Berdimuhamedov launched two initiatives, including one targeting oil and gas industries' colossal methane leaks, to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Europe
EU Agrees on Migration, Asylum Reforms On Thursday, the EU agreed to reforms of its migration and asylum laws that would ease the pressure on frontline countries after 12 hours of negotiations in Luxembourg and several years of disagreement. Politics
UN: 500 Migrants Adrift in Mediterranean On Thursday, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that a Europe-bound vessel from Libya carrying approximately 500 migrants is in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, alleging that Italian and Maltese authorities have so far not responded to rescue calls. Social issues
EU Seeks Court Backing in $14B Apple Tax Fight EU competition regulators appealed to the union's highest court on Tuesday to override a lower court decision and make Apple pay €13B (US$14.3B) in Irish back taxes. Europe
Audit Finds European Central Bank Not Adequately Assessing Credit Risk The European Court of Auditors (ECA) released a report on the European Central Bank (ECB) on Friday, concluding that its supervisors are lax towards the highest-risk lenders, applying rules inconsistently and not clearly linking risks to the capital requirements imposed. Europe
EU Sanctions Relatives of Syria’s al-Assad Over Alleged Drugs Trafficking The EU has imposed sanctions on relatives of Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad over their alleged involvement in the illicit production and trafficking of drugs, specifically Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine that has commonly been found in the Middle East in recent years. Politics
Study: EU Plan to Ban Toxic Chemicals Proving Ineffective According to a study released on Tuesday, the European Commission's plan to ban up to 7K of the most dangerous chemicals by 2030 is failing badly. Social issues
Kremlin Critic Jailed For 25 Years Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Kremlin critic who has previously survived two suspected poisoning attempts, was on Monday sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment after publicly condemning Moscow's war in Ukraine. He was detained last year and charged with treason, spreading fake news about the Russ... Russia
Poland, Hungary Ban Grain Imports From Ukraine Poland and Hungary have imposed a temporary ban on imports of grain and food products from Ukraine, citing the need to protect struggling local farmers after a flood of supply depressed prices across the region.... Ukraine
US Rep. Greene Under Fire for Defending Alleged Ukraine Doc Leaker US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) came under fire this week after defending 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, the suspect in the criminal case over leaked Pentagon documents that surfaced on social media platforms in the last few weeks.... Ukraine
Ukraine Bans Athletes from Competing Against Russia and Belarus Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports on Friday banned its country's athletes and national teams from competing in any tournament where Russian and Belarusian athletes are also taking part. The ban applies to Olympic and non-Olympic sports, as well as competitions for sporting events for disab... Ukraine
European Space Agency Launches Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moons The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched its 'Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer' (Juice) mission on an Ariane 5 rocket launched from French Guiana on Friday. The liftoff marks the start of a trek to explore the oceans on Jupiter's icy moons.... Communication
European Privacy Watchdog Creates ChatGPT Task Force The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), a body that unites Europe's national privacy watchdogs, announced on Thursday that it had set up a task force to study ChatGPT, an important first step in developing privacy guidelines for chatbots.... Artificial Intelligence
Russia Won't 'Tolerate' US Pressure Over WSJ Reporter, Says Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Russia was considering granting US diplomats consular access to Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges — but warned that Moscow 'will not tolerate' any attempts from t... Weapons
US Arrests Suspect in Connection to Ukraine Doc Leak On Thursday, the US arrested 21-year-old Air National Guard Jack Teixeira in connection to a leak of dozens of classified US military documents detailing intelligence on the war in Ukraine and other sensitive information. The Massachusetts resident is reportedly due to appear in court Friday.... Russia
Leaked US Document: Egypt Secretly Planned to Supply Rockets to Russia Egypt, a key US ally in the Middle East, sought to supply Russia with 40K rockets in addition to artillery shells and gunpowder, according to a leaked US intelligence document acquired by the Washington Post this week.... Weapons
Macron Outlines Need for 'European Sovereignty' On Tuesday, French Pres. Emmanuel Macron outlined his vision of greater 'European sovereignty' in a keynote speech at the Nexus Institute in The Hague during a visit to the Netherlands.... Taiwan
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/KVDZU6TLAZJ3XIFV5YRH5KVPAA.jpg)
