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Gavin Blackburn

Europe News

Slovakia to vote in July referendum on life payments for politicians

Slovak prime ministers and parliament speakers who served at least two terms in office receive a lifelong payment, a monthly sum that equals the salaries of lawmakers in Parliament.

Iran

Trump refuses to lift Hormuz blockade until Iran deal agreed

Trump’s announcement comes after Iran said earlier it would not be sending a delegation to participate in the second round of high-stakes peace talks in Islamabad that were set to take place on Monday.

Europe News

France and Poland discuss boosted defence ties as US wavers on Europe

One theme Macron has repeatedly come back to is a "European preference" for military procurement to ensure greater independence and self-reliance on the continent.

USA

FBI director files $250-million defamation suit against US magazine

According to The Atlantic, Patel's job as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is in jeopardy in part because of what it said were "bouts of excessive drinking" and "unexplained absences".

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Europe News

Whale stranded on German coast swims off and gets stuck again

The plan was to lift the whale from the seabed using inflatable cushions and transport it with pontoons back to the North Sea or possibly as far as the Atlantic Ocean.

Spain

Migrants rush to apply under Spain's new mass legalisation programme

Spain's position sharply differs from prevailing attitudes on immigration in Europe, where many governments have been trying to curb arrivals and step up deportations.

Turkey

Turkey arrests 90 people with suspected links to Islamic State

Authorities have not officially connected the arrests to a shootout outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on 7 April in which two police officers were wounded.

Europe News

UK PM Starmer admits Mandelson envoy appointment was a mistake

UK police are investigating allegations of misconduct in office by Mandelson, 72, when he was a Labour minister more than 15 years ago. He was arrested and released in February.

Europe News

Europol sleuths trace 45 Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly moved out of their country and to Russia, according to officials and independent experts.

Europe News

UN experts warn of human rights abuses in Belarus' prison system

There are more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarusian jails, many arrested after a disputed 2020 election that triggered widespread protests.

Europe News

Who is Rumen Radev, the former pilot who wants to give Bulgaria wings?

Bulgaria's former president hailed a "victory of hope" after his Progressive Bulgaria coalition topped the polls in Sunday’s election, the eighth such parliamentary vote in five years.

Europe News

Trial of men accused of sending exploding parcels for Russia starts

Investigators found that two test parcels had been sent to the United States and Canada, while two others intended for those countries were found in Amsterdam.

Europe News

'I understand when you say no to war,' Brazil's Lula tells Spain's PM

Lula and Sánchez are both outspoken in their criticism of US President Donald Trump, who has threatened both with punitive tariffs.

Iran

US and Iran announce Strait of Hormuz open, Trump hints at wider deal

Iran and US declare Strait of Hormuz "completely open," but Iran adds that passage is on a "coordinated route" set by Tehran.

Lebanon

Israel says military operation against Hezbollah 'still not complete'

US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire on Friday after a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades.

Bangladesh

Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead and missing in shipwrecks in 2025

The Rohingya mainly leave from huge camps in Bangladesh, where more than 1 million refugees forced to flee across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine state live in squalid conditions.

Europe News

Swedish rights groups slam 'honest living' criteria for migrants

The Swedish Refugee Law Centre, an organisation that provides legal assistance to asylum seekers, says the proposals will make the process for residence permits unpredictable.

United Kingdom

Three charged over arson attempt on Persian-language TV channel in UK

Iran International is one of several Persian‑language outlets critical of Iran's clerical leadership operating from abroad.

Europe News

Philippine leader says corruption scandal suspect arrested in Prague

The scale of the anomalies and news reports that showed the lavish lifestyles of some of the suspects sparked anti-corruption protests last year in a country where millions still live in poverty.

North Korea

China and Russia ties driving North Korean economic recovery

China has long been the diplomatically isolated country's main economic backer, though Pyongyang has also drawn closer to Moscow since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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