Europe News from WN Network

German court finds AfD pursues goals ‘against democracy’ 2024-05-13
Philenews

A German high court on Monday ruled that domestic security services could continue to treat the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a potentially extremist party, meaning they retain the right to keep it under surveillance. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV),...

photo: AP / Michael Sohn

Thousands evacuated as Russia scores major gains in Ukraine’s Kharkiv 2024-05-13
Press TV

Thousands of Ukrainians have been evacuated from a border town as Russian forces are making progress in the Kharkiv region. On Sunday, Russia said it had captured four more villages in the Kharkiv region. Russia’s defense ministry said its troops had “advanced deeply into the enemy defenses”, a day...

photo: AP / Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov Telegram channel via AP

Catalan separatist parties lose majority in regional elections in Spain 2024-05-13
Anadolu Agency

Separatist parties in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region lost their majority in elections Sunday, with the Socialist Party winning the biggest vote. “This opens a new era for all Catalan residents — whatever they think, whatever language they speak and wherever they come...

photo: AP / Joan Mateu Parra

A new generation of batteries may bolster the EU’s green ambitions 2024-05-13
CyprusMail

By Anthony King A green industrial future for Europe may depend on an element that is part of a household staple: table salt. Dr John Abou-Rjeily, a researcher at Tiamat Energy in France, is using sodium to develop rechargeable batteries. Sodium is a part of sodium chloride, an ionic compound that...

photo: Creative Commons / Arria Belli

Lithuania’s Nauseda wins first round of presidential election 2024-05-13
Al Jazeera

Incumbent Gitanas Nauseda has won the first round of voting in Lithuania’s presidential election, putting him on track for a second and final term in office. With nearly all of the votes counted, former banker Nauseda was on 46 percent, just short of the overall majority needed for a first-round...

photo: AP / Mindaugas Kulbis

Thousands of Georgians defy warnings to join protest against ‘Russia’ bill 2024-05-13
Al Jazeera

Thousands of Georgians have joined new protests in Tbilisi against a Russian-styled “foreign agents” bill, as the government insisted it would push ahead with the legislation even after some of the largest protests since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Protesters began gathering at about...

photo: AP / Zurab Tsertsvadze

EU's Top Port States Are Building an Anti-Cocaine Alliance 2024-05-13
The Maritime Executive

The emergence of Europe as a growing and high-priced market for cocaine has forced authorities to intensify the fight against South America cartels. International organized crime syndicates use the EU's major seaports for drug trafficking at an industrial scale, as shown by an exponential increase...

photo: Creative Commons

China’s Xi Jinping highlights Europe’s divisions ahead of expected Putin visit 2024-05-13
CNN

Xi Jinping may have started his recent European trip by fielding tough questions in France about trade and Russia’s war in Ukraine, but the Chinese leader ended the sojourn late last week by projecting a stark message: that despite frictions with much of the continent, China still has fans in some...

photo: AP / Andy Wong

Russia says it has captured 5 villages in northeast Ukraine as more than 1,700 civilians flee 2024-05-12
Korea Times

Tetiana, 82, cries with her daughter as she is evacuated from Vovchansk, Ukraine, May 11. Her husband was killed in their house after a Russian airstrike on the city. AP-Yonhap Moscow's forces captured five villages in a renewed ground assault in northeastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry...

photo: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka

Russia attempts ground offensive into Ukraine’s Kharkiv 2024-05-10
Al Jazeera

Russian forces attempted an armoured ground invasion of Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region with artillery and guided aerial bombs, Ukrainian officials have said. On Friday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces tried to breach Ukrainian defences near the town of Vovchansk with...

photo: AP / Evgeniy Maloletka