Tag Archives: Europe

Radio Liechtenstein reports: The state parliament has cleared the way for marriage for everyone in Liechtenstein. The second readings of various laws that needed to be adjusted were successfully carried out. This will allow Liechtenstein to marry same-sex couples like its neighboring countries. Read the full article. The snippet above is via Google Translate as the site is in German. …

Reuters reports: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition after he was shot in a “politically motivated” assassination attempt when leaving a government meeting on Wednesday, the interior minister said. The gunman shot Fico, 59, five times, leaving the prime minister in critical condition and still undergoing surgery hours later on Wednesday evening, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj …

The Associated Press reports: Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. The incident took place in the town of Handlova, some 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, according to the news television station TA3. A suspect has been detained, it said. Deputy speaker of parliament Lubos Blaha confirmed the …

Reuters reports: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday he had decided to continue in office, days after abruptly announcing he was considering his future following the launch of a corruption investigation against his wife. The centre-left prime minister, 52, had surprised foes and allies alike when he said on Wednesday he was taking time from public duty to …

Reuters reports: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday he will suspend public duties until next week to decide whether he wants to continue leading the government after a court launched a business corruption probe into his wife’s private dealings. Sanchez, who last year secured another term for his Socialist party as leader of a minority coalition government, said …

The Associated Press reports: Marijuana campaigners in Germany lit celebratory joints on Monday as the country liberalized rules on cannabis to allow possession of small amounts. The German Cannabis Association, which campaigned for the new law, staged a “smoke-in” at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate when the law took effect at midnight. Other public consumption events were scheduled throughout the country. …

Reuters reports: Sweden is expected to formally join NATO in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced a complete rethink of its national security policy and the realisation the alliance offered the best guarantee of safety. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington to hand over the final documentation, with the White House saying in …

Reuters reports: France on Monday enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups as historic and harshly criticised by anti-abortion groups. MPs and senators overwhelmingly backed the move, by 780 votes against 72, in a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace, just …

Courthouse News reports: A divided Bundestag on Friday voted to make Germany the first major European Union country to legalize the possession and purchase of small amounts of cannabis for recreational purposes. Starting April 1, people 18 and older will be able to grow up to three marijuana plants and possess up to 25 grams (about 1 ounce) of cannabis …

Reuters reports: Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Friday at the biggest rally against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government for years, after a sex-abuse case pardon by President Katalin Novak caused public uproar and led to her resignation. Conservative Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has sought to defuse the week-old scandal that brought down …

Reuters reports: Greece’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children and comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBT community …

The Associated Press reports: An LGBTQ rights activist in Poland said Tuesday that he believes it’s a “new beginning” in Poland after a host on state television apologized on air for the homophobic propaganda aired by state media in recent years. “It took me by surprise,” said Bart Staszewski, one of two activists invited on air Sunday evening when the …

Bloomberg News reports: A record 18 out of NATO’s 31 countries are expected to meet the alliance’s defense spending goal this year, a commitment Donald Trump has been pushing for in his White House reelection campaign. “European allies are spending more” toward the bloc’s target to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s new law on “protecting national sovereignty”, which the ruling Fidesz party said was necessary to protect against foreign political interference, violates European Union law, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The Commission said it had sent Hungary a formal notice that it would open an infringement procedure over the law, passed in December, which it said violated …

ABC News reports: Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland’s presidential election Sunday and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto [photo] in a runoff next month. The vote largely centered on the Nordic nation’s new role as a NATO front-line country with Russia, and the security situation in Europe, particularly Russia’s assault on Ukraine. With …

Reuters reports: Hungary’s far-right Our Homeland party would lay claim to a western region of Ukraine that is home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians if Ukraine loses its statehood due to Russia’s invasion, the party’s leader said late on Saturday. Our Homeland leader Laszlo Toroczkai made the remarks at a conference where the party, which has six lawmakers in the …

The Washington Post reports: After 20 months of demands, obstruction and delay, the Turkish parliament on Tuesday night voted in favor of Sweden joining NATO, clearing one of the final hurdles for a major expansion of the military alliance set in motion by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still needs to sign the ratification document. Assuming …

The Associated Press reports: Greece’s center-right government said Thursday it would fulfill a commitment to legalize same-sex marriage, sidestepping staunch opposition from the country’s influential Orthodox Church. The legislation would be brought to parliament during the house’s current term, which ends in 2027. The statement comes after the Church’s governing Holy Synod issued a 1,500-word opinion late Wednesday, expressing strong …

The BBC reports: A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity. About 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed. The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October. Images and …

The Washington Post reports: In a cathartic moment for many in Poland, centrist political veteran Donald Tusk got the nod on Monday to be the country’s next prime minister, marking the end of eight years of right-wing nationalist rule and a dramatic shift in the European political landscape. Tusk’s alliance secured a majority in October elections with a promise to …