⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Merkel talks to Lukashenko again: German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke again with Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday, stressing the need to let the United Nations and the European Commission provide aid to migrants stranded at Belarus’s border with Poland. Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller criticised Monday’s phone call between Merkel and Lukashenko, saying it was „not a good step“ and appeared to be „an acceptance of his choice“, referring to Lukashenko. Merkel also spoke by telephone to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki about the worrying situation on the border between Belarus and the EU, a German government spokesperson said on Wednesday. „The Chancellor stressed Germany’s full solidarity with Poland,“ added the spokesperson in a statement.
reuters.com, france24.com, news.trust.org
- Belarus brings some migrants in from cold at Polish border apnews.com
- Ukraine sends 8500 police to border with Belarus welt.de
- Estonia to build new barriers on Russian border politico.eu
- EU to send aid to migrants at Belarus border reuters.com
- Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri said the agency was working with Polish authorities to organise repatriations of up to 1,700 migrants to Iraq by charter flights in the coming weeks news.yahoo.com
- Trade between EU and Belarus is flourishing faz.net
Russia Ukraine conflict: Russia reinforces troops on Ukraine border; Sweden may send troops to Ukraine to train Armed Forces soldiers. sueddeutsche.de; ukrinform.net
EU wants to stop rainforest deforestation: The EU on Wednesday proposed a measure that would seek to restrict imports to “deforestation-free” goods and materials for countries in the bloc, in an effort to fight consumer trends that drive deforestation around the world. Importers of commodities including coffee, cocoa, soy, beef, palm oil and wood — as well as products made from those materials, such as furniture and chocolate — would be required to identify the geographic coordinates of the land where the materials were produced. To qualify as “deforestation-free,” the land cannot have been deforested or degraded since 31 December 2020. The EU Commission has also put forward new rules to crack down on the illegal shipment of waste to foreign countries, while easing procedures to trade recycled materials within the EU’s borders.
washingtonpost.com, euractiv.com
British F-35 fighter crashes in Mediterranean: A British F-35 fighter jet has crashed into the sea during a routine operation in the Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defence has said. The pilot ejected and has safely returned to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and an investigation has begun, the ministry added. It announced that an “urgent investigation” was underway into Wednesday’s incident, which involved no other aircraft or naval vessels from any other country.
bbc.com, independent.co.uk
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Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia: Ceasefire breach: On Wednesday, Armenia reported one soldier killed, 24 missing and 13 captured by the enemy. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry reported seven soldiers killed and ten wounded.
faz.net
EU’s Breton blasts Russia after missile strike on its own satellite: Pieces of a defunct satellite destroyed in a Russian missile test pose a risk to the EU’s own infrastructure in orbit and astronauts working at the International Space Station, the European Commission’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said Tuesday. “This anti-satellite weapon test has caused the generation of a significant amount of debris of a size that could endanger the European Union’s space activities as well as those of our member states,“ Breton said in an emailed statement.
politico.eu
WHO: Europe is only region with increasing Covid deaths: The World Health Organization (WHO) says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased.
apnews.com
- EU decision on Novavax Covid shot could come within weeks reuters.com
- Austria discusses lockdown for all faz.net
- Belgium reintroduces mandatory masks outdoors zeit.de
- Ireland imposes curfew on pubs and clubs as cases rise cnn.com
- Slovakia plans new restrictions on unvaccinated people euronews.com
- Czechia to introduce “Bavarian model” of Covid measures from Monday english.radio.cz
- Swedes will need vaccination certificate for indoor events from December zeit.de
Dark Patterns: EU countries to use Digital Services Act to ban mind tricks heise.de
Cybersecurity: Council of Europe adopts additional protocol to tackle cybercrime euractiv.com
Content moderation policies continue to face core dilemmas euractiv.com
Financial Stability Report: European Central Bank warns of ‘exuberance’ in housing, junk bonds and crypto assets ft.com
Alzheimer’s drug: European drugs regulator signals rejection likely for Biogen’s Aduhelm biopharmadive.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Switzerland to allow same-sex weddings: Same-sex couples can wed in Switzerland from 1 July next year, the government said on Wednesday, enacting the results of a groundbreaking referendum on the issue in September. Voters approved the „Marriage for All“ initiative by a nearly two-thirds majority, making Switzerland one of the last countries in Western Europe to legalise gay marriage.
nbcnews.com
French presidential hopeful Éric Zemmour begins race hate trial: Éric Zemmour, the far-right TV pundit who is preparing to run for French president claiming that Islam and immigration are destroying France, has gone on trial in Paris on charges of incitement to racial hatred. The case relates to remarks the 63-year-old polemicist made on television last year when he called unaccompanied child migrants “thieves, killers and rapists”.
theguardian.com
Austrian city swears in first-ever communist mayor: The city council in the Austrian city of Graz voted to elect Elke Kahr as its mayor on Wednesday, officially becoming the first communist leader of a major city in Austria. Kahr is a member of the Austrian Communist Party, which unexpectedly won the municipal election in Graz, with 28.9% of the vote, ahead of the centre-right People’s Party, with 25.7%.
dw.com
French police arrest two linked to ultra-right in anti-terrorism probe: Two people linked to France’s ultra-right movement have been arrested by agents from the DGSI intelligence service as part of an anti-terrorism probe, a judicial source said on Wednesday. Weapons and material related to the making of explosives were found at the home of one of the two suspects. Both suspects, who were seized by police on Tuesday, are from southwestern France.
reuters.com
Greeks hold peaceful march on anniversary of deadly Athens Polytechnic uprising: Some 20,000 people marched peacefully through Athens on Wednesday to mark the 48th anniversary of a bloody anti-dictatorship uprising in 1973, according to AP News.
greekherald.com.au
Italy: ISIS supporter with contacts to Germany arrested in Milan spiegel.de
Spain: Opposition fails to stop Sánchez government’s salary increase politico.eu
Cuba: Dissident Yunior Garcia flies to Spain dw.com
⊂ POLITJOBS ⊃
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⊂ LAST BUT NOT LEAST ⊃
Pope’s role in Vatican London building deal arises in court: Defence lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial accused prosecutors on Wednesday of defying a court order by withholding pieces of evidence — including an alleged interrogation of Pope Francis — as the pontiff’s own role in a flawed London property investment again came before the court. The trial concerns the Secretariat of State’s 350 million euro investment in a luxury London property development, much of it funded with donations from the faithful.
apnews.com