Europe

World News

Slovakia's elections could have big implications for Europe and war in Ukraine

4:41pm September 29, 2023

by Rob Schmitz

Slovakia, a member of both NATO and the EU, holds national elections on Saturday. The likely winner is an party that rejects NATO's military support of Ukraine and is sympathetic toward Russia.

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Migrants are seen standing in Lampedusa's migrant reception center on Sept. 14. The reception center in Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa has been overwhelmed in recent weeks with transferring to the mainland thousands of migrants arriving on small, flimsy boats.

World News

More than 2,500 migrants crossing the Mediterranean died or went missing this year

2:45pm September 29, 2023

by Emma Bowman

The staggering toll increased more than 60% from last year, when fewer migrants attempted the dangerous journey to Europe. This year so far, the majority of migrants are arriving in Italy.

The famous Sycamore Gap tree along Hadrian's Wall in northern England is seen in June, at top, and the new landscape on Thursday after someone cut the tree down.

Despair flows after England's Sycamore Gap tree is cut down. Could it regrow?

1:56pm September 29, 2023

The famous tree in northern England is believed to have been around 200 years old. Efforts are under way to salvage it through regrowth or grafting — or starting over from a new seed.

Recent coups in Africa have an effect on at least 1 country in Europe: France

5:14am September 29, 2023

by Eleanor Beardsley

A series of coups in Francophone Africa has led to French troops and diplomats being expelled from their former colonies.

Lebanese-Armenian protesters hold flares with the colors of the Armenian flag near the Azerbaijani Embassy in Ain Aar, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.

World News

The fall of an enclave in Azerbaijan stuns the Armenian diaspora, shattering a dream

12:36am September 29, 2023

by The Associated Press

The swift fall of the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani troops and exodus of much of its population has stunned the large Armenian diaspora around the world.

Migrants in Lampedusa's Porto Vecchio wait to be transferred by ferry to Porto Empedocle, from where they will be sent to reception centers across the country, Sept. 22. Most of them arrived in the previous week, a period when Lampedusa declared a state of emergency due to an influx of about 7,000 migrants in a few days.

World News

On Lampedusa, there's sympathy for migrants — as long as they don't stay

11:24am September 28, 2023

by Ruth Sherlock

Some 12,000 migrants — more than twice the population of this island — arrived in a single week this month. Islanders showed compassion, but prefer that any newcomers leave as quickly as possible.

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World News

Tens of thousands of Armenians flee enclave after Azerbaijani forces take over

4:38pm September 27, 2023

by Philip Reeves

Following the victory of Azerbaijani forces, tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh for sanctuary in Armenia.

European Union pressured to stop the flood of foreign investment in soccer clubs

6:54am September 27, 2023

by H.J. Mai

Money from oil-rich Gulf nations has distorted the balance of power among European soccer clubs. Now there's a push to regulate outside money coming into the sport.

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Politics & Government

Sen. Peters returns from the Armenian border, where he witnessed a refugee crisis

5:14am September 27, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan about the influx of ethnic Armenian refugees into Armenia fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan seized the disputed region.

A screen in a Moscow courtroom shows jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as he arrives to listen to a hearing via video on Tuesday. An appeals court has upheld his 19-year prison sentence.

World News

Russian appeals court upholds opposition leader Alexei Navalny's 19-year prison term

6:35pm September 26, 2023

by James Doubek

Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says the charges against him are politically motivated.