European Union

The EU, for its part, warned the Taliban that it would face being cut off by the international community if it seized power through violence.

The number of migrants irregularly entering the European Union by crossing the Western Balkans has almost doubled this year, EU border agency Frontex said, with the majority coming from Syria and Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Frontex said 22,600 migrants were detected irregulalry entering the EU via the Western Balkan route from January to July, an increase of 90 percent compared with the same period in 2020.

US broadcast company Discovery is threatening to bring legal action against the government in Poland after lawmakers there passed a controversial media law that tightens rules for foreign companies, Politico writes. The legislation proposes only allowing companies majority-owned by entities from the European Economic Area to hold broadcast licenses. That would exclude US-based Discovery, owner of TVN, one of Poland's most popular TV stations, and its all-news subsidiary TVN24.

Belarusian authorities have detained more than 20 people in the latest wave of arrests, continuing their sweeping crackdown on dissent a year after a disputed presidential election, human rights activists say, The Guardian writes. Belarus was rocked by protests since the 9 August 2020 re-election of the authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, to a sixth term in a vote that the opposition and the West rejected as a sham.

Prosecutors in Libya have issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, over suspected ties to Russian Wagner mercenaries, the BBC writes. A BBC World Service investigation has revealed links between the shadowy Wagner group's activities in Libya and war crimes committed against Libyan citizens.

The European Commission will present legislation to establish a common charger for mobile phones and other electronic devices within the 27-nation bloc in September, a person familiar with the matter said to Reuters. The move will affect iPhone maker Apple more than its rivals. IPhones and most of Apple's products are powered by its Lightning cable, whereas Android devices are powered by USB-C connectors.

On 30 August, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House. It's a unique opportunity to showcase why America should care about Ukraine.

France is preparing for a fifth weekend of anti-vaccine protests after previous ones left a trail of vandalism and fear.

The United States and Britain ordered Friday (13 August) the deployment of thousands of troops to Afghanistan to evacuate their nationals, as the Taliban overran more key regional cities in an offensive that has left the capital dangerously exposed.

The Afghan government should engage with the Taliban to reach an inclusive settlement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday (12 August) as the militant group made rapid gains amid spiralling violence and worries of a refugee crisis.

France's transport ministry hit the brakes on an order for the nation's army of motorbikers to get their machines tested every two years, after President Emmanuel Macron got wind of the plan.

The European Commission will next month present legislation to establish a common charger for mobile phones and other electronic devices within the 27-nation bloc, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday (12 August).

Blazes raged across northern Algeria on Thursday (12 August) as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean.

The European Commission has rejected a Spanish request to change the rules that underpin member states' electricity markets as power prices in the country hit record highs, Spain's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Thursday (12 August).

Turkish police detained dozens of people on Thursday (12 August) after a mob of angry men smashed up shops and cars believed to belong to Syrian migrants in the capital Ankara.

European Commision vice-president for values and transparency Vera Jourová slammed Poland's planned new media law on Thursday and called for an EU act to protect press freedom.

The European Union's top diplomat on Thursday called on the world's biggest economies to set tougher climate targets - including a commitment to eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions - in time for a global climate summit in November.

Roughly 45 Afghans employed by Denmark in the conflict-hit country will be offered temporary asylum as international troops withdraw, with other Nordic countries set to follow suit.

Six days after Italy made the Green Pass mandatory for many activities, people started protesting throughout the country, Il Corriere della Sera writes. The six largest trade unions also reacted to the fact teachers needed a Green Pass to teach at schools, calling it "a unilateral choice" and a "diktat". In Turin, 650 employees went on strike calling the need for a Green Pass for restaurants discriminatory.

The Italian island of Sicily may have registered the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe - 48.8°C (119.8°F), the BBC writes. Regional authorities reported the reading, which needs to be verified by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), near Syracuse on Wednesday. According to the WMO, the current official record in Europe is 48°C, registered in Athens, Greece, in 1977.