The European Union is warning that severe drought will worsen in Europe over the next few months, as hot and dry weather persists. A new report says up to 50 percent of the continent could be affected. The severest drought affecting Europe in decades sees water levels in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs running low; dents […]

A bird flu outbreak on one of the UK’s most important habitats, which could potentially kill tens of thousands of seabirds, has been branded an “unprecedented wildlife tragedy.” The National Trust is calling for urgent action to protect declining seabird colonies on the Farne Islands.

Across southern Europe, emergency services continue to battle wildfires amid mass evacuations. In Greece, firefighters struggled to contain a large wildfire that threatened hillside suburbs outside Athens. And Portugal has reported more than 1,000 deaths due to the current heat wave.

Ukrainian forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Black Sea island on Thursday in a defiant act against Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian forces are trying to consolidate control in the Luhansk region and preparing for a wider offensive. The regional governor urges civilians to evacuate to save lives and enable the Ukrainian army to better […]

Following last night’s exit of two senior Cabinet ministers and todays’ further resignations, we find out what the opinion is among the public on whether Boris Johnson should stay or go.

A woman died and a man is fighting for life after a gas explosion in Birmingham. The explosion was so powerful that a terraced house was completely destroyed, with debris blasted to the other side of the street and neighbouring properties damaged.

The world-famous Glastonbury Festival has finally returned after three years. This year is also its 50th anniversary. Hundreds of festival-goers queued for the official opening this morning. But attendees have to face transport disruption caused by the biggest rail strike in 30 years.

Wildfires are sweeping through parts of Spain amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe. High temperature and low humidity are making it even harder to bring them under control. The temperature in Spain has broken records for the warmest early summer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as the first flight was expected to depart Tuesday evening. He accused lawyers representing migrants of undermining the government’s efforts to stop illegal and dangerous migration.

People in Denmark went to the polls on Wednesday for a vote that could see Denmark join the EU’s common defense policy—marking a turnaround from the country’s 30-year held position to opt-out. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and with their Nordic neighbours signing up for NATO, many Danes are now mulling closer defence links with their European allies.

A 32-year-old French journalist was killed in Ukraine by Russian shelling. Local officials said the journalist insisted on boarding a vehicle into a combat zone in the Luhansk region. Ukrainian authorities will investigate the death.

A Conservative MP said parents whose children identify as non-binary or trans should “push back” and tell them to be “proud of who they are” as MPs debated a public petition on making non-binary a legally-recognized gender identity in the U.K.

EU member states have so far failed in their efforts to pressure Hungary to lift its veto of a proposed oil embargo on Russia. Lithuania said the bloc was being “held hostage by one member state.” If imposed, the oil ban would be the harshest sanction yet imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals of mirroring the fascism and tyranny of Nazi Germany, saying their invasion of Ukraine is bringing dishonour to Russia’s proud military past. He rejects Putin’s claim that the West is preparing to invade Russia as a fairytale. He also says Putin has lost in […]

The combined forces of the pandemic lockdown and the war in Ukraine have sent cooking oil prices spiraling. Fish and chips shops in Britain have seen the price of sunflower oil nearly double. Experts say cooking oil prices could plateau in autumn, but the rising costs of energy and fertilizer may still push them higher.

French President Emmanuel Macron was reelected on Sunday, though his share of the vote dropped and the turnout was the lowest for over 50 years. He acknowledged those who voted for him to block nationalist Marine Le Pen from winning. Macron is facing an even more divided France as Le Pen supporters and left-wing voters now turn their focus […]

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he hopes to complete a free trade deal with India by the end of the year. The move is to lay a foundation to cut dependency on foreign energy imports, following the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Prime Minister has indicated that a post-Brexit trade deal with India will include […]

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has set out his vision for schools over the next decade. The long-awaited schools white paper details higher targets and minimum weekly teaching hours. The government announced students who are at risk of falling behind will get targeted support with five billion pounds to be invested into additional tutoring in England.

A Ukrainian family of 10 is moving into a home near Cambridge after nearly three weeks of traveling to escape the war. The oldest member of the family is a 90-year-old great-grandma while the youngest is only ten. Their new home is provided by a businessman who will also be their new neighbor.

Russian Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to nine more years. A judge convicted him of fraud and contempt of court. Critics see the trial as an attempt to keep President Vladimir Putin’s most ardent foe in prison for as long as possible.

Britain has accused Russia of spreading “propaganda” to distract from its atrocities in Ukraine after a prank call with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace appeared online. The Kremlin has been blamed for hoax calls with three Cabinet ministers, as officials appear to struggle to get clips removed from YouTube.

A London couple shed tears of joy as they finally reunited with their one-year-old son in Poland. He had been staying with his dad’s family when the war broke out in Ukraine and was evacuated from the war zone. Another couple are frustrated with the visa scheme after driving from Reading to Poland to pick their family […]

A Cabinet minister says nearly 800 Ukrainians have already got a UK visa, and there are more appointments available as the government accelerates visa processing. Kyiv’s ambassador calls for the government to ease some requirements.

Speaking via video link to an emergency session of the European Parliament, the Ukrainian president urged the EU on Tuesday in his words, to “prove that you are with us.” The day before, he signed an application to join the bloc. While some top EU officials expressed support, one expert warns such a promise could […]

10,000 tube workers in London went on strike on Tuesday. The action is affecting the entire network with all lines suspended or part suspended. There’s another 24-hour strike looming on Thursday. Union members are worried that their generous pension might be reduced, but Transport for London says it hasn’t made any such proposal.

A pterodactyl fossil dating back more than 170 million years has been unveiled at the National Museum of Scotland. The prehistoric specimen has been hailed as the best-preserved skeleton of a pterosaur and the largest ever discovered from the Jurassic period. Experts describe it as the “discovery of the century.”

The UK has decided to sanction five Russian banks and three billionaire friends of President Vladimir Putin as a response to Moscow’s plan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Russian President seems to want to start a full-scale invasion and if he persists, there will be more sanctions. He also says the UK is ready to […]

A third strong storm in a week batters Britain. Though Storm Franklin is not as strong or deadly as Eunice, it brings about over 150 flood warnings. Some rivers burst their banks and some homes have to be evacuated. New storms also make the work to restore power even harder and there are still over 30,000 […]

World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic broke his silence about being deported from Australia earlier this year ahead of the Australian Open. He says he is never against vaccination but he supports people’s freedom to choose what to put in their body. He also says he’s ready to miss more Grand Slam competitions if […]

Despite Russia’s military build-up and warning from the West of an imminent invasion, many residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv say they are not too worried. There appeared to be no signs of panic buying or mass exodus on the weekend. Although some say they are making preparations and are planning to leave the city.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed the government’s delayed plan to reduce the NHS waiting list, which built up to six million during the pandemic. He pledged to recruit 15,000 health workers by the end of March and eliminate waits of longer than a year for elective care. But critics say parts of the plan are not […]

As Western leaders are concerned over an escalation in the Ukraine crisis, how does Ukraine’s military fare against Russia’s? While Ukraine’s armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned, military experts say they would be capable of mounting significant resistance if Russia were to launch a large-scale invasion.

Britain says it will back a European Union case against China at the World Trade Organization over Beijing’s alleged curbs on Lithuania. The Trade Secretary referred to Beijing’s alleged move as “coercive trading practices.”

From a giant origami glowing red tiger to illuminated humanoids leaping to the future—it’s all part of Battersea Power Station’s light festival. One of six exhibits this year, it combines ancient methods of lantern-making with cutting-edge design and technology, as the festival returns to London for its second outing.

A large-scale study shows the unprecedented level of Omicron infection in England a few weeks ago. The infection rate reached its peak on Jan. 5, and then plateaued. The study shows two-thirds of those who tested positive for Omicron had COVID-19 previously.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he welcomes a Met Police investigation into some of the gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall during lockdowns. Police say they’ve been handed some information from Sue Gray’s ongoing investigation. It comes after Downing Street said the prime minister had briefly attended his own surprise birthday celebration in June 2020 […]

The Austrian government has revised its plans for a strict vaccine mandate. It says the measure would now apply to everyone from the age of 18, instead of 14 as previously intended. Meanwhile, the French parliament has approved new plans for a Vaccine Pass barring unvaccinated people from entering hospitality and other public venues. Both […]

A government minister is calling for people to wait for the result of the partygate investigation. He said Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not resign over the scandal but will let himself be questioned by parliament. Reports also suggest the Prime Minister will overhaul his top team to address the culture that led to partygate, […]

The lives of children across the world have been changed profoundly during the pandemic in the last two years. The children’s organisation UNICEF says all children—of all ages and in all countries—are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts. Researchers found that the disruption of routines caused some children’s educational attainment to drop and […]

Health experts are discussing the world emerging from the pandemic—with the U.K. being one of the first countries to see Covid-19 become part of life like the common cold. The driving factors behind the U.K. leading this charge are the accelerated vaccination campaign and natural immunity from many Brits already having had Covid-19.

The Omicron variant is spreading quickly across Europe. In the first week of the new year, authorities reported more than 7 million new cases. The World Health Organisation says more than half the European population could be infected with Omicron within eight weeks, and COVID-19 has not become endemic yet.

France saw the biggest protest since mid-December against the government’s covid-19 policies on the weekend. Many denounced President Emmanuel Macron’s recent comments that unvaccinated people are unworthy of being considered citizens. People in other European countries also came out to express their opposition to health passes, vaccine mandates, and other restrictions.

Britain’s official COVID-19 death toll has now passed 150,000. As quarantine requirements are causing staff shortages, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to decide whether to cut isolation time to five days. And NHS bosses are concerned that the vaccine mandate for front-line staff will make staff shortages worse.

French government officials vowed to enact by mid-January a law to block unvaccinated people from hospitality venues, despite the legislation hitting a procedural hitch in parliament overnight. The new law, which would remove the option of showing a negative test result instead of having the jabs, has the backing of several parties but is facing […]

Nearly 3,000 passengers were evacuated from a German cruise ship in Lisbon due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Everyone onboard was fully-vaccinated and provided a negative PCR test before embarking. Several other cruise ships were forced to change their routes due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

2021 has seen a vast influx of illegal immigration into Europe, with some countries reaching record numbers. Conflict in the Middle East and underlying tension between Belarus and the EU have led many to seek a life outside their own countries and embark on dangerous journeys to enter Europe.

The government has confirmed there will be no extra restrictions in England before New Year’s Day, as the health secretary says data hasn’t changed over the Christmas period. Over 36,000 people got their jabs on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, when the other three UK nations brought in further restrictions.

Wales is to introduce new restrictions from Boxing Day to tackle the Omicron variant. No large events will be allowed, gatherings in hospitality will need to follow the rule of six, and two-metre social distancing will return. Those who fail to work from home without good reason will be fined.

U.K. government advisers say there is insufficient data to show the severity of the Omicron variant. And that they expect to have that data in around two to three weeks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in his first major speech to parliament today presented the new government’s agenda for the next four years. The priorities are beating the pandemic and transforming the German economy.

In Germany, the head of a Berlin hospital calls the coming vaccine mandate for health care staff “not helpful.” From March, all health care workers in Germany need to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The medical director says mandatory vaccinations frustrate his nurses, and some of his staff are even considering leaving their job as a result.

The prime minister on Monday said he expects Omicron will be the dominant variant in the capital by Tuesday. And he brought the sad news of the first death due to Omicron. Long queues formed at vaccine centres Monday following Boris Johnson’s announcement of an emergency booster campaign Sunday night. Many spent hours waiting in […]

The EU Commission on Wednesday presented a $340 billion global infrastructure plan. Global Gateway seeks to support projects that boost trade and ties between the European Union and partner countries around the world. The plan seeks to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has been criticized for opaque deals that lead to debt traps and encourage corruption.

French police are dismantling an illegal immigrant camp site near Dunkirk. It comes amid renewed tensions between France and Britain on migrant crossings. Both sides held crisis talks on Monday after a record number of migrants reached England’s shores in a single day last week.

Russia plans to reconcile its prized fossil fuel industry with the need to do something about climate change, and its vast forestland should serve as the key element in that effort. But some scientists and environmentalists question the Russian government’s transparency on the numbers of how much carbon dioxide Russia’s trees can actually absorb.

A man has been rescued from a cave in Wales after being trapped for 54 hours. More than 240 people and at least eight cave rescue teams from around the UK were involved in the operation. They worked seamlessly in difficult conditions. The man was said to be in good spirits.

The Polish government today released videos of migrants trying to force through the Belarus border and Polish troops pushing them back with tear gas. Poland has stationed twelve thousand troops on the border with Belarus as migrants attack the border with wire cutters and shovels. Warsaw and the European Union accuse Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko of sending […]

The United States is reopening its borders to the UK and dozens of other countries. Britons have been banned from visiting the country since early 2020 when the pandemic broke out. People are excited to finally have a chance to visit their family and friends. Airlines are operating thousands of flights between the UK and […]