As Western Europe’s vaccination rollout gained strength in the early part of 2021, many of the region’s leaders touted the shots as their immediate route out of the pandemic.

A large fire broke out in a building on boulevard des Capucines, near the Place de L'Opera square in central Paris on Saturday, sending clouds of smoke rising into the air.

Police opened fire on protesters and seven people were injured in rioting that erupted in downtown Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. The Dutch city’s mayor called it “an orgy of violence.”

Climate activist Greta Thunberg yesterday slammed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for using a jet during his hosting of the COP26 summit in Glasgow and called world leaders’ behaviour “hypocritical”.

As global trade in red and processed meats has increased, so have chronic diseases associated with meat consumption, a study looking at data from 154 countries found on Thursday.

Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full Covid-19 lockdown, it said yesterday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout.

A boat carrying the bodies of 10 migrants found dead at sea arrived in Sicily on Friday, along with dozens of people it rescued this week as they tried to cross the Mediterranean.

Britain's interior minister Priti Patel on Friday said she had banned the Palestinian militant group Hamas in a move that brings the UK's stance on Gaza's rulers in line with the United States and the European Union.

Canada is sending the military to help evacuate and support communities hit by “catastrophic” flooding, with the death toll expected to rise after record rainfall on the Pacific coast triggered a state of emergency Wednesday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says coronavirus deaths in Europe have risen by 5 percent in the last week, making it the only region in the world where fatalities have increased.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a parliamentary grilling yesterday over sleaze allegations, as tensions ran high within his Conservative party due to his proposals to ban MPs from paid political consultancy work.

Germany’s coronavirus situation is dramatic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday, calling for a push to distribute booster shots faster and appealing to those sceptical of vaccination to change their minds.

Swedish authorities on Tuesday arrested a suspect for “aggravated espionage” in a case that has already led to the detention of a former intelligence official.

Poland yesterday warned that the crisis on the Belarusian border could last for months or even years, a day after Polish forces used tear gas and water cannon to deter stone-throwing migrants.

Britain, on Tuesday, said it had agreed with Athens that a long-running dispute between the two countries over the Parthenon Marbles “in no way affects the strength of the UK-Greece partnership”.

Polish security forces fired water cannon at rock-throwing migrants on the border with Belarus on Tuesday, and NATO reiterated its support for Warsaw in a crisis that has left thousands stranded on the frontier in icy temperatures.

The European Union is considering a joint military force of up to 5,000 troops by 2025 to intervene in a range of crises and without relying on the United States, according to a draft plan.

Police in northwest England yesterday said they were treating a deadly blast outside a hospital in Liverpool as a “terrorist incident” involving a homemade bomb that was reportedly foiled by a quick-thinking taxi driver.

If the British overhauled their (labour) legislation - they started doing it but haven’t gone far enough - there would be no people in Calais and Dunkerque. Why do they go to Britain? Because the British labour market functions...”

When Kamaran Mohammed travelled with his wife and three children to the Belarus capital Minsk last month from their home in northern Iraq, they went as tourists.