Less than 48 hours after the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Germany, home to the largest Syrian population outside the Middle East, says it will freeze asylum processing for Syrian citizens. An official from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees told Der Spiegel news magazine on Monday that the move was taken in … Read moreGermany pauses asylum applications for Syrians after al-Assad’s fall
The United Nations high commissioner for refugees calls for “patience and vigilance” in returning Syrian refugees to Syria after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. Filippo Grandi said in a statement on Monday that the process must be “voluntary” and “safe” as the situation in Syria remains “uncertain”. Grandi’s comments came after several European countries … Read moreUN urges patience as European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions
British MPs have given initial approval to a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. After an impassioned debate, members of the United Kingdom Parliament approved on Friday the so-called assisted dying bill by a vote of 330 to 275. The vote signals MPs’ approval in principle for the bill and … Read moreUK MPs vote to advance assisted-dying bill
Ireland is tallying votes from general elections as an exit poll suggested a dead heat between the three main parties, with the left-wing opposition Sinn Fein holding a narrow lead. The counting began at 09:00 GMT on Saturday with partial results expected throughout the day. A final result, however, may not be clear for days … Read moreIreland elections: Counting under way, exit poll shows tight three-way race
Icelanders are electing a new parliament after disagreements over the economy, immigration, and the fallout from volcanic eruptions forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call an early election. Saturday’s election is Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic … Read moreIceland holds parliamentary election after government’s collapse
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said she will not leave office when her term ends because the parliament is “illegitimate”, while the prime minister warned against a “revolution” amid continuing pro-European Union protests. Thousands of Georgians protested on Saturday for a third straight night after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the government will suspend talks on … Read moreGeorgia’s president will not step down until ‘illegitimate’ election rerun
An independent candidate who until two years ago was part of Romania’s main far-right party has emerged as the surprising winner of the first round of the Eastern European nation’s presidential election on Sunday. Calin Georgescu will now head into a run-off against the second-placed candidate in the election. But who is Georgescu, how did … Read moreWho is Calin Georgescu, Romanian right-wing candidate leading the election?
Georgia’s ruling party has opened the first session of parliament after disputed elections and a boycott by the opposition. Tensions escalated after the governing Georgian Dream party was re-elected in the October 26 elections with almost 54 percent of the vote, according to official results. Pro-Western opposition parties called the results “illegitimate” and refused to … Read moreGeorgian ruling party reopens parliament despite opposition boycott
Greece’s coast guard has found the bodies of eight migrants, including six children, who drowned off the island of Samos, authorities said, in the second migrant shipwreck in the Aegean Sea this month. Greek police found a further 36 people alive in the northern part of Samos on Monday, while three people, trapped in a … Read moreAt least eight migrants drown in shipwreck off Greek island of Samos
Prosecutors in France have demanded the maximum 20-year prison sentence for a man who organised the mass rape of his then-wife for almost a decade. Dominique Pelicot knocked his wife Gisele Pelicot unconscious with drugs and invited dozens of strangers to abuse her in their family homes in Paris and the southern town of Mazan … Read moreFrench prosecutors seek 20 years for Dominique Pelicot in mass rape case