Europe

According to the European Commission, the State of Israel is responsible for an unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians, a large-scale displacement of population and the systematic destruction of hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza. [1] Israel also implemented a blockade of humanitarian aid that could amount to starvation as a method of war. Israel is in breach of multiple rules and obligations under international law and fails to prevent the crime of genocide as ordered by the International Court of Justice.[2]

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The number of garage forecourts without fuel in Ireland could rise to 500 by Friday night if blockades continue, according to the CEO of Fuels for Ireland.

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https://removepaywalls.com/https://www.ft.com/content/801e46c7-cfb7-43c3-99bd-6a5ca971ceff

The digital directorate in France will switch from Windows to Linux and the state is embarking on a major project to reduce the “outer European digital dependency”

The Republic of Moldova has declared its readiness to help European countries holding elections counter disinformation and destabilization campaigns attributed to the Kremlin.

The news bit is followed by an absolutely scathing interview with a Greek academic (living in the UK) about corruption in Greece, that would not in a million years have been aired on Greek TV.

Jason Donenfeld, the creator of the open source WireGuard VPN software, told TechCrunch that he has been locked out of his Microsoft developer account, and as a result cannot sign drivers or ship updates for WireGuard for Windows users, which are critical for its software to run. Donenfeld said in a post on X on Wednesday that the account termination stopped a WireGuard update from shipping.

Hey fellow Europeans,

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday he believes that some NATO ‌countries were tested and failed amid Washington’s criticism over European allies not getting involved in the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.

More than 33GW of battery capacity approved for Turkish grid since 2022 compared with 12-13GW in Germany

The UK has had a Labour party government for nearly two years. Despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer promising that change would “begin immediately”, under his watch the government has continued, and at times intensified, a crackdown on civil liberties begun by his Conservative predecessors. The result is more surveillance, greater potential for police abuse and the criminalisation of nearly all meaningful forms of protest.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/62186633

In August 2025, the humanitarian vessel the Ocean Viking was shot at in international waters north of Libya. The attackers were part of what is known as the Libyan Coast Guard - a collection of militias and other actors funded by the EU to prevent irregular migration to Europe. A new report reveals the financial ties between the EU and the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. It also shows how, despite clear evidence of mass violence waged against migrants and humanitarians, the EU plans only to extend the cooperation.

cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/62185811

Bizum is expanding beyond transfers. From May, you’ll be able to pay in shops across Spain using your phone. Here’s how it works and why it matters.

Russia’s profits from exporting oil, gas and fertilizer amount to more than €10 billion ($11.54 billion) a month, the chamber said. “Russia is the big winner of the new war in the Middle East,” Matthias Schepp, the chamber’s chairman, told dpa.

However, the major tech corporations are not considering an immediate halt to their surveillance measures. Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, announced on Saturday in a joint statement that they will “continue to take voluntary measures” to identify such material on their platforms.

As Canada lowers its tariffs and imports more electric vehicles from China, an upcoming report from New York-based labour rights researchers is making new allegations of forced labour practices at the world’s bestselling EV manufacturer, BYD.

The European Commission has proposed a €115 million pilot fund to fast-track defence technology from European start-ups, cutting the time from application to grant to just four months. Watch the video.

https://archive.ph/2026.04.08-083550/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-08/greece-to-impose-social-media-ban-for-children-under-15

I think it is paywalled. If you do not use bypass paywall, see it below:

The Banque de France (BdF) announced last week that it generated a capital gain of €12.8 billion after upgrading 129 tonnes of gold – about 5 percent of France’s total reserves – between July 2025 and January 2026.

The Bucha massacre of 400 Ukrainian civilians in April 2025 “has ​come to symbolise the cruelty of Russia’s war”, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday (31 March) after visiting a memorial on the eve of the fourth anniversary, together with ministers from 12 EU countries.

The war goes on, and so does the global energy crisis. In fact, I believe that prices of oil futures remain too low given how much spot prices will need to rise to resolve the shortages that will hit once oil supplies that were shipped before the Strait of Hormuz was closed are exhausted.

A further 58 per cent indicated it was a proposal worth exploring further

Jose Luis Abalos is a disgraced ex-Socialist heavyweight, a former transport minister who helped propel Sanchez to power in 2018. The case is one of several corruption affairs rattling the fragile coalition.

Sea-Watch rescued 44 migrants from an abandoned oil rig in the Mediterranean. The migrants had taken refuge on the rig to escape a storm.

Germany is building the world’s largest frigate, the F126, designed as a flexible, multi-purpose platform with a modular system for various missions. However, the project is significantly behind schedule due to technical and organisational issues, particularly with data transfer between systems. While the German government considers the Meko A-200 (F128) as a quicker alternative, the F126 project is expected to continue, with a potential launch in 2031.

Edgewing, a joint venture between Italy, Japan, and the UK, has won the first contract to develop the GCAP sixth-generation fighter jet.

Resident population held steady at around 59 million

The new EES system will be fully implemented from 10 April onwards and could help significantly modernise EU control systems – but not without a few initial hiccups along the way.

https://archive.ph/JxP3R

Spain’s Social Security enrolment hit an all-time high in March, boosted by Easter Week, after more than 211,000 jobs were added and unemployment edged lower.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially withdrawn from the French Rafale F5 jet program, leaving France to shoulder the massive €5 billion development cost alone. This sudden exit threatens to delay the production of the next-generation fighter, which serves as a cornerstone for future European aerial defense.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were found near a pipeline that transports Russian gas to Hungary.

As EU citizens we want to live in a Union that truly embodies the values we defend and believe in. Across the world, countless lives are affected by human rights violations, and we expect our Union to uphold human rights firmly and fairly, everywhere and for everyone. But what if there is differential treatment of human rights violations?

Starting from Southeast Asia, people realize that a severe and probably long energy crisis lies ahead - and goverments act differently.

https://archive.ph/IH7Lo

EU will require all member states to have digital profiles of citizens with birth certs and IDs