Euractiv.com

Iceland has used its lobbying power vis-à-vis the EU to shelter Alexander Moshensky, a Belarusian oligarch close to Alexander Lukashenko, from sanctions, with Hungary also using its veto in his favour, fresh analysis from a consortium of investigative websites has revealed.

The German far-right AfD, whose party congress this weekend asserted that the EU has “failed”, is “founded on hatred” and looks to “destroy what already exists”, French EU minister Laurence Boone said on Monday (7 August).

The German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has called the EU a "failed project" and called for it to be re-established as a 'Confederation of European Nations', the party said in its EU election programme that was adopted on Sunday (6 August).

A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

The long-suffering people of Niger's capital, Niamey, are used to intermittent power cuts. But since the coup d’état one week ago, interminable blackouts have tested their patience to the limit.

Hun Manet was appointed Cambodia's new leader by the king on Monday (7 August), after having effectively been given the post from his father who ruled for nearly four decades.

Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko met in Poland on Sunday (6 August), on the eve of the third anniversary of their unsuccessful post-election protests, to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of "New Belarus" passports.

Ukraine struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea and a smaller bridge linking the town of Henichesk with the peninsula's northeast coast on Sunday (6 August), Moscow-appointed officials and Ukraine's armed forces said.

Russia said on 5 August it would punish Ukraine for using a sea drone to attack a civilian tanker near the Kerch Strait in what it said was a "terrorist act" that threatened the lives of the crew and risked "a large-scale environmental disaster".

Senior officials from some 40 countries including the US, China and India held talks in Saudi Arabia on 5 August that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The coup in Niger is not good news for Italy, potentially putting its much-touted new 'Mattei plan', which seeks to reinforce energy partnerships with African partners, to a halt, and increasing immigration flows towards Southern Europe, writes Francesco Sassi.

Serbia and Bosnia's Serb Republic on Friday (4 August) marked the 1995 exodus of Serbs from Croatia in a Bosnian town notorious for Serb war crimes during the Bosnian war, triggering outcry from survivors and human rights activists.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS said on Friday (4 August) its military chiefs had agreed a plan for a possible intervention in Niger, after it failed to secure a return to civilian rule there following last week's coup.

The world's oceans set a new temperature record this week, raising concerns about knock-on effects on the planet's climate, marine life and coastal communities.

China said it would send a senior official to Saudi Arabia for talks on finding a peace settlement to the war in Ukraine, a forum that excludes Russia, in a diplomatic coup for Kyiv, the West and the Saudi hosts.

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had an extra 19 years added to his jail term on Friday (4 August) in a criminal case that he and his supporters said was trumped up to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer.

Video-sharing platform TikTok announced on Friday (4 August) changes to meet strict EU rules including allowing European users to turn off the addictive feature that shows content based on their interests.

Ukraine and its allies aim to rally global support for a peace blueprint in talks hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, with Western officials increasingly optimistic that China will attend, lending the talks a new weight.

A Russian warship was seriously damaged in an overnight Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia's Black Sea navy base at Novorossiysk, two sources said on Friday (4 August), after Russia said it had fended off the attack.

Ahead of the EU elections next year, German far-right party AfD is firmly on an EU-sceptic path, with criticism of the European Union being among the only things the whole party can rally behind, researcher Uwe Jun told EURACTIV in an interview.