# politics

Italian economist Mario Draghi gives a speech after being awarded the Federal Cross of Merit during a ceremony at the presidential Bellevue Palace in Berlin on January 31, 2020. - Months after the end of his term as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi received Germany's highest honour, drawing attacks from critics of his easy-money policy. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Italian economist Mario Draghi gives a s […]
Coronavirus, Economy, Health, Infographic, Videos

How long will Italy’s honeymoon with Draghi last?

In Italy, politicians left, right and centre are rallying behind Mario Draghi's attempt to form a unity government -- but will an unusually broad coalition make his job harder?
3 weeks ago
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, charged with violating the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence for embezzlement, stands inside a glass cell during a court hearing in Moscow on February 2, 2021. Photo: Handout / Moscow City Court Press Service / AFP
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny […]
News, Video 3D

EU sends top envoy to Moscow as Navalny controversy grows

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell jets to Moscow on Thursday under pressure to confront the Kremlin over the jailing of Alexei Navalny and a crackdown on protesters
4 weeks ago
Former head of the BCE (European Central Bank) Mario Draghi (C) gives a press conference after a meeting with the Italian president, at the Quirinal palace in Rome, on February 3, 2021. - Italy's president is expected February 3, to ask Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, to lead the country out of the devastating coronavirus pandemic after the coalition government collapsed. He called for unity after being charged by Italy's president to form a new government, saying the country faced a "difficult moment". (Photo by Alessandra TARANTINO / POOL / AFP)
Former head of the BCE (European Central […]
Coronavirus, Economy, Infographic

Five things about Italy’s political crisis

Former ECB chief Mario Draghi has been tasked with forming a new Italian government after weeks of turmoil. Here are five things to know about the political crisis engulfing the country
4 weeks ago
(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 27, 2020, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gestures as he takes part in a press conference with the French President during a Franco-Italian summit at the Royal Palace in Naples, southern Italy. - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will resign January 26, 2021, his office said on January 25, 2021, in what media reports said was a move to secure a mandate for a new government after weeks of turmoil. A statement from Conte's office said he had called a cabinet meeting for 9:00am (0800 GMT) "during which the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, will inform the ministers of his desire to go to the Quirinale (President Sergio Mattarella's office) to resign". (Photo by Ludovic Marin / AFP)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on Febr […]
Economy, News, Infographic

What’s next for Italy after PM Conte’s resignation?

Italian PM Giuseppe Conte's resignation has triggered a fresh leadership crisis with the country reeling from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 85,000 people
1 month ago
North Rhine-Westphalia's State Premier and candidate as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Armin Laschet delivers a speech on the second day of the party's 33rd congress held online because of the coronavirus pandemic, in Berlin on January 16, 2021. - Germany's conservative CDU party will elect a new leader on on January 16, 2021, in a key vote kicking off the race for Germany's top job as a deadly pandemic roils Europe's biggest economy. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / various sources / AFP)
North Rhine-Westphalia's State Premier a […]
Election year, Infographic, Videos

Race to succeed Merkel in top job thrown wide open

Armin Laschet may have won a key vote to become the new leader of Germany's conservative CDU party, but his victory has thrown open the question of who will succeed Angela Merkel in the top job
1 month ago
(FILES) In this file photo taken on November 22, 2019 German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks on stage during the party's annual congress in Leipzig, eastern Germany. - Germany's conservative CDU party will pick on January 16, 2021, during an online congress a new leader from three candidates: moderate Armin Laschet, arch-conservative Friedrich Merz and outsider Norbert Roettgen. (Photo by Odd Andersen / AFP)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on Nove […]
Election year

The three men vying to succeed Merkel

Germany's conservative CDU party will pick a new leader on Saturday. Here is a guide to the three men vying for the chance to be the party's chancellor candidate in this year's general election
1 month ago
(FILES) - (COMBO) This combination of file pictures created on October 16, 2020 shows the candidates for the leadership of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party (L to R) Norbert Roettgen (February 18, 2020 in Berlin), Friedrich Merz (February 25, 2020 in Berlin) and Armin Laschet (July 3, 2020 in Berlin). - Germany's conservative CDU party will pick during an online congress a new leader on Saturday, January 16, 2021, from three candidates: moderate Armin Laschet, arch-conservative Friedrich Merz and outsider Norbert Roettgen. (Photos by Odd ANDERSEN and John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
(FILES) - (COMBO) This combination of fi […]
Election year

CDU to pick new leader in key vote for Merkel succession

Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party will elect a new leader on Saturday, in a key vote kicking off the race for Germany's top job as a deadly pandemic roils Europe's biggest economy
2 months ago
(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 10, 2020 a photo illustration, the Twitter account of US President Donald Trump is displayed on a mobile phone in Arlington, Virginia. - Twitter said January 8, 2021, it has permanently suspended President Donald Trump's account, citing the risk of further violence following the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on Augu […]
Digitalization, Infographic

Twitter’s ‘problematic’ Trump ban troubles Europe

Twitter's decision to impose a permanent ban on US President Trump's account has sparked some consternation in Europe, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling it "problematic"
2 months ago
An anti-Brexit protester holds Union and EU flags outside a conference centre in central London on December 4, 2020, as post-Brexit trade deal talks continue. Photo: Niklas Halle'n / AFP
An anti-Brexit protester holds Union and […]
Brexit, Europe's Workforce, Migrants, Infographic, Video 3D

EU citizens in the UK face two-tier system after Brexit

Most EU citizens settled in the UK will retain their rights to live and work in the country after Brexit, but on January 1 a two-tiered system comes into force that may exclude thousands
3 months ago
An Armenian soldier carries his machine gun in the front line as troops hold positions on October 18, 2020, during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP)
An Armenian soldier carries his machine […]
Defence and security, Infographic, Photos, Videos

Main points of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a Russian-brokered peace deal to end weeks of heavy fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh and find a long-term solution to the dispute over the region
4 months ago