Europe

In this photo provided by Petro Andryuschenko, the adviser of the head of Mariupol city's administration, burning trolleybus is seen on the damp of hydroelectric power station after Russian attacks in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, March 22, 2024. Over 60 drones and almost 90 missiles of various types were fired that night, Ukrainian officials said. (Telegram Channel of Petro Andryuschenko, the adviser of the head of Mariupol city's administration via AP)

Russia attacks Ukrainian electrical power facilities, including major hydroelectric plant

Russia has attacked electrical power facilities in much of Ukraine, including the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, causing widespread outages and killing at least three people.

From left, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, French President Emmanuel Macron and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders are gathering to consider new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine. Leaders will also discuss in Thursday's summit the war in Gaza amid deep concern about Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

EU leaders mull ways to get more arms to outgunned Ukraine amid a new sense of urgency

BritainÅfs Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps, center right, and BritainÅfs Foreign Secretary David Cameron, left, walk with the Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas, right, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Richard Marles, second right, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, second left, and United StatesÅf Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, during a visit to the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, Australia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Australia is set to provide 4.6 billion Australian dollars ($3 billion) to British industry to support the construction of nuclear-powered submarines and ensure its new fleet arrives on time. (Matt Turner/AAP Image via AP)

$3 billion deal with the UK gets Australia closer to having a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines

A couple kiss on a warm day at a blooming almond grove in Hustopece, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Masses of white and pink blossoms in a rare almond grove in the Czech Republic appeared earlier than usual after one of the hottest winters on record. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A rare Czech almond grove blooms early after an unusually warm winter

A woman walks under European Union flags placed in one of the main streets in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to give a greenlight to Bosnia and Herzegovina to open membership talks once certain conditions are met. (AP Photo/Eldar Emric)

EU leaders agree on opening membership talks with Bosnia, but with many strings attached

Luis Montenegro, leader of the center-right Democratic Alliance coalition, left, is received by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, for consultations following Portugal's general election results, at the Belem presidential palace in Lisbon, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Rebels de Sousa is expected is expected to ask Montenegro to form a government after having heard the leaders of all parties in parliament. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Portugal’s center-right wins an election but surging populists want a say in the government

A center-right alliance led by the Social Democratic Party has won Portugal’s general election by a slender margin.

Children wearing traditional outfits wait before performing songs during a show of traditions for Masnytsia, a holiday that originates in pagan times, celebrating the end of winter, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa

March 15–21, 2024

Children in traditional outfits wait before performing songs in Bucharest, Romania.

Russia President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech as he meets his authorised representatives for the presidential election campaign in the Andreyevsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

After preordained election, Putin claims vote proves public support for his policies

President Vladimir Putin has thanked Russians for casting ballots in a presidential vote in which he cemented his grip on the country for another six years after the harshest crackdown on dissent since Soviet times.

A newspaper with the front page of French President Emanuel Macron is seen at a supermarket in London, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

France’s president pounds a punching bag on camera, and Europe notices

French President Emmanuel Macron is raising eyebrows after photos of him hammering a punching bag were posted to his official photographer’s social media.

In this photo released by Roscosmos space corporation, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, centre, Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos, bottom, and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus wave as they board to the space ship at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Russia's Roscosmos space agency has aborted the launch of three astronauts to the International Space Station about 20 seconds before they were scheduled to lift off. Officials say the crew is safe. The Russian Soyuz rocket was to carry NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. (Roscosmos space corporation via AP)

Russia’s space agency aborts launch of 3 astronauts to the International Space Station; all are safe

Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has aborted the launch of three astronauts to the International Space Station about 20 seconds before they were scheduled to lift off.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses a media conference at an EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders were urged Thursday to show the same respect for international law in Gaza as they aim to uphold in Ukraine, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face dire food shortages and possible famine. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

EU Commission proposes to impose tariffs on imports of grain from Russia

The European Union’s executive arm is proposing to member countries to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus.

ADDS SECOND SENTENCE. FILE - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont speaks at a press conference in Alghero, Sardinia, Italy, Oct. 4, 2021. Puigdemont says that he will return to Spain for the first time since leading a failed 2017 breakaway bid if he has a viable chance to be restored as regional president following upcoming elections. Puigdemont is still a wanted man in Spain and hoping that a contentious amnesty bill that was crafted by Spain’s left-wing government to clear him and hundreds of other supporters successfully makes it through the Madrid parliament in the coming months. (AP Photo/Gloria Calvi, File)

Fugitive Catalan chief Puigdemont pledges he will return to Spain if he can be restored to power

Fugitive Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont says that he will return to Spain for the first time since leading a failed 2017 breakaway bid if he has a viable chance to be restored as regional president following upcoming elections.

Italy’s Meloni seeks symbolic compensation from suspects over deepfake porn images, report says

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has been asked to testify in court July 2 in the trial of two men who are accused of making deepfake pornographic images using her face and posting them online.

Farmers gather Tuesday, March 12, 2024 outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. For several months, farmers throughout Europe have been mobilizing to address local, national, and European concerns (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

France’s Senate rejects bill to ratify EU-Canada trade deal because of farmers’ concerns

France’s Senate has voted overwhelmingly to reject legislation to ratify a 2017 trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticized by farmers as fostering unfair competition from abroad.

Spanish journalist leaves Russia after authorities refuse to renew his visa

The Spanish daily El Mundo said Thursday that its correspondent in Russia left the country after authorities refused to renew his journalist visa.

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, center left, and his mother-in-law Alla Abrosimova visit his grave at the Borisovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, March 2, 2024. A Russian court has rejected a lawsuit filed by the mother of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition stalwart who died in prison in February, that claimed he received inadequate medical care, a close Navalny colleague said Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

Russian court rejects suit by Navalny’s mother claiming poor medical treatment by prison

A Russian court has rejected a lawsuit filed by the mother of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition stalwart who died in prison in February, that claimed he received inadequate medical care, a close Navalny colleague said.

FILE - Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive to attend the Christmas day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham in Norfolk, England, Dec. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

As a frenzy of speculation grips the royal family, a look at recent events that have fueled rumors

2024 hasn’t been a good year for Britain’s royals so far. First came the “royal health shock” headlines when palace officials announced that King Charles III and Kate, the Princess of Wales, both had health troubles.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks with the media as he arrives for a EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. European Union leaders are gathering to consider new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine. Leaders will also discuss in Thursday's summit the war in Gaza amid deep concern about Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

UN chief urges the EU to avoid ‘double standards’ over Gaza and Ukraine

European Union leaders are being urged to show the same respect for international law in Gaza as they aim to uphold in Ukraine.

FILE - A firefighter sprays water at a fire on the mount of Penteli, in northern Athens, Greece on July 19, 2022. Greek authorities presented a new action plan on Thursday, March 21, 2024 for tackling wildfires which often ravage the country during its hot, dry summers.(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

Greek authorities overhaul wildfire response plans ahead of summer fire season

Greek authorities have presented new plans for tackling wildfires which often ravage the country during its hot, dry summers, including changes in the deployment of firefighting aircraft and increased staffing in specialized units.

FILE - Fish is displayed for merchants inside the main port in Dakhla city, Western Sahara, Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. A legal adviser to the European Union’s top court has recommended that it annul Europe's fishing agreement with Morocco, which would have allowed European boats to fish for valuable catch off the coast of the disputed Western Sahara. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

EU legal adviser backs cancellation of EU-Morocco fishing agreement over disputed Western Sahara

A legal adviser to the European Union’s top court has recommended that it annul Europe’s fishing agreement with Morocco, which would have allowed European boats to fish for valuable catch off the coast of the disputed Western Sahara.

FILE - Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants' cage during a court session in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. In an open letter, 27 Nobel laureates have demanded the release of all political prisoners in Belarus including Ales Bialiatski, the winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel laureates said the situation in Belarus is a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called for an immediate end to political repression in the country of 9.5 million people. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

27 Nobel laureates demand the release of political prisoners in Belarus

In an open letter, 27 Nobel laureates have demanded the release of all political prisoners in Belarus including Ales Bialiatski, the winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

Swedish appeals court rules space rock should stay with the owner of the property where it landed

A Swedish land owner has won a legal battle to keep a 14-kilogram (31-pound) meteorite after an appeals court ruled that such space rocks should be considered “immovable property” and part of the land where they are found.

Slovenia orders a Russian diplomat to leave within seven days

Slovenia has ordered a Russian diplomat to leave the European Union country within seven days. Its Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the Russian diplomat is being expelled for “activities incompatible with the diplomatic status.”

Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, 2nd left, welcomes his counterparts from Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, left, from Slovakia Juraj Blanar, right, and Hungary Peter Szijjarto, second right, as they meet in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Hungary, Slovakia remain opposed to sending any arms to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion

Four Central European countries remain deeply divided over how to resolve the Russian war against Ukraine.

Lawmaker Heike Heubach, front center, the first deaf member of the Bundestag, sits between members of the faction of the German Social Democrats (SPD) at the start of a meeting of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, March 21, 2024. The German parliament on Thursday welcomed its first deaf lawmaker, who took her place in a development that the house's speaker described as historic. Heike Heubach narrowly missed out on a seat in the Bundestag, in Germany's 2021 election. But she joined the house this week as a replacement for Uli Groetsch. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

German parliament welcomes its first deaf lawmaker

The German parliament has welcomed its first deaf lawmaker, who took her place in a moment that the house’s speaker described as historic.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, center right, speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center left, after posing for a group photo in front of the Atomium during an Nuclear Energy Summit at the Expo in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Leaders of European Union countries and other organizations meet for a one day summit on Thursday with the aim of highlighting the role of nuclear energy, reducing the use of fossil fuels, enhancing energy security and boosting economic development. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Security and climate change drive a return to nuclear energy as over 30 nations sign summit pledge

Over 30 nations from around the world have pledged to boost nuclear energy to help achieve a climate-neutral globe while providing countries an added sense of security independence.

AI fakery is quickly becoming one of the biggest problems confronting us online. With AI deepfakes cropping up almost every day, depicting everyone from Taylor Swift to Donald Trump, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real from what’s not. The following photo-illustrated graphic highlights a few notable areas of an AI-deepfake of Pope Francis.

One Tech Tip: How to spot AI-generated deepfake images

AI fakery is quickly becoming one of the biggest problems confronting us online. Deceptive pictures, videos and audio are proliferating thanks to the rise and misuse of generative artificial intelligence tools.

Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom Grant Shapps, left, and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles exchange a new defence and security cooperation agreement at Parliament House at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)

Australia and UK sign defense and security treaty to meet ‘contemporary challenges’

Australia and the United Kingdom signed a new defense and security cooperation agreement Thursday with the defense ministers of both countries saying it was required to meet “contemporary challenges” to maintain a global rules-based order.

FILE - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a meeting of the Union State Supreme Council with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. A bill in Belarus that would outlaw the promotion of homosexuality and other behavior is set to land on lawmakers' desks amid an unwavering crackdown on dissent initiated by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020. (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

Belarusian authorities confirm raids against opposition activists over new ‘people’s embassies’

Belarusian authorities say they have launched dozens of raids to target those suspected of “extremist” activities in new efforts by the political opposition to create “people’s embassies” abroad.

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, on March 30, 2023. Prince Harry's lawyer says the cover-up of unlawful information gathering at British tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch went all the way to the top. Attorney David Sherborne said Wednesday, March 20, 2024 in the High Court that Murdoch was among the executives at News Group Newspapers aware of skullduggery carried out by journalists and private investigators working for the now-defunct News of the World, and The Sun. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Prince Harry’s lawyer implicates Rupert Murdoch in cover-up of unlawful snooping by his tabloids

Prince Harry’s lawyer says the cover-up of unlawful information gathering at British tabloids owned by Rupert Murdoch went all the way to the top.

President of Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewdein, left, and her Greek counterpart Katerina Sakellaropoulou pose for the photographers before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Sahle-Work Zewdein is in Greece to attend the Women Political Leaders (WPL), the global network of women politicians summit which will take place from March 19 to 21 in the Greek capital. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Worried about threats to global democracy? Elect more women in 2024, a senior UN official says

Voters around the world who worry about growing threats to democratic freedoms should consider electing more women in countries’ national elections this year.

Firefighters tackle a blaze at the site of a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

EU leaders to drum up more support for Ukraine amid appeals for a new sense of urgency

European Union leaders are set Thursday to underscore their support for war-torn Ukraine. The aim is to help boost arms production and to prove to Russia that they are in it for the long haul.

An Amsterdam court has ruled KLM’s sustainable aviation advertising misled consumers

An Amsterdam court has ruled that Dutch national airline KLM made misleading statements about sustainable aviation in a case that accused the carrier of “greenwashing.”

Firefighters tackle a blaze at the site of a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A Russian border region reels from sustained Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes

A Russian border region being pounded by Ukrainian shelling and drones is expanding its closure of schools and colleges amid a major evacuation plan.

French regulators fine Google $272 million in dispute with news publishers

France’s competition watchdog has hit Google with another big fine tied to a long-running dispute over payments to French publishers for their news.

Farmers gather Tuesday, March 12, 2024 outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. For several months, farmers throughout Europe have been mobilizing to address local, national, and European concerns (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

The EU’s new import deal would support Ukraine while protecting the bloc’s farmers

European Union lawmakers have agreed to renew Ukraine’s import rates, which have been in place since shortly after Russia invaded while adding protective measures for agricultural products such as grain and honey to address the concerns of farmers across the 27-nation bloc.

FILE - Haas driver Nikita Mazepin of Russia arrives to the Losail International Circuit in Losail, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 ahead of the Qatar Formula One Grand Prix. The General Court of the European Union says ex-Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from the EU lists of persons subjected to restrictive measures for their role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Mazepin was added to the list of people sanctioned by the 27-nation bloc two years ago in the wake of Russia’s invasion because of his father’s connections to the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

EU general court says former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from sanctions list

The General Court of the European Union says ex-Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin should be removed from the EU lists of persons subjected to restrictive measures for their role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

FILE - Shoppers buy food in a supermarket in London, on Aug. 17, 2022. Price rises in the U.K. eased by more than anticipated in the year to February, official figures showed Wednesday, March 20, 2024, raising expectations that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates in the next few months. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

UK inflation falls by more than expected in February, triggering talk of lower interest rates

Price rises in the U.K. eased more than anticipated in February, raising expectations that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates in the next few months.

FILE - The rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, flies over a building next to Nelson's Column monument, right, in Trafalgar Square, central London, Britain, March 28, 2014. Legislators in at least two U.S. states are citing England’s recent decision to severely restrict gender transitions for young people as support for their own related bills. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

England is limiting gender transitions for youths. US legislators are watching

Legislators in at least two U.S. states are citing a recent decision by England’s public health service to restrict puberty blockers for transgender youths as support for their own related proposals.

Piotr Korycki, a 34-year-old Polish farmer, stands in a warehouse filled with grain on his farm in Cywiny Wojskie, Poland, on Monday March 18, 2024. Korycki has been organizing protests of farmers in Poland that have been taking place for the past three months in Poland. They are among the Europe-wide protests by farmers angry about imports from Ukraine which they say are driving down prices. They are also angry about EU climate policies which they say will create more administrative work and further financial burdens. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

With unsold grain piled high, a Polish farmer faces an uncertain future as war in Ukraine grinds on

Polish farmer Piotr Korycki says his business has been badly destabilized by Russia’s war against Ukraine and that the European Union is only adding to his problems.