European Union

Sound of Thunder

A heavy metal band from Virginia went viral in Catalonia

Lead singer Nina Osegueda inspires A Sound of Thunder to record a version of the region's anthem.

A heavy metal band from Virginia went viral in Catalonia
Election campaign posters for the leader billionaire politician Andrej Babis in Prague, Czech Republic, reading: "Stand up against corruption and stop babbling."

The populist tide has spread to one of Central Europe's last liberal democracies

The populist tide has spread to one of Central Europe's last liberal democracies
Barcelona soccer fans make their feelings known about Catalan independence, at a game on Wednesday Oct 18th 2017

The roots of Catalonia’s differences with the rest of Spain

The roots of Catalonia’s differences with the rest of Spain
People's Party candidate Sebastan Kurz at a polling station in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 15, 2017.

Austria is projected to elect a conservative millennial as Europe's youngest leader

Austria is projected to elect a conservative millennial as Europe's youngest leader
Same-sex couple Karl Kreil and Bodo Mende get married at a civil registry office, becoming Germany's first married gay couple

Germany celebrates its first same-sex marriages

Germany celebrates its first same-sex marriages
Riot police grab at a woman near a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, on Oct. 1, 2017.

Spanish riot police fight to suppress Catalonia's defiant independence vote

Thousands of Spanish police fanned out across the northeast region of Catalonia, forcing their way into occupied polling stations, stomping on voters and seizing ballot boxes.

Spanish riot police fight to suppress Catalonia's defiant independence vote
Chickens

Europe has a tainted egg scare and it’s spreading

Now Spain has discovered liquid egg products tainted with the pesticide Fipronil, after over a dozen other European countries.

Europe has a tainted egg scare and it’s spreading
Migrant Offshore Aid Station rescues migrants from a rubber dinghy during an operation in the central Mediterranean

This group wants to ‘defend Europe’ from migrants at sea

The far-right identitarian group Defend Europe plans to take a ship close to the coast of North Africa, where humanitarian groups rescue migrants. But it's running into difficulties trying to get there.

This group wants to ‘defend Europe’ from migrants at sea
US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Trump wins concessions, and isolates the US, at the G-20 summit

World leaders made concessions on trade and climate language to Donald Trump Saturday, at the end of the most fractious and riot-hit G-20 summit ever.

Trump wins concessions, and isolates the US, at the G-20 summit
One of the two Chinese panda bears is munching while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit their compound during a welcome ceremony at the zoo in Berlin, Germany on July 5.

Two giant pandas have a new home in Berlin, the latest stop for China's 'panda diplomacy'

Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to make China's new "special envoys" feel welcome in Berlin. She was, of course, talking about two giant pandas, Meng Meng and Jiao Qing.

Two giant pandas have a new home in Berlin, the latest stop for China's 'panda diplomacy'
African migrants arriving in Italy from Mediterranean

African migrants are reaching Europe with tales of kidnap and torture in Libya

Black people say they are being targeted in Libya, where the European Union is spending millions of euros to bolster the country’s capacity for preventing migrants from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.

African migrants are reaching Europe with tales of kidnap and torture in Libya
Bison in Poland forest

In Poland, a primeval forest is threatened by commercial logging

The Białowieża Forest in Poland and Belarus contains some of the last remaining old-growth forests in Europe. Protections are strong in Belarus, but some areas in Poland are managed as commercial forest and the Polish government has now authorized a threefold increase in logging.

In Poland, a primeval forest is threatened by commercial logging
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Merkel warns that the US and Britain are no longer reliable partners

"The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I've experienced that in the last few days," Merkel said, following Donald Trump's trip to Europe he called "a great success for America."

Merkel warns that the US and Britain are no longer reliable partners
The Libyan coast guard boards a boat in the Mediterranean while humanitarian groups bring migrants onto their ships.

Libya’s coast guard is ‘endangering lives’ of migrants trying to reach Europe

During a chaotic rescue operation off Libya’s coast on Tuesday, coast guard vessels fired gunshots in the air and boarded a boat filled with migrants trying to leave.

Libya’s coast guard is ‘endangering lives’ of migrants trying to reach Europe
Fado

Lisbon’s serious fado fans go underground

They want to get away from the tourists and their iPhone cameras.

Lisbon’s serious fado fans go underground