The news provoked a flood of comments online, most of which were meant to rebuke the current “pathetic” “White House occupant,” whereas others butted in with more light-hearted remarks, calling attention to Trump’s earlier reported “inability” to operate umbrellas. [...]

Kronen Zeitung earlier reported that a former colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces had been detained on suspicion of spying for Russia for 20 years. Meanwhile, Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported that the suspect in the espionage scandal had already confessed to committing the crime. [...]

Three Femen activists were detained on Saturday morning after trying to organise a nude protest at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris – World War I commemoration site, BFM reported. Holding banners, which read ‘Welcome war criminals,’ three activists from the infamous Femen movement briefly exposed their breasts, with the words ‘Fake Peacemakers/Real Dictators’ written on their chests, on 10 N [...]

From traffic accidents to troops relieving themselves in public places and bars left without beer, this year's edition of NATO-led Trident Juncture drills has every chance to leave lasting memories in Norway and beyond. [...]

French President Macron did his best to show through body language that his bromance with Donald Trump was still alive. But the US leader, who came to Paris after calling Macron’s EU army plan “insulting” didn’t seem interested. Emmanuel Macron smiled, winkled and hugged Trump as the two met at the Elysee Palace in the French capital on Saturday. [...]

The calendar is aimed at promoting the importance of farming work and raising awareness about the exploits of the people whom the chairman of the Bavarian Young Farming Community described as "our everyday heroes." [...]

Almost 60 percent of adult refugees who arrived in Germany in the first half of 2018 did not have any identity documents, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported, citing the German Interior Ministry. [...]

Europe should reach out to Russia and abandon “counterproductive” economic sanctions – or risk seeing it drifting further towards China, former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has warned, in a candid interview. [...]

The landslide success of Emmanuel Macron’s party seems to be fading away as the party of his presidential rival, Marine Le Pen, is overtaking his ruling alliance six months ahead of European parliamentary elections, a poll shows. [...]

The US, Canada and EU states have suffered economic setbacks as a result of imposing anti-Russian sanctions, but a recent report suggests that certain countries have been affected more than others. [...]

The departing German chancellor leaves her country with a fractured domestic political scene and myriad intractable social challenges, the EU as weak as it has ever been, and grave international crises no closer to resolution. [...]

Austria has announced that it would back out of a UN pact on international cooperation on migration, arguing that the document is inadequate for managing global migration flows and could undermine Austria's sovereignty. [...]

ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - The Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) supports the government’s decision not to sign the UN global migration pact dealing with the rights of refugees and migrants and expects other countries to follow, Roman Haider, the FPO’s foreign policy spokesman, told Sputnik. [...]

Washington has been putting external pressure on EU states over the Russian-European Nord Stream 2 project and repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on the involved entities. The US cites security and energy independence reasons, while promoting more expensive US LNG. [...]

Portugal’s foreign minister also accused the European Union of leaving them in a state of “limbo” and exposed to the economic shocks of a no-deal Brexit. Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva has hit out at the EU for not allowing member states to secure their own bespoke, bilateral trade deals with Britain while Brexit negotiations have been faltering. [...]

Europe is now facing the disastrous prospect of American missiles being reinstalled across its territory as they were in the 1980s. The Trump administration’s declared scrapping of a crucial arms control treaty is putting the world on notice of a nuclear war, sooner or later. [...]

The Russian economy is currently in good shape, posting its first state budget surplus after years of deficit, according to a report published by the German outlet Welt. This “paradox” may have something to do with the new dynamics of the country’s currency, the ruble, and growing oil prices. [...]

The volume of trade between Russia and Germany has been growing and reached US$39 billion in the first eight months of 2018, according to documents prepared by the Kremlin’s press service. “In January-August 2018, Russian-German trade increased by 24 percent (adding $7.5 billion) compared with the same period in 2017,” the document says, detailing that “Russian exports to Germany rose by 3 [...]

Markets across Europe surged on news that Angela Merkel will stop being German chancellor in 2021. The Monday rally was led by a surge in Merkel’s homeland, Germany. In Frankfurt, the DAX index surged nearly two percent on the announcement. Markets in France and the UK followed with the London FTSE surging 1.72 percent and CAC40 rising 0.75 percent. [...]

In a surprising victory, local protesters won a battle against the US tech giant, which wanted to revamp a local building into a technology campus. The residents of Kreuzberg, a part of Berlin, have succeeded in repelling Google from developing a campus in their neighborhood. [...]

The new European Right are likely to bring an end to EU expansionism towards Russia's borders and finally seal a post-Cold War settlement between Moscow and the West, Glenn Diesen, professor at the Higher School of Economics, has told Sputnik. The Bavarian 2018 landtag vote has yet again confirmed that right-wing conservatives and patriots are increasingly commanding support among the European pu [...]

The joint Future Combat Air System project was intended to replace European countries’ ageing warplanes with new EU-made jets. However, Belgium recently decided to switch to the US-made F-35 instead of buying European fighters. Recent talks between France and Germany pertaining to the joint project of a new jet, also known as the "Future Combat Air System (FCAS)," have resulted in a deadloc [...]