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Citizens from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia would all have their claims fast-tracked within three months on the assumption that they were likely to fail.

EuroMed Rights - a network of human rights organisations - warned that it was misleading and dangerous to label the seven countries as safe, because they included "countries with documented rights abuses and limited protections for both their own citizens and migrants".

From a Bulgarian factory to Sudanese militias, the FRANCE 24 Observers team reveals how European-made ammunition ended up on the Sudanese battlefield, despite a European Union embargo on sending weapons to this war-torn country. This second article in our five-part investigation focuses on International Golden Group, an Emirati company known for its involvement in diverting arms to countries under international embargo.

Recap of the first article in our series: On November 21, 2024, Sudanese fighters filmed what they said was a shipment of mortar shells bound for the Rapid Support Forces, the militia that is fighting against the Sudanese Army in the ongoing civil war. These weapons, manufactured in Bulgaria, were shipped to Sudan despite the European Union embargo on sending weapons to this war-torn country. We’ve been investigating how this happened.

Read more: European weapons in Sudan (1/5): Bulgarian mortar shells in Darfur’s desert

Hundreds of journalists joined demonstrations in Paris and Marseille on Wednesday in a show of solidarity for their colleagues killed in Gaza. Protesters in Paris staged a “die-in” to commemorate the nearly 200 journalists killed in the Palestinian enclave since October 2023.

In an op-ed in the leading French daily Le Monde earlier this week, several journalist associations, trade unions and media organisations, including FRANCE 24, condemned the Israeli media blackout in Gaza.

“The Israeli army is imposing a media blackout on Gaza to silence, as much as possible, the witnesses of the war crimes committed by its troops,” said the newspaper column. “This intention to obstruct information is also reflected in the Israeli government's refusal to allow foreign press access to the Gaza Strip.”

Every day of delay "increases our vulnerability" to cyberattacks, said MEP Bart Groothuis.

Even two and a half years after EU countries vowed to enhance cybersecurity requirements across 18 critical sectors, many have failed to adopt the rules into national law, blowing a deadline to comply with the directive.

The rules were supposed to enhance security in key areas such as pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, government administrative agencies and space infrastructure operators.

But six months after the deadline to put the directive into law came and went on 17 October, a total of 13 countries still have not incorporated the NIS2 cybersecurity directive into domestic legislation as required. (...)

The Italian prime minister’s visit to Washington is high-stakes, risking her political capital in Europe and at home on a meeting with possible negative outcomes.

When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni touches down in Washington for a meeting Thursday at the White House, the European Union, scrambling to strike a deal on trade, will be playing its Trump card.

Few European leaders make a better emissary to the court of President Donald Trump. The 48-year-old Meloni heads Italy’s most right-wing government since Benito Mussolini and ranks among the select list of leaders Trump seems to like. He has described her as a “wonderful woman,” hosting her at Mar-a-Lago and inviting her to his January inauguration. (...)

Archive link: https://archive.is/4qqWD

POLITICO analyzes all the data on the most likely presidential runoff races ahead of next month’s existential vote.

All eyes are on Romania.

The country goes to the polls on May 4 in the first round of a controversial presidential election, after concerns over Russian interference triggered an annulment of the original vote last November.

Now that the Moscow-backed ultranationalist Călin Georgescu has been disqualified from the do-over election, George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), has vaulted into the polling lead ahead of a vote that threatens to shake the EU and NATO if Bucharest pivots off its pro-European path. (...)

On Monday, the parliament is set to vote on a constitutional amendment that would strengthen the legal foundations for the prohibition of the Pride march. Waving gray flags, including rainbow flags turned monochromatic, more than 10,000 people joined the humourous demonstration with a serious cause in Budapest on Saturday.

As Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium-producing country, develops its nuclear strategy, many worry Russia (alongside China) will rush to take advantage of the project to dominate the sector.

This article is part of our special report EU-Kazakhstan relations: A strategic and economic evolution towards a regional and global role.

Recent research suggests triggering one tipping element within the Earth system could cause subsequent changes in others, leading to a “tipping cascade”.