Ireland: general election
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Ireland will hold a general election on Saturday 8 February. It is unusual for Ireland to hold elections on a Saturday; they are usually on a Thursday or Friday. As…
Europe: countries redeploy troops
Despite a call by the Iraqi parliament for the withdrawal of its forces, the USA stated it has no plans to do so, even though a draft letter signalling a pull-out was sent to Iraq’s prime…
Ukraine jet crashes, killing 176
On 8 December, a Ukrainian jet bound for Kiev crashed soon after taking off from Tehran. The majority of passengers were from Iran and Canada. Ukraine initially blamed engine failure, but later retracted the statement. President…
Cyprus: rape case
UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab expressed ‘serious concern’ about a possible miscarriage of justice by a Cypriot court convicting a British teenager of lying about being gang-raped on holiday. The 19-year-old originally told police she was…
