Europe

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (COREPER) of the remaining 27 members of the bloc on Sunday reviewed the draft Brexit agreement and found it balanced, a source told Sputnik.

PARIS November 19 (Sputnik) - The French government will not reverse its decision to raise the tax on diesel and carbon fuels, despite massive protests across the country last weekend, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said.

Beating out semantic hopefuls including 'gaslighting' and 'techlash,' the word 'toxic' has been chosen by the English-language authority Oxford Dictionaries to be its 2018 word of the year.

After a no-good, very-bad week facing down the intractable realities of Brexit, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is facing the fiercest challenge of her career, one she may not weather, according to reports.

ATHENS (Sputnik) - Greek police detained 19 people, including four foreigners, for taking part in Saturday's unrest in Athens, the Skai broadcaster reported on Sunday.

The tremor came just a few months after a series of quakes with magnitudes ranging from 4.7 to 5.3 struck the region, causing damage to Italian cities near the Adriatic Sea.

The Pope earlier stated that the translation that is currently in use does not fully correspond to the ancient Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic original text, as the Lord cannot by definition lead humans “into temptation.”

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The European Union needs its own army in order to expand the bloc’s opportunities to protect the common European interests in case of crisis situations, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said.

A report by The Sunday Times, which cited an unnamed source in the UK’s armed forces, came as a draft Brexit deal proposed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May faces significant backlash and opposition even within her Cabinet, having already led to several resignations.

Earlier this month, the French president stated that the European Union should have a "real European army" independent of the United States in order to defend itself and guarantee stability in the region.

A servant, widely known as Black Pete, has traditionally accompanied the Dutch Santa Clause, helping him deliver Christmas presents, and is greatly anticipated by kids all around the country. However, Dutch society is not new to rallies against the “racism”-provoking character, but this year a great many voices could be heard in his favour.

The court decided on November 18 that the stabber, identified as Malek F. by Dutch media, would remain in pre-trial detention for a longer period as there were sufficient indications of a terrorist motive behind his actions.

Since 1975, Belgian women have been serving in the army in peacetime – previously, they could only serve during mobilisation.

PARIS (Sputnik) - More than 400 people have suffered injuries in France in the protests against fuel prices hikes, French Interior Minister Cristophe Castaner has stated.

LONDON (Sputnik) - UK Prime Minister Theresa May said in an interview with Sky News broadcaster on Sunday that there were currently not enough no-confidence letters from Conservative lawmakers to trigger a motion of no confidence.

Earlier in the day, the British prime minister said that the next seven days would be crucial for the Brexit negotiations, urging members of parliament to support the draft agreement.

The British prime minister said on Sunday that the focus this week would be on future relations with the European Union.

The leader of the Labour Party said that the cabinet would have to renegotiate the deal if it's rejected by parliament, noting that its current conditions are unacceptable.

The leaders of six Czech opposition parties issued a joint statement on November 13 calling on the government to resign due to Babis’ alleged move to kidnap his son and take him to Crimea in order to prevent him from testifying in a fraud probe.

The draft Brexit agreement has become the subject of an intense political debate both within the Conservative Party and beyond, prompting a series of resignations of cabinet ministers.