Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called an early election for November 29, aiming to increase his parliamentary support after lawmakers last week rejected proposals to address a housing crisis that has drawn nationwide protests. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Javier Carbonell, Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, explains that Sanchez has chosen "the best moment in a sea of troubles" to call snap elections as he is likely to capitalise on the mobilisation of left-wing voters during the housing protests.

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Letta Tayler, Senior Counterterrorism Advisor at Human Rights Watch. She warns of the detention of suspected Islamic State members transferred from northeast Syria to Iraq as part of a much wider "global detention crisis". The men and boys now held in Iraq are living in 'dire' conditions, including deaths from illness, allegations of torture, and serious questions surrounding access to effective legal representation. Can accountability be achieved through legal proceedings that respect the rule of law and provide genuine justice to both detainees and victims?

Two people have ⁠died and ​another is missing after heavy rains and flooding in Spain's ​Catalonia region, authorities said on Sunday.

In Bulgaria, the remains of medieval ruler Tsar Samuel have been laid to rest in the capital Sofia, after being flown back from the border with Greece by Bulgarian fighter jets. Their return follows decades of negotiations with Athens, in exchange for the return of religious artefacts. Nicholas Rushworth has more.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Sunday on an unannounced visit in a show of support for the country in its war with Russia. Merz's visit comes just a day after Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital, saying that "massive" new airstrikes would hit the city. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Kyiv Gulliver Cragg has more.

Bosnia is heading to the polls on Sunday after a general election campaign dominated by parties that identify closely with the ethnic divisions of its 1990s war. Voters will elect a vast number of officials across multiple tiers of government, in a complex system that has held the partitioned country together since the 1995 peace deal. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Belgrade Laurent Rouy has more.

Delano D'Souza is pleased to welcome Carlos Mascarell Vilar, political scientist based in Spain. From his own perspective, Emmanuel Macron's visit to Spain needs to be understood by European power, political legacy, and geoeconomics. France and Spain are seeking to reinforce their bilateral relationship at a moment when the balance of power within Europe is changing rapidly, particularly with the growing importance of countries in the east such as Poland. For Macron, strengthening the Madrid-Paris axis is also part of a broader effort to advance European defence and strategic sovereignty.

Andy Burnham put the idea of Britain rejoining the EU on the table on Wednesday, breaking a taboo for a UK prime minister and reopening the divisive Brexit debate. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Law at the University of Cambridge, says that Burnham "is sending the message that actually it's been pretty cold being on the outside of the EU so we're now looking at the alternatives".

Teenagers in France have been blockading their schools and demonstrating since last week to protest a string of grievances. Standing in front of the Lycée Hélène Boucher, FRANCE 24 journalist Antonia Kerrigan said students there said there were "class sizes of more than 36 people". Click on the video for more. 

British police said on Monday that five men arrested near an air base used by the United States were released on bail, as officers probed whether a "foreign state" could be involved in a suspected bomb plot. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Monte Francis, Yan Saint-Pierre, CEO of Modern Security Consulting Group, explains that many of the hybrid warfare cases seen recently "involve local nationals, this is not about exporting terror", adding that foreign actors aim to have "as many layers as possible to complicate any investigation and accurate denunciation of culprits".

Russian drones struck Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences in the historic heart of Kyiv on Monday, in the latest deadly daytime attack on the capital. Volodymyr Zelensky has long been pleading with Ukraine’s allies for more military aid to fend off Russia. But Ukrainian weapons producers say the country could be bringing in significant revenue of its own, if only they were allowed to export their products. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv.

Tensions are running high in Northern Ireland after the High Court in Belfast approved a controversial parade. Around 2,000 protesters have blocked the route into a Catholic area where the Protestant march was due to pass. It is the first time in nearly 30 years that the Orange Order has been allowed to march along this route, which was a notorious flashpoint before the 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely brought an end to the bloodshed of the Troubles. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appealed for calm on all sides, saying he does not want to see Northern Ireland “go backwards.”

Les électeurs suisses décideront dimanche s'ils ⁠approuvent ou non ​une définition plus stricte de leur neutralité, qui empêcherait notamment leur pays d'imposer des sanctions économiques ou de coopérer avec ​l'OTAN.

A court in Northern Ireland has allowed a Protestant parade to proceed through a controversial route in a Catholic area for the first time in nearly 30 years. The legal dispute ended in the early hours of Sunday, with counterprotests now underway and police working to keep marchers and protesters apart. The Drumcree parade dispute dates back to the mid-1990s, when tensions over the route led to riots, roadblocks and murders, threatening Northern Ireland’s peace process. Hervé Amoric reports from Portadown.

Le projet d'association entre l'Union européenne et le Canada n'est aucunement une alliance anti-américaine, a tenté de rassurer Bruxelles jeudi 17 septembre, après des menaces de Donald Trump. La proposition de la présidente de la Commission européenne visant à ce que le Canada devienne le premier pays "membre associé" de l'UE, a été accueilli favorablement" par Mark Carney, le Premier ministre canadien. Les explications de Caroline de Camaret, cheffe du service Europe de France 24.

Pendant plus d'une heure, la présidente de la Commission européenne a prononcé ce mercredi 16 au matin, son discours annuel sur l’état de l’Union Européenne. Une Europe faite d'une contradiction, selon elle : "l'union n’a jamais été aussi forte". Les explications de Christian Lequesne, professeur au Centre de Recherches Internationale de Sciences Po.

La présidente ⁠de la Commission européenne, ​Ursula von der Leyen a évoqué mercredi 16 septembre l'hypothèse que le Canada devienne le premier "membre associé" de l'Union européenne, un statut qui n'est initialement pas prévu par les traités de ​l'UE. Les précisions de Jeanette Süß , analyste politique au Comité d'études des relations franco-allemandes à l'Ifri.

La présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, a promis mercredi 16 septembre de "présenter prochainement un plan européen de lutte contre les vagues de chaleur", après les canicules records de l'été. Les explications d'Antoine Mariotti, chroniqueur international à France 24, Caroline De Camaret, cheffe du service Europe à France 24 et Jeanette Süß , analyste politique au Comité d'études des relations franco-allemandes à l'Ifri.

Lors de son discours annuel devant le Parlement européen à Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen a dévoilé, mercredi 16 septembre, les priorités de l'Union européenne pour l'année à venir. Celles-ci incluent une position ferme sur la régulation de l'intelligence artificielle, l'instauration d'un "plan européen de lutte contre les vagues de chaleur" ainsi que l'ambition d'associer le Canada à l'UE. Les explications de Caroline de Camaret, cheffe du service Europe de France 24.

Lors de son discours annuel devant le Parlement européen à Strasbourg, Ursula von der Leyen a dévoilé, mercredi 16 septembre, les priorités de l'Union européenne pour l'année à venir. Celles-ci incluent une position ferme sur la régulation de l'intelligence artificielle, l'instauration d'un "plan européen de lutte contre les vagues de chaleur" ainsi que l'ambition d'associer le Canada à l'UE. Les explications de Caroline de Camaret, cheffe du service Europe de France 24.