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.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday announced they would develop a new legal tool to enable the EU to respond rapidly to trade wars or measures, such as dumping. While they did not say the proposal was a direct response to the actions of any particular country, it came days before EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen visits China to tackle trade frictions.

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?

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday slammed Russia's increased strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. In a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said he reviewed "the concrete support" Europe can provide Ukraine to defend itself against the attacks.

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

Britain's disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, filed a legal action on Monday to quash warrants that led to searches of his residences. The police arrested the 66-year-old on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct over his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Spanish ​Prime ​Minister ​Pedro Sanchez on Monday called an early ​election ‌for ‌November ​29. Facing the electorate now could be risky, as Sanchez's Socialist Party is trailing in opinion polls. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to travel to Iceland on Monday, two weeks after Washington sealed a security pact with Denmark and Greenland on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Rubio will meet with officials in Reykjavik "to discuss economic and security collaboration", according to a statement by the US State Department. 

The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that all US B-1 bombers deployed to Britain’s RAF Fairford had returned home following a security incident that prompted nearby evacuations. Police found no explosives after reports of suspicious activity at the base last Sunday. Five London-based British men arrested were subsequently released on bail.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday marked by renewed Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, including the latest drone attack on a bridge spanning the Dnipro River.

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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the US wants to broker a new round of talks with Ukraine and Russia on ending the war and hold it by the end of October. Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River was again hit in a Russian attack during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Bosnians head to the polls Sunday in elections that ​could impact how much influence Russia has over the small Balkan nation, with separatist Serb leader Milorad Dodik dominating the campaign despite his ban from public office. Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country marred by ethnic tensions, has struggled to recover since its brutal 1992-95 conflict.

Latvian ​Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs was set to retain power and form a coalition after his centrist United List won parliamentary elections on Sunday, the biggest in the country's post-independence history. While the result is expected to reinforce the Baltic country’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian stance, populist parties also made significant gains.

The Bronze Horseman, the iconic equestrian statue in Senate Square in St Petersburg, was commissioned by Catherine the Great in honor of Peter the Great, the city's founder. The pedestal of the statue bears a laconic dedication: "To Peter the First, Catherine the Second, 1782". Does Putin want to be the third, Vladimir the Great? And is that ambition – expansion at any cost – the real reason behind the war in Ukraine? According to former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, "Putin only cares about what will be written about him in history books."

France’s decision to share defence documents with the Italian judiciary has raised hopes of a breakthrough in investigations into the 1980 crash of a passenger jet near the island of Ustica, which a former Italian president claimed was mistakenly shot down by a French fighter jet. Sceptics caution that the files are unlikely to shed light on one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries, let alone reveal a culprit.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other cities in Spain on Saturday to demand affordable housing, fuelled by anger at lawmakers who narrowly rejected measures put forward by the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to strengthen protection for tenants.

Kyiv's Northern Bridge across the Dnipro river was hit by a Russian air attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday, deepening travel chaos amid an escalation in strikes ​on ‌infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. The latest attack comes a day after the city's Southern Bridge was hit by several strikes that officials said were "tearing Kyiv apart".