Deutsche Welle: DW.com - Europe

UK: Village votes to 'secede' in asylum center plan protest Residents of Piddington, a tiny, remote village in Oxfordshire in England, have staged a "referendum" on leaving the UK. They are objecting to plans to open an asylum reception center at a disused military base nearby. Can Canada and the EU build a deeper partnership? Canadian Prime Minister Carney is known for standing up to US President Donald Trump. Now he wants to forge a "unique alliance" with Europe. But what could such a partnership look like? Shock in Kosovo as Hague convicts former President Thaci The conviction in The Hague of former President Hashim Thaci and three former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders has caused consternation in Kosovo — both among political leaders and on the streets. DW reports from Pristina. British-American writer Bonnie Greer dies aged 77 Chicago-born playwright Bonnie Greer, who became a familiar face in British political discourse later in life, has died. Her husband David Hutchins announced news of Greer's death. Poland reaffirms support for Ukraine after drone strikes After Russia's recent drone attacks on targets close to the Ukraine-Poland border, Warsaw has doubled down on its support for Kyiv and pledged a "nonprovocative but serious response" to Moscow. Kosovo ex-president Thaci sentenced to 25 years for war crimes A Hague tribunal ruled that Hashim Thaci, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), is responsible for war crimes carried out during the war of independence with Serbia. Turkey's rights groups, EU call out LGBTQ+ crackdown Several raids and arrests of LGBTQ+ persons in Turkey have triggered sharp criticism from numerous Turkish organizations — and also from Brussels. Why do authoritarian regimes target the LGBTQ+ community? A recent crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community in Turkey is symptomatic of a wider rights regression, according to experts. It's worse under authoritarian regimes, but why is it such a popular policy for these states? Netherlands: Suspected sabotage disrupts train services A major outage has hit parts of the Dutch railway system after objects were found placed across lines, authorities say. The company responsible for rail infrastructure says it suspects deliberate wrongdoing. Europe launches two climate observation satellites The European Space Agency has put two satellites into orbit to take a closer look at the impact of climate change. One of them will focus particularly on plant life.