Joanna Gill

The death of a second Indian farm labourer in Italy within as many months has put the spotlight on reports of exploitative conditions faced by some migrant workers in Europe's fields.

The prosecutor in the province of Latina has opened a manslaughter case into the death of Dalvir Singh, a flower picker, who was found slumped in a field during extreme summer heat on August 16.

Rights campaigners warn that new policies from European governments to deter migration from Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries may shut out or even criminalise refugees, already facing growing hostility across the bloc.

Amid significant gains by far-right parties in the European Parliament in a June election, more countries across the continent are imposing measures designed to respond to rising anti-immigration sentiment among voters.

Billed as “democracy's biggest test,” 2024 is a major election year with billions of citizens casting their votes. But commitments to gender equality in politics are falling short in some parts of the world.

While there have been historic moments, such as the election of Mexico's first female president Claudia Sheinbaum in June and Kamala Harris' bid to become the first female president of the United States, elections in Indonesia, India, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and South Africa had no female frontrunners.

Britain's new Labour government has said it will uphold a ban that stops transgender and gender-diverse children from accessing puberty-blocking drugs, a contested treatment for children who wish to transition.

The decision is facing pushback from trans activists, while the British Medical Association (BMA) - the professional body for doctors - has called for the ban to be lifted.

Rights activists say a possible far-right National Rally (RN) win in the second round of French parliamentary elections on Sunday could threaten progress on LGBTQ+ rights and fuel anti-LGBTQ+ violence.

Marine Le Pen's socially conservative RN party, which has spoken out against LGBTQ+ equality, made historic gains in the first round of the polls on June 30 and could well win a parliamentary majority.

Energy-hungry data centres may have to go nuclear to meet rising  demands for artificial intelligence (AI) if the world wants to keep its word and cut greenhouse-gas emissions, experts say.

With AI takeup growing at a clip, big tech - from Microsoft to Google - is looking at nuclear energy as a possible new power source of the vast storage units that power its products.

Home to animated heroes from Tintin to the Smurfs, Brussels is proud to display its cartoon heritage in mammoth murals that tower over the city's stately streets.

But all is not well in the self-declared capital of comics.

As Europe braces for summer wildfires, it is putting some 550 firefighters and 32 aircraft on standby and plans to spend 600 million euros ($644 million) on water-bombing planes, but experts warn the money could be better spent on prevention.

Last year's wildfire season in Europe was among the worst this century, the European Commission said. Fires burnt through more than half a million hectares, led to mass evacuations and killed at least 20 people in Greece.

Four days of voting in Europe have shifted the political centre to the right, with far-right parties on track to win just under a quarter of seats in the European Parliament.

While centrist parties remain in the majority, human rights advocates fear that a right-leaning parliament could stall or even roll back progress in certain areas.

Europe's progress towards LGBTQ+ equality could take a hit if radical right-wing parties make big gains in the June 6-9 European Parliament election, rights campaigners say.

Polls predict gains by nationalist and eurosceptic parties that have spoken out against LGBTQ+ equality, in some cases reversing previous measures and advocating instead for "traditional" family values.