EUROPE

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The Czech Republic and Poland are facing massive financial challenges after severe floods swept through Central Europe, causing extensive damage. Just a week before the disaster, the Czech Republic was poised to bring its budget deficit under the 3% of GDP cap set by European Union (EU) rules. However, the floods, which are the worst in two decades, have upended those plans.

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Over 140 Ukrainian drones targeted multiple Russian regions overnight, including Moscow and surrounding areas, killing at least one person, officials said Tuesday, in one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian soil in the 2 1/2-year war.

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The new French Prime Minister Michel Barnier warned on Wednesday that France's budgetary situation is "very serious". France was placed on a formal procedure for violating European Union budgetary rules before Barnier was picked as head of government this month by President Emmanuel Macron. And the Bank of France warned this week that a projected return to EU deficit rules by 2027 was "not realistic".

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A newly unveiled statue of Queen Elizabeth II in Northern Ireland has sparked mixed reactions. The bronze sculpture, which depicts the late monarch alongside her husband Prince Philip and two of her iconic corgis, was recently installed at Antrim Castle Gardens, near Belfast. While the local council reported that the statue had been "warmly received" by many, social media reactions have been less kind.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has named Michel Barnier as prime minister. Mr Barnier, 73, is the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator and led talks with the UK government between 2016 and 2019. A veteran of the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, he has had a long political career and filled various senior posts, both in France and within the EU.

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Beleaguered Swedish electric car battery maker Northvolt said Monday it would cut its workforce as it scales back operations to focus on its main gigafactory in Sweden.

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The Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday appointed his minister for digital affairs Jose Luis Escriva as the Bank of Spain's new governor, raising concerns about the central bank's independence.