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HALLE, Belgium (AP) — Farmers blocked more traffic arteries across Belgium, France and Italy on Wednesday, as they sought to disrupt trade at major ports and other economic lifelines. They also moved closer to Brussels on the eve of a major European Union summit, in a continued push for better prices for their produce and less bureaucracy in their work. I think we are addressing two very important (concerns) of them right now,” European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič said. A climax in Belgium is set for Thursday, when farmers plan to protest outside EU headquarters during a summit of government leaders. Despite the widespread inconveniences, governments in the EU are treating protests, which have been mostly peaceful, with extreme caution.

Persons: Maroš Šefčovič, Sven Pieters, Gérald Darmanin, “, Alexander De Croo, De Croo, Emmanuel Macron, ___ Sylvie Corbet, Ciaran Giles Organizations: HALLE, — Farmers, European Commission, EU, Protesters, South Locations: Belgium, France, Italy, Brussels, Ukraine, “, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Flanders, Zeebrugge, Creteil, “ Paris, ”, Chile, New Zealand, Belgian, Madrid

Surging olive oil prices, driven in part by two years of drought in Spain, has meant opportunity for criminals across the Mediterranean. Warehouse break-ins, dilution of premium oil with inferior product, and falsification of shipping data are on the rise in olive-growing heartlands of Greece, Spain and Italy. Bekas, who owns 5,000 olive trees, suffered repeated raids by thieves before deciding to take an early harvest. After decades of growth, the global olive oil market has been disrupted by a nearly two-year drought in Spain, which typically accounts for about 40% of world supply. The regional agricultural association issued a plea for police assistance following reports that 100 olive trees were destroyed or seriously damaged in a single incident last month.

Persons: Konstantinos Markou, –, ” Markou, Neilos Papachristou, Christos Bekas, we’ve, ”, That's, Gennaro Sicolo, Ciaran Giles, Colleen Barry, Raf Casert Organizations: Farmers Locations: SPATA, Greece, Athens, Spain, Italy, Puglia, Papachristou's, Bari, Madrid, Milan, Brussels

BRUSSELS (AP) — These days, think twice before you lavishly ladle olive oil onto your pasta, salad or crusty bread. Olive oil, a daily staple of Mediterranean cuisine and the life of many a salad throughout Europe, is experiencing a staggering rise in price. In Spain, the world's biggest olive oil producer, prices jumped 53% in August compared to the previous year and a massive 115% since August 2021. Apart from olive oil, “potato prices were also on a staggering rise,” according to EU statistical agency Eurostat. Even if ETUC blames profiteering of big agroindustry in times of crisis, the olive oil sector has faced its own challenges.

Persons: ”, Esther Lynch, ETUC, ___ Ciarán Giles Organizations: European Union ., Eurostat, European Trade Union Confederation, Agriculture Ministry Locations: BRUSSELS, Olive, Europe, European Union . Olive, Spain, U.S, Japan, Ukraine, Madrid

HUSAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Iceland’s prime minister and women across the volcanic island nation went on strike Tuesday to push for an end to unequal pay and gender-based violence. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdóttir said that she would stay home as part of the women's strike — “kvennaverkfal” in Icelandic — and expected other women in her Cabinet would do the same. Iceland's trade unions, the main organizers of the strike, called on women and nonbinary people to refuse both paid and unpaid work, including household chores, for the day. “Foreign women are more vulnerable,” said Alice Clarke, a cloth designer from Canada who has lived in Iceland for 30 years. Acting Equality Minister Irene Montero said Tuesday that the 2018 strike was inspired by Iceland’s 1975 walkout and expressed full support for the latest protest.

Persons: —, Katrin Jakobsdóttir, RUV, ”, Alice Clarke, ” Clarke, Irene Montero, Iceland’s, ___ Jill Lawless, Ciarán Giles Organizations: Schools, World Economic, Statistics Locations: HUSAVIK, Iceland, understaffed, Iceland's, Statistics Iceland, Canada, Reykjavík, Poland, Spain, London, Madrid

OVIEDO, Spain (AP) — American actor Meryl Streep on Friday received Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Arts Award at a ceremony presided over by the Spanish royal family in the northern city of Oviedo. “Empathy may be a radical form of outreach and diplomacy useful in other theaters of endeavor” she said. Others honored at the ceremony were bestselling Japanese author Haruki Murakami, who won the literature prize and U.S. biologists Jeffrey Gordon, Peter Greenberg and Bonnie Bassler, who received the scientific and technical research prize. Sports award winner, Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, said in a speech that running for him was much more than a physical exercise. “We must make our world a running world, because a running world is a happy world.

Persons: Meryl Streep, Streep, “, Haruki Murakami, Jeffrey Gordon, Peter Greenberg, Bonnie Bassler, Gordon, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, Nuccio Ordine, Eliud Kipchoge, ”, Joan Miró, Princess Leonor, _____ Ciarán Giles Organizations: Asturias Arts, Diseases, Sports, Kenyan Locations: OVIEDO, Spain, American, Oviedo, Scottish, Spanish Catalan, Madrid

Italy is even going outside the EU to establish links with the United Kingdom to crack down on unwanted arrivals. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was blunt about how far Europe's leaders still are from reaching a consensus before they met in Granada, Spain. Orbán, who has pushed back against EU policy repeatedly and taken a hard-line approach against migration, said that he won't sign off on any deal at any point in the foreseeable future. He went as far as to compare the situation to being “legally raped” by Hungary's fellow EU members. “The agreement on migration, politically, it’s impossible — not today (or) generally speaking for the next years," Orbán said.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Orbán, “, Mateusz Morawiecki, Ursula von der Leyen, ”, Roberta Metsola, ” Metsolas, Giorgia, Rishi Sunak, ___ Wilson, Raf Casert, Ciarán Giles, Colleen Barry, Vanessa Gera, Danica Kirka Organizations: European Union, EU, International Organization for Migration, Giorgia Meloni, della, The Times Locations: GRANADA, Spain, Brussels, Hungary, Poland, Italy, United Kingdom, Granada, Syria, Turkey, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Lampedusa, London, Africa, El Hierro, Senegal, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Warsaw

GRANADA, Spain (AP) — Almost 50 European leaders used a summit in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Thursday to stress that they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears somewhat weakened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that beside maintaining such unity, more military aid to get through the winter was essential. And especially now that questions about continued support are growing in the United States too. “I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States. What the United States is working on is the timing," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Biden, ” Zelenskyy, Robert Fico, Hungary’s, Pedro Sánchez, “, Ursula von der Leyen, Josep Borrell, doesn’t, Putin, Borrell, Putin's, ”, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Vjosa Osmani, Aleksandar Vucic, Osmani, wantssanctions, Raf Casert, Aritz Parra, Ciarán Giles, Joseph Wilson, Semini Organizations: Political, U.S, Congress, White, Republicans, European Union, Kyiv, Armenian, Yerevan, Kosovo, Serbian, Belgrade, Serbia Locations: GRANADA, Spain, Spanish, Granada, Ukraine, United States, Europe, Kyiv, Slovakia, Russia, U.S, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Serbia, “, Kosovo, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Tirana, Albania

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