Chinese pianist Chen Junyan's journey from Shanghai to the Royal Academy of Music in London has taken her to one of the world's most prestigious platforms — the Leeds International Piano Competition, where she won multiple prizes in 2024. At the launch of the competition's 2027
Europe in focus — news and analysis from a China perspective.
- About 100 people died during a mass border crossing into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta last week, Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas told an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Thursday. Vivas said
- Prolonged heat and drought have pushed the Danube’s water levels to exceptionally low levels, with river flows falling to around one-third of normal, limiting cooling water supplies for power plants and putting energy systems in Romania and Hungary under strain.
- Heat-related deaths in Germany reached an estimated 11,900 during the first seven months of 2026, already surpassing full-year totals recorded since 2016, according to a report released Thursday by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's public health institute.
- A 47-year-old woman has been arrested after multiple people were stabbed in Covent Garden, London, Sky News reported Wednesday, quoting the Metropolitan Police. bit.ly/4hgPBhI

