European news, headlines, features and analysis

At the age of 12, Sarah Thomas found out that her father - who she'd never known - was a Roman Catholic priest. She then spent years trying to establish a relationship with him. It took a near-death experience for her to overcome the scars of his rejection.

More details on the royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expected to be revealed later.

Clarence House announced on Monday that the couple were engaged and planning to marry in spring, but no details of the ceremony or specific date were given.

In their first joint TV interview, the prince said "beautiful" Ms Markle "just tripped and fell into my life".

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats say they are open to talks with other parties to try to end the stalemate, after Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to form a coalition government.

SPD leader Martin Schulz had refused to form a coalition with Mrs Merkel's conservatives and said the party would go into opposition.

But he is under pressure to reconsider an alliance amid the political impasse.

Thousands of Catalans have protested against the detention of eight regional ministers sacked over Catalonia's push for independence from Spain.

The officials - who appeared in Spain's high court - are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds.

Prosecutors are also seeking a European Arrest Warrant for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who did not show up in court and is now in Belgium.

Norway's Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg appears set for a second term after claiming victory in the country's general election.

Ms Solberg's ruling coalition with the Progress Party is slated to win 89 of 169 seats, with 95% of votes counted.

The opposition Labour Party appears to have maintained its position as the largest single group in parliament.

Spain's constitutional court has suspended a referendum law passed by the Catalan parliament to hold a vote on independence next month.

The court says it will consider whether the law breaches Spain's constitution.

Despite the decision, Catalan leaders say the vote will be held as planned on 1 October.

A four-year-old Italian girl has died of cerebral malaria in northern Italy, a region free of the disease, in what doctors see as a very mysterious case.

Sofia Zago died in Brescia on Sunday night, after being rushed to hospital with a high fever on Saturday.

Spanish police have shot dead the main suspect in last Thursday's Barcelona attack, Younes Abouyaaqoub.

Police believe he was the driver of a van which careered down the Las Ramblas avenue, killing 13 and injuring more than 100 others.

He was killed some 25 miles (40km) west of Barcelona near a sewage treatment works following a tip off.

A falling tree has killed at least 13 people and injured 49 at a religious ceremony on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

A video shows the tree crashing down on a crowded square in a suburb of the main town, Funchal, spreading panic among people enjoying the festivities.

Two children are reported to have been killed, and some of the injured are said to be foreign nationals.

Thirty-five people have died of measles across Europe in the past 12 months, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, warning that vaccination remains crucial to stopping the spread.

In the most recent case, a 6-year-old died in Italy on June 22. The boy's doctor confirmed that he had not been vaccinated against measles and died of the disease.

Another measles death and over 3,300 cases of measles have been reported in Italy alone since June 2016.

Rescuers in southern Italy are trying to find eight people missing after an apartment block collapsed in Naples.

Italian media say two families were living in the four-storey building that collapsed in Torre Annunziata district. Two children are among those missing.

At least six people have died after a huge fire raged through the night at a west London tower block, and police expect that number to rise.

Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning Grenfell Tower, in North Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.

Police have shot a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

The man shouted "This is for Syria" during the attack, officials say. Authorities are treating it as a terrorist incident.

The United Nations has convened a new round of indirect Syrian peace talks in Geneva, despite President Bashar al-Assad dismissing them as irrelevant.

The government and opposition have agreed to discuss four "baskets" - a political transition, new constitution, elections and combating terrorism.

The Duke of Edinburgh is retiring from royal duties this autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The decision was made by Prince Philip himself and is supported by the Queen, a palace spokesman said.

Polls have opened in France for the first round of the presidential election, in a vote that could not only have significant consequences for the country but also the future of the European Union.

Four candidates in Sunday's election have a realistic chance of reaching the second round run-off on May 7, with just 5 percentage points separating them according to the latest opinion polls.

Pope Francis has described some of Europe's holding centres for migrants and refugees as concentration camps.

The Roman Catholic leader made the comments while meeting migrants during a visit to a basilica in Rome.

Five days before the first round of France's presidential election, two men have been arrested on suspicion of planning an imminent attack.

The suspects, aged 23 and 29, were detained in Marseille by elite police and domestic intelligence agents after a search that had lasted several days.