The toughest job for Britain’s next prime minister will be to leave the European Union. But the new leader will have few options: find a divorce deal that parliament will ratify, leave without a deal or delay. Legally, Britain leaves on Oct. 31, seven months later than planned, unless the …
Read More »Swiss to return $133 million to Uzbekistan after money-laundering probe.
The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) on Monday announced it was returning 130 million Swiss francs ($133 million) to Uzbekistan which it seized during an investigation involving a relative of the daughter of the country’s former president Islam Karimov. The OAG did not name the relative who was convicted on …
Read More »Two Eurofighter jets collide over Germany.
Two German armed forces Eurofighter jets have collided and crashed in the Müritz area of north-eastern Germany. Both pilots were seen to eject from their planes by a colleague in a third Eurofighter plane. One of the pilots has been found alive and a search is going on for the …
Read More »‘Potentially dangerous’ heatwave set to strike Europe
Intense heat is forecast across much of Continental Europe over the coming days. Temperatures are expected to peak at close to 40°C on Thursday in Paris. And it is unclear how long this heatwave will last. June is typically a month of gentle warmth in Europe, marking the beginning of …
Read More »Boris Johnson ‘should give explanation’ for home row
Jeremy Hunt has added his voice to calls for Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson to answer questions about a row with his girlfriend which led to police being called to their address. Mr Hunt said someone who wants to be PM “should answer questions on everything”. Cabinet minister Liam …
Read More »Istanbul votes again in test for Turkish democracy, Erdogan
The votes of millions of Istanbul residents were being counted on Sunday after polls closed on a re-run of a mayoral election that has become a referendum on President Tayyip Erdogan’s policies, and a test of Turkey’s ailing democracy. In the initial March 31 vote, the opposition Republican People’s Party …
Read More »Hundreds of climate activists occupy giant German coal mine.
Several hundred climate activists evaded police to enter an open-cast mine run by energy giant RWE in western Germany Saturday, a day after tens of thousands campaigned against the use of coal. The activists, many dressed in white overalls and carrying sleeping bags, got into the vast Garzweiler lignite mine …
Read More »Putin on MH17 downing: Evidence presented against Russia is ‘no proof at all’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed allegations by international investigators who have accused three Russians, one Ukrainian of using a surface-to-air missile, brought from Russia, to shoot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. Asked whether he thought it was time for Russia to acknowledge responsibility for the shooting down of the …
Read More »London mayor announces car-free day.
London is to get a much-needed breath of fresh air on its most extensive car-free day to date, with 12.4 miles (20km) of the road to be closed in the center of the British capital. Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled the plans for September 22 on Thursday — Clean Air Day …
Read More »Britain broke the law on Saudi arms exports, court rules
Britain broke the law by allowing arms sales to Saudi Arabia that might have been used in Yemen’s war, a court ruled, after activists said there was a clear risk the weapons could be operated in violation of human rights legislation. While the court’s decision does not mean Britain must …
Read More »Germany’s Angela Merkel ‘fine’ after seen shaking in a heatwave.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is fine after she was seen trembling as she greeted Ukraine’s president on a boiling day in Berlin. Mrs. Merkel, 64, was visibly struggling as she stood next to Volodymyr Zelensky while a military band played the two countries’ anthems in the midday …
Read More »War of Words: London Mayor calls Trump ‘poster boy’ for racists.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called Donald Trump a “poster boy for racists,” after the US president renewed his attacks on the Muslim mayor, blaming him for a spate of attacks in the British capital. Trump called Khan a “disaster” who should be thrown out of the office while re-posting …
Read More »Anti-graft campaigner sworn in as Slovakia’s first female president.
Anti-corruption campaigner Zuzana Caputova was sworn in as Slovakia’s first female president on Saturday, vowing to fight impunity and champion justice in a country shaken by a journalist’s murder last year. The killing of Jan Kuciak, who investigated high-level graft cases, and his fiancé at their home last February sparked …
Read More »See the Church that built from 40,000 human skeletons.
In the heart of the Czech countryside, Kutná Hora houses some of the most beautiful architecture in the whole of Bohemia. Positioned around 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) east of Prague, this medieval city competed politically, economically and culturally with the capital city during the 13th to 16th centuries, thanks …
Read More »Poland to get 1000 more US troops.
US President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda inked a new defense agreement at the White House on Wednesday that will station an additional 1,000 US troops in Poland on a rotational basis Trump marked the signing and Duda’s visit with a rare military display: a flyover of an …
Read More »Russian police detain more than 400 at protest over journalist.
Hundreds of people have been detained at a Moscow rally demanding punishment for police who detained an anti-corruption journalist. Officers in riot gear clashed with protesters during the unauthorized march in support of Ivan Golunov. Among those detained at the rally were fellow journalists as well as opposition leader Alexei …
Read More »Altaf Hussain arrest: Karachi in lockdown after Pakistan’s MQM leader is held in London.
British police arrested Pakistani politician Altaf Hussain in London on Tuesday as part of an investigation into speeches he gave as a founder of a political party that ruled the megacity of Karachi for decades, media in Pakistan reported. London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement a man in his …
Read More »Seven dead as migrant boat overturns off Greek island.
Two children, four women, and a man drowned when a boat carrying them overturned off the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday, the coast guard said. Another 57 people were rescued in an operation that was still ongoing, the coast guard added. It did not provide further details on the …
Read More »Mediterranean will be ‘sea of blood’ without rescue boats, UN warns.
The risk of migrants and refugees becoming shipwrecked in the Mediterranean and dying at sea is the highest it has ever been due to a lack of NGO rescue ships and the conflict in Libya hastening departures at an alarming rate, the UN has warned. “If we do not intervene …
Read More »Moldovan court suspends president in a political standoff.
A Moldovan court temporarily relieved President Igor Dodon of his duties on Sunday to allow a stand-in to call a snap election, deepening a standoff between rival political parties over the formation of a new government after months of deadlock. Dodon’s replacement, former prime minister Pavel Filip, immediately announced a …
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