Tag Archives: Europe

A large fire has erupted at a gas station in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia. The massive blasts triggered by the blaze were caught on film. Bystanders and residents of multi-story apartment buildings filmed powerful mushroom-shaped explosions near a busy road. Новосибирск склад около газовой заправки произошёл взрыв. Огонь …

Dutch medical equipment company Philips has recalled some breathing devices and ventilators because of a foam part that might degrade and become toxic, potentially causing cancer, it said on Monday. The foam used to dampen the machines’ sound can degrade and emit small particles that irritate airways, the group said …

Swiss voters rejected a trio of environmental proposals on Sunday, including a new law intended to help the country meet its goal for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. A new CO2 law was narrowly rejected, with 51.6% of voters opposing it in a nationwide referendum …

Russia has mocked the US-led Group of Seven’s criticism of Moscow’s “destabilizing behavior” in their concluding joint statement while also making an ironic call for “stable and predictable” ties with the country. “The G7 countries approved the joint statement where, in addition to the traditional call on Russia to stop …

Growing tensions between Britain and the European Union threatened to overshadow the Group of Seven summit’s conclusion on Sunday, with London accusing France of “offensive” remarks that Northern Ireland was not part of the United Kingdom. Ever since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the …

A gunman opened fire killing two children and an elderly man in a town near Rome on Sunday, local authorities said, in a rare shooting incident in Europe. The attacker, a man in his 30s, was later found dead in a nearby house, having apparently killed himself as police were …

A huge crowd of protesters has assembled in Madrid, decrying government plans to pardon jailed Catalan leaders behind the failed 2017 independence bid, and demanding the resignation of the country’s PM over the move. Some 25,000 people gathered in central Madrid on Sunday, according to estimates by Spain’s National Police. …

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the rise of far-right extremism across France, as tensions run high over the prospect of Marine Le Pen being elected president next May. More than 100 left-leaning organizations staged nationwide “Liberty March” rallies on Sunday to demonstrate …

The Greek coastguard said that one of its patrol vessels was “harassed” by a Turkish patrol boat on Sunday, causing minor damage, a day before the Greek and Turkish leaders hold talks in Brussels. There were no injuries in the incident, which occurred east of the Aegean Island of Lesbos, …

Swiss voters are casting ballots in a referendum on a proposed “carbon dioxide law” that would hike fees and taxes on fuels that produce greenhouse gases, as their Alpine country experiences an outsized impact from the fallout of climate change. The proposal would revise and strengthen an existing law that …

A Greek court has sentenced four young Afghan asylum seekers to 10 years in jail each after they were charged with starting fires that destroyed Europe’s largest migrant camp last year. Defence lawyers said the men, who denied the accusations, were found guilty of intentional arson. The defence described the …

Thousands of Greeks marched in Athens on Thursday against government plans to overhaul labour laws which unions say will undermine workers’ rights and let companies bring in longer hours through the back door. Greece’s biggest private and public sector unions staged a day-long strike that brought public transport to a …

U.S. President Joe Biden will bring a grave Brexit warning to his first meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson: Prevent a row with the European Union from imperilling the delicate peace in Northern Ireland. On his first trip abroad since taking office in January, Biden meets Johnson on Thursday …

French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man in a crowd as he spoke to the public during a visit to southeast France on Tuesday, a video of the incident posted on social media showed. The footage shared BFM, showed Macron walking up to a metal …

Appeals judges will hand down a verdict against former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic on Tuesday, ending the last Bosnian genocide trial before the U.N. court for the former Yugoslavia. Mladic, 78, led Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. He was convicted in 2017 on charges of …

Malta registered no new COVID-19 cases for the first time in 11 months on Monday, but the Mediterranean island’s health minister urged people to remain careful to prevent any resurgence. “Today is the first day with zero cases since last summer,” minister Chris Fearne wrote on Twitter. “It is essential …

Switzerland could become the first European country to ban artificial pesticides in a June 13 referendum which backers of the initiative hope will trigger similar prohibitions elsewhere. Globally, only Bhutan has a complete ban on synthetic pesticides, according to supporters aiming to outlaw the use of products made by agrochemical …

Backlog of 305,000 applications in post-Brexit settlement scheme prompts calls for extension of 30 June deadline Hundreds of thousands of European citizens face legal limbo if the Home Office fails to clear a backlog of more than 300,000 applications before the EU settlement scheme closes at the end of this …

The first cruise ship to leave Venice since coronavirus restrictions were eased set sail on Saturday, but some local residents protested over the return to normal, unhappy about the passage of giant liners through the historic lagoon city. Hundreds of people rallied on land and small boats fluttering flags saying …

A deputy Polish parliamentary speaker faced calls for his dismissal on Saturday after criticising Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for meeting Warsaw’s liberal mayor. Tsikhanouskaya met Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a member of Poland’s biggest opposition party, during a visit to Warsaw this week which she used to call for increased …