Tag Archives: Europe

Portugal will go on high alert as more than 850 firefighters struggle to put out a fire sweeping across part of the country’s central region on Sunday, with strong winds and high temperatures complicating efforts to tackle the blaze. The wildfire has been raging in the municipality of Oleiros since …

Ukrainian and rebel forces in war-torn eastern Ukraine have started preparing for a “full and comprehensive” cease-fire scheduled to begin at midnight, a move that officials hope can lead to more steps to resolve the 6-year-old conflict. Rebel officials said Sunday they have instructed their troops about the cease-fire and …

Spain is safe for tourists and Spaniards, the government insisted on Sunday after Britain abruptly imposed a two-week coronavirus quarantine on travelers returning from there, a decision that filled holidaymakers with dismay. Last year, Britons made up over a fifth of foreign visitors to Spain, which relies heavily on tourism …

A Rwandan refugee who volunteered as a warden at France’s 15th-century Nantes cathedral has confessed to setting the blaze that gutted its interior a week ago, his lawyer said on Sunday. The suspect, whose name has not been made public, was taken into custody on Saturday following his confession. He …

South Africa has announced more than 12,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases as the total in one of the world’s worst affected countries reaches 434,200 with 6,655 deaths. South Africa makes up well over half the confirmed cases on the African continent, where experts say the virus could smoulder in areas …

Second coronavirus tests of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his political team who attended an EU summit this week came out negative, the government said on Friday, after earlier tests showed positive for one member of the delegation. Borissov went into quarantine after the head of his political office, …

A man armed with a grenade escaped arrest on Thursday and took a senior Ukrainian policeman hostage in the central city of Poltava, a government minister said. It was the second hostage-taking in Ukraine in three days. On Tuesday, an armed man held 13 people captive on a bus for …

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov replaced key ministers on Thursday in a government reshuffle designed to quell a wave of anti-corruption protests that have called for his resignation. Borissov dismissed the ministers of finance, economy and interior, whom he had asked to resign last week to stop speculation that they …

A man allegedly armed with a bomb has hijacked a bus in a north-western city in the Ukraine. Volyn region police have issued a hostage alert, Ukraine newsagency Interfax reports. It is believed there are about 20 people on the bus. “This morning, the 102 hotline received a message saying …

European Union leaders reached an “historic” deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-hit economies at a pre-dawn meeting on Tuesday after a fractious summit that lasted almost five days. Summit chairman Charles Michel tweeted “Deal” shortly after the 27 leaders finally reached agreement at a 5.15 a.m. (0315 …

EU leaders have gathered for a third day of discussions over a massive post-coronavirus economic recovery plan. Some member states believe the proposed €750bn ($857bn; £680bn) package is too large and should come as loans, rather than grants. The unplanned third day of talks comes after a record one-day rise …

The death toll from a migrant boat disaster in Lake Van in eastern Turkey has risen to 50, the governor’s office said on Saturday, after three weeks of search operations. The boat, which sank on June 27, is believed to have been carrying 55 to 60 migrants, according to Interior …

Tens of thousands of people in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk took to the streets on Saturday, protesting the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. Local media estimated the rally in the city 6100 kilometres (3800 miles) east of Moscow attracted from …

Firemen were battling a fire that broke out early on Saturday morning inside the cathedral in the western French city of Nantes, the local fire service said on Twitter. TV images showed smoke coming out of the 15th century structure. The blaze comes a just over a year after a …

Belarusian police detained at least 250 people during protests after the authorities refused to register President Alexander Lukashenko’s two main rivals as candidates in a presidential election, rights group Vesna 96 said on Wednesday. Vesna 96 published a list of all those it said had been detained on Tuesday following …

Norwegian police said Wednesday they had arrested one person after multiple women were stabbed, one of whom reportedly succumbed to her wounds, in the city of Sarpsborg south of Oslo. Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, Norwegian police wrote on Twitter that they had received reports of “multiple people that have …

EN DIRECT | Une Nation engagée, unie et solidaire : suivez la cérémonie du #14juillet. https://t.co/Plcl8n2aoo — Élysée (@Elysee) July 14, 2020 Medics in white coats replaced uniformed soldiers as stars of France’s Bastille Day ceremonies Tuesday as the usual grandiose military parade in Paris was recalibrated to honor medics …

The speaker of the Catalan regional parliament demanded Tuesday that the Spanish government launch an official investigation into reports that his cellphone was the target of espionage, allegedly by Spanish security services. Roger Torrent, a leading supporter of Catalonia’s efforts to break away from Spain and become an independent country, …

Protests marred by violence continued on Friday in Belgrade, where thousands rallied against Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and government policies, including its handling of the coronavirus crisis. Police in riot gear and mounted units deployed around the parliament building to prevent Vucic’s opponents from storming it. Protesters, who pelted police …

Bosnia is marking the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, the only crime in Europe since World War II that has been declared a genocide, with only a small number of survivors allowed to take part in commemoration events due to the coronavirus pandemic. The brutal execution in July 1995 …