by Anna SMOLCHENKO Agence France-Presse MOSCOU, Russia (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due in Moscow Tuesday in search of a diplomatic solution to avoid a war in Ukraine as the West and Russia signalled tentative hopes of an easing in the tense standoff. His talks with Vladimir Putin are the latest in an intense diplomatic scramble to dissuade the Russian leader from attacking his ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine. Western leaders consider the Russian troop […]
Europe
Seven killed by fire in southern France
SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-SALANQUE, France (AFP) — Seven people including two children were killed overnight from Sunday to Monday in a fire caused by an unexplained explosion in southern France, prosecutors said. Residents reported hearing a blast around 1:30 am (0030 GMT) that set buildings ablaze on both sides of a street in the small seaside town of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the city of Perpignan. “I heard a very loud explosion, then I saw […]
Sweden recommends fourth jab for over-80s
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Sweden’s public health agency on Monday recommended a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for people over the age of 80, those in nursing homes and those receiving at-home care. The agency said the jab should be taken four months after the previous dose, at the earliest. “The spread of Covid-19 is still intense in Sweden. An increasing number of cases have been reported in recent weeks, including among people at […]
German leader flies to Kyiv to calm ‘critical’ Russia war threat
by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lands in Kyiv on Monday before visiting Moscow to try to head off a “very critical” threat of a Russian invasion that would spark the worst crisis in Europe since the Cold War. Scholz’s visit comes with Kyiv seeking an urgent meeting with Russia explaining why it has deployed more than 100,000 soldiers to Ukraine’s borders while arguing with NATO about its […]
Norway lifts final Covid curbs on social distancing
OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norway on Saturday lifted its final Covid restrictions, scrapping social distancing and masks in crowded spaces despite a surge in Omicron infections. “The metre is disappearing. We are taking away the recommendation on social distancing,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters at a press conference. “Now we can now socialise like we did before, in nightlife, at cultural events and other social occasions. And on the way to and […]
US B-52 bombers arrive in Britain for exercises
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Air Force announced Thursday a set of B-52 strategic bombers had landed in Britain for scheduled NATO exercises, amid heightened tensions between the bloc and Russia over Ukraine. The North Dakota-based aircraft, support equipment, and personnel touched down at a Royal Air Force base 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of London, in Fairford, England, the command of US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement. It did […]
Biden warns American citizens in Ukraine to ‘leave now’
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Thursday urged American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and warned about potential major conflict with Moscow should US and Russian troops engage each other on the ground. “American citizens should leave, should leave now,” Biden said in an interview with NBC News. “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy […]
‘Everyone is afraid’: Fear of unknown in Ukraine warzone
by Yulia Silina Agence France-Presse KARASNOGORIVKA, Ukraine (AFP) – Third-grader Maria Shanovska is mulling which toy to pack in her emergency evacuation bag should the Russian forces massing at the border invade her war-shattered town in east Ukraine. “A family photo, my favourite toy and some food so that I don’t get hungry,” she tells her mother Natalia as they debate what they would need most should their traumatised country plunge into an even bloodier […]
Climate hope as scientists in UK set fusion record
by Charles ONIANS Scientists in Britain announced Wednesday they had smashed a previous record for generating fusion energy, hailing it as a “milestone” on the path towards cheap, clean power and a cooler planet. Nuclear fusion is the same process that the sun uses to generate heat. Proponents believe it could one day help address climate change by providing an abundant, safe and green source of energy. A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) […]
Drunken lorry driver ploughs into dozens of cars in Germany
FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — A lorry driver under the influence of alcohol rammed into over 30 cars and caused a house fire in Germany’s Bavaria region on Tuesday evening, injuring himself and two others. The 50-year-old driver “missed a red light and hit a passenger car at a crossing”, leaving the female driver lightly injured, police in the city of Fuerth said in a statement on Wednesday. Without stopping after the first accident, the Turkish […]
Nine dead as a hundred avalanches hit Austria
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Nine people died in three days during which more than 100 avalanches struck Austria, authorities said Sunday. Most of the avalanches hit the western Tyrol region and Friday alone saw five fatalities, rescue services said. Police said that one incident had claimed the lives of a group of Swedish skiers going off-piste with a mountain guide in the zone around Ischgl, near the Swiss border. The guide and four of the […]
Thousands of dead fish found in the Bay of Biscay
Images from the Sea Shepherd NGO shows tens of thousands of dead fish floating on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 300 km from the French city of La Rochelle in the Bay of Biscay, allegedly discarded by the “Margiris”, one of the largest fishing vessels in the world. An administrative investigation has been opened.





