A man armed with a bow and arrows killed several people and wounded others in southeastern Norway on Wednesday, police said, adding they had arrested the suspect. “We can unfortunately confirm that there are several injured and also unfortunately several killed in this episode,” local police official Oyvind Aas told a news conference. “The man who committed this act has been arrested by the police and, according to our information, there is only one person […]
Europe
Putin says, ‘very important’ to ‘stabilize’ gas market
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday it was “very important” to stabilize the gas market, as Europe faces a gas crisis ahead of winter due to a surge in prices and a drop in reserves. Speaking at an energy forum in Moscow, Putin said it was “very important” to “suggest a long-term mechanism to stabilizRuse the energy market” in what he called a “difficult situation.” © Agence France-Presse
Covid and work-from-home prompt big drop in Paris pupils
PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris started its 2021-22 school year with 6,000 fewer kindergarten and primary school students than last year, as more people work from home as a result of the Covid crisis, say officials. Families are also fleeing the capital’s soaring property prices to find bigger homes for less money. The number of Paris schoolchildren has been falling steadily over the past decade, leading to the closure of several schools. But the five-percent […]
6.3-magnitude quake strikes off Greek island of Crete
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the Greek island of Crete Tuesday, the Athens Observatory said, with initial media reports suggesting no-one was hurt. The epicenter of the quake felt on the island was “detected in the sea 405 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Athens at 0924 GMT”, the Observatory said in a statement, two weeks after a 5.8-magnitude quake killed one and injured 10 on Crete. © Agence France-Presse
UK unemployment eases but vacancies soar: data
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s unemployment rate eased as the economy reopened, but vacancies hit another record peak before the end of the government’s furlough jobs support scheme, data showed Tuesday. The unemployment rate — or proportion of the workforce that is unemployed — dropped to 4.5 percent in the three months to August, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. That compared with 4.6 percent in the three months to the […]
Roche applies to market Covid antibody treatment in EU
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Swiss pharma giant Roche on Monday applied to market its anti-Covid-19 cocktail in the European Union, the bloc’s medicines watchdog said, the final step before it can be released to the continent. The application to the European Medicines Agency comes just over two weeks after the World Health Organisation also recommended the treatment, which Roche co-developed with US biotech firm Regeneron. The “EMA is starting evaluating an application for marketing […]
Austria gets new leader after graft crisis engulfs Kurz
by Jastinder KHERA VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Austria’s top diplomat Alexander Schallenberg took over as chancellor on Monday as the ruling party tries to emerge from a corruption scandal that cost the job of one of Europe’s youngest leaders. Sebastian Kurz, a 35-year-old once feted as a “whizz kid”, said late Saturday he was quitting the top job after being implicated in a corruption scandal. Schallenberg, 52, was sworn in by President Alexander Van der […]
Iceland halts Moderna jabs over heart-inflammation fears
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — Iceland on Friday suspended the Moderna anti-Covid vaccine, citing the slight increased risks of cardiac inflammation, going further than its Nordic neighbours which simply limited use of the jabs. “As the supply of Pfizer vaccine is sufficient in the territory … the chief epidemiologist has decided not to use the Moderna vaccine in Iceland,” said a statement published on the website of the Health Directorate. This decision owed to “the increased […]
Pro-EU rallies draw tens of thousands in Poland
Tens of thousands of Poles rallied on Sunday in defence of their country’s EU membership, after Poland’s top court last week issued a landmark ruling against the primacy of EU law. The pro-EU demonstrations were called by former EU chief Donald Tusk, now leader of the country’s main opposition grouping, Civic Platform, who has warned of the prospect of a “Polexit”. “Tens of thousands of people in Warsaw and in over 100 cities and towns […]
Sixteen killed in Russian parachutists’ plane crash
Sixteen people were killed when a plane carrying parachutists crashed in central Russia on Sunday, the emergencies ministry said. The L-410 plane carrying 22 people crashed around 9:23 am (0623 GMT) near the town of Menzelinsk in the republic of Tatarstan, the ministry said on its Telegram channel. “Six people were rescued, 16 were taken out without signs of life,” the ministry said. The ministry had earlier said 15 people died and that the aircraft […]
Czechs in post-vote limbo as president rushed to hospital
The Czech Republic was plunged into uncertainty on Sunday as President Milos Zeman was rushed to hospital a day after his ally, populist billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis, narrowly lost an election. The president, who plays a critical role in nominating any future prime minister, was taken to hospital by ambulance shortly after meeting Babis and appeared to be unconscious upon arrival, with someone seen holding up his head. His doctor said he was in […]
Algerian president demands ‘total respect’ from France
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday demanded France’s “total respect”, following a row over visas and critical comments from Paris about the North African country. Last weekend Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris and banned French military planes from its airspace, which France regularly uses to reach its forces battling jihadists in the Sahel region to the south. The moves came after a bitter row over visas, followed by media reports that French President Emmanuel […]





