Europe

Pope promises ‘healing’ of Catholic Church amid sex abuse scandal, admits guilty priests had not been punished

  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Pope Francis said a process of “healing” had started within the Catholic Church in the wake of a pedophilia summit, but acknowledged guilty priests had not been punished. The Argentine pontiff last week issued stringent child abuse legislation for Vatican City employees as part of the Church’s bid to address a wave of sex abuse allegations against priests. In an interview broadcast on Sunday with Spanish TV channel La Sexta, […]

Stunning upset as President Erdogan’s AKP party suffers defeat in Turkey’s two main cities

  by Raziye Akkoc / Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi Agence France Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party suffered a major upset on Monday after local election results showed it lost the capital Ankara and Istanbul after a decade and half in power. Losing the country’s two major cities would be a stunning defeat for Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor himself, whose ability to win at the ballot box has been unparalleled […]

British MPs vote against all Brexit alternative plans

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British MPs voted against four possible alternative plans for Brexit on Monday after also rejecting the government’s deal with the EU three times. Proposed alternatives for retaining much closer economic ties after leaving the European Union, holding a second referendum or stopping Brexit to prevent a no-deal departure all failed to win a majority of votes in parliament. The second referendum proposal garnered the most votes in favour — 280 […]

British MPs seek new path for Brexit after deal rejected again

by James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British MPs will attempt to chart a new Brexit path on Monday after rejecting Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal for a third time, leaving her strategy in tatters and the country in limbo. With less than two weeks to go until the day Britain risks crashing out of the European Union, MPs will hold a series of votes to try and find a majority-backed plan to […]

5.2-magnitude quake shakes Greece

  ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — A 5.2-magnitude quake jolted central Greece on Saturday, the country’s civil protection said, with no immediate reports of damage. The quake had a depth of around 14 kilometres (8.6 miles) and an epicentre near the town of Galaxidi in the Gulf of Corinth, some 200 kilometres (320 miles) northwest of the Greek capital, the authority said. The national geodynamic institute had earlier measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.3. […]

Sefcovic: EU commissioner vying for Slovak presidency

by Laszlo Juhasz Agence France-Presse BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) – Maros Sefcovic, the ruling party’s candidate in Saturday’s Slovak presidential run-off against a government critic, is a long-time EU commissioner and career diplomat with a passion for sports. Though running as an independent, the 52-year-old European Commission vice-president has the backing of the governing populist Smer-SD party, which may have cost him first place in round one. Support for the three-party governing coalition took a hit last […]

Slovaks vote for president with outsider tipped to win

by Laszlo Juhasz / with Anna Maria Jakubek in Warsaw Agence France-Presse BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) – Slovaks vote for a new president on Saturday with the odds-on-favorite an outsider whose anti-corruption stance has resonated with voters, still reeling from the fallout from an investigative journalist’s murder. An environmental lawyer with no experience in political office, Zuzana Caputova could become the EU and eurozone member’s first female president. Her rival in the run-off election is the […]

Britain to hold third vote in Brexit crisis

by Joe JACKSON LONDON, United States (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May will put her twice-rejected Brexit divorce deal to a third parliamentary vote on Friday in a renewed bid to avoid a chaotic split from the European Union in two weeks. May’s throw of the dice comes a day after her dramatic pledge to resign in order to persuade her rivals to finally back her vision for breaking Britain’s 46-year membership of the bloc. […]

UK PM to renew Brexit deal push after pledge to resign

  by Alice Ritchie/ Robin Millard Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May will renew attempts to push through her Brexit plan, after she dramatically offered to quit to save her deal and MPs failed in their own bid to break the deadlock. At risk of losing control of the process of leaving the European Union, the leader announced she would resign if parliament finally backed her withdrawal agreement. […]

EU presents plan for safe 5G amid Huawei suspicions

by Dave CLARK STRASBOURG, France (AFP) — The European Commission on Tuesday presented its plan to ensure the secure introduction of 5G telecoms networks, with suspicions hanging over Chinese giant Huawei. The United States has accused the firm of posing a security risk to western networks, because of its alleged ties to Chinese intelligence. But some European countries are in negotiations with Huawei to deploy its advanced technology to power the faster wireless networks of […]

British MPs vote against all alternative Brexit options

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British MPs on Wednesday voted against eight alternative Brexit options aimed at overcoming the deadlock over Prime Minister Theresa May’s unpopular European Union divorce deal. The options being voted on included negotiating for closer economic ties with the EU after Brexit, holding a public vote on any deal or stopping Brexit altogether. © Agence France-Presse

Macron, Xi call for increased EU-China cooperation

PARIS, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for increased cooperation between the European Union and China, at a time of growing nervousness over Beijing’s massive investments on the continent. Speaking at the Elysee Palace following talks with Xi, Macron called for a “strong Europe-China partnership”, adding that this must be based on “strong multilateralism” and “fair and balanced” trade. Xi’s, for his part, stressed that […]