by Maureen COFFLARD Agence France Presse BASTIA, France (AFP) — A gunman who killed one person and wounded five others in the Corsican capital Bastia on Wednesday committed suicide after holing up in the building where he lived, officials said. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said an elite police unit had “intervened” and the body of the shooter had been found. “He committed suicide,” the minister told the National Assembly in Paris. Authorities have ruled […]
Europe
Europe stands against May’s bid to rewrite Brexit
by Dave Clark / with Alice Ritchie in London Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — European leaders moved Wednesday to head off British Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal, warning they will not budge. Having thrown out the exit deal May negotiated with the EU, divided British lawmakers voted Tuesday to send her back to get an Irish border “backstop” clause removed. May seized on this as a chance […]
‘Yellow vest’ injuries spark legal challenge to French police
by Clare BYRNE Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A rights group and a major trade union went to France’s top administrative court Wednesday seeking a ban on riot police using rubber bullets, blamed for injuring dozens of “yellow vest” protesters. Activists have denounced the police for their use of the projectiles during two months of anti-government protests, which have repeatedly ended in rioting. A government spokesman told the court that police had opened […]
Storm Gabriel hits France
PARIS, France (AFP) — Hard winds lash France’s Atlantic Coast as Storm Gabriel arrives, while heavy snow hits other parts of the country, including the capital. https://youtu.be/MHeEejFqFO0
Britain’s May wins mandate to reopen Brexit deal
by Alice RITCHIE and Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May won parliament’s backing on Tuesday to renegotiate her Brexit deal — a major policy reversal that sets up a clash with Brussels just two months before withdrawal day. May’s dramatic decision to abandon a pact she herself sealed with the 27 EU leaders at a summit last month came with Britain on course to crash out […]
Nine injured in Dutch gas blast building collapse
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — A suspected gas explosion in The Hague has injured at least nine people, trapping one under the rubble of a partially collapsed house, Dutch emergency services said Sunday. The blast ripped off part of the front of a residential building in the densely populated Laakkwartier suburb. Neighbours said they heard a loud bang around 4.30 pm (1530 GMT). Dozens of emergency vehicles rushed to the scene, and a trauma helicopter […]
10,000 ‘red scarf’ protesters march against ‘yellow vest’ violence
by Marc PRÉEL and Katy LEE Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 10,000 people wearing red scarves marched through Paris on Sunday in protest at “yellow vest” violence during the anti-government demos that have drawn tens of thousands of people to the streets over the past 11 weeks. Since mid-November President Emmanuel Macron has offered concessions and debates seeking to quell the weekly rallies that often end in violent clashes with police […]
Remains found of explorer who put Australia on the map
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The remains of the first British explorer to circumnavigate the Australian continent and popularize the country’s name have been found near a busy London railway station. Archaeologists sifting through a vast burial ground near Euston station said Friday they had found a coffin plate identifying the last resting place of Royal Navy captain Matthew Flinders. Flinders was buried on 23rd July 1814, but not before publishing “A Voyage to Terra […]
UN chief warns ‘we are losing the race’ on climate change
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that the world is “losing the race” on climate change as he demanded that governments make bolder commitments beyond the Paris accord. “Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We are losing the race,” he said on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It is absolutely central to reverse this trend.” Guterres said he was “not hopeful” that nations […]
China, Europe follow Brazil’s Bolsonaro onto Davos stage
by Alex PIGMAN Agence France Presse DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — China and Europe take center stage at Davos on Wednesday, a day after Brazil’s hard-right President Jair Bolsonaro promised reform and respect for the environment to the world’s business elite. Top billing at the World Economic Forum will go to Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, a key member of the communist leadership in Beijing who is tasked with negotiating a truce in the US-China trade […]
From Prince William to Mike Pompeo: top quotes at Davos
by Alex PIGMAN Agence France Presse DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — Here is a serving of quotes from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday, where a year after US President Donald Trump stole the show, Brazil’s new far-right leader grabbed the limelight. “I’d like to say it’s a personal treat for me to be sitting here asking you questions. Normally I have to endure people asking me questions.” — Britain’s Prince William cracks […]
John Kerry to Trump: ‘Resign’
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — Former US secretary of state John Kerry said Tuesday he was not ruling out another tilt at the White House in 2020 but that in the here and now, Donald Trump should quit. “I’ve told people I have not taken it off the table, but I’m not sitting around actively planning a (2020) campaign, or doing something, no,” Kerry, 75, told CNBC television at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Kerry […]





