COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Six people were killed Wednesday in a train accident on a bridge connecting two islands in Denmark, rail operator DSB said. “We can confirm that six people are dead,” a duty officer told AFP, as media reports said the roof of a cargo train blew off in heavy winds and hit a passenger train that was travelling in the opposite direction. The accident occurred on the Great Belt Bridge connecting the islands […]
Europe
UK ‘terrorist’ stabbing suspect held under mental health law
by Robin MILLARD / Joe JACKSON Agence France Presse MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — A British probe into a stabbing at a Manchester railway station on New Year’s Eve which injured three people is being treated as “a terrorist investigation”, the city’s police force said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old man who was arrested at the scene on Monday night is now being detained under a mental health law, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said late Tuesday. […]
Merkel says Germany must fight for ‘our convictions’
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said Germany must “stand fast, argue, and fight for our own convictions” and assume greater responsibilities at a time when multilateralism is coming under intense pressure. In her New Year’s address to Germans, Merkel said long-held certainties about international cooperation were being put to the test. Global challenges including climate change, immigration and the fight against terrorism could not be solved by countries going it alone, […]
Nations count cost of 2018 climate disasters
by Patrick GALEY Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Climate change-induced disasters cost nations at least $100 billion in 2018, a watchdog said Thursday, warning the spate of deadly wildfires, floods and superstorms was “a shadow” of things to come if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed. This year is set to be the fourth hottest on record and as planet-warming carbon and methane levels in the atmosphere continue to rise, extreme weather events such as […]
Boy survives 40-minute burial after avalanche in French Alps
GRENOBLE, France (AFP) — A 12-year-old boy was found alive Wednesday 40 minutes after being swept away and buried by an avalanche while skiing with his parents in the French Alps, rescuers said. The family had just left a groomed run for an off-piste sector at the La Plagne ski area in southeast France when the boy was caught by the cascading mass of snow at around 2:00 pm (1300 GMT). He was not carrying […]
4.8 quake hits near Sicily’s Mount Etna
ROME, Italy (AFP) — A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck early Wednesday near Europe’s most active volcano Mount Etna, injuring several people, displacing some 600 and damaging buildings, Italian civil protection officials said. Two people were pulled from a collapsed building and around 10 were taken to hospital suffering light injuries from falling debris. An elderly woman suffered multiple fractures, Agi news agency reported, while 18 people made it on their own to hospital to be treated […]
4.8 quake hits area near Sicily’s Mount Etna
ROME, Italy (AFP) — A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the area around Europe’s most active volcano Mount Etna overnight, injuring four people, damaging old buildings and forcing the closure of part of a highway running along the sea, Italian civil protection authorities said Wednesday. The quake was the strongest in the region after Mount Etna erupted on Monday, spewing ash and forcing the temporary closure of Sicilian airspace. A series of tremors followed, but the […]
Mount Etna eruption causes airspace closure
ROME, Italy (AFP) — The Mount Etna volcano erupted on Monday, spewing ash as several minor earthquakes hit the region, and prompting a partial closure of the Sicilian airspace around the mountain. Italy’s national institute for geophysics and vulcanology (INGV) counted more than 130 seismic shocks in the zone, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 4.0. “The eruption occurred on the side of Etna,” Boris Behncke, a vulcanologist at INGV, told AFP. “It’s […]
Macron calls for order after ‘yellow vest’ attack on police
by Clare BYRNE Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “order” on Sunday after a sixth weekend of “yellow vest” anti-government protests that saw dwindling participation and a violent attack on police in Paris. Speaking during a visit to the Saharan state of Chad where he was visiting French troops serving in a counter-terrorism force, Macron said: “There must be order now, calm and harmony. Our country needs it.” […]
Gatwick airport says reopened for limited number of flights
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — London’s Gatwick Airport, paralyzed for more than two days after dozens of drone sightings, said it planned to reopen Friday for a “limited number” of flights. “Gatwick’s runway is currently available and a limited number of aircraft are scheduled for departure and arrival,” the airport said on Twitter. It advised passengers to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport. But police have still yet to find […]
Thirteen dead after fire in Czech mine
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — Thirteen miners died and 10 were injured after a fire caused by burning methane erupted in a mine in the east of the Czech Republic, a spokesman said Friday. “In total we have 13 dead miners, 11 Polish and two Czech,” Ivo Celechovsky, spokesman for the OKD mining company, told AFP. The accident occurred at the CSM mine in the city of Karvina, about 300 kilometres (200 miles) east of […]
Army joins drone hunt after London airport shutdown
by William EDWARDS with Joe JACKSON in London Agence France Pressse GATWICK AIRPORT, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain called in the army on Thursday to help police hunt a drone pilot who grounded all flights from Gatwick airport, leaving thousands stranded on one of the busiest days of the year. The airport closed its only runway late Wednesday following “reports of two drones flying in and around the airfield” and further sightings on Thursday, according […]
