Tag: Europe

Madrid to keep Catalonia reins if Puigdemont seeks remote rule

MADRID, Spain (AFP) –Spain warned Monday that Madrid would maintain its unpopular direct control over Catalonia if ousted regional leader Carles Puigdemont tries to govern again from exile in Belgium. Speaking to party members in Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Puigdemont had “to be physically present” in Catalonia to take office. And if that did not happen, he warned, the central government would maintain the direct rule imposed after Catalan leaders declared independence in October. Puigdemont is […]

Continue Reading →

Japan’s Abe seeks to drum up EU pressure on North Korea

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to drum up EU pressure on North Korea on Sunday in Sofia, while pledging to boost economic cooperation with Bulgaria and the Balkans. “During today’s talks we discussed the constantly worsening security situation in Eastern Asia and we were unanimous with Premier Boyko Borisov about the importance of close cooperation on the North Korea issue,” Abe said. He met with his Bulgarian counterpart Borisov as […]

Continue Reading →

Italian coastguard rescue 264 migrants off southern coast

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italian coastguard service said Thursday 264 migrants had been rescued from a boat off the coast of Calabria, where traffickers have increasingly been using smaller boats recently. The vessel was sighted by a plane belonging to the EU border agency Frontex and the migrants were rescued off the southern city of Crotone, a spokesman said. The spokesman said the boat probably came from Turkey. Several coastguard boats and a British ship […]

Continue Reading →

Scores of migrants missing in Mediterranean: Libyan Navy

TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Between 90 and 100 migrants were missing after their makeshift boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the country’s navy said late Tuesday. The inflatable boat was carrying more than 100 people when it went down, according to navy spokesman Ayoub Kacem, who said rescuers had saved just 17 people, including some women. Survivors clung to the vessel for hours before help arrived. The boat sank off the […]

Continue Reading →

Storm Eleanor barrels through Europe

  PARIS, France (AFP) — Winter storm Eleanor swept into France, Belgium and the Netherlands on Wednesday after tearing through England and Northern Ireland, cutting power to tens of thousands of people and forcing airports and train services to halt operations. A skiier was killed by a falling tree at Morillon in the French Alps while 15 others have been injured by the storm across the country, four of them seriously, civil defense spokesman Michael […]

Continue Reading →

Heavy snow, high winds wreak havoc across Europe

by Danny Kemp with Robin Millard in London Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — High winds and heavy snow in Europe on Monday stranded thousands of travelers, kept schoolchildren at home and even played havoc with international diplomacy. It was the second day running of fierce weather across the continent, with Britain still digging out from its deepest snowfall in four years. The snowed-over runways in Brussels led to about 300 flight cancellations on […]

Continue Reading →

Heavy snow causes travel mayhem in northern Europe

by Martine Pauwels Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The heaviest snowfall in four years in Britain caused travel mayhem Sunday, while more than 300 flights were cancelled at Germany’s busiest airport and a ferry ran aground in the French port of Calais. Hundreds of air passengers were stranded in Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital, as well as Britain, and many took to Twitter to complain. Some 330 flights were cancelled by 5:00 pm […]

Continue Reading →

Europe in reach of N. Korea missiles: France

PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe, like the United States, is now in reach of North Korea’s ballistic missiles, French Defense Minister Florence Parly warned Thursday. The regime’s test of its third intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday is “a demonstration of (Pyongyang’s) rising power” Parly told BFM television. “Europe like the United States is certainly within reach of these launches,” she said, adding that “few Western cities” would be out of range. An initial assessment by […]

Continue Reading →

Football: Messi on bench but Barcelona advance to last 16

by Emmeline Moore Agence France-Presse TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Lionel Messi started on the bench but Barcelona advanced to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday and clinched top spot in Group D after drawing 0-0 with Juventus in Turin. Last season’s finalists Juventus remain second in the group following the stalemate, a point ahead of third-place Sporting Lisbon, and can secure their qualification with victory at Olympiakos on December 5. Five-time European champions Barca came into […]

Continue Reading →

Euro falls on worries over German political uncertainty

by John Biers Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The euro retreated Monday on concerns about the political crisis engulfing Germany, but European and US stocks rose. At the close of trading, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index was up 0.5 percent, bouncing back from a weaker start, France’s CAC 40 also added 0.4 percent, while London’s FTSE was up by a modest 0.1 percent. A stronger showing on Wall Street — kicking off […]

Continue Reading →

Football: Stindl denies France, Spain held by Russia

by Jed Court Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Lars Stindl scored a last-gasp equalizer as world champions Germany played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with France in Cologne on Tuesday, while Spain were held by Russia in a 3-3 friendly thriller. France and Germany are among the favorites for next year’s World Cup in Russia, and Stindl’s injury-time effort extended Joachim Loew’s side’s unbeaten run to 21 matches. “We conceded the goal from nothing to make […]

Continue Reading →

RugbyU: Argentina have many problems ahead of tough tour

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Indiscipline, poor conditioning, lack of composure, erratic goal-kicking and struggling set-pieces are among the reasons why Argentina have lost eight of nine Tests this season. That record is likely to get worse after a three-international visit to Europe in which they tackle England and Ireland, ranked second and fourth respectively in the world. The South Americans face Italy in between the two massive challenges, a game which is likely to offer the only […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 21 22 23 24 25 … 31