EU

May tells EU citizens: ‘We want you to stay’

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that she wanted to end the anxiety of European Union nationals fearful of their future after Brexit, promising to protect their rights and saying: “We want you to stay.” But she was heckled by critics in the House of Commons, while opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said her plan was “too little, too late.” The futures of 3.2 million EU citizens living […]

Italy to pay up to 17 bln euros to deal with two troubled banks: govt

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy will pay up to 17 billion euros ($19 billion) to break up two insolvent Venetian banks, which have posed a threat to the country’s banking system, the government announced Sunday. Both face bankruptcy and European authorities had urged Italy to devise a rescue framework, selling off the good assets of the stricken Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca and transferring their toxic assets to a “bad bank,” essentially financed […]

EU leaders urge Internet giants to fight online extremism

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — European Union leaders on Thursday urged Internet firms to do their utmost to combat online extremism promoting attacks or face the possibility of legislation if the industry self-regulation fails. EU leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels increased the pressure on United States giants like Facebook and Twitter to rein in online propaganda amid a recent spate of terror attacks in Britain, France and Belgium. “We are calling on social media […]

Macron faces EU summit pushback on Chinese investments

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — A push by French President Emmanuel Macron to hand Brussels more powers to control Chinese investments in Europe’s key industries faced a setback on Thursday from European Union partners who fear a rise of protectionism. European leaders will discuss the thorny topic of international trade on the second day of an EU summit on Friday, as Europe seeks to champion free trade against the protectionist policies of United States President Donald Trump. […]

Merkel says EU future more important than Brexit talks

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the European Union’s future took priority over Brexit talks, in a rebuke to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans to bring the negotiations up at a Brussels summit. “For me, the future of the (remaining) 27 member-states comes before the exit negotiations with Great Britain” said Merkel as she arrived for the two-day meeting. “We want to conduct these negotiations in a good spirit,” she […]

Fire chief reopens debate over cause of deadly Portugal blaze

by Marianne Barriaux with Emmanuelle Michel in Lisbon Agence France Presse A fire chief reopened the debate over Portugal’s deadly forest blaze Wednesday, arguing it had a criminal origin, as hundreds of firefighters struggled to contain it. Politicians added their voice to those of local people who have questioned the handling of the disaster by the emergency services, as the funerals of the 64 killed took place. The president of the League of Firefighters, Jaime Marta […]

May presents bills in Queen Elizabeth’s speech to take Britain out of EU

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday presented eight draft laws to take Britain out of the European Union in a legislative program read out in parliament by Queen Elizabeth II. The laws include the “Great Repeal Bill” to overhaul existing EU legislation and separate bills on customs, trade, immigration, fisheries and agriculture. The queen said the “Great Repeal Bill” would repeal the European Communities Act, the 1972 legislation that enshrined […]

Britain’s Prince Philip, 96, in hospital with infection

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prince Philip, the 96-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has been admitted to hospital as a “precautionary measure” for treatment of an infection, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday. The infection arose from “a pre-existing condition”, the palace said. The Duke of Edinburgh, who is to retire from public duties later this year, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday night.

Brussels bomber was Moroccan national aged 36: prosecutor

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgian authorities on Wednesday identified the bomber killed by soldiers in a busy Brussels rail station as a 36-year-old Moroccan national. “The assailant has been identified as O.Z., born 20 January 1981 and of Moroccan nationality,” spokesperson Eric Van Der Sypt said at a press conference after Tuesday’s attack. “He was not known to the authorities for any terrorism connection,” Van Der Sypt said, declining to give the man’s full name […]

Soldiers shoot attacker in Brussels ‘terrorist’ blast

by Clément Zampa / Alex Pigman Agence France Presse Belgian soldiers shot a terror suspect after an explosion rocked the central train station in Brussels on Tuesday in the latest attack to hit Europe. Witnesses said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) before causing the blast, with local media saying the individual had activated an explosive belt. Authorities reported no casualties, apart from the attacker who was killed in the confrontation. Crying passengers […]

Paris attacker on terror watchlist; had gun license

by Katy Lee Agence France Presse Questions arose Tuesday over how a known radical Islamist who rammed a car into a police van on Paris’s Champs-Elysees was able to hold a gun license. Adam Djaziri, a 31-year-old who had been on a watchlist for radical Islamists since 2015, was killed on Monday as his car loaded with a gas canister smashed into the van on the French capital’s most famous avenue. Two handguns and a […]

Car explodes after hitting police van on Paris’s Champs-Elysees

by Gina DOGGETT Agence France-Presse PARIS, France  – A car burst into flames after it crashed into a police van on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Monday, police and investigators said, adding that the driver was armed and it appeared to be a “deliberate” act. Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said police had pulled the driver out of the flaming vehicle and he was “very likely dead.” Police had said earlier that the driver […]