Europe

Two dead as suspected IS gunman takes hostages in France

by Remi Zaka with Pauline Talagrand in Paris Agence France-Presse Trèbes, France (AFP) — At least two people were killed after a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in southwest France on Friday. A security source said the two were killed in the attack at a Super U store in the town of Trebes. Armed police were also responding to the earlier shooting of a policeman in […]

Suspected IS gunman takes hostages in France

  A gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group fired shots and took hostages at a supermarket in southwestern France on Friday, a local prosecutor said. Security forces were responding to two separate incidents, one at a supermarket in the town of Trebes and the second, a 15-minute drive away, in the town of Carcassonne where a policeman was shot. It was unclear if the two incidents were linked. In Trebes, the man “entered […]

At least six dead in Czech chemical plant blast: fire fighters

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — At least six people died and several others were seriously injured in an explosion Thursday at a Czech chemical plant in the northern town of Kralupy-nad-Vltavou, fire fighters said. “We have received information about six dead and several others seriously injured,” regional fire fighter spokeswoman Vladimira Kerekova said, quoted by the CTK news agency. © Agence France-Presse

Sarkozy blasts lack of ‘physical evidence’ in corruption case: French media

PARIS, France (AFP) — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy blasted what he said was a lack of evidence for the corruption charges against him over allegations that late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi funded his 2007 election campaign, in his court statement published Thursday. The morning after he was charged in one of France’s most explosive political scandals in years, the 63-year-old rightwinger said he had been in “living hell” since the allegations first emerged in 2011. […]

Pressure mounts on Putin over spy poisoning scandal

by Theo Merz Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — International pressure mounted on Russia’s Vladimir Putin over the the Cold-War style poisoning of a spy on British soil, as an ugly war of words took a stinging new turn with comparisons to Hitler in the 1930s. US President Donald Trump agreed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron “on the need to take action to hold Russia accountable” following the attempted murder of former double […]

EU: new rules will make data breaches ‘very expensive’ for firms

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova warned Wednesday that data protection scandals such as that currently engulfing Facebook would become “very expensive” for companies from May under new EU regulations. “If some company tried this in Europe after May 2018, very likely this drastic sanction will be applied,” said Jourova, who is in charge of consumer and personal data protection, at the end of a visit to Washington. Facebook is under […]

UK PM to urge EU to unite against long-term Russian threat

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May will urge EU leaders Thursday to unite against a Russian threat that could last for “years to come”, following the nerve agent attack in Britain. At a summit in Brussels, May will say that the attempt to kill former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the city of Salisbury — which she has blamed on Moscow — could have happened anywhere. “The challenge of Russia […]

Catalan parliament to vote on new president: speaker

  BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia’s parliament is to hold a debate and vote Thursday on a new candidate for regional president, Jordi Turull, who risks being disqualified from holding office over his role in the region’s separatist drive. “I will propose to the chamber that Jordi Turull be candidate for president,” Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent told reporters late Wednesday, just hours after Turull was summoned to appear in court on Friday. Turull, a former […]

UK firm in Facebook row suspends CEO amid fresh revelations

by Alice Ritchie © Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Cambridge Analytica, the British firm at the centre of a major scandal rocking Facebook, suspended its chief executive Alexander Nix Tuesday, as he became embroiled in fresh controversy and lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic demanded answers over the data breach. Recordings of Nix emerged Tuesday evening in which he boasts about the company’s expansive role in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, claiming it did […]

Russia votes with strongman Putin set for fourth term

by Theo Merz © Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russians headed to the polls Sunday in elections set to hand President Vladimir Putin a historic fourth Kremlin term, as the country faces increasing isolation over a spy poisoning in Britain and a fresh round of US sanctions. With the vast country stretching across 11 time zones, polls opened in the Russian far east at 2000 GMT on Saturday and will close in Kaliningrad, the country’s […]

Kremlin furious as Britain blames Putin for ex-spy attack

by Anna SMOLCHENKO with Alice RITCHIE in London Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia – Britain on Friday provoked Russia’s wrath by directly implicating Vladimir Putin in the nerve agent attack on an ex-double agent, with the Kremlin saying the claims were “shocking and unforgivable.” The war of words between Moscow and London over the poisoning of a former Russian spy escalated as Britain’s outspoken Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said his government’s “quarrel” was with Putin rather […]

North Korea’s top diplomat in Sweden for talks

by Camille Bas-Wohlert Agence France Presse STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — North Korea’s top diplomat arrived Thursday in Sweden for talks which could play a role in setting up a proposed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho arrived at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport around 6:15 pm (1715 GMT) before being whisked away in a diplomatic motorcade. The Scandinavian country has longstanding ties with North Korea. Its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang […]