Europe

Macron faces rights test as Egypt’s Sisi visits Paris

by Cécile Feuillatre Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Paris on Tuesday under pressure from human rights groups to end what they call France’s “disgraceful policies of indulgence” towards him. Sisi, a former general who ousted the elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, will meet the French defense and foreign ministers as well as business groups during his three-day trip that started on Monday. Macron, […]

Continue Reading →

Catalan parties discuss next move after Spain raises stakes

by Alfons Luna and Marie Giffard  © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalan parties were due to meet Monday to discuss their next steps at the start of a week that will see Spain dismiss the region’s government to stave off its threat to break away from the country. “What happens now, with everyone in agreement and unity, is that we will announce what we will do and how,” Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said after […]

Continue Reading →

Five things to know about Czech Republic

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) – The Czech Republic, holding a two-day general election which ends Saturday, has been an EU member since May 1, 2004, but has chosen to remain outside the eurozone for the time being. Here are five key points about the country and its history. Independence in 1993 In 1918, Western Slavs shook off Austro-Hungarian rule, establishing Czechoslovakia, a new country comprising Czechs and Slovaks. But by 1938, Nazi Germany annexed its borderland regions […]

Continue Reading →

‘Czech Trump’ poised to win vote, promises ‘new stage’

by Jan Flemr and Jan Marchal Agence France-Presse PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) – A billionaire populist dubbed the “Czech Trump” vowed a new stage in Czech politics as voters head to the polls Saturday in day two of an election expected to sweep him into power. Betting on his anti-euro, anti-migrant and anti-corruption ticket, ANO (Yes) movement chief Andrej Babis topped opinion polls by a wide margin ahead of the ballot that ends Saturday afternoon. Babis […]

Continue Reading →

Nearly 1,200 firms moved their headquarters out of Catalonia

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Nearly 1,200 companies of all sizes have shifted their legal headquarters out of Catalonia to other parts of Spain since the region held a banned independence referendum, Spain’s commercial registrar said Friday. Between October 2, the day after the contested vote, and October 19 a total of 1,185 companies have relocated hoping to minimize instability, according to figures published by the Commercial Registries of Spain. The peak was reached on Thursday […]

Continue Reading →

May pleads for Brexit deal she can sell at home

by Danny Kemp and  Alice Ritchie Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – British Prime Minister Theresa May pressed EU leaders Thursday for a Brexit deal she can “defend” at home as her counterparts said at a summit in Brussels that there were encouraging signs of progress in the talks. May appealed for “urgent” movement at a summit dinner, the night before her 27 counterparts were set to decide that there had not been enough progress on divorce […]

Continue Reading →

G7 to focus on foreign fighter fallout from rout of IS

by Ella Ide Agence France-Presse ISCHIA, Italy – The threat of fresh attacks on the West by foreign fighters fleeing the fallen Islamic State stronghold of Raqa is set to dominate a G7 meeting of interior ministers in Italy. The two-day gathering, which kicked off Thursday on the Italian island of Ischia, comes just days after US-backed forces took full control of the jihadists’ de facto Syrian capital. Most foreign fighters are believed to have fled over the […]

Continue Reading →

Small far-left party agitates for Catalan independence

  by Laurence Boutreux Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain – A far-left party which holds the balance of power in Catalonia’s parliament is using its influence to push for an immediate declaration of independence and launch a campaign of civil disobedience. With Spain threatening to seize some of the pro-independence Catalan government’s powers, the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) party has deployed its preferred weapon: street agitation. The staunchly separatist and anti-capitalist party has called for protesters to gather Thursday […]

Continue Reading →

Spain to push ahead with suspending Catalan autonomy

by Katy Lee Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain — Spain said Thursday it will move to seize some of the Catalan regional government’s powers after its leader warned he could declare independence, escalating the country’s worst political crisis in decades. The central government in Madrid had given separatist leader Carles Puigdemont until 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday to say whether or not he was declaring a breakaway state in the semi-autonomous region following a […]

Continue Reading →

Trump team ‘dispels’ EU doubts on data protection deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s administration has “dispelled” doubts over whether it will stand by a hard-won personal data protection accord with Europe struck during Barack Obama’s presidency, the EU said Wednesday. But Brussels said it still wanted Washington to improve on a deal to protect European personal data transferred to the US by internet giants like Google and Facebook. Last year’s deal replaced a previous arrangement struck down by the bloc’s top court, […]

Continue Reading →

Catalonia independence push sparks tourism slump

by Emmanuelle Michel with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) – Catalonia’s independence push is taking its toll on the region’s tourism industry, with revenues and hotel bookings down since a banned October 1 secession referendum that was marred by violence. “The tourism sector is one of the most strongly affected by the instability,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told parliament last week as he defended his government’s handling of the Catalan crisis. Catalonia, with […]

Continue Reading →

Three killed, 360,000 without power as freak storm hits Ireland

by Julien Lagache Agence France Presse DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Ireland was hit by what officials called an “unprecedented storm” on Monday that left three people dead, more than 300,000 customers without power and shut down schools as well as government offices. A police spokesman said one woman in her 50s was killed outside the village of Aglish, near the south coast, when a tree fell on her car. A female passenger in her 70s […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 383 384 385 386 387 … 476