Europe

International Women’s Day in Madrid draws 40,000 protesters

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Around 40,000 protesters took to the streets of Madrid on Wednesday to mark International Women’s Day and call for an end to domestic violence. Gathered in the central square, the protesters carried posters reading “Justice” and “We are not all here” — in reference to victims of violence who have lost their lives. Municipal officials estimated at least 40,000 people had rallied in Madrid, and smaller protests were held in Barcelona […]

Tycoon gave France’s Fillon undeclared 50,000 euro loan: report

PARIS, France (AFP) — Embattled French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon received an interest-free, undeclared loan of 50,000 euros ($53,000) from a billionaire friend in 2013, according to the Canard Enchaine weekly. The conservative candidate “did not deem it necessary” to report the loan from Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere to a state transparency watchdog, the weekly said in its edition to appear Wednesday. The investigative and satirical newspaper, the source of the fake jobs scandal that […]

Facebook wins case against refugee in Merkel selfie

by Carsten HAUPTMEIER wih Frank ZELLER in Berlin Agence France Presse WURZBURG, Germany (AFP) — Facebook clinched victory Tuesday in a German court case brought by a Syrian refugee whose selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel had made him the target of racist trolls. The court ruled that the US social media giant was not obliged to actively search out and delete defamatory posts, like those that had falsely linked the claimant to Islamist attacks and […]

French storm Zeus leaves two dead, 600,000 homes without power

PARIS, France (AFP) — Winds gusting up to hurricane force battered west and central France on Monday, leaving two people dead and 600,000 homes without electricity, authorities said. Storm Zeus — named after the paramount god in Greek mythology — hit the Atlantic coast before sweeping across to the center and southeast of the country. Weather experts said they measured gusts of up to 193 kilometres (120 miles) per hour in the west. The driver […]

France’s Fillon keeps bid alive as rival rules himself out

by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France-Presse PARIS, France – Former prime minister Alain Juppe ruled out a run for the French presidency on Monday, boosting embattled rightwing party colleague Francois Fillon whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a fake jobs scandal. Juppe, 71, was the most likely candidate to replace Fillon and unite their deeply divided Republicans party only seven weeks from the start of the two-stage election. Polls suggested Juppe would be more […]

Defiant Fillon says ‘no one’ can stop France election bid

by Guy JACKSON Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Embattled French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon vowed that “no one” could force him to quit as he dug in despite calls to withdraw over an expenses scandal, with party leaders heading for a crisis meeting Monday over his candidacy. The conservative was in a defiant mood after holding a rally in Paris attended by tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters. “No one today can prevent […]

Ukraine reaches prelim agreement with IMF

  by Dmitry ZAKS KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund said Saturday it had reached a preliminary agreement with Ukraine that could see the war-scarred and cashed-starved nation receive fresh aid in the first half of the year. The news was particularly good for the ex-Soviet republic because the IMF statement referred to a loan of $1 billion (0.9 billion euros) and not the lesser sums discussed in earlier months. Ukraine also gets […]

Nearly 10 anti-migrant attacks a day in Germany: data

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany recorded more than 3,500 attacks against refugees and asylum shelters last year, according to new interior ministry figures, amounting to an average of nearly 10 acts of anti-migrant violence a day. The assaults — coinciding with the country’s bid to cope with a record influx of newcomers — left 560 people injured, 43 of them children, the ministry said in a written reply to a parliamentary question. The government “strongly […]

Man drives into crowd in German town, killing one and injuring two people

  (Reuters) — A man drove into a crowd standing by a bakery in the southwestern German town of Heidelberg on Saturday (February 25), killing one and injuring two people, but a police statement said there were no signs that it was a terrorist attack. Police said a 73-year-old German man died in hospital after being seriously injured and the two other people who were injured – a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman […]

Victory for May as Labour suffers historic defeat

  by Alice Ritchie Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party defeated UKIP’s leader in a Brexit bastion, but in a second by-election suffered a landmark defeat to Prime Minister Theresa May’s governing Conservatives on Friday. The results saw the Brexit-championing UK Independence Party fail to capitalise on the June referendum vote to leave the European Union. But while Labour celebrated fending off UKIP’s bid to replace them in […]

Ukraine gas magnate arrested in Austria

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Austria arrested one of Ukraine’s richest men on Tuesday, a fresh twist for the one-time ally of ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Gas magnate Dmytro Firtash was taken into custody over alleged links to organized crime in Spain, moments after a Vienna court ruled he could be extradited to the United States on corruption charges. Firtash, 51, made money through connections with Russian gas giant Gazprom, and was at one time linked […]