BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – Belgian authorities on Friday detained two people for questioning following anti-terror raids in the capital Brussels and southeastern Belgium, the federal prosecutor’s office said. Police searched two homes in the Haren and Schaarbeek districts of Brussels and another in the city of Liege in the French-speaking Wallonia region, the office said in a statement. “Two persons were arrested and will be interrogated by the investigators,” it said, adding a judge will decide […]
Europe
Human error likely caused cruise ship death: French prosecuto
MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — Human error was probably to blame for the death of a Filipino crewman on the world’s biggest cruise liner the Harmony of the Seas, a prosecutor said Wednesday. The 42-year-old electrical engineer was killed on Tuesday when a lifeboat became detached from the liner during a safety drill, sending it plunging 10 metres (35 feet) into the water while the ship was docked in the French port of Marseille. Marseille prosecutor […]
Juncker vows Brexit won’t kill off EU
STRASBOURG, France (AFP) – by Clément ZAMPA with Danny KEMP in Brussels European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday issued a rallying cry for unity after Brexit, saying the EU is not in danger of splitting up but must fight “galloping populism”. In his annual State of the Union speech, Juncker unveiled plans including a European Union defence headquarters in a bid to find common ground after a year of crisis and division in the bloc. […]
Filipino killed in accident on world’s biggest cruise ship
by Thibault LE GRAND MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — A Filipino crewman was killed Tuesday during a safety drill on the world’s biggest cruise liner, the Harmony of the Seas, while it was docked in Marseille, a city official said. The 42-year-old and four other crew members were in a lifeboat that plunged 10 meters (35 feet) into the water during a safety drill in the southern French port. Three other Filipinos and an Indian man […]
Series of quakes hit Macedonia capital causing panic
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AFP) — A moderate 5.3-magnitude earthquake, preceded by two and followed by several tremors, struck the Macedonian capital Skopje on Sunday, causing panic but only minor damage, officials said. Skopje was almost destroyed by a powerful quake in 1963 which killed around a thousand people. Sunday’s quake hit at 3:10 pm (1310 GMT), with the epicentre in the Skopje area, seismologists said, adding some 10 weaker tremors were later registered. “In Skopje and […]
Turkey ousts 28 mayors
Istanbul, Turkey—Turkey on Sunday removed 28 mayors accused of links to Kurdish militants or United States-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, using emergency powers to replace them with state-appointed trustees in a move that sparked accusations of trampling on democracy. The mayors have been suspended from their posts on suspicion of links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is waging a deadly insurgency in the southeast, or Gulen, who is blamed for the July 15 failed […]
France’s premier warns of new attacks, 15,000 people on police radar
(REUTERS) French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday there would be new attacks in France but proposals by former president Nicolas Sarkozy to boost security was not the right way to deal with threats. The French capital was put on high alert last week when French officials said they dismantled a “terrorist cell” that planned to attack a Paris railway station under the direction of Islamic State. “This week at least two attacks […]
Foiled Paris terror plot: What we know
PARIS, France (AFP) – Seven people are in custody in France after intelligence services foiled a plot to use a car laden with gas cylinders to carry out an attack in Paris. Anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins said the would-be attackers were guided by the Islamic State group in Syria. French President Francois Hollande said the terror cell behind the plot had been “destroyed”. Here is what we know so far: Car spotted A worker at […]
New Ukraine truce jeopardised by first combat death
KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) – by Olga SHYLENKO Ukraine on Friday reported its first combat death since a new ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels went into effect on September 1 before the new school year. The announcement delivered a worrying signal that one of the most enduring in a series of truces risked collapsing just as tensions between Moscow and Kiev are scaling new hights. “In the past day, as a result of military activities, one of […]
Southern nations gear up for EU future showdown
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) – by John HADOULIS Sabine WIBAUX Southern EU leaders on Friday sought to close ranks on migration, extremism and austerity with the bloc’s future on the line, and ahead of a showdown with hardliners next week. Bringing together the members worst hit by the EU’s twin recession and refugee crises, the mini-summit will focus on “protecting borders, fostering growth, fighting against immigration… and acting together against terrorism,” French President Francois Hollande said at the […]
Wildfires hit Portugal’s tourist Algarve region
LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal’s Algarve tourist region was the latest to be hit by violent forest fires Thursday, prompting the evacuation of a luxury hotel and three hamlets, officials said. Backed by water-dropping aircraft, over 2,700 firefighters were trying to bring under control some 100 blazes nationwide despite a respite from the intense heat which has gripped the country in recent days. About 50 tourists, including many British nationals, were evacuated from a hotel […]
Arsonists blamed for Spanish wildfires
JAVEA, Spain (AFP) – Spanish authorities on Tuesday blamed arsonists and record temperatures for wildfires ravaging the eastern coast near the popular resort of Benidorm that have forced 1,400 people to flee. Hundreds of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft were battling the largest of several fires which began Sunday near the resort of Javea, up the coast from Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca. Another blaze was raging near the mountain town of Bolulla, about 40 kilometres […]
