Ukraine said on Tuesday (May 24) that seven of its servicemen had been killed in the past twenty four hours as a result of increased attacks by pro-Russian rebels, the highest reported daily casualty figure since August. International efforts are under way to end a conflict that has contributed to the worst tensions between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. A ceasefire signed in February 2015 has failed to quell all fighting in […]
Europe
2000 migrants moved from Idomeni camp
Idomeni, Greece (AFP)—Greek police on Tuesday transferred some two thousand migrants out of the overcrowded camp of Idomeni, launching a major operation to clear up the squalid tent city where thousands fleeing war and poverty have lived for months. The operation began at dawn, and by evening officials said they had put 2,031 people on buses to newly opened camps near Greece’s second city Thessaloniki, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the south. “The operation […]
British royal family visit Chelsea flower show
ENGLAND, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and other members of the British Royal family arrived at Chelsea for the annual flower show on Monday (May 23). Many of the exhibits on show mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, including a 21ft (6.4 metre) floral arch of at least 10,000 blooms, and an exhibition of Royal photographs at Chelsea dating back to 1949. The grounds of the […]
NATO to hold talks with Russia before alliance summit
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – NATO said Friday it will hold formal talks with Russia before a landmark July summit in Warsaw endorses the alliance’s biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War, to counter a more assertive Russia. In April, the NATO Russia Council (NRC) held its first meeting since June 2014 but the talks ended in “profound disagreements” over Ukraine and other issues, although alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said at the time […]
‘Absolutely no indication’ what caused EgyptAir crash: French minister
PARIS , France (AFP) — France’s foreign minister said Friday there was “absolutely no indication” what had caused the crash of an EgyptAir flight, despite Egyptian authorities saying terrorism was the most likely cause. “We’re looking at all possibilities, but none is being favoured over the others because we have absolutely no indication on the causes (of the crash),” Jean-Marc Ayrault told French television. The French government will meet families of the victims on Saturday […]
Air-sea search intensifies for missing EgyptAir plan
by Samer al-Atrush with John Hadoulis in Athens CAIRO , Egypt (AFP) — A massive search was under way Thursday for the wreckage of an EgyptAir plane that plunged into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board, in what the Egyptian authorities said may have been an act of terrorism. Egypt’s aviation minister said that while it was too soon to say why the Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo had vanished from radar […]
Google invokes free speech in French fine appeal
PARIS, France (AFP) – Google said Thursday it feared for free speech if France succeeded in forcing it to apply the right to have information about a person removed from its search engines not just in France, but worldwide. Lodging an appeal against a 100,000-euro ($112,000) fine imposed by a French regulator, Google argued that French authorities should not have the right to decide beyond the country’s jurisdiction. France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) […]
Hollande confirms EgyptAir flight ‘crashed’
PARIS , France (AFP) — French President Francois Hollande confirmed Thursday that the EgyptAir flight that disappeared from radar screens over the Mediterranean had “crashed”. “We must ensure that we know everything on the causes of what happened. No hypothesis is ruled out or favored,” he said in a televised address. ha-cha/er/gd/jm © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Terror attack most likely scenario for Egyptair disappearance: experts
by Juliette MICHEL Tangi QUEMENER PARIS , France (AFP) — Several scenarios could explain the mysterious disappearance of the Egyptair flight between Paris to Cairo early Thursday, but experts say a terrorist attack is the most likely. Both France and Egypt have been leading targets for Islamist extremists in recent months. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for bombing an A321 plane belonging to Russian charter company Metrojet that crashed into the Sinai […]
Egypt says exchanged ‘condolences’ with France over EgyptAir flight
CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — The French and Egyptian foreign ministers exchanged “condolences” over an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo that is feared to have gone down in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Egypt said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault “expressed condolences over the plane incident involving the EgyptAir airplane that went down, and Shoukry in turn expressed condolences for the French casualties who were on board the plane,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said. se/kir © […]
French PM says ‘no theory can be ruled out’ on missing EgyptAir flight
PARIS , France (AFP) — France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday “no theory can be ruled out” in the missing EgyptAir flight which disappeared en route to Cairo from Paris. “No theory can be ruled out on the cause of this disappearance,” said Valls, speaking after the plane vanished from radar over the Mediterranean with 66 people on board. French President Francois Hollande and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have “agreed to cooperate […]
30 Egyptians, 15 French among passengers on vanished flight: EgyptAi
CAIRO , Egypt (AFP) — An EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean on Thursday was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. An Algerian, a Belgian, a Chadian, two Iraqis, a Kuwaiti, a Portuguese, a Saudi and a Sudanese were also on board the flight, EgyptAir said in a statement. se/kir © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
