Month: September 2021

The wrangling over who will control Germany’s government has begun among the top four finishing parties following parliamentary elections. The Social Democrats (SPD), led by Olaf Scholz, defeated outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) 25.8% to 24.1%, handing the conservative party its worst ever defeat.   But since neither party won enough votes to …

Read more “Germany’s Political Parties Bargain to Determine Next Government”

Kosovo agreed on Thursday to withdraw police units from its northern border with Serbia to end a mounting dispute over vehicle license plates that briefly escalated into violence and prompted NATO to step up its patrols. The accord negotiated in Brussels calms the latest flare-up in a decades-old standoff between Serbia and Kosovo but does …

Read more “Kosovo, Serbia Reach Deal to End Border Tensions”

As Armenia and Azerbaijan mark the one-year anniversary of the start of their campaign in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Baku is vowing to rebuild the region, and Turkish companies see an economic bonanza. Dorian Jones in Istanbul reports. …

A London Metropolitan Police officer has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty in July to the murder of Sarah Everard, whose disappearance and death in March sparked nationwide grief and outrage. Wayne Couzens confessed to abducting Everard on the evening of March 3, 2021, during a 50-minute walk home from …

Read more “London Policeman Sentenced to Life for Sarah Everard Murder”

The pandemic has made Spain’s affordable housing crisis worse and civil organizations are now pressuring the government to pass a housing law that includes making available vacant, foreclosed homes. The push is causing new friction between Spanish political factions and raising concerns among real estate investors. Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in …

Read more “In Spain, Push Is On for Squatter’s Rights”

The editor of a Russian news outlet that angered the Kremlin with its investigations, including into the poisoning of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, said the authorities had declared him a wanted man. Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of The Insider, told Reuters the authorities had accused him of illegally crossing the border to leave Russia. He said …

Read more “Editor Who Investigated Navalny Poisoning Says Russia Declares Him Wanted Man”

Belarusian authorities on Wednesday blocked access to another news site, the latest in a series of steps restricting independent media in the country after it was shaken by a wave of anti-government protests. The Belarusian Ministry of Information blocked access to the Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus website, the Belarusian subsidiary of a popular Russian newspaper …

Read more “Belarus Blocks News Site After Deaths of Dissident, KGB”

A court in France has sentenced former President Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison after finding him guilty of illegal campaign financing during his 2012 reelection campaign. Prosecutors said Sarkozy spent nearly double the amount allowed under French law ahead of the election won by challenger Francois Hollande. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007-2012, …

Read more “Court Convicts Former French Leader Sarkozy in Campaign Finance Case”

Britain’s business minister said Wednesday the army would begin driving fuel tankers in response to shortages at gas stations around the nation brought on by a dearth of truck drivers. For about a week now, a shortage of around 100,000 truck drivers in Britain has made it difficult for oil companies to get gasoline from …

Read more “British Government to Use Army to Help Ease Fuel Trucker Shortage”

Russia threatened Wednesday to block Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube after Russian state-backed broadcaster RT’s German-language channels were deleted, and said it was considering retaliating against German media. YouTube said on Tuesday that RT’s channels had breached its COVID-19 misinformation policy, a move Russia’s Foreign Ministry described as “unprecedented information aggression.” Russian state communications regulator Roskomnadzor said …

Read more “Russia Threatens YouTube Block After RT TV’s German Channels Are Deleted”

Weeks before a high-profile climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Danish officials are talking up an ambitious program to develop the world’s largest offshore wind energy complex, with the potential to provide enough green energy to power not just Denmark, but some of its neighbors as well.  The complex, to sit on and around an artificial …

Read more “Massive North Sea Wind Farm Could Power Denmark, Neighbors”

It’s still not clear who will be the next leader of Germany, after Sunday’s election failed to give any party a ruling majority. Talks between rival parties over forming a coalition government are under way. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Olaf Scholz is the narrow favorite to take over from Angela Merkel as chancellor — but …

Read more “German Election: Olaf Scholz Narrow Favorite to Succeed Angela Merkel”

The pandemic has made Spain’s affordable housing crisis worse and civil organizations are now pressuring the government to pass a housing law that includes making available vacant, foreclosed homes. The push is causing new friction between Spanish political factions and raising concerns among real estate investors. Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in …

Read more “In Spain, the Push is on for Squatter’s Rights”

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny is facing a new criminal probe by Russian investigators that could lead to 10 more years in prison. The investigation, launched Tuesday by the Russian government’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, accuses Navalny of creating and directing an “extremist network” the goal of which was “changing the foundations of …

Read more “Kremlin Critic Navalny Hit With New Probe, Could Face 10 More Years in Prison”

Police and fire officials in Goteburg, Sweden say an explosion in an apartment building early Tuesday injured at least 20 people, some of them seriously, and investigators have ruled out a natural cause for the blast. Emergency officials say they were alerted to the blast just before 5 a.m. local time in the Annedal district …

Read more “At Least 20 Injured in Swedish Apartment Building Explosion”

Concerns are growing over the reach of the national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong as Britain warned several of its citizens that they could face arrest and extradition to the former British colony.  China passed the national security law in June 2020 in response to months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. …

Read more “Britain Warns Citizens of Hong Kong Extradition Threat”

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake rocked the Greek island of Crete Monday morning, leaving at least one person dead and several injured. Across the island, people were reportedly seen running out of buildings and homes, while many older buildings suffered damage. “The earthquake was strong and was long in duration,” Heraklion Mayor Vassilis Lambrinos told private …

Read more “5.8 Quake Hits Crete, Killing One”

A Canary Islands volcano that has been erupting for over a week fell silent Monday as coastal residents were confined over toxic gas fears when the lava hits the sea. La Cumbre Vieja, which straddles a southern ridge in La Palma in the Atlantic archipelago, erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava which …

Read more “Volcano Lava Flow Halts but Many Confined Over Toxic Gas Fears”

Up to 90% of British fuel stations ran dry across major English cities on Monday after panic buying deepened a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of truckers that retailers are warning could batter the world’s fifth-largest economy.  A dire post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers emerging after the COVID-19 pandemic has sown chaos through …

Read more “Panic Buying Leaves Fuel Pumps Dry in Major British Cities “

The joke in Berlin before Germans went to the polls Sunday was that the country’s longstanding chancellor, Angela Merkel, would have to delay her retirement from politics, and would end up delivering the traditional New Year’s address to the nation come January. And that looks likely. Germany is facing months-long horse-trading and wrangling over the …

Read more “Goodbye Chancellor Merkel, Hello Chancellor Merkel”

Preliminary results Monday showed Germany’s center-left Social Democrats winning the largest share of the vote in national parliamentary elections as parties battle to see who will succeed outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel.  The Social Democrats received 25.7% of the vote Sunday, followed by 24.1% for Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union.  State Governor Armin Laschet of the …

Read more “Social Democrats Win Most Votes in German Election”

Iceland briefly celebrated electing a female-majority parliament Sunday, before a recount produced a result just short of that landmark for gender parity in the North Atlantic island nation. The initial vote count had female candidates winning 33 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat parliament, the Althing, in an election that saw centrist parties make the biggest gains. …

Read more “Recount Finds Iceland Just Misses Female-majority Parliament”

Switzerland voted by a wide margin to allow same-sex couples to marry in a referendum on Sunday, bringing the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe. Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won a majority in all of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, or states.   Switzerland’s …

Read more “Swiss Approve Same-sex Marriage by Landslide in Referendum”

The EU and U.S. will this week embark on a tricky effort to deepen ties on tech regulation, but with France resisting the project in the wake of a falling out with Washington over a submarine deal. High-level talks will begin in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday despite efforts by Paris to …

Read more “EU-US to Seek Shared Tech Rules Despite French Anger”