Month: December 2023

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II to Abdicate after 52 Years on the Throne

COPENHAGEN — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II will abdicate on January 14 next year after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she said her annual New Year’s speech on Sunday. The 83-year-old queen, who took over the throne in 1972, is the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. In February, she underwent successful back surgery. “The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation,” she said in the …

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German Chancellor Tours Flooded Regions in Northwest, Praises Authorities and Volunteers 

Berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a helicopter flight Sunday to check the flooded regions in the northwest of the country, where rivers have swelled and overflowed homes, roads and fields after weeks of heavy rain. In recent days, hundreds of people have been evacuated from affected areas in northern and eastern Germany as a precaution. Scholz landed in the morning in the town of Verden in Lower Saxony where dikes along rivers were soaked with water and close to bursting in some parts of the state. Talking to reporters near the Aller river which has flooded parts of Verden, …

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Eurostar Services Resume as Cause of Flooded Tunnel Probed 

London — Eurostar warned customers travelling from London on Sunday of potential delays after flooding forced the cancelation all Saturday trains. The first Eurostar train left London St Pancras International shortly after 8:00 am (0800 GMT). Engineers had brought water in two tunnels in Kent in southern England under control meaning that at least one tunnel was useable, it said. But Eurostar cautioned that “there will be some speed restrictions in place in the morning which may lead to delays and stations are expected to be very busy.”  The company operates services from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. It announced …

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Oscar-Nominated Actor Tom Wilkinson Dies at 75

london — Two-time Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in “The Full Monty” — a movie about a group of unemployed steel workers who launched new careers as strippers — died suddenly on Saturday.  The British actor’s death was confirmed in a statement released by his agent on behalf of his family. He was 75.  “It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him.”  Wilkinson was nominated for Academy Awards for actor in a leading role for “In The Bedroom” in 2001, …

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Venezuela Says Troops Will Stay Deployed Until British Military Vessel Leaves Area

MEXICO CITY — Venezuela said Saturday it will keep nearly 6,000 troops deployed until a British military vessel sent to neighboring Guyana leaves the waters off the coast of the two South American nations. In a video posted to X, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino appeared surrounded by military officers in front of a map of Venezuela and Guyana, a former British colony. Padrino said the forces are “safeguarding our national sovereignty.” “Armed forces have been deployed not just in the east of the country, but across the entire territory,” he said. “They will be there until this British imperialist boat …

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Albania’s Ex-PM Berisha Under House Arrest During Corruption Probe

TIRANA, ALBANIA — An Albanian court Saturday ordered house arrest for former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who leads the opposition Democratic Party and is being investigated for possible corruption. Judge Irena Gjoka of the First Instance Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime, which covers cases involving senior officials and politicians, accepted prosecutors’ request to put Berisha, 79, under house arrest after he violated the previous restrictive measures of reporting every two weeks. He was also barred from traveling abroad. His lawyer, Genc Gjokutaj, said the court also barred Berisha from communicating with people other than members of his family who …

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Thousands Accuse Serbia’s Ruling Populists of Election Fraud at Rally

BELGRADE, SERBIA — Thousands of people rallied in Serbia’s capital Saturday, chanting “Thieves!” and accusing the populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic of orchestrating a fraud during a recent general election. The rally in central Belgrade capped nearly two weeks of street protests over reported widespread irregularities during the December 17 parliamentary and local ballot — irregularities that were also noted by international election observers. The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the election winner, but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, has claimed the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for the Belgrade city authorities. Serbia Against Violence …

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