Month: June 2017

Firefighters on Wednesday battled one of London’s biggest fire disasters in recent memory as a rapid-moving blaze raced through a 24-story apartment building in West London. Hours after the fire was first reported, crews worked to rescue people trapped inside and count the number of dead.  “I can confirm six fatalities at this time,” Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said. “But this figure is likely to rise during what is a complex recovery operation over a number of days.” Neighbors said they heard screams for help as the fire stormed through the floors, trapping residents who could be seen from …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron are joining forces in order to crack down on tech companies, ensuring they step up their efforts to combat terrorism online. Britain and France face similar challenges in fighting homegrown Islamist extremism and share similar scars from deadly attacks that rocked London, Manchester, Paris and Nice. May traveled to Paris on Tuesday to hold talks on counterterrorism measures and Britain’s departure from the European Union. She said major internet companies had failed to live up to prior commitments to do more to prevent extremists from finding a “safe space” online. …

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Hungary defied the EU and human rights groups on Tuesday by approving strict new rules for non-governmental organizations with foreign funding that further escalates Budapest’s conflict with billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The law drafted by right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government requires NGOs that get money from abroad to register with the authorities. The government says it wants to ensure greater transparency and protect Hungary from foreign influence, but NGOs say the bill stigmatizes them and is intended to stifle independent voices in the central European country. Orban, 54, has especially focused on NGOs funded by Soros, an American-Hungarian, …

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Summertime in Europe often means that large-scale outdoor events are planned for weeks in a row, with lots of people in public spaces. But vehicles have been used several times to kill and wound pedestrians and citizens since last year’s attack in Nice, France. Vans and cars have also been used to carry out attacks in Germany, Sweden and Britain. European cities are known for their open public spaces, but more measures have been implemented to keep citizens safer. Adjusting to this reality means cities are adopting several approaches to protect their citizens without turning their open cities into heavily-secured …

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An Indian tycoon facing extradition to India has appeared at a preliminary hearing in a British court. Co-owner of the Force India Formula 1 team Vijay Mallya confirmed his name and personal details in Westminster Magistrates Court Tuesday.   He is wanted in India to face charges of money laundering and bank demands that he pay back more than a billion dollars in loans to his now-defunct airline.   His lawyer told the court Mallya may face additional charges in India.   The 61-year-old Mallya was arrested in Britain in April and has been free on conditional bail. He moved …

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Kensington Palace says the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will make five-day visit to Poland and Germany in a trip seen as a goodwill mission amid the rancor surrounding Britain’s pending departure from the European Union. Prince William and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, have not toured Poland before on behalf of the government, though the second in line to the throne traveled to Germany last summer for a series of events honoring members of the British armed services. The trip begins July 17 in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, and will include a stop in Gdansk. In Germany, the royals …

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The European Union warned the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland on Tuesday that they have 24 hours to start taking in refugees under an EU sharing plan or face legal action.   The European Commission said in a statement that it has repeatedly urged the three countries to relocate refugees or at least pledge to do so under the legally-binding refugee plan agreed two years ago.   But it said they haven’t taken action “in breach of their legal obligations,” and that it “has decided to launch infringement procedures.”   The plan to share 160,000 refugees in overwhelmed Italy and …

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“I can’t negotiate with myself,” Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, told reporters in Brussels this week. He’s not alone among Europeans in being impatient. “We are waiting for the UK to come to the table and to lay out exactly what they are after,” said Mairhead McGuinness, vice president of the European Parliament. “The clock is ticking towards Brexit. It is a mess, but it is not an EU mess.”. Britain was supposed to begin formal negotiations on its break from the EU next week, but according to officials, no firm date has been set as Prime …

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Kosovo could be heading towards lengthy talks on forming a coalition government, delaying economic reforms, official preliminary results showed on Monday. Early elections were held on Sunday after the PDK-led government of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, accused by the opposition of failing to meet pledges to improve the lives of young people, lost a no-confidence vote. “The outcome is definitely one which is not creating immediately a clear majority for a government and I hope that it does not take again up to nine months as it was the case last time [2014],” said Johannes Hahn, the European Union’s chief …

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Croatian Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier resigned on Monday, saying he wanted to devote himself to activities within his conservative HDZ party, following the formation of a new coalition including the conservatives and the liberals. Last week, the HDZ, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, struck a deal with the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), representatives of national minorities and a few smaller parties to stay in power and avert a second snap poll in less than a year. Local media reported that Stier, who has worked closely with Plenkovic ever since they were both deputies in the European Parliament, was …

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Poland warned on Monday against rising protectionism in Europe after a decisive victory for French President Emmanuel Macron’s party in the first round of parliamentary elections. Macron has called for a “protection agenda” for the European Union that includes a “Buy European Act” and regulations to prevent strategic companies from falling into non-European hands. Konrad Szymanski, Poland’s deputy foreign minister in charge of European affairs, told reporters in Berlin that other EU governments might adopt a more protectionist stance to support Macron. “The future development of the EU’s single market is causing the biggest concerns for us,” Szymanski said in …

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Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund are likely to strike a compromise on Greece on Thursday, paving the way for new loans for Athens while leaving the contentious debt relief issue for later, officials said on Monday. IMF head Christine Lagarde suggested a plan last week under which the Fund would join the Greek bailout now, because Athens is delivering on agreed reforms, but would not disburse any IMF money until the eurozone clarifies what debt relief it can offer Greece. Underlining the IMF’s willingness to strike a deal after months of wrangling between its European chief Poul …

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The United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the “irreversible” global tool to address climate change.   The G-7 environment ministers issued a final communique Monday after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact. In a footnote to the communique, the United States said it wouldn’t join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris commitments, but said it was taking action on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.   “The United States will continue to …

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