Tag Archives: Europe

A week after his failed first attempt, French inventor Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard. On Sunday morning, Zapata, 40, flew for 20 minutes along 35.4 kilometers (22 miles) from the French town of Sangatte, to Saint Margaret’s Bay, near Dover, with one-stop halfway …

German customs officials seized 4.5 metric tons of cocaine worth $1.2 billion two weeks ago, marking the largest cocaine bust in the country’s history. According to reports, more than 4,200 packages hidden in duffel bags were found in a shipping container in Hamburg, Germany. The freight container was believed to …

The thigh bone of a giant dinosaur was found this week by French paleontologists at an excavation site in southwestern France where remains of some of the largest animals that ever lived on land have been dug up since 2010. The two-meter long femur at the Angeac-Charente site is thought …

Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Tuesday to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 “no matter what” as sterling tumbled and Ireland warned that the bloc would not be renegotiating the thrice defeated divorce deal. The British pound fell on Tuesday as investors bet Johnson’s …

A child has died after a man pushed him and his mother in front of an oncoming high-speed train at Frankfurt’s main station, police said. Witnesses reportedly saw a man dressed in dark clothes shove the pair onto the tracks as an InterCity Express train pulled into the station in …

Europeans have already been struggling with the heat this summer, but meteorologists warn that it’s going to get even hotter over the next few days. Widespread alerts warning of medium or high heat has been issued across many countries in Western, Central and even northeastern Europe. Weather forecasters in the …

More than 1,000 firefighters battled wildfires in central Portugal on Monday, forcing the evacuation of several villages as the authorities hoped to limit the number of residents at risk. So far 33 people have been injured, including one who is in a serious condition. Portugal’s Civil Protection said some houses …

People will no longer be able to smoke in designated outdoor areas of bars and restaurants in Catalonia, under new proposals. Smoking in public places was banned in Spain in January 2011, although smokers were permitted to use the outside terraces of establishments, according to Catalan News. At the time, …

Europe’s highest volcano, Mount Etna in southern Italy, bursts into life with explosions and lava flows from one of the craters on the deserted area at the top of the Sicilian volcano.

Kosovo’s prime minister has resigned after a war crimes court in The Hague summoned him for questioning as a suspect. Ramush Haradinaj, 51, served as a rebel commander in the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict, which eventually led to Kosovo declaring independence. He said he stepped down so he could attend court …

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial contracts for 5G across the world, according to the company’s board member and Senior Vice President Catherine Chen, who was cited by news agency Xinhua. Despite pressure from Washington on its allies to ban Huawei technology, Chen said that 28 …

British lawmakers on Thursday backed proposals to make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament, showing again their determination to stop a divorce from the European Union without agreement. Boris Johnson, the clear frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May next …

Parents in Germany who fail to vaccinate their children could face hefty fines after the German government-backed a bill requiring all children to receive a measles jab before entering school or kindergarten. If the German parliament approves the bill, parents will be required to provide evidence that their child has …

European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday for the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, which this year honored European military cooperation. After riding down the iconic Champs Elysees boulevard in a military vehicle escorted by motorcycles and a cavalry procession, Macron …

More than 1,600 visitors and 350 staff were evacuated after a fire broke out at Europe’s largest aquarium in Valencia, Spain. A column of dense black smoke rose from the building. The blaze was reported at about 11.00 Am local time, as visitors reportedly noticed smoke near a shark enclosure. …

Sir Kim Darroch has resigned as UK ambassador to the US, amid a row over leaked emails critical of Trump’s administration. The ambassador was branded “a very stupid guy” by the US president after emails emerged calling his administration “clumsy and inept”. The Foreign Office praised Sir Kim’s “professionalism and …

A Norwegian ex-cabinet minister has been given five years in jail for sexually abusing three asylum seekers. Svein Ludvigsen, 72, was found guilty of abusing his position as a regional governor and exploiting the vulnerable situation of the three young men. They said they believed their response to Ludvigsen’s demands …

Four tigers have mauled their trainer to death during a rehearsal at a circus in southern Italy. One tiger set upon Ettore Weber, 61, on Thursday evening in Triggiano, near Bari, before the other three joined in. They then played with his body in their cage until paramedics and circus …

The ancient Philistines, the Biblical villains whose origins have puzzled scholars for decades, came to the Middle East from southern Europe more than 3,000 years ago, new DNA testing has shown. The genetic findings came from skeletons unearthed by archaeologists in Palestine in 2016, including the bones of infants buried …

A huge volcanic eruption has rocked the small Italian island of Stromboli, near Sicily, reportedly sending tourists fleeing in fear for their lives. Columns of black smoke continue to billow from the volcano in the wake of the sudden activity, which alarmed some island visitors so much that they fled …