Browsing: European News

The Eurovision Song Contest hit the airwaves on Saturday with its inimitable mix of glitz and politics as the Ukraine conflict and an Austrian drag queen took centre stage in the annual spectacle. “It’s … a show that has a worldwide audience, including…

Gregor and Lewis Young made history when they became the first twin brothers to represent Scotland at the same time in the modern era in the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series at Twickenham. And the duo went one better than that in their Pool…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said Saturday that a planned separatist referendum in eastern Ukraine is “illegal,” during a meeting in Germany. The two European leaders also warned Moscow of “consequences” if…

Several Red Cross members whom rebels said they had detained in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have been released, an official from the organisation in Kiev told AFP Saturday. “An emergency response team from the local Red Cross and one member…

Extradited British millionaire businessman Shrien Dewani is due in court in South Africa Monday on charges of ordering his Swedish wife’s murder during their 2010 honeymoon in Cape Town. After losing a three-year extradition fight in Britain, Dewani…

England’s Football Association said on Thursday that it wants to limit the number of non-European Union players in Premier League teams to two in a bid to bolster home-grown talent. A report produced by a commission set up by FA chairman Greg Dyke also…

Spanish police said Wednesday they have arrested a Colombian man after he was found to be carrying a ham and cheese sandwich stuffed with over 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of cocaine. The 29-year-old was detained at a bus station in the Mediterranean beach…

Hackers have stolen the personal data of 1.3 million customers of French telephone company Orange, in the second major breach of its kind in a matter of months. In the latest incident, which was detected on April 18, the hackers acquired names, email…

Former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall pleaded guilty Tuesday to indecently assaulting a girl but will face trial on 15 counts of rape. The 84-year-old admitted an indecent assault on a girl aged under 16, between 1978 and 1979. He denied 20 other counts…

The European Union has named David O’Sullivan of Ireland to become the bloc’s new envoy to Washington amid negotiations to forge a free trade pact between the two economic giants. “I am delighted to announce the appointment of David O’Sullivan to this…

Thousands of pro-Russian protesters assaulted Odessa’s police headquarters Sunday, days after deadly clashes and a fire there killed dozens of their comrades in what Kiev charged was a Russian plot to “destroy Ukraine”. The unrest in the southern port…

More than 2,000 pro-Russian militants on Sunday stormed the police headquarters in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, where 42 people died in clashes two days ago. An AFP reporter on the scene said the crowd shouted “fascists, fascists” as they attacked…

Several dozen Russian planes including what appeared to be strategic bombers and fighter jets have been spotted in the sky above the Moscow-controlled peninsula of Crimea, witnesses and experts said. According to Russian media, President Vladimir Putin…

Nigel Farage, head of the UK Independence Party that is currently leading polls ahead of this month’s European elections, told AFP during an interview in Portsmouth of his hatred of the European Union and his determination to bring down its parliament…

The European Central Bank is not expected to cut interest rates this week, but could start paving the way for a possible move in June if deflationary dangers persist, analysts said. The ECB has held eurozone borrowing costs at their current all-time…

Even as Europe powered up its most ambitious ever cybersecurity exercise this month, doubts were being raised over whether the continent’s patchwork of online police was right for the job. The exercise, called Cyber Europe 2014, is the largest and most…

Hundreds of supporters of detained republican leader Gerry Adams rallied in Belfast on Saturday after Northern Ireland police obtained an extension to quiz him over a notorious IRA murder. With tensions rising, his Sinn Fein party warned it could review…

Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian rebels fought fierce battles Saturday around a flashpoint town, with only a small reprieve to allow passage of a freed team of OSCE inspectors. More than 50 people have died in two days of clashes nationwide — most…

Nine clubs remain at risk of punishment for over-spending under UEFA’s financial fairplay rules, the European governing body announced Friday. Although the identity of the teams was not revealed, big-spending Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain…

Two football fans were convicted Thursday of tearing up a copy of the Koran during an English football match and throwing the pieces in the air. Julie Phillips, 50, ripped pages from the Islamic holy book and handed them out to fellow away supporters…