The bins are overflowing in large areas of Paris a week into a strike by waste collectors, with thousands of tonnes of rubbish sitting abandoned on the streets of the French capital. “It’s dirty, it attracts rats and cockroaches,” one Parisian complained on French radio. The workers are striking over the Macron government’s proposals to raise the pension age from 62 to 64. Other cities including Nantes, Rennes and Le Havre are also affected. Refuse collectors joined the pension strikes a week ago and the Paris authority says half of the city’s districts, which are covered by council workers, have … Continue reading Paris holds its nose as waste piles up amid industrial strike

Three Croatian nationals have been arrested in Serbia after radioactive material was discovered in their car, Serbian officials say. They were about to enter Croatia on Saturday when scanners detected a “serious amount” of radiation. A subsequent search of an Audi car revealed the head of a radioactive lightning rod in the spare tyre slot of the boot, Serbian customs said. Such rods were widely used in the past, but are now largely being dismantled. The incident occurred at the Bezdan border crossing near the town of Sombor on Saturday at 20:30 local time. A statement by Serbian customs authorities … Continue reading Serbia-Croatia border arrests over radioactive material found in car

Italian former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been acquitted of bribing witnesses to lie about his notorious “bunga-bunga” parties. The billionaire media tycoon, 86, was accused of paying young showgirls and others to give false testimony about the allegedly raunchy parties. The other 28 defendants were also acquitted, among them Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby, who figured in an earlier Berlusconi case. Berlusconi has faced many court cases. In the Ruby case, the right-wing senator won an appeal against his conviction for paying for sex with an underage prostitute. Ruby and he both denied having had sex … Continue reading Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi acquitted in ‘bunga-bunga’ party case

It will soon be illegal to smoke cannabis on the street in Amsterdam’s red light district under new regulations unveiled by the city. The laws will come into effect from mid-May and aim to improve liveability for residents who have long complained of disruption caused by tourists. Sex workers will also have to close their venues at 3am. Local media reported that almost all councillors supported taking action to reduce nuisance to residents. The city council also announced on Thursday that restaurants and bars would have to close by 2am on Fridays and Saturdays and no new visitors would be … Continue reading Amsterdam bans cannabis in its red light district

Spanish police have arrested a 74-year-old man on suspicion of sending letter bombs to high-profile targets, including the country’s prime minister. The man was reportedly taken into custody in the north of Spain and is due to appear in court later this week. In total six bombs were sent to addresses across Spain including PM Pedro Sánchez’s official residence and the US and Ukrainian embassies. Most were defused but an Ukrainian embassy worker was slightly injured. Letter bombs were also sent to the ministry of defence, an air force base and a weapons manufacturer – all linked to Spain’s support … Continue reading Elderly man arrested in Spain over letter bomb attacks

A British woman, 45, has died after getting caught in an avalanche while hiking with two other people in the French Alps, rescue services have said. The accident happened on Saturday on the Argentière Glacier, one of Mont Blanc’s biggest glaciers. The specialist high mountain search and rescue unit of the French police in Chamonix said it was alerted by a guide at around 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT). Rescue workers and a doctor were sent by helicopter to rescue her. But they were unable to revive the woman, said Colonel Bertrand Host of the mountain rescue unit. Police have … Continue reading British woman dies in avalanche in French Alps

Europe’s largest deposit of rare earths – which are used from mobile phones to missiles – has been found in Sweden. No rare earths are mined in Europe at the moment and a Swedish minister hailed the find as a way of reducing the EU’s dependence on China. The discovery is also being seen as “decisive” for the green transition, given the expected rise in demand for electric vehicles and wind turbines. Some 98% of rare earths used in the EU in 2021 were imported from China. Over one million tonnes are reported to have now been found in Sweden’s … Continue reading Huge rare earth metals discovery in Sweden

Twenty-five people have been arrested in raids across Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. German reports say the group of far-right and ex-military figures planned to storm the parliament building, the Reichstag, and seize power. A German … Continue reading German raids target group who plotted coup

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has angered his country’s eastern neighbours Romania and Ukraine by wearing a football scarf adorned with a map of an expanded Hungary. The image represents Greater Hungary – the old Hungarian imperial territory that existed before Austria-Hungary’s defeat in World War One. Romania voiced “firm disapproval” of Mr Orban’s gesture, in a message to the Hungarian ambassador to Bucharest. Ukraine demanded an official apology. Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said Kyiv was summoning Hungary’s ambassador “who will be informed of the unacceptability of Viktor Orban’s act”. “The promotion of revisionist ideas in Hungary … Continue reading Viktor Orban ‘Greater Hungary’ scarf angers Romania and Ukraine

The Chinese government has been accused of establishing at least two undeclared “police stations” in the Netherlands. Dutch media found evidence that the “overseas service stations”, which promise to provide diplomatic services, are being used to try to silence Chinese dissidents in Europe. A spokesperson for the Dutch foreign ministry said the existence of the unofficial police outposts is illegal. The Chinese embassy says it is not aware of their existence. The investigation was sparked by a report entitled Chinese Transnational Policing Gone Wild, by the Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders. According to the organisation, the public security bureaus from two Chinese … Continue reading China accused of illegal police stations in Netherlands

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has ordered the country’s three remaining nuclear power stations to keep operating until mid-April, as the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hurts the economy. Originally Germany planned to phase out all three by the end of this year. Mr Scholz’s order overruled the Greens in his coalition, who wanted two plants kept on standby, to be used if needed. Nuclear power provides 6% of Germany’s electricity. The decision to phase it out was taken by former chancellor Angela Merkel after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. But gas prices have soared since Russia’s … Continue reading Germany extends nuclear power amid energy crisis

A Dutch town has lost a court case seeking action by Twitter to stop the spread of a conspiracy theory saying it once hosted a satanic paedophile ring. The unfounded reports that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the site of the crimes in the 1980s first circulated in 2020. Local authorities had wanted all posts relating to the alleged events removed by the social media site. But a Dutch judge said Twitter had done enough to remove unlawful content about the story. One of three men behind the rumours said he had been the victim of abuse and witnessed murders as a child. … Continue reading Update: Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk loses Twitter paedophilia rumour case