Nikola Tesla, pioneer of alternating current electricity, might have been shocked to know how his legacy would cause a row between European states. Serbia’s central bank has threatened to take action with the EU if its neighbour Croatia puts the late great inventor on its coins. Croatia wants his face on its euros when it joins the currency in 2023. But Serbia claims him for its own because he saw himself as a Serb though born in what is now Croatia. The two countries are old rivals with a tragic history. Croatia’s national bank said it would put the inventor … Continue reading Sparks fly over plans to honour inventor Nikola Tesla with coin

The fugitive deputy leader of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn has been detained in Athens after months of evading arrest, media reports say. Christos Pappas had been wanted by police since October, when the entire leadership of Golden Dawn was convicted of running a criminal organisation. Pappas was sentenced to 13 years in prison, but refused to hand himself in. He is known for having an obsession with Nazism and was considered a leading ideologue of Golden Dawn. A police source told AFP news agency Pappas was eventually caught at a home in the Athens district of Zografou. A police … Continue reading Golden Dawn fugitive Christos Pappas arrested in Greece

Special Belgian police units are searching for a heavily armed soldier with far-right views who they believe poses a serious threat. The suspect has been named as Jurgen Conings, a military shooting instructor who took weapons from a barracks. He is said to have made threats in the past against virologist Marc Van Ranst, who led Belgium’s public health response to coronavirus. Mr Van Ranst and his family have been taken to a safe place. Latest reports say as many as 350 police and some military have been deployed in and around a national park near the Dutch border. Six … Continue reading Racism: Belgian manhunt for heavily armed far-right soldier

The French army chief of staff has urged soldiers to resign if they signed a controversial letter that warned of a civil war trigged by religious extremism in the country. The letter, published in a right-wing magazine, accused the French government of granting “concessions” to Islamism. It followed a similar letter three weeks ago signed by 20 former generals, both letters were condemned by the French government but praised by right-wing politicians. On Tuesday, General François Lecointre addressed the latest letter in a message to military personnel. “The most reasonable step is certainly to leave the institution in order to … Continue reading French army chief tells soldiers to quit over civil-war letter

France got a little smaller, and Belgium a little bigger, thanks to an annoyed Belgian farmer. The farmer in the border village of Erquelinnes moved a stone in the path of his tractor, according to BBC. It turned out not to be just any stone, but one marking the boundary line between the two countries. In moving it, the Belgian gave his country 7.5 more feet (2.29 meters), by taking that same amount away from France. “Gonna have to put things back in place,” wrote the mayor of the Belgian village that gained territory. The stone has history on its side: The … Continue reading LOL: Belgian farmer accidentally moves French border, makes France smaller

Two people have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of trading newborn babies, police said Monday. Officers arrested the two Bulgarian nationals in Neunkirchen, in the state of Saarland, on Thursday, police said in a statement. The 58 year-old-man and his 51-year-old wife are accused of being part of a criminal organization that trades in newborn babies. Both are in custody, police said. The case originated in Bulgaria, where authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant for the couple. The two are thought to have brought at least eight heavily pregnant women from Bulgaria to neighboring Greece. Once the babies … Continue reading German police arrest couple suspected of trading newborn babies

The mayor of the Spanish city of Pamplona on Monday cancelled the San Fermin festival, which draws thrill-seekers from all over the world to run with fighting bulls through its streets, for a second year because of the coronavirus pandemic. “To my very despair, I’m forced to officially suspend the festival of San Fermin in 2021,” mayor Enrique Maya told reporters on Monday. He cited the high Covid-19 contagion in the Navarra region and the low vaccination ratio. Regional president Maria Chivite had said in February the festival would not be held this year, but at the time Maya had … Continue reading Spain’s Pamplona cancels bull-running festival for second year in row

Spain’s parliament has approved new proposals to protect child victims of sexual abuse. Under the bill, which will now go to the Spanish Senate, survivors will be able to report abuse for up to 15 years after turning 35. Currently, the clock starts running from their 18th birthday. The vote followed a public campaign headed by British pianist and Spanish resident James Rhodes and a number of charities. The musician, who has spoken out about having been raped by a teacher while at school in the UK, described the law as “fantastic”. “This law is an enormous step – not … Continue reading Great News: Spain passes child abuse law backed by UK pianist

Police in Greece say three officers have been injured in clashes at a protest in Athens about police brutality, one of the officers was seriously injured, police confirmed. Some 5,000 people took to the streets of Athens on Tuesday evening in response to a video that appeared to show a man being beaten on Sunday in the Nea Smyrni district. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has condemned the violence. Protesters gathered in Nea Smyrni, the residential area where the video was filmed, carrying banners reading “cops out of our neighbourhoods”. Another group of protesters, wearing masks, threw petrol bombs and … Continue reading Officers injured in police brutality protests

French billionaire politician Olivier Dassault has been killed in a helicopter crash, according to parliamentary and probe sources, the private helicopter crashed on Sunday afternoon in Normandy, where he has a holiday home, a police source said. French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the 69-year-old, saying on Twitter that Dassault “never ceased to serve our country, to value its assets. His sudden death is a great loss”. Sources close to the crash enquiry said the pilot of the helicopter was also killed, and that no one else was on board. Dassault was the eldest son of French billionaire industrialist … Continue reading French billionaire MP Olivier Dassault dies in helicopter crash

The last statue of General Francisco Franco on Spanish soil has been removed, after the tiny enclave of Melilla voted to take down its monument to the fascist dictator. Workers destroyed the brink plinth and carried away the statue, which had stood at the gates of the city on the north-west coast of Africa. Only the far-right Vox party in Melilla had voted against its removal, General Franco ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. More than 30,000 people were killed in the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, which saw Franco’s Nationalist forces defeat the Republican government. He then … Continue reading Melilla enclave removes last statue of fascist dictator on Spanish soil