BELGIUM ““ (BBC) The jailed ex-wife of child killer Marc Dutroux has been released from prison, after Belgium’s highest court upheld her transfer to a convent. The controversial move for Michelle Martin comes 16 years into her 30-year sentence.
MALTA ““ (BBC) Former Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, who played a dominant role in the island’s politics for decades before and after its independence from the UK, has died at age 96. He was leader of the center-left Labour Party from 1949 to 1984 and was PM twice, including from 1971 to 1984.
GREECE ““ (BBC) Greek police say more than 1,600 illegal immigrants will be deported following a major crackdown in Athens in recent days. More than 6,000 people have been detained, though most were released. Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias defended the crackdown. He said Greece’s economic plight meant it could not afford an “invasion of […]
BULGARIA ““ (BBC) The suicide bomber who killed six people in Bulgaria last week was part of a sophisticated group of conspirators, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has said. He said the group had arrived in Bulgaria a month before the attack. But he declined to back Israeli claims that Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah […]
FRANCE ““ (BBC) A man apparently brandishing a fake gun has freed the final hostage he had been holding at a French school outside Paris and has himself been captured. The last hostage was a parent who had come to drop off a child at the school in Vitry-sur-Seine, which is being used
EUROPE ““ (BBC) The European Parliament has voted to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The proposed agreement sought to curb piracy, but Internet campaigners said it posed a threat to online freedoms. The rejection vote followed a failed attempt to postpone the decision because of ongoing investigations into ACTA by the European Court
GERMANY ““ (BBC) German police have issued photographs of a teenager who appeared in Berlin last year saying that he had been living in the woods for five years. They hope the images will help them establish the identity of the teenager, who has only given them a date of birth and said his first […]
DENMARK ““ (BBC) Two men suspected of planning a terrorist attack have been arrested in Denmark, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) says. The men, who are brothers with suspected links to a militant Islamist group in Somalia, were arrested late on Monday night. One was arrested in the city of Aarhus, with the […]
EUROPE ““ (BBC) The eurozone crisis is the single biggest threat to the global economy, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The economy of the 17 nations that use the euro will shrink 0.1% this year, before rebounding to 0.9% growth next year, the OECD predicts.
GERMANY ““ (BBC) Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted her Christian Democrat (CDU) party suffered a “bitter, painful” defeat in Germany’s largest state election. However, she said the result in North Rhine-Westphalia would have no impact on her policy of Europe’s debt crisis. The election saw the governing Social Democrats increase their share of the vote, […]
ENGLAND ““ (BBC) Tenants in east London are being evicted from their homes as landlords attempt to cash in on the Olympics, BBC News has learned. The housing charity Shelter says it has seen more evidence of landlords acting unscrupulously and evicting people illegally. Shelter fears the problem will get worse as the Games approach.
EUROPE ““ (BBC) Chelsea are into the final of the Champions League after surviving John Terry’s red card to seal a remarkable victory over Barcelona. Earlier in the week, Barcelona’s Fernando Torres had said “the best team does not always win.” His words proved gloriously prophetic for England’s last men standing in Europe as they […]
EUROPE ““ (BBC) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that “some optimism has returned” to the global economy and has predicted slightly faster growth. The IMF revised world economic growth for 2012 to 3.5%, up from its previous forecast of 3.3%. It also expects the UK to grow faster this year by 0.8% rather
BELGIUM ““ (BBC) The Belgian government has told striking public transport workers that 400 extra police officers will be deployed in Brussels after a transport inspector was fatally punched. The assault on Saturday triggered a shutdown of the capital’s metro and bus network over the Easter weekend. The system remained paralyzed on Tuesday.
EUROPE – (BBC) The eurozone group has backed Greece’s second bailout of 130 billion euros ($171 billion) pending a contribution from the International Monetary Fund. Finance ministers from the 17-strong currency bloc had been meeting in Brussels to approve the package. The meeting followed Greece swapping most of its privately-held bonds with new ones worth […]