Tag Archives: europe

5 killed after bus veers off highway, crashes in eastern Germany

At least five people were killed Wednesday when a bus headed from Berlin to Switzerland came off a highway in eastern Germany and ended up on its side, authorities said. The accident happened on the A9 highway near Leipzig at about 9:45 a.m. and the road was closed in both directions. It wasn’t immediately clear why the bus, which was …

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China's Xi Jinping tells Dutch PM that restricting technology access won't stop China's advance

Chinese leader Xi Jinping told visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday that attempts to restrict China’s access to technology will not stop the country’s advance. The Netherlands imposed export licensing requirements in 2023 on the sale of machinery that can make advanced processor chips. The move came after the United States blocked Chinese access to advanced chips and …

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European Hyperloop Center aims to usher in new era of transportation in the Netherlands

A quarter-mile white steel tube running alongside a railway line in the windswept northern Netherlands could usher in a new era in the transportation of people and freight. The tube is the heart of the new European Hyperloop Center that opens Tuesday and will be a proving ground in coming years for developers of the evolving technology. Hyperloop, once trumpeted …

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People form a human chain around Slovakia's public broadcaster that government wants to take over

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Protesters in Slovakia formed a human chain around the country’s public television and radio building Wednesday in anger over a takeover plan by the government whose populist, pro-Russia prime minister recently labeled several private media outlets his enemies. The takeover plan was drafted by Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, who represents an ultra-nationalist member party of the …

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In Vienna, 2 portraits of Alexei Navalny are painted near a monument to Soviet soldiers

VIENNA (AP) — Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-painted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna. The portraits were completed Wednesday on the wall behind the monument, which was already painted in Ukraine’s blue and yellow national colors …

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Poland's Eurocorps commander out amid counterintelligence investigation

Poland has dismissed the Polish commander of the European rapid reaction military unit, the Eurocorps, amid a recently launched military counterintelligence investigation involving him, authorities said Wednesday. POLAND EYES COURT TRIAL FOR CENTRAL BANK CHIEF ACCUSED OF BETRAYING COUNTRY’S FINANCIAL INTERESTS A Polish Defense Ministry statement said that new information regarding Lt. Gen. Jarosław R. Gromadziński had been revealed and …

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Romanian mob is coming for your debit cards, with ATM-style skimmers now at self-checkouts: authorities warn

Prosecutors in California say the Romanian mafia has given a new look to an old scam — debit card skimming — by placing devices to steal personal information on self-checkout machines in grocery stores. Debit card skimmers have long been problematic at gas stations and ATMs. Now a highly organized network of crooks is branching out. “They’ll have people sitting …

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How events in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region raised fears of Russian interference

Since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, fears have risen in neighboring Moldova that it could also be in Moscow’s crosshairs. Like Ukraine, Moldova is a former Soviet republic that has aligned itself with the West and aspires to join the European Union. And both countries hope to eventually reintegrate Russian-speaking breakaway territories that view Moscow as their protector. MOLDOVA …

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Germany to enact security checks on frontiers during summer European soccer tournament

Germany will carry out border controls at all its frontiers during soccer’s European Championship in June and July, the country’s top security official told local media. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the daily Rheinische Post in comments published Tuesday that checks will be carried out at all German borders during the tournament “to be able to prevent possible violent criminals …

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Bulgarian authorities seize $6.8M worth of cocaine hidden in banana shipment from Ecuador

Bulgarian customs officials confiscated about 370 pounds of cocaine from a ship transporting bananas from Ecuador, prosecutors said Tuesday. District prosecutor Georgi Chinev said the drugs were hidden in a fruit container on the cargo ship Madison 2, which also made a stopover in Malta. He valued the cocaine at $6.8 million. According to the head of the customs agency, …

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