Tag Archives: Europe

PARIS (AP) — France’s competition watchdog hit Google on Wednesday with another big fine tied to a long-running dispute over payments to French publishers for their news. The French Competition Authority said it issued the 250 million euro ($272 million) penalty because of Google’s failure to comply with some commitments it made in a negotiating framework. The dispute is part …

DUBLIN (AP) — According to Ireland’s Constitution, a woman’s place is in the home. Irish voters will decide Friday — International Women’s Day — whether to change the 87-year-old document to remove passages the government says are outdated and sexist. The twin referendums are on deleting a reference to women’s domestic duties and broadening the definition of the family. While …

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government appeared to have made an embarrassing mistake Tuesday after it advertised that Kate, the Princess of Wales, will attend a Trooping the Color ceremony in June, apparently before consulting palace officials. The announcement on the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s website drew attention because the June appearance would be the first major official duty confirmed for …

This week’s election in Russia is expected to cement President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power until at least 2030. Any opposition figures who could have challenged him are either in prison or exiled abroad. Independent media outlets that could show criticism of his policies have been blocked. And the Kremlin maintains rigid control over the political system and electoral process …

BERLIN (AP) — Germany plans to enable underground carbon storage at offshore sites, pushing ahead with a much-discussed technology in an acknowledgement that time is running out to combat climate change, the country’s vice chancellor said Monday. Europe’s biggest economy is making good progress with expanding renewable energy sources and usage, but a solution is needed for the carbon dioxide …

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Monday announced preliminary results from parliamentary and local elections in which only candidates loyal to the country’s authoritarian leader were allowed to compete and the opposition called for a boycott. The vote further cemented the 30-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, who declared his intention to seek another five-year term in a presidential …

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis was well enough on Sunday to celebrate his weekly Angelus prayer from the Vatican window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, a day after cancelling his engagements because of a mild flu. A brief announcement on Saturday from the Vatican press office said the 87-years-old pontiff was forced to scrap a planned audience with the Roman …

MILAN (AP) — Albania has agreed to host two migrant processing centers on its territory that will be fully run by Italy, under a deal that worries many human rights activists. The European Union, however, sees the agreement as a possible template for the future. Italy has long complained about not getting enough help from its EU partners in dealing …

LONDON (AP) — The chaotic debate over a cease-fire in Gaza reverberated through Britain’s Parliament on Thursday as the speaker of the House of Commons faced calls to resign, and lawmakers said they feared for their safety amid pressure from all sides of the issue. After more than six hours of sometimes heated debate on Wednesday, both the governing Conservative …

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government said Thursday it is withdrawing from a controversial international energy treaty after efforts to modernize it ended in stalemate. The U.K.’s move followed similar announcements by France, Germany and other European Union countries to quit the Energy Charter Treaty, which critics say is being used by the fossil fuel industry to legally challenge governments over …