Tag Archives: Europe

Italy Locks Down Northern Region To Battle Virus

Reuters reports: Italy ordered a virtual lockdown across much of its wealthy north, including the financial capital Milan, in a drastic new attempt to try to contain a outbreak of coronavirus that saw the number of deaths leap again sharply on Sunday. The unprecedented restrictions, which aim to limit gatherings and curb movement, will impact some 16 million people and …

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Europe: Airlines Fly “Ghost Planes” To Keep Flight Slots

The Insider reports: Airlines have wasted thousands of gallons of fuel running empty “ghost” flights during the coronavirus outbreak because of European rules saying operators can lose their flight slots if they keep their planes on the ground. Demand for flights has collapsed across the globe. Under Europe’s rules, airlines operating out of the continent must continue to run 80% …

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Italy Moves To Lock Down Northern Region Over Virus

The New York Post reports: The number of coronavirus cases in Italy leaped by more than 1,200 Saturday, prompting the government to move to lock down the entire northern region of Lombardy, and 11 nearby provinces, according to reports. Italy reported 5,883 cases on Saturday, and 233 deaths. The situation is so dire that the Italian government moved to put …

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ITALY: All Schools To Be Closed To Curb Virus Spread

Bloomberg News reports: Italy will shut down schools across the country until mid-March to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, newswire Ansa reported. The closure, which starts Thursday, is aimed at tackling the outbreak of the highly contagious disease, which has killed 79 people in the country and crippled the rich northern regions. As many as 8.7 million children …

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French Government Requisitions All Stocks Of Masks

The Associated Press reports: France’s president says the government is requisitioning all current and future stocks of protective masks. In a tweet, President Emmanuel Macron said the masks would be distributed to health workers and people in France who have been sickened by the coronavirus outbreak spreading through the country. The government on Tuesday reported a total of 204 cases, …

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Croatian Town Burns Gay Couple And Child In Effigy After Government Grants Foster Parent Rights [VIDEO]

Total Croatia News reports: Bakova povorka, the pinnacle of a 150-year tradition of carnival festivities in Imotski, Croatia was engulfed by scandal on Sunday afternoon when enthusiastic residents set fire to an effigy of a gay couple to widespread cheers. Imotski residents chose to feature a gay couple with an adopted child, which had a five-pointed star on his forehead …

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Congress Told Virus Is Impacting US Military In Europe

Roll Call reports: The spread of the coronavirus in Europe is affecting operations and services on some U.S. military bases in Italy, and precautions could soon extend to the thousands of personnel stationed in Germany, the general in charge of the military’s activity on that continent told senators on Tuesday. Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, who leads U.S. European …

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Italy Grapples With Panic-Buying Amid Virus Spread

Agence France-Presse reports: More than 50,000 people are locked down in about a dozen Italian villages where the most deaths and infections have been recorded. Schools, shops and offices are closed and armed police are threatening to arrest and detain anyone who attempts to leave the quarantine zone. Panic is taking hold in the nearby city of Milan, the engine …

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50 Dead In Iran, Markets Tumble On Europe Virus News

The Associated Press reports: A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday, even as the Health Ministry insisted only 12 deaths have been recorded to date in the country. The new death toll reported by the Qom representative, Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani, is …

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Italy Locks Down Region In Coronavirus Outbreak

The New York Times reports: Health officials in Italy raced to contain the first major coronavirus outbreak in Europe, locking down more than 50,000 people in 10 towns in the northern Lombardy region, where a sizable cluster of coronavirus infections has emerged, and passing emergency measures that apply throughout the country. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Italy has …

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IRELAND: Gay PM Resigns After Election Stalemate

The Guardian reports: Leo Varadkar has resigned as taoiseach after Ireland’s hung parliament entered deadlock over the choice of a new premier. Varadkar submitted his resignation to Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, on Thursday night after a tempestuous but inconclusive sitting of Dáil Éireann, which met for the first time since the 8 February election. It adjourned until …

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Swiss Public Votes To Outlaw Anti-LGBT Discrimination

The BBC reports: Voters in Switzerland have backed a proposal to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sexual identity illegal. The result of 63.1% in favour to 36.9% against is a huge boost for Switzerland’s LGBT community. It had argued Swiss law on the issue lagged far behind other countries in Europe. Opponents of the new law …

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European Parliament Pays Sad Tribute To Departing British Members By Singing “Auld Lang Syne” [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: Britain’s departure from the EU on 31 January was set in stone in a historic moment for the nation as MEPs in Brussels ratified the withdrawal agreement before breaking out in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. As the president of the European parliament, David Sassoli, announced the result of the vote, with 621 in favour to …

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ITALY: Far-Right Anti-Immigrant Party Handed Setback

Courthouse News reports: Italy’s liberal and left-wing voters are letting out a collective sigh of relief after the country’s former interior minister and far-right leader Matteo Salvini was defeated Sunday in regional elections in Emilia-Romagna, a bastion of left-wing politics in Italy. Salvini, a far-right anti-immigrant politician, and his League party hoped a win in Emilia-Romagna would force Italy’s weak …

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POLAND: Leftists Tap Gay Man To Run For President

Agence France-Press reports: Poland’s left-wing parties on Tuesday approved Robert Biedron, an openly gay politician, as their candidate in the May presidential election. The move in the conservative, predominantly Catholic country where same-sex unions are not recognised, was aimed at preserving democracy, they said. Leaders in the Lewica (Left) alliance said they chose Biedron because of his clear backing for …

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Trump’s Germany Envoy Rips Europe On Iran Response

Politico Europe reports: U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell took aim at European governments for failing to condemn Tehran over attacks it orchestrated over the past few months, as he justified America’s assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. “When the West stands together and the West says very clearly that terrorism is wrong and terrorism should not be used, then …

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The Netherlands Rebrands: Stop Calling Us “Holland”

The Independent reports: The Netherlands is gearing up to drop the moniker “Holland” as it rebrands itself in 2020. Holland is a region of the Netherlands, but the two names are often used interchangeably to describe the northern European country. From January, the Netherlands will officially drop “Holland” from all literature and marketing materials, so the country will only be …

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Estonia Sorry For Mocking Finland’s “Sales Girl” PM

Reuters reports: Estonia apologized to Finland on Monday after Estonia’s interior minister mocked Finland’s new prime minister — the world’s youngest-serving government leader — as “a sales girl” and questioned her ability to run the Nordic country. Mart Helme, 70, Estonian interior minister and leader of the populist far-right party Ekre, on Sunday ridiculed Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 34, …

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Finland Elects 34 Year-Old PM, World’s Youngest

The New York Times reports: Sanna Marin, 34, is set to become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister when she is sworn in this week in Finland, after being elected to the position by her party late Sunday. The country’s coalition government consists of five parties, four of which are led by women, with Ms. Marin now at the helm. …

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France Paralyzed By Nationwide Labor Strike [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports: The Eiffel Tower shut down, France’s vaunted high-speed trains stood still and several thousand people protested in Paris as unions launched open-ended, nationwide strikes Thursday over the government’s plan to overhaul the retirement system. Paris authorities barricaded the presidential palace and deployed 6,000 police as activists – many in yellow vests representing France’s year-old movement for …

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