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France detains 1,220 after anti-govt protests

France’s Interior Ministry says 1,220 people were taken into custody around France during the latest yellow vest protests — a roundup the scale of which the country hasn’t seen in years. Police frisked protesters Saturday at train stations around the country, confiscating...

Italian police question witnesses in deadly disco stampede

ROME (AP) — Italian police are questioning more witnesses to find who sprayed an irritant, triggering a deadly stampede in an overcrowded disco in a town near the Adriatic port of Ancona. Police Col. Cristian Carrozza of the Ancona Carabinieri on Sunday declined to confirm Italian...

All eyes on Macron after fresh 'yellow vest' protests hit Paris

A huge clean-up operation was under way in Paris on Sunday after French "yellow vest" demonstrators clashed with riot police in the latest round of protests against President Emmanuel Macron. Protesters set fire to cars, burned barricades and smashed windows in pockets of violence...

'Green vests': Paris climate marchers spot overlap with 'yellow' comrades

Several thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday in a “March for the Climate” largely overshadowed by violent clashes taking place elsewhere in the French capital. “Yellow vests, green vests, we are all angry”, the Paris crowd chanted. An effort to raise the alarm about...

Paris police fire tear gas on protesters

Paris police have fired tear gas on a group of yellow-vested protesters trying to march on the French presidential palace and are pushing them back with shields. Crowds of protesters first tried to march down the Champs-Elysees avenue toward the Elysee palace but were prevented by rows...

Germany's Merkel to deliver Harvard commencement address

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be the commencement speaker at graduation ceremonies for Harvard University in May of next year, the university announced on Friday. "Angela Merkel is one of the most widely admired and broadly influential statespeople of our time," Harvard president...

The end of an era as Germany’s Merkel gives up party leadership

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hand off leadership of her party Friday after nearly two decades at the helm, with the race wide open between a loyal deputy and a longtime rival. The contest’s outcome is expected to be crucial in deciding whether Merkel, Europe’s most...

Aquarius ship to end migrant rescues, say MSF and SOS Méditerranée

MSF and SOS Méditerranée announced Thursday they will be ending the operations of the Aquarius migrant rescue ship, which has become a lightning rod for the controversy surrounding Europe's policies on accepting migrants. MSF (Médecins sans frontières or Doctors Without Borders) and...

France detains 32 students protesting education reform

French police detained 32 students Wednesday who were taking part in protests against government plans to overhaul the country’s approach to education. Students in a number of cities have been protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's educational policies. The major reforms by...

France cancels fuel tax hikes amid protests

France has abandoned an increase in fuel taxes following weeks of violent demonstrations. “The government is ready for dialogue and is showing it because this tax increase has been dropped from the 2019 budget bill,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday in a speech at the...

France could change position over wealth tax: govt

A day after President Emmanuel Macron's administration backed down in the face of nationwide protests and suspended a fuel-tax, the government has suggested it could also amend a wealth tax that critics say goes too easy on the rich. Speaking on RTL radio, government spokesman...

Bosnian court jails Serb ex-soldier for war crimes

A Bosnia and Herzegovina court Tuesday sentenced former Serbian soldier to 10 years in prison for crimes against Bosniak civilians during the Bosnian War. Milan Todovic was found guilty of raping a Bosniak woman during war between 1992 and 1995 and the court slapped Todovic with $7.980...

France suspends planned fuel price rise amid protests

France has suspended a planned fuel price rise for six months after weeks of violent demonstrations, the prime minister announced on Tuesday. In a televised speech, Edouard Philippe said people’s anger must be heard, adding that the move is aimed at stopping the violence and restoring...

French paramedics, students join protests amid crisis talks

Anti-government protesters gained new allies Monday as French paramedics and students joined ongoing rallies while the prime minister met with political rivals in a bid to ease the anger following riots that rocked Paris. Dozens of ambulances blocked a bridge leading to the National Assembly...

Macron vows punishment for violent Paris protests

Perpetrators of the violence in ongoing protests in Paris will be punished, said French president Saturday. Speaking during a press conference of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Emmanuel Macron said that those who are responsible for the attack on police officers and vandalization of a...

France's Macron says nothing can justify the violence in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that the wave of violence and vandalism in Paris on Saturday could not be justified in any way and had nothing to do with a peaceful expression of legitimate anger. “No cause justifies that security forces are attacked, shops pillaged,...

Thousands demonstrate in Madrid for Spanish unity

Thousands of people waving Spanish flags rallied in Madrid on Saturday in support of national unity and against Catalonia’s ongoing campaign to secede from Spain. The Catalan secession crisis and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s decision to take a more conciliatory tone with...

France: Fuel rise protests continue across country

Police used tear gas and water cannons on Saturday to disperse protests against a hike in fuel prices that turned violent. Thousands of "yellow vest" protesters have gathered in Paris for the last two weeks to protest President Emmanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax. During...