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French watchdogs issue early warning on Paris Olympic cost

PARIS: Barely six months after Paris was picked to host the 2024 Olympics and more than six years before those Games are scheduled to open, French budgetary watchdogs are warning of cost overruns. To prevent what one French economist, Wladimir Andreff, called "the curse of the...

UK to expel Russian diplomats over attack: May

LONDON (Reuters)- Britain will expel 23 Russian diplomats in response to a nerve toxin attack on a Russian former double agent in southern England, Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday, adding it was the biggest single expulsion in over 30 years. May said Britain would also...

Russian exile found dead in London in unexplained circumstances: reports

LONDON (AFP)- A former senior Russian executive linked to late Kremlin opponent Boris Berezovsky has been found dead in London in unexplained circumstances, British and Russian media reported Tuesday. Nikolai Glushkov's death comes amid heightened concern following a nerve agent attack...

Vienna knife attacker had Islamist sympathies

VIENNA (AFP)- The Austrian of Egyptian origin who was shot dead Sunday night after attacking a soldier with a knife outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Vienna had Islamist sympathies, authorities said. Preliminary indications suggest that the 26-year-old man "clearly had...

2 German journalists arrested in Greece

Two German journalists were arrested in a Greek forbidden military zone near the Turkish border on Friday, local media reported. The arrests of the man and woman, aged 31 and 33 respectively, were made in Didymoteicho district of northeastern Evros province, according to Kathimerini...

Final details of Brexit deal will be clinched on eve of British exit: junior minister

LONDON: The final details of a Brexit deal may not be clinched until the eve of Britain's exit in late March 2019 but a deal will be done, British junior foreign minister Mark Field said Thursday. "I think we are going to get to the last week of March 2019 and we are still not going to...

German far-right 'terrorists' jailed for refugee attacks

Dresden, Germany (AFP)- Eight members of a German far-right group were sentenced to jail Wednesday on terrorism and attempted murder charges for a series of explosives attacks targeting refugees and anti-fascist activists. Based in Germany's ex-communist east, the so-called "Freital...

Slovak PM, minister under pressure to quit over journalist murder

BRATISLAVA (AFP) - Pressure mounted Monday for Slovakia's prime minister and interior minister to resign, after the murder of a journalist who had been probing alleged corruption linked to the governing SMER-SD party. The justice minister, who belongs to the coalition party...

Italian elections a reminder of 'brutal' migration context: Macron

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday Italian election results were a reminder that Europeans should not only fight for lofty ideas but also take into account ordinary citizens' efforts to cope with the strains of immigration. "I take note that, in the world we live in,...

UK leader tries to ease concerns of banks in Brexit talks

LONDON: Britain's prime minister is trying to ease the concerns of bankers after she torpedoed one of their biggest demands during a speech on the country's departure from the European Union. Prime Minister Theresa May told the BBC in an interview broadcast Sunday that both sides must...

Catalan parliament slams Madrid 'authoritarianism', defends Puigdemont

Catalonia's majority separatist parliament denounced Madrid's "shift towards authoritarianism" Thursday and defended ousted leader Carles Puigdemont as it voted on its first motion since December elections, as talks continue to form a regional government. The motion defends Puigdemont...

Cyberattack against German govt 'ongoing': parliamentary committee

A cyberattack targeting Germany's government IT network is "ongoing", the parliamentary committee on intelligence issues said Thursday, without confirming media reports that Russian hackers were behind the assault. "It is a real cyberattack on part of the government system. It's...

Four in critical condition after Leicester shop blast

British police declared a major incident on Sunday after a large blast destroyed a convenience store and a home in the central English city of Leicester. Ambulance services reported that four people were admitted to hospital in critical condition. "We have taken four patients to...

Germany: Merkel picks 'fresh faces’ for new Cabinet

Chancellor Angela Merkel has unveiled her picks for Cabinet ministers, ahead of a special party congress of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Monday, which would vote on forming a "grand coalition" government with Social Democrats. Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on...

Belgium court allows students to wear headscarf

A local court in Belgium ruled on Friday that a headscarf ban at local schools was against religious freedom. Parents of 11 students took action against a ban on the headscarf at Flemish schools in the Maasmechelen region. The court said that it took into account...

France steps up probe of suspect in Spain's August attacks

One of three people arrested on Tuesday in France in connection with Islamist attacks in the Spanish region of Catalonia in August was put under formal investigation on Friday while the other two were freed, a judicial source said. The man kept in custody over suspicions of being linked...

France to unveil controversial migrant law

The French government is set to unveil a tough new immigration bill Wednesday that is proving one of the most divisive of Emmanuel Macron's young presidency. The legislation, which criminalizes illegal border crossings and aims for quicker deportation of those deemed economic migrants,...

Don't tangle up Brexit, security isses, EU tells UK

Britain and the European Union should resolve trade and other issues related to Britain's exit from the bloc separately from discussions about a security pact with the U.K., European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said Saturday. "We need a security alliance between the U.K. and...