Coach en route from Berlin to Polish city of Szczecin ended up on its side near Prenzlau, north-east of German capital
A bus accident on a motorway in northeastern Germany on Saturday left two people dead and another four seriously injured, police said.
The accident happened on an exit from the A11 motorway that leads to a car park close to an interchange near Prenzlau, north-east of Berlin, German news agency dpa reported. Seven people were slightly injured.
Continue reading...Rescue services treat 100 more people for shock or stress after collision in tunnel leading to central train station
Two trams collided in Strasbourg in eastern France on Saturday, causing dozens of injuries, though none critical, authorities said. The accident took place during the afternoon in a tunnel leading to the city’s central train station.
An additional 100 people, though uninjured, were assessed for shock or stress, said René Cellier, director of the Bas-Rhin fire and rescue service. Emergency services deployed 130 firefighters, 50 rescue vehicles and established a wide safety perimeter.
Continue reading...From bashing Keir Starmer to promoting the AfD, the X owner is not shy about intervening
A limited – at best – understanding of the continent of Europe and its component countries has not prevented the world’s richest man from intervening in the domestic politics of several of them, as well as attacking the EU itself.
Here we take a brief look at some of the occasions on which X owner Elon Musk has used his position as proprietor of one of the world’s largest social media platforms to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign democratic states outside the US.
Continue reading...Joe Stone says authorities ‘trying everything’ to find Aziz Ziriat after body of Sam Harris discovered on Wednesday
A close friend of a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day has said “there is an acceptance that it won’t be good news” as search efforts continued.
Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in to their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy.
Continue reading...Alliance of groups from across France call for measures to make crossings safer after 77 deaths recorded in 2024
More than 70 organisations from across France willcome together on Saturday to protest in Calais about UK policies to try to stop people crossing the Channel.
At least 77 people died trying to cross the Channel in 2024, the highest number since crossings began in 2018. Non-governmental organisations that monitor these deaths believe the total figure last year was even higher, with 89 deaths at the UK-French border of people attempting to reach the UK.
Continue reading...Azov, a volunteer brigade, plans to form international battalion to boost numbers as Ukraine heads into fourth year of war
Ukraine’s highest profile combat unit is seeking English-speaking recruits at a time when the impending presidency of Donald Trump means that Kyiv is expected to come under intense pressure on the battlefield.
Azov, a volunteer brigade whose decade-old nationalist origins have made it a target of Russian propaganda, plans to form an international battalion to boost its numbers as Ukraine heads into a fourth year of full-scale war.
Continue reading...Morgan McSweeney met EU counterparts before Christmas as Downing Street poised to hire new foreign adviser
Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, made a below-the-radar trip to Brussels last month, as No 10 prepares to appoint its own foreign affairs adviser to help bolster the Downing Street policy operation.
As the UK’s attempts at a “reset” with the EU continue behind closed doors, No 10’s most senior aide made the trip to meet counterparts in Brussels before Christmas.
Continue reading...Move marks shift in views but sexually active gay men will not be admitted to Roman Catholic seminaries
Gay men will be allowed to train as priests in Roman Catholic seminaries, so long as they observe celibacy, according to new guidelines announced by the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE).
The decision marks a shift from the view previously held by Pope Francis that gay men should not be admitted to seminaries owing to the risk of them leading a double life.
Continue reading...Mother and newborn saved from inflatable boat off Canary Islands, on a route on which thousands have died
The call that would lead to one of the most poignant images of the humanitarian emergency in the deadly waters off the Canary Islands came at 4am.
In the early hours of Monday, the Las Palmas command centre of Spain’s maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, told Domingo Trujillo, the captain of the search-and-rescue vessel Talía, that a small inflatable boat, packed with people, was adrift 97 nautical miles (180km) off the coast of Lanzarote. Among those onboard, they added, was a woman who was due to give birth at any moment.
Continue reading...There are also fears electronic travel authorisation will threaten post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland
The UK Home Office’s already burdened immigration services could be overwhelmed this summer when a new visa-waiver system comes into force for European business travellers and tourists in April, a leading law firm has said.
There have also been fresh warnings that the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) requirements could threaten the post-peace tourism sector in Northern Ireland, with Americans and Europeans travelling to Dublin and beyond deciding not to bother crossing the border because of the red tape.
Continue reading...X owner and far-right politician appear to agree on everything, as Musk faces accusations of meddling in German election
Elon Musk has praised the co-leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, as he repeated his claim that “only the AfD can save Germany” during a controversial live talk on his social media platform X.
The virtual encounter between Musk and Alice Weidel on Thursday took place amid growing criticism over the US billionaire’s vocal support of far-right, anti-establishment parties across Europe, and accusations he is meddling in the campaign for Germany’s 23 February election.
Continue reading...Bacoli mayor says his administration wants to buy Punta Pennata and turn it into an ‘open-air museum’
An Italian mayor has vowed to do everything in his power to stop Punta Pennata – a slice of island paradise close to the heart of Naples, from where a fleet departed to rescue survivors of the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius – being sold to a wealthy speculator.
Located within the pristine waters of Bacoli, a fishing town located in the vast volcanic area of the Campi Flegrei, and described as a “historical and natural gem”, the strip of land was put up for sale to the highest bidder this week.
Continue reading...German maker of fashionable cork-based footwear files three lawsuits alleging copyright infringement
Once sneered at as the preserve of muesli-loving, Guardian-reading hippies, Birkenstocks have more recently been promoted to the status of fashion item, not least since they took a starring role in the Barbie movie. But now cork-soled sandals are facing their day in court as their German makers call for them to be protected in perpetuity – and to be recognised as nothing less than a unique work of art.
Germany’s federal court of justice is to decide on the future of the ergonomic sandal after three lawsuits against alleged copycat competitors were lodged on Thursday by the footwear manufacturer.
Continue reading...Pro-independence Múte Egede says Greenland must stay unified after becoming centre of US-Denmark spat
Greenland’s prime minister has called for unity, urging citizens not to panic, after being thrown into a geopolitical battle between the US and Denmark by Donald Trump’s interest in taking control of the territory.
Múte Egede said he understood people may be concerned after the incoming US president declined to rule out using military and economic force to gain control of Greenland, but called on his fellow citizens to “put aside differences and stand together”.
Continue reading...Family ‘heartbroken’ after discovery of body of John George, 37, who went missing in Alicante area in December
A murder investigation is under way in Spain after the body of a 37-year-old man from Northern Ireland was found three weeks after he went missing.
John George from Belfast, a father of two children, was in Spain for a short visit in December but the alarm was raised when he failed to board a flight home on 18 December.
Continue reading...UK foreign secretary plays down idea of Trump taking control, in speech exposing differences with president-elect
The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has said a US military seizure of Greenland is not going to happen, as he played down Donald Trump’s threats to seize the territory from Denmark.
“No Nato countries have gone to war [with each other] since the establishment of Nato, and I do not envisage that,” he said, adding: “It is not going to happen.”
Continue reading...Cross-party Senedd report finds Wales is third from bottom in spending on culture and sports, with Iceland biggest spender
It is known as the land of song and as one of the world’s most passionate sporting nations.
But a report has concluded that despite its proud heritage, Wales is languishing behind almost all other European countries in terms of spending on recreational, sporting and cultural services.
Continue reading...Family seeks to show a united front as French minister condemns ‘shameful’ celebrations of his demise
The death of Jean-Marie Le Pen looked likely to reignite rivalries in his family over who is the rightful heir to the far-right political dynasty, as the French government condemned as “simply shameful” crowds of people who took to the streets to celebrate the politician’s demise.
Marine Le Pen, daughter of the co-founder and leader of the far-right National Front party, which she has rebranded as the anti-immigration National Rally, on Wednesday paid tribute to her father, who died the previous day at the age of 96.
Continue reading...The boy and his mother as well as dozens of others were rescued off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain
A baby boy has been born on a small, crowded boat carrying 60 people on the deadly Atlantic migration route from Africa to the Canary Islands.
The boat was spotted off the coast of Lanzarote on the feast of the Epiphany, the day when Spanish children receive presents from the Three Wise Men.
Continue reading...The US president-elect has refused to rule out military force to take control. This is why it is important – and what Greenlanders think
Hours after his son Donald Trump Jr touched down in the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, on Tuesday in a Trump-branded plane, the US president-elect, Donald Trump, held a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where he refused to rule out using military force to make Greenland part of the US, and threatened to impose “very high” tariffs on Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory, if it gets in his way.
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