The European Commission on Monday took France to the European Court of Justice for its failure to effectively address water pollution by nitrates as required in a European Union (EU) directive. According to the 1991 nitrates directive, EU member states must designate areas vulnerable to pollution from nitrates and reduce the areas through various measures. [...]
Nobel-Prize winning economist Paul Krugman said Monday that the odds are 75 percent for Portugal to keep the euro as the country’s currency. “(The odds are) 75 percent, I think. It is a matter of probabilities. No one can know for sure,” Krugman said when speaking at a press conference before he received an honoris [...]
At least 12 people were injured after a gas explosion damaged an apartment building in the Russian town of Astrakhan, and 14 residents remained under the debris, local investigators said Monday. The gas exploded on the third floor of the nine-storey building, causing the collapse of the entire structure, local police said. Seven people, including [...]
Greek Citizen Protection Minister Christos Papoutsis resigned on Monday to enter the ruling socialist PASOK party’s leadership race, according to an official announcement. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, Papoutsis tendered his resignation from the cabinet to run as a candidate for the presidency of PASOK, said a press release by the [...]
Seven children were killed when their home in southern Ukraine’s Nikolaev region caught fire early Monday, the Emergencies Ministry said. A blaze started at about 06:15 a.m. local time (0415 GMT) in Konezpol village, destroying the building, the ministry said. According to the authorities, seven children aged between 2 and 14 were found dead at [...]
Spanish national airline Iberia on Monday cancelled 121 flights as a result of strike action called by the pilots’ union SEPLA. The pilots are accompanied by cabin crew and groundstaff, who below to the CTA and CNT unions. The strikes are part of a long-running dispute, which saw pilots strike for two days in December [...]
Firefighters doused smoldering buildings and cleanup crews swept rubble from the streets of central Athenson Monday following a night of rioting during which lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the nation from bankruptcy. At least 45 buildings were burned, including one of the capital’s oldest cinemas, while dozens of stores and cafes [...]
Military planes flew in tons ofemergency food Monday to towns and villages in eastern Romania, where thousands have been stranded. Some people were cutting tunnels through up to 15 feet (4 meters) of snow to get out of their homes. Since the end of January, Eastern Europe has been pummeled by the heaviest snowfall in recent memory and a [...]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday vowed to keep Fessenheim nuclear plant running, local media reported. “We will not close this station, it’s out of the question,” the president said during his visit to the country’s oldest nuclear power plant in Alsace in northeastern France. “I will never accept the closing of the Fessenheim station [...]
The world’s largest offshore windfarm opened off the coast of Cumbria, Britain on Thursday, according to British authorities. Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a statement that Edward Davey, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, opened the offshore windfarm near Walney in Cumbria. With 102 turbines and a total [...]
