Sorted by date Results 1 - 16 of 16
BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the European Parliament has launched an urgent procedure to waive the immunity of two lawmakers following a request from Belgian judicial authorities investigating a major corruption scandal rocking EU politics. The European Parliament said Monday that President Roberta Metsola asked all services and committees to give the procedure priority, with the goal to have it finished by Feb. 13. "From the very first moment the European Parliament has done everything in its power to assist in investigations and we will c...
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's groundbreaking decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine is a blow to Moscow's economy, but its effects may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the petroleum, industry experts say. European Union leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% o...
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders reached a compromise Monday to impose a partial oil embargo on Russia at a summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of sanctions that was blocked by Hungary. The watered-down embargo covers only Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline. EU Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter the agreement covers more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia, "cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine. Maximum pressure o...
PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic stopped Rafael Nadal's bid for a 14th French Open title and handed the King of Clay just his third loss in 108 matches at the tournament by coming back to win their thriller of a semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Friday night. Terrific as the play was for most of the four hours, the match ended with a bit of a whimper: Djokovic grabbed the last six games. So Djokovic will be seeking his second trophy at Roland Garros and a 19th major championship overall when he plays in Sunday's final. The top-seeded Djokovic's o...
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders reached a hard-fought deal Friday to cut the bloc's net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by the end of the decade compared with 1990 levels, avoiding a hugely embarrassing deadlock ahead of a U.N. climate meeting this weekend. Following night-long discussions at their two-day summit in Brussels, the 27 member states approved the EU executive commission's proposal to toughen the bloc's intermediate target on the way to climate neutrality by mid-century, after a group of reluctant, coal-reliant count...
NICE, France (AP) — Delayed but alive again and out on French roads, the strangest Tour de France ever set off Saturday in a bubble of anti-COVID protocols to try to keep the 176 riders virus-free for three weeks of racing through the country's worsening epidemic. Only after riders peeled off their face masks and pedaled off from the start in the Mediterranean city of Nice, serenaded by a uniformed band playing "La Marseillaise," did the Tour begin to look like its old, pre-COVID self, immediately delivering thrills and spills as storms made th...
BRUSSELS (AP) — Environmental groups are urging the European Union to take drastic action to protect insects, saying in a report Tuesday that more than 40% of the world's insect species are in decline because of pesticide use and industrial farming. Friends of the Earth Europe and the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, a think tank with close ties to the German Green Party, said the EU's strategy to protect biodiversity and develop organic farming is not enough, as one-third of all inspect species are threatened with extinction. "The evidence is clear: pe...
BRUSSELS (AP) — In a country that claims to be the real birthplace of the finger food that Americans have the temerity to call french fries, rescuing the potato industry might easily be a matter of Belgian national pride. So while a coronavirus lockdown keeps restaurants, bars and many of Belgium's 5,000 frites stands closed, the trade association for the national potato industry is calling on the population at large to do its part by keeping deep fryers fired up on the home front. "Traditionally, Belgians eat fries once a week, and it's a...
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders have failed to back a plan to make the bloc's economy carbon neutral by 2050 in spite of promises to fight harder against climate change. Ahead of a U.N. meeting in the fall, the proposal was relegated to a non-binding footnote in the final statement of Thursday's summit of EU leaders in Brussels. "For a large majority of Member States, climate neutrality must be achieved by 2050," the footnote read. However, for the change in approach to become an official target, all 28 EU countries need to back the c...
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Tuesday to rebuild Paris' beloved Notre Dame Cathedral "even more beautifully" after a raging fire destroyed its spire and its roof but spared most of the structure, including the church's twin medieval bell towers. Macron said he wanted to see the renovation of the beloved Roman Catholic architectural landmark completed within five years. "We have so much to rebuild," Macron said in a televised address to the nation. "We will rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral even more beautifully. We can do i...
SENLIS, France (AP) — The roundabout outside Senlis in the northern Oise region close to the busiest of France's highways is more than just asphalt with cars and trucks circling around it. With its makeshift grocery, camp beds and community spirit, the large central island about 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Paris has been transformed over the past two months into an encampment where dozens of yellow vest protesters gather day in, day out to organize their long-standing fight against the French government. Like the reflective fluorescent s...
PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with allegations that he received millions of euros in illegal campaign financing from the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. A judicial source with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that Sarkozy was being held at the Nanterre police station, north-west of Paris. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Sarkozy arrived at the police station early i...
RODEZ, France (AP) — Having scaled the Jura and Vosges mountains in the east and the Pyrenees in the south, the Tour de France winds into the Massif Central, the fourth of five ranges the race is riding through. The Alps are last, next week. Laissac-Severac L'Eglise, the start on Sunday of Stage 15 in the agricultural Aveyron region, is known for its weekly cattle and sheep market, France's second largest. Le Puy-en-Velay, the finish of the 189.5-kilometer (117-mile) trek, is the start of a famous Christian pilgrimage route and provides all of...
PARIS (AP) — "Oui on peut!" The slogan on posters in Paris streets translates as "Yes We Can!" Heard that before? The people behind the campaign are urging former U.S President Barack Obama to join the French presidential race. Their online petition has already attracted more than 45,000 signatures in 10 days and they hope to reach a million supporters by March 15. With the buildup to the April-May presidential election so far dominated by the corruption investigation targeting conservative Francois Fillon, organizers say they want to inject a...
PARIS (AP) — In a city hit by chronic pollution and traffic problems, Paris officials are experimenting with a self-driving shuttle linking two train stations in the French capital. Two electric-power EZ10 minibuses, which can carry up to six seated passengers, were put into service Monday and will be tested until early April between the Lyon and Austerlitz stations in Paris. The GPS-guided vehicle is free and will be running seven days a week. "To respond to the pollution emergency in big urban zones it is urgent to innovate with new t...
PARIS (AP) — The first self-sufficient boat powered only by emission-free energy will start a six-year trip around the world in the spring. Energy Observer, a former multi-hull race boat converted into a green vessel equipped with solar panels, wind turbines and a hydrogen fuel cell system, will be powered by wind, the sun and self-generated hydrogen. The 5 million euro ($5.25 million) boat, which is currently in a shipyard in Saint-Malo, will set sail from the Brittany port and will make its first of 101 stops across 50 countries in Paris a...
