Europe - CDE News - The Dispatch

Denmark to take ‘calculated risk’ by easing COVID curbs in March

Denmark plans to allow shops and some schools to reopen in March in a much awaited move that could however send hospital coronavirus admissions soaring in coming months. Denmark, which…

Read More Here

U.N calls April meeting for talks over divided Cyprus

The United Nations will convene a meeting of parties in the Cyprus dispute in Geneva in April, the first such meeting since 2017 when previous talks on the conflict collapsed…

Read More Here

Celiac disease does not boost COVID-19 risks

Celiac disease does not increase patients' risk for infection or severe illness from the new coronavirus, new data show. People with celiac disease have defective immune activity and are known…

Read More Here

France believes that Mafia-type gangs likely behind cyber attacks on hospitals

Mafia-type organisations, often based in eastern Europe, are likely to have been behind a recent wave of cyber attacks on French hospitals, rather than foreign powers, said the French minister…

Read More Here

German man charged with giving Bundestag floor plans to Russian intelligence

German federal prosecutors have charged a German citizen with espionage, saying he passed floor plans of the Bundestag parliament building to Russian intelligence. The man, identified only as Jens F.,…

Read More Here

Poland to bring back curbs in northeastern region after cases spike

A northeastern region of Poland famed for its lakes, forests and sailing will see a raft of COVID-19 restrictions brought back from Saturday after it became a hotspot for infections,…

Read More Here

France, Germany to beef up COVID-19 controls at common border

France said on Thursday it would bring in new COVID-19 restrictions for the area around its common border with Germany, as President Emmanuel Macron’s government tries to contain a surge…

Read More Here

Sweden steps up pandemic restrictions in bid to avoid third wave

The Swedish government said it would reduce opening hours for all restaurants, bars and cafes as well as tighten limits on the number of people allowed in shops as it…

Read More Here

Czech government seeks tougher COVID measures to tame virus surge

The Czech government will meet on Thursday to decide on tougher lockdown restrictions to rein in one of the world's fastest spreads of COVID-19. Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on…

Read More Here

Survey in England finds high antibody levels from Pfizer vaccine roll-out

People in England who have received two doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are generating strong antibody responses as the shot is rolled out, researchers said on Thursday, adding that confidence…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Italy holds State funeral for slain Ambassador and his security escort

The State funeral for the late Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and his Carabiniere police escort Vito Iacovacci, who were killed in an attack in…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Tension in Armenia as PM says army’s call for him to resign is coup attempt

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned of an attempted military coup against him on Thursday after the army demanded he and his government resign. Pashinyan has faced protests and calls…

Read More Here

Milan prosecutors order food delivery groups to hire riders, pay 733 million euros in fines

Milan prosecutors said on Wednesday they had ordered four major food delivery companies to officially hire more than 60,000 workers and pay a total of 733 million euros ($889 million)…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Finland will have 3-week lockdown starting March 8

Finland will go into a three-week lockdown starting on March 8 and is prepared to declare a state of emergency, the prime minister said on Thursday, to try to stem…

Read More Here

Bulgaria accuses AstraZeneca of taking country’s vaccine ‘hope’ away

Bulgaria’s health minister has accused AstraZeneca of failing to stick to its delivery schedule of COVID-19 vaccines to the country and demanded the immediate shipment of at least 52,800 doses…

Read More Here

Lockdown for Dunkirk, other areas under watch as French COVID-19 cases spike

France’s government ordered a weekend lockdown in the Dunkirk area to arrest an “alarming” rise in COVID-19 cases, signalling extra curbs might also be needed elsewhere as daily cases nationwide…

Read More Here

Intense volcanic activity during the night on the Etna in Sicily

There was an intense Strombolian activity with the emission of a lava fountain, which exceeds 400 meters in height, on the Etna in Sicily during the night between Wednesday and…

Read More Here

Ex Italian teacher, 96 leaves €25 million to charity

(ANSA) - GENOA, FEB 25 - A 96-year-old woman who died in Genoa in December left 25 million euros to charity, sources told ANSA Thursday. Former Italian literature teacher Marisa…

Read More Here

Record 23 tonnes of cocaine seized by customs in Hamburg and Antwerp

Customs authorities in Hamburg and Antwerp have seized a record haul of more than 23 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands in two raids this month, German customs authorities said on…

Read More Here

Puma forecasts strong rebound from end of second quarter

German sportswear company Puma said on Wednesday it expects a heavy impact on its results from lockdowns to contain the coronavirus pandemic through the end of the second quarter, but…

Read More Here

Spanish government commits to controlling rental prices

Spain will regulate rental prices in areas where the demand for homes outstrips those on offer, Treasury Ministry Maria Jesus Montero said, the latest twist in a drawn-out internal spat…

Read More Here

Britain’s Heathrow sinks to $2.8 bln loss during pandemic

Britain's Heathrow Airport plunged to a 2 billion pound ($2.8 billion) annual loss after passenger numbers collapsed to levels last seen in the 1970s during the pandemic. Heathrow called on…

Read More Here

Hungary says too early to ease COVID-19 restrictions

Hungary cannot yet ease its partial coronavirus lockdown as a third wave of infections has boosted new cases and only a small section of the population has received a vaccine…

Read More Here

Bulgaria to open restaurants from March, nightclubs from April

Bulgaria will reopen restaurants from March and lift a ban on nightclubs from April, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Wednesday, betting on a vaccination programme and a solid number…

Read More Here

41 died by drowning in the Mediterranean’s latest migrant tragedy

(CDeNews) - The UNHCR team and IOM team in Porto Empedocle confirmed that they have verified the accurate testimonies about a shipwreck that took place on Saturday 20 February in…

Read More Here

Spain announces 11-billion-euro package to help companies face the covid crisis

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Wednesday an additional 11-billion-euro ($13.4 billion) package for small and mid-sized companies and the self-employed to help them cope with the economic crisis…

Read More Here

Two towns in Palermo high-COVID-risk areas

Two towns near Palermo will become high-COVID-risk 'red zones' from Thursday, according to an ordinance published by Sicily Governor Nello Musumeci. The measure is aimed at combatting rising contagion rates…

Read More Here

BBVA may cut 3,000 jobs in Spain

Spain's BBVA is considering cutting around 3,000 jobs in its home market, or around 10% of its staff there, to adapt to the rise in online banking, newspaper Expansion reported…

Read More Here

End of lockdown in Portugal still out of sight

While the number of COVID-19 cases in Portugal is falling, the the far slower decline in hospitalisations and intensive care patients has left Lisbon residents resigned to the nationwide lockdown…

Read More Here

Denmark to ease some COVID-19 restrictions from March 1

Denmark will ease some shopping restrictions and allow schools in parts of the country to reopen on March 1, the government said on Wednesday, potentially allowing hospital admissions to triple…

Read More Here

Germany approves three COVID home test kits to help chart way out of lockdown

Germany approved three COVID-19 tests for home use as part Health Minister Jens Spahn's strategy for mass testing to help Europe's biggest economy emerge from a lockdown that has been…

Read More Here

New British education recovery package for children and young people

Following the announcement of the roadmap on Tuesday which laid out a cautious easing of restrictions in the U.K., the British government has today, Wednesday 24 February, announced further elements…

Read More Here

Strong 5.6 quake rattles Iceland

A powerful earthquake struck Iceland on Wednesday morning with the tremors being felt in the country's capital, Rekjavik, with the public warning of "several aftershocks". According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre…

Read More Here

UPDATED: France receiving enough COVID-19 vaccine to hit target

France is receiving enough doses of COVID-19 vaccine to reach the government’s target of vaccinating 15 million people by the end of June, Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told LCI television…

Read More Here

German court issues guilty verdict in first Syria torture trial

A German court sentenced a former member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s security services to four and half years in prison after finding him guilty of facilitating the torture of…

Read More Here

San Marino turns to Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

San Marino on Tuesday received a first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines, government officials said, allowing the tiny state landlocked inside Italy to start its immunisation campaign. First…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Czech freediver breaks Guinness world record in swimming under ice

Czech freediver David Vencl reacts after setting a new world record for the longest swim under ice at Lake Vapenka, near Teplice, Czech Republic. Vencl, a Teplice freediver and winter…

Read More Here

Sweden to ease COVID rules for vaccinated care home residents

Sweden will ease restrictions on elderly residents of care homes who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the country’s top epidemiologist said on Wednesday, at the same time as rules for…

Read More Here

Ireland extends lockdown

Ireland is to start reopening some schools next week but is extending other lockdown restrictions until April to prevent another explosion in Covid-19 cases. The government has prioritised education and…

Read More Here

French ICU patients with Covid at 12-week high

The number of patients treated in intensive care units for Covid-19 in France has reached a 12-week peak of 3,435, as regional officials urge for a ban on public gatherings…

Read More Here

Serbian scientists set first Europe’s coronavirus death at February 5, 2020

COVID-19 caused the death of a man in Serbia last February, 10 days before the first fatality from the disease in Europe was reported by France, a study by researchers…

Read More Here

Bodies of Italian ambassador to Congo and bodyguard arrive in Italy

The bodies of Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and his bodyguard arrived back in Rome on late on Tuesday aboard a military aircraft, a day after they…

Read More Here

Turkey says Greek jets harassed research vessel over Aegean Sea

Turkey said that four Greek jets harassed a Turkish research vessel in the Aegean Sea but Athens denied the accusation, which comes as the two NATO members seek to resume…

Read More Here

Hundreds protest after Georgian police detain opposition leader

TBILISI/MOSCOW — Police stormed the party offices of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia and detained him on Tuesday, deepening a political crisis that prompted the prime minister to resign last…

Read More Here

Hungary to start administering Sinopharm vaccine on Wednesday

BUDAPEST, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Hungary will on Wednesday become the first European Union country to start inoculating people with Chinese company Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine. The government said on its…

Read More Here

Italy repatriates ambassador and bodyguard killed in Congo

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A military plane left eastern Congo for Italy on Tuesday loaded with the bodies of Italy's ambassador and his bodyguard in coffins draped…

Read More Here

French actor Depardieu placed under sexual violence investigation – judicial source

PARIS (Reuters) - French actor Gerard Depardieu was placed under formal investigation on charges of rape and sexual violence in December last year, a judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.…

Read More Here

Italy reports 356 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, 13,314 new cases – health ministry

Italy reported 356 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday against 274 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 13,314 from 9,630 the day before.…

Read More Here

How did NASA’s Martian rover come to land in a crater named after a tiny Balkan village?

The world was excited by the news last week that NASA’s Perseverance rover had successfully landed in a Martian crater. The rover will now set about collecting samples from what scientists say…

Read More Here

French researchers trial more accurate fast COVID-19 test

French researchers are using tiny antibody particles extracted from the family of animals that includes camels and llamas to produce a test they say can detect if patients have COVID-19 faster and more accurately than existing methods. The…

Read More Here

TV interviews saga: Queen to go head-to-head with Harry and Meghan

Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV programme to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah Winfrey's interview of her…

Read More Here

Russia suspends gas transit to Kazakhstan after explosion

Russia suspended gas transit to Kazakhstan on Tuesday after an explosion on a gas pipeline in the Orenburg region and emergency services were being deployed to the area, the energy ministry…

Read More Here

Armed group denies killing Italian ambassador in Congo

An armed group in eastern Congo, accused by the government of carrying out an ambush on a United Nations convoy in which Italy's ambassador and two other people were killed, has denied any…

Read More Here

Egg supply shrinking as bird flu reaches 2016 highs

Avian influenza in Europe is now approaching levels last seen in 2016 with egg supply shrinking in countries such as Poland, one of the hardest hit countries due to the loss of laying…

Read More Here

Britons rush to book holidays as soon as PM Johnson announced easing of restrictions

Airlines and travel firms around the United Kingdom have registered a surge in demand a few hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a roadmap of how restrictions will be…

Read More Here

Britain’s Prince Philip, 99, spends seventh night in hospital

Prince Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, has spent a seventh night in hospital after being admitted as a precaution. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, walked into London's private King Edward…

Read More Here

EU may impose more sanctions on Belarus, says Polish foreign minister

The European Union may impose further sanctions on Belarus after Minsk jailed two journalists for filming protests, Poland's state news agency PAP quoted Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as saying…

Read More Here