Latest Western Europe News
German election to set direction after 16 years under Merkel
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's closely fought election on Sunday will set the direction of the European Union's most populous country after 16 years under Angela Merkel, whose party is scrambling to avoid defeat by its center-left rivals after a rollercoaster campaign. The environmentalist Greens...
Under Taliban, thriving Afghan music scene heads to silence
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A month after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the music is going quiet. The last time the militant group ruled the country, in the late 1990s, it outright banned music. So far this time, the government set up by the Taliban hasn’t...
Neo-Nazis are still on Facebook. And they’re making money
BRUSSELS (AP) — It’s the premier martial arts group in Europe for right-wing extremists. German authorities have twice banned their signature tournament. But Kampf der Nibelungen, or Battle of the Nibelungs, still thrives on Facebook, where organizers maintain multiple pages, as well as...
Today in History
Today in History Today is Saturday, Sept. 25, the 268th day of 2021. There are 97 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Sept. 25, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the...
The Latest: Washington state to give Pfizer boosters to some
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington state Department of Health says it will immediately start offering booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to certain people after recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other groups. State health...
Dua Lipa walks the Versace runway, Prada resists normality
MILAN (AP) — Milan Fashion Week opened its third day of preview shows for next spring and summer against the backdrop of thousands of young environmental protesters calling out the industry Friday for its wasteful and polluting ways. The question hanging over fashion...
Minister: Iran will return to nuclear talks `very soon'
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s new foreign minister said Friday the country will return to nuclear negotiations “very soon,” but accused the Biden administration of sending contradictory messages — saying it wants to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal while slapping new sanctions on Tehran...
Dutch court jails 'incorrigible' thief over 2 museum heists
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A 59-year-old man, described as an “incorrigible and calculating criminal” was convicted Friday of stealing a painting by Vincent van Gogh and another by Frans Hals from two Dutch museums last year, and sentenced to the maximum eight years in prison. ...
Van Life 2.0: Dutch students' road trip in solar mobile home
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A group of Dutch students has reimagined van life and is hitting the road to Portugal. Just don't call their groundbreaking new solar-powered vehicle a campervan. “We call it a self-sustaining house on wheels," said Lotte van Dasler, part...
Thunberg joins large German climate rally ahead of election
BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of environmental activists staged a rally outside Germany's parliament Friday, two days before the country holds a national election, to demand that politicians take stronger action to curb climate change. The protest outside the...
