Latest Western Europe News
Icelanders vote in volatile election with climate in mind
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders were voting Saturday in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner, triggering complex...
UK eyes visa change to ease trucker drought amid run on gas
LONDON (AP) — In a U-turn, the British government is expected to ease visa rules for truck drivers to help fix supply-chain problems that have triggered long lines at gas stations and some shuttered pumps. The government said late Friday it was “looking at temporary...
Is it a bluff? Some in Hungary and Poland talk of EU pullout
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — When Hungary and Poland joined the European Union in 2004, after decades of Communist domination, their citizens thirsted for Western democratic standards and prosperity. Yet 17 years later, as the EU ramps up efforts to rein in democratic...
'Marriage for all'? Swiss voters to decide same-sex marriage
GENEVA (AP) — Voters in Switzerland will decide Sunday whether to allow same-sex marriages in the rich Alpine country, one of the few in Western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil...
Refugees in fear as sentiment turns against them in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Fatima Alzahra Shon thinks neighbors attacked her and her son in their Istanbul apartment building because she is Syrian. The 32-year-old refugee from Aleppo was confronted on Sept. 1 by a Turkish woman who asked her what she was doing in...
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...
