Europe
Eva Kor, survivor of Mengele, dies during annual trip to Auschwitz | World news
Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of Auschwitz and the death camp’s infamous doctor Josef Mengele, has passed away in Poland during a trip to the Holocaust site, sources said. The Romanian-born Kor, who founded the Candles Museum in Indiana and devoted her life to Holocaust awareness, was 85. “We are deeply saddened to announce the …
Toxic processionary caterpillar plague spreads across Europe
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The caterpillars form big clumps and nests on oak trees Germany and the Netherlands are battling many infestations of oak processionary caterpillars, whose tiny toxic hairs can trigger allergic reactions and skin irritation. The mild winter and warm spring this year boosted caterpillar numbers. In Louvain, Belgium, firefighters had …
Toxic caterpillars spark health scare across Germany | World news
Marauding caterpillars with toxic hairs have brought parts of Germany to a standstill, leading to closures of swimming pools, restaurants, public parks and sections of the motorway. Oak processionary moth caterpillars, named after the nose-to-tail processions they form to travel between the oak trees they devour, have fine, long hairs with an irritating toxin that …
More than 40 Swiss military staff hit with vomiting bug | World news
More than 40 military staff and recruits at an academy in central Switzerland were sent to hospital on Thursday after they suddenly fell violently ill, the government said. The Swiss defence department said that on Thursday afternoon, 43 recruits and members of the Jassbach academy in Linden, in Bern canton, suddenly suffered from acute gastrointestinal …
Boat with dozens of migrants capsizes off Tunisia coast | World news
Dozens of African migrants capsized off the coast of Tunisia after setting off for Europe from Libya, a government source and the Tunisian Red Crescent have said. Some of the four initial survivors told the Tunisian coast guard on Thursday the boat had sunk off the town of Zarzis the day before, the Red Crescent …
Amsterdam mayor considers closing red-light district | World news
Amsterdam’s first female mayor is considering closing down the city’s famous red-light district due to the conditions endured by the sex workers behind its windows. Femke Halsema, a former leader of the national Green party who became burgemeester last year, said the city “must dare to think about the red-light district without prostitution”. It is …
New-look Europe is having a nightmare first week
On Tuesday, new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) took their seats for the first time since a dramatic set of elections in May shook up the status quo. As the new-look parliament stood for the iconic melody from Beethoven’s ninth symphony, commonly known as Ode to Joy and the unofficial anthem of Europe, MEPs …
Fantastic arctic fox: animal walks 3,500km from Norway to Canada | World news
An arctic fox has walked more than 3,500km (2,000 miles) from Norway to Canada in just 76 days, astonishing researchers at the Norwegian Polar Institute. The animal, known as a coastal or blue fox, was fitted with a tracking device in July 2017. It left Spitsbergen in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago on 26 March 2018. After …
Brussels police remove homeless people before Tour de France | World news
The clearing of homeless immigrants from a park in Brussels through which the Tour de France will pass next week has led to claims that the municipality is seeking to protect the city’s image when it hosts the Grand Départ. Belgian police moved about 90 people from Maximilian Park on Friday as authorities made fresh …