News Sports

Bulgarian PM asks head of football association to resign

By 1100 0

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has asked the head of its football association to step down from the post.

The action has come after the Bulgarian football team fans showed racial gestures to the British football players when they reached the Bulgarian home ground to play a European qualifiers against Bulgaria.

In the match, Bulgaria lost to the UK for six goals against null. At least two times that the match was interrupted due to the act of the Bulgarian fans. The fans showed Nazi salute against the British players. And, they also showed similar racial gestures.

The UK is expected to write to the concerned demanding serious action against the Bulgarian football authority, who has failed to provide a free and fair venue for the players to perform to their fullest.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News Politics

Spanish court awards serious punishment to Catalan independence leaders

By 1243 0

A Spanish court has awarded serious punishment to the political leaders, who led a violent separatist movement in the Spanish region of Catalonia around two years ago.

The punishment has been awarded to nearly nine leaders. Some of them has got thirteen years imprisonment, and the rest has received not less than nine.  

The leaders, including former Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras, have been found guilty of the serious charge of sedition.

The court has acquitted as many as nine other political leaders, who were charged with similar charges including rioting.

All the accused leaders have pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them by the Spanish government.

The court has lent its ears to most of those pleas. In the case of the convicted leaders, the court has found the grounds, on which the charges against them have been erected, relevant.

The Catalan referendum movement is the most powerful political movement the European country of Spain has witnessed in its recent history.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have gathered in all major Catalonian cities, including Barcelona, to express their solidarity with the independence leaders of the region ahead of the controversial verdict, which has shacked the heart of many Catalonians, mostly those in favour of the separatist movement.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

International Relations News

Syrian Kurds join hands with Syrian Govt to stop Turkey’s invasion

By 1237 0

The Syrian Kurds, who recently suffered serious attacks from Turkey, has joined their hands with the Syrian government, which was not in a good relation with them during the years of war, to fight Istanbul, which lately launched a deadly offence against the Kurds in the northern region of the embattled country in the pretext of creating a Safe Zone for the Syrian refugees, who fled their country during the years of war.

Political observers see the development as positive. They say that it would give a huge impetus to the peace building process launched in the war-affected country of Syria.

The Syrian Kurds recently alleged that the US, which was hugely supported by them during its war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, betrayed them.

The US pulled back its forces from Syria just before Turkey launched an offensive along the Syrian northern border region.

The US and the west are definitely unhappy with Turkey’s action. The superpowers have threatened Turkey with economic sanction.

But, the superpowers have so far done nothing concrete to stop Turkey from going ahead with its war plans.

A Kurdish leader says that his community’s decision to join hands with the Syrian government is an inevitable move. He adds if he is asked to choose between a compromise and a genocide he would choose the latter for the good of his people.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News

Romanian PM toppled through non-confidence vote

By 1145 0

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has failed to survive the non-confidence motion initiated against her in the parliament.

Her failure has happened after several dramatic events. The non-confidence motion has secured just five votes more than what is necessary to pass the motion.

The Romanian parliament has as many as 465 members. The PM party does not enjoy a clear majority in the parliament; Ms Dancila’s government was reduced to a minority government when her key ally ditched

The ousted Prime Minister is the fourth PM the country has witnessed in the short span of three or less years.

The country is going to witness a crucial presidential election in few weeks. The latest fall of Ms Dancila’s party is likely to have a huge impact on the outcome of the presidential election.

Romania is under the clutches of political instability since the fall of several political leaders in a serious of corruption scandals.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

News Politics

Turkey threatens to release Syrian refugees to Europe

By 1116 0

In the face of the severe opposition it has suffered due to its decision to occupy several Kurdish-held regions in Syria to create a Safe Zone for refugees, Turkey has threatened to release the Syrian refugees, who live in the country hoping to enter the European continent, to the said continent.

Tens of thousands of refugees seeking entrance to Europe now live in Syria. Turkey has an informal agreement with Europe regarding the refugee issue. Most European countries, including Germany, don’t want Turkey to release refugees to their territory.

The new threat by Turkey has come when the west has warned Istanbul of serious economic sanction against its military action in Syria against the Kurdish community, who was a great support to the west during their war against the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq.

As per a latest report, severe fighting has occurred between the Syrian Kurds and the Turkish forces in the northern region of Syria. The report says that severe damage has happened in both sides due to the attack.

The US has initiated steps to defuse the tension in the region. The White House has opened communication channels with both the parties.

The European countries have not yet responded publically about Turkey’s latest threat.


Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright

europe times
Accidents News

3 killed in Venice boat speed record attempt

By 2245 0

Three people, including Italian champion speed boat racer Fabio Buzzi have died after a power boat crashed near the Italian city of Venice.

The boat had crashed near the rocks of the Punta Sabbioni, off Venice. Italian emergency services said the bodies were recovered from the submerged cabin of the boat.

The boat, which was trying to break the offshore speed record from Monte Carlo hit an artificial reef.

Fabio Buzzi (76), an Italian businessman and power boat world champion, who was leading the team, was on an attempt to set a new record.

Dutch mechanic whose name is still not known, and Luca Nicolini from Italy were the other two, who got killed in the accident, says the president of the Italian Offshore and Endurance Committee, Giampaolo Montavoci.

Reports said that the other member in their team, Italian Mario Invernizzi, survived with injuries.

Image courtesy: bbc .com / images are subject to copyright

europe times
Entertainment News

The ‘oldest woman’ was not fake: says France

By 2330 0

France claims that the oldest person on record was not fake. The officials of France have refused to change the death certificate of Jeanne Calment, the oldest woman on record, despite claims of fraud by Russian researchers.

The death of Jeanne Calment was in 1997, aged 122 years and 165 days. But, the Russian researchers, on account of their studies claims that she died in 1930s.

She had acquired the place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest person.

Reports said that Jeanne also had claimed that she had met the artist Vincent van Gogh (who was born in 1853).

The team of Russian researchers insists that Jeanne’s daughter had taken her identity in order to avoid paying inheritance tax.

But, the French officials discredited the claims of Russian researchers saying that Jeanne’s age is “well-documented”.

Image courtesy: 20minutes .fr, nationalpost .com / images are subject to copyright

europe times
News

Paul Whelan claims set-up in Russia spy case

By 1426 0

Paul Whelan, the Former US marine, who was accused in Russia for spy works has said he is not a spy and that he was set up by a Russian friend.

Whelan (48), who is also a citizen of the UK, Canada and Ireland has said to the media that a friend had planted a hard drive on him without his knowledge.

Paul Whelan said, “A person turned up at my [hotel] room and put something in my pocket, then I was arrested”.

The Moscow court has denied his appeal against detention. Whelan was caught “red-handed” with state secrets last year, says the prosecutors.

The investigations came to an end now and the lawyers of Whelan have begun studying the evidence. Since this is an espionage case, all the information is classified.

The US ambassador in Moscow asked Russia to stop “playing games” with the case.

Image courtesy: bbc .com / images are subject to copyright

Xavier Bettel
News Politics

Luxembourg prime minister describes Brexit as a ‘nightmare’

By 1553 0

Current Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel reportedly said that the Brexit process has turned into a “nightmare”. The PM’s comment came after holding talks with UK PM Boris Johnson.

Bettel said that the UK PM had failed to take any serious decisions to allow a deal by 31 October.

Boris Johnson is facing a severe protest and was forced to cancel his press conference. He said, “there’s been a lot of work” and “papers have been shared”.

PM said that his joint press conference was cancelled due to the fear that the two leaders would have been “drowned out” by pro-EU protesters.

Mr. Johnson said, “I don’t think it would have been fair to the prime minister of Luxembourg”.

“I think there was clearly going to be a lot of noise and I think our points might have been drowned out”, he added.

Image courtesy: politico .eu / images are subject to copyright

europe times
Music News

Lead singer of ‘The Cars’ – Ric Ocasek, dies aged 75

By 1769 0

Ric Ocasek, the lead singer of the US band The Cars, has died aged 75.

The New York Police Department said that his family had called for help since they found Ocasek unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at his home in Manhattan, said the police. The cause of death is still not known.

Ocasek’s instant success was as a founding member of the Cars, recording numerous hit songs from 1978 to 1988. He played rhythm guitar and sang lead vocals for a majority of songs.

His other hits includes “Drive”, “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl”.

Seven years after reforming for a tour and what would be their final album, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Image courtesy: pagesix .com, independent .co .uk / images are subject to copyright