Europe

Spanish Unemployment is Rising Again Due to the Corona Crisis
Business, Europe, News, Spain

Spanish Unemployment is Rising Again Due to the Corona Crisis

Spanish unemployment rose in the second quarter as a result of the corona crisis. The Spanish statistics agency has calculated this.   Unemployment has declined in recent years, but this has now come to an end. The number of unemployed rose by 55,000 to just under 3.4 million people. This brings unemployment to 15.3 percent. In the first quarter of this year, this was still 14.4 percent. However, the actual figures could be even higher because, during the lockdown in the country, people were unable to look for work actively. They, therefore, did not meet the definition of unemployment used by the statistical office. This could apply to up to 1.1 million people. Employees who are temporarily at home and paid via a government schedule, about 1.8 million people do not count as unemp...
The First Trial in Italy Against Captain for Returning Migrants to Libya
Italy, Europe, News

The First Trial in Italy Against Captain for Returning Migrants to Libya

A captain of an Italian flagship that has returned rescued migrants to Libya will be brought to trial in an Italian court.   This is evident from documents that the French news agency AFP has had access to. It is the first time that such a process takes place in Italy. The ship "Asso 28" rescued a total of 101 migrants near an oil platform in international waters at the end of July 2018. Still, it subsequently returned the migrants to the port of Tripoli where they were handed over to the Coast Guard, according to the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office. The ship's captain and company representative Augusta Offshore is accused of violating international law. It states that people should not be driven back to countries where their rights are threatened. Among the rescued people, the...
Germany Wants to Fight Corona Outbreaks With Targeted Lockdowns
Germany, Europe, News

Germany Wants to Fight Corona Outbreaks With Targeted Lockdowns

Outbreaks of the coronavirus must combat Germany with small, targeted lockdowns.   The health ministers of the federal states and the federal minister have agreed that according to the documents of their consultation on Thursday morning. Ministers recommend that the heads of state governments introduce small local restrictions in the event of an outbreak. They cite a local curfew as an "appropriate way" to contain an epidemic. "It is not possible to close entire neighbourhoods in, for example, Hamburg or Berlin," the documents state. "Decisions must be taken flexibly by the authorities on the spot." A German court broke the lockdown in the Gütersloh region early last week after a corona outbreak in a slaughterhouse. The judges found that exceptional lockdown for the tens of thou...
Macron Wants A Referendum on the Revision of the Constitution With Climate Goals
Politics, Europe, France, News

Macron Wants A Referendum on the Revision of the Constitution With Climate Goals

French President Emmanuel Macron wants to hold a referendum on a revision of the climate change constitution if parliament allows it.   He wants to be able to switch faster in the field of climate and environmentally friendly policymaking, he said on Monday. He also pledged EUR 15 billion in additional funding to accelerate the transition to a greener economy. Macron thus responded to proposals from a Climate Council, which he had instituted to set a new course for France's ecological agenda. However, Macron said he disagrees with the Council's proposal for a 4 percent dividend tax to help fund new environmental policies. That would only discourage investment, he said. He also supported a proposal for a moratorium on new commercial zones on the city's fringes, saying he would con...
French President Macron Says It is Uncompromising Against Racism
France, Europe, News

French President Macron Says It is Uncompromising Against Racism

French President Emmanuel Macron recognizes that a person's skin colour can determine his or her chances in French society and promises to act "determinedly" against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination.   But removing statues of controversial figures from the colonial period will not do his country. "We will not erase names from our history." The French president addressed the nation in a televised speech yesterday. In it, he mainly announced a whole series of relaxations of the corona measures that take effect today. But the president also spoke of the global protest against racism after the death of black American George Floyd from police brutality three weeks ago. Macron recognized that in his country, too, someone's "address, name, colour, or skin" can diminish his or he...
France is Forging A Broad Alliance Against Jihadists in the Sahel
France, Europe, News

France is Forging A Broad Alliance Against Jihadists in the Sahel

France has launched a new partnership between European, West African and Arab countries to fight jihadist groups in the Sahel.   More extensive political cooperation and increased deployment of elite forces should boost the difficult military mission against armed Muslim extremists in sub-Saharan Arabia. The renewed coalition means that there will be more support from other European countries and that countries in the Sahel region will start to cooperate more. European countries will provide more elite troops to support the armies of African countries. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others, will provide financial aid. France has had soldiers in the region since 2013. The French army is currently present with a troop strength of 5100 men. However, the situation ...
Norwegian Mosque Attacker Gets 21 Years in Prison
Norway, Europe, News

Norwegian Mosque Attacker Gets 21 Years in Prison

A man who wanted to carry out an attack on a mosque in Norway has been sentenced to 21 years in prison there.   The court ruled that 22-year-old Philip Manshaus was guilty of murder and terrorism. The Norwegian armed with firearms attacked the mosque in Bærum in August last year, about 20 kilometres west of the capital Oslo. The twenties were unable to kill or seriously injure anyone there. He did start shooting, but a 65-year-old believer was then able to take his weapons. Police later found the body of his seventeen-year-old stepsister Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen in Manshaus's house. He had shot her with a shotgun. Manshaus repeatedly demonstrated extreme right-wing and Islamophobic views during his trial.
WHO: 160,000 More European Deaths Than Normal in Two Months
Europe, News

WHO: 160,000 More European Deaths Than Normal in Two Months

In 24 European countries, between the beginning of March and the end of May, about 159,000 more people died than usual during that time frame.   A "significant portion" of that number is linked to the new coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday. "What we have seen very clearly is that the spike in deaths has to do with the transmission of Covid-19," said Katie Smallwood of WHO. She stressed that countries that are currently easing corona measures should primarily be able to "trace and test" the coronavirus to keep a second wave at bay. For example, the WHO states that opening bars, companies and discos can bring new risks. To cope with that, a country's health care system must have "robust capability". In Europe, more than 2 million people have been infect...
Direct Flights From Italy Welcome Back to Spain
News, Europe, Italy, Spain

Direct Flights From Italy Welcome Back to Spain

Spain allows direct flights from Italy again. Ships from Italy are also welcome again in Spanish ports, according to a government magazine Tuesday.   The direct lines were discontinued due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus. People arriving in Spain, like other visitors from abroad, must be in isolation for two weeks as long as the state of emergency remains in force. The Spanish Minister of Transport announced on Monday that tourism to Spain will be restarted from the end of June. The tourism sector accounts for 12 percent of the Spanish economy. In Italy, the strict corona measures were relaxed on Monday. Spain and Italy are among the most affected countries by the corona pandemic.
Restaurants and Cafes in Denmark Open Again
Denmark, Europe, News

Restaurants and Cafes in Denmark Open Again

The Danes have been able to go to cafes and restaurants since Monday. The businesses closed about two months ago by the corona crisis were allowed to reopen at the beginning of the week, but must ensure sufficient distance between the guests.   The same applies to churches, mosques and synagogues, which were also allowed to open again. Pupils from sixth to tenth grade resume their classes in Denmark on Monday. Gyms, night clubs and concert halls remain closed until early August. Denmark has made great strides in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus and is currently in the second phase of the relaxation of the corona measures. In phase one, the nurseries, kindergartens and schools up to and including the fifth grade were open in mid-April, in phase two, the entire retai...