Europe briefing: 7 stories to know about today

Europe briefing: 7 stories to know about today
Copyright Reuters
By Emma Beswick
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Euronews brings you the latest news and updates as they happen this morning.

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1) Spain knife attack

Spanish police said on Monday they had shot dead a man armed with a knife as he tried to attack a police station in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.

Regional Mossos police said on Twitter the man had entered the police station in Cornella just before 6 am local time "with the aim of attacking the officers".

They added in a later tweet that police were working to determine the exact circumstances of the incident and to establish a motive.

Local media reported that the man was from Algeria and had shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) during the attack, but police did not comment on this.

2) Greece exits bailout

Greece has officially exited its international bailout agreement.

Prime Minister Tsipras said the exit is a moment of liberation. Greece may be emerging from its eight years of bailout programmes, but its huge public debt — along with neighbouring Italy's — will remain a lurking threat to Europe's financial system for years.

3) Kerala floods

Some 800,000 people have been displaced and over 350 have died in the worst flooding in a century in southern India's Kerala state, as authorities rushed to bring drinking water to the most affected areas, officials said Sunday.

The deluge finally let up on Sunday, giving some respite to thousands of marooned families, while authorities feared an outbreak of disease among two million people crammed into relief camps.

4) Salvini threatens to 'send back' 177 migrants

Matteo Salvini, Italy's far-right interior minister, threatened Sunday to send nearly 180 people back to Libya if the EU did not help solve another migrant spat with Malta.

Some 177 people remained stranded off the coast of Italy since Thursday after being saved by the coastguard's Diciotti vessel, and Italy was in a standoff with Malta over who should take them in.

"Either Europe decides to seriously offer Italy some concrete help, beginning with for example the 180 immigrants on board the Diciotti ship, or we will be forced to do what will definitively end the human traffickers' business. That means taking the people saved in the sea back to Libya," Salvini said in a statement.

It came the same day as Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli called for sanctions against Malta, accusing it of not rescuing migrant boats in the Mediterranean.

Toninelli said on Twitter the European Union had to open "its ports to solidarity" and take in migrants rescued at sea. The government, made up of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League, has pledged to crack down on migration, even though flows are now lower than in the past.

On Wednesday, Malta did not aid a boat carrying 190 migrants, which was crossing international waters, saying it was not in distress. Once closer to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian coastguard vessel Diciotti picked it up.

Italy has seen more than 650,000 arrivals on its shores since 2014.

5) Indonesia earthquakes

The Indonesian island of Lombok was hit on Sunday by a series of earthquakes just two weeks after a tremor killed over 460 people.

The strongest quake measured a reported 6.9 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey.

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Reports at the time of writing said ten people died and 24 were injured, according to Spanish news agency EFE.

6) Asia Argento claims

Italian actress and director Asia Argento, who was among the first women in the movie business to publicly accuse the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, arranged to pay $380,000 (€333.065) to her own accuser, Jimmy Bennett, according to a New York Times article.

Bennett, a young actor and rock musician, said she had sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room years earlier when he was only two months past his 17th birthday.

The NYT said documents detailing the arrangement were sent to the publication via encrypted email.

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It also said it had reached out for comment to Argento and her representatives: "She did not reply to messages left on her phone, sent by email and sent to two of her agents, who agreed to forward it to her."

7) Gunshots fired at US embassy in Turkey

Several gunshots were fired from a vehicle at the US embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Monday, hitting a window in a security post but causing no casualties.

Police teams were searching for the assailants who fled in a white car after the attack, which occurred around 5 am local time.

The attack coincided with a deepening row between Ankara and Washington over the trial of a US pastor in Turkey.

A US Embassy spokesperson confirmed to NBC that a security incident took place at the US Embassy early this morning.

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"We have no reports of any injuries and we are investigating the details," they added. "We thank the Turkish National Police for their rapid response."

Here's how events unfolded:

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