English

Rachael Kennedy

Switzerland

Swiss court overturns 2016 tax referendum over misleading claims

Swiss voters rejected tax breaks for married couples by a slim margin, but the country's federal court has overturned the result, saying voters were not in full possession of the facts

Austria

Stomzy cancels Austria gig over 'racial profiling' incident

The Brit Award-winning rapper said his manager and friends were "racially profiled", before being "targeted and aggressively handled" during a weapon search.

United Kingdom

Police drag Julian Assange out of embassy after US extradition request

Assange is wanted in the US over an investigation into WikiLeaks' leaking of classified documents concerning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US Department of Justice said the charge related specifically to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion with US whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Switzerland

Coffee 'no longer essential' to human life, according to the Swiss

The Swiss government is looking to halt mandatory decades-old mandatory stockpiling of coffee beans after it was deemed "no longer essential" to human survival.

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Russia

Russia prison chief rejects claim jail yoga could 'turn inmates gay'

An official with the Russian prison service has said yoga lessons will continue, rejecting a theologist's suggestion that it could spark riots

New Zealand

MPs vote 119-1 to ban semi-automatic weapons after mosque massacres

MPs in New Zealand have voted to pass a gun reform bill that seeks to ban semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles, less than a month after deadly attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that left 50 people dead.

United Kingdom

WikiLeaks: Is spying on Assange ironic?

The organisation said individuals had threatened to leak the private documents, videos and audio gathered on its founder, Julian Assange.

Italy

Football star helps girl relegated to eating tuna and crackers

The girl reportedly burst into tears when she was handed tuna and crackers in place of a school meal after her parents fell behind on payments

Bulgaria

Anti-LGBT protest in Plovdiv, Europe's Capital of Culture

Politicians in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, voted one of this year's European Capitals of Culture, are lobbying to block an LGBT exhibition for later this year

Slovakia

Is your national anthem a criminal record? It could be in Slovakia after law voted in 'by mistake'

Slovakian politicians who voted to restrict the law on the singing of foreign national anthems in public have said the result was a "mistake" and that they didn't realise what they were voting for.

United Kingdom

Banksy's 'Devolved Parliament' of chimps on show in time for Brexit

Banksy's 'Devolved Parliament' piece, which depicts chimps sitting in the place of MPs in the UK's House of Commons, has been placed back on show in Bristol in time for Brexit day

United Kingdom

UK's The Independent Group apply for official party status

The Independent Group, a collective of rebel MPs from across the UK's political sphere, has applied to become an official party

Austria

US revokes travel permit for Austrian with link to Christchurch gunman

Austrian far-right activist Martin Sellner was planning to marry his American girlfriend, but had his ESTA visa waiver cancelled

Ukraine

Russian bears place bets on Ukraine's presidential election

Zoo animals in Russia have been tasked with predicting the outcome of this weekend's presidential election in Ukraine

Albania

Albanian protesters try to storm parliament building in Tirana

Supporters of Albania's opposition tried to storm the country's parliament building on Thursday as part of an ongoing protest against the govenment

Bangladesh

Bangladesh high-rise building blaze kills at least 19 people

A huge fire broke out in a 19-storey building in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Thursday, killing at least 19 people and wounding 73.

Lebanon

Lebanon says new 'waves' of migrants can be expected in Europe soon

Lebanese President Michel Aoun made the comments during his visit to Russia this week

World News

Malta's armed forces intercept tanker hijacked by migrants

The tanker, El Hiblu 1, had rescued them off the coast of Libya on Wednesday. After it was hijacked it was re-routed towards Europe.

Austria

Two Iraqi nationals arrested in Prague over failed attack

Two Iraqi nationals have been arrested in Prague just a day after police arrested an Iraqi citizen in Austria over a series of failed attacks on German trains last year

Sweden

Several people injured after explosion in Stockholm

An explosion was reported in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in the early hours of Wednesday morning, injuried several people

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