Venetians shun referendum on split from mainland sister city
Venetians gave the cold shoulder to the fifth vote in 40 years to break away from sister city Mestre on the Italian mainland, with little expectation of a parting of the ways.
Suriname leader says he is victim of political game after murder conviction
President Desi Bouterse said he was victim of a “political game” when he returned to Suriname on Sunday after a court found him guilty of murder in absentia for the 1982 execution of 15 activists in the former Dutch colony.
New EU Commission head to start with climate summit, Africa trip
The new head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will attend a climate summit in Madrid and travel to Africa in her first week in the job, highlighting two of the key priorities for the EU executive over the next five years.
Malta’s ruling party lawmakers back embattled prime minister
Lawmakers from Malta’s ruling Labour Party stood by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Sunday but did not indicate what he may do next as he faces pressure to quit amid a crisis sparked by the investigation into a murdered journalist.
‘War against nature must stop,’ U.N. chief says before climate talks
The world must stop a “war against nature” and find more political will to combat climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday, the eve of a two-week global climate summit in Madrid.
Benetton family calls for 5-Star to stop ‘hate campaign’: letter
Italy’s Benetton family, in a letter to media, said it had played no role in running a motorway bridge that collapsed last year killing 43 people, and asked politicians such as 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio to halt their “hate campaign.”
Germany’s ruling coalition on collision course after SPD leadership vote
The future of Germany’s ruling coalition looked shaky after the election of new leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD) who are demanding a shift in policies, and several senior conservatives on Sunday ruled out talks to renegotiate a governing agreement…
Police say no evidence suspect in Hague stabbing had terrorist motive
Dutch police said on Sunday there was no evidence that a man arrested on suspicion of stabbing three people in the Hague had a terrorist motive.
EU leaders mark a decade of Lisbon Treaty amid calls for reform
European Union leaders on Sunday celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Lisbon Treaty, the union’s legal cornerstone, amid calls to reform a bloc weakened over the past decade by economic and migration crises, rising euroskepticism and Brexit.
Suspected Islamist rebels kill 14 in eastern Congo: local authorities
Suspected Islamist fighters killed 14 people in eastern Congo on Friday, local authorities said, as a month-long spike in violence complicates efforts to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak.
