Wild storm hits Europe
A powerful winter storm hit part of Europe on Thursday, leaving at least 6 people dead and causing chaos in transportation systems.
Police say 3 died in Germany and 3 others in the Netherlands after being hit by falling trees or debris.
Gusts of more than 108 kilometers per hour were recorded. They blew away roof tiles and walls and toppled trailer trucks.
Footage from the Netherlands shows toppled trees on the street and a woman pushing a baby stroller narrowly escaping danger. It also shows a stack of containers collapsing.
Train services have been halted on many lines across Germany and the Netherlands.
At least 260 flights have been canceled at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Footage from the airport shows strong winds forcing a plane to abort its landing.
Britain, France agree on border coordination
Britain and France have agreed to step up cooperation in border security and military operations against Islamic militant groups.
British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed security, defense and other issues at a military academy near London on Thursday. It is Macron’s first visit to Britain since assuming office in May last year.
May agreed to provide funds for fences, security cameras, and other measures at the port town of Calais and nearby areas facing the English Channel.
Migrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East have poured into the town with hopes of crossing the channel.
The British military will send helicopters and personnel for France’s military mission against Islamic militants in the Sahel region of Africa.
May told reporters after the meeting that Britain will be a partner and friend of France, even after leaving the European Union.
Macron said the history between the 2 countries could not be impacted by changes in institutions.
NZ PM: Ardern expecting first baby
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is expecting her first child in June.Ardern made the announcement on Friday while speaking to reporters with her partner Clarke Gayford.
They said they found out on October 13th that she was pregnant. It was nearly 2 weeks before she was sworn in as New Zealand’s 3rd female prime minister. At the age of 37, the Labour Party leader became the country’s youngest leader.
Ardern said she plans to take 6 weeks off after giving birth. She said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will act as prime minister during her maternity leave.
She said that her partner will stay at home to care for the baby after she resumes all duties as prime minister.
Ardern said she takes very seriously the role of becoming a mother, as her partner does becoming a father, but that they take equally seriously the role she’s assumed as prime minister of New Zealand.
China sends surveillance ships for oil spills
China’s Agriculture Ministry has reportedly sent two surveillance ships to assess the environmental effects of an oil spill from an Iranian tanker that sank in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The tanker was carrying about 140,000 tons of ultra-light crude when it collided with a Chinese cargo vessel off the coast of Shanghai in the East China Sea on January 6th.
The burning tanker drifted before sinking in waters roughly 315 kilometers west of Amami Oshima Island in Japan’s southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.
The oil spill from the tanker has reportedly split into 4 separate slicks covering an area of more than 100 square kilometers.
Shanghai’s Dragon Television reported on Thursday that the two surveillance vessels had left a port in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang.
The TV channel reported that the ships will spend about a week to collect samples of marine life and seabed mud while moving from the collision site to where the tanker sank.
Italy breaks up Chinese ‘transport mafia’
Italian law enforcement agencies have broken up a Chinese organized crime ring that used money from its activities to force its way into European trucking companies, AP reported.
The organization used mafia methods, including intimidation, extortion and violence, and tried to impose control over the movement of Chinese-made goods in much of Europe, top anti-Mafia prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho said in Florence on Thursday.
He said the ring earned cash from drug trafficking, gambling and prostitution in locations throughout Italy.
The money was used to take over transportation companies in Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
More than 50 people were under investigation, most in the Tuscan city of Prato, a key center of Chinese business in Italy. Arrest warrants were issued for 33 people. The criminal components hail mostly from the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, according to police.
Czech PM Babis to form new govt
Czech prime minister is rushing to form a new government, possibly by the end of February, before a new presidential term begins. Andrej Babis’ minority cabinet lost a parliamentary confidence vote this week. He denies allegations that, as a businessman a decade ago, he hid ownership of a firm to get a €2 million (US$2.4 million) subsidy meant for small businesses, Reuters said.
The two candidates in the January 26-27 run-off presidential vote have opposing views on Babis, the country’s second-richest person. Incumbent Milos Zeman has promised to give Babis a second try. The other candidate, academic Jiri Drahos, says it would be unacceptable to have a prime minister facing police charges.
Babis told Mlada Fronta Dnes daily on Thursday that a political crisis could arise if he does not get a second chance to form a government.
Puigdemont ready to lead Catalonian govt from Belgium
Catalonia’s fugitive former leader, Carles Puigdemont, says new technologies would allow him to govern from Belgium, AP reports. He spoke to Catalan public radio from Brussels, where he fled to avoid a judicial probe in Spain over secession attempts. After Spanish central authorities disbanded the Catalan cabinet and called an election in the northeastern region, results granted separatists a slim parliamentary majority. The Catalan parliament’s new governing body must decide by the end of January whether to permit Puigdemont’s re-election through a proxy delegate. The central government in Madrid has vowed to impede Puigdemont’s reinstatement by challenging it in the courts if necessary.
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