Europe

Russia's Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft with 3 astronauts docks ISS

MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft carrying three crew members successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, Russia's space corporation Roscosmos said.

Soyuz MS-12 docked with the Rassvet module at 04:01 Moscow time (0101 GMT), Roscosmos said in a press release.

Chinese takeover brings no challenge but growth, says German company EEW

BERLIN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- After being taken over by a Chinese state-owned company, Germany's EEW Energy From Waste is on a steady growth track, instead of holding doubts at the beginning.

With a history of over 140 years, EEW was taken over by China's state-owned Beijing Enterprises for 1.4 billion euros (1.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016. It was the largest Chinese acquisition of a German company at that time.

EU official says ‘no-deal’ vote wont halt Brexit

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The European Commission is warning Britain’s Parliament that voting against Brexit happening without a withdrawal deal in place isn’t enough and lawmakers must approve the deal, too.

An official from the EU’s executive branch noted Wednesday that the bloc already reached a divorce deal with Prime Minister Theresa May and the House of Commons rejected it - twice.   

The official asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the unresolved situation.

France: Brittany coast threatened by oil spill after cargo ship sinks

14 Mar 2019; DW: French authorities are rushing to stop an oil spill from reaching the country's west coast after an Italian-registered cargo ship sank in the Bay of Biscay.

Although the government's initial statement only said there had been "dangerous materials" on board the ill-fated Grande America, local officials told French news agency Agence France-Presse that the vessel was leaking oil.

Ethiopian Airlines black boxes flown to Paris for investigation

14 Mar 2019; DW: A delegation from Ethiopia flew to Paris on Thursday to deliver the black boxes from the recently crashed Boeing 737 MAX.

Ethiopian Airlines said on Twitter the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were to be examined.

France's Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA) announced the boxes had arrived and that it would be investigating them. The office did not provide an estimate of how long the analysis would take.

European Parliament votes to suspend Turkey's EU membership bid

14 Mar 2019; DW: The European Parliament has voted to formally suspend EU accession talks with Turkey, citing severe political and democratic backsliding under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Lawmakers passed the symbolic non-binding resolution with 370 votes in favor and 109 against, with 143 abstentions.

British Parliament rejects no-deal Brexit

LONDON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May will have one last shot of winning support for her Brexit deal after MPs voted Wednesday to stop Britain quitting the European Union (EU) without a deal.

A vote to prevent a no-deal Brexit in any circumstance was won by 321 votes to 278 in the House of Commons.

Work and Pensions Minister Sarah Newton became the 15th government minister to resign over Brexit. She quit tonight after she voted against the government.

Austria's Kurz criticizes Macron's 'utopian' vision of Europe

12 Mar 2019; DW: Austria's conservative chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Tuesday responded to French President Emmanuel Macron's ambitious vision on the future of Europe, saying some of the proposals could even be "dangerous." 

Macron's statement, which was published last Tuesday in major newspapers in every EU country, criticized populism while outlining a vision for EU social and regulatory reforms.

European agency bans Boeing 737 MAX 8 from airspace

12 Mar 2019; DW: The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) later said it would be grounding all flights involving the plane, widening a prohibition to all EU member states.

Germany had earlier banned flights by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in its own national airspace, becoming one of several countries to do so after last Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash.

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