by Associated Press BC-AP--Europe News Digest, AP Associated Press - 23 March 2015 08:10-04:00 TOP STORIES FROM EUROPE AT 1200 GMT GERMANY-GREECE BERLIN — Alexis Tsipras is visiting Germany for the first time since becoming Greece's prime minister, meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday as his debt-ridden country and its key creditor seek to halt a downward spiral in relations. Tsipras' visit comes after Merkel and other European leaders last week told Tsipras to come up soon with budget cuts and tax increases that would enable him to get urgently needed bailout money. By Geir Moulson. SENT: 540 words, photos. UPCOMING: News conference excepted around 1715 GMT. GENDER-EQUALITY-PROFITS LONDON — When Rohini Anand took over diversity programs at multinational catering company Sodexo in 2002, she had one goal: To prove that it pays for a company to have equal numbers of male and female managers. Sodexo, which has 419,000 employees in 80 countries, says she's done just that. A company-wide study last year found that units with equal numbers of men and women in management roles delivered more profits more consistently than those dominated by men. By Danica Kirka. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. ITALY-KNOX-TRIAL BY SOCIAL MEDIA MILAN, Italy — Italy's highest court takes up the Amanda Knox case for the second time this week. Meanwhile, a parallel trial-by-social media wages its battle online, with a band of passionate partisans on both sides helping shape public opinion over a murder case that has polarized observers in three nations. By Colleen Barry. UPCOMING: 850 words, photos by 1600 GMT. CZECH-WILD HORSES MILOVICE, Czech Republic — Twenty-five years ago it was a military zone where occupying Soviet troops held exercises. Today it's a sanctuary inhabited by wild animals that scientists hope will improve biodiversity among local plants as well as save endangered species. A herd of 14 wild mares from Britain's Exmoor National Park were moved in January to the former Milovice military base, 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Prague, the Czech capital. By Karel Janicek. SENT: 360 words, photos. FRANCE-ELECTIONS PARIS — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has hailed the defeat of the far- right National Front in first-round local elections, while minimizing the significance of the third-place finish of his own Socialist party. The National Front was second in Sunday's vote with 25 percent, behind the conservative UMP party and its allies with 29 percent. Socialists and their allies had 21.5 percent, according to the Interior Ministry's official results. SENT: 240 words, photos. TURKEY-EXAM CHEATING ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's state-run news agency says police have detained dozens of people as part of an investigation into alleged fraud and cheating in a national exam in 2010 for prospective civil servants. The Anadolu Agency says more than 60 suspects were detained in Ankara and 13 other cities on Monday. It said police had arrest warrants for a total of 82 people. SENT: 130 words. BRITAIN-BOY-BRAIN-TUMOR LONDON — The British parents who became fugitives after their critically ill son was refused a cancer treatment in the U.K. last year say he's experienced a miracle recovery from his brain tumor. Brett King told The Sun newspaper in an interview published Monday that the recovery of his 5-year-old son, Ashya, justifies the family's decision to remove him from Southampton General Hospital to seek an innovative treatment abroad. Their decision sparked an international manhunt, and resulted in the parents being briefly jailed. SENT: 130 words. MOLDOVA-ELECTIONS CHISINAU, Moldova — A pro-Russian politician who favors closer ties with Moscow has been elected governor of a semi-autonomous region in Moldova. Election officials said that Irina Vlah won more than 51 percent of the vote in Sunday's election to be elected governor of Gagauzia for a four-year term. SENT: 130 words. FRANCE-POLLUTION PARIS — Paris authorities have imposed emergency measures to limit traffic after record levels of pollution in the French capital, initially banning all cars with even numbered plates from operating in the city. SENT: 130 words. News Topics: General news, Arrests, National courts, Pollution, Environmental concerns, Law and order, Crime, National governments, Government and politics, Courts, Judiciary, Environment, Environment and nature People, Places and Companies: Alexis Tsipras, Angela Merkel, Amanda Knox, Manuel Valls, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Moldova, Czech Republic, Europe, Paris, Turkey, Ankara, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu |