Europe

World News

Belgian Transport Minister Resigns Over Airport Security Debate

7:23pm April 15, 2016

by Teri Schultz

Belgium's transport minister has been forced to resign, amid allegations that she failed to act on a report detailing lapses in security months before the terrorist attack on Brussels airport.

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World News

Welcome To Czechia: Czech Republic Looks To Adopt Shorter Name

7:12pm April 15, 2016

Some people in the Czech Republic want to adopt a shorter name for the country and suggest "Czechia."

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Comedian Jan Boehmermann, who performed a satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared at the German Television Awards in January in Duesseldorf, Germany.

World News

At Turkey's Request, Germany Allows Criminal Investigation Of Comedian

6:38pm April 15, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Comic Jan Boehmermann could face jail time for reading a satirical poem on TV that criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A German law makes it illegal to insult a foreign leader.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders leaves the Vatican Friday. Sanders went to Rome to attend a conference sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

Politics & Government

Sanders Takes His Message To The Vatican

4:35pm April 15, 2016

by Don Gonyea

The Democratic presidential hopeful said it was worth it to take time away from the campaign trail to attend a Vatican conference on social and economic justice.

World News

Pope Francis To Show Solidarity With Migrants In Lesbos Visit

4:34pm April 15, 2016

by Sylvia Poggioli

Pope Francis says he going to the Greek island of Lesbos to show solidarity and sympathy with migrants and those who have been welcoming them. He's also expected to sharply criticize the European Union for what he calls the "globalization of indifference" towards refugees and migrants.

World News

London Underground's 'Mind The Gap' Man Dies

4:34pm April 15, 2016

Any rider of the London Underground metro system will recognize a certain recording of a man asking riders to "please, mind the gap between the train and the platform." Former BBC journalist Phil Sayer was the man behind the recording. He died Thursday.

The mothers of Militsa Kamvysi, 83, (left) and Maritsa Mavrapidou, 85, arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos nearly a century ago as refugees from what was then the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). "We welcomed refugees because we're descended from refugees,

World News

For These Greek Grandmas, Helping Migrants Brings Back Their Own Past

3:20pm April 15, 2016

by Joanna Kakissis

The women, now in their 80s, say they live on Lesbos because their parents came to the island as refugees a century ago. Pope Francis will highlight the plight of all migrants on a visit Saturday.

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World News

Campaigns For And Against 'Brexit' Target British Voters

3:18pm April 15, 2016

Renee Montagne talks to the BBC 's Jonny Dymond about the campaign to persuade British voters to stay in or leave the EU. The stay in camp was once ahead but polls now show voters are evenly split.

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World News

'My Friends Call Me Czechia': Czech Republic Aims To Rebrand With Shorter Name

2:59pm April 15, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The French Republic is France. The Hellenic Republic is Greece. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Kingdom of Denmark, Slovak Republic: All have shorter English names. The Czech Republic doesn't — yet.

Jacqueline Galant, who resigned as Belgium's transport minister on Friday, says she is the victim of a crusade against her.

World News

Belgian Transport Minister Resigns Over Brussels Airport Security Dispute

2:24pm April 15, 2016

by Bill Chappell

A scandal is boiling over how Jacqueline Galant handled security concerns and what she told Prime Minister Charles Michel about a European report — one of several documents that were recently leaked.