Europe

Encore: Housing Costs Inspire London Builders To Create Underground Mansions

4:28pm March 01, 2016

by Robert Smith

High housing costs are encouraging Londoners to build down instead of up. They're digging out basements to create underground mansions. This story originally aired on Jan. 4, 2016 on Morning Edition.

As part of a wider effort to reduce waste and energy consumption, Hamburg, Germany, has become the world's first city to ban the use of coffee pods in government-run buildings, offices and institutions like schools and universities.

Why This German City Has Banned Coffee Pods In Government Buildings

3:06pm March 01, 2016

by Esme Nicholson

Hamburg officials say single-use pods waste resources and aren't always recyclable. The city is believed to be the world's first to oust the capsules from schools, offices and other institutions.

A family warms by a fire in the early morning on the Greek-Macedonia border on Tuesday in Idomeni, Greece.

World News

Thousands Of Migrants Stuck In Bottleneck At Greece-Macedonia Border

2:02pm March 01, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Migrant numbers in Greece are soaring as countries farther north close their borders or put caps on migrants. The U.N. says Europe is "on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis."

A medal denoting a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) is seen here at a ceremony last month. Under a new contract, a French company will make some of Britain's medals.

World News

Umbrage In The U.K.: French Firm Will Make British Medals

11:56am March 01, 2016

by Bill Chappell

In Britain, it's being called an outrage. In France, one story about the new contract starts with the sentence, "Admiral Nelson must be turning in his grave."

World News

Tensions Over Migrants Build Along Greece's Border With Macedonia

6:10am March 01, 2016

Thousands of migrants are stuck on the Greek side of the border. A crowd tore down a fence, and were met with tear gas from Macedonian authorities. Steve Inskeep talks to the BBC's Danny Savage.

Members of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry attend a ceremony for miners killed at the Severnaya coal mine in a town north of the Arctic Circle.

World News

36 People Killed In Coal Mine Explosions And Fire, Russia Says

3:56pm February 29, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The explosions, which occurred over several days, are being blamed on a buildup of methane gas. When the first one shook the mine in the Komi Republic in northwest Russia, 111 miners were underground.

A shopper's cart at WeFood. The supermarket sells items once destined for the trash bin at a discount.

Denmark's New Grocer Is Selling Expired Food, And It's A Hit

2:59pm February 29, 2016

by Sidsel Overgaard

Shoppers are flocking to a Copenhagen supermarket hawking perfectly edible but unsalable food items at a steep discount to the general public. It's the country's latest effort to fight food waste.

Starbucks' licensee in Italy admits it will be "a unique challenge" to push into the country's coffee market. Its new store will open in Milan early in 2017.

World News

Starbucks Plans First Store In Italy, 'With Humility And Respect'

11:06am February 29, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The Milan store will be operated by Italian developer Antonio Percassi, who admits that opening a coffee shop in Italy will be "a unique challenge."

Anti-Graffiti Squad Mistakenly Cleans Up Legitimate Art

7:24am February 29, 2016

In the French city of Reims, the squad spotted a wall newly decorated with a painting of a street kid. It wiped away art commissioned by the city from one of France's best known graffiti artists.

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World News

Pressures Of Migrant Crisis Weigh Heavy On Germany

6:56am February 29, 2016

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Germany is straining to cope with the large number of asylum-seekers and is encouraging some of them to return home. Germany's Parliament has also passed new laws making deportation easier.