Prince Philip, 96, in hospital with infection
Prince Philip, the 96-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has been admitted to hospital as a “precautionary measure” for treatment of an infection, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.
The infection arose from “a pre-existing condition”, the palace said.
Belgium has identified station bomber
AFP, Brussels
Belgian security forces have identified a man who set off an explosion at a Brussels train station before he was shot and killed, Interior Minister Jan Jambon said today.
“The terrorist’s identity is known. We have been able to identify him,” Jambon told RTBF radio television without giving further details.
Romanian PM, govt ousted in no-confidence vote
AP, Bucharest
Romania’s prime minister and his government have been ousted in a no-confidence vote submitted by ruling party members.
A total of 241 lawmakers approved the motion Wednesday, more than the 233 votes required. The governing Social Democratic Party filed the motion to oust Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, saying that he had failed to implement the party’s political agenda.
Merkel says strong Europe good for U.S.
Reuters, Berlin
A strong European economy is good for the United States, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, citing the post-war Marshall Plan with which Washington invested in Germany to stress that trade can bring “a win-win situation”.
“George C. Marshall … was convinced that good trade and a strong economy in Europe is good for American companies too – and we should not forget about this,” she said in a speech to The German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Gunmen attack Philippine village near war-torn city
AFP, Manila
Hundreds of gunmen attacked troops in a southern Philippine village today in a hit-and-run assault that may have been intended to help Islamist militants engaged in a nearby urban war, authorities said.
Five civilians who were used as human shields were missing, and soldiers were pursuing the assailants who had quickly retreated, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told reporters in Manila.
S Korea says N Korea drones ‘grave provocation’
AFP, Seoul
Suspected North Korean drone surveillance is a “grave provocation” which violates the Korean War truce, Seoul said Wednesday, demanding a United Nations probe into a drone that crashed near the border. A drone, which had been photographing a controversial US missile defence shield, was discovered early June after it crashed close to a sensitive military installation along the heavily fortified border, Seoul’s military said.
“The latest action by the North… is a grave provocation and a wanton violation of the armistice,” Jeon Dong-Jin, first deputy director of the South’s Joint Chief of Staff, told reporters, referring to the treaty which ended the 1950-53 war.
