EU chief: Brexit battle on horizon
BRUSSELS — European Union chief Donald Tusk warned Thursday of a bruising Brexit battle ahead as Britain and the remaining 27 EU countries move on to discussions over their future trade relations.
As all 28 EU leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, arrived in Brussels for a summit meeting, Mr. Tusk urged the EU-27 to continue to present a united front in the Brexit talks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “a lot still needs to be solved and time is pressing.”
Putin chimes in on U.S.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the U.S. is only hurting itself with investigations of alleged collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, and the Kremlin leader vowed he won’t allow the radical opposition at home to challenge the status quo as he seeks re-election.
At his annual news conference, Mr. Putin also mocked his most visible critic, Alexei Navalny, saying that those like the opposition leader want to drive Russia into chaos ahead of the March 18 presidential election.
In addition, Mr. Putin reaffirmed his denial of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“All of it was invented by people who oppose President Trump to undermine his legitimacy,” Mr. Putin said.
Solemn commemoration
LONDON— Marking six months since the deadliest fire in modern British history, members of the royal family attended events Thursday that commemorated the 71 dead, but also underscored the lingering hardships and questions since the Grenfell Tower was engulfed by flames.
Morethan 100 families remainin temporary accommodations after the June 14 blaze, and some survivors andnearby residents worry their concerns may not be given full attention in the official inquiry into the tragedy.
Fire safety measures still loom large, including appeals to root out the type of flammable exterior material used on the 24-story Grenfell that contributed to the fastmoving inferno — leaving some Grenfell residents trapped high above the street.
Workers in Greece strike
ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s workers walked off the job for a 24-hour general strike Thursday, as the country prepares to stop relying on European rescue loans but continues to pile more austerity measures on hard-hit taxpayers.
The strike halted ferry services to the islands, closed state schools, and left public hospitals accepting only emergency cases.
Airlines rescheduled and canceled flights as some airport staff joined the labor action with a four-hour work stoppage, and public transportation was operating only for certain hours during the day.
Train, bus crash kills 4
PARIS — A regional train hit a school bus on a crossing in southern France Thursday, killing four children and critically injuring 11 other people on the bus, the French interior ministry said.
Photos from the scene tweeted by a local television station showed the train derailed and the bus shorn in half — with first responders gathered around.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who flew to the scene of the accident Thursday night, said that authorities still don’t know what led to the accident on the crossing in Millas, some nine miles west of Perpignan, close to the border with Spain.