Europe

03 Mar 2019; DW: Some 3,500 people rallied in the German capital over plans that could see social media firms block user-generated content. The EU's Article 13 will put the onus on Facebook and YouTube to remove copyright material.

Thousands of protesters marched through Berlin on Saturday against the EU's planned copyright reforms that will likely see the introduction of automatic upload filters by the likes of Facebook and YouTube.

02 Mar 2019; DW: Anti-racism demonstrators gathered in their thousands outside the northern Italian city's cathedral. Their anger focused on Italy's controversial right-wing interior minister, Matteo Salvini.

Tens of thousands of people took to Milan's streets on Saturday to protest against what they said are racist policies promoted by the national government.

Estonia's mainstream parties are polling ahead of the nationalist EKRE party, which still looks likely to make major gains. One of the main issues facing the country is the emigration of highly skilled workers.

Estonians headed to the polls on Sunday as Prime Minister Juri Ratas and his Center Party face off against the moderately conservative Reform Party. Also contesting the election is the far-right nationalist Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), which looks poised to make major gains on its 2015 results.

03 Mar 2019; DW: From police officers to teachers to castle administrators — state employees across Germany are due to get a pay raise. With extra money for health care workers, the deal could help alleviate Germany's care worker crisis.

After days of warning strikes that saw slowdowns in hospitals and closed daycares across Germany, unions and state employers agreed to pay raises for public sector employees on Saturday night.

MOSCOW, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia will have to take reciprocal and asymmetrical measures in response to possible threats brought by intentions of the United States to use outer space for military purposes, a Russian military official said Saturday.

According to the chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the U.S. intentions to use space for military purposes, in particular, the decision to form a Space Force, create prerequisites for the militarization of outer space.

MOSCOW, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready for consultations on the Venezuela crisis with the United States in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

According to a statement by the ministry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the situation around Venezuela with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a telephone conversation.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Parliament has called on Kosovo to suspend a 100-percent tariff on Serb goods to help restart reconciliation talks.

David McAllister, who is heading the European delegation visiting Kosovo, and Serbia earlier in the week, said Saturday it asked for the suspension of the tariff in all meetings with Kosovar leaders “as the only way to success.”

During a tour to both capitals earlier this week, two senior U.S. officials made the same call.

MOSCOW, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned about possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and hopes its plans will fail amid international opposition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

01 Mar 2019; DW: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined thousands of students in a Fridays for Future demonstration in Hamburg on Friday.

Demonstrators marched from the Gänsemarkt square through the city center to Rathausmarkt, the central city square in Hamburg, carrying banners and signs with slogans such as "The climate can't wait," "March now or swim later" and "Make earth cool again!"

Police initially estimated the turnout to be between 3,500 to 4,000 students.

28 Feb 2019; DW: There are 25 million visitors to the city of Venice in northern Italy each year. Of these about 14 million stay just for a day, and often bring their own picnics.

With no visible benefit for local restaurants and bars, and costs of cleaning up after the visitors growing every year, councilors have decided to put a price on entry.