Europe

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria has agreed to a smaller-than-expected bailout package for Lufthansa unit Austrian Airlines of 450 million euros ($508 million) in loans and grants, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The package consists of 300 million euros in loans that the government will guarantee 90% of, as well as 150 million euros in grants, the people said. Lufthansa has agreed to provide its Austrian unit with an additional 150 million euro grant of its own, they added.

LONDON (Reuters) - China’s Huawei Technologies has launched a British advertising blitz to highlight its role in building the country’s broadband and mobile networks ahead of a UK security review that could see further restrictions on its activities.

Vice President Victor Zhang said Huawei had been in Britain for 20 years, during which time it had helped build the 3G and 4G mobile networks, and was committed to continuing to develop the connectivity the country needs.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government said on Monday it had not had official confirmation from Washington of any decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany, but stressed that their presence serves all NATO members.

Trump has ordered the U.S. military to remove 9,500 troops from Germany, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The move would reduce the U.S. contingent to 25,000.

“I don’t want to speculate on something for which I have no confirmation,” Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told a news conference.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s supreme court prosecutor has opened an investigation into former King Juan Carlos in connection with a high-speed train contract in Saudi Arabia, piling pressure on a once-popular monarch who abdicated six years ago.

The supreme court prosecutor will investigate whether the former king can be included in the case in respect of any action that took place after he lost his immunity when he abdicated in June 2014 in favour of his son Felipe, the general prosecutor said on Monday.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark wants to be able to exclude 5G technology suppliers from providing critical infrastructure in Denmark if they are not from countries considered security allies, online technology news outlet ITWatch reported on Monday.

“In order to protect Denmark and the Danes, we want to collaborate with someone with whom we already have alliances,” Minister of Defence Trine Bramsen told ITWatch.

The defence ministry was not immediately able to comment when contacted by Reuters.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition is speeding up the implementation of its giant stimulus package with a special cabinet meeting on Friday, a government spokesman said on Monday in light of devastating economic data.

Confirming an earlier Reuters report, government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters that the cabinet hoped to pass large parts of the 130 billion-euro ($147 billion) package during an extraordinary meeting on Friday.

LONDON, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New rules requiring all people arriving in the UK to self-isolate for 14 days have come into effect.

Those arriving by plane, ferry or train – including UK nationals – will have to provide an address where they will self-isolate and face fines of up to £1,000 if they do not follow the rules.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the laws were designed “to prevent a second wave” of coronavirus.

But some industries have warned they will be severely impacted by the rules.

WARSAW, June 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poland saw a record spike in new confirmed coronavirus cases over the weekend, with most of the hundreds of infections reported by the health ministry linked to a coal mine in the country’s south.

The 1,151 new cases — 576 of them registered Saturday and 575 on Sunday — marked the EU country’s highest consecutive two-day total thus far.

BUDAPEST, June 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 people gathered at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in front of the U.S. embassy in downtown Budapest on Sunday, protesting against the police killing of African American George Floyd in the U.S. city of Minneapolis.

Almost all of the protestors wore masks. The police presence was strong, but they did not intervene. Demonstrators, mostly young Hungarians, held up banners reading "Black Lives Matter" at the front of the demonstration.

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets of European cities Sunday to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, with protesters in the English port of Bristol venting their anger at the country’s colonial history by toppling a statue of a 17th-century slave trader.

Demonstrators attached ropes to the statue of Edward Colston before pulling it down to cheers and roars of approval from the crowd.