Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - The police commander in charge of operations at the 1989 Hillsborough soccer stadium crush that killed 96 Liverpool supporters was found not guilty of manslaughter on Thursday.

Former Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield was in charge of the stadium in Sheffield, northern England, at an FA Cup semi-final match against Nottingham Forest 30 years ago.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone consumer prices grew faster than expected in November, an official estimate showed on Friday, pushed up by a jump in food and services prices despite a slump in energy costs.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose by 1.0% on the year, accelerating from 0.7% in October. On the month, prices fell by 0.3% in November.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.9% year-on-year gain.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A restructuring of British energy supplier Npower announced by new parent E.ON (EONGn.DE) will result in 4,500 job cuts, British union UNISON said in a press release.

“This is a cruel blow for Npower employees. They’ve been worried about their jobs for months. Now their worst fears have been realized, less than a month before Christmas,” UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he would not say how many children he had, saying that he would not “put them on the pitch” ahead of the Dec. 12 election.

“I love my children very much, but they are not standing at this election, and I am not therefore going to comment,” said Johnson, whose colorful love life has attracted tabloid attention in the past.

“I am not going to put them on to the pitch in this election.”

PARIS (AP) — France’s army chief of staff is dismissing an Islamic State group affiliate’s claim that it caused a helicopter collision in Mali that killed 13 soldiers.

Gen. Francois Lecointre on Friday told French radio RFI that no shots were fired at the helicopters. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has claimed responsibility but offered no evidence.

Lecointre said complex coordination during a combat operation was the cause of Monday night’s accident in the West African nation.

BERLIN (AP) — People affected by dramatic wildfires in Australia have joined young environmentalists to protest the government’s stance on climate change.

The protests in Australia cities Friday kicked off a ‘global day of action’ ahead of next week’s gathering of governments to discuss tackling global warming.

Janet Reynolds, who joined a protest in Sydney, said she had lost everything in an “inferno, an absolute firestorm that raced through my property.”

LONDON (AP) — In a British election dominated by Brexit, young voters who had no say in the country’s decision to leave the European Union could hold the key to victory. That is, if they can be bothered to vote.

It has long been a truth in British politics that young people vote in lower numbers than older ones. In the last election in 2017, just over half of under-35s voted, compared to more than 70% of those over 60.

STRASBOURG (France), Nov 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Parliament voted on Thursday to declare a “climate and environment emergency” in a symbolic gesture just ahead of the latest UN global crisis summit.

The legislature, sitting in Strasbourg, backed the motion by a comfortable 429 to 225 majority, increasing pressure on EU capitals and the European Commission to take more drastic action.

BUDAPEST, Nov 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Hungarian prosecutors charged a cruise ship captain over the deadly collision on the Danube River in Budapest earlier this year.

The Ukrainian captain was at the helm of the Viking Sigyn cruise liner when it crashed into a sightseeing boat in May.

Twenty-seven of the 35 people on board were found dead in the river after the sightseeing boat capsized. Of those killed, 25 were South Korean tourists.

MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/: Instructors from Russia’s 201st military base, stationed in Tajikistan, will train 1,000 specialists for the Tajik Defense Ministry next year, the press service of the Central Military District said on Thursday.