Europe

Budapest, Hungary: With a no-nonsense look etched on her face, Ada Hegerberg stares straight into the camera and says: “Now it’s time for action.”

It’s fitting the Norwegian superstar was chosen as the face of a recently launched campaign aimed at improving the profile and standards in women’s soccer.

Not just because, as the first ever female winner of the Ballon d’Or, she is the outstanding player in the women’s game.

OUISTREHAM, France (AP) — There were countless times on D-Day and in the fighting in Normandy that followed when Leon Gautier could have been killed or grievously wounded.

He and his comrades in an elite French unit were among the first waves of Allied troops to storm the heavily defended beaches of Nazi-occupied northern France, beginning the liberation of western Europe. The commandos spent 78 days straight on the front lines, their numbers dwindling from one firefight to the next.

BLAGOVESCHENSK, May 22. /TASS/: The Meteor-M No 2-2 spacecraft has been delivered to the Vostochny spaceport in Russia's Far East in preparation for the upcoming launch, the press service of the Center for operating ground-based space infrastructure facilities said on Wednesday.

"On May 20, the Meteor-M No 2-2 and all the accompanying equipment arrived to the Ignatievo airport in the Amur region. On My 21, the space cargo was transported from the airport to the Vostochny spaceport," the center said.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: Moscow is interested in having good relations with Washington and will make every effort to improve dialogue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Russia is interested in having positive relations with America and will make every effort to that end," he said.

According to the senior Russian diplomat, Moscow made its approach clear during US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s visit to Sochi on May 14.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: The United States is fanning tensions in the Persian Gulf in the hope somebody may lose one’s nerve, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the media on Wednesday.

"It is essential to avoid fanning tensions, contrary to what the United States and some of its allies in the Persian Gulf have been doing in the hope that somebody will lose one’s nerve," Ryabkov said.

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/: US-backed attempts to stage a coup in Venezuela will continue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.

"We will continue to resist attempts to stage a coup in Venezuela that have been a failure so far. However, these attempts will continue at the US behest," he said.

22 May 2019; DW: Parts of Germany have come to a standstill after storms and torrential rain, especially in the south. One person died and daily life has been disrupted. The worst weather appears to be over, for now.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms, mainly in southern and central Germany, have left rivers overflowing and streets flooded. A man was reported to have died in the Bavarian town of Aurach on Tuesday after his car skidded off the highway.

22 May 2019; DW: Millions of Europeans are being exposed to far-right propaganda on Facebook ahead of the EU elections, a report by the Avaaz NGO shows. The activists say their research prompted an "unprecedented" cleanup by Facebook.

Fake news, fake quotes, and movie clips presented as proof of migrant misdeeds are only some of the tactics used by far-right Facebook pages, activists from the US-based Avaaz movement said when presenting a new report on Wednesday.

21 May 2019; DW: Profits have plunged at Ryanair and Easyjet, while 43% of troubled tour operator Thomas Cook's summer holidays remain unsold. The travel sector can only lick its wounds and wait out the Brexit uncertainty.

The dark cloud of Brexit still looms large over Europe's tourism industry, despite the delay to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

21 May 2019; DW: With Brexit postponed, the UK is holding European Parliament elections. Supporters of Nigel Farage's new party are hoping for a strong showing. DW's Birgit Maass reports from Wales on an unusual campaign season.