As Romania prepares to phase out coal by 2032, some miners are retraining for jobs in renewable energies.

American gymnast Jordan Chiles called an arbitration panel’s decision that she must return the bronze medal she was awarded in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics “unjust” and a “significant blow” in a message she posted on social media.

A judge says controversial social media personality Andrew Tate’s defamation lawsuit against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can proceed.

The Netherlands reached its first European Championship quarterfinal in 16 years with a 3-0 win over Romania on Tuesday.

Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming.

Romania has recorded only its second ever victory at the European Championship with a 3-0 win over Ukraine to give coach Edward Iordănescu a belated birthday present.

The Ukrainian soccer federation has unveiled an installation in Munich of a stadium stand destroyed in the war back home to highlight the ongoing conflict ahead of the team’s first match at the European Championship.

President Joe Biden has hosted Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, at the White House.

A new study has found that voters in 19 countries, including in three of the world’s largest democracies, are widely skeptical about whether their political elections are free and fair.

Police in Italy, Austria, Romania and Slovakia have arrested 22 people as part of an investigation into the suspected theft of hundreds millions of euros in post-pandemic relief funds from the European Union.

A court in Romania’s capital has granted a request by British authorities to extradite the divisive online influencer Andrew Tate bt only after legal proceedings against him in Romania have been concluded.

The governor of the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv says a Russian drone strike on the city of the same name, the second-largest city in the country, killed seven people overnight, including three children.

A 71-year-old Romanian yoga guru and 14 others have been handed preliminary charges by a Paris magistrate on a raft of counts linked to an international ring that for years allegedly subjected followers seeking enlightenment to sexual exploitation.

Gregorian Bivolaru was known by his followers as “Grieg” and their guide through tantra yoga toward enlightenment and a higher state of consciousness.

Heavy snowfall and strong blizzards in Romania and Moldova have left one person dead and hundreds of localities without electricity as well as forcing the closure of some national roads.

The Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania have all secured places at next year’s European Championship.

Rugby will use mouthguard technology as part of its efforts to detect brain injuries suffered by players on the field.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has released an address marking the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s unilateral annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

Russian drones have hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports.

Controversial social media personality Andrew Tate is suing a Florida woman, saying she lied when she accused him of human trafficking.

Countries in southern Europe are preparing emergency measures at the start of a heat wave that is expected to push temperatures to 45 degrees Celsius (113F) in some areas over the next few days.

France’s parliament has approved a boost to military spending spurred on by Russia's war in Ukraine.

The leaders of nine central and eastern European countries say NATO allies should aim at further boosting their support for Ukraine and for its aspiration to become a member of the alliance.

Hungary has added honey and certain meat products to a list of food items it has temporarily banned from being imported from Ukraine in an effort to relieve market pressures on Hungarian farmers.

Neighbors Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova have signed joint agreements in Romania’s capital after a trilateral security meeting focused on ways to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression.

The French government has approved a key budget bill presented as the country's biggest military spending spree in more than 50 years.

U.S. and French troops who are in Romania as part of a NATO battlegroup held a military exercise to test the 30-nation alliance’s eastern flank defenses, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine nears its one-year anniversary.

A Romanian official says a judge in Romania has granted prosecutors' request to extend the arrest of Andrew Tate by 30 days.

The top civil servant at the Dutch foreign ministry has apologized after an independent investigation found widespread racism at the government department in the Netherlands and at its diplomatic outposts around the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is condemning Russia’s weekslong assault on Ukraine’s power grid and other infrastructure as an attempt to “freeze and starve" its people.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military organization stands ready to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia “for as long as it takes.”.

Fighting around Ukraine’s nuclear power installations and Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons have reawakened nuclear fears in Europe.

Several thousand protesters in Romania have joined an “anti-poverty march” in the capital of Bucharest to express dismay over the rising cost of living.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States has been elected to head the U.N.’s telecommunications agency.

Seventeen-year-old David Popovici of Romania has become the youngest swimmer to break the world record in the men’s 100-meter freestyle.

The World Health Organization says coronavirus cases have tripled across Europe in the past six weeks, accounting for nearly half of all infections globally.

Naomi Osaka has pulled out of Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.

President Emmanuel Macron urged the French to give him a “strong majority” Sunday in the second, decisive round of nationwide parliamentary elections.

The European Union's drug agency says trafficking and drug use across the bloc are returning to pre-pandemic levels.

A British newspaper says Prince Charles has criticized the government’s plan to start deporting some asylum-seekers to Rwanda, calling it “appalling.”.

Charles, Prince of Wales traveled to Romania’s capital on Wednesday to visit refugees, mostly women and children, that have found safety in the Eastern European country after fleeing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

During a visit to Romania, Jill Biden heard heartbreaking stories from Ukrainian women and children who fled Russia’s war and found safe haven across the border.

Elena Trofimchuk fled Ukraine to Romania more than a month ago.

Having escaped from Russian shelling, Ukrainian refugees are now focused on building new lives — temporarily or permanently.

The U.N. refugee agency says more than 4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog says its director-general has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior government officials on delivering “urgent technical assistance” to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities.

The United States is expanding efforts to help refugees fleeing Ukraine after Russia invaded.

A lion and a wolf have been evacuated from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine and brought to safety in Romania in what an animal rights group involved in the operation says was a four-day mission “full of dangers” further hampered by border entry bureaucracy.

The United Nations' refugee agency says 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion less than a week ago.

Since Russia launched attacks on Ukraine, 368,000 people have fled the country, according to the UN refugee agency.

The chill of a Cold War hangs over Eastern Europe again.

President Joe Biden is ordering 2,000 U.S. troops to Poland and Germany amid the stalled talks with Russia over the Kremlin's military buildup on Ukraine's borders.

Romania has recorded a huge jump in COVID-19 infections, hitting a pandemic record of nearly 35,000 daily cases, almost doubling its previous record set only a day earlier.

Tighter pandemic measures have come into force in Romania as authorities hope to quell sharply rising coronavirus cases amid concerns that the next virus wave could overstretch the country’s health care system.

French authorities are waiting for laboratory confirmation of eight suspected cases of the new version of the coronavirus, involving people who traveled recently to southern Africa.

The World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased.

The head of the women’s professional tennis tour is calling for a full investigation of sexual assault allegations made by a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion from China against a former top government official in that country.

In much of Eastern Europe, coronavirus deaths are high and vaccination rates are low, but politicians have hesitated to impose the measures to curb the virus that experts are calling for.

The morgue in Romania’s main hospital has no space for the dead any more.

Romania has hit daily records of both coronavirus infections and deaths as the country grapples with an acute virus surge amid alarmingly low vaccination uptake.

More than 5,000 far-right protesters have gathered in Romania’s capital of Bucharest to reject new pandemic measures coming soon as authorities seek to combat an alarming surge of COVID-19 infections.

Australia's government is ramping up pressure on states to end pandemic lockdowns by outlining plans to end financial aid.

Moldova’s pro-Western president has been joined in the capital Chisinau by her counterparts from Romania, Poland, and Ukraine to celebrate the country’s three decades of independence from Soviet rule.

Romania and Japan have celebrated a century of diplomatic relations with officials from both countries visiting the site of what will be one of Europe's longest suspension bridges.

At first, this remote village in Serbia seems sleepy and almost abandoned like many other in the Balkan country.

The BBC says “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker will leave the venerable science fiction series next year, along with showrunner Chris Chibnall.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Simona Halep has withdrawn from the Grand Slam tournament because of an injured left calf.

French Open organizers said they took a “pragmatic” approach in their dealings with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament, insisting they tried to engage with her several times before she decided to withdraw from the clay-court Grand Slam.

AdventHealth pediatrician Dr. Emeline Ramos says it’s a myth that children can’t get COVID-19.

Serena Williams says she can identify with anxiety regarding news conference scrutiny, and has experienced it frequently after matches.

Members of the Roma community scrape together a living in the trash-strewn slums outside Romania's capital by setting fire to computers, electrical cables and anything else they can find that contains metal.

Australian authorities have identified a second case of a rare blot clot likely linked to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

The increasing pressure on ICU wards — where today 1,334 people are currently receiving care — comes amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the Eastern European country. ___PHOENIX — Arizona on Saturday reported 735 additional confirmed coronavirus cases with 42 more deaths amid indications of continued slowing of the coronavirus outbreak. Arizona’s pandemic totals rose to 835,765 cases and 16,733 deaths, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard. The government on Saturday reported cases topping the previous record in June. ___WARSAW, Poland — Poland reported more than 25,000 coronavirus cases Saturday, compared to less than 15,000 in early March.

(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)BERLIN – Protesters in Germany clashed with police Saturday over coronavirus measures, with officers using water cannons, pepper spray and batons against people trying to break through police barriers, German news agency dpa reported. Virus infections have gone up again in Germany in recent weeks and the government is set to decide next week on how to react. More than a thousand anti-vaccination protesters took to the streets in Romania's capital of Bucharest amid a surge of COVID-19 infections there. AdIn Austria, about 1,000 protesters participated in a demonstrations against the government's virus measures near Vienna's central train station. Police reprimanded several protesters who were not wearing masks and remaining too close together, news agency APA reported.

Anti-vaccination protesters rally outside the parliament building in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, March 7, 2021. Some thousands of anti-vaccination protestors from across Romania converged outside the parliament building protesting against government pandemic control measures as authorities announced new restrictions amid a rise of COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)BUCHAREST – Around 3,000 anti-vaccination protesters from across Romania converged outside the parliament building in Bucharest on Sunday as authorities announced new restrictions amid a rise of COVID-19 infections. According to a government website, more than 1.7 million people in Romania have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Romania — a country of more than 19 million people — has recorded more than 828,000 COVID-19 infections, and 20,900 people have died.

(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)GENEVA – A senior World Health Organization official said Monday it was “premature” and “unrealistic” to think the pandemic might be stopped by the end of the year, but that the recent arrival of effective vaccines could at least help dramatically reduce hospitalizations and death. The world’s singular focus right now should be to keep transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible, said Dr. Michael Ryan, director of WHO's emergencies program. “If we’re smart, we can finish with the hospitalizations and the deaths and the tragedy associated with this pandemic” by the end of the year, he said at media briefing. Ryan said WHO was reassured by emerging data that many of the licensed vaccines appear to be helping curb the virus' explosive spread. Tedros also noted that for the first time in seven weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases increased last week, after six consecutive weeks of declining numbers.

All rights reservedMELBOURNE – The Latest on the Australian Open (all times local):9:45 p.m.Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open final for the ninth time by beating No. ___7 p.m.Barbora Krejcikova has set up a shot at an Australian Open doubles double over the next couple of days. ___3:35 p.m.Naomi Osaka has stopped Serena Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title in the Australian Open semifinals. The 23-year-old Osaka also won last year's U.S. Open and the 2019 Australian Open. Djokovic is seeking a ninth Australian Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.

Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, will relax its third lockdown restrictions after authorities contained the spread of a COVID-19 cluster centered on hotel quarantine. (Erik Anderson/AAP Image via AP)MELBOURNE – Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, will relax its third lockdown on Wednesday and allow spectators to return to the Australian Open tennis tournament after a five-day absence. Up to 30,000 tennis fans a day had been allowed into three zones in the tournament venue, Melbourne Park, before the statewide Victoria lockdown. Melbourne emerged from a 111-day lockdown in October following a fresh wave of infections that peaked at 725 cases a day. At the time, the rest of Australia was relaxing restrictions due to low case numbers after an initial nationwide lockdown.

United States' Serena Williams reacts after winning a point against Romania's Simona Halep during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – Serena Williams was not pleased with the way her play suddenly was slipping in the Australian Open quarterfinals. That was her most recent Grand Slam title. 24 on Saturday, she could end up needing to have beaten each of the top three players in the rankings: Halep, Osaka and, perhaps in the final, No. AdAt 35, Hsieh used her tricky, two-handed shots off both sides to become the oldest woman in the professional era to make her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut.

An emergency paramedic leans against a wall outside the Matei Bals hospital compound in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. A fire early Friday at a key hospital in Bucharest that also treats COVID-19 patients killed four people, authorities said. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)BUCHAREST – A fire early Friday at a key hospital in Bucharest that also treats COVID-19 patients killed at least five people, authorities said. Some hospital staff could be seen later still wearing protective suits and face masks after rushing out. AdRead Arafat, the emergency department chief, said the four victims were all hospital patients.

(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)BUCHAREST – Romania’s parliament on Wednesday approved a new liberal government and prime minister, keeping out of power a left-leaning populist party that won most votes at a parliamentary election earlier this month. Some 260 lawmakers in Romania’s 465-seat, two-chamber assembly on Wednesday voted for the new government, while 186 voted against. Former investment banker and finance minister Florin Citu become the new prime minister at a time when Romania is struggling against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. “I assure you that I will not deceive your trust," Citu told the parliament. Citu was backed by three more parties, giving him a majority in Romania’s two-chamber parliament.

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2020, file photo, a metal structure sticks out from the ground on the Batca Doamnei hill, outside Piatra Neamt, northern Romania. Its straight sides and height appear similar to one discovered in the Utah desert and another that was found in Romania. The 3-sided, 10-foot-tall, 200-pound monolith was similar to two others discovered recently in the Utah desert and in Romania. Video posted online showed a group of young men wearing night-vision goggles toppling what appears to be the monolith before dawn while chanting “Christ is king” and “America First." Federal and state officials in Utah had also expressed concern about the area around the monolith being overrun.

___The Italian swim team’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are in crisis with 10 more athletes testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini was already at home in isolation after testing positive last week. The federation says all of the swimmers are asymptomatic and that no staff members have tested positive. ___The Mountain West football game between New Mexico and Colorado State has been canceled due to COVID-19. Overall contenders Simon Yates and Steven Kruijswijk had already been withdrawn from the race after testing positive.

Women peel potatoes outside a snack bar amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. — Queen Elizabeth II honored the work of doctors and nurses, delivery drivers, fundraisers and volunteers during the coronavirus pandemic. ___PHOENIX -- A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says coronavirus cases in Arizona dropped 75% following the implementation of mask mandates. Arizona’s stay-at-home order expired on May 15 and two weeks later the daily average number of coronavirus cases climbed 151%. ___PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The University of Rhode Island has issued a two-week shelter-in-place order for fraternity and sorority houses because of a high number of coronavirus cases.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):___8:30 p.m.Two-time French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem survived a spirited comeback by a French wild-card entry to win their fourth-round match in five sets. He equaled his best Grand Slam showing by reaching his fourth major quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 win over Lorenzo Sonego. Organizers said the sixth-seeded German player did not consult their doctors before his fourth-round match against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner, despite the symptoms he later disclosed in his news conference after he was beaten 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. While there have been upsets in the women's draw, it's business as usual for Rafael Nadal among the men at the French Open. It's quickly becoming a day of upsets at the French Open, with Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan beating the fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-4, 6-4.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – At the mere mention of Novak Djokovic’s name, at the mere thought of sharing a court with a 17-time Grand Slam champion and the French Open’s No. He used these phrases: “really, really excited” and “really, really happy” and “really, really special.”Galan is, after all, ranked 153rd and never had won so much as one main-draw match at any major tournament until this week. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ, plays 87th-ranked Paula Badosa, who arrived in Paris with a 1-5 Grand Slam record. “Well,” came Galan’s reply, “I was wondering that, to be honest.”And then he launched into a story about how he was “really, really nervous” before playing former top 10-member David Goffin in the Davis Cup Finals last November.

(AP Photo/YK Chan)WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are extending the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end of October amid reports of recent outbreaks of the new coronavirus on ships overseas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that it was extending a no-sail order on cruise ships with the capacity to carry at least 250 passengers. In the 24 hours since 10 a.m. Tuesday, the state reported 1,048 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 88,555. Oklahoma is in the red zone for virus cases, meaning 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population, with a rate of 201 new cases per 100,000. The number of reported coronavirus cases in the state increased by 980 on Wednesday and there were 13 additional deaths due to COVID-19, the health department said.

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – Prepping in the relative warmth of a gym before heading out with leggings and long sleeves to make her French Open debut against the tournament’s No. I realized it’s just a tennis match. Such a far cry from last year’s French Open: Gauff failed to make it out of qualifying, while Konta was making her way to her third Grand Slam semifinal. She also made it to the fourth round at this year’s Australian Open, beating 2019 champion Naomi Osaka en route. The lack of match play coming in.

BUCHAREST – Voters in Romania were casting ballots Sunday in municipal elections, which are being viewed as a test of how the next general election on Dec. 6 will unfold for the country’s minority-led government. The left-leaning PSD remains the strongest party in Romania’s parliament, despite losing its governing majority. Next, in the country’s presidential election last November, Dancila suffered a crushing defeat to the NLP’s former leader. “We vote for a better town, wishing for cleaner streets, no stray dogs, cows and horses in the street and no more garbage in town,” Sulina resident Eugenia Radu said. “If nothing good happens (after the election), we will vote against them the next time."