Brussels / AFP European Council President Donald Tusk urged Europeans to abandon dreams of a federal Europe as these will only stoke the rise of anti-EU populists. The former Polish prime minister, who presides over EU leaders summits, made the comments three weeks before Britain votes in a June 23 referendum on EU membership. “There is no worse prospect …

  PARIS / AP Floods inundating parts of France, Germany and Belgium have killed five people and trapped thousands in homes or cars, as rivers have broken their banks from Paris to Bavaria. And it isn’t over — more rain is forecast for the coming days in some regions, and authorities in the French capital predict the Seine River won’t reach …

  Caracas / AFP Venezuela’s opposition learns on Thursday whether authorities will let them proceed with efforts to call a referendum on removing President Nicolas Maduro, whom they blame for the country’s fall from booming oil giant to basket case. The National Electoral Board (CNE) must accept or reject an initial petition with 1.8 million signatures endorsing a recall vote …