National Rally and Socialists did not back no-confidence motion tabled by hard-left France Unbowed
The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has survived an initial confidence vote in parliament called for by the hard left, after the far-right National Rally (RN) and centre-left Socialists did not back the motion against him.
On Wednesday, 128 lawmakers voted in favour of the first motion of no confidence, well short of the 289 votes needed.
Continue reading...Italian radiologist, who says injured pet was ‘between life and death’, also operated on animal at Aosta facility
An Italian doctor has been placed under investigation after giving his cat a Cat scan at a hospital in Aosta before performing a life-saving operation on the feline.
Gianluca Fanelli took the animal, called Athena, to Umberto Parini hospital in the northern Italian region, where he is a manager of the radiology unit, after she fell from a roof.
Continue reading...European Commission also urges EU lawmakers to phase out exemption on customs duties for parcels under €150
Parcels sent from China by online retailers such as Shein and Temu will face strict new customs controls as part of a crackdown by the European Commission on “dangerous products” flooding the EU market.
Brussels officials also urged EU lawmakers to phase out the exemption on customs duties that is allowed for parcels under €150 (£125), which enables foreign suppliers to sell cheap goods in the bloc without paying the tax.
Continue reading...Tribunal’s creation was first proposed days after the full-scale invasion, but lawyers have struggled to find the right courtroom for nearly three years
International lawyers have “laid the foundations” for a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression, the EU has said, hailing a significant step towards holding Vladimir Putin and his top officials accountable for the invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement late on Tuesday, the EU executive declared a breakthrough that it said would mean the Russian political and military leaders “who bear the greatest responsibility” would be held to account.
Continue reading...Freeze to EU’s LIFE programme funding would deprive 30 NGOs of up to 70% of annual incomes
Several environmental NGOs could be effectively shut down in Europe, if a defunding push by rightwing MEPs is successful, campaigners say.
At the same time that centre and far right MEPs are revving up strategies to defang, deregulate or decapitate the European Green Deal, an EU plan to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, a proposed funding freeze in the European Parliament would weaken green groups.
Continue reading...Germany’s Olaf Scholz criticises Trump’s transactional foreign policy as ‘very selfish, very self-centred’
Ukraine is open to “investment” from allies as long as they help it fight Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, after Donald Trump demanded Kyiv supply the US with rare earth resources – critical elements used in electronics – in exchange for military aid.
The US president’s proposal has been criticised as exploiting Russia’s invasion for material gain, with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, calling the plan “selfish”. However, Ukrainian media reported that the idea may have originated in Kyiv as an incentive to keep weapon shipments flowing into the country.
Continue reading...Video posted online is said to show Trump Jr with a ruddy shelduck while on hunting trip
Donald Trump Jr has been accused of killing a protected duck while hunting in the Venice lagoon.
Andrea Zanoni, a regional councillor in Veneto, said a video of a hunting trip in northern Italy showed Trump Jr with the body of a rare ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea).
Continue reading...Findings published as as country prepares legislation to reduce childhood obesity
Almost a third of Spain’s school canteens are offering students too many portions of fried food each week, while more than a third are not providing them with enough fresh vegetables, according to a study from the country’s national food agency.
The findings, based on figures from 2023, come as Spain’s socialist-led government prepares legislation that aims to reduce obesity by targeting unhealthy, sugary foods and making the food agency’s recommendations obligatory.
Continue reading...Mountaineers now scaling more peaks for first global study of nanoplastics, which can enter lungs and bloodstream
Particles from vehicle tyre wear are the biggest source of nanoplastic pollution in the high Alps, a pioneering project has revealed.
Expert mountaineers teamed up with scientists to collect contamination-free samples and are now scaling peaks to produce the first global assessment of nanoplastics, which are easily carried around the world by winds.
Continue reading...Former party deputy chair Jack Lopresti said to be carrying out support work to help the country’s fight against Russia
A former Conservative MP ousted in the 2024 election has reportedly joined the International Legion in Ukraine in a non-combat role to help the fight against Russia.
Jack Lopresti, who represented the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency in South Gloucestershire from 2010 to 2024, is carrying out support work for the unit, including foreign relations and diplomacy duties, weapons procurement and work with veterans and charities, the Independent reported.
Continue reading...French president and other leaders call for cooperation with Washington but vow a robust response if needed
The EU will stand up for itself if its interests are targeted, Emmanuel Macron has said, as the bloc’s leaders urged talks – but a firm response if needed – in response to Donald Trump’s weekend threat to impose punishing tariffs.
“If our commercial interests are attacked, Europe, as a true power, will have to make itself respected and therefore react,” the French president said as he arrived for an informal defence meeting with other leaders in Brussels on Monday.
Continue reading...Bill to rule out interference from abroad expected to pass this week as country prepares for polls before 6 April
Greenland plans to ban foreign political donations over fears about potential interference in its forthcoming elections after attracting Donald Trump’s interest.
The government of the autonomous territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the kingdom of Denmark, announced details of a bill on Monday intended to “safeguard the political integrity of Greenland”.
Continue reading...PM says UK does not have to choose between Europe and US, before meeting EU leaders in Brussels
Keir Starmer has said he wants an “ambitious security partnership” with the EU, while insisting the UK does not have to choose between Europe and the US.
The prime minister was speaking before meeting EU leaders in Brussels to discuss security and defence, the first time a British leader has attended a European Council meeting since Britain left the EU five years ago.
Continue reading...Prospective chancellor takes startlingly aggressive line against those protesting against gamble with AfD
The German conservative opposition leader, Friedrich Merz, whose party is widely tipped to win this month’s general election, defended his hardline migration proposals after a wave of protests accused him of breaching the time-honoured “firewall” between the far right and centrists.
In an uncompromising speech to a party congress of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin, Merz said he was confident they would win the 23 February vote “with a very good result”, well ahead of the anti-immigration, anti-Islam Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has been consistently placing second in the polls.
Continue reading...PM wants to ‘see all allies stepping up’, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has rattled Vladimir Putin
Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to put more economic pressure on Russia, saying Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions has left Vladimir Putin “rattled”.
Before a meeting in Brussels on Monday, the prime minister said it was necessary to “see all allies stepping up – particularly in Europe” when it comes to inflicting economic harm on Russia, and argued it would help bring about peace by ending the Ukraine war sooner.
Continue reading...Schools shut as precautionary measure and people told to avoid shoreline after hundreds of seismic tremors
Greek authorities have dispatched special forces, rescue teams, tents and drones to the island of Santorini after hundreds of seismic tremors were recorded in the area.
Amid fears of a bigger earthquake that could cause a tsunami, people were advised to avoid the shoreline and derelict buildings, to empty swimming pools and to refrain from gathering in large numbers in enclosed spaces. The civil protection ministry said schools would be shut as a precautionary measure on Monday.
Continue reading...Nika Melia and Gigi Ugulava detained as thousands try to block highway into Tbilisi amid unrest against ruling party
Georgian police arrested two opposition leaders during a street protest against the ruling party on Sunday, a move quickly denounced by the EU, which condemned Tbilisi’s “brutal crackdown”.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by daily mass protests since the Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October parliamentary elections rejected by the opposition as falsified.
Continue reading...Spanish football federation’s former president is accused of sexual assault and coercion over incident in 2023
Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales will go on trial in Madrid on Monday over the unsolicited kiss he planted on the World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, a gesture that stunned millions of TV viewers and unleashed a backlash against sexism in sport.
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault as well as coercion after allegations that he tried to force Hermoso, 34, into publicly declaring that the kiss, which occurred as she celebrated her team’s victory in the 2023 World Cup in Australia, was consensual.
Continue reading...Belgium leads calls for suspension of agreement after Rwanda-backed rebels captured city of Goma
The EU is under mounting pressure to suspend a controversial minerals deal with Rwanda that has been blamed for fuelling the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Calls to freeze the agreement have grown after fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group captured the city of Goma in the eastern DRC, escalating a decades-old conflict and raising fears of a regional war.
Continue reading...Home secretary rules out return to full union with bloc as Keir Starmer prepares for talks in Brussels this week
Keir Starmer will seek to improve customs arrangements with Europe without returning to a full union with the bloc, the home secretary has said.
As the prime minister heads to Brussels as part of his attempted reset with the EU, Yvette Cooper said it was still a red line that the UK would not be part of a customs union or single market.
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