Vitali Klitschko says six children hurt in overnight attack that sparked fires in apartment buildings
An overnight Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed three people and wounded dozens, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital has said.
The head of Kyiv’s military administration said early on Sunday that “several” Russian drones were operating over the city, and warned people to “remain in shelters”.
Continue reading...Attacks come after Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to US for long-range missiles and urges allies to expand sanctions on Russian oil
Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine overnight into Saturday killed at least four people and wounded 20, officials said, and prompted fresh pleas from Ukraine’s president for western air defence systems.
In the capital, Kyiv, two people were killed and 13 were wounded in a ballistic missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, Kyiv’s police said.
Continue reading...Another man in critical condition after railing reportedly breaks off in Costa Teguise
A British tourist has died after a 20ft fall from a hotel balcony in the Canary Islands.
Another Briton was left with serious injuries after the balcony railing reportedly broke off in the Lanzarote resort town of Costa Teguise.
Continue reading...Independent pledges to be ‘president for all’ after taking 63% of vote in upset for political establishment
The leftwing independent candidate Catherine Connolly has a won landslide election victory and been declared Ireland’s next president.
She pledged to be a “president for all” after securing 63% of the first preference votes, a stunning result that shook the political establishment and will make her the republic’s 10th head of state.
Continue reading...Demonstrators call on regional leader to resign over handling of one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades
More than 50,000 people took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of last year’s deadly floods and denounce the authorities’ handling of the disaster.
Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on the regional leader, Carlos Mazón, to resign over what they say was the slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades.
Continue reading...Connolly’s stunning victory humbles old parties and energises the left, yet it’s no revolution: the presidency remains symbolic
Catherine Connolly’s landslide victory in Ireland’s presidential election is a stunning political feat that humiliates the establishment but does not signify a national swerve to the left.
There was nothing inevitable about her triumph, let alone its scale. In July, when she declared her candidacy, she was a one-woman act: an independent leftwing member of parliament from Galway who was unfamiliar to most voters.
Continue reading...Doubts over whether Ankara will be part of 5,000-strong force to be deployed to prevent postwar power vacuum
Turkey will probably be excluded from the 5,000-strong stabilisation force that is to be set up inside Gaza after Israel made clear it did not want Turkish troops taking part.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said it was a requirement that Israel is comfortable with the nationality of the multinational force, set up to prevent a security vacuum when the massive task of reconstruction in Gaza starts. Turkey has said it is willing to offer troops, but Israel has let it be known that it disapproves of Turkish troops taking part in the force.
Continue reading...Vilnius and Kaunas airports closed down after balloons drift into country’s airspace for third time this month
Lithuania closed its two biggest airports on Friday and shut crossings on its border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into its territory, the third such occurrence in the Baltic state this month.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
Continue reading...Analysis of DNA from teeth of troops buried in mass grave suggests soldiers had paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever
When Napoleon ordered his army to retreat from Russia in October 1812, disaster ensued. Starving, cold, exhausted and struggling with sickness, an estimated 300,000 soldiers died.
Researchers now say they have identified two unexpected diseases among soldiers who died in the retreat – paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever – which provide fresh insights into their plight.
Continue reading...Simon handed three-month suspended sentence and fine
Olympic medallist admitted using teammate’s bank card
The French biathlete Julia Simon was found guilty of theft and credit card fraud and handed a three-month suspended prison sentence by a French court on Friday.
Simon was accused of repeatedly using the bank card of her France teammate, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, and that of a French team staff member to make online purchases totalling more than €2,000 (£1,371).
Continue reading...French investigators are analysing DNA samples and fingerprints on tools and other items found on the scene
French investigators are analysing more than 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces from tools and safety gear left by the thieves who broke into the Louvre museum and escaped with crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m).
Five days after the brazen heist from the world’s most-visited museum, Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said she had “a small hope” the jewels could still be recovered and was “optimistic” about the investigation’s outcome.
Continue reading...Ukrainian leader joined ‘coalition of the willing’ in London to discuss how to ramp up pressure on Russia
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the US to stay involved in efforts to end the war after a meeting of western allies in London that took place without Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian leader chose not to overtly lobby for the supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles at a meeting of more than 20 mainly European leaders from the “coalition of the willing” but instead emphasised the need for the west to work together.
Continue reading...His patience exhausted, the US president has taken action that could bite, but is unlikely to alter Moscow’s course in Ukraine
For once, a phone call with Vladimir Putin did not lead to a thaw.
By imposing sanctions on Russia this week, Donald Trump broke from his usual pattern of easing tensions with the Kremlin after conversations with the Russian leader, when threats of pressure often give way to talk of renewed dialogue.
Continue reading...At least 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine
North Korea has begun constructing a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting in Russia’s war on Ukraine, state media reported, as leader Kim Jong-un hailed a “historic peak” in ties with Moscow.
The so-called Memorial Museum of Combat Feats will be built in the capital, Pyongyang, where Kim and Russia’s ambassador to North Korea attended a groundbreaking ceremony, according to a reports by the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.
Continue reading...Footage showing two men appears to have been filmed from nearby window in museum
The slow-motion getaway of two thieves from the Louvre clutching €88m (£76m) of France’s crown jewels was captured on video, it has emerged – the latest dramatic twist to the country’s most spectacular heist in decades.
The 36-second clip, which Le Parisien newspaper said it had verified, shows two men dressed in black, one wearing a yellow hi-vis vest and the other a motorcycle helmet, slowly descending on a furniture lift from the museum’s Apollo gallery.
Continue reading...Gardaí deployed at Citywest facility as police issue statement urging people to stay away from violent standoff
Irish police are bracing for fresh disturbances outside a Dublin hotel that houses asylum seekers and has become a flashpoint for anti-immigration activists.
Gardaí deployed near the Citywest facility on Thursday in anticipation of another possible standoff with mobs that on Tuesday and Wednesday night threw fireworks and missiles and set a police vehicle on fire.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president says ‘time to act is now’ as Belgium seeks guarantees from other member states over loan plan
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged EU leaders to use Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defence “as soon as possible”, as summit talks on the issue of a reparations loan get bogged down.
Speaking to EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Zelenskyy called for a decision to be made to use Russian assets fully to defend his country against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
Continue reading...Officers pelted with stones and fireworks near Citywest facility after man charged over alleged assault on 10-year-old
Twenty-three people were arrested after an hours-long standoff with Irish police, whose members were directly struck with fireworks, stones and other debris on a third consecutive night of disorder in Dublin.
Two members of the Irish police service, An Garda Síochána, were taken to hospital with injuries sustained during clashes with protesters. One garda was struck on the head by a bottle while the other sustained a shoulder injury.
Continue reading...Trump administration hardens stance against the Kremlin day after cancelling a planned summit with Russian leader
The US has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, as the Trump administration increased pressure on the Kremlin to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine.
The sanctions were the first against Russia since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, and were targeted to cut key revenues from oil sales that finance the Russian war machine.
Continue reading...US and Qatar say new rules will hinder imports of LNG, posing ‘existential threat’ to European economies
The US has demanded that the European Union roll back its climate and human rights rules in order to allow greater imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as the Trump administration approved a controversial gas export hub along the Gulf of Mexico coast.
A letter jointly sent by the US and Qatar, two of the three largest LNG exporters in the world, warned the EU that its new rules pose an “existential threat” to European economies as they would hinder imports of gas from countries such as theirs.
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