Researchers find climate crisis aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall and deadly floods
Planet-heating pollution doubled the chance of the extreme levels of rain that hammered central Europe in September, a study has found.
Researchers found global heating aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in countries from Austria to Romania.
Continue reading...PM to give speech on international issues as team hopes to set up talks with both presidential candidates
Keir Starmer is heading to the US for his third trip in three months, with aides pressing for meetings with the presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Fresh from his speech at the Labour conference, the prime minister headed to the United Nations general assembly in New York where the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will be pushing for a deal on the use of Storm Shadow missiles against Russia.
Continue reading...Trattoria Meloni contains 70 portraits of Italian PM and is near site where arrivals to the EU are processed
A restaurant dedicated to Giorgia Meloni has opened in the vicinity of a camp in Albania where the asylum claims of people who seek to enter the EU by sea will be processed as part of a controversial pact promoted by the Italian far-right prime minister.
Trattoria Meloni, a seafood restaurant in the northern port of Shëngjin, was opened by Gjergj Luca, a restaurant owner who is close to the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama.
Continue reading...Criminal case opened after Sarco capsule – which releases nitrogen gas at the touch of a button – used in Merishausen
Swiss police say they have opened a criminal investigation and arrested several people after the suspected death of a woman in a so-called suicide capsule.
According to local reports, the capsule, named the Sarco Pod by its inventor, was used for the first time on Monday afternoon in a forest close to the German border in the Swiss town of Merishausen.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org and Open Counseling
Continue reading...Country held chair due to rotating presidency despite Orbán government being under EU sanctions procedure
Hungary’s government has presided over EU talks on upholding democratic standards across the continent, in a development one prominent MEP described as “outrageous”.
Viktor Orbán’s government has been under an EU sanctions procedure since 2018 for posing a “systemic threat” to democracy and the rule of law.
Continue reading...Ukraine president expected to reiterate plea to use western weapons deep inside Russia when he meets Joe Biden. This live blog is closed
Russia plans to maintain defence spending at an historic high in 2025, Bloomberg News reports, suggesting that the Kremlin intend to continue its invasion of Ukraine for the foreseeable future.
The Kremlin is increasing up the spending as its forces slowly advance in eastern Ukraine. The Russian government has raised personal and corporate taxes to plug holes in the budget.
Draft three-year budget proposals seen by Bloomberg News show the government intends to increase defense spending to 13.2tn rubles ($142bn) in 2025 from 10.4tn rubles projected for this year, putting it at 6.2% of gross domestic product.
Military expenditure is planned to decline to 5.6% of GDP in 2026 and 5.1% in 2027, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the draft data.
Continue reading...Ursula von der Leyen criticised for merging equality commissioner role into brief including crisis management
More than 50 rights organisations from across Europe have expressed their “shock and dismay” at Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as a “downgrading” of the fight against discrimination.
Von der Leyen presented her lineup for the new commission in Brussels earlier this month. Her 27 commissioner designates – senior EU officials who hold positions akin to government ministers – included Hadja Lahbib, currently Belgium’s foreign minister, who was tasked with a portfolio that spans preparedness and crisis management as well as equality.
Continue reading...Letter sent to EU said Brexit had gravely affected ‘the coherence of policies’ on asylum and migration
Germany and France have called for a Europe-wide deal on migration and asylum with the UK government, to capitalise on Labour’s more “constructive” approach to EU-UK relations.
In a letter to the EU home affairs commissioner, the German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, and her former French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, said Brexit had gravely affected “the coherence of migration policies”.
Continue reading...Supporters say UN mediation has prevented even worse outcomes, but security council is stuck in vicious circle
As diplomats from nearly 200 member states gather in New York this week for the United Nations general assembly against the backdrop of a massive Israeli bombing campaign in southern Lebanon, a nagging question to be addressed is whether the UN is too broken to be fixed.
UN officials are facing three intractable conflicts, in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan. While it remains one of the most important humanitarian organisations on Earth, organising relief efforts for refugees, natural disaster victims and others in dire need, the UN’s principal security body appears to be powerless to intervene in some of the world’s most grinding conflicts.
Continue reading...Trading relationships at ‘breaking point’ because of delays and costs, garden centres and nurseries warn
Exporters of plants and flowers from mainland Europe are turning their backs on supplying Britain as “painful” new Brexit border checks are putting some trading relationships at “breaking point”, garden centres and nurseries have warned.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which represents garden retailers and growers, said long-held links between British nurseries and EU suppliers were now being put under strain because of the delays and costs associated with the new border processes.
Continue reading...Analysis of satellite images show 60-metre crater at silo suggesting a ‘catastrophic failure’ after ignition
Russia’s Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile – known in the west as Satan II – appears to have suffered a “catastrophic failure” during a test launch, according to analysis of satellite images.
The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres (200 feet) wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month.
Continue reading...Some jewellery historians believe it features diamonds from infamous piece at centre of Marie Antoinette scandal
An antique diamond necklace worn at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation and may be linked to a French scandal involving Marie Antoinette could fetch as much as £2m at auction.
The necklace, made of 300 carats, was also worn to King George VI’s coronation by members of the Marquess of Anglesey family, who owned the diamonds until the 1960s when they sold them.
Continue reading...Suspects accused of conning two women out of €325,000 by pretending to be Hollywood star online
Spanish police have arrested five people accused of scamming two women out of €325,000 (£271,000) by posing as the Hollywood star Brad Pitt online.
The suspects made contact with the women on an internet page for fans of the Oscar-winning actor and led them to believe “they had a sentimental relationship with him”, Spain’s Guardia civil police force said in a statement on Monday.
Continue reading...Appointment of Bruno Retailleau is most striking example of reactionary right taking power, says Socialist leader
The French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has promised to “restore order” by cracking down on crime and immigration, as critics on the left complained that the new government had leaned too far towards the “reactionary right”.
On Monday, as Michel Barnier’s new cabinet began work after more than two months of unprecedented political crisis in France, Retailleau said: “The French people want more order – order in the streets, order at the borders.”
Continue reading...Choice of recipient and presenter causes anger at council as Italy’s far-right PM renews links with Trump allies
Elon Musk is to present Giorgia Meloni with the Atlantic Council’s global citizen award in New York, as Italy’s far-right prime minister resurrects links with allies of Donald Trump before the US presidential elections.
Meloni will receive the prize during a gala dinner on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in recognition of her “groundbreaking role as Italy’s first female prime minister, her strong support of the European Union and the transatlantic alliance, and her 2024 chairmanship of the Group of Seven”.
Continue reading...Filippo Turetta accused of killing university student Giulia Cecchettin in case that has ignited calls for cultural change
A major femicide trial has opened in Italy, after the brutal murder of a university student by her ex-boyfriend that triggered outrage and national soul-searching over the roots of male violence against women.
The stabbing in November of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Padua, cast a grim spotlight on femicide in Italy, where the vast majority of victims are killed at the hands of their current or former partners.
Continue reading...Expert analysis shows crater about 60 metres wide at launch silo for Sarmat missile test
Relations with Russia should be reconsidered after its war in Ukraine is over, French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday. He was speaking in Paris during a meeting for peace organised by the Catholic community of Sant’Egidio. You can watch the video here. The Kyiv Independent has the following report containing Macron’s translated remarks:
Speaking at an event in Paris, the French president urged people to imagine “tomorrow’s peace” in Europe in a new form, and in a new reality.
“We will have to think about a new form of organisation of Europe and rethink our relations with Russia after the war in Ukraine,” Macron said.
Peskov said he had no information about a test of Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, after arms experts said on the basis of satellite imagery that it appeared to have failed in a test this month.
When asked about international chess governing body FIDE’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players ,the Kremlin said that Ukraine and the west had put pressure on FIDE.
Vladimir Putin will meet Mikhail Kovalchuk, the head of the Kurchatov nuclear research institute, on Monday.
The Kremlin said it will study Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s so-called “victory plan” if it sees official information on it. Details of the plan have not yet been released to the public.
Continue reading...Company owned by Bamford family benefits from strong US sales offsetting end of exports to Russia
JCB has reported an increase in profits last year as strong US sales made up for its exports to Russia ending and faltering demand in the UK and Germany.
The company, one of the largest manufacturers in Britain, said that pre-tax profits rose 44% to £806m last year, up from £558m in 2022, according to a summary of its accounts published on Monday.
Continue reading...Move comes after weeks of uncertainty over reports of financial problems as green vehicle sector struggles
The Swedish batterymaker Northvolt is to cut 1,600 jobs, in response to “headwinds” blowing through the electric car industry.
The battery company announced redundancies across three of its sites on Monday, including 1,000 in Skellefteå, in northern Sweden, where it is suspending the expansion of Northvolt Ett, Europe’s first homegrown battery gigafactory.
Continue reading...New PM Michel Barnier says he will not increase the tax burden and says the number of migrants ‘has become unbearable’
Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD) narrowly won yesterday’s election in Brandenburg – and the party leadership is now downplaying questions about Olaf Scholz’s candidacy in next year’s national election.
“Yesterday’s election gives us courage that we can do it, but of course I also know that the challenges and the questions we have to deal with at national level are far from dealt with as a result of yesterday evening,” the party’s co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, said today, the Associated Press reported.
Klingbeil reiterated that that Scholz’s candidacy isn’t in question.
“There is absolutely no wobbling,” he said. “In the leadership of the party, the parliamentary group, among the state governors and ministers, there is no discussion about this in any place.”