Kallas has been nominated to serve as the EU’s next high representative for foreign affairs, succeeding Josep Borrell
Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen was sentenced in absentia to eight years jail by a Moscow court today, AFP reported.
The court sentenced Gessen for “knowingly spreading false information about the use of the Russian army.”
Continue reading...Supporters enjoy a ‘buzzing’ atmosphere and predict ‘carnage’ whatever the result in match against Spain
Anticipation had been building on Benidorm’s Calle Gerona, affectionately known as the strip, from early in the afternoon.
Some holidaymakers had travelled especially to the town in the hope of finding the ultimate party atmosphere in which to celebrate: Spain’s most British town.
Continue reading...Bremen says symbol, used to call for silence in class, ‘in danger of being mistaken’ for Turkish extremist ‘wolf salute’
A city in northern Germany has become the first to issue an all-out ban on the use of a hand gesture used to encourage silence in the classroom because of its close resemblance to a far-right Turkish gesture.
The “silent fox” gesture – where the hand is posed to resemble an animal with upright ears (the little and forefinger) and a closed mouth (the middle fingers pressed against the thumb) – has long been seen as a useful teaching tool by educators in Germany and elsewhere. It signals to children that they should stop talking and listen to their teacher.
Continue reading...More than 50,000 England fans expected in German capital as men’s side hope to make history against Spain
Tens of thousands of England fans are arriving in Berlin as Gareth Southgate’s men’s team attempt to make history and beat Spain to win a first major tournament since 1966.
More than 50,000 England fans are expected to be in German capital for the final of the European championship, many of whom will be without tickets.
Continue reading...Britain’s new PM and his team are genuinely excited to have seized the reins of power in Westminster – but are under no illusion about the size of the task ahead
When the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, invited Wes Streeting into Downing Street to appoint him health secretary on Friday 5 July, the exchanges behind closed doors were entirely cordial.
But things rarely run 100% smoothly in the first days of a new administration as a complete government jigsaw is put together, piece by piece.
Continue reading...Prime minister wants to foster a new spirit of cooperation and partnership to confront the crises facing the continent
Keir Starmer has promised a new era of closer relations with Europe to ensure future generations can look back “on what our continent achieved together” before a key meeting of European leaders this week.
Starmer said Europe as a whole faced security crises and linked problems over migration, and that Britain should be at the heart of the continent’s efforts to confront them.
Continue reading...Presidents and prime ministers denounce shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania and wish him a quick recovery
Leaders from around the world have condemned the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania, denounced political violence and wished Trump a quick recovery.
Trump posted on social media that he had been shot in the upper part of his right ear and that there was “much bleeding”. His campaign said he was “doing well” and confirmed he had been discharged from the hospital and had returned to his home in New Jersey. A video of him getting off a plane unaided was posted by an aide.
Continue reading...The new national assembly meets this week, but what will happen if the three almost equal political blocs cannot agree on a prime minister?
One week after a snap general election that nobody won, and two weeks before it welcomes the world for the Olympic Games, France is still without a new prime minister or government and in political chaos.
As the French celebrate Bastille Day, the national 14 July holiday, the squabbling and stalemate between the three groupings that took the most seats but failed to secure a parliamentary majority continued with warnings that it could be two months before a solution is found.
Continue reading...Last Monday’s strike brought terror to the Ukrainian capital, but also a renewed sense of solidarity in the face of tragedy
It was Monday lunchtime and Eka Grbich was waiting to see her doctor at a private maternity clinic in Kyiv. The news that morning was terrible. Ukraine was under a massive Russian attack. One cruise missile hit the capital’s main Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. Another destroyed a block of flats, killing and entombing many of those inside.
Grbich posted distressing images from the hospital on her Instagram account. She made a couple of work calls. And then, suddenly, her own world went dark. “There was a very loud noise. It happened in one second. There was smoke and I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t feel pain. I was thinking: ‘Am I alive?’. Somebody helped me to stand up.”
Continue reading...Exclusive: Talks at Blenheim Palace will centre on Ukraine, security and democracy
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to travel to the UK next week to address European leaders at Blenheim Palace who are meeting to discuss Ukraine, European security and democracy.
He will also make his first visit to Ireland on Saturday morning when he touches down in Shannon airport, Co Clare, for a meeting with the Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris.
Continue reading...Rapper is one of several Dutch The Voice stars accused of sexual misconduct, in high-profile case that gripped the country
A Dutch court has sentenced a former coach on talent show The Voice of Holland to two years in prison for rape, in a high-profile case that gripped the country.
Ali B, 42, was found guilty of raping a woman known as “Naomi” during a writer’s room in 2018 – allegations he has denied.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...Spanish PM hails a great day for Spain after party pulls out of coalitions with conservative People’s party
Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has hailed a great day for the country after the far-right Vox party relinquished its grip on power by abandoning its coalition governments with the conservative People’s party (PP) in five key regions after disagreements over migration policy.
Vox’s leader, Santiago Abascal, announced the withdrawal on Thursday night, after days of arguments with the PP over its decision to support the central government’s plans to bring about 400 unaccompanied minors from the Canary Islands and redistribute them around the mainland.
Continue reading...218 MPs reject bill while 215 vote for draft law that would have decriminalised act of facilitating abortions
Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU has already caused damage, the German foreign ministry said today, Reuters reported.
Budapest took over the rotating presidency on July 1. The Hungarian far right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, fuelled controversy over the past days by travelling to Russia and China without backing from his EU counterparts.
Continue reading...Ukraine has been pushing its western allies to allow use of their weapons further into Russia
Donald Trump will “make peace” in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said after visiting the former president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Orban posted photos of himself and Trump, who is running for re-election in November, each giving a thumbs up in a room at the resort.
Continue reading...At least 56 people survive after early morning rescue involving French coastguard, navy boat and helicopter
Four people died overnight trying to cross the Channel to reach Britain, French officials have said.
A rescue operation took place off Boulogne-sur-Mer on France’s northern coast after reports of people in the sea. Four of those pulled from the sea had drowned.
Continue reading...After the UK justice minister praised the system in the Netherlands, experts there say the reality is more complex
Earlier this year, before he became the UK justice minister, James Timpson described how Britain should follow the Dutch example of mild sentencing to help solve the prisons crisis.
“They have shut half their prisons not because people are less naughty in Holland,” he told Channel 4. “It’s because they have a different way of sentencing, which is community sentencing so people can stay at home, keep their jobs, keep their homes, keep reading their children bedtime stories, and it means they are far less likely to commit crime again. A custodial sentence is not always the right thing.”
Continue reading...Analysis by Dutch researchers shows coordinated activity in France, Germany and Italy in run-up to ballot
Coordinated networks of accounts spreading disinformation “flooded” social media in France, Germany and Italy before the elections to the European parliament, Dutch researchers have found.
After an in-depth analysis of disinformation on the platform X in four EU countries, the researchers concluded that many of the accounts had been set up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but were cranked up in the weeks and days before the vote, with growth in their numbers of followers rocketing.
Continue reading...Marine Tondelier, whose party forms part of the election-winning New Popular Front, says politics must change to regain voters’ trust
The French Green leader, Marine Tondelier, has said the risk of the far right rising to power in France has not disappeared after the snap election, and politics must urgently change to regain voters’ trust.
“It was a warning,” Tondelier said of this month’s election, where a spectacular rush of tactical voting in the final round held back Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally. The RN’s first-round surge had brought it the closest it had ever been to a parliament majority and entering government.
Continue reading...Also snubbing Biden, the prime minister has enraged Nato allies as he tries to broker a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will fly to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday to meet with Donald Trump, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.
Orbán has enraged his Nato allies by meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping en route to the alliance’s summit in Washington DC. He has also met with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, and is said to be quietly negotiating his own ceasefire plan without consulting either the Biden administration or other EU countries.
Continue reading...DNA studies suggest disease was central to devastating collapse of northern European population 5,000 years ago
A devastating population collapse that decimated stone age farming communities across northern Europe 5,000 years ago may have been driven by an outbreak of the plague, according to research.
The cause of the calamity, known as the Neolithic collapse, has long been a matter of debate.
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