Category Archives: Europe

Italian court upholds murder convictions of two Americans over death of police officer

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Court of appeal reduces sentences of Finnegan Lee Elder, 24, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 23 over killing of Mario Cerciello Rega

An Italian court of appeal has upheld the murder convictions of two American men over the death of an Italian plainclothes police officer during a botched sting operation but reduced their sentences. The new trial was ordered after Italy’s highest court threw out their original convictions.

The court convicted Finnegan Lee Elder and sentenced him to 15 years and two months in prison and gave a sentence of 11 years to Gabriele Natale-Hjorth.

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Thousands of Albanians honour author Ismail Kadare in Tirana

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PM pays tribute to country’s best-known novelist as coffin is covered in national flag and flowers

Thousands of Albanians have gathered in Tirana to pay tribute to their country’s best-known novelist, Ismail Kadare, who died on Monday after a heart attack.

Flags flew at half-mast as the 88-year-old writer and poet’s coffin lay in state in the entrance hall of the Opera and Ballet theatre in Skanderbeg Square, surrounded by National Guard officers.

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Banksy-funded migrant rescue boat detained in Italy after saving 37 people

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Artist calls impounding of MV Louise Michel ‘vile and unacceptable’ after rescue of 17 unaccompanied children

A rescue boat financed by Banksy has been seized by Italian authorities after being involved in an effort to rescue 37 people from the central Mediterranean sea, the British street artist and the vessel’s crew have said on social media.

The move comes just days after an inflatable boat carrying dummy refugees was launched into the crowd during a set by the British rock band Idles at the Glastonbury festival, a stunt masterminded by the anonymous graffiti artist and criticised by the UK home secretary, James Cleverly, as “vile”.

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Britain will not rejoin EU in my lifetime, says Starmer

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Labour leader also says he cannot foresee circumstances where UK would re-enter single market or customs union

Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will not rejoin either the EU, the single market or the customs union within his lifetime, in his firmest pledge yet that Labour will not seek much closer relations with Europe for as long as he is prime minister.

The Labour leader told reporters on Wednesday he did not think Britain would go back into any of the three blocs while he was alive, all but ruling out rejoining even if he wins a second term in office.

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Man charged over attack on Danish prime minister

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Suspect to plead not guilty after Mette Frederiksen assaulted in a Copenhagen square last month

A Polish man has been charged with assault over last month’s attack on the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, in a Copenhagen square.

A man walked up to Frederiksen in a square in central Copenhagen in the late afternoon on 7 June and punched her on her right upper arm. The prime minister suffered minor whiplash but was otherwise unharmed.

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Hundreds of France election candidates withdraw amid pressure over tactical approach to stopping far right – as it happened

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This live blog is closed.

It was raining in Calais on election day. A thin, penetrating, miserable drizzle blowing in off the Channel that was entirely in keeping with the mood of a great many voters as they headed to the polls in France’s most momentous ballot in living memory.

“It’s all going to shit,” said Xavier Hembert, voting with his son Arthur on the rue Philippine de Hainaut, named after Edward III of England’s French-born wife, much loved here ever since she persuaded him not to decapitate the port’s Burghers in 1347.

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EU plan to impose import duty on cheap goods could dent Shein and Temu

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Brussels move to end tax loophole exploited by China-linked marketplaces could also dent Shein’s planned London listing

The EU is moving forward with plans to impose customs duty on cheap goods in a shift that could hit imports from online retailers and harm a hoped-for London listing by the fast-fashion seller Shein.

The potential change comes amid growing disquiet among retailers based in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, and the US about rising competition from Chinese-linked marketplaces Shein and Temu, which exploit a loophole that excludes low-value items from import duty.

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French PM says efforts to prevent far-right majority can succeed

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Gabriel Attal urges on campaign to peg back rise of National Rally as candidates pull out to avoid splitting vote

France’s prime minister has said nationwide efforts to prevent Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) winning an outright majority in parliament could succeed, after more than 200 candidates pulled out of Sunday’s legislative election runoff to avoid splitting the anti-far-right vote.

“We can avoid an absolute majority for the far right,” Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday, adding that 90% of candidates from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp had quit three-way races if they were in third with an RN candidate ahead of them.

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Turkey’s Merih Demiral facing ban over ‘wolf’ celebration in win over Austria

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  • Defender’s gesture has apparent far-right connotations
  • Uefa inquiry could lead to him missing quarter-final tie

Merih Demiral, Turkey’s goalscorer from their last-16 win over Austria, could face a ban from their quarter-final against the Netherlands on Saturday after Uefa opened an investigation into a gesture with apparent far-right connotations.

Demiral, a centre-back, was the unlikely match winner for Turkey in Leipzig but may be in line for disciplinary action after celebrating his second goal with a “wolf” salute. It is associated with the right-wing extremist nationalist group Grey Wolves and is banned in Austria, where it is punishable by fines of up to £3,400, since 2019.

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A tale of two elections: how angry voters in France and UK turned on their leaders

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The countries are heading in different directions, but voters on both sides of the Channel have similar concerns

It was raining in Calais on election day. A thin, penetrating, miserable drizzle blowing in off the Channel that was entirely in keeping with the mood of a great many voters as they headed to the polls in France’s most momentous ballot in living memory.

“It’s all going to shit,” said Xavier Hembert, voting with his son Arthur on the rue Philippine de Hainaut, named after Edward III of England’s French-born wife, much loved here ever since she persuaded him not to decapitate the port’s Burghers in 1347.

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Over 200 candidates withdraw before second round of voting – France election as it happened

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The National Rally’s Jordan Bardella is debating on social media with France’s economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, about the far right’s plan to scrap nationality rights for children born and raised in France by foreign parents.

Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and a Macron ally, said that “from the first round, we made the choice in more than sixty constituencies not to present a candidate.”

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Negotiated outcome most likely result of Russia-Ukraine war, major poll says

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In thinktank’s survey of 15 European countries, few respondents believe Ukraine can secure an outright victory

A negotiated outcome with Russia, as opposed to an outright Ukrainian military victory, is now seen as the most likely outcome in most European countries, according to a major poll of 15 countries.

Support for Ukraine’s cause remains strong across Europe despite battlefield reverses, but European voters increasingly regard arming Ukraine as necessary not to achieve a complete Ukrainian battlefield victory, but instead to strengthen Ukraine’s hand in future negotiations with Russia.

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Paris mayor says rise of far right will not dampen Olympics mood

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Anne Hidalgo says Paris ‘stands up for freedom’ amid Marine Le Pen success in first round of voting

The Paris mayor has sought to reassure visitors that the festive mood at the Olympics will not be dampened by Marine Le Pen’s electoral successes in France’s snap parliamentary elections, with less than a month to go before the city hosts the Games.

“The party will not be spoilt,” Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo told broadcaster France 2 on Tuesday. “I say to visitors from the world over – come over! Because Paris is a city that stands up for freedom and is a city of resistance against the extreme right.”

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Vandals in Austria behead sculpture of Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus

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Artist behind controversial piece in Linz cathedral says vandalism shows there are still ‘people who question women’s right to their own bodies’

Vandals have beheaded a sculpture of the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus on display in the cathedral in the Austrian city of Linz. The work had drawn criticism from some Catholics, who said it was blasphemous.

The sculpture had been on view at the St Mary Cathedral, Austria’s largest, as part of an art installation about women’s roles, family images and gender equality, the Linz diocese said in a statement. It said the vandalism, which occurred on Monday, had been reported to police.

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German parliament set to impose tougher fines on unruly politicians

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Revised rules expected to be passed that will increase financial penalties after a rise in antisocial outbursts

Germany’s parliament is set to toughen up its fines for politicians who interrupt sessions with insults and rowdy behaviour, after a rise in what have been described as antisocial outbursts in the chamber.

Under the football match “yellow card, red card” principle, “provocative MPs and notorious recidivists” will in future receive “more effective punishments”, according to Bärbel Bas, the president of the Bundestag. She said particular attention would be paid to repeat offenders.

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Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to open Venice film festival

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The much-anticipated sequel to the director’s 1988 hit Beetlejuice will get its world premiere at the festival in August

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 hit Beetlejuice, has been selected as the opening film of the Venice film festival. The screening will be the world premiere of the film, which reunites original stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder with Burton.

Festival director Alberto Barbera said in a statement that it “marks the long-awaited return of one of the most iconic characters of Tim Burton’s cinema, but also the happy confirmation of the extraordinary visionary talent and the masterly realisation of one of the most fascinating auteurs of his time”.

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From conflict to the climate – what are the UK parties’ international plans?

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As the election nears, we scrutinise how each of the main contenders would deal with problems around the world

Conflicts and environmental disasters are stretching humanitarian resources, and a new UK government will have to decide what role it will play on the world stage in dealing with global problems, especially after budget cuts and closure of the Department for International Development by the Conservatives, and with priorities so focused on Ukraine. We’ve talked to the main parties and looked at their manifestos to see what their plans are.

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Viktor Orbán expected to make surprise trip to Kyiv on Tuesday

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Sources say Hungary’s pro-Russia PM planning to visit president Volodymyr Zelenskiy one day after assuming EU presidency

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is expected to travel to Kyiv on Tuesday, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans, in a surprise visit for one of Europe’s most pro-Russian leaders, which comes as Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU.

Two sources in Budapest said Orbán was expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, in the Hungarian prime minister’s first trip to neighbouring Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than two years ago.

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Air Europa plane diverts to Brazil after severe turbulence injures dozens

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About 40 passengers taken to hospitals after flight from Madrid to Montevideo forced to make emergency landing

An Air Europa flight from Madrid to Montevideo has been forced to make an emergency landing at a Brazilian airport due to “severe turbulence”, the airline said.

About 40 passengers, mostly with minor injuries, were taken to hospitals in Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte state after the plane was diverted early on Monday.

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Hurricane Beryl: Caribbean leader calls out rich countries for climate failures as ‘horrendous’ storm makes landfall

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Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines calls Cop ‘largely a talk shop’ and beseeches west to honor commitments

The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has decried a lack of political will in western Europe and the US to tackle global climate crisis as Hurricane Beryl has made landfall as an “extremely dangerous” category 4 storm.

Speaking from his residence in SVG on Monday, Ralph Gonsalves described the unfolding catastrophe as the “monster” storm ripped off rooftops, including that of the 204-year-old St George’s Anglican cathedral in the country’s capital, Kingstown.

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