Prosecutors claimed four members of family underpaid staff and gave them little freedom to leave Geneva mansion
A Swiss court has handed jail sentences to four members of Britain’s richest family for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion.
The Hindujas, who were not present in court, were acquitted of human trafficking but convicted of other charges on Friday in a stunning verdict for the family, whose fortune is estimated at £37bn.
Continue reading...Oleh Sentsov’s film Real is 90 minutes of frontline action captured when he didn’t realise his camera was on
In the new film by the Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov, soldiers pinned down in a trench try to organise the evacuation of a group of fellow fighters who are stuck and wounded in a frontline position.
Sentsov, who spent several years as a political prisoner in Russia and is now fighting in the Ukrainian army, found the 90 minutes of shaky footage six months after the battle. He was going through old files on his GoPro camera and realised it had been switched on that day.
Continue reading...Spanish city is one of Europe’s top destinations but its popularity has made housing increasingly unaffordable for residents
Barcelona, a top Spanish holiday destination, has announced it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly drastic move as it seeks to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city livable for residents.
The city’s leftist mayor, Jaume Collboni, said on Friday that by November 2028, Barcelona would scrap the licences of the 10,101 apartments currently approved as short-term rentals.
Continue reading...Spanish police say they have the resources it needs for hunt for 19-year-old who was last heard from on Monday
Spanish police have rejected an offer of support from Lancashire constabulary as the hunt for the missing British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife continues.
Lancashire police said it had made “an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources” in their efforts. The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle was last heard from between 8am and 9am on Monday morning when he contacted a friend.
Continue reading...Apple says competition rules that require functionality with rival products would compromise privacy and security
Apple will delay launching three new artificial intelligence features in Europe because European Union competition rules require the company ensure that rival products and services can function with its devices. The features will launch in the fall in the US but will not arrive in Europe until 2025.
The company said on Friday three features – Phone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence – will not be rolled out to EU users this year because of regulatory uncertainties due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Continue reading...People in Lyon say country at dangerous juncture in snap elections after National Rally’s EU parliamentary gains
They marched through the narrow streets of Lyon’s medieval old town, about three dozen of them, emboldened after the French far-right gains in the European elections. Masks covering their faces, they wound past the hidden passageways that provided cover for the resistance during the second world war, chanting: “We are fucking Nazis” and “Islam out of Europe”.
For some in this French city, last week’s far-right demonstration, captured on video, was a chilling reminder of just how much is at stake in the snap parliamentary elections that could see the French far-right lead government.
Continue reading...The designer homed in on staples for the show, without losing a sense of adventure or playfulness
The Dior menswear designer Kim Jones has gained a reputation as a somewhat prolific collector of art and rare books. His homes are peppered with pieces by Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol, and he is the owner of the largest collection of Virgina Woolf books and letters in the world – 21,000 pieces and counting. So it’s not surprising the aesthete enjoys melding the world of art with his other great love, fashion.
For his latest spring/summer 2025 collection that he showed in Paris on Friday afternoon Jones worked with the South African ceramicist Hylton Nel. The octogenarian is best known for his plates, pots, figures and vases featuring whimsical illustrations and satirical text.
Continue reading...Countries in the 27-nation bloc formally approve the launch of accession negotiations on Tuesday
A member of Russia’s lower house of parliament said law enforcement authorities need to do more to protect civilians from ex-convicts who have returned home from fighting in Ukraine.
Nina Ostanina, a Communist Party deputy who has been sanctioned by Western countries over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, told the gazeta.ru newspaper in an interview that violent crimes involving decommissioned soldiers “will be even more numerous” if authorities do not act.
Continue reading...German chancellor and LSE professor Lea Ypi speak on ‘freedom, peace and progress’ at event chaired by Guardian’s editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said at the Progressive Governance Summit that globalisation is a benefit for world development.
There must be an answer to the question why the most lucky countries in the world have “right-populist movements and unrest,” he said.
Continue reading...Filmmakers and students evicted by police in 2022 make a triumphant return to the historic venue after raising funds to buy it for €2.7m
Two years after being evicted by Paris police, a collective of students and film-industry professionals returned to the arthouse cinema they had occupied from 2019 to 2022 on Thursday to reinstall the wheels of a 35mm projector.
The crucial difference is that this time they did so as legal owners of the keys to the 600 sq metre community cinema in the French capital’s Latin quarter, appropriately called La Clef (The Key).
Continue reading...National Rally’s Hervé Breuil, 68, hospitalised after being assaulted as he handed out flyers in central France before snap elections
Masked assailants have assaulted a far-right candidate on the campaign trail ahead of France’s snap parliamentary election, in the latest incident of violence targeting politicians across Europe.
Police said Hervé Breuil, a candidate for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, was assaulted as he handed out flyers on Thursday morning with four others in the industrial city of Saint Étienne, in central France.
Continue reading...Ex-footballer reportedly struck on the head with butt of a gun and detained in a room while Italy game was on TV
The Italian football legend Roberto Baggio was robbed and beaten at gunpoint in his home on Thursday while watching the Italy-Spain match in the European Championship with his family.
A group of at least five armed individuals forcibly entered the villa in Altavilla Vicentina, located in northern Italy, at 10pm local time.
Continue reading...Officials say Cyprus is ‘pillar of peace’ amid shock at warning it could become a target for Lebanese group
Cypriots have reacted with shock after threats from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that Cyprus could become a target if it allows Israel to use its territory in any conflict between the two sides, who diplomats fear are on the brink of a fully fledged war.
Despite the EU expressing unreserved support for its easternmost member, it was clear on Thursday that the Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s warning had set off alarm bells in Nicosia where officials insisted the island republic remained a “pillar of peace” in an otherwise volatile region.
Continue reading...Alleged rape of girl, 12, in suspected antisemitic attack contributing to ‘very difficult climate’ as election looms
Many Jewish people are “questioning [their] future in France”, a community leader has said, after a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a suspected antisemitic attack and fears deepen about the rise of extremism before a parliamentary election this month.
“The climate is very, very difficult for Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, the president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif), said on Thursday. “People are very, very worried about the future,” he said. “People are, I would say, questioning the future in France.”
Continue reading...Rutte’s appointment comes as Ukraine faces pressure from Russian bombardment in eastern regions
The outgoing Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has won the race to become the next head of Nato at a perilous moment for the western alliance, after his only rival withdrew his bid.
The long-serving Dutch leader is expected to be confirmed formally as Nato’s secretary general in the coming days and take over when the incumbent head, Jens Stoltenberg, steps down on 1 October after nearly a decade in charge.
Continue reading...Jay Slater, 19, reported missing on Monday morning after phoning friend while walking in vast nature reserve
Friends of a British teenager who disappeared in Tenerife have urged British and Spanish police to send reinforcements to aid the search as they have resorted to hunting for evidence and interviewing potential witnesses themselves.
Police on the island have been looking for Jay Slater, a 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire, since Monday morning with the help of drones and a helicopter.
Continue reading...Ksenia Karelina was detained in January during a trip to visit family and faces up to 20 years in prison
A Russian American ballerina who lives and works in Los Angeles has gone on trial for treason over an alleged donation of $50 to a pro-Ukrainian charity, in the latest court case to raise tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Ksenia Karelina, 32, was detained by police in the city of Yekaterinburg in late January while on a trip to visit her family in Russia.
Continue reading...Governing socialists say FNFF fails to comply with legislation that forbids any attempt to glorify regime
Spain’s socialist-led government has begun legal action to shut down a group that exists to promote and preserve the legacy of Gen Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled the country for almost 40 years.
In a statement on Thursday morning, Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, said he had initiated judicial proceedings to have the National Francisco Franco Foundation (FNFF) dissolved because of its failure to comply with legislation that forbids any attempt to glorify the Franco regime.
Continue reading...After delays in delivery and training pilots and ground staff, Netherlands says Ukraine should get first planes in summer
At a military base in the rural south of the Netherlands, Gen Arnoud Stallmann, a Dutch air force commander, said he expected that at some point this summer, F-16 fighter jets would finally take to the skies over Ukraine.
“Around this summertime, it is all lining up,” he said, speaking in front of two disused F-16s inside a hangar at the base, where a recent programme to train Ukrainian air force instructors in maintenance for the jets had just come to a close.
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un’s agreement raises western alarm about possible Russian help for nuclear programme
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have signed a pact that includes a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either is attacked, a move that has raised western concerns about potential Russian aid for Pyongyang’s missile or nuclear programmes.
The inclusion of a mutual defence clause in their comprehensive strategic partnership, which Kim described as an “alliance”, will add to the west’s alarm over growing economic and military ties between North Korea and Russia. The deal was finalised on Wednesday after hours of talks in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
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