Category Archives: Europe

Hong Kong is global trade hub for world’s most brutal regimes, report says

Posted on by

Pro-democracy campaign group finds exports of goods to Russia, vital to its war efforts, roughly doubled in a year

Hong Kong has become a global trade hub for “the world’s most brutal regimes”, according to a report examining the city’s role in facilitating the flow of goods to countries under sanctions by the west, including Russia, Iran and North Korea.

A report published on Monday by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a campaign group, found that between 2021 and 2022, exports of semiconductors from Hong Kong to Russia roughly doubled to $400m (£310m), second only to shipments from mainland China. Semiconductors are vital to Russia’s war effort as they are a component in weaponry such as drones and cruise missiles.

Continue reading...

Barcelona plans to raise tourist tax for cruise passengers visiting for few hours

Posted on by

Move targeting those in city for less than 12 hours is latest measure from mayor to tackle effects of mass tourism

Barcelona’s mayor plans to raise the tourist tax for cruise passengers who visit the city for less than 12 hours as part of his continuing efforts to “tackle the consequences of mass tourism” in the Catalan capital.

Jaume Collboni, a member of the Catalan Socialist party, has announced a series of measures designed to reduce overtourism and improve the city’s housing situation since taking office last year.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a very strange feeling’: can the man who won Olympic gold bring glory to the Paris Games?

Posted on by

2024 Games organiser Tony Estanguet tells how chats with British sporting legend Sebastian Coe have kept him on an even keel

It has to feel pretty weird. You’re in charge of the biggest event your country’s ever organised. You have worked on it to the exclusion, basically, of everything else in your life, for very nearly a decade. And now – it’s a week away.

“It’s a very strange feeling,” confirms Tony Estanguet, head of the 2024 Olympic Games organising committee. “I come from this small town in south-west France. My sport is a very minor one. It’s been … quite a ride. But here I am. And now, well, here we all are.”

Continue reading...

South mourns and north rejoices as Cyprus marks 50 years of ethnic division

Posted on by

Greek Cypriots in south wake to air raid sirens reminiscent of invasion while Turkish-occupied north celebrates

Cyprus has marked the landmark anniversary of 50 years of ethnic division amid markedly contrasting scenes: mourning in the south and celebration in the north.

At 5.20am Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognised south awoke to air raid sirens reminding them of the arrival of thousands of invading Turkish troops on the eastern Mediterranean island five decades ago. In the Turkish-occupied north, the milestone event was cause for joy, with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, flying in to attend a military parade and fly-past commemorating the “peace operation”.

Continue reading...

Five protesters and one police officer hurt in French reservoir demonstration

Posted on by

Violence erupts after about 4,000 gather in La Rochelle amid heightened tensions over water resources

A police officer and five protesters were injured when violence erupted after about 4,000 people turned out for a demonstration in La Rochelle over the use of reservoirs to supply large-scale agriculture, local officials said.

Police fired teargas and brought in water cannon trucks and reinforcements to disperse the demonstrators after the unrest broke out on Saturday afternoon, with several shop fronts smashed and at least seven people arrested.

Continue reading...

Life returns to Ukrainian reservoir drained by Russian strike on dam

Posted on by

A year later, animals, birds and saplings are populating a new landscape of ponds and lagoons

Standing in a scene of shimmering green, Vadym Maniuk pointed to a young white willow tree. “What happened here is a miracle,” he said. “Some of the saplings are already 4 metres tall. There is nowhere else like this on the planet. Not even the Amazon comes close.”

Maniuk, an ecologist, picked his way through a jungle of new branches. The sky above was scarcely visible. In the mud – cracked after days of sweltering temperatures – were the remains of molluscs. The scientist showed off black poplars, also racing upwards, reeds and a small mulberry. Under the leaves it was pleasantly cool.

Continue reading...

Cop29 host Azerbaijan seeks $1bn from fossil fuel producers for climate fund

Posted on by

Countries and companies involved in oil and gas extraction to be asked to join scheme aimed at tackling global heating

Fossil-fuel producing countries and companies are being asked to pay into a new international fund to help poor countries cope with the effects of the climate crisis.

The climate investment fund is being set up by the Azerbaijan government, host country of the Cop29 UN climate summit in November.

Continue reading...

European divisions risk incoherent response to any second Trump term

Posted on by

Optimists say administration would be open to persuasion while sceptics say it is beyond time to Trump-proof Europe

To be a foreign diplomat serving in the US, charged with interpreting the country’s politics so it appears predictable and explicable to your political masters in Europe, is currently no easy job.

In a week where Donald Trump purported to address the nation as a self-aware, reflective and thoughtful Christian, before reverting to type with a slew of diatribes, and where he announced a vice-presidential pick who has openly stated he does not care about the future of Ukraine one way or the other, events have moved at a pace that even the most tapped-in of ambassadors and their staff would struggle to keep up with.

Continue reading...

German national sentenced to death in Belarus, Berlin confirms

Posted on by

Secretive trial of Rico Krieger, 30, may be linked to Belarusian volunteer unit fighting alongside Ukraine against Russia

A German national has been sentenced to death in Belarus, the German foreign ministry has said, hours after a Belarusian human rights group said a German combat medic had been sentenced to death by firing squad.

The German ministry did not name its national but the Viasna Human Rights Centre said earlier on Friday that Rico Krieger, 30, had been convicted under six articles of Belarus’s criminal code in a trial held at the end of June. It said he had been in custody since November.

Continue reading...

Former factory in Dublin intended to house asylum seekers is set on fire

Posted on by

Ex-Crown Paints building in Coolock had been the scene of a large protest

A disused factory in Dublin earmarked to house asylum seekers has been set on fire following a protest at the site.

More than 1,000 people were protesting at the former Crown Paints building in Coolock on Friday night, in the north of the Irish capital, and gardaí were on the scene.

Continue reading...

Nationalist campaigner for the Ukrainian language is shot dead in Lviv

Posted on by

Iryna Farion, 60, a former MP known for her opposition to officials speaking in Russian, was attacked on the street

A nationalist former member of Ukraine’s parliament known for her vociferous campaigns to defend the Ukrainian language has died after being shot in Lviv.

Police launched a wide search for the gunman alleged to have shot Iryna Farion, 60, on a street in the western city.

Continue reading...

Former Rolls-Royce designer’s alleged killer arrested in France

Posted on by

Police say Serbian man detained near Paris after 74-year-old Ian Cameron was stabbed to death at home in Germany

The alleged killer of a British former Rolls-Royce designer who was stabbed to death at his home in Bavaria last week has been arrested outside Paris after a Europe-wide search, German police said. A motive was not immediately established.

Ian Cameron, 74, was attacked with a knife on 12 July and fatally wounded. A Serbian citizen, 22, was identified as the prime suspect based on tips from the public, the Fürstenfeldbruck police department said.

Continue reading...

Does Evan Gershkovich’s quick trial suggest a Russia-US prisoner swap is close?

Posted on by

Russian court cases often drag on for months but speed of US journalist’s trial may be sign that long-discussed exchange is in the offing

The courtroom footage of a Russian judge announcing a 16-year prison sentence for Evan Gershkovich – mumbling his way through the verdict as the US journalist looked on impassively from inside a transparent defendant’s box – will be a chilling watch for the family, friends and colleagues of the 32-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent.

But counterintuitively, the manner of the conviction and sentencing may be encouraging for Gershkovich’s supporters. In Russia’s fixed and politicised legal system, the result of the trial was never in any doubt. But Russian court cases often drag on interminably, with scattered hearings every couple of months. This one moved at lightning pace: after an initial hearing in June, the next court date was unexpectedly moved forward to this week. Evidence was heard in a few hours on Thursday afternoon, and the verdict and sentencing came on Friday.

Continue reading...

No more ‘basket-case Britain’: Europe welcomes Starmer reset in UK-EU ties

Posted on by

PM’s promise to draw line under years of fractious relations greeted with plaudits and relief by European media

Keir Starmer’s promised “reset” of the UK’s ties with the rest of Europe has drawn a positive response in European media, with one longtime journalist rejoicing that she will never again have to cover “Britain as a basket case”.

The prime minister told leaders at a meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire on Thursday that he wanted to draw a line under years of fractious relations with the rest of Europe. The relaunch was greeted with a sense of relief that after years of chaotic leadership in London a new age of cooperation was beginning.

Continue reading...

UK will not help Ukraine hit targets in Russia, defence secretary says

Posted on by

John Healey says any use of British weapons in Russia for defence reasons must be carried out by Ukrainians

Britain will not help Ukraine hit targets in Russia, the defence secretary has said, as Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed directly to the cabinet to use British-made weapons more freely.

John Healey did not rule out accepting the Ukrainian president’s request to use British-made missiles against Russian territory, but added that Britain would not be involved in any such attacks.

Continue reading...

European heatwave forecast to hit peak as health warnings issued

Posted on by

Tourists and residents swelter in heat as temperatures rise to 44C in Spain, with forest fires in Greece and Croatia

A fierce heatwave is continuing to roll across southern and central Europe, bringing temperatures of up to 44C (111.2F) to parts of Spain, sparking forest fires in Greece and Croatia, and prompting governments to urge people to take special care as the mercury rises.

In Spain, the state meteorological agency, Aemet, said temperatures on Friday could hit 40C across large parts of the country – and even 44C in areas of Andalucía – as the first heatwave of the summer hit. Aemet said the high temperatures, caused by a mass of “very hot, dry and dusty air” from North Africa, were expected to last until Saturday.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Heavy seasonal rain causes widespread flooding in China

Posted on by

Six people dead, thousands evacuated and transport disrupted after at least 20 floods in major rivers

China has been experiencing heavy and widespread rainfall since the start of the rainy season, which runs from May to September. It has resulted in at least 20 floods in major rivers across the country, with 31 rivers surpassing their flood warning levels.

Dianjiang county, in Chongqing, received 269.2mm in one day last week, a single-day record there. It led to six deaths, more than 10,000 evacuations, and 40,000 people being affected, as well as severe disruptions to rail services and transport caused by flooding.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy to attend UK cabinet meeting in effort to disrupt Russian oil sales

Posted on by

Ukraine’s president will ask for more help to block Putin’s growing ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers carrying sanctioned crude to buyers

The Ukrainian president, Volodmyr Zelenskiy, will attend an extraordinary meeting of the British cabinet on Friday to bring fresh impetus to efforts to stop Russia evading sanctions on its oil exports.

Zelenskiy will be the first foreign leader to visit Downing Street since Keir Starmer was elected prime minister two weeks ago and the first foreign leader to address cabinet in person since the US president Bill Clinton in 1997.

Continue reading...

Macron ally wins surprise re-election as national assembly speaker

Posted on by

Vote for centrist MP Yaël Braun-Pivet marks first step out of governing limbo since snap elections left country divided

French lawmakers have re-elected a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist bloc as president of parliament’s lower house, a possible breakthrough in attempts to form a majority amid deadlock.

French politics have been in gridlock after a snap election this month left the country without any clear path to forming a new government as Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games.

Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says he is open to processing asylum seekers offshore

Posted on by

PM wants to rethink UK’s immigration policies but did not make progress on returns deal at summit with EU leaders

Keir Starmer is looking into plans to process asylum seekers outside the UK as part of a rethink of the government’s immigration policies, even as a returns agreement with the EU appears more distant than ever.

The prime minister said on Thursday he was open to the idea of Britain processing claims offshore, after a day spent discussing illegal migration with fellow European leaders at Blenheim Palace. Those talks, as part of the European Political Community summit, included a meeting with Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, whose country processes asylum claims on behalf of Italy.

Continue reading...