Category Archives: Europe

Far-right AfD win in Germany is ‘grave moment’ for Europe, politicians warn

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Mainstream politicians express alarm while lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt welcomes congratulations from Elon Musk

Mainstream politicians around Europe have expressed alarm after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) swept to a historic state election victory in Germany, while nationalist figures cheered the result as a mandate for change.

While falling just short of an absolute majority, the AfD surged into first place in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, exit polls ⁠showed, putting the far right within reach ​of power at ‌the state level for ‌the first time since the second world war.

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Russia and North Korea open first road bridge across their shared border

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Connection across Tumen River is further sign of closer ties between the two countries since start of war in Ukraine

Russia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge across their shared border, in the latest sign of the rapidly deepening ties between the two countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The one-kilometre bridge spans the Tumen River between Khasan in Russia’s far east and Tumangang in North Korea, along a remote and sparsely populated stretch of the countries’ shared border just a few miles from the coast.

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Ukraine seeks to seize water company owned by billionaire family of British theatre mogul

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Dispute centres on stake held by Patarkatsishvili family in bottled water firm it jointly owns with Russian oligarch

A British theatre impresario and her billionaire family are embroiled in a bitter dispute with Ukrainian authorities seeking to seize a water company they jointly own with a Russian oligarch.

The row centres on a 34% stake held in the producer of Ukraine’s biggest bottled water brands by the Patarkatsishvili family, including Liana Patarkatsishvili, who recently worked on an immersive show with Toby Jones and Meera Syal.

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Far-right AfD wins key German state election but falls just short of majority

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Alternative für Deutschland surges to victory in Saxony-Anhalt as Friedrich Merz’s CDU slumps to disastrous result

The populist, far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has surged to a resounding victory in a crucial state election in Germany, but fell just short of winning a majority in its quest to form the country’s first far-right state government since the second world war.

The party of Germany’s unpopular chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democrats (CDU), slumped to a disastrous result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

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German startup sends first commercial rocket into space from Europe

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Isar Aerospace plans rapid expansion amid race to capitalise on expanding satellite-launch market

A German startup has launched the first commercial rocket to reach orbit from continental Europe, a milestone for Europe’s efforts to secure independent access to space.

Isar Aerospace said on Sunday that it would rapidly ⁠expand satellite deployments after the ⁠first orbital launch of ​its uncrewed Spectrum rocket from Arctic Norway, marking a ⁠breakthrough for a region where several countries are seeking a foothold in the fast-growing market for satellite launches.

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Canadian skyrunner goes missing during training session for Matterhorn record attempt

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  • Kalie McCrystal was hoping to break record in Alps

  • Athlete was last seen on Tuesday afternoon

Canadian athlete Kalie McCrystal has gone missing during preparations for a record attempt in the Alps.

McCrystal, from Squamish in British Columbia, was on a “reconnaissance/training session” in the run-up to her attempt at ascending and descending the 14,692 ft (4,478m) Matterhorn on the Swiss-Italian border.

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‘Nobody will win’: Zelenskyy adviser warns of mutual destruction if war with Russia continues

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Serhii Beskrestnov says deadlock on frontline and increasing use of deep strikes is placing civilians and infrastructure at greater risk

Russia and Ukraine are locked in an escalating war of long-range strikes with a growing risk to civilians in which neither side can entirely prevail, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s defence technology adviser.

Serhii Beskrestnov, widely known by his call sign, Flash, said he was worried about the prospects for Kyiv this winter, and suggested elderly people should be evacuated in case Russian bombing were to knock out the capital’s energy supply.

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Prince William to represent King Charles at funeral of Norway’s King Harald V

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Duty falls by precedent to William to attend service of late monarch, alongside Princess Royal, who is godmother to new king Haakon VIII

The Prince of Wales is to represent his father at the funeral of King Harald V of Norway next week, Buckingham Palace has announced.

William, the heir to the throne, will be joined by his aunt the Princess Royal, who is attending in a private and personal capacity as godmother of the new king, Haakon VIII.

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Europe would not be able to sustain war of attrition with Russia, defence officials say

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Security experts fear Putin may be winning hybrid war with the west amid rise of pro-Kremlin, far-right parties

Defence planners working with Nato fear that if war broke out with Russia, Europe could not currently sustain a prolonged war of attrition owing to a public lack of war readiness, a conference on the future of European military coordination heard this week.

The pessimism reflects concern that Russia may be winning a so-called hybrid war with Europe, weakening the options available to Nato war planners in the event of military conflict.

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‘Every girl now wants to be a boxer’: excitement in Katie Taylor’s home town for her valedictory bout

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Irish boxer lauded for her tenacity and inspiration before her last fight in front of 80,000 people at Croke Park

When Katie Taylor steps into the ring on Saturday night to defend her titles and once again enthral Ireland, there will be a bittersweet tinge. After a singular career that pioneered women’s boxing, the super-lightweight champion and Olympic gold medallist is bowing out. She is 40 and it is to be her final bout.

“The end of an era, isn’t it?” said Trevor McMahon, her brother-in-law and founder of a gym where she trains. “It’ll be an amazing night but it’ll also be a little bit sad. Everything she did, it might not ever be achieved again.”

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Deadly escalation in Black Sea attacks prompts fears of even higher food prices

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Russian and Ukrainian strikes in July killed more crew than in whole war to that month, preventing grain exports

A summer of hostilities in the Black Sea proved deadly for seafarers, as Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s ships and port infrastructure, preventing vital grain exports and prompting concerns that the conflict will push global food prices even higher.

More crew were killed in the Black Sea in July than during the entirety of the war before that month as the conflict has intensified, making the body of water the most dangerous in the world for commercial shipping. This is despite the conflict between the US and Iran, with vessels still being targeted in the strait of Hormuz, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

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Woman, 45, killed in Florence in seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August

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Lorena Isceri was thrown off a motorway bridge, allegedly by ex-boyfriend Federico Vella

A 45-year-old woman abducted and thrown off a motorway bridge near Florence has become the seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August.

Lorena Isceri was abducted on Thursday afternoon, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Federico Vella, in the Rifredi area of Florence, before being forced into the boot of his car and driven towards a bridge on the A1 motorway.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

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Europe weighs solutions to curtail Russia’s growing hybrid warfare

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Governments now moving faster to impose costs on Moscow for its increasing attacks over support for Ukraine

Russia’s suspected sabotage campaign across Europe appears to be gathering pace again, confronting governments with a problem they have struggled to solve since the start of the war in Ukraine: how to impose a meaningful cost on Moscow for attacks that remain deliberately below the threshold of conventional war.

Over the past month alone, an explosives-laden drone was discovered next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at Germany’s Leipzig airport, Poland has faced suspected acts of sabotage, and a string of unexplained explosions and fires have hit defence facilities supplying Ukraine across Europe.

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Sabotage, leaks and political ties: the story of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder trial

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A Maltese businessman has been cleared of involvement in the journalist’s death, but his trial revealed the challenges faced by those leading the search for her killers

The conclusion of the longest-running murder trial in Maltese history has left a country in turmoil, and a grieving family still searching for answers.

At 7.30pm on Wednesday, gasps and cheers echoed around hall 22 of the courts of justice in Valletta, as a jury pronounced a businessman accused of ordering the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia not guilty.

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EU’s ability to defend against invasion remains in doubt, finds official report

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Fragmented infrastructure and reliance on US continue to hinder ‘defence readiness’, says European court of auditors

The EU’s ability to respond to a foreign invasion by 2030 remains in doubt due to a continuing reliance on the US and fragmented national defence systems, according to a report from its official auditor.

The European court of auditors (ECA) said the EU was much better prepared than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine of 2022, but achieving its goal of defence readiness by the end of the decade would be difficult.

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Rise of far-right leader Roberto Vannacci challenges Meloni as she celebrates Italian milestone

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Futuro Nazionale party’s speedy poll rise poses questions whether PM will return to her roots before election

Giorgia Meloni’s government has become the longest-running in Italy since the second world war – a milestone the prime minister is determined not to let pass unnoticed.

In the port area of Bari, the capital of the southern Italian region of Puglia, where Meloni hosted the G7 in 2024 and where she spends her summer holiday, preparations are well under way for a festival-style showcase of her rightwing administration.

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Spain’s PM says no evidence ‘whatsoever’ Morocco behind Ceuta border breach

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Pedro Sánchez continues to defend Rabat after police report claiming border forces helped 70,000 cross border

Spain has seen no evidence “whatsoever” that Morocco planned or facilitated a mass border breach into its north African territory of Ceuta, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has told parliament.

The address on Thursday followed the emergence of a police report, commissioned by a judge and widely quoted in the media, claiming Moroccan border forces had actively aided about 70,000 people to cross the border in late July.

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Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’

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Bank says gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily and the move will allow it to respond more rapidly in a ‘crisis situation’

The Dutch central bank says it has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”.

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily than those held in New York and Ottawa.

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Maltese tycoon found not guilty of involvement in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder

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Yorgen Fenech cleared on both charges he faced over 2017 killing of journalist that prompted global outrage

One of Malta’s richest men has been found not guilty of involvement in the murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The verdict, which is expected to be appealed against by the prosecution, came as a blow not only to the victim’s family, but to the politicians and campaigners who regard the case as a landmark action in the fight to protect press freedom in Europe.

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Bayeux tapestry loan symbolises ‘entente amicale’ between France and UK, says King Charles

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Monarch tells Emmanuel Macron at the British Museum in London that the two nations will share a future ‘woven together’ by history and shared values

The loan of the Bayeux tapestry was “the best possible symbol” of the “entente amicale” between France and the UK, King Charles said, as he visited the famous embroidered masterpiece at the British Museum in London.

Though the tapestry recounts a conflict, “here it is today, nearly 1,000 years later, as a precious symbol of trust, at a time when trust seems sadly to be in short supply between nations,” he said.

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