Category Archives: Europe

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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Starmer says far-right win in France would not stop Labour trying to forge better EU deal

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Labour leader hopes to gain closer economic ties with EU if he becomes PM and says he would work with ‘whoever’

Keir Starmer has said that a government in France led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party would not hamper a Labour government’s intention to negotiate a better EU deal.

The RN made historic gains in the first round of France’s snap elections on Sunday with 33% of the vote, bringing the possibility the party could emerge as the largest in the final round of voting next Sunday.

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Head of French Greens accuses far-right’s Bardella of only wanting to debate men

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Marine Tondelier urges National Rally leader to take part in TV debate before second-round parliamentary election

Marine Tondelier, the head of the French Green party, has called on the far-right National Rally (RN) leader, Jordan Bardella, to take part in a TV debate with her before Sunday’s second-round parliamentary election, accusing him of only wanting to debate with men.

Tondelier, known for her trademark green jacket, has emerged as one of the main figures of the New Popular Front left alliance, which is positioning itself as a clear alternative to the far-right National Rally (RN) in many constituencies in the final runoff.

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Performance of French far right, who ‘see Europe as the problem’, fears German foreign minister – as it happened

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Marine Le Pen’s victory has been applauded by other far-right leaders in Europe. Santiago Abascal, who heads the far-right Vox party across the border in Spain, called it a “victory of hope, freedom and security for the French people”, while André Ventura, leader of Portugal’s Chega party, hailed “a great victory”, adding: “Europe is waking up! Soon, it will be Portugal!”

Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, accused Macron of undemocratic behaviour after the French president called for a united front to head off Le Pen’s National Rally in the second round.

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Greece introduces ‘growth-oriented’ six-day working week

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Pro-business government says measure is needed due to shrinking population and shortage of skilled workers

Companies in countries worldwide may be toying with the idea of implementing shorter working weeks, but in Greece employees have been told that, henceforth, they can put in a sixth day of labour in an unorthodox step aimed at turbocharging productivity.

After outpacing other Europeans in terms of economic growth, the nation once at the heart of the continent’s worst financial crisis has bucked the trend again, introducing a 48-hour working week. The measure, decried as “barbaric” by unions, takes effect from Monday.

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EU would not rush to reopen Brexit talks with Labour, say Brussel sources

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‘People will be asking, is it worth the pain?’ if asked to give UK a gift, says European diplomat

The EU will not rush to reopen Brexit negotiations with the UK even if Labour is swept to power next Thursday, senior sources in Brussels have indicated.

They say they will welcome a change of government but the deep scars left by the Conservatives during Brexit negotiations along with the new priorities caused by the war in Ukraine, and the rise of the far right weigh heavily on the minds of influential figures in Brussels.

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Far-right National Rally in reach of being dominant French party after election first round

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RN has won about 34% of national vote, exit polls suggest, as Marine Le Pen targets absolute majority

Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration party is in reach of becoming the biggest political force in the French parliament after a historically high showing in the first round of snap parliament elections.

The left and centrists immediately began to call for tactical voting to try to stop the far-right before next Sunday’s final round runoff, after exit polls indicated the National Rally (RN) had won about 34% of the national vote share with the leftwing alliance in second place and Emmanuel Macron’s grouping trailing in a distant third.

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French election: thousands protest far-right results in Paris – as it happened

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The far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen will soon address supporters after first estimates put her party in the lead.

With polls now closed, first estimates have been published.

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Soaring government debt could roil global financial markets, warns BIS head

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Agustín Carstens says world economy on course for ‘smooth landing’ after inflation but political turmoil poses risk

Rising government debt levels could disturb global financial markets, the head of the body that advises central banks said on Sunday before France’s high-stakes parliamentary elections.

Agustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said the world economy was on course for a “smooth landing” from the inflation crisis, but he warned that policymakers, especially politicians, needed to be careful.

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UK and EU horticulture firms warn of harm caused by post-Brexit border delays

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Nursery and garden centre trade bodies write open letter saying problems at border need to be urgently fixed

Nurseries and garden centres across Britain and Europe have warned that new post-Brexit border posts are not working properly and are leading to delays, damage and significant extra costs for importers bringing plants into Britain.

The Horticultural Trade Association, which represents 1,400 garden retailers and growers in the UK, has joined forces with several European trade bodies to write an open letter to call for urgent solutions, warning the new system was adding more than 25% to import costs.

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Jay Slater mountain search is over, say Tenerife police

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Case remains open following unsuccessful coordinated attempt to locate missing British teenager

Police in Tenerife have said the unsuccessful two-week search in the mountains for a missing British teenager is now over, although the case remains open.

Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing on Monday 17 June after attending a weekend rave with friends.

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Five dead after storms lash France, Switzerland and Italy

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Three people died when tree crushed car they were travelling in, while torrential rains triggered landslides

Ferocious storms and torrential rains that lashed France, Switzerland and Italy this weekend have left five people dead, local authorities said.

Three people in their 70s and 80s died in France’s north-eastern Aube region on Saturday when a tree crushed the car in which they were travelling during fierce winds, the local authority told Agence France-Presse.

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Deadly Russian missile strikes kill civilians in southern Ukraine town

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Seven people dead, including children, and dozens wounded, report Vilniansk local authorities

Russian missiles slammed into a town in southern Ukraine, killing seven civilians, including children, and wounding dozens more, local authorities reported.

Ukrainian officials published photos of bodies stretched out under picnic blankets in a park in Vilniansk, and deep craters in the blackened earth next to the charred, twisted remains of a building.

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‘Good news for all parties’: Ireland relishes prospect of Labour victory

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Northern Ireland’s politicians and the Irish government hopeful of a post-Brexit reset and an end to Tory turmoil

The prospect of a Labour government has united Northern Ireland’s political parties and the Irish government in hope of a reset in relations with London after the convulsions of Brexit.

Unionists and nationalists expect Keir Starmer to bring stability and focus to Downing Street’s approach to Northern Ireland and to mend frayed ties with Dublin.

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