Category Archives: Europe

Revealed: the artwork sneaked into a German gallery by an employee – and the story behind it

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Technician, 51, who hung his own picture in an exhibition about art world glitches, has been sacked and given a three-year ban

The first picture that greeted visitors to the first-floor exhibition space in Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne gallery on 23 February may not have immediately grabbed their attention.

The 60cm by 120cm artwork was a retro-looking photograph of a family of four, with the background and parts of the faces and bodies roughly painted over in white. It was unassuming compared with the video- and photo-based artworks in the adjacent rooms, but only on closer inspection might visitors have wondered why there was no label giving the artist or the work’s title.

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Sunak urged to stop Braverman speaking alongside far right at Brussels convention

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Former home secretary will rub shoulders with populist right from across the globe, including Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán

Rishi Sunak is being urged to stop his former home secretary from attending a rightwing convention featuring figures who have been under investigation for extremism, in the latest sign of his waning control of his party.

Suella Braverman, who has been a central plotter against the prime minister since she left the cabinet, is set to be one of the keynote speakers at the National Conservatism (NatCon) conference in Brussels this week.

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European cities hope jet-setting Taylor Swift fans will splash the cash for Eras tour

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The superstar arrives in Europe next month – and Swifties, tourist boards and venues are already preparing

Tim Brown, 44, and his wife, Marcella, 34, may not consider themselves bona fide “Swifties”, but when it was announced last June that Taylor Swift would be visiting their corner of the globe this summer they could not resist joining the scramble for a pair of tickets.

A post-pandemic appetite for live music events has fuelled huge worldwide interest in the American singer-songwriter’s Eras tour, which surpassed in $1bn sales in November to become the highest-grossing series of concerts in history.

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‘It’s eating what the sea provides’: Galicia’s Atlantic diet eclipses Mediterranean cousin

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In Fisterra in north-west Spain, a diet rich in seafood, fruit and vegetables survives, and has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart-related conditions

Seagulls shriek, boats bob and the morning sun silvers the waters off the Coast of Death as two sailors take a break from winding up their conger eel lines to ponder the sudden interest in precisely what, and how, people here have eaten for centuries.

Like many in the small Galician fishing town of Fisterra – whose name is derived from the Latin for land’s end, because the lonely peninsula on which it sits is about as far west as you can go in mainland Spain – Sito Mendoza and Ramón Álvarez are a little puzzled by all the fuss over the Atlantic diet.

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Iranian attack on Israel expected ‘sooner rather than later’, says Joe Biden

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President said US are ‘devoted to the defence of Israel’ as he urged Tehran to show restraint

Joe Biden has said he expects an Iranian attack on Israel “sooner rather than later” and issued a last-ditch message to Tehran: “Don’t.”

“We are devoted to the defence of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden told reporters on Friday.

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One killed and 184 stranded midair after cable car collapses in Turkey

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Helicopters called in to rescue people after accident outside Turkish resort city of Antalya

One person has been killed, seven injured and nearly 200 stranded in midair when a pylon supporting cable cars collapsed outside the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

Helicopters equipped with night vision were called in to rescue 184 people still stranded in the cable car system’s cabins, Antalya mayor Muhittin Bocek said in a statement late on Friday.

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Shell says it ‘lobbies for energy transition’ during climate ruling appeal

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Company is fighting Dutch court ruling that says it must emit 45% less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019

Shell has argued that it “lobbies for, not against, the energy transition” on the final day of its appeal against an important climate ruling.

The fossil fuel company is fighting the decision of a Dutch court in 2021 that forces it to pump 45% less planet-heating CO2 into the atmosphere by 2030 than it did in 2019. In court on Friday, Shell argued the ruling is ineffective, onerous and does not fit into the existing legal system.

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Ireland and Spain reiterate plan to form alliance to recognise state of Palestine

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Leaders of two nations vow to muster international support for two-state solution to Gaza crisis

Ireland and Spain have reiterated their intention to forge an alliance of countries that will soon recognise Palestine as a nation state.

The Irish taoiseach, Simon Harris, and Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, vowed on Friday to muster international support for a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine.

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‘This coast is saturated’: Italian village braces for post-Ripley crowds

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Netflix hit series based on Patricia Highsmith novel brings prospect of surge in visitors to Atrani area of Amalfi coast

When Andrew Scott’s eponymous character in the hit new Netflix series Ripley travels from Naples to the village of Atrani, the rickety bus has the road almost to itself; a solitary Vespa passes going the other way. When he tracks down Dickie Greenleaf at the beach, the rich American and his girlfriend are the only people sunbathing on the pristine sands.

Visitors to the Amalfi coast today will note the contrast. Unlike in 1961, the road between Positano and Salerno is now known as much for its traffic jams as for the views. Atrani may be less busy than its neighbour Amalfi, but in summer its beach is taken over by rows of umbrellas and sunbeds. A small area, perhaps a fifth of the space, is public spiaggia libera.

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UK and EU ‘within kissing distance’ of post-Brexit Gibraltar border deal

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Gibraltar’s chief minister says progress made in talks about free movement across border with Spain

The UK and the EU are within “kissing distance” of a post-Brexit deal to guarantee free movement over the border between Gibraltar and Spain, Gibraltar’s chief minister has said.

After a meeting between the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, and the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič, agreement was reached on issues that have dogged negotiations for the past five years.

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Germany faces domestic lawsuit over its arms sales to Israel

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German human rights groups bring court action amid rising dismay in country at deaths in Gaza

Germany will face a fresh call to revoke all arms sales to Israel on Thursday in a lawsuit that puts more pressure on Berlin amid a rising outcry about the scale of deaths and destruction in the war on Gaza.

A lawsuit in the German domestic courts will ask judges to urgently direct the government to revoke all arms licences to Israel issued since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel.

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Irish taoiseach and Spanish PM to discuss Palestine nation state plan

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Pedro Sánchez is first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since becoming leader

The new Irish taoiseach is to meet the Spanish prime minister to discuss their joint plan to recognise Palestine as a nation state and their attempts to force the EU to assess Israel’s human rights obligations as a condition of their trade deal with the bloc.

Pedro Sánchez, who is due to arrive in Dublin on Friday, is the first foreign premier Simon Harris will meet since his promotion to the office of the taoiseach this week.

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Avalanche in Austria kills three skiers from the Netherlands

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Group of 17 were ski touring near resort of Sölden when 80-metre wide avalanche hit

An avalanche near the Austrian ski resort of Sölden has killed three skiers from the Netherlands. Another person was rescued and taken to hospital.

The victims were part of a 17-person ski touring group that was on an ascent with four Austrian guides. Ski touring involves using skis with special bindings and skins that make moving uphill possible.

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Banquet room with preserved frescoes unearthed among Pompeii ruins

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‘Black room’ with frescoes inspired by Trojan war described as one of most striking discoveries ever made at site in southern Italy

A banquet room replete with well preserved frescoes depicting characters inspired by the Trojan war has been unearthed among the ruins of Pompeii in what has been described as one of the most striking discoveries ever made at the southern Italy archaeological site.

The 15-metre-long, six-metre-wide room was found in a former private residence in Via di Nola, which was ancient Pompeii’s longest road, during excavations in the Regio IX area of the site.

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Nine people including baby die after boat capsizes off Lampedusa

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Italian coastguard rescues 22 survivors trying to cross Mediterranean and searches for missing

Nine people, including a baby, have died after their boat capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean in stormy weather, and another 15 people are feared missing, Italy’s coastguard has said.

The coastguard said on Thursday it had received a cooperation request from Maltese search and rescue officials after the boat capsized about 30 miles (50km) south-east of the island of Lampedusa on Wednesday.

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Turkey seizes its third largest haul of cocaine, says interior minister

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Groups monitoring organised crime warn that Turkey is becoming entry point for drugs reaching Europe

Turkish police have seized the third largest haul of cocaine in the country’s history, the interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, has announced, as groups monitoring organised crime warned that Turkey was becoming an entry point for drugs reaching Europe.

In an operation across three provinces, 608kg of mostly liquid cocaine was confiscated, Yerlikaya posted on X on Thursday. Nearly 830kg of precursor chemicals used to process the drug were also seized.

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Mass use of guided bombs driving Russian advances, says Ukraine

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Up to 500 ‘drop-and-forget’ bombs containing foreign components being fired every week, government says

The mass use of “drop-and-forget” guided bombs containing foreign components is driving Russian advances in Ukraine, with up to 500 now being fired a week, according to a Ukrainian government analysis.

High explosive and cluster bombs fitted with “UMPC” guiding systems with a range of 40-60km (25-37 miles) are now said to be a central threat on the frontline, forcing back Ukrainian forces.

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