Russian leader praises ‘comradely’ talks with Chinese president ahead of concert to mark 75 years of ‘friendship’
Russia and China have announced they will deepen their already close military ties, as Vladimir Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing on his first foreign trip since being inaugurated for a new term as Russia’s president.
It is the latest in a string of statements and signals that the warm relationship between the two countries is as strong as it has ever been.
Continue reading...Hospital director says Slovakia PM has stabilised but remains in a critical condition after he was shot several times on Wednesday
The suspect in yesterday’s shooting has been charged with attempted murder of Slovakia’s prime minister, local media reported.
Slovakia’s security council is set to meet this morning to discuss further action following the shock shooting that has been described by officials as the darkest day in the country’s modern history.
Continue reading...Ukrainian military says its has forced Russia to reduce tempo of offensive; Russian president thanks Xi Jinping for ‘trying to solve Ukraine crisis’. This live blog is closed
Vladimir Putin has said that Russia-China cooperation is not directed against any other power and is a stabilising factor for the world, during his meeting with Xi Jinping.
It is of crucial significance that relations between Russia and China are not opportunistic and are not directed against anyone. Our cooperation in world affairs today acts as one of the main stabilising factors in the international arena.”
In our new journey we intend to remain good neighbours, trusted friends and reliable partners, consistently strengthening the relationship between our two nations … defending international equality.”
Continue reading...Sir Graham Watson says rise of far right has led him to stand in North-East Italy
A former British MEP is hoping to stage a return to the European parliament in June after being invited to run in Italy by an alliance backed by the country’s former prime minister Matteo Renzi.
Sir Graham Watson, a Liberal Democrat, used to represent South West England between 1994 and 2014 and is running with the pro-European coalition Stati Uniti d’Europa (United States of Europe).
Continue reading...This blog has now closed. You can read all our coverage on the attack on Robert Fico here
Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s president, said she spoke with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
After a delay, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the neighborhood commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi, issued a statement on Georgia.
The adoption of this law negatively impacts Georgia’s progress on the EU path. The choice on the way forward is in Georgia’s hands. We urge the Georgian authorities to withdraw the law, uphold their commitment to the EU path and advance the necessary reforms detailed in the 9 steps.
Continue reading...Suspect in custody after shooting attack on populist prime minister as deputy prime minister says Fico ‘will survive’ assassination attempt
Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, has undergone hours of surgery after being shot in an assassination attempt that prompted warnings across Europe of rising political violence.
Late on Wednesday the deputy prime minister, Tomáš Taraba, told the BBC he believed the operation had gone well. “I guess in the end he will survive,” Taraba said, adding: “He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”
Continue reading...Wilders will not become next Dutch PM in experimental ‘business government’ arrangement
The Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders has agreed the basis of his first rightwing coalition government in the Netherlands.
Six months after his shock win of a quarter of parliamentary seats, his anti-Islam, anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) will take the lead in an uneasy four-party coalition.
Continue reading...Main suspect in Madeleine McCann case in court in Germany charged with three rapes and two indecent assaults
A woman who was raped at knifepoint by a masked man in Portugal 20 years ago has told a German court how the trauma of the ordeal had left her suffering from frequent panic attacks.
Hazel Behan, 40, broke down as she recalled how a man dressed in black had entered her apartment in the resort of Praia da Rocha in the Algarve at 3am on 16 June 2004. She told how he stood over her bed and woke her by calling her name before proceeding to rape her repeatedly over several hours.
Continue reading...Opposition has seized upon killings that shine spotlight on two big issues: prisons crisis and violent drug trade
As police continued to hunt the gunmen who killed two prison guards at a Normandy toll booth and freed a convict linked to gangland drug killings, the debate on law and order in France has intensified before next month’s European elections.
Both Gérald Darmanin, the hardline interior minister, and Jordan Bardella, the far-right president of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, used the same dramatic vocabulary to warn of “savagery” in French society.
Continue reading...The law, now passed, which places restrictions on organisations with overseas funding, will damage civil society, say critics
Georgia’s controversial “foreign agents” bill was approved this week by the country’s parliament, despite massive street protests and criticism from western governments.
A violent crackdown on protesters and government critics has elicited widespread condemnation inside and outside the country.
Continue reading...As new exhibition opens in Amsterdam exploring the settlement of North America, original Manhattanites demand apology
Representatives for some of the Lenape people have called for an apology and reparations for the 17th-century Dutch “settling” of New Amsterdam, the place that is now New York.
Precisely four centuries after the Dutch established a colony at the mouth of the Hudson River, some descendants of Indigenous Americans believe it is time for a fuller story of the wars on their people, slavery, exploitation and dispersal.
Continue reading...Lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers held up by new checks, with retailers rejecting some orders
Lorries carrying perishable food and plants from the EU are being held for up to 20 hours at the UK’s busiest Brexit border post as failures with the government’s IT systems delay imports entering Britain.
Businesses have described the government’s new border control checks as a “disaster” after IT outages led to lorries carrying meat, cheese and cut flowers being held for long periods, reducing the shelf life of their goods and prompting retailers to reject some orders.
Continue reading...Macron holds crisis meeting amid unrest over plan to increase number of French nationals eligible to vote in Pacific territory
France has said it will impose a state of emergency in New Caledonia for at least 12 days, after a second night of unrest over changes to voting rights in the overseas territory that has resulted in the deaths of at least four people.
More than 130 people have been arrested and more than 300 injured, according to the french high commission.
Continue reading...Georgia PM GeorIrakli Kobakhidze pushes back against sanctions threat; Heroes Square blocked by demonstrators after controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill passes. This blog is now closed.
Petre Tsiskarishvili, a secretary-general of the main opposition United National Movement and a former Georgian MP, said the election in October election is when the Georgian public should “basically go on a referendum” and make a final decision which way we want to go, the BBC reported.
“What is the aspiration of the Georgian people? Is it the European integration or these Russia style laws and this government that initiates and tables the legislation that copies the Russian style authoritarianism.”
Continue reading...Livestream artwork with 2.4m-wide screen allowed people in both cities to see but not hear each other, leading to offensive conduct
Authorities in Dublin are to temporarily shut down the live video portal with New York because of unruly behaviour.
The city council said in a statement on Tuesday it would switch off the interactive webcam at 10pm Irish time while technicians try to tweak – or censor – a project that has brought delight and notoriety.
Continue reading...Official suggests US funding could be pulled as new ‘Kremlin-inspired’ law provokes mass protests
Georgia has been warned by the US not to become an adversary of the west by falling back in line with Moscow, as its parliament defied mass street protests to pass a “Kremlin-inspired” law.
Washington’s assistant secretary of state, Jim O’Brien, spoke of his fears that the passing by Georgia’s parliament of a “foreign agents” bill on Tuesday could be yet another “turning point” in the former Soviet state’s troubled history.
Continue reading...Björn Höcke, party’s candidate to lead Thuringia state, found to have deliberately used SA slogan in 2021 speech
A German court has fined a leading member of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party for using a banned Nazi phrase at a political rally, in a high-profile trial just months before an election in which he aims to become a state leader.
The state court in Halle convicted Björn Höcke, the firebrand chief of the AfD in the eastern region of Thuringia, of deliberately using a slogan associated with the Nazi party’s paramilitary wing, the SA, in a speech at a campaign event in May 2021.
Continue reading...US secretary of state promises long-awaited $60bn Ukraine aid package will make ‘real difference on battlefield’
The US secretary of state has arrived in Kyiv delivering a message that Washington remains committed to supporting Ukraine as the country’s forces face their toughest situation on the battlefield for months.
In recent days, Russia has launched an offensive in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, forcing thousands to flee their homes, and on Tuesday hit the centre of Kharkiv, the country’s second biggest city, with airstrikes.
Continue reading...Mission by US secretary of state comes shortly after Congress approved a long-delayed $60bn package of aid
In Kyiv, the American secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said a new weapons package is already arriving and more more is coming, Reuters reported.
“That’s going to make a difference,” he said.
Continue reading...Klein may be charged over alleged threats and face a fine if convicted, after a member of the production crew made a complaint to police
Joost Klein, the Netherlands’ Eurovision contestant who was disqualified from the competition just hours before the grand final, will probably be charged with making illegal threats, Swedish police have said.
The 26-year-old favourite to win was expelled from the competition in Malmö, unprecedented in the 68-year history of Eurovision, after a female member of the production crew made a complaint about an alleged “backstage incident” to Swedish police.
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