New minimum wage law to be brought in two years after P&O Ferries replaced hundreds of workers with low-cost crew
Cross-Channel ferry operators will be required to pay their crew at least £9.95 an hour after France implemented a new minimum wage law aimed at preventing the exploitation of seafarers.
The move comes two years after P&O Ferries caused outrage on both sides of the Channel by sacking almost 800 workers and replacing them with low-cost crew.
Continue reading...Initiative to boost supplies as standoff in US congress continues and arms from EU fall short
The Czech Republic says it is on the verge of delivering thousands of extra artillery shells to Ukraine, just weeks after it announced an initiative to source the much-needed supplies from outside the EU.
Its foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, said it had so far secured 300,000 shells and that the ammunition would provide a vital “few months’ breathing space” on the frontline. Sources added that the first deliveries would come before June.
Continue reading...Johan Röhr’s 2,700 songs have been streamed 15bn times and have more plays than Britney Spears or Abba
A “secret” composer who has released music under hundreds of different names has been identified as Sweden’s most-listened-to artist on Spotify – pulling in more plays than Britney Spears or Abba.
Johan Röhr, a Stockholm-based musician, has been unmasked as the person behind more than 650 different artists on the streaming service who have been played 15bn times, making him Sweden’s current most-played artist.
Continue reading...Authentic Brands announces move for brand’s Europe retail and online arm after ‘damage done’ during tie-up with Dutch company
Ted Baker’s European retail and online arm is to appoint administrators, putting almost 1,000 jobs at risk at the British brand.
The fashion brand, which has 46 stores in the UK and Europe, has been struggling for several years as it faced increasing competition and the fallout from the exit of its founder, Ray Kelvin, who stepped down in 2019 after allegations of “forced hugging”.
Continue reading...Russia attacking Ukraine with drones, guided bombs and missiles, says president; Kaja Kallas says spending should rise to over 3% GDP
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said he will propose that the EU uses 90% of the revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe to buy arms for Ukraine via the European Peace Facility fund, Reuters reports.
Borrell told reporters in Brussels he would propose that the remaining 10% be transferred to the EU budget to be used to boost the capacity of the Ukrainian defence industry.
Continue reading...Report alleges that candidate asked Hungary to help arrange visit to Moscow in 2020 – when prime minister – to boost popularity
Slovakia risks moving further away from the west, government critics have warned, as a report alleged that a presidential candidate aligned with the country’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, had previously sought an invitation to Russia to boost his position at home.
Slovaks will vote in a presidential election on 23 March, in what many consider to be a test for the country’s democracy and future within Europe.
Continue reading...Families say they were promised details of relatives’ whereabouts after contacting people they thought were linked to NGO in Spain
Families of people who disappeared on the perilous journey from Africa to Europe have said they were asked to pay hundreds of euros in exchange for information about what had happened to their loved ones.
In interviews with the Guardian, three families recounted how, as part of their searches for missing relatives that had gone on for years, they had made contact with people they believed to be connected to an NGO in southern Spain who said they were able to help them.
Continue reading...One chef receives three stars at first attempt in 115th edition of the French foodies’ bible
A record 52 restaurants in France – including 23 that only opened in the past year – have been awarded one or more Michelin stars for the first time, which the French foodies’ bible said reflected the “cultural dynamism” of a new generation of innovative young chefs.
“This year’s is a generous vintage, and also true to our values,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the director of the Michelin Guide, at the launch of its 115th edition on Monday. Well over half of the new laureates were under the age of 40, he said.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For more on Putin’s re-election, you can read our latest reporting:
The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”.
The EU said it regretted the decision of Russian authorities not to invite international observers to its elections.
Continue reading...One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’
The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.
The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers.
Continue reading...UK, US and Germany denounce poll that was said to give president vote share of 87.28% amid crackdown on dissent
Western nations have widely condemned Russia’s presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory that will keep him in power until at least 2030 amid a crackdown on dissent and opposition.
“These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” said the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, as EU foreign ministers met to approve new sanctions against 30 individuals and organisations in response to the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Continue reading...Observers say Russian leader’s election numbers approaching 90% mark final break with western conventions
Vladimir Putin is approaching the electoral outer limits. Claiming a record landslide on Sunday of 87.28% of the vote on a 77.44% turnout, Putin has launched himself into the stratosphere of post-Soviet election results.
It is a mathematical axiom for any president-for-life: support should never go down, only up; turnout should never go down, only up. And as Putin’s one-man rule extends past a quarter of a century, Russian officials retain straight faces even as they post astronomical numbers that would make many convinced autocrats blush.
Continue reading...Sinn Féin members pay tribute to Dugdale, who was also involved in 1974 art heist and police station attack using hijacked helicopter
Rose Dugdale, who went from a background of wealth and privilege in England to become an IRA militant and bomb maker, has died in a Dublin nursing home aged 83.
Dugdale was presented as a 17-year-old to Queen Elizabeth as part of the 1958 summer debutante season. Years later, in 1974, Dugdale was given a nine-year prison sentence, in part for her role in the theft of 19 paintings from the home of a wealthy British politician.
Continue reading...Médecins Sans Frontières says ‘dangerous manoeuvres’ by coastguard put refugees at even greater risk
An NGO performing search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean has accused the Libyan coastguard of hampering an attempt to save more than 170 people making the perilous journey across the sea to Europe.
In a statement, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said its ship had come to the rescue of two boats in international waters on Saturday: a small fibreglass boat carrying 28 people and a double-deck wooden vessel with 143 people onboard, which appeared to be in distress.
Continue reading...Russian president uses victory speech to say war in Ukraine and strengthening military will be his main tasks
Vladimir Putin has claimed a landslide victory in Russia’s presidential vote, as thousands in the country and around the world protested against his deepening dictatorship, the war in Ukraine and a stage-managed election that could have only one winner.
In a vote denounced by the United States as “obviously not free nor fair”, Putin won 87% of the vote, according to exit polling published by the state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Foundation.
Continue reading...Re-elected Russian president makes first public comment on death of opposition leader, which he calls ‘sad event’
Vladimir Putin has claimed he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader’s sudden death in an Arctic prison last month.
Speaking in central Moscow after early results indicated he had won Russia’s presidential election in a landslide, Putin said unnamed people made an offer to release Navalny in a swap deal with the west a few days before he died.
Continue reading...Voters turn out at midday from the UK to Latvia and Turkey to Thailand in action Alexei Navalny endorsed before his death
The queue to vote at the Russian embassy stretched for more than half a mile along Kensington Gardens on Sunday as hundreds of Russians arrived at midday as part of a worldwide act of protest to show their opposition to Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
It took a quarter of an hour to walk to the end of the queue past people bearing signs that read: “These ‘elections’ are fake”, “My president is Alexei Navalny” and “Vladimir Putin, go fuck yourself”.
Continue reading...No direct casualties in attack that Moscow says was a Ukrainian attempt to sabotage the Russian presidential election
Ukraine launched 35 drones at targets across Russia including in the capital region, sparking a fire at an oil refinery and disrupting electricity supplies in several border areas but causing no direct casualties, the defence ministry in Moscow has said.
As Russians cast their ballots in the final day of voting for the country’s presidential election, the ministry accused Kyiv of seeking to sabotage the vote after one of the biggest air operations on Russian territory since the invasion two years ago.
Continue reading...US says vote was ‘obviously not free, nor fair’ with exit poll suggesting 88% of Russians voted for the incumbent
Investment demand and agricultural exports are two of “several factors” which have driven an increase in Ukraine’s GDP seen during the first two months of this year.
According to Reuters, economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Sunday that Ukraine’s GDP rose 3.6% during this period.
Continue reading...Six of bloc’s leaders sign agreement in Cairo aimed at boosting economy and bringing stability to region
EU leaders have sealed a €7.4bn (£6.3bn) deal with Egypt to help boost the country’s faltering economy, in an attempt to bring stability to the “troubled” region and avert another migration crisis in Europe.
The three-year EU-Egypt strategic partnership involves €5bn in soft loans to support economic changes, €1.8bn to support investments from the private sector and €600m in grants including €200m for migration management.
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