Public opinion divided over lyrics to Zorra, usually used to mean ‘bitch’, by electropop duo Nebulossa
It has been criticised by some as insulting to women, but hailed by the prime minister as provocative – in a good way.
Days after Spain selected its entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest, the electropop tune Zorra has rocketed to the top of the country’s music charts and divided public opinion.
Continue reading...Finnair says trial is voluntary and will help estimate weight of planes’ cargo before takeoff
The words “overweight luggage” have the power to induce a whirlwind of stress and embarrassment for holidaymakers. But one airline is upping the stakes by inviting passengers to step on the scales too.
The Finnish airline Finnair started the voluntary weighing in policy at departure gates at Helsinki airport on Monday with the aim of enabling it to better estimate the weight of its planes’ cargo before takeoff.
Continue reading...Investigators previously found blasts that damaged undersea pipelines in 2022 were an act of sabotage
Swedish prosecutors have said they will end their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in 2022, dodging the question of who destroyed the then new energy link between Russia and Europe shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
After a near 18-month inquiry, the investigators concluded they did not have jurisdiction in the case because Sweden’s citizens and interests had not been harmed.
Continue reading...President says more than 10 others injured in the capital with further blasts across the country
Russia’s upper house of parliament has asked the finance ministry to draw up a law that would impose retaliatory measures on the West if it moves against frozen Russian assets, the TASS state news agency reported.
The Financial Times reported on 3 February that the G7 had drawn up plans to use frozen Russian assets as collateral to raise money to help Ukraine.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: After a week of speculation, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready to replace his military chief – why, and what now?
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Good morning. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, is perhaps the only man in Ukraine who is more popular than its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Now, after months of speculation about his future and a week-long frenzy over whether Zaluzhnyi (above left) had been asked to step aside, there finally seems to be clarity: Zelenskiy has admitted publicly that he is seeking to replace him, as part of a broad reset. “I have something serious in mind, which is not about a single person but the direction of the country’s leadership,” said Zelenskiy. “I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military.”
Mental health | The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare in England has soared by more than 50% in three years, according to data laying bare the impact of lengthy waiting lists. The increase means more than 600 mentally ill children are deterioriating to crisis point each week.
Israel-Gaza war | Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in Gaza since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of Palestinian prisoners for the return of more hostages.
US news | A federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from criminal prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results because it involved actions he took while president. The unanimous decision said the court rejected Trump’s argument that he had “unbounded authority to commit crimes”.
Dentistry | Rishi Sunak has been accused of making a U-turn on his pledge to restore NHS dentistry as experts say his new “recovery plan” does not offer enough money to incentivise dentists to take on extra NHS patients. The British Dental Association (BDA) has said the £200m pledged is less than half of the underspends in the budget expected this year.
Monarchy | The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK, making an emergency dash from the US to see the king after Charles’s cancer diagnosis. King Charles made his first appearance in public since his diagnosis was announced, and smiled and waved at well-wishers during the drive.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 15 out of 20 drones and 29 out of 44 missiles
A barrage of Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities killed five people on Wednesday and injured 50 more, including a pregnant woman.
“It’s another massive attack against our state,” president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.
Continue reading...NSC’s Pieter Omtzigt said to be shocked by public finances as he abandons talks to form coalition under far-right leader
Geert Wilders’ chances of forming a majority government in the Netherlands have been dealt a heavy blow after one of the far-right leader’s three potential partners abruptly withdrew from coalition talks citing concerns over public finances.
Wilders, whose Freedom party (PVV) shocked Europe by finishing first in elections last November, said on X he was “unbelievably disappointed” by the decision of New Social Contract (NSC) to declare it was “finished” with the current round of talks.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For more on Biden’s address, you can read our full story:
This right here is what Joe Biden, most Democrats and the apparently dwindling number of Republicans who support the immigration bill are up against.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is leading the campaign against the compromise legislation, which would enact hardline policies Democrats generally oppose while also sending military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. In remarks today, he expressed approval at reports that the deal is on “life support” in the Senate:
Continue reading...Exclusive: Politicians say chemicals producer ‘appears to be implicated’ in abuses of minorities in Chinese province
The German chemicals producer BASF “appears to be implicated in gross abuses” of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and should withdraw from the Chinese province, a group of politicians from around the world have said.
The group made the allegation in a letter to BASF’s chair, Martin Brudermüller, on Monday, after the German media outlets Der Spiegel and ZDF published a joint investigation on Friday.
Continue reading...Video reportedly from Ukrainian intelligence shows captured Russian saying he is from Wagner group
Ukrainian special forces are reportedly operating in Sudan in support of the country’s army against Russian Wagner mercenaries aligned with the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to a video released on Monday.
The Kyiv Post released a short film which it said came from sources within Ukrainian military intelligence, responsible for covert operations, showing a captured Russian prisoner being interrogated alongside two African men.
Continue reading...Karolina Shiino had already caused controversy when she became first European-born woman to win title
A Ukraine-born woman who was criticised for not being “Japanese enough” after winning the Miss Japan contest last month has relinquished the title after a weekly magazine revealed she had been having an affair with a married man.
Karolina Shiino drew praise and criticism after she won the Miss Japan title last month, becoming the first woman of European descent to receive the accolade. The 26-year-old was born in Ukraine to Ukrainian parents, who moved to Japan when she was five.
Continue reading...Estimated value of the samples thought to be in the millions as incident reported to police
Research samples collected over decades at a Swedish medical university were destroyed when a freezer malfunctioned during the Christmas holidays, the institute has said.
The samples were stored in tanks cooled with liquid nitrogen, at a temperature of -190C, at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm.
Continue reading...Catherine Colonna will lead inquiry after Israel’s accusation that at least 12 UN agency workers were involved in 7 October assault
A former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, is to lead an independent review of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after accusations by Israel that at least 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.
The review was ordered by Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), last month before the publication of the Israeli allegations and a subsequent mass exodus of donors led by the US and UK.
Continue reading...Research lab submits plans for next-generation model at least three times size of Large Hadron Collider
Officials at Cern, home to the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, are pressing ahead with plans for a new machine that would be at least three times bigger than the existing particle accelerator.
The Large Hadron Collider, built inside a 27km circular tunnel beneath the Swiss-French countryside, smashes together protons and other subatomic particles at close to the speed of light to recreate the conditions that existed fractions of a second after the big bang.
Continue reading...Artillery fire reported to have hit Kherson at noon; under martial law Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 not allowed to leave country
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has submitted a proposal to the Ukrainian parliament to extend martial law and general mobilisation for another 90 days.
The president first declared martial law and general mobilisation on 24 February 2022, when Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measure has been repeatedly extended since then.
Ukraine’s parliament previously extended martial law and mobilisation from November 2023 until Feb. 14, 2024.
Continue reading...Actors say non-specific categories benefit men as industry still offers them more interesting roles
The Flemish film and television awards are facing calls to temporarily do away with gender-neutral categories amid concerns that the switch has left women routinely shut out of the top awards.
At the Ensors awards on Saturday male actors cleaned up the categories for best lead and supporting actors. It was an echo of 2022 – the first year that the awards ceremony axed gendered categories – when men also walked away with each of the four awards recognising the best actors.
Continue reading...Hungary remains alone in holding up Stockholm’s accession despite PM’s promises not to be last to ratify
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has boycotted a session of parliament called by the opposition to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership, even as a group of western ambassadors arrived in the building to urge a vote.
For months, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, repeatedly promised his counterparts within Nato that the country would not be last to sign off on Sweden’s membership.
Continue reading...Comments come as speculation continues that the president is preparing to fire the commander of the Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is considering a “reset” to replace several senior officials, amid ongoing speculation that he is preparing to fire the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.
“It is a question of the people who are to lead Ukraine. A reset is necessary, I am talking about a replacement of a number of state leaders, not only in the army sector,” Zelenskiy said
Continue reading...The referendum comes as the city aims to reduce emissions by targeting wealthy drivers in large, polluting cars
Parisians have voted to triple parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), as the city aims to tackle air pollution and climate breakdown by targeting rich drivers in heavy, large and polluting cars.
In a referendum on Sunday, which was closely watched by other capital cities, including London, 54.6% voted in favour of special parking fees for SUVs, according to provisional results. However, the turnout – at about 5.7% of Paris’s registered voters – was lower than green campaigners had hoped for.
Continue reading...Russia, which boasts of taking in 700,000 children, stands accused of trying to erase their Ukrainian identity
During the 14 months for which Veronika Vlasenko attended school in Russia, she was regularly told by teachers and fellow students that she would never be able to go home to Ukraine. “Every day they said to me that I would be staying here for ever and would never leave Russia,” she said. “They told me that Ukraine doesn’t exist, that it never existed, that we’re all Russians … At times the other kids would beat me for being pro-Ukrainian.”
Veronika was one of nearly 20,000 children documented by Ukrainian authorities as having been taken from Ukraine to Russia over the past two years. The authorities believe the real number is probably 10 times that, while Russian officials have even boasted of moving 700,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.
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