Bank of England, Fed and ECB poised to leave interest rates on hold

Stubbornly high inflation forces central banks to avoid cuts, but markets expect falls next year

The western world’s largest central banks are poised to keep interest rates on hold this week amid concerns over stubbornly high inflation, despite growing expectations for sharp cuts in borrowing costs next year.

In a crunch week for the global economy, the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank are expected to keep interest rates at their current restrictively high levels to ensure inflation continues to fall back from the highest levels in decades.

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African writer ruined by row with Graham Greene finally gets chance to shine

Fifty years after being accused of plagiarism, book is reissued in a bid to rehabilitate gifted Malian author Yambo Ouologuem

In 1968 the books pages of the French newspaper Le Monde excitedly praised an uncompromising new novel, Bound to Violence, going on to salute its author as one of “the rare intellectuals of international stature presented to the world by Black Africa”.

The newspaper’s words, written in tribute to the young Malian writer Yambo Ouologuem, sound condescending today. Back then, however, the intended compliment was genuine and many European critics soon agreed: the publication of Ouologuem’s strange novel really did mark the arrival of a major new talent.

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Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall wins best film at European Film Awards

Drama also claims the prizes for best director, best screenwriter and best actress for Sandra Hüller

An arthouse whodunit about sexual jealousy and simmering creative rivalry between two married writers was everyone’s envy at Saturday night’s European Film Awards (EFA) in Berlin, with Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall beating her competitors to take home four of the five major awards.

Centred around a deadly fall from the top floor of a chalet in the French Alps, Triet’s drama scooped the European equivalent of the Oscars’ coveted prizes for best film, best director and best screenwriter, as well as a best actress award for the film’s lead, Sandra Hüller.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Olena Zelenska warns Ukraine in ‘mortal danger’ without foreign aid – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Russian police have put the prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.

The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona was the first to report on Friday that Gessen’s profile has appeared on the online wanted list of Russia’s interior ministry, and the Associated Press was able to confirm that it was. It was not clear from the profile when exactly Gessen was added to the list.

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Move over millefeuilles: queues in Paris as city gets first taste of Krispy Kremes

Home of the patisserie falls for US doughnuts with hundreds of people lining up for opening of first branch

France, the country that gave the world the word “patisserie”, a nation famous for its macarons, meringues and millefeuilles, whose restaurants strive for gastronomic perfection and whose baguette is on the UN heritage list, has fallen for another foreign interloper: the American doughnut, or more precisely the Krispy Kreme.

On a freezing morning last week, 400 people, some having camped out all night, formed an uncharacteristically orderly queue for the opening of the US chain’s first outlet in a central Paris shopping centre.

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UK weather: Met Office issues yellow alerts for rain and wind

Dozens of flood warnings in place as Britain and Ireland hit by fifth named storm since September

The Met Office has issued yellow alerts for rain and wind across large swathes of the UK and the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, with dozens of flood warnings in place as the countries are battered by the fifth named storm since September.

As Storm Elin hits the UK and the Republic of Ireland, there are yellow alerts for wind covering Wales, the Midlands and parts of Northern Ireland and the north-west and south-west of England. Yellow alerts for rain are in place in the north-west of England and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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EU agrees ‘historic’ deal with world’s first laws to regulate AI

Agreement between European Parliament and member states will govern artificial intelligence, social media and search engines

The world’s first comprehensive laws to regulate artificial intelligence have been agreed in a landmark deal after a marathon 37-hour negotiation between the European Parliament and EU member states.

The agreement was described as “historic” by Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner responsible for a suite of laws in Europe that will also govern social media and search engines, covering giants such as X, TikTok and Google.

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Russian American journalist Masha Gessen put on Kremlin’s wanted list

Prominent journalist – who lives in the US – was placed on the list after discussing atrocities committed in Ukraine by Russian forces

Russian police have put prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.

It is the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown against dissent in Russia that has intensified since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine more than 21 months ago, on 24 February 2022.

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Six teenagers convicted in France over teacher’s beheading in 2020

Samuel Paty had shown pupils caricatures of the prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression

Six teenagers have been convicted in connection with events leading to the beheading of their teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, in a case that horrified France.

One, a 13-year-old girl at the time, was convicted of making false accusations. Five others, who had been aged between 14 and 15, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence.

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Marine and Jean-Marie Le Pen to stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds

French far-right party denies irregularities in employment of parliamentary assistants

French far-right politician Marine Le Pen will stand trial alongside 27 others over alleged misuse of EU funds, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday, charges that Le Pen’s party said it contested.

Twenty-eight defendants will be brought to court, including Le Pen and her father, Jean-Marie, the office said, confirming French media reports.

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‘He embodied who we are, warts and all’: Dublin mourners bid farewell to Shane MacGowan

Tears and applause as band plays Fairytale of New York and people recall memories of pubs, squats, youth, dreams and loss

They followed the horse-drawn carriage singing songs that were written as raucous ballads. But on this day, the crowds of mourners sung softly, their voices floating into a grey Dublin day in farewell to Shane MacGowan.

The Pogues singer was dead but for mourners his lyrics seldom felt so alive as his funeral cortege wound through the heart of Ireland’s capital on Friday.

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EU agrees plan to enable member states to end all gas imports from Russia

New power to allow importers to sever ties would help to end Europe’s reliance on Russian supplies

EU countries may soon be able to halt their last remaining Russian gas imports under plans to ban Russian energy companies from their pipelines and terminals.

The European Council and parliament have agreed new rules that could empower the EU’s member states to crack down on companies from Russia and Belarus that have continued to import Russian gas into Europe since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by buying import capacity at key EU import terminals and pipelines.

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Paris mayor plans to triple SUV parking tariffs to cut air pollution

‘It’s a form of social justice,’ says Anne Hidalgo of move to target richest drivers to tackle climate breakdown

Paris intends to triple parking charges for large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said.

“It is a form of social justice,” Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution. “This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made [for the climate].”

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‘Deeply worried’ father of Swedish EU diplomat calls for his release by Iran

Exclusive: Matts Floderus says his son Johan has been through ‘levels of hell in his nearly 600 days in detention

The father of a 33-year-old Swedish citizen and EU diplomat held in captivity in Iran for the past 18 months has revealed the “levels of hell” his son has experienced, as his family and employers step up their fight for his release.

Johan Floderus, who on Friday will have been incarcerated for 600 days in Tehran’s Evin prison with no routine consular visits or phone calls, has been on hunger strike at least five times, his father said.

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Ukraine’s Hungarians in spotlight as Orbán threatens to block EU accession

In Hungarian-majority villages in Zakarpattia region, many feel little connection to the war and side with Hungarian leader

In the village of Bodalovo, the clock in almost every home is set to Budapest time. The televisions are tuned to M1, Hungary’s main government-controlled news channel, which portrays the world as seen by the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The language spoken on the street, in the church and at the school is Hungarian.

Yet Bodalovo is in the far western corner of Ukraine. It is one of numerous villages in the Zakarpattia region populated almost entirely by ethnic Hungarians. And as Orbán threatens to veto plans to begin EU accession negotiations for Ukraine next week, Ukraine’s small Hungarian community is in the spotlight.

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No 10 urged to investigate targeting of MPs and others by Russian spies

Cyber-attacks on parliamentarians, civil servants and journalists aimed at meddling in UK politics have been going on for eight years

Downing Street is facing calls for an inquiry after it revealed Russian state spies have targeted British MPs, peers, civil servants and journalists with cyber-attacks for the last eight years and were behind a hack that influenced the 2019 election.

The government summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday to admonish Moscow over “sustained” attempts to meddle in UK politics since 2015. As a result, the Foreign Office imposed sanctions on two members of a hacking group called Star Blizzard, one of whom is named as a federal security services (FSB) officer.

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Erdoğan hails ‘new era’ of friendship with Greece on historic visit to Athens

President of Turkey signs friendship accord, saying longtime foes could provide ‘an example to the world’

Greece and Turkey have sought to put years of tensions behind them with a friendship accord signed during a historic visit to Athens by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The two Nato members – longtime foes in the air and sea – agreed to reset ties, sealing a “declaration on good neighbourly relations” which, it is hoped, will pave the way to settling disputes that have defied resolution for decades, including over undersea energy resources and the divided island of Cyprus.

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Tesla loses legal action in Sweden as dispute with Nordic unions escalates

Court decides postal service does not have to deliver licence plates, for now, in latest twist in row over collective bargaining

Tesla has lost a legal action against Sweden’s postal service as a dispute with Nordic trade unions escalates.

A Swedish court said on Thursday that PostNord did not, for the time being, need to deliver licence plates to the electric carmaker that were being blocked by the postal service’s workers, in the latest twist in a battle over collective bargaining agreements.

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Two arrested in France over alleged bedbug pest control scam

Pair accused of charging elderly householders between €300 and €2,100 for services they did not need

French police have arrested two men on suspicion of fraud after they allegedly sold bedbug pest control services for large sums to elderly people who did not need them.

The two men, operating in eastern France, phoned their victims, usually women over 90, telling them there had been a bedbug infestation in their neighbourhood, authorities said.

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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls for ‘glass half full’ view as he meets Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens – Europe live

Erdoğan told the Greek head of state that his visit to Athens hailed the start of a new era between the two countries

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, cannot be allowed to “blackmail” the rest of the EU by threatening to block Ukraine membership talks unless it releases withheld funds to Hungary, centre-left MEPs have said.

“This is a make or break moment for the EU,” said Pedro Marques, vice chair of the Socialist and Democratic group in the European parliament.

At a moment in which the US Congress has just outvoted a proposal by Joe Biden to continue to support Ukraine, we cannot put ourselves in a situation where the Ukrainians see that we are also not capable of continuing to assist them.

It also not acceptable, from my point of view, that anyone gets the perception that at the end of next week, Orbán got his way and got his €30bn in exchange for allowing the EU to continue to assist Ukraine.

Ministers of the two countries will have constructive meetings. We’ll discuss what steps we can take on all issues. Preparations have been made by ministers … I believe it will be better for the future of both sides to speak seeing the glass half full.

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