War moving into new attritional stage that will benefit Russia, says Ukraine commander-in-chief; Russia shells highest number of cities and settlements this year
Continue reading...Category Archives: Europe
‘Tiredness on all sides’ over war in Ukraine, Italian PM tells prank caller
Giorgia Meloni ‘misled’ into phone conversation reportedly with Russian comedian posing as African political leader
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, told a prank caller posing as an African leader there was “a lot of tiredness” over the war in Ukraine and that she had some ideas up her sleeve on how to “find a way out”.
Meloni’s office confirmed that she had been “misled” into the phone call – reportedly by two Russian comedians – that took place on 18 September “by an impostor who passed himself off as the president of the African Union Commission”.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron vows to boost French cooperation with Kazakhstan
French president compliments leader for refusing to side with Moscow over Ukraine
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has vowed to boost cooperation with Kazakhstan at a time of “multiple crises in the world” as he began a trip to central Asia, a region long regarded as Russia’s back yard, which has drawn fresh western attention since the war in Ukraine began.
At a meeting with Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Macron complimented the country for refusing to side with Moscow on Ukraine and announced business deals, including a declaration of intent for a partnership in the much-sought area of rare earths and rare metals.
Continue reading...Serbia’s president dissolves parliament and calls early election
Aleksandar Vučić’s party won last vote less than two years ago but has been under pressure over ties with Kosovo and shootings in May
Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, has dissolved parliament and called early parliamentary and municipal elections for 17 December, less than two years after his Serbian Progressive party (SNS) won the last ballot.
“We live in times that are difficult for the whole world, in times of global challenges, wars and conflicts when it is necessary that we are all united in preserving vital national and state interests of Republic of Serbia,” Vučić said on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Serbia’s president dissolves parliament and sets date for early legislative vote – as it happened
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Gert Jan Koopman, the head of the European Commission’s directorate-general for neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations, has said Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress “must continue” and “in particular” on rule of law.
The country “should seize the momentum around enlargement & focus its efforts on the outstanding reforms”, he added.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine reports most extensive Russian shelling of the year – as it happened
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Continue reading...Hungary anti-LGBT law sees under-18s barred from World Press Photo exhibition
Prestigious show contains one set of images with LGBTQ+ theme, prompting a far-right lawmaker to file a complaint with the cultural ministry
People younger than 18 have been barred from visiting this year’s World Press Photo exhibition in Budapest after Hungary’s rightwing populist government decided that some of its photos violate a contentious law restricting LGBTQ+ content.
The prestigious exhibition, being shown at Hungary’s National Museum in Budapest, receives more than four million visitors from around the world every year. Showcasing outstanding photojournalism, its mission is to bring visual coverage of a range of important events to a global audience.
Continue reading...Baltic Sea faces ‘critical challenges’ on climate and biodiversity, report warns
Audit finds ‘little to no improvement’ in health of sea between 2016 and 2021, as Swedish coastguard battles oil spill
The Baltic Sea faces “critical challenges” due to the climate crisis and degradation of biodiversity, a report has said, as Sweden’s coastguard battled to contain the impact of an oil spill off the country’s southern shore.
In the most comprehensive audit of its kind to date, experts at the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helcom) said on Tuesday there had been “little to no improvement” in the health of the body of water between 2016 and 2021.
Continue reading...Love bikes, hate ‘wild parking’ – Dutch city puts rule-breakers on the rack
Maastricht clamps down on cyclists who illegally secure their two-wheelers to lamp-posts or railings
Officials in the Netherlands, a country with more bicycles than people, are tackling a plague of “wild parking” by confiscating illegally stationed bikes and increasing the penalties to get them back.
This year the southern city of Maastricht – beloved of international students – banned people from “orphaning” their bikes by deserting them on the street. Now it is doubling the fines it charges people who want to reclaim impounded bicycles.
Continue reading...‘Nightmare is over’: Polish election result brings relief for LGBTQ+ people
Community looks tentatively to future as party that sought to demonise them is unlikely to retain power
For the past eight years, fear and anxiety has threaded through much of Bart Staszewski’s daily life. As a gay man living in Poland, he found himself increasingly under attack by a government that had sought to depict the LGBTQ+ community as a threat to the nation and its children, fuelling prejudices and hate crimes across the country.
But since last month’s election pointed to a possible route to power for opposition parties, Staszewski has been gripped by a wave of relief. “It’s like I’m breathing fresh air for the first time in eight years,” he said. “After years of hate against people like me, the nightmare is over.”
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia will succeed in Ukraine unless American support continues, warns US defence secretary
Lloyd Austin ‘guarantees Putin will be successful’ if US support for Kyiv ends during Senate hearing on Joe Biden’s request for funding
Russian president Vladimir Putin and top government and security officials on Monday discussed strengthening measures to counter external interference after a weekend riot in Dagestan that targeted airline passengers from Israel, the Kremlin said.
In a statement at the start of Monday’s meeting of members of his Security Council, the government and the heads of law enforcement agencies, Putin accused the west and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia after rioters in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region stormed an airport to “catch” Jewish passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv.
Continue reading...Russian soldiers accused of killing family of nine in Ukraine
Russia makes first known arrests of its own soldiers after 2022 invasion on suspicion of killing Ukrainian civilians
Two Russian soldiers have been arrested on suspicion of killing a family of nine, including two young children, in their home in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha.
Russian media reported that the killings took place last Friday night and the suspects had used machine guns with silencers to kill the family at night in their sleep.
Continue reading...Michelangelo’s secret sketches under church in Florence open to public
Artist spent months in a chamber below the Medici Chapels to evade Pope Clement VII’s death sentence
Michelangelo Buonarroti left behind a trail of artistic marvels, including his statue of David and the sublime frescoes that adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Now a “secret” room in Florence whose walls are sketched with doodles that the Italian Renaissance master is believed to have created while evading a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII amid his falling out with the powerful Medici family is to officially open to the public for the first time.
Continue reading...French couple take dealer to court for share of African mask’s €4.2m sale price
Pensioners sold rare object found in attic for €150 – but campaigners say it must be returned to Gabon
A retired French couple who sold an African mask to a secondhand goods dealer for €150 (£130) have gone to court for a share of the proceeds after the mask fetched €4.2m (£3.7m) at auction.
But campaigners insist that the rare artefact instead should be returned to Gabon, in a case that has raised questions over Africa’s cultural heritage looted by colonial France.
Continue reading...French police detain Russian tycoon over alleged financial and sanctions violations
Alfa Bank founder Alexey Kuzmichev was sanctioned by EU for ‘well-established ties’ to Vladimir Putin
Police in France have detained the Russian tycoon Alexey Kuzmichev and raided two of his properties in connection with alleged tax evasion, money laundering and sanctions violations.
The French financial prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that searches had taken place a day earlier at Kuzmichev’s Paris home and an estate in in the Mediterranean Var region.
Continue reading...Eurozone economy shrinks by 0.1%, putting it at brink of recession
Ireland and Austria post biggest declines, while Germany contracts by 0.1% and France grows by 0.1%
The eurozone is teetering on the brink of a winter recession after the latest official figures showed its economy contracted by 0.1% in the third quarter of 2023.
In a worse than forecast performance, the 20-nation single currency zone has now failed to grow in three of the past four quarters, leaving its economy only 0.1% higher than it was a year earlier.
Continue reading...Spain’s Princess Leonor swears oath as republican ministers boycott ceremony
Heir to throne pledges allegiance to constitution at congress in Madrid on her 18th birthday
Princess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, has pledged her allegiance to the constitution in a ceremony that was boycotted by republican government ministers and Catalan and Basque nationalist MPs.
Leonor swore the oath in Spain’s congress as she turned 18 on Tuesday, and was accompanied by her parents, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, her sister, Sofía, and Spain’s acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Her grandfather Juan Carlos, the self-exiled former king, was absent.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 615
The White House responds to House Republican plans for Israel and Ukraine funding; Vladimir Putin blames Ukraine for the Dagestan antisemitic riot
The White House said on Monday that offsets sought by House Republicans for Israel and Ukraine spending would be “devastating” for US national security. “Politicizing our national security interests is a nonstarter. Demanding offsets for meeting core national security needs of the United States – like supporting Israel and defending Ukraine from atrocities and Russian imperialism – would be a break with the normal, bipartisan process and could have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday he was confident the US House of Representatives would back a request for additional funds for Ukraine’s military, adding he was aware of “considerable political resistance” to the bill’s provisions. US House speaker Mike Johnson said last week that funding to support Ukraine and Israel should be handled separately, suggesting he would not back President Joe Biden’s $106bn aid package for both countries.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said without evidence that Ukrainian agents of western spy agencies were behind a rampage in the southern region of Dagestan that targeted a flight from Israel. Clashes with police left 20 people injured. Putin cast the violence as part of US efforts to weaken Russia. US national security council spokesperson John Kirby called Putin’s allegation “classic Russian rhetoric” saying “the West had nothing to do with this”.
Moldova has blocked access to the websites of major Russian news media, including the Interfax and TASS news agencies, accusing them of taking part in an information war against the country. A decree published online by Moldova’s intelligence and security service listed 31 websites to be blocked immediately for “online content used in the war of information against the Republic of Moldova”.
The first US-made F-16 combat aircraft that the Netherlands is donating to Ukraine will arrive in Romania’s training centre within two weeks, outgoing Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said on Monday.
Russian shelling hit the frontline region of Kherson in southern Ukraine on Monday, killing two civilians, local authorities said.
Russia has significantly bulked up its forces around the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, with its soldiers switching from a defensive posture to taking “active actions”, a Ukrainian military commander said.
In its latest intelligence update, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said a Russian state-backed private military company was specifically attempting to recruit women into combat roles in Ukraine for the first time.
Russia’s federal security service said it had detained a Russian man in Crimea on suspicion of treason, accusing him of passing military secrets to Ukraine, according to a state news agency.
Continue reading...Swedish authorities battle to stabilise stricken ferry leaking oil into Baltic Sea
Coast guard tackling ‘very serious’ incident as severe weather hampers efforts to empty oil from Marco Polo, which grounded near Hörvik
A ferry that ran aground off south-eastern Sweden had “extensive damage” and was leaking oil into the Baltic Sea, a spokesman for the Swedish coast guard said.
On 22 October the Marco Polo was running between two Swedish ports – Trelleborg and Karlshamn – when it ran aground near Horvik and started leaking. It continued under its own power before grounding a second time.
Continue reading...Russia blames Ukraine for antisemitic riot at airport in Dagestan
Foreign ministry says Kyiv played ‘direct and key role’ after mob stormed planes in search of Israeli passengers
Russia has blamed Ukraine for the antisemitic riot in the mostly Muslim region of Dagestan on Sunday in which an angry mob stormed the airport in Makhachkala in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that the riot was the result of a “provocation” orchestrated from outside Russia, with Ukraine playing a “direct and key role”.
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