Category Archives: Europe

Kosovo’s troubles may not have come to a head, but the crisis still festers

Posted on by

Swift western pressure on Serbia to step back from conflict does not resolve the chronic problems of Kosovo’s nationhood

The signs this weekend suggest that the immediate crisis over Kosovo has been defused. Some Serbian troops are pulling back from the border, and the threat of a return to armed conflict has receded for now.

The Biden administration acted decisively on Friday, drawing on some of the lessons from the run-up to the Ukraine invasion, going public with US intelligence on Serbian troops movements, and calling Belgrade to threaten sanctions and ostracism. The Nato peacekeeping force, Kfor, was immediately reinforced by the transfer of command of a battalion of British troops who were in the region for training.

Continue reading...

AI Vincent van Gogh talks of ‘mental health struggles’ in Paris exhibition

Posted on by

Musée d’Orsay adds AI and VR to display of artist’s last works, never previously seen together

For a man who died in 1890, Vincent van Gogh seemed remarkably au fait with 21st-century parlance.

Asked why he had cut off his left ear, the artist replied that this was a misconception and he had in fact only cut off “part of my earlobe”. So why did he shoot himself in the chest with a revolver, causing injuries from which he died two days later?

Continue reading...

Paris-Berlin relations slump is holding up key EU decisions, says German MEP

Posted on by

Exclusive: Defence and trade affected by poor post-Merkel rapport, says chair of foreign affairs committee

Poor relations between France and Germany are slowing down key decisions in the EU including deals on defence in Ukraine and trade, an influential German MEP has claimed.

David McAllister, chair of the European parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a key figure in the opposition Christian Democrats party, says he is concerned that the lack of contact between the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is causing delays on key decisions on battle tanks and fighter jets, and a future trade deal with Latin America.

Continue reading...

Rescuers continue search for bodies at Spanish nightclubs after deadly blaze

Posted on by

Up to 18 people were reported missing after the blaze in Murcia, with 13 bodies so far found in La Fonda club

The death toll from a fire that tore through three adjoining night clubs in Spain is expected to rise as rescuers search the wreckage for a further five people reported missing after the blaze that has killed at least 13 people.

The blaze in the south-eastern town of Murcia broke out at around 6am on Sunday morning in the La Fonda club, before spreading to the neighbouring Teatre and Golden clubs, officials said.

Continue reading...

Biden urges Republicans to approve Ukraine aid, saying support cannot waver

Posted on by

US president says he is ‘sick and tired’ of domestic political brinkmanship as Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to fight on in speech released on Defenders Day

Joe Biden has pressed congressional Republicans to back a deal to provide more aid to Ukraine, after provisions for Kyiv were left out of a bill to avoid a US government shutdown.

The US president said on Sunday he was “sick and tired” of the political brinkmanship, and that US support for Ukraine could not be interrupted “under any circumstances”. Republicans had pledged to provide Ukraine aid through a separate vote, he said.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war live: UK’s plan to train service members in Ukraine makes them ‘legal targets’, says Medvedev

Posted on by

Russia’s former leader responds to statements by UK defence secretary, who said UK is in talks to move training to Ukraine

Vladimir Putin declared that yesterday was “Reunification Day” in commemoration of commemorating Russia’s illegal annexation of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts, Celebrations drew crowds of people to Red Square in Moscow this weekend, but in the occupied regions where residents say they were forced under threats of violence to vote in the sham referendums making their homes part of the Russian Federation?

In the Luhansk oblast, a car rally in honour of the reunification brought in just 11 cars.

Continue reading...

At least 13 people killed in Spanish nightclub fire

Posted on by

Four others were injured in the blaze in the Teatre club in Murcia, southeastern Spain, as rescue workers search for more victims

At least 13 people were killed in a fire in a Spanish nightclub on Sunday morning, authorities said, with fears the toll could still rise as rescue workers sift through the debris.

The fire broke out in the two-storey Teatre nightclub, also called Fonda Milagros, in the city of Murcia in southeastern Spain in the early hours of the morning.

Continue reading...

Kosovan government calls on Serbia to pull all troops from border

Posted on by

Demand follows part withdrawal after US warning of potential punitive measures against Belgrade

Kosovo has demanded that Serbia pull its troops back from their common border and warned it was ready to protect its territorial integrity, after the US warned of punitive measures against Belgrade and Serbia’s president insisted he “does not want war”.

“We call on … Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo,” the Kosovan government said, demanding that Belgrade “demilitarise” 48 forward military and police bases, “which pose a permanent threat to our country”.

Continue reading...

Autumn heat continues in Europe after record-breaking September

Posted on by

Countries including France, Germany and Poland all had their hottest Septembers on record

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland have all experienced their hottest Septembers on record, with unseasonably high temperatures set to continue into October, in a year likely to be the warmest in human history.

As 31C (88F) was forecast in south-west France on Sunday and 28C in Paris, the French weather authority, Météo-France, said September’s average temperature was 21.5C, between 3.5C and 3.6C above the norm for the 1991-2020 reference period.

Continue reading...

Turkey explosion: suicide bomber detonates device near ministry in Ankara, say officials

Posted on by

Government says one ‘terrorist’ died in explosion and a second was ‘neutralised’ after attack

The Turkish government has said two terrorists carried out a bomb attack in front of the interior ministry buildings in Ankara, adding that one of them died in the explosion and the other was “neutralised” by authorities.

The blast was the first in the Turkish capital since 2016 and took place less than a mile from the parliament building, hours before lawmakers were due to return for its reopening after a three-month summer break.

Continue reading...

Slovakia election: pro-Moscow former PM on course to win with almost all votes counted

Posted on by

Robert Fico’s Smer party moves ahead of Progressive Slovakia in vote that could fuel fears about future foreign policy stance

The Smer party, led by the populist former prime minister Robert Fico, was on course to win Slovakia’s election on Sunday, garnering more support than its rival Progressive Slovakia in a dramatic knife-edge race.

With almost all votes counted, Smer was poised to take nearly 23% of the vote. Michal Šimečka’s Progressive Slovakia (PS) came second with close to 18%, followed by Peter Pellegrini’s Hlas with 14%.

Continue reading...

Slovakia election 2023: exit poll shows Progressives in lead but Smer ahead in early counts – live

Posted on by

Election could decide whether country sticks with liberal, pro-western line or begins to lean more towards Russia

Slovakia’s election day in pictures

“There is a real concern that after the vote Slovakia could become some sort of Trojan horse of Russia in the EU and NATO,” said Andrej Matisak, a journalist at Slovak daily Pravda.

Continue reading...

Serbia pulls some troops back from Kosovo border after warning from US

Posted on by

Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, announces move after US threatens punitive measures over buildup of troops

Serbia has pulled some of its troops back from the Kosovo border after US warnings that it could face punitive measures for what the White House called an “unprecedented” buildup of Serbian troops and armour.

The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, announced he had ordered troops to be pulled back. In a statement to the Financial Times, he said any military action would be counterproductive, adding: “Serbia does not want war”.

Continue reading...

British troops could deploy to Ukraine for first time to train soldiers, says Grant Shapps

Posted on by

Defence secretary says proposal being discussed would reduce reliance on UK and other Nato members’ bases

The new defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said he has held talks with army leaders about deploying British troops within Ukraine for the first time for a training programme.

Shapps, who met Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for talks in Kyiv earlier this week, said the proposal being discussed would reduce the reliance on the UK and other Nato members’ bases.

Continue reading...

Travel website Booking.com leaves hoteliers thousands of dollars out of pocket

Posted on by

As the website boasts about increased revenue, some partners say they have not been paid for months

Travel website Booking.com has left many hotel operators and other partners across the globe thousands of dollars out of pocket for months on end, blaming the lack of payment on a “technical issue”.

The issue is widespread in Thailand, Indonesia and Europe among hoteliers who are venting their frustrations in Facebook groups as rumours swirl about the cause of the failure to pay.

Continue reading...

Ex-Wagner commander who met Putin ‘likely to be considered a traitor by soldiers’ – as it happened

Posted on by

UK intelligence says Andrei Troshev’s meeting with the Russian president will not be viewed positively by Wagner fighters. This blog is now closed

Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced today the creation of the Defence Industries Alliance at Kyiv’s first Defence Industries Forum.

“Right now, the most powerful military-industrial complexes are being determined, as are their priorities and the global standard of defence. All of this is being determined in Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram.

Continue reading...

‘Azerbaijan is hungry for land’: Armenians fear country will seek to grab more territory

Posted on by

After Baku’s success in Nagorno-Karabakh, it could attempt to encroach farther, locals believe

The beehives were in no man’s land. After the border clash near his village in April, Geram drove down to the fields where his family has been farming for decades and kept a small apiary.

But when he got near, he heard gunshots. The Azerbaijanis were firing at him from their new positions on the surrounding hilltops. He ran back to his car and never returned.

Continue reading...

Original letter from Columbus announcing ‘discovery’ of America goes on sale for first time

Posted on by

The explorer is widely thought of as an exploiter today, and didn’t know east from west. But a version of his boastful missive is expected to fetch up to £1.2m at auction

In 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote a letter that would change the landscape of the modern world. “I sailed to the Indies with the fleet that the illustrious King and Queen, our sovereigns, gave me, where I discovered a great many islands, inhabited by numberless people,” he wrote after his return to Europe to royal treasurer Luis de Santángel. “Of all, I have taken possession for their Highnesses.”

The events relayed in the letter were “the first report of a voyage that really did change the world”, says Columbus biographer Professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto.

Continue reading...

Slovakia election: polls open in knife-edge vote with Ukraine high on agenda

Posted on by

Election could decide whether country sticks with liberal, pro-western line or begins to lean more towards Russia

Voting has started in a knife-edge election in Slovakia that could decide whether the country sticks with its liberal, pro-western line or abandons its staunch support for neighbouring Ukraine to lean more towards Moscow.

After a virulent campaign that has included physical brawls and amid a wave of online disinformation, the populist, nationalist three-time prime minister Robert Fico and his Smer-SD party were neck and neck with the newcomers Progressive Slovakia heading into the vote, with PS just ahead in two of the final four opinion polls.

Continue reading...

‘No turning back’: how the Ukraine war has profoundly changed the EU

Posted on by

Russia’s invasion has had a major impact on the bloc’s security and energy policies – and even its very raison d’être

“The EU has changed. There is no turning back. We have turned out the lights behind us and there is basically only one way.”

The words of the Danish politician and EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager at a conference in May neatly reflect the mood among the Brussels elite, taken aback at their own ability to shed EU bureaucratic torpor, defend Ukraine, embrace enlargement and move closer to fulfilling Ursula von der Leyen’s ambition for the EU to become a “geopolitical force”.

Continue reading...