Category Archives: Europe

Alabama priest ‘groomed young girls’ before fleeing to Italy with 18-year-old

Posted on by

Alex Crow was previously accused of acting inappropriately with students and remains under orders by archdiocese to return home

A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who fled to Europe with a recent high school graduate whom he met through his work has drawn scrutiny from law enforcement and been told to stop presenting himself in public as a cleric.

Alex Crow, an expert in the theological study of demons and exorcism, is suspected of having “groomed [multiple] young girls” before going to Italy with an 18-year-old, according to an interview that local sheriff Paul Burch recently gave to Fox Nation’s Nancy Grace. The teen’s family has been trying to convince her to return home.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International.

Continue reading...

RTÉ’s axing of Ryan Tubridy divides public opinion in Ireland

Posted on by

Sacking of star presenter over pay scandal stirs debate about his treatment by Irish broadcaster

Ireland’s national broadcaster faces an uncertain future after axing its star presenter, Ryan Tubridy, in a scandal over under-declared payments.

RTÉ surprised the public and divided opinion by announcing Tubridy would not return to the airwaves, capping two months of turmoil over accounting and governance practices that has cast doubt on the organisation’s future funding.

Continue reading...

Battlefield deaths in Ukraine have risen sharply this year, say US officials

Posted on by

US estimates almost 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian military casualties in fighting in the conflict so far

The number of battlefield casualties in Ukraine is approaching nearly 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, US officials have told the New York Times, marking a significant rise in the death toll this year following intense fighting in the east of the country.

Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, the officials claimed, with as many as 120,000 killed in action.

Continue reading...

Three-Michelin-star Danish restaurant to relocate to London for one day

Posted on by

Collaborative ‘series of bites’ to be served up as Noma looks to a future without its celebrated Copenhagen restaurant

Noma, the three-Michelin-star Danish restaurant that shocked foodies by announcing it would close at the end of 2024, is coming to London – for one day only – as it rolls out a series of spin-off ventures including its own seaweed farm on a remote fjord.

The Copenhagen restaurant, which charges 3,950 Danish kroner (£453) a person for a tasting menu of mostly foraged vegetables, will next month collaborate with a Mexican restaurant in Marylebone and a cocktail bar in Sea Containers House on the South Bank.

Continue reading...

Barbenheimer-style gatherings blamed for Covid rise in Germany

Posted on by

Events such as filmgoing craze partly blamed as epidemiologists warn country could have a summer wave

German epidemiologists are warning of a summer wave of coronavirus infections, blaming in part mass gatherings such as the Barbenheimer double feature craze.

The government’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), says that while infections remain low compared with at the height of the pandemic, they have been on the rise for the past month.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war live: almost 500,000 troops killed or injured so far, US officials say

Posted on by

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

One civilian was injured and private houses, farm buildings and gas pipelines were damaged in the Russian shelling of the Kherson oblast in the early hours of Friday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

The villages of Bilozerka and Dniprovske were the main targets of Russian troops.

Continue reading...

Ukrainian drone shot down over central Moscow, say Russian officials

Posted on by

No casualties reported after air defences destroyed drone, which fell on building in Expo Center complex, say officials

A Ukrainian drone has smashed into a building in central Moscow after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all the civilian airports of the Russian capital, Russian officials have said.

A Reuters witness who was in the area in the early hours of Friday described hearing “a powerful explosion”. Reuters images showed workers and emergency workers inspecting a damaged roof of a non-residential building.

Continue reading...

‘I don’t know why our boobs are so frightening’: why musicians in Spain are going topless as a radical gesture

Posted on by

Singer Eva Amaral this week created headlines by baring her chest at a festival, joining a string of other artists asserting this freedom in the name of defending women’s rights

In the middle of her performance at the Sonorama festival in the northern Spanish town of Aranda de Duero on Saturday, Eva Amaral was about to lead her band Amaral into her song Revolución when she took off her red sequin top and threw it on the floor.

“This is for Rocío, for Rigoberta, for Zahara, for Miren, for Bebe, for all of us,” she said, listing the names of fellow artists before uncovering her breasts. “Because no one can take away the dignity of our nakedness. The dignity of our fragility, of our strength. Because there are too many of us.” In a concert marking the Spanish band’s 25-year career, going topless was a way of defending women’s dignity and freedom to go nude, and “a very important moment”, Amaral later told El País.

Continue reading...

Cheese and chips: parmesan producers fight fakes with microtransponders

Posted on by

Counterfeits are the bane of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, which is now trialling tech in the rind

When is a cheese not what it seems? When it’s a fake parmesan.

Italy’s renowned parmigiano reggiano, favoured for finishing off bowls of pasta and rocket salads, is one of the most counterfeited cheeses in the world. Now its manufacturers have found a new way to hit back against the lookalikes: by adding microchips.

Continue reading...

‘One big adventure’: the Russian minister who fled the draft to drive trucks in the US

Posted on by

Denis Sharonov is part of a historic exodus as hundreds of thousands of Russians seek to escape Vladimir Putin’s war

The former minister drove his big white truck north until he reached Michigan. The Great Lakes provided a welcome relief from the scorching Texas heat.

After years navigating the byzantine corridors of provincial Russian power, Denis Sharonov now works as a truck driver, steering his way through the vast highways of the US.

Continue reading...

US reportedly approves sending F-16 jets to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands

Posted on by

Secretary of state Antony Blinken confers ‘full support’ for transfer of F-16s and training of pilots

The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, says in a letter seen by the Reuters news agency.

Washington will expedite the approval of transfer requests for F-16s, the letter – sent to Blinken’s counterparts in Denmark and the Netherlands – was reported to say. The US must approve the transfer of the military jets from its allies to Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Four arrested in France after deaths of six men in Channel crossing

Posted on by

At least two of detained Iraqis and Sudanese suspected to have links to human trafficking networks

Four people have been arrested in France after the deaths of six men whose boat capsized while crossing the Channel.

French judges are considering charges including involuntary manslaughter against the Iraqi and Sudanese suspects, according to reports.

Continue reading...

RTÉ says Ryan Tubridy will not return to radio show after salary controversy

Posted on by

National broadcaster’s director-general says negotiations for star presenter’s return ended after breakdown of trust

The Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ, has announced Ryan Tubridy will not be returning to his presenting role after a controversy over the under-declaration of his salary.

The RTÉ director-general, Kevin Bakhurst, said negotiations with the 50-year-old about returning to his radio show had concluded, after stating that trust between the parties had “broken down”.

Continue reading...

Cape Verde boat disaster: vessel drifted for month after alarm raised, says NGO

Posted on by

Walking Borders said it told authorities in four countries on 20 July about vessel with more than 100 asylum seekers onboard

A Spanish NGO alerted authorities from four countries on 20 July about a boat carrying an estimated 130 asylum seekers that was found earlier this week with just 38 survivors and the bodies of seven dead people on board.

Relatives of those onboard said the large fishing vessel had left Fass Boye, a seaside town in Senegal on 10 July, and was heading for Spain’s Canary Islands. The boat was spotted on Monday about 150 nautical miles (277km ) north of the Cape Verdean island of Sal.

Continue reading...

Sweden raises terrorist threat level after Qur’an burnings

Posted on by

Threat raised to second-highest level as prime minister says country has thwarted planned attacks

Sweden has raised its terrorist threat level to the second-highest number possible, as the prime minister said the country had thwarted planned attacks.

The move comes amid heightened security fears following a string of Qur’an burnings that have caused outrage around the world.

Continue reading...

French prosecutors charge five over acid burglaries in Paris

Posted on by

Suspects accused of using chemicals to destroy locks of apartment doors during 90 break-ins

Five people have been charged over 90 burglaries in the Paris region in which acid was used to break the locks on apartment doors.

Four of the suspects have been held in pre-trial detention since Wednesday and the fifth is being monitored by police, prosecutors in Nanterre, north-west of the French capital, told AFP.

Continue reading...

Wildfires in Tenerife force thousands to evacuate or stay indoors

Posted on by

Worst wildfires in the Canary Islands in at least 40 years drawing closer to the capital Santa Cruz

More than 7,500 people have been evacuated or ordered to stay indoors as the worst wildfire in at least four decades ravages the Canary island of Tenerife, burning through 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of land and drawing closer to the capital, Santa Cruz.

Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canaries, said more than 250 firefighters – backed by military emergency crews and 17 aircraft – were working to tackle the fire, which broke out in the north-east of the island on Tuesday and which currently has a 32km (20-mile) perimeter.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Nato chief says only Kyiv can decide conditions for peace talks after territory row – as it happened

Posted on by

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

The US has sanctioned three entities accused of seeking to facilitate arms deals between North Korea and Russia as Washington tightens its restrictions on support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The US treasury department said in a statement that Russia was continuing to use up munitions and lose heavy equipment in Ukraine, forcing it to turn to its small pool of allies, including North Korea, for support.

This action is part of the continuing US strategy to identify, expose, and disrupt third-country actors seeking to support Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.

The United States continues to root out illicit financial networks that seek to channel support from North Korea to Russia’s war machine.

Alongside our allies and partners, we remain committed to exposing and disrupting the arms trade underpinning Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine.

Continue reading...

First cargo ship leaves Ukraine port since end of grain deal despite Russian threats

Posted on by

Civilian vessel left port of Odesa and travelled down temporary corridor set up after Moscow pulled out of UN-backed Black Sea grain deal

A civilian cargo vessel has left Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa, Kyiv has said, despite warnings from Russia that its navy could target ships using the Black Sea export hubs.

The announcement raises the spectre of a standoff with Russian warships, after Moscow pulled out of a key deal last month brokered by the UN and Turkey, which guaranteed safe passage for grain shipments from three Ukrainian ports.

Continue reading...

Gotthard rail tunnel, world’s longest, closes for months after Swiss derailment

Posted on by

Sixteen freight carriages run off rails, tearing up eight kilometres of train track and leaving engineering marvel inaugurated in 2016 unable to take passengers

Train passengers between north and southernmost Switzerland will have to skip the world’s longest train tunnel and go back to the longer scenic route for months, rail authorities have said, after a freight service derailed and tore up the track.

Sixteen cars that jumped the tracks in last Thursday’s derailment remained stuck inside the 57km (35-mile) long Gotthard base tunnel in the southern Ticino region, national railway operator SBB said on Wednesday.

Continue reading...