New president pledges ‘all voices’ will be heard and vows to promote climate action, tolerance and a Gaelic revival
Catherine Connolly has vowed to make Ireland a “republic worthy of its name” by using her presidency to champion diversity, the Irish language and the legacy of decolonisation.
Connolly spelled out a leftwing alternative to centre-right orthodoxy in her inauguration speech after being sworn in to office on Tuesday.
Man was detected as one of 94 people who had been removed from Britain under UK-France treaty
A second person who was removed to France under the government’s “one in, one out” deal has returned to the UK, the Home Office has confirmed.
The unnamed man arrived back in the UK after joining nearly 400 people who crossed the Channel in small boats on Sunday.
Continue reading...Eyupspor chairman reportedly among those arrested
27 Super Lig players suspended over alleged betting
Turkish authorities formally arrested eight people, including a top-tier club chairman, on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches. The Turkish football federation (TFF) has also suspended 1,024 players pending disciplinary investigations.
The TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees earlier this month, after an investigation found officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
Continue reading...Former French president, who said his three weeks in jail had been a ‘nightmare’, will serve rest of sentence outside pending appeal
Nicolas Sarkozy has said he wants to “prove his innocence” after being released from prison while he appeals against his conviction for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from Libya.
After 20 days in jail that he had earlier described as “gruelling” and a “nightmare”, the former French president was driven away from La Santé prison in Paris on Monday accompanied by his wife, the singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
Continue reading...Anti-corruption agency says state nuclear power operator Energoatom taking illicit payments of 10-15%
Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau said on Monday that it was conducting a large-scale investigation into the country’s energy sector, alleging kickbacks in transactions involving the state nuclear power operator, Energoatom.
The bureau, which operates independently of the government, alleged that several senior figures were involved. Ukrainian media identified one of them as Timur Mindich, a businessman and associate of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Continue reading...Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux was captured looking suave in a picture outside the Paris museum on the day of a crown jewels heist
When 15-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux realised an Associated Press photo of him at the Louvre on the day of the crown jewels heist had drawn millions of views, his first instinct was not to rush online and unmask himself.
Quite the opposite. A fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot who lives with his parents and grandfather in Rambouillet, 30km (19 miles) from Paris, Pedro decided to let the mystery linger.
Continue reading...Igor Rogov, who left Russia in 2021, due to go on trial accused of informing on other Russian opposition activists
A Russian opposition activist arrested in Poland and due to go on trial next month has admitted he worked as an undercover agent for Russia’s FSB security service and informed on other opposition figures, court documents claim.
Igor Rogov, 30, has been associated with various opposition movements in the Russian city of Saransk, including Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and Open Russia, linked to the exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Continue reading...Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison
It started as a trawl of dusty archives for an academic project about female Irish emigrants in Canada and the US by two history professors, a worthy but perhaps niche topic for research.
The subjects, after all, were human flotsam from Ireland’s diaspora whose existence was often barely recorded, let alone remembered.
Continue reading...Incursions halted flights at Brussels and Liège airports last week with Russia said to be the most likely culprit
Britain is deploying Royal Air Force specialists to help Belgium counter drone threats to the country’s airports after disruptive sightings last week that some politicians blamed on Russia.
Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the UK’s armed forces, said the British military would provide “our people, our equipment” to help Belgium, though he was careful to say “we don’t yet know” the origin of the drones seen last week.
Continue reading...Two men and a woman died in separate incidents after sudden sea surges battered the Spanish island
Three people have died and at least 15 were injured in separate incidents linked to rough seas battering the Spanish island of Tenerife pulling several people into the ocean, emergency services said.
A rescue helicopter airlifted a man who had fallen into the water at a beach in La Guancha, a municipality in the north of the island, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Continue reading...Volodymr Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions on Moscow after 45 missiles and 450 drones launched at Ukraine
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least seven people and damaging energy infrastructure in three regions, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles, most of which were shot down.
Continue reading...Republic of Ireland body alleges two statute violations
FAI approved a resolution to submit a formal motion
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has approved a resolution to submit a formal motion to Uefa urging it to ban Israel from European club and international competitions.
The governing body’s resolution – proposed by the Dublin club Bohemians – cited alleged violations by the Israel Football Association (IFA) of two provisions of Uefa statutes. They are its alleged failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy and the organisation of clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian FA.
Continue reading...Shabana Mahmood’s proposals draw scorn from some Labour MPs, while others want government to go further
• Why does the UK want to copy Denmark?
Shabana Mahmood is to announce changes to the UK’s immigration rules modelled on the Danish system, largely seen as among the most stringent in Europe, the Guardian understands.
Last month, the home secretary dispatched officials to Denmark to study its border control and asylum policies. Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.
Continue reading...Traders report long waits at Sevington inspection post and claim trees and shrubs are repeatedly being damaged
Importers of plants say long delays and damage to shipments at a Kent border control post risk driving up prices and could lead to transport companies stopping deliveries across the Channel.
Traders have reported long waits in recent weeks at the government’s Sevington facility off the M20 near Ashford, which was built to check goods of plant and animal origin arriving from the EU. One importer said delays were adding £200 of costs to each load.
Continue reading...Israeli PM, ministers and army chief accused of crimes against humanity ‘perpetrated systematically’ in Gaza
Turkey has issued arrest warrants for alleged genocide against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and senior officials within his government.
Among 37 suspects listed were the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, which did not publish the complete list.
Continue reading...Move follows ‘escalating hybrid attacks’ by Russia and other foreign powers spreading fake articles across social media
The EU executive plans to create a Centre for Democratic Resilience to counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes, according to a leaked paper.
The European Commission intends for the centre to bring together expertise across the EU and from countries seeking to join the bloc to fight foreign information manipulation and interference. The idea forms the centrepiece of the “democracy shield” pitched by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, when she sought a second term before the 2024 European elections.
Continue reading...Accusations of violent interceptions and human rights violations levelled at EU-funded Libyan services by NGOs
More than a dozen NGO rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean have suspended communication with the Libyan coastguard, citing escalating incidents of asylum seekers being violently intercepted at sea and taken to camps rife with torture, rape and forced labour.
The 13 search-and-rescue organisations described their decision as a rejection of mounting pressure by the EU, and Italy in particular, to share information with the Libyan coastguard, which receives training, equipment and funding from the EU.
Continue reading...Southern European country has more than double the number of people aged over 100 than it did in 2009
The number of people in Italy living to 100 continues to grow sharply, with more than 2,000 reaching the milestone age in 2025, the vast majority of them women.
There are now 23,548 residents in Italy who are 100-years-old or over, compared with 21,211 in 2024, according to the latest figures from Istat, the national statistics agency. Italy has more than double the number of centenarians than it had in 2009, Istat said.
Continue reading...European Commission confirms reports it is looking at postponing parts of landmark legislation
The European Commission is considering plans to delay parts of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, after intense pressure from businesses and Donald Trump’s administration.
The commission confirmed that “a reflection” was “still ongoing” on delaying aspects of the regulation, after media reports that Brussels was weighing up changes with the aim of easing demands on big tech companies.
Continue reading...Empress Zita brought stone to Canada as Nazis took over Europe in 1940s and it remained in bank vault ever since
At the height of the Battle of Britain, when the UK government needed a secret location to store 186,332 gold bars, it turned to Canada.
Shipped across the Atlantic and stored beneath a hastily constructed vault in Montreal, Operation Fish became known both for the vast amounts of gold involved – and the immense secrecy that followed.
Continue reading...