Category Archives: Europe

Nobel Foundation reverses decision to invite Russian ambassador to awards

Posted on by

Foundation backtracks on earlier announcement that representatives from Russia, Belarus and Iran would be invited

The Nobel Foundation has reversed its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year’s Nobel awards ceremony in Stockholm after the invitation sparked anger.

In 2022, the Nobel Foundation, which organises the annual Nobel prize ceremony and banquet in Stockholm, decided not to invite the Russian and Belarusian ambassadors to the awards event because of the war in Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Moscow risks dividing its forces to stop Ukrainian breakthrough, says UK – as it happened

Posted on by

Update from UK Ministry of Defence comes as Kyiv claims some small gains in the south

Russian bloggers have been cashing in on their social media coverage of the Ukraine war with paid ads in their feeds worth more than a month’s average wage.

The BBC reports that pro-war influencers known in Russia as “Z-bloggers” share ads, mostly on Telegram – the platform du jour in Russia after the banning of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook – on everything from cryptocurrency to fashion.

The Ministry of Defence often listens to us, and we have a direct channel to privately communicate information to them. It’s all behind the scenes, and I do that.

Continue reading...

Ukrainian counteroffensive has made ‘notable’ progress in south over past three days, US says

Posted on by

White House spokesman John Kirby also said reports quoting anonymous US officials criticising Ukrainian effort were ‘not helpful’

Ukraine has made “notable progress” in its southern offensive over the past 72 hours, a top US security official has said, as Kyiv said its troops had broken through Russia’s first line of defences in several places.

In Washington, White House national security council spokesman John Kirby said the US had “noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces ... in that southern line of advance coming out of the Zaporizhzhia area”.

Continue reading...

‘Incomprehensible’ killing of popular brown bear in central Italy sparks outrage

Posted on by

Search under way for two cubs after man shoots rare bear dead, reportedly telling police he fired out of fear

Italian politicians and wildlife experts have condemned the fatal shooting of an endangered brown bear, as a search was under way for her two cubs.

Amarena was one of the most popular of the Marsican brown bears in the Abruzzo national park in central Italy, often pictured in and around the area with her offspring.

Continue reading...

Russia adds Nobel prize-winning journalist Dmitry Muratov to list of ‘foreign agents’

Posted on by

Editor of Novaya Gazeta accused of using foreign platforms to spread ‘opinions aimed at forming a negative attitude towards Russia’

Russia has added respected journalist and Nobel prize co-recipient Dmitry Muratov to its list of foreign agents, a label authorities commonly use to stifle critics.

The move targeting the editor of Russia’s top independent publication, Novaya Gazeta, is part of a wider crackdown on respected civil society institutions that has accelerated with Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.

Continue reading...

World Cup kiss echoes abuse suffered by millions of women, says Spain’s equality minister

Posted on by

Irene Montero calls incident a ‘lower-intensity’ form of sexual violence as push to oust Spanish football chief Rubiales continues

Luis Rubiales’s unsolicited kissing of Jenni Hermoso is just one instance of the abuse suffered by millions of women around the world, Spain’s acting equality minister has said.

Irene Montero described the incident, in which the Spanish football president grabbed the player by the head and planted a kiss on her lips at the Women’s World Cup final medal ceremony, as a “lower-intensity” form of sexual violence that is often invisible and normalised in society.

Continue reading...

German-Iraqi woman charged with killing lookalike to fake her own death

Posted on by

Woman accused of contacting beauty blogger on Instagram and offering free salon treatment before killing her with accomplice

A 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman has been indicted for murder after allegedly seeking out a lookalike on Instagram and killing her with an accomplice, in an effort to fake her own death.

The woman, identified as Shahraban Kh-B, was initially thought to have been the murder victim when the blood-soaked body of a young woman was found last August in a parked Mercedes in Ingolstadt, southern Germany.

Continue reading...

Germany says it ended training of Saudi border forces after abuses reported

Posted on by

Statement comes amid concern about allegations Saudi forces have killed hundreds of migrants

Germany ended a training programme for Saudi border forces, who have been implicated in the mass killing of migrants at the country’s border with Yemen, after it was alerted to reports of “possible massive human rights violations”, the German interior ministry has said.

In a statement to the Guardian, the ministry said training undertaken by the federal police service for the Saudi border force had been “discontinued after reports of possible massive human rights violations became known and, as a precaution, are no longer included in the current training programme [for Saudi security forces]”.

Continue reading...

Georgia’s ruling party seeks to impeach president over EU visits

Posted on by

Salome Zourabichvili’s meetings in Berlin and Brussels violated constitution, party leader says

Georgia’s ruling party is seeking to impeach the president over her visits to the EU, which it said were made against the will of the government, the local news agency Interpress has reported.

Salome Zourabichvili met the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin on Thursday and the European Council president, Charles Michel, in Brussels on Friday to drum up support for Georgia’s campaign to receive EU candidate status.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: Swedish lawmakers to boycott Nobel ceremony following Russia invitation – as it happened

Posted on by

The Nobel Foundation said invitations for the 2023 events were extended to all countries with diplomatic missions in Sweden and Norway

There cannot be “sustainable peace” in Ukraine unless the country regains control of Crimea, Donbas and other territories occupied by Russia, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said at the European House Ambrosetti business forum in Italy on Friday.

Russia has previously said it is open to peace talks with Kyiv but insists on its claim to four Ukrainian provinces it said it annexed last year and fully or partly controls, as well as Crimea that it annexed in 2014 – a condition Kyiv will not accept.

Continue reading...

Former guard at Nazi death camp charged with being accessory to murder

Posted on by

Gregor F, 98, who worked as guard at Sachsenhausen between 1943 and 1945, to be tried in juvenile court due to age at time

A former Nazi concentration camp guard has been indicted on charges of acting as an accessory to murder in the latest of a string of eleventh-hour attempts to gain justice for Holocaust victims and survivors.

The 98-year-old, identified as Gregor F, worked as a guard at the Sachsenhausen camp north of Berlin between 1943 and 1945.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of damage in Florida

Posted on by

Category 3 storm causes extensive flooding in south-east US, while heavy rain and winds also hit France and Italy

Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline.

Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines, leaving thousands without electricity.

Continue reading...

‘So many precious things were lost’: Rhodes after the fires – photo essay

Posted on by

The photographer Gideon Mendel travelled to Rhodes a month after the fires as part of his Burning World project. He sought to document the impact on lives and landscapes

July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and Rhodes in Greece was one of many places that faced scorching temperatures and wildfires. There were no human casualties but the fire ravaged about 135,000 hectares of forest and vegetation, burned more than 50,000 olive trees and many domestic animals, destroyed about 50 homes and led to the mass evacuation of tourists from the area.

I travelled to the region a month after the fires, making new work for my Burning World project. I choose not to document the flames but rather seek out their aftermath, the traces left behind on lives and landscapes.

The Ekaterini hotel in Kiotari, south Rhodes

Continue reading...

British arms maker BAE Systems sets up in Ukraine

Posted on by

Manufacturer of much of the western equipment used against Russian invasion says it aims to produce artillery

The British defence company BAE Systems is setting up a local entity in Ukraine and has signed deals with its government to help ramp up its supply of weapons and equipment.

BAE said it would work directly with Kyiv to explore potential partners for a plan to ultimately produce 105mm light artillery guns in Ukraine and to better understand Ukraine’s requirements.

Continue reading...

Families of Yorkshire divers who died on Greece trip ‘may never know what happened’

Posted on by

Investigation into deaths of Vincent Hong and Timothy Saville ‘let down’ by Greek authorities, says coroner

The families of two men from Yorkshire who died on a scuba diving trip in Greece have been told they may never find out exactly what happened to their loved ones.

A Hull coroner has said it is not possible to determine what caused the deaths of Dr Vincent Hong, a consultant cardiothoracic anaesthetist, and Timothy Saville, a Huddersfield businessman, who died within three days of each other on the same trip.

Continue reading...

Buy now, pay later firm Klarna reports first month of profit in three years

Posted on by

Fintech company still made second-quarter operating loss of £62m as calls grow for sector to be regulated

Klarna, a buy now, pay later firm, has reported a profitable month for the first time in three years.

The Swedish company, which allows shoppers to defer and split the cost of items but has been accused of tipping people into debt, has struggled to make money in recent years amid rising bad debts and weak consumer confidence.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: critics of counteroffensive are ‘spitting in the faces of soldiers’, says Kyiv – as it happened

Posted on by

Ukraine’s foreign minister also says critics of the offensive’s slow progress should ‘shut up’

At a glance: what we know on day 554 of the invasion

A military spokesperson says Ukrainian armed forces are making progress in the direction of Novoprokopivka – the village beyond Robotyne, in the direction of Melitopol.

The capture of Robotyne was announced earlier this week. Even though just a few miles from where Ukrainian troops were at the start of the counter-offensive, it marked a significant achievement in breaking through an initial line of Russian defences prepared over the winter.

Continue reading...

Top issues in Grant Shapps’ in tray as new UK defence secretary

Posted on by

Ben Wallace’s successor faces major issues on several fronts including Ukraine and a British military seeking more investment

Grant Shapps’ appointment comes at a time of the largest war in Europe since 1945, with Britain a key strategic partner for Ukraine as it seeks to kick out the Russian invaders. A central part of the job is public and private diplomacy, with the UK particularly keen to maintain its position as a bridge between Kyiv, always seeking new weapons, and an often cautious White House, already increasingly mindful of the looming 2024 election battle, most likely with Donald Trump.

Once Boris Johnson had been ousted from Downing Street, Kyiv looked to Wallace as an increasingly important figure, with the former defence secretary central in efforts to find a pathway for Ukraine to eventually join Nato and in ensuring long-term military support continues. Shapps will want to keep the long-term door to Nato membership open, but he may have give Kyiv candid advice and help it temper its not always realistic lobbying.

Continue reading...

‘A success for Kremlin propaganda’: how pro-Putin views permeate Italian media

Posted on by

With pro-Russia commentators regularly appearing on TV, Italians are less likely to back Ukraine than people in most other EU states

Whenever Nello Scavo returns from Ukraine, he is overcome with frustration. As a war correspondent for the Italian national newspaper Avvenire, he knows the first question people will ask him is: “Is it really as bad as they say?”

“Sometimes I think that only if I come back badly injured will people start taking me seriously,” he told the Guardian. “It’s as if they don’t believe that Russia is massacring civilians. The problem is that Vladimir Putin has always enjoyed wide sympathy in Italian politics and public opinion, with the Kremlin always enjoying effective propaganda here.”

Continue reading...