Category Archives: Europe

Mariupol’s exiled leaders look to the future with plans to rebuild

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Exclusive: Ukrainian mayor says there is no time to waste in drawing up vision for devastated city, which is under Russian control

A tram glides pasts cyclists and pedestrians making their way along green and pleasant streets. A submerged diver swims in clear waters by an underwater research centre while families enjoy a picnic at the nearby beach, gazing over at the yachts in the distance as they enjoy the afternoon sun.

It is a vision of a thoroughly modern coastal city, but two strangely familiar images in the bundle of architectural drawings hint at the identity of this place and its dark and troubling recent past: there is the “Memory Centre Dram”, an amphitheatre overlooked by a towering steel and glass structure in the shape of what was Mariupol’s elegant drama theatre, and then, on the following page, an industrial works given over to nature, now described as the Azovstal memorial park.

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West needs strategy to tie Ukraine aid to corruption progress, thinktank says

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German Marshall Fund says oligarchs biding their time until after war ends to reassert their influence

Western powers will only protect Ukraine’s multibillion-dollar postwar recovery if they agree a unified strategy to make aid conditional on clear progress on combating judicial corruption, reinstating the obligation on Ukrainian public officials to declare assets and ensuring all recovery finds can be digitally traced, according to an authoritative report from the German Marshall Fund.

The US thinktank’s proposals, matching calls from Ukrainian civil society and G7 ambassadors in Ukraine, reflect a concern that donors have not yet assembled a strategy to ensure how recovery funds can be monitored in a country that has made progress in tackling capture by oligarchs since 2014 but still has many unreformed institutions.

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Dutch study reveals extent of wealth made via slavery from three past rulers

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Report comes shortly before an expected apology from King Willem-Alexander in a speech in Amsterdam

Inside the stables of Paleis Noordeinde in The Hague is a golden coach embellished with images of colonial offerings to Dutch rulers that many, including the current Dutch king, regard as a symbol of exploitation that, according to a new study, netted three Dutch rulers the equivalent of more than €545m (£465m).

Historians calculated the staggering value of colonial profit for Willem III (also king of England, Ireland and Scotland), Willem IV and Willem V for a report published at the request of the Dutch parliament last week before a widely expected apology over slavery from the Dutch king.

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Succession drives ‘quiet luxury’ look at Milan fashion week

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Menswear has moved away from logos to more refined silhouettes, with collections from Prada to Raf Simons ditching streetwear

Such is the piercing influence of Succession on the wardrobes of the rich and famous that its stars didn’t even need to make a front-row appearance at Milan fashion week to make their presence felt. Excess is out and elegance is in as designers pursue the “quiet luxury” look that owes much of its recent popularity to the Roy family stone.

At Prada, the bellwether of where the fashion mood heads next, the co-designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons used the humble white shirt as a springboard for “a reconsideration of simple things”, said Prada after the show on Sunday.

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‘He suffered’: Pakistani relatives mourn sons on Greek shipwreck

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Poverty drove young men from small Kashmir town to board ill-fated fishing trawler, say families

The last time Mohammed Yousaf talked to his son, Sajid Yousaf, on 8 June, the son was waiting anxiously in Libya for smugglers to pack him and hundreds of others on to a boat bound for the other side of the Mediterranean.

Six days later, the overcrowded fishing trawler sank off the coast of Greece. Sajid, 28, a shopkeeper and father of two from the small town of Khuiratta in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is among the hundreds missing, presumed dead.

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Russia says Navalny’s ‘extremism’ trial must be held in private

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Kremlin critic faces charges that could lead to a substantial extension of his jail time

A Russian court has ordered that the latest trial of Alexei Navalny be held behind closed doors, as the Kremlin critic faces extremism charges that could mean his prison time is extended for decades.

Navalny is being tried at the maximum-security prison where he is jailed: IK-6 penal colony, about 150 miles (250km) east of Moscow.

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Russia-Ukraine war: ‘difficult situation’ in east as Russia deploys more troops to frontline, minister says – as it happened

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Ukraine deputy defence minister says Russia is continuing efforts to occupy the whole of the Donbas

Ukraine’s state emergency service has issued an image of firefighters battling a blaze in Kherson. Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, reports that “As a result of Russian shelling in Kherson, a gas tank at one of the city’s gas stations and a company warehouse were on fire at night. Three units of equipment and 15 personnel of the state emergency service went to the scene of the fire.”

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.

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American man charged with murder after attack on US women in Germany

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The recent college graduates were visiting Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria when man allegedly shoved them down a steep slope

Two US women who had just earned computer-related college degrees had gone to southern Germany to celebrate when a fellow American whom they met while hiking shoved them both down a steep slope last week, killing one and seriously wounding the other, according to officials.

Eva Liu, 21, had received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May. Authorities say she was sexually assaulted and pushed to her death near Neuschwanstein Castle, a famous tourist destination in Bavaria. Her 22-year-old friend Kelsey Chang had also just graduated from the same school with a bachelor’s in computer engineering – reports say she was attacked, too, but survived.

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Nine due in Greek court over shipwreck as Pakistan holds day of mourning

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Suspected people smugglers to appear in court in Kalamata, as police in Kashmir announce 10 arrests

Nine suspected people smugglers are to appear before a Greek court accused of piloting the fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece last week leaving hundreds missing and presumed dead in one of the Mediterranean’s worst boat disasters.

Greek authorities have said 78 dead and 104 survivors – mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt and Pakistan – were brought ashore after the overcrowded boat sank about 50 miles (80km) off the southern Greek town of Pylos early on Wednesday, days after it set sail from Tobruk in Libya heading towards Italy.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukrainian forces reportedly take control of Piatykhatky on the Zaporizhzhia battle front

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Russian-installed official says Ukraine has made new gain on battle front since launch of counter-offensive earlier this month

The Russian military blogger War Gonzo has also reported that Russian troops have abandoned the village of Piatykhatky, on the Zaporizhzhia front. The writer suggests Ukraine has concentrated large reserves in the area, mostly infantry but also “heavy armoured vehicles”, and wonders if Kyiv will activate its reserves for what would probably be a major attack in the area.

If confirmed, it would be Ukraine’s first village gain for nearly a week, and significantly it marks an apparent escalation of the offensive on the most direct route to Crimea, although this is the area where Russian defences are believed to be strongest.

A Russian-installed official acknowledged on Sunday that Ukraine had recaptured a village in the southern Zapororizhzhia region, its first gain on that front since it launched its counteroffensive earlier this month.

The official, Vladimir Rogov, said Ukrainian forces had taken the settlement of Piatykhatky and were entrenching themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery.

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New British mayor of Mallorcan town to start work with nice cup of tea

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Teacher from west Sussex says victory was down to strong manifesto and knowing everyone in Sant Joan

The new mayor of Sant Joan, a small town of 2,000 people that sits in the centre of Mallorca, likes to joke that his main priority when he begins work on Monday will be ensuring a kettle is installed in his office.

Last month’s regional and local elections – which left the ruling Socialists with a bloody nose, triggered a snap general election and caused the conservative People’s party (PP) to forge a coalition with the far-right Vox party to rule the Valencia region – have also had unexpected consequences in Sant Joan.

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Lack of consensus on next Nato chief could lead to Stoltenberg staying on

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Disagreement over possible successors may mean secretary general is asked to remain in role at next month’s summit in Lithuania

Political disagreements, vetoes and personal reluctance make it increasingly likely that the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, will be asked to remain in post for another year at the Nato summit in Lithuania next month.

It would be the third time the former Norwegian prime minister has been asked to extend his almost 10-year term.

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Spain’s PM warns of far-right danger after PP strikes coalition deals

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Pedro Sánchez’s comments follow last month’s elections in which PP and Vox made huge gains

Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned of the dangers of allowing far-right ideology to seep into the political mainstream after the conservative People’s party (PP) struck a series of coalition deals with the radical right Vox party ahead of next month’s general election.

Sánchez’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE), which has governed Spain alongside the far-left Unidas Podemos alliance for the past four years, suffered a drubbing in last month’s regional and municipal elections, while the PP made huge gains and Vox doubled its share of the vote.

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Ukraine takes village on Zaporizhzhia front, Russia-appointed official says

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War blogger also reports recapture of Piatykhatky, which if confirmed would be first village taken in nearly a week

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Ukraine has captured the village of Piatykhatky on the western edge of the Zaporizhzhia front, according to a Russia-appointed official and sources, the first village recaptured by Kyiv’s forces in nearly a week.

In a posting on Telegram on Sunday morning, Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official for the region, said Ukrainian forces had taken the village under their “operational control” after what he described as fierce fighting.

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EU countries accuse TfL debt collectors of breaching data protection laws over London penalty fines

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Belgium and Dutch vehicle licensing agency say citizens’ details obtained unlawfully to issue driving fines

Two EU countries have accused Transport for London’s debt collection agency of breaching data protection laws to obtain the names and addresses of citizens in order to issue fines for driving in the capital.

Motorists from across Europe have been hit with penalties, some totalling thousands of pounds, for driving in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez). Penalty notices are being sent to foreign motorists who enter the capital without pre-registering their vehicle, and the Guardian has revealed hundreds of drivers have been fined despite driving emissions-compliant cars.

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UK delis could be forced to put up prices after new Brexit tax

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Plan to charge £43 per consignment could see some small businesses struggle to stay open

Many UK businesses which import food products from the European Union will have to pay a special “Brexit tax” that will further drive up prices, particularly in smaller shops such as delicatessens, under proposals set out by the government last week.

The planned charge of £43 per consignment, outlined in a consultation document issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was described on Saturday by a leading industry figure as “the sting in the tail of a post-Brexit food inspection regime” that was already fuelling inflation.

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UK ‘should seize oligarchs’ assets to pay for reconstruction of Ukraine’

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Government adviser says Britain should confiscate mansions to fund postwar rebuilding

Ministers should confiscate the mansions, country estates and UK assets of Russian oligarchs to help pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said this weekend.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a sanctions expert working in the presidential office, said Ukraine’s government would like the UK to follow Canada in implementing new regulations that allow authorities to seize and redistribute assets belonging to sanctioned individuals and entities.

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Norwegian Roxy Music model Kari-Ann Moller fights to stay in UK after Brexit

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Husband, Chris Jagger, uses 1972 album cover to support settlement application for Moller, who has lived in UK for 74 years

As a result of Brexit, Norwegians living in the UK were required to apply to the EU settlement scheme – despite Norway not being a member state – to remain living in Britain.

But after former model turned yoga teacher Kari-Ann Moller was stopped by British immigration officials earlier this year and told she was not allowed to remain because of her Norwegian passport, her husband, Chris Jagger – brother of Rolling Stone Sir Mick – got involved.

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UK is among countries with the most positive attitude towards refugees, poll finds

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Survey comes as government rhetoric on immigrants gets increasingly toxic, adopting far-right slogans

Britons have among the most positive attitudes towards refugees in the world, a new global poll has found, despite increased hostility from the UK government to asylum seekers.

An international survey of almost 22,000 adults across 29 countries found British people had the third-most enthusiastic outlook towards refugees, just behind Spain and New Zealand.

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