Category Archives: Europe

Protests in Albania grow over Jared Kushner-backed luxury resort

Posted on by

Conservation groups say work has begun in protected coastal area, while prime minister insists project will bring jobs and investment


Protests in Albania over a proposed luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are set to intensify after opponents rejected an offer from the country’s prime minister “to discuss solutions”.

Thousands took to the streets of Tirana for a third straight day on Wednesday, some of them brandishing inflatable flamingos in a nod to feared environmental damage, amid mounting calls for the project to be blocked.

Continue reading...

Wim Wenders withdraws 1975 film featuring 13-year-old Nastassja Kinski topless

Posted on by

German director says he recognises actor should have been better protected during filming of Wrong Move

German director Wim Wenders has withdrawn from circulation his 1975 film Wrong Move, because of a scene featuring a child actor topless who was 13 at the time of filming.

The director said in a statement released on Wednesday: “Streaming, TV and distribution partners have been instructed to no longer make the film publicly accessible.”

Continue reading...

‘Of course we will give it back’: Bayeux tapestry set for secret journey across Channel

Posted on by

Operation will use specially built container to protect fragile 11th-century embroidery

As the Bayeux tapestry wends its way across the Channel in a top secret operation there will be no jolts, no bumps, no shakes or vibrations – unlike the voyage of William the Conqueror whose 1066 victory at Hastings the artefact recounts.

“Nothing has been left to chance,” Catherine Pégard, the French minister of culture, told a gathering to mark the historic loan, which will be physically achieved with the tapestry, which is really an embroidery, transported in a specially constructed cradle within a container, the minister said.

Continue reading...

Four migrant workers reportedly burned alive in their car in attack in Italy

Posted on by

Petrol station attack in Calabria throws spotlight on widespread exploitation of foreign farm labourers

The exploitation of farm workers in Italy has come under the spotlight again after four men – three Afghans and one from Pakistan – were allegedly burned alive in a car at a petrol station in Calabria.

The attack was captured by a surveillance camera at the garage in Amendolara, close to Cosenza. Two Pakistani nationals have been arrested on charges of aggravated murder, according to public prosecutor Alessandro D’Alessio.

Continue reading...

EU accused of creating ICE-style immigration enforcement system

Posted on by

Officials say law will improve migration management by allowing more deportations of undocumented people

EU politicians have promised to increase deportations of undocumented migrants, under a new law that critics say mimics elements of the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown.

Finalising a key element of an overhauled EU asylum and migration system, politicians have agreed a regulation that will enable national authorities to raid people’s homes to enforce deportation orders.

Continue reading...

Nightclub promoter, 21, stabbed to death after brawl in Dublin’s tourism district

Posted on by

Qayyum Balogun chased and attacked after gig ended in Grafton Street area following clash between rival groups, police say

A brawl in the heart of Dublin’s tourism district led to a nightclub promoter being chased and stabbed to death.

It happened at about 3am on Monday after a gig ended in the Grafton Street area of the city centre that is popular with tourists.

Continue reading...

Zelenskyy asks Trump to send missiles after Russian strikes across Ukraine

Posted on by

At least 18 killed, dozens injured and others trapped under collapsed buildings after attacks on five Ukrainian cities

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Donald Trump to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine after a devastating Russian attack killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more.

Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones at Ukraine overnight, according to the air force, including eight hypersonic Tsirkon missiles. The main targets were Kyiv, the central cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, and the eastern cities of Poltava and Kharkiv.

Continue reading...

Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen to lead four-party coalition after months of uncertainty

Posted on by

Social Democrat stays on for third consecutive term as PM and will outline key policies by the end of Tuesday

Denmark’s new government is preparing to formally present its political programme after Mette Frederiksen negotiated a third consecutive term as prime minister, this time at the head of a four-party, left-leaning minority coalition.

Announced late on Monday, the agreement between Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, the Social Liberals, the Green Left and the centrist Moderates ended two months of uncertainty after March elections in which 12 parties won seats in parliament.

Continue reading...

‘Catastrophic for creative industries’: Brexit barriers shut UK actors out of EU jobs

Posted on by

Casting shifts to EU talent as paperwork delays and visa limits make hiring British crews less viable

From blacklists for UK passport holders to being asked to work illegally while on holiday, the plethora of extra costs and red tape thrown up post-Brexit are restricting opportunities for British actors seeking work in the EU.

Mainland Europe has always been a springboard for those in the creative industries, from gaining crucial first credits on a TV, film or theatre production to building a marketable resume and paying the bills while attempting to make it big in the UK or US.

Continue reading...

Cyclist praised for rescuing four people who nearly drowned in Ruhr, Germany

Posted on by

Family were enjoying a waterside barbecue in Bochum before members ended up in jeopardy in river

A cyclist has been praised for having “stepped in decisively” and rescuing four members of a family who nearly drowned in the Ruhr River in Germany during a waterside barbecue that almost ended in tragedy.

The family of eight had set themselves up on the riverbank in the western city of Bochum, the local fire brigade reported, but the gathering took a panicked turn when one woman got too close to the water’s edge and toppled down into the current, police told local media.

Continue reading...

‘What happened to the testicles?’: mockery in Milan over bull mosaic’s restoration

Posted on by

Rampant Bull needed a makeover after wear and tear from tourists, but refurbishment ‘castrated’ it, critics say

The restoration of a floor mosaic in Milan called the Rampant Bull has been mocked after the works appear to have erased a crucial anatomical detail – its testicles.

The 19th-century mosaic in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade needed a makeover because a small crater had formed in the tiny pink tiles featuring the bull’s testicles, due to the constant stream of tourists performing a heel-spinning gesture.

Continue reading...

French navy seizes Russia-linked oil tanker in Atlantic

Posted on by

President Macron says ship subject to sanctions and posts video of operation that took place with UK support

A suspected Russian oil tanker has been detained in the Atlantic, France has announced, in the latest seizure aimed at combatting Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of vessels contravening international sanctions.

The Tagor was detained on Sunday morning in international waters more than 400 nautical miles (740km) west of Brittany with the help of the UK and other partners, said the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Continue reading...

Wildfires devastating richer areas but fewer hectares burned globally – study

Posted on by

‘Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa

“Devastating” wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.

Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires.

Continue reading...

Death of Congolese man renews scrutiny of race relations in Ireland

Posted on by

Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards ‘in broad daylight’

Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.

A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Síochána, is investigating.

Continue reading...

Germany’s embattled nightlife scene welcomes plan to reclassify clubs

Posted on by

There is hope that a change to building regulations could resurrect music clubs, which have been hit by rising rents, social shifts and noise disputes

A move by the German government to reclassify nightclubs to distinguish them from amusement and adult entertainment facilities could give a much-needed boost to the country’s struggling nightlife, industry advocates say.

Under a fundamental change to building regulations approved by Friedrich Merz’s cabinet last week, nightclubs will be formally recognised as providing cultural and artistic value, making it more difficult for developers to evict venue operators in favour of new construction.

Continue reading...

French police arrest 780 after violent clashes as PSG fans celebrate Champions League win

Posted on by

Interior minister says 57 officers injured as rioters set fires and vandalise shops in about 15 cities

French police have detained 780 people involved in violent clashes in Paris and other French cities that erupted on Saturday night after Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal to win the Champions League.

The interior minister, ­Laurent Nuñez, said 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalised shops. One small group even tried to storm a Paris police station.

Continue reading...

Kanye West concert in Italy cancelled over ‘public order and safety issues’

Posted on by

Reggio Emilia prefect stops gig after Jewish community ‘concerns’ over rapper’s previous antisemitic remarks

A Kanye West concert in Italy has been cancelled over “public order and safety issues”.

The 48-year-old rapper, who changed his name to Ye in 2021, was due to perform at the Pulse of Gaia festival at the RCF Arena in Reggio Emilia on 18 July, but the city’s prefect, Salvatore Angieri, stopped the gigs after “concerns” from the local Jewish community over previous antisemitic remarks by West.

Continue reading...

Three climbers die and one rescued after fall on Alaska’s Mount McKinley

Posted on by

Four were part of seven-person group that had traveled to US to ascend North America’s tallest mountain

Three people have died after falling while climbing Alaska’s Mount McKinley, according to officials. A fourth climber has been rescued.

The four were part of a seven-person group that had traveled to the United States to ascend Mount McKinley, also known as Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, according to information released by the Latvian Mountaineering Association.

Continue reading...

Lone children held at UK-run detention centres in France 284 times last year

Posted on by

Refugee charities say the numbers revealed in freedom of information data are ‘shocking’

Lone children were held at UK-run detention centres in France on nearly 300 occasions last year, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Data obtained by the Guardian shows they are part of about 900 instances when unaccompanied minors have been detained at British short-term facilities near Calais and Dunkirk over the last four years.

Continue reading...

Russian drone strike ‘most serious security incident’ in Romania since start of Ukraine war – Europe live

Posted on by

Romanian president leads outrage after drone hits apartment block near border with Ukraine

The incident comes just days after the Czech president, Petr Pavel, has urged Nato to “show its teeth” in response to Russia’s repeated testing of the alliance’s resolve on its eastern flank, suggesting a range of options including switching off its internet, cutting off its banks from global financial systems and shooting down jets that violate allied airspace.

Speaking to the Guardian in Prague last week, Pavel called for “decisive enough, potentially even asymmetric” responses to counter Moscow’s provocative behaviour against the alliance or risk the Kremlin intensifying its actions.

Continue reading...