Category Archives: Europe

Rightwing Spanish leaders under fire over anti-Islam comments after attack on churches

Posted on by

Politicians accused of stigmatising Muslims and migrants after man with machete entered two churches in Algeciras

Conservative and far-right Spanish political leaders have been accused of seeking to smear and stigmatise Muslims and migrants after a suspected Islamist terrorist attack on two churches in the southern city of Algeciras in which one man was killed and four other people were injured.

On Wednesday evening, a man with a machete entered the Andalucían city’s San Isidro church and seriously wounded a priest there before going to the nearby Nuestra Señora de La Palma church and killing its sacristan, Diego Valencia. Three other people were injured in the violence.

Continue reading...

‘Remarkable’: Eastbourne shipwreck identified as 17th-century Dutch warship

Posted on by

Klein Hollandia discovery ‘opens up fascinating chapter in rich, shared maritime history between UK and Netherlands’

• Shipwrecked: how tech is revealing world of 3m lost vessels

A remarkably preserved shipwreck known only as the “unknown wreck off Eastbourne” has finally been identified as the 17th-century Dutch warship Klein Hollandia which was involved in all the big battles in the second Anglo-Dutch war.

Its identity has been confirmed after painstaking research by archeologists and scientists after its initial discovery in 2019, having lain 32 metres (105ft) underwater on the seabed since 1672.

Continue reading...

Number of EU students enrolling in UK universities halves post-Brexit

Posted on by

Data shows sharp decline in students from Italy, Germany and France with Brexit seen as primary deterrent

The number of EU students enrolling in British universities has more than halved since Brexit – with sharp declines in scholars from Italy, Germany and France, figures reveal.

Brexit is seen as the primary deterrent, with home fees and student finance no longer available to EU students who do not already live in the UK with settled or pre-settled status.

Continue reading...

Barbs and beards from Babiš as crunch Czech election test looms

Posted on by

Behind in the polls, the former PM has resorted to a no-holds-barred attack on his presidential rival, Petr Pavel

The former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš faces a potentially career-defining reckoning this weekend when voters deliver their verdict in a presidential election that polls indicate he could lose heavily.

The combative Babiš, who together with his ally the outgoing president, Miloš Zeman, has dominated the central European country’s politics over the past decade, is up against a decorated military figure, Petr Pavel – a retired general and former Nato second-in-command – in a head-to-head runoff that many observers see as pivotal to the future of Czech democracy.

Continue reading...

Russia outlaws Meduza in attempt to stamp out independent news

Posted on by

Outlet declared ‘undesirable’, with journalists, sources and donors facing threat of prosecution

Russia has declared the news outlet Meduza an “undesirable organisation”, in effect outlawing one of the country’s best-known sources of independent reporting on the Kremlin and war in Ukraine.

Meduza, founded by Russian journalists in Riga, Latvia, in 2014, was declared an undesirable organisation by the general prosecutor’s office on Thursday for “posing a threat to the foundations of the Russian Federation’s constitutional order and national security”.

Continue reading...

Feline uncertain? Cats do give clues if the fur’s about to fly, study finds

Posted on by

Study of 105 pairs of interacting felines decodes the cat behaviour that puzzles humans – and flags up the unsubtle battle cry of claws and yowling

When cats get together it can be difficult to tell rough and tumble play from a full-blown scrap. Now researchers say they have decoded feline behaviour to help owners spot when the fur might be about to fly.

Dr Noema Gajdoš‑Kmecová, first author of the research from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, in Košice, Slovakia – a cat owner herself – said understanding feline interactions could be difficult.

Continue reading...

Ukrainian security service ‘needs cleanout’ after arrest of accused spy

Posted on by

Former security official Viktor Yahun says Ukraine’s SBU agency has long been overly close to Russia’s FSB

Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

The arrest of a high-ranking Ukrainian intelligence agent accused of spying for Russia has highlighted the urgent need for a cleanout of the country’s key security service, a former deputy head of the agency has said.

The Ukrainian security service (SBU) reported on Thursday that they arrested a lieutenant colonel in their ranks on suspicion of “high treason” and published a photograph of bundles of cash found in his home.

Continue reading...

Danes ‘furious’ over plan to abolish public holiday to fund defence budget

Posted on by

Union leader says cancelling religious holiday dating from 1600s is threat to Danish welfare model

The Danish government’s plan to abolish a public holiday to help fund the defence budget amid the war in Ukraine is putting Denmark’s cherished welfare model at risk, the country’s biggest trade union confederation has warned.

“It’s a big threat to the Danish model,” said Lizette Risgaard, the head of the FH confederation, which has 1.3 million members in a country of 5.9 million inhabitants. “Politicians should stay out of labour market issues. If they go through with this they will be imposing their will and violate our agreements,” she told AFP on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Eleven killed and 11 wounded in Russian missile attacks; Wagner group classified as criminal organisation by US – as it happened

Posted on by

Top general says 47 of 55 Russian missiles were shot down; US move allows for wider sanctions against mercenary group. This live blog is closed

The Ukrainian defence force has just posted this warning to Telegram:

“Rockets in the direction of Vinnytsia and Kyiv region. Can change the trajectory. Stay in shelters. We believe in air defense.”

Continue reading...

Ukraine ‘cannot be broken’ says its top general after Russian missile attack

Posted on by

General Valery Zaluzhny says Ukraine successfully downed 47 of the 55 missiles launched by Russia following west’s offer of tanks

Ukraine’s top general vowed that his country would not be “broken” after the successful downing of 47 of the 55 missiles launched by Russia in a mass attack that followed the western offer of tanks.

General Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said 20 of those intercepted had been heading to the Kyiv region, where one 55-year-old man was killed and two injured by falling fragments.

Continue reading...

Azerbaijan sues Armenia for wartime environmental damage

Posted on by

Case brought under Bern convention on nature may set precedent for destruction of biodiversity in war

Azerbaijan has launched a landmark legal challenge against Armenia for allegedly destroying its environment and biodiversity during nearly three decades of occupation of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

An international tribunal will consider evidence of widespread environmental destruction during the conflict between the two nations, including deforestation and pollution, and will be asked to order Armenia to pay reparations.

Continue reading...

‘I want to live’: the Ukraine hotline encouraging Russians to surrender

Posted on by

It is claimed 6,543 Russian personnel have surrendered since the hotline launched in September 2022

More than 6,500 Russian military personnel have sought to surrender through a bespoke “I want to live” hotline, Ukraine’s government has claimed, with the call centre said to have been recently moved to a secret location to avoid Moscow interference.

Vitaly Matvienko, spokesperson at the department for prisoners of war, said those who had made contact through the service had been verified as serving in the Russian forces using their personal data and service number.

Continue reading...

Italian hospital investigated after newborn dies under sleeping mother

Posted on by

Thousands sign petition calling for better postnatal care amid concerns over conditions in maternity units

Controversy is mounting in Italy over conditions in hospital maternity units after a newborn is believed to have died by suffocation under the weight of his mother who fell asleep after breastfeeding him.

An investigation is under way into the tragedy, which occurred at the Sandro Pertini hospital in Rome on 8 January. The results of the autopsy are expected within 60 days.

Continue reading...

EU toughens stance on non-EU countries taking back citizens denied right to stay

Posted on by

Campaigners say bloc’s plan to use development aid, trade policy and access to visas as ‘leverage’ fails to put human rights first

The European Union could use development aid, trade policy and access to visas as “leverage” over non-EU countries that are deemed to be failing to take back their citizens denied the right to stay in Europe, according to a draft communique seen by the Guardian.

The EU’s 27 national leaders could endorse a plan at a summit in Brussels next month to use “all relevant EU policies, instruments and tools, including development, trade and visas as well as opportunities for legal migration” as “leverage” over migrants’ countries of origin.

Continue reading...

Ukraine says US and German tank pledges ‘only the beginning’ and calls for fighter jets

Posted on by

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies but urged speed in the delivery of new weaponry

Commitments from the United States and Germany to send advanced battle tanks to counter Russian aggression has been hailed as “only the beginning” by a senior official in Ukraine, who said hundreds of tanks were needed, as Kyiv renewed its calls for fighter jets.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, made the comments as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies, urging them to provide large quantities of tanks quickly.

Continue reading...

Opposition file motion of no confidence over Greek ‘Watergate’ scandal

Posted on by

Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused of orchestrating mass wiretaps of political allies and foes

The leader of Greece’s main opposition party has tabled a motion of no confidence against the government, accusing the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, of orchestrating mass wiretaps of political allies and foes.

“For the past six months, Greek society has been witness to disclosures of an inconceivable number of phone taps, the deepest deviation from rule of law that the country has seen in its modern history,” said Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist Syriza party, as he submitted the motion. “We have a historic duty to act.”

Continue reading...

US joins Germany in sending tanks to Ukraine as Biden hails ‘united’ effort

Posted on by

President lauds ‘unflagging commitment to Ukraine’ as officials approve 31 M1 Abrams tanks to add to Germany’s 14 Leopard 2A6s

Joe Biden has approved sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a significant escalation in the US effort to counter Russian aggression as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront falls away.

The reversal of the US’s previous position came after Germany confirmed it will make 14 of its Leopard 2A6 tanks available for Ukraine’s war effort, and give partner countries its permission to re-export other battle tanks to aid Kyiv.

Continue reading...

French ‘seduction coach’ jailed for life for savage murder of ex-girlfriend

Posted on by

YouTuber who posted videos on how to be an alpha male knifed woman 80 times and tried to kill her new partner

A self-styled expert in “seduction” and “masculinity” has been jailed for life for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in a town outside Paris in 2020.

Mickaël Philétas, 41, a former French railworker who retrained as an aerobics coach and posted videos online about living the life of an alpha male, was found guilty of stabbing to death his 34-year-old ex-girlfriend at her home in Ecquevilly.

Continue reading...

Scholz’s caution over tanks for Ukraine echoed on Berlin streets

Posted on by

German chancellor’s hesitation about sending Leopard 2 vehicles finds sympathy among public

The hesitation with which the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, arrived at Wednesday’s decision to send a company of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, also allowing other European states to deliver more, has frustrated partners in Europe and puzzled political allies in Berlin. But to Hilde Blücher the pace was just right.

“I thought it was likable that he was wavering”, said the 73-year-old pensioner from the Düsseldorf area, passing by the Russian embassy on Berlin’s Unter den Linden boulevard on a visit to the capital. “I think the decision is right, but it was also right to take time to think it through.”

Continue reading...

Western unity is critical, but Ukraine needs more than tanks to win this war

Posted on by

Washington joins Berlin in agreeing to send tanks – but offer will only go so far to keep Russians at bay

It has felt like an interminable wait, but in fact Germany’s hesitation over Leopard 2 tanks lasted only a few days. Berlin has got what it wanted – more cover from the US – although it had to pretend at one point it didn’t want it.

With Washington agreeing, in principle, to send some of its gas-guzzling Abrams tanks at some point, chancellor Olaf Scholz has scored a diplomatic victory. Berlin is now not alone in sending homemade tanks to Ukraine and can portray itself as not simply being bullied into agreement.

Continue reading...