Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara province
An unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo.
Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna.
Continue reading...President hints at ‘major announcement’ on Monday after halting arms shipments due to dwindling stockpiles
Donald Trump appears poised to deliver weapons to Ukraine by selling them first to Nato allies in a major policy shift for his administration amid frustrations with Vladimir Putin over stalling negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
During an interview with NBC News, Trump said he will probably have a “major announcement” on Russia on Monday and confirmed he had struck a deal with Nato leaders to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Continue reading...Cabaret venue marks restoration of red-painted windmill with 90-strong troupe performing signature can-can dance
The sails of the red-painted windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret in Paris, have begun turning again, restoring the home of French can-can to its full glory more than a year after they tumbled inelegantly to the ground.
In a profusion of red feathers, members of the Montmartre institution’s 90-strong troupe performed its signature dance on the road outside to mark the occasion on Thursday night, after the second of two daily performances that draw 600,000 visitors a year.
Continue reading...Rubicon hip-hop gathering in Bratislava, due to be held on 20 July, says several performers and partners withdrew
The Slovakia festival due to welcome Kanye West next week has been called off after the uproar over the US rapper’s May release of a song glorifying the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Before the 20 July gig was cancelled, Bratislava’s Rubicon hip-hop festival was set to be West’s only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.
Continue reading...Starmer and Macron expected to announce migration deal that will involve the UK accepting some cross-Channel asylum seekers
The waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen for the second month in a row and is now at its lowest level for more than two years, PA Media reports. PA says:
An estimated 7.36 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of May, relating to just under 6.23 million patients – down from 7.39 million treatments and just over 6.23 million patients at the end of April.
These are the lowest figures since March 2023 for treatments and April 2023 for patients.
Monthly NHS data shows the overall waiting list dropped by nearly 30,000 in May to 7.36 million – the lowest total since March 2023 – with 60.9% waiting 18 weeks or less for planned care (the highest proportion since July 2022).
Staff carried out an average of 75,009 planned treatments each working day in May – the highest number on record – with a total of 1.5 million treatments across the month, which is up on 1.45 million in April and higher than 1,437,914 pre-pandemic (May 2019).
Continue reading...Pair accused of spying on Neptune missile programme, which is seen as critical to defence against Russia
Ukraine says it has arrested a Chinese father and son on suspicion of spying on its Neptune anti-ship missile programme, a key part of Kyiv’s growing domestic arms industry that is critical to its defence against Russian forces.
The announcement by Ukraine’s security service (SBU) follows assertions by Kyiv in recent months that Beijing, which has sought to project an image of neutrality, is helping the Kremlin’s war effort.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president wants allies to speed up action against Putin after two killed in second night of major strikes
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukraine’s allies to speed up imposing new sanctions on Russia after another huge wave of strikes on his country’s capital killed two people and left more wounded.
“Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. Ukraine’s air defence force said Moscow sent 400 drones and 18 missiles across the country in the early hours.
Continue reading...European Commission president expected to survive but ballot likely to reveal discontent about EU’s rightward drift
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is preparing to face a rare vote of censure in the European parliament that is likely to reveal discontent about the rightward drift of EU policies.
Von der Leyen is expected to comfortably survive a vote on Thursday on the censure motion, which in theory could trigger the downfall of her commission. While her survival is considered a certainty, the debate has lifted the lid on simmering discontent among centrist, centre-left and green MEPs who voted her back into office just under one year ago, after elections that gave rightwing nationalists their best-ever results.
Continue reading...Facebook post helps track down Anita and Brad, who had been dating for a year at time of message and wed in 2016
In September 2012, a young couple capped a romantic date in Newfoundland, on Canada’s eastern tip, by putting a message in a bottle and dropping it into the Atlantic.
“Anita and Brad’s day trip to Bell Island. Today, we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other, at the edge of the island,” it said. It asked whomever might find the message to “please call us”, followed by a scribbled number.
Continue reading...Investigation into alleged illegal campaign financing denounced by party’s leader, Jordan Bardella, as ‘harassment campaign’
Police have raided the headquarters of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and seized documents as part of an investigation into alleged illegal campaign financing that was denounced by the party’s leader, Jordan Bardella, as “a harassment campaign”.
The raid came a day after EU financial prosecutors in Brussels said they had launched a separate investigation into the alleged misuse of €4.3m by the former far-right Identity & Democracy (ID) group in the European parliament, which included the RN.
Continue reading...European Commission unveils strategy for storing food, medicine, generators and raw materials
The EU should develop stockpiles of food, medicine, generators and raw materials to be better prepared for a military invasion, pandemic or natural disaster, the European Commission has said.
Outlining its first-ever strategy on stockpiling, the EU executive said on Wednesday member states should also consider emergency supplies of water purification products, equipment to repair undersea cables, drones and mobile bridges for use in conflicts.
Continue reading...Mayor urges people to exercise utmost caution as weather service says situation around Mediterranean is critical
More than 15,000 residents of Marseille confined to their homes have been allowed out after a wildfire on the outskirts of France’s second city was brought under control, but officials have warned the country faces an exceptionally high-risk summer.
Fanned by gale-force winds and kindled by parched vegetation, several fires have burned swathes of southern France in recent days, including Tuesday’s just north of the port city. The weather service has said the weeks ahead could be critical.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: As the French president arrives in the UK for a state visit, tackling migrant crossings in the Channel is top of the agenda
Good morning. Emmanuel Macron arrived in the UK yesterday for a three-day state visit. While the British royal family and political elite rolled out the red carpet for the French president, with all the expected pomp and pageantry, the real focus was, and remains, the politics behind the scenes. Top of the agenda: how Britain and France intend to deal with the small-boats crisis.
The UK has backed recent moves by French police to immobilise the inflatable boats used by people smugglers by slashing them. It’s not yet clear whether this was a one-off instance or part of the broader shift in strategy expected to be outlined soon by Keir Starmer and Macron.
Middle East crisis | Medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily “mass casualty incidents” as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid.
Post Office | More than 13 people may have killed themselves as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, while it drove at least 59 more to contemplate suicide, according to the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.
NHS | Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted in favour of strikes that could result in industrial action lasting until January next year, the British Medical Association has announced.
Crime | Thousands of defendants in England and Wales could lose the right to a jury trial under plans designed to save the criminal justice system from collapse.
UK News | Gregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter ahead of a report into misconduct allegations, including claims, denied by Wallace, of groping and indecent exposure. Over 50 new complaints have since been made to the BBC.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mohammed Baraka asks von der Leyen for help, saying he is stranded in Cairo without residency rights
A Palestinian man who worked for the EU in Gaza has appealed to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, after the closure of his office left him in Cairo without a job or residency rights.
Mohammed Baraka, who served at the EU border assistance mission at Rafah in southern Gaza and was evacuated to Egypt when the war broke out, has accused Brussels officials of “coldly” dismissing him from his job by email and “abandoning” a loyal employee.
Continue reading...US defendants can waive right to jury trial and in Germany jury trials were abolished in 1924
One of the most significant recommendations in a review of the criminal courts in England and Wales, expected to be published this week, is likely to be the scrapping of jury trials for certain offences.
The idea in Sir Brian Leveson’s independent inquiry is that it will help reduce the record backlog in the courts. But for many the right to a jury trial, except for the most minor offences, is synonymous with the right to a fair trial and watering it down would be hugely controversial.
Continue reading...Authorities urge residents to stay indoors and say more than 700 firefighters battling blaze
A fast-moving wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has been raging on the outskirts of France’s second-largest city, Marseille, officials said, as firefighters around the Mediterranean battle blazes sparked by an intense heatwave.
“The fire is on the fringes of Marseille,” the regional prefect, Georges-François Leclerc, told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the blaze was not yet stable or contained, but the situation appeared to be “under control”.
Continue reading...News of Roman Starovoit’s death made public shortly after that of his sacking by Putin, but timeline is unconfirmed
Russia’s former transport minister has died from a gunshot wound just hours after Vladimir Putin sacked him.
The body of Roman Starovoit, the ex-minister, was found in his car in a Moscow suburb. He appeared to have killed himself, Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement.
Continue reading...Three were in critical condition but have since improved after incident in Aurillac, south-central France
A unusual attack by bees in the French town of Aurillac has left 24 people injured, including three who were in critical condition but have since improved, according to local authorities.
Passersby were stung over a period of about 30 minutes on Sunday morning, according to the prefecture of Cantal, in south-central France. Firefighters and medical teams treated the victims, while police set up a security perimeter until the bees stopped their attack.
Continue reading...iPhone maker accuses European Commission of going ‘far beyond what the law requires’ in ruling
Apple has launched an appeal against an “unprecedented” €500m (£430m) fine imposed by the EU on the company, in the latest clash between US tech companies and Brussels.
The iPhone maker accused the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – of going “far beyond what the law requires” in a dispute over its app store.
Continue reading...Vessels on Rhine in Germany and Danube in Hungary forced to sail partially loaded
Low water levels after heatwaves and drought are limiting shipping on some of Europe’s biggest rivers including the Rhine and the Danube and pushing up transport costs.
As much of Europe swelters in hot temperatures, water levels in its main rivers have fallen. This is affecting shipping along the Rhine – one of Europe’s key waterways – south of Duisburg and Cologne in Germany, including the choke point of Kaub, forcing vessels to sail about half full.
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