Category Archives: Europe

Weather tracker: flash floods in New York and a heat dome in Europe

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Rain overwhelms sewer system in parts of US city, while temperatures in France break May record

New York City saw flash flooding on Wednesday, as large parts of Brooklyn and Queens received about 2in (50mm) of rainfall in as little as 20 minutes. Officials said the deluge caused water to flow into the sewer system at a rate of up to 6in an hour, quickly overwhelming an aged network that was designed to accommodate just 1.75in an hour.

Residents and commuters found themselves wading knee-deep through flood water that flowed with dangerous speed in places. One video showed a woman alighting from a bus losing her footing and being dragged along by the torrent of water. Several major roads were blocked, including the Long Island Expressway, and subway services were disrupted as water spilled into stations. Large amounts of mud and other debris was left behind; videos showed bags of rubbish being swept down streets along with loose litter.

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‘A bridge, not an obstacle’: is Armenia a new crossroads between east and west?

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As former Soviet Republic goes to the polls, it finds itself in a strategic tug of war between Russia, the US, Turkey, Europe and Azerbaijan

To describe Yerevan, a charming city of liberal values encased in imposing Soviet architecture, as the centre of the world is a stretch, but Armenia’s claim that it can become the strategic crossroads of the landmass of Eurasia is becoming less and less fanciful. As the former Soviet Republic goes to the polls on 7 June for national elections, it finds itself in a five-way tug of war between Russia, the US, Turkey, Europe and Azerbaijan.

The interest has in part been sparked by the possibility of an end to Armenia’s conflict with its neighbour Azerbaijan – and the chance this represents for Armenia to end its physical isolation and become part of the middle corridor, a vital trade route linking western China and Europe, bypassing both Russia’s northern corridor and the Suez canal.

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Russia hits Kyiv with hypersonic ballistic missile in ‘deranged’ attack

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Assault hits water facility, market, residential buildings and schools, killing at least four and injuring dozens

Russia used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for a third time in Ukraine as part of a massive attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region that killed at least four people and injured about 100.

Russia hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region with the missile, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. He described a heavy Russian assault that also hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools.

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David Miliband: Europe and US need ‘separate bedrooms’ but not divorce

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Former Labour minister says complete disengagement has potential ‘for us to end up in a very, very difficult position’

David Miliband has said Europe should have “separate bedrooms” from the US, but not seek a “divorce” from its traditional alliance, despite the Trump administration’s impact on the relationship.

The former Labour foreign secretary, who has served as the president of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, said at the Hay literary festival on Sunday: “You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that.

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Irish gangland figure fails in Dublin byelection bid for seat in parliament

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Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch comes fourth in contest won by Daniel Ennis of Social Democrats

The Irish gangland figure Gerry “the monk” Hutch has failed in his bid for a parliamentary seat in a Dublin byelection.

The 63-year-old came fourth in a contest won by Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats, a victory for progressive politics after a campaign dominated by concerns over the cost of living and immigration.

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Extra EU border checks suspended at Dover as travellers face delays in heat

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Wait times of more than two hours reported at terminal for cross-Channel ferry to France

French police have temporarily suspended extra EU border checks at the port of Dover as thousands of holidaymakers face long delays in the hot weather.

Waiting times of more than two hours were reported at the terminal in Kent for the cross-Channel ferry to France.

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Former F1 world champion Alain Prost reportedly injured in robbery at Swiss home

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  • Police investigating an alleged home invasion

  • 71-year-old sustained a head injury, says reports

Swiss police are investigating an alleged robbery with reports that the four-times Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost was injured during a home invasion. The Swiss tabloid Blick reported late on Friday that the 71-year-old Frenchman sustained a head injury from intruders who forced his son to open a safe during the incident on Tuesday morning.

“The perpetrators entered the residence while the occupants were present, threatened them, and forced one family member to open a safe before fleeing with the stolen goods,” the public prosecutor’s office said. “Despite the extensive search operation launched, the perpetrators have not yet been apprehended.”

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UK needs ‘national consensus’ over rejoining EU, David Miliband says

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Ex-foreign secretary urges reset at ‘higher dosage’ after officials revealed to have pitched single market for goods

Britain needs a “national consensus” about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc.

The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at “a much higher dosage” than the government was planning.

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Soft power sell-off: anger as British Council announces sale of historic Madrid building

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Backlash grows among European staff against radical cuts to pay off Covid-era debt, with some accusing council of ‘colonial attitude’

The historic Palacete building at 31 Paseo del General Martínez Campos in Madrid’s upmarket Chamberí district has been home to the British Council in Spain for about 70 years.

About 5,000 students each year pass through its 35 classrooms, learning English, attending exams, and forging cultural ties with the UK. Over the years that is hundreds of thousands of Madrileños (people from Madrid), while it also serves as a centre for the expat community.

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Standard Chartered boss apologises for ‘lower-value human capital’ comments amid job cuts

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Bill Winters faced backlash over remarks about some of near 8,000 staff set to lose roles to AI

The chief executive of Standard Chartered has apologised for referring to some of the almost 8,000 staff that are set to lose their jobs to artificial intelligence as “lower-value human capital”.

Bill Winters offered the apology after a backlash over comments he made earlier this week as the London-headquartered lender became one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut about 7,800 back-office roles, primarily in response to AI.

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Carlo Petrini, Slow Food movement founder, dies aged 76

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Italy’s president leads tributes to campaigner who spent four decades promoting sustainability and local cuisine

Carlo Petrini, the journalist who founded the Slow Food movement in protest against the arrival of the first McDonald’s in Italy, has died aged 76.

Petrini, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in recent years, died in his home town of Bra in northern Italy’s Piedmont region. He had led Slow Food, which since 1986 has campaigned against fast-food culture by promoting sustainability and local cuisine, as president until 2022.

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‘Full-on summer heat’: western Europe braces for unusually high temperatures

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Portugal, Spain, France and UK expected to exceed 30C on Friday and into next week, with new May records predicted

A large swathe of western Europe is bracing for the first significant heat event of the summer, with temperatures forecast to rise to more than 10C above the norm and new monthly records for May expected to be set in possibly hundreds of places.

Temperatures across Portugal, Spain, France and the UK were expected to exceed 30C (86F) on Friday and into next week, reaching 32C in Paris and London and 35C in south-west France, with highs of up to 38C in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir regions of Spain.

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Estée Lauder ends merger talks with Gaultier owner Puig

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Sticking points to build beauty powerhouse included which family would hold balance of power

The US cosmetics company Estée Lauder has ended merger talks with its Spanish rival Puig over plans to create a fashion and beauty group worth almost $40bn (£30bn/€34.5bn) after the two sides failed to agree on the balance of power in the combined company.

Estée Lauder, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of skincare, makeup and fragrances, owns brands including Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford Beauty.

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Protests at new US consulate after Trump envoy says time for US ‘to put its footprint back’ on Greenland

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Prime minister says he will boycott opening, as protesters hold signs saying ‘stop USA’ and shout ‘go home’

Hundreds of people protested against the opening of a new US consulate in Nuuk after comments by the US special envoy to Greenland that it was time for Washington “to put its footprint back” on the Arctic territory.

Many Greenlandic politicians, including the prime minister, said they would not attend the official opening on Thursday.

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Italian police stop party attended by Mick Jagger over music ban

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Music is banned on Wednesdays on island of Stromboli where Rolling Stones frontman was celebrating wrapping a film

Police on an Italian island stopped a party attended by Mick Jagger – because music is banned on Wednesdays.

The Rolling Stones frontman was on Stromboli, the volcanic island among Sicily’s Aeolian archipelago, for the production of Three Incestuous Sisters, a film by the Italian director Alice Rohrwacher in which he stars.

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Macron says France must address issue of reparations for its role in slave trade

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French president’s use of term comes as demand grows for formal discussion on addressing legacies of enslavement

Emmanuel Macron has said reparations for France’s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people is an issue that should be addressed, but he stopped short of making clear proposals.

“How to repair … is a question that must not be refused,” the French president said in a speech on the legacies of slavery at the Élysée Palace. “It’s also a question on which we must not make false promises.”

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Hungary to limit PMs to eight years in office, warding off any Orbán comeback

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Péter Magyar’s draft amendment would prevent his predecessor from returning to the role

Hungary’s new government, led by Péter Magyar, has put forward a constitutional amendment that would limit prime ministers to a maximum of eight years in office, in effect barring Viktor Orbán from returning to the role.

The draft amendment was submitted on Wednesday, just over a week after the new government took office. It marked Magyar and his Tisza party’s first step in dismantling a constitution that was unilaterally rewritten and amended more than a dozen times as Orbán and his Fidesz party worked to turn Hungary into what they called a “petri dish for illiberalism”.

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Air France and Airbus guilty of corporate manslaughter for 2009 plane crash

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Firms given maximum fine of €225,000 each and are expected to appeal after lower court had cleared them

A Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash that killed 228 passengers and crew.

The verdict is the latest milestone in a legal marathon involving two of France’s most emblematic companies and families of the mainly French, Brazilian and German victims of France’s worst air disaster.

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Dublin gangland figure brings extremist views to Irish mainstream on campaign trail

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Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch has won fans in north Dublin byelection campaign with anti-immigrant rhetoric

Elaine Roe, 61, a cafe worker, has no doubt what is the most important issue in this week’s byelection for Dublin’s north inner city. “The government is wrecking our country, they’re bringing in rapists and murderers and kidnappers. It’s a shame. I might vote Hutch, he seems a normal person.”

That would be Gerry “the monk” Hutch, a prominent gangland figure who is running as an independent in an election that is far from normal. The 63-year-old – who was jailed for robbery convictions in his youth – is a celebrity candidate in a contest for a parliamentary seat that has been dominated by xenophobia and immigration.

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Norwegian court blocks extradition to Greece of migrant rights activist

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Case hailed as human rights victory as Tromsø court says Tommy Olsen’s actions are lawful and protected under international treaties

The decision of a Norwegian appeals court to dismiss the extradition of an activist accused of facilitating the illegal entry of people into Greece has been hailed as a rare victory for human rights.

In a judgment described as unprecedented by lawyers representing Tommy Olsen, the Norwegian founder of the NGO the Aegean Boat Report, the court unanimously rejected the request saying his actions were not only lawful but protected under international treaties to which both countries adhered.

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