Elon Musk has been warned he has ‘huge work ahead’ to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act
The European Union has raised the prospect of a substantial fine or ban for Twitter after warning that it must “significantly increase” efforts to comply with new online legislation.
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, was told he had “huge work ahead” to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires tech firms to tackle problems including abusive posts and disinformation.
Continue reading...Foreign Office targets 22 officials, including Denis Manturov, deputy prime minister responsible for troop supplies
The UK has announced a fresh round of sanctions against 22 Russians, including those the Foreign Office says were involved in enlisting criminals to fight in Ukraine.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, said on Wednesday his department would target a new set of officials, including Denis Manturov, the deputy prime minister, who is responsible for troop equipment supplies.
Continue reading...State attempts to push through plans to shut hundreds of farms to cut nitrogen oxide emissions
The Dutch government is offering to buy out up to 3,000 “peak polluter” farms and major industrial polluters in an attempt to reduce ammonia and nitrogen oxide emissions that are illegal under EU law.
The nitrogen minister, Christianne van der Wal, said farmers would be offered more than 100% of the value of their farms to quit. For the first time, the government has said that forced buyouts will follow next year if the voluntary measures fail.
Continue reading...Staff member sustained light injuries in blast that occurred while he was handling letter, say police
An employee at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid has sustained minor injuries after opening what is thought to have been a homemade letter bomb, prompting Kyiv to warn its diplomats to bolster their security precautions.
Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, said the embassy in the Spanish capital had received an envelope as part of a mail delivery.
Continue reading...Draft regulations would ban mini-shampoo bottles and throwaway cups, with push towards reuse over recycling
The EU executive wants to ban mini-shampoo bottles in hotels and the use of throwaway cups in cafes and restaurants, as part of sweeping legal proposals to curb Europe’s mountains of waste.
A draft EU regulation published on Wednesday also proposes mandatory deposit and return schemes for single-use plastic drinks bottles and metal cans, as well as an end to e-commerce firms wrapping small items in huge boxes.
Continue reading...Employee at Ukrainian embassy in Spain injured handling a letter; UK targets 22 Russians including deputy PM Denis Manturov. This live blog is closed
The UK is to sign a new digital trade agreement with Ukraine that will give the country access to Britain’s financial services industry.
Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, will sign the agreement with the UK’s trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, on Wednesday. Officials say the deal – based on a similar agreement earlier this year between the UK and Singapore – will support digital commerce through the facilitation of cross-border data flows.
Continue reading...‘Our dear Masha, we all hope that you will be alright!’ said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of trio of women who led 2020 protests
The jailed Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova has been admitted to intensive care and undergone surgery, her allies have said.
“Maria is in the emergency hospital in Gomel, in the intensive care unit,” said the press service of Viktor Babaryko, another opposition politician.
Continue reading...Nato doubles down on promise to one day include Ukraine in alliance; supplies to restore Ukraine’s battered electricity grid running low
Continue reading...Chinese state broadcaster transmits from Chiswick studio despite Ofcom revoking UK licence last year
France’s media regulator is under pressure to withdraw a licence that allows the Chinese state broadcaster to beam its programmes across Europe from a studio in west London.
Ofcom revoked the organisation’s licence to transmit in the UK last year but the China Global Television Network (CGTN) was able to continue broadcasting following authorisation from the French authority.
Continue reading...Racing to wean itself off Russian gas supplies, Germany is set to buy 2m tonnes of liquid gas from Gulf state
German firms have signed a 15-year deal to buy 2m tonnes of liquid gas from Qatar, sending out mixed signals over the priority Germany places on human rights in the Gulf and its commitment to a carbon neutral energy supply.
The deal was announced by state-owned Qatar Energy and deliveries will start from 2026. The gas will be sold by Qatar to the US company ConocoPhillips, which will then deliver it to the LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel, Qatar’s energy minister said in the capital, Doha.
Continue reading...Andriy Pavelko and general secretary accused of embezzling funds related to construction of artificial grass factory
Two leading officials in Ukraine’s football association, including its head, have been arrested over fraud and money-laundering allegations related to the construction of an artificial grass factory.
Andriy Pavelko, the president of the Ukraine FA, and Yuri Zapisotsky, the association’s general secretary, are accused of “embezzling” 26.5m Ukrainian Hryvnia (£600,000).
Continue reading...The climate activists claim to have targeted 4x4 owners in eight European and US cities
Guerrilla climate activists Tyre Extinguishers have claimed their “largest ever night of action against SUVs”, with 900 of the vehicles targeted around the world.
“Last night (the evening of Monday 28 November and early morning of Tuesday 29 November), citizens in eight countries deflated tyres on nearly 900 polluting SUVs,” the activist group said in a statement.
Continue reading...Former Labour foreign secretary does not rule out return to UK politics before next election and urges greater EU cooperation
The former foreign secretary David Miliband has fuelled speculation that he is preparing a political comeback in Britain after he said nothing had yet been decided on his return and delivered a set piece foreign policy speech urging the UK to make greater cooperation with the EU.
Miliband lost the Labour leadership to his brother Ed in 2010 and resigned from the shadow cabinet. He stood down as an MP and moved to New York in late 2013 with his family to act as the chief executive of the International Rescue Committee.
Continue reading...Study by British Chambers of Commerce reveals flagship bill to purge EU laws is low priority for firms
Most UK businesses have no interest in or understanding of the government’s flagship “Brexit freedoms” plan to scrap EU regulations, according to a survey of bosses.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said almost three-quarters of company directors were either unaware of the government plans or did not know the details. Across all business areas, about half in the survey of almost 1,000 firms said deregulation was either a low priority or not a priority at all.
Continue reading...Mélanie Joly, the foreign minister in Ottawa, says Russia’s targeting of energy grid and civil infrastructure only strengthens allies’ support
Nato remains firmly committed to supporting Ukraine through a “difficult” winter, even though an end to the conflict with Russia remains out of sight, Canada’s foreign minister has told the Guardian.
“Russia isn’t at the negotiation table at all. And so our goal right now is just to reinforce Ukraine’s position on the ground through military aid, intelligence sharing and financial support,” said Mélanie Joly. “Because when we do that, we’re actually reinforcing their position at the negotiation table. There will be a diplomatic solution eventually. That’s been the case in every single conflict. But we’re not there yet.”
Continue reading...The three stowaways were rescued by the Spanish Coastguard in Las Palmas on Monday after an 11-day voyage
The Spanish coastguard has rescued three migrants who stowed away on a tanker that arrived in the Canary Islands from Nigeria by balancing on its rudder just above the waterline.
In a photograph distributed on Twitter by the coastguard on Monday, the three stowaways are shown perched on the rudder of the oil and chemical tanker Alithini II.
Continue reading...Representatives of Eurosceptic insist he had been left with no option but to appeal to European court of human rights
Lawyers for Owen Paterson have admitted the irony of the former MP bringing a case against the UK government at the European court of human rights, despite having previously called on Britain to “break free” of the court entirely.
Representatives for Paterson, a prominent Eurosceptic Conservative who resigned last year in the midst of a lobbying scandal, issued a statement on Monday insisting he had been left with no option but to appeal to a court whose authority he had previously questioned.
Continue reading...Arrests made in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Dubai, including one ‘extremely big fish’
A “super-cartel” that controlled one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe has been taken down in six countries, police have said.
The EU police agency, Europol, announced that 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation, after raids in Europe and the United Arab Emirates targeting the cartel’s “command and control centre” and logistics network.
Continue reading...Diplomat in Moscow says US has ‘put a significant proposal on the table’ in effort to free basketball star jailed on drugs conviction
The US is waiting for a “serious response” from Russia to a series of proposals regarding the release of the basketball star Brittney Griner, a senior US diplomat said.
Elizabeth Rood, the US chargée d’affaires in Moscow, told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency that talks about freeing Griner – who was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs – were ongoing. But Rood said Russia was yet to seriously engage.
Continue reading...Officials warned last year more than 90% of municipalities were at risk from landslides, floods and erosion
There have been calls to limit and crack down on both legal and illegal construction in Italy after the head of the country’s civil protection office said more than 90% of Italian municipalities were at risk from landslides and other natural disasters.
Fabrizio Curcio made the comments in an interview with La Stampa after travelling to the southern Italian island of Ischia, where eight people including a 22-day-old baby are so far confirmed to have been killed in a landslide on Saturday.
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