Is Iceland’s language a Norse code – or legacy of Celtic settlers?

Gaelic origins of Icelandic words and landmarks challenge orthodox view of Viking heritage, says author

According to folklore, a Gaelic-speaking warrior queen called Aud was among Iceland’s earliest settlers. Her story is central to an emerging theory that Scottish and Irish Celts played a far bigger role in Iceland’s history than realised.

A book by Thorvaldur Fridriksson, an Icelandic archaeologist and journalist, argues that Gaelic-speaking Celtic settlers from Ireland and western Scotland had a profound impact on the Icelandic language, landscape and early literature.

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Naples plans ‘rebirth’ for its crumbling Poggioreale cemetery

Burial place has fallen into severe disrepair, to dismay of families of those laid to rest there

Wild vegetation smothers the crumbling tombs, most of them dating back to the 1800s, that line the square beneath the imposing Chiesa Madre, or Mother Church, at Poggioreale monumental cemetery in the southern Italian city of Naples.

In the middle of the square, a makeshift storage area has been installed for coffins containing retrieved skeletal remains of the dead that were flung out of burial niches after a series of collapses at multistorey marble columbariums last year.

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Anger and grief at rare public commemoration in Russia after Makiivka strike

About 200 people laid roses and wreaths in a central square in the city of Samara, where some vowed to ‘avenge’ the victims

Mourners have voiced grief and anger at a rare public commemoration in Russia for the scores of soldiers killed on New Year’s Eve.

Admitting its worst military losses from a single Ukrainian attack, Russia on Tuesday said 89 servicemen were killed when a temporary deployment point was struck in Makiivka, a town in the eastern region of Donetsk partially held by separatists since 2014.

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Germany spurns renewed Polish call for war reparations

Berlin insists all financial claims have been settled as Warsaw seeks £1.2tn for war losses

Germany has rebuffed the latest push by Poland’s nationalist government for vast reparations over the second world war, saying in response to a diplomatic note that the issue was closed, according to the foreign ministry in Warsaw.

Poland estimates its losses in the second world war caused by Germany at 6.2tn złotys (£1.2tn) and has demanded reparations, but Berlin has repeatedly said all financial claims related to the war have been settled.

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Zelenskiy warns of Russian drone campaign as Ukraine claims to have downed almost 500 since September – as it happened

Protracted campaign of Iranian drones to ‘exhaust’ Ukraine, says president. This live blog is now closed

Nato countries will discuss their defence spending targets in the coming months as some of them call for turning a 2% target into a minimum figure, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg told the German news agency DPA, according to a Reuters report.

Some allies are strongly in favour of turning the current 2% target into a minimum,” DPA quoted Stoltenberg as saying in an interview published on Tuesday.

We will meet, we will have ministerial meetings, we will have talks in capitals,” he said.

The parties discussed expected results of the next Ukraine-EU summit to be held on 3 February in Kyiv and agreed to intensify preparatory work,” the statement read.

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Tobacco companies to be billed for cleaning up cigarette butts in Spain

Ruling is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling

Tobacco companies are to be forced to foot the bill for cleaning up the millions of cigarette ends that smokers discard every year under new environmental regulations in Spain.

The ruling, which comes into force this Friday, is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling. It includes a ban on single-use plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene cups and plastic straws, as well as cutting back on plastic food packaging.

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Brexit: Northern Ireland protocol ‘perhaps a bit too strict’, says Varadkar

Irish PM says he understands unionists’ concerns and he will be ‘flexible and reasonable’ on matter

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has said mistakes were made on all sides in the handling of Brexit, vowing to be “flexible and reasonable” when attempting to solve issues with the Northern Ireland protocol.

“One thing I have said in the past is that, when we designed the protocol, when it was originally negotiated, perhaps it was a little bit too strict,” the taoiseach said, speaking in Dublin.

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‘I feel at home here’: descendants of Galicia’s emigrés return to the old country

Spain’s poor western region is welcoming back heirs of those who once left it – especially from troubled Argentina

Galicia has long been one of Spain’s poorest regions and since the mid-19th century Galicians have emigrated in their tens of thousands to seek a brighter future in the Americas. But now they’re coming back.

The Galician regional government says that returnees – the majority are Argentinians – are settling in the area at a rate of three a day. After more than 150 years of steady depopulation, in 2019 more people arrived than left, while, for the first time in its history, the reverse was true for Argentina.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Russian defence ministry says 63 servicemen killed in Makiivka — as it happened

Recently mobilised Russian troops said to have been killed; Ukraine reports 20 ‘aerial targets’ shot down above Kyiv

A New Year’s Day attack on a complex in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka killed scores of recently mobilised troops sent by Moscow, according to reports on both sides, in what could be one of the deadliest known incidents involving Russian conscripts so far.

Without claiming the strike, Ukraine’s military command said up to 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the incident in Makiivka, a city in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region.

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‘Extreme event’: warm January weather breaks records across Europe

At least eight countries experience record high temperatures of ‘almost unheard of’ heat, say meteorologists

Weather records have been falling across Europe at a disconcerting rate in the last few days, say meteorologists.

The warmest January day ever was recorded in at least eight European countries including Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, according to data collated by Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks extreme temperatures.

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Spain ‘ready for any scenario’ as Gibraltar talks with UK falter

Spanish foreign minister says he does not want ‘no deal’ relationship, but EU is prepared for hard Brexit for territory

Spain and the EU are prepared for all possibilities – including a hard Brexit – when it comes to the bloc’s relationship with Gibraltar, Spain’s foreign minister has said, adding that the ball was now in London’s court after 11 rounds of negotiations.

“Spain doesn’t want a ‘no deal’ scenario,” the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, told Europa Press. “The government of Spain and the EU, which is ultimately the signatory on the agreement with the UK, are ready for any scenario.”

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Hunters go home empty-handed on first day of Sweden’s biggest wolf cull

Hunters allowed to kill 75 wolves from an already endangered population of 460 amid ‘political pressure’ from hunting lobby

The biggest wolf cull in modern times has begun in Sweden as nature organisations warn it could drastically harm the population.

On Monday, the Guardian accompanied 200 hunters as they went to kill wolves in the frost-covered forests between Gävleborg and Dalarna, hunting from midnight until the sun set at 3pm. Groups will be going out across Sweden all month as they attempt to take down the large predators.

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Ukraine missile strike on Russian-held city of Makiivka kills scores of troops

Moscow says 63 of its soldiers died in attack on school building used as barracks amid claims death toll could be higher

A New Year’s Day attack on a complex in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Makiivka has killed scores of recently mobilised troops sent by Moscow, in one of deadliest single strikes against Russia’s forces since the war began.

Russia’s defence ministry, in a rare admission on Monday, said 63 Russian soldiers died when Ukraine hit “a temporary deployment facility” with four US-supplied Himars missiles.

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Germany calls for fireworks ban after attacks on rescue services

Chancellor condemns incidents on New Year’s Eve in which firefighters and police officers were targeted

German police and firefighters’ unions have called for a ban on personal fireworks on New Year’s Eve, as the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, condemned incidents of rescue services being targeted with firecrackers and rockets.

Groups of inebriated individuals setting off their own firework displays are a familiar sight on German streets at Silvester (New Year’s Eve), with shops allowed to sell not only sparklers but also small rockets, fountains and firecrackers during the last three days of the year.

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Zelenskiy and Putin signal desire to break war’s deadlock in new year

There has been little movement in the frontlines for weeks, and there are signs Russia lacks offensive combat power

Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its second calendar year at a delicate point. It is six weeks after the liberation of Kherson and there has been little movement in the frontlines either way since. There is not yet any sign of a full, renewed counteroffensive by the Ukrainians, not helped by the weather which has been above freezing, leaving muddy ground not conducive to military manoeuvre.

“The situation is just stuck,” Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, told the BBC last week, which, if an accurate assessment, is not helpful to Kyiv, badly needing to retain momentum in the run-up to spring. But the political leadership of both countries clearly signalled a desire to try to break the deadlock with new goals for the new year.

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Swamps, forests and shelling: new year on Ukraine’s northern frontline

Amid talk of Russia reinvading from the north, volunteer units of the remote Sumy region represent the first line of defence

On New Year’s Eve in a patch of forest along the north-east border with Russia, a unit of Ukrainian territorial defence forces stood guard in their trenches.

Ukraine’s most senior defence officials have said they believe Russia will attempt a second invasion from the north in the next couple of months, using troops who have been training for the past three months since being mobilised in October. But the Ukrainian forces defending the border say the Russians will not be able to break through as they did in February, when the Sumy region had no defensive lines.

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Russian claims its missile attacks are targeting drone production while Zelenskiy vows to keep up fight – as it happened

Ukraine president says his only wish for 2023 is victory. This blog is now closed

The Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs has posted a video illustrating how new year was celebrated under curfew in Kyiv last night.

Stefania, Ukraine’s Eurovision song contest winning entry, featured in London’s new year fireworks display last night, as did the colours of the Ukrainian national flag as England expressed solidarity with those under bombardment.

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Benedict XVI: thousands expected to pay respects to former pope

Benedict’s body displayed in chapel of the Vatican monastery and will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica

Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to former pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, in the days leading up to his funeral this week.

Benedict’s body was displayed on Sunday in a chapel of the Vatican monastery where he lived, and will lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica from Monday until Thursday. His funeral in St Peter’s Square will be a simple, solemn and sober ceremony in keeping with his wishes, the Vatican said.

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1m people gather on Champs-Élysées in Paris to see in new year

Parisians and tourists from France and abroad celebrate start of 2023 on famous avenue near Arc de Triomphe

An unexpectedly large crowd of 1 million people crammed on to the Champs-Élysées to celebrate the start of 2023, after two years of Covid cancellations – with Paris officials calling it a “renaissance” in people wanting to get together again and a taster for future big gatherings for the 2024 Olympics.

French authorities had expected about 500,000 Parisians and tourists to flock to the avenue, where a vast display of 340kg of fireworks was set off around the Arc de Triomphe at midnight during a special musical medley.

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Russia launches fresh strikes on Ukraine as Zelenskiy delivers new year message of hope

President says country ready to fight for return to normal life as Moscow launches latest wave of attacks

Ukraine was targeted by a fresh wave of strikes overnight as Russia’s attack on the country continued into a second year and the embattled President Zelenskiy said in a new year’s message that he hoped for victory.

Blasts were heard in Kyiv after midnight as people celebrated the new year indoors, but the destruction appears to have been limited to two cases of rocket debris falling on the city, damaging a car in the city centre.

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