Category Archives: Europe

Clothing prices rising in US as Trump tariffs kick in, H&M boss says

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Daniel Ervér cites ‘fast-moving situation’ as US administration has changed rules on several occasions

Clothing prices are beginning to rise in the US as Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods start to have an effect, according to the boss of H&M, one of the world’s biggest fashion retailers.

Daniel Ervér, the chief executive of the Swedish retailer, said: “In the US, we are starting to see some competitors increasing prices. Different competitors are acting in different ways. Some more aggressively and some more cautiously.”

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Shell has ‘no intention’ of making offer to buy BP after £60bn takeover rumours

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Statement to stock market follows media reports of early talks with BP to create a £200bn UK oil company

Shell has said it has “no intention” of making an offer for the rival fossil fuel company BP after speculation it had been planning a £60bn takeover, ruling out a formal approach for the next six months.

In an official statement to markets on Thursday, the company doubled down on the previous day’s denials that it was planning a bid, after media reports that it was in early talks with its competitor to create a £200bn UK oil supermajor.

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Northern Ireland nationalists fear focus on reconciliation stalling push for unity referendum

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Goal of reconciliation has become ‘undisguised unionist veto’, some argue amid dwindling momentum for vote

In Northern Ireland, it used to be the one goal that everyone could agree on: reconciliation. Whether the region stayed in the UK or united with Ireland, all sides acknowledged the need to heal wounds from the Troubles and to bridge differences between Catholics and Protestants.

Even those who riled the other side invoked reconciliation. How could they not? It was self-evidently a good thing.

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Change in Nato mindset brought on by Vladimir Putin as much as Donald Trump

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Allies agreed to raise defence spending to counter likely prospect of Russian remilitarisation if Ukraine war ends

The price was high, but for now, at least, a crisis in Nato has been averted. Donald Trump may like to take the credit for almost all of the 32 allies agreeing to a sharp increase in defence spending, but the reality is that the dramatic change in the Nato mindset was as much brought on by Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the first jolt, but there is a second uncomfortable reality. If there is a sustainable ceasefire in Ukraine, it will mean the deployment of a European-led peacekeeping force in the country – and after a while, Russia’s military might will inevitably recover.

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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez arrive in Venice for divisive wedding

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Celebrity guests for nuptials of Amazon founder and former TV journalist arrive as activists continue to protest against event

The billionaire Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and the former TV journalist Lauren Sánchez have arrived in Venice as they prepare to tie the knot in a lavish three-day celebration that has divided the lagoon city.

Scores of celebrities and other members of the world’s super-rich will also join the pair in Italy, arriving on superyachts and private jets.

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Briton accused of staging Disneyland mock wedding with child is charged with fraud offences in France

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Sex offender was arrested after alleged hiring of Disneyland Paris for fake ceremony with nine-year-old ‘bride’

A British sex offender accused of staging a mock wedding with a child at Disneyland Paris has been charged with money-laundering and fraud offences in France.

Jacky Jhaj, 39, who in 2016 was found guilty of sexual activity with two 15-year-olds, was arrested this weekend at Disneyland Paris after the theme park was hired for a private wedding. Staff are said to have called police when they saw that the “bride” in a wedding dress was a nine-year-old girl.

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Jeff Bezos alters Venice wedding plans after threat of inflatable crocodiles

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Amazon founder reportedly forced to change venue for his wedding celebrations in Italian city

Campaigners in Venice have claimed victory after Jeff Bezos was reportedly forced to change the venue for his wedding celebrations in the city as his guests started arriving on Tuesday for the three-day jamboree.

The main reception for the wedding of Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, a former TV journalist, was due to be held in the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building in the city centre.

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Ex-French PM Dominique de Villepin launches party with view to 2027 presidential run

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Senior figure has set up Humanist France and is attracting support due to his criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza

The former French prime minister and foreign policy chief Dominique de Villepin has launched a political party called Humanist France, with a view to a possible bid for the French presidency in 2027.

De Villepin, who was prime minister under the rightwing president Jacques Chirac from 2005 to 2007, is best known for his dramatic speech to the United Nations in 2003, setting out France’s opposition to a US-led Iraq war and warning of the “incalculable consequences” of military action in the region.

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Europe’s pledge to spend more on military will hurt climate and social programmes

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Nato spending plan overlooks risks to security posed by environmental breakdown and social decay, say economists

Europe risks choosing militarism over social and environmental security, economists have warned, as the head of Nato said all 32 members had agreed to increase weapons spending.

Analyses drafted in anticipation of a Nato summit beginning on Tuesday warned of the opportunity cost that higher military spending would pose to the continent’s climate mitigation and social programmes, which are consistently underfunded.

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Petition launched to stop Kanye West appearing at Slovakian festival

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The rapper is booked to headline the Rubicon festival in Bratislava, which protesters have called ‘a debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime’

A petition has been launched calling on the mayor of Bratislava to prevent Kanye West – legally known as Ye – from headlining a festival in Bratislava, calling the planned appearance “an insult to historic memory, a glorification of wartime violence and debasement of all victims of the Nazi regime”.

The Rubicon festival in the Slovakian capital claimed that they had secured an exclusive performance by the “hip-hop visionary, cultural icon and controversial genius” for mid-July.

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Noise pollution harms health of millions across Europe, report finds

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About 110 million people suffer stress and sleep disturbance that lead to tens of thousands of early deaths

More than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiological stress and sleep disturbance leads to 66,000 early deaths a year and many cases of heart disease, diabetes and depression.

The report, from the European Environment Agency (EEA), focuses on noise from cars, trains and aeroplanes and found that 20% of the population of the European Economic Area (EEA) were affected. Separate research, using a slightly lower threshold for dangerous noise pollution, found that 40% of the UK population were exposed to harmful transport noise.

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Canada and EU sign defence pact amid strained US relations and global instability

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Amid Trump’s disrespect of old allies, EU and Canada vow more support for Ukraine and joint work on climate crisis

Canada has signed a wide-ranging defence pact with the EU, as Donald Trump and global instability prompt traditional US allies to deepen their alliances.

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on Monday joined European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and head of the European Council, António Costa, in Brussels, where they signed a security and defence partnership, pledged more support for Ukraine, as well as joint work on issues from the climate crisis to artificial intelligence.

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Ukraine and UK to jointly produce long-range drones, Zelenskyy says

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Ukrainian president says two countries will deepen defence cooperation with the objective to ‘stop Russian terror’

Ukraine and the UK are to deepen their defence cooperation by jointly producing long-range drones, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday after talks with Keir Starmer in Downing Street aimed at forcing Russia to “think about peace”.

Zelenskyy said his main objective was “to save as many lives as possible” and to “stop Russian terror”. Writing on social media, he called for “maximum political and diplomatic coordination” and closer work on “joint defence projects and weapons production”.

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U2 guitarist The Edge becomes Irish citizen – after 62 years in the country

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English-born David Evans, 63, is conferred with ‘long overdue’ Irish citizenship

After decades of finely balanced procrastination, the U2 guitarist The Edge has officially become Irish.

The 63-year-old British subject was conferred with Irish citizenship on Monday, 62 years after moving to Ireland in a step he said was “long overdue”.

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Giant statues to return to Notre Dame’s spire in latest stage of restoration

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Copper-coated figures will be hoisted on to cathedral’s reconstructed spire after devastating blaze of 2019

Sixteen giant statues are to be hoisted back on to the spire of Notre Dame in the latest step of the cathedral’s €700m (£600m) reconstruction after the devastating fire of 2019.

The copper-coated figures, each weighing almost 150kg, escaped the blaze because they were removed from the Parisian landmark for renovation just four days before flames consumed the roof and destroyed the spire.

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Weather tracker: US and Europe swelter in June heatwaves

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Monday and Tuesday likely to be the hottest days of the year so far in eastern US while temperatures rise in Europe

This summer’s first heatwave has developed across the eastern half of the United States with most places having recorded their hottest temperature of the year so far on Sunday, which will then probably be beaten on Monday and Tuesday.

High pressure across the eastern US has funnelled up hot air from southern parts of the the country, resulting in what is known as a heat dome, initially across central regions on Friday, before spreading eastwards over the weekend. The temperatures rose significantly on Saturday, with Huron regional airport in South Dakota recording a high of 39.4C (102.9F), 13C above the average high in June for the region.

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Israel’s appetite for war in Gaza threatens its relationship with the European Union

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Scale of death and destruction in Gaza, and the violence of settlers in the West Bank, has shifted public opinion in the EU

In Israel, it can seem like only one other place really matters. Washington DC is on the other side of the world but provides Israel with weapons, the backing of the most powerful military in the world, and a critical diplomatic shield in forums like the United Nations.

Yet the country’s economy is bound far more closely to Europe than to the United States. A third of its trade is with the European Union, key academic work is supported by grants from the EU’s multi-billion dollar Horizon research fund, and it is the top destination for Israelis who want to travel.

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Europeans back higher defence spending amid Russia threat, poll finds

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Majorities in some countries back mandatory military service, and poll shows public sharply divided over Trump

Faced with an unpredictable Donald Trump and an aggressive Russia, Europeans favour increased spending on defence and, in some countries, compulsory military service.

A survey of 12 countries for the European Council on Foreign Relations showed majorities for increased defence spending in Poland (70%), Denmark (70%) and the UK (57%).

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Arrests in France after scores report being attacked with syringes at street music festival

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Interior ministry says 145 people across the country reported being stabbed with needles at Fête de la Musique events

French police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country’s annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday.

Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the Fête de la Musique, with authorities reporting “unprecedented crowds” in Paris. Before the party, posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities.

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Recovered Mike Lynch superyacht transferred to Sicilian town

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Investigators can now examine the Bayesian in Termini Imerese to determine cause of sinking in a storm last year

The superyacht belonging to the late tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been moved to a town in Sicily where British and Italian investigators will examine its sinking.

Lynch and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among seven people who died when the Bayesian sank off the Italian coast on 19 August 2024.

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