Category Archives: Europe

Ukraine authorities detain eight people over theft of Banksy mural outside Kyiv

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Stencil image, which shows figure in nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, was removed in Hostomel on Friday

Eight people have been detained over the theft of a mural painted by the elusive British street artist Banksy from a wall on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukrainian authorities said.

The stencil image of a person in a nightgown and gas mask holding a fire extinguisher, next to the charred remains of a window in the town of Hostomel, went missing on Friday, they said.

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People try to steal Banksy mural in Ukraine

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Police make arrests and secure image of gas-masked woman in dressing gown sprayed on Hostomel wall

A group of people have tried to take a mural in Ukraine by the graffiti artist Banksy, by cutting away a section of war-damaged wall where it was sprayed.

The group managed to slice off a section of board and plaster bearing the image of a woman in a gas mask and dressing gown holding a fire extinguisher on the side of a scorched building.

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EU states agree $60 a barrel cap on Russian oil after Polish green light

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Poland, which was pushing for low cap, says deal will keep it at least 5% below market rate

European Union member states have agreed to put a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian oil after Poland, which was holding out, gave the green light to the deal.

In an effort to reduce the Kremlin’s income from fossil fuels, the EU has agreed to limit the amount that can be paid for seaborne oil to curtail Moscow’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

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Campaigners celebrate changing of colonial street names in Berlin

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Street and square in north-east of city renamed in tribute to figureheads who resisted forced rule in Africa

Campaigners who have fought for decades for Germany to confront its colonial past celebrated the renaming of a square and a street in the north-east of Berlin on Friday in tribute to figureheads who resisted forced rule in Africa.

Manga Bell Platz in the so-called African Quarter of Berlin’s Wedding district was renamed in memory of Rudolf and Emily Duala Manga Bell, a king and queen of Duala in Cameroon who fought against German colonialism. Rudolf Duala Manga Bell, who had been educated in Germany, was executed along with about 100 other people by German authorities in August 1914 after a sham trial.

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Russia’s vicious tactics in Ukraine serve only to further expose its weakness

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Moscow had hoped to easily capture Ukraine – having totally failed, it has resorted to simply destroying it

The Kremlin thought it would sweep across Ukraine and take Kyiv in a matter of days.

Now, more than nine months into its disastrous war with Ukraine, the new Russian strategy of targeting the infrastructure that brings light, heat and water into millions of Ukrainian homes has revealed Russia’s own weakness and its desperation in the face of a defiant Ukrainian resistance.

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Paraglider crosses border from Morocco into Spanish enclave and disappears

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Spanish authorities hunt for person seen landing near border fence in Melilla and running off

Spanish authorities are looking for a person who used a paraglider to cross over a border fence from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Melilla in what appears to be the first use of the method to migrate into European territory.

Footage obtained by El Faro newspaper shows a person landing near the fence and then running off, leading officials to suspect the individual was trying to reach Europe.

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BP shares in Kremlin oil firm are ‘blood money’, says Zelenskiy adviser

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British oil giant had said it would ‘exit Russia’ but still owns nearly 20% of state-controlled fossil fuel firm Rosneft

The chief economic adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called on BP to exit Russia entirely after the fossil fuel firm was offered a £580m dividend by the oil giant Rosneft.

Oleg Ustenko has written to BP’s chief executive, Bernard Looney, to demand the British company cuts ties with the state-controlled Russian firm nine months after announcing its intention to leave the country.

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Germany faces ‘catastrophic’ paediatric bed shortage as RSV cases soar

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Rising cases of respiratory syncytial virus after pandemic leading to critical hospital pressures

Intensive care doctors in Germany have warned that hospital paediatric units in the country are stretched to breaking point in part due to rising cases of respiratory infections among infants.

The intensive care association DIVI said the seasonal rise in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases and a shortage of nurses was causing a “catastrophic situation” in hospitals.

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Biden ‘working with Macron’ to hold Russia accountable for ‘brutal’ Ukraine war – as it happened

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We’re still waiting for Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron to appear for their press conference at the White House.

Elsewhere in Washington, the Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz might be a little uneasy today, as a former tax collector whose arrest led to a wide-ranging sex-trafficking investigation faces sentencing.

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Max Beckmann self-portrait breaks German art auction record with €20m sale

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Beckmann painted work in Amsterdam after fleeing Nazi Germany and shows him as younger man with enigmatic smile

A rare and remarkable self-portrait by the 20th-century German expressionist Max Beckmann has sold in Berlin for €20m (£17m), breaking the record for a work of art sold at auction in Germany.

The striking Selbstbildnis gelb-rosa (Self-portrait Yellow-Pink) was painted by Beckmann during his wartime exile in Amsterdam after he fled Nazi Germany. The identity of its new owner was not immediately available. With fees and other charges, the cost to the buyer was €23.2m.

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Israel strips Palestinian-French rights lawyer of Jerusalem residency

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Salah Hamouri expected to be deported after decision on grounds of ‘breach of allegiance’ to state

Israel has stripped a prominent Palestinian-French human rights lawyer of his Jerusalem residency and is expected to deport him to France, a legal first that sets a dangerous precedent for other Palestinians with dual nationality in the contested city.

Salah Hamouri, 37, had his Jerusalem residency revoked in October 2021 on the grounds of a “breach of allegiance” to the Israeli state, based on secret evidence. Israel alleges he is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel’s western allies.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia ‘pulls back forces from towns opposite Kherson’ – as it happened

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Statement gave only limited details and made no mention of any Ukrainian forces having crossed the Dnipro

A bridge is seen collapsed over a river near Lyman city, Ukraine.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov also accused Nato of trying to drag India into what he called an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese alliance at a time when he said the West was attempting to squeeze out Russian influence.

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New York and Singapore top the list of world’s most expensive cities in 2022

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Sydney sneaks into Top 10 as rising energy prices send inflation soaring globally, Economist Intelligence Unit survey finds

New York was the world’s most expensive metropolis in 2022, sharing the unwanted title with Singapore, as soaring energy prices doubled the inflation rate across the major global cities, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual survey.

Last year’s leader Tel Aviv dropped to third, while Sydney snuck into the Top 10 and Moscow and St Petersberg in Russia scaled the rankings by as much as 88 places as sanctions and buoyant oil prices propelled prices higher, the EIU’s Worldwide Cost of Living report found.

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EU raises prospect of big fine or ban if Twitter fails to follow new legislation

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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.

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UK imposes fresh round of sanctions on Russian officials

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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.

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Up to 3,000 ‘peak polluters’ given last chance to close by Dutch government

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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.

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Man injured in explosion at Ukraine embassy in Madrid

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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.

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