Tehran denies Khayyam satellite will be under Russian control, despite reported admission by Moscow
Russia has launched an Iranian satellite from Kazakhstan amid concerns it could be used for battlefield surveillance in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Iran has denied that the Khayyam satellite, which was delivered into orbit onboard a Soyuz rocket launched from Baikonur cosmodrome, would ever be under Russian control.
Continue reading...Head of region announces death after attack on base deep inside the occupied Crimean peninsula in what is being seen as a significant strike
Here are some of the latest images to be distributed from Ukraine on the newswires.
Reuters reports that the Turkish defence ministry has said two further grain-carrying ships have sailed from Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port on Tuesday, as part of the deal to unblock Ukrainian sea exports.
Continue reading...Government says Slovenian plans to ‘standardise’ use of name threaten traditional producers in Modena
The Italian government is launching infringement proceedings against Slovenia in an attempt to defend the authenticity of its famed, geographically protected balsamic vinegar.
Relations between the two countries turned sour last year when Slovenia notified the European Commission of its plans to “standardise” its vinegar production, essentially seeking to market any wine vinegar mixed with concentrated fruit juice or must as “balsamic vinegar”.
Continue reading...Man took jamón from warehouse where he worked, defrauding employers out of €520,000 over six years
A man in Huelva in southern Spain has been jailed for defrauding his employers out of €520,000 (£439,000) after he stole and resold 7,000 hams.
The man, who has not been named, stole the jamón from the curing warehouse where he worked over a period of six years from 2007 to 2013. Although he faced a six-year sentence, it was reduced to 11 months and 29 days because the case took so long to come to trial.
Continue reading...City raises upper limit of penalties for causing disturbance after botellones grow in popularity since Covid
Barcelona is clamping down on outdoor drinking parties known as botellones by imposing fines of up to €600 (£506).
Until now, fines have ranged from €60-€100, which, if paid within 30 days, are reduced by 75%.
Continue reading...Ruling party steps up rhetoric by suggesting it could unseat European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen
Poland’s national-conservative government has significantly toughened its rhetoric in its rule-of-law standoff with Brussels, threatening to turn “all our cannon” on the European Commission and if necessary build a coalition to unseat its president.
If the EU executive “tries to push us against the wall we will have no choice but to pull out all the weapons in our arsenal” and respond “an eye for an eye”, said Krzysztof Sobolewski, the general secretary of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Continue reading...Moscow blames Ukraine war sanctions for preventing mutual inspection of its nuclear arms under New Start treaty
Russia has suspended an arrangement that allowed US and Russian inspectors to visit each other’s nuclear weapons sites under the 2010 New Start treaty, in a new blow to arms control.
Mutual inspections had been suspended as a health precaution since the start of the Covid pandemic, but a foreign ministry statement on Monday added another reason Russia is unwilling to restart them. It argued that US sanctions imposed because of the invasion of Ukraine stopped Russian inspectors travelling to the US.
Continue reading...Revival of agreement awaits ‘political decisions’ in Tehran and Washington after negotiators in Vienna agree text
The European Union has submitted a “final text” at talks to salvage the 2015 deal aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The revival of the agreement now awaits “political decisions” in Tehran and Washington after negotiators in Vienna agreed the text thrashed out between Iranian and European representatives over the past five days was the final text and could not be amended further.
Continue reading...Announcement brings financial aid from US to $8.5bn; Ukraine says staff at plant working under ‘barrel of Russian guns’
Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Kharkiv, has said that two people were killed in shelling on the region in the last 24 hours. He claimed that overnight the roof of the administrative building in Kharkiv’s Kyiv district had caught fire due to the shelling. His message ended:
As you can see, the Russians, because of their lack of success at the front, are striking peaceful towns and villages in the region. But we are stronger than their pathetic attempts to intimidate us. Victory is ours!
On 8 August, at 2.57am, one of the Telegram channels spread information that there was an air alert in Lviv, but due to technical reasons, the city and phone applications did not turn on the notification. This information is not true! There was no threat. Follow and trust only official sources of information.
Continue reading...Danish director, who won Palme d’Or for Dancer in the Dark, said to be ‘in good spirits’
Lars von Trier, the acclaimed and controversial Danish director, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his production company has announced.
In a statement released on Monday, Zentropa – which von Trier co-founded in 1992 with producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen – said the director is in “good spirits and is being treated for his symptoms” while he completes the upcoming final season of his TV trilogy series.
Continue reading...Water levels in southern Norway so low domestic consumers may be prioritised over international customers
British consumers could face even higher bills and potential energy shortages this winter after Norway threatened to ration electricity exports.
The UK receives hydroelectric power from Norway through a subsea interconnector cable running beneath the North Sea.
Continue reading...Kyriakos Mitsotakis said eavesdropping on the Pasok party chief, Nikos Androulakis, was wrong
The Greek prime minister has attempted to douse a wiretapping scandal engulfing his government, claiming he had no idea the country’s socialist party leader was being monitored by intelligence services reporting directly to him.
In an address to the nation on Monday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the phone tapping of the Pasok party chief, Nikos Androulakis, as a mistake that should never have occurred.
Continue reading...Two residents of Ukraine accused of working for Russian intelligence said to be under arrest
Ukraine’s domestic security service has arrested two people allegedly working for Russian intelligence services who planned to kill Ukraine’s defence minister and the head of its military intelligence agency.
The security service of Ukraine foiled the alleged plot by the Russian GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three murders including that of a prominent Ukrainian activist, the agency said in a statement on Monday.
Continue reading...UN watchdog raises concerns as Russia and Ukraine trade blame for attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power station
Russia is strengthening its positions and numbers on Ukraine’s southern front to ready itself for a Ukrainian counteroffensive and is likely to be preparing the ground to attack, according to British and Ukrainian military authorities.
The assessment came as both sides traded blame for renewed shelling on Europe’s largest nuclear plant, with the UN nuclear watchdog raising grave concerns about the attack.
Continue reading...Ten-year-old girl suffers major head injuries as motocross bike rider at meet-up in Pontoise hits two children
French politicians have called for a crackdown on urban dirt-bike riding as a 10-year-old girl was critically ill in hospital after being hit by a motocross bike while she played on a housing estate north-east of Paris.
An 18-year-old boy was being questioned by police on Sunday after he handed himself in at a police station, accompanied by his lawyer.
Continue reading...Rights group defends allegations that military endangered civilians but says none of them justify Russia’s actions
Amnesty International has said it “deeply regrets the distress and anger” caused after it alleged that Ukrainian forces were flouting international law by exposing civilians to Russian fire.
“We fully stand by our findings,” the rights group said on Sunday, but it stressed that “nothing we documented Ukrainian forces doing in any way justifies Russian violations”.
Continue reading...Leader of Azione withdraws support from coalition led by Democratic party less than week after joining forces
An Italian centre-left alliance has broken down less than a week after coming together, potentially handing victory to a coalition that includes two far-right parties as the country prepares for general elections in September.
Carlo Calenda, the leader of Azione, a small centrist force that was seen as crucial to giving clout to an alliance led by the centre-left Democratic party (PD), withdrew his support on Sunday after the leader of the PD, Enrico Letta, signed a separate electoral agreement with parties including the radical leftwing group Sinistra Italiana, and Europa Verde, a green party launched last year.
Continue reading...Mercenary group does not officially exist but is playing a more public role and openly recruiting in Russia
Three billboards in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg shine a light on what was once one of Russia’s most shadowy organisations, the private military contractor Wagner.
“Motherland, Honour, Blood, Bravery. WAGNER”, one of the posters reads.
Continue reading...Government accused of ‘darkest practices’ in eavesdropping scandal that evokes worst days of country’s military rule
An eavesdropping scandal that sees Greece’s intelligence chief and the head of his personal office resign within minutes; calls for further resignations amid revelations of “dark practices”, and a spy crisis likened to Watergate.
The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is facing his toughest hour in office following the discovery that the mobile phone of his political opponent, the leader of the country’s third largest party, was tapped by order of EYP, the intelligence service that reports directly to his office.
Continue reading...Follow all the latest developments in Ukraine as Russia reportedly shells dozens of towns in east and south
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace today welcomed a decision by Sweden to join countries contributing to the UK-led programme to train Ukrainian personnel in the UK.
More details about the training programme can be found in this report from last month.
Continue reading...