Category Archives: Europe

Russian sponsorship row overshadows opening of Salzburg festival

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The festival defends decision not to cancel Teodor Currentzis’s appearance despite links to ‘Putin’s private bank’

The official opening of one of the world’s leading classical music festivals is being overshadowed by the appearance of a conductor whose orchestra and choir are funded by a bank controlled by the Russian government.

Cultural commentators have described Austria’s Salzburg festival, which is also receiving sponsorship money from a foundation with close ties to the Kremlin, of being in the grip of Vladimir Putin’s influence. Along with other classical music events in the region, they argue it has turned itself into a paradise for dubious and often intransparent cultural-corporate partnerships, referred to as “toxic sponsorship”.

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Google to be banned in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions

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Leader of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic claims search engine is promoting ‘terrorism and violence against all Russians’

Google’s search engine is to be banned in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after pro-Russian authorities there accused the US tech giant of promoting “terrorism and violence against all Russians”.

In a statement posted to the social messaging service Telegram, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said: “The inhuman propaganda of Ukraine and the west has long crossed all boundaries. There is a real persecution of Russians, the imposition of lies and disinformation.”

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Weather tracker: record-breaking heat continues to scorch western Europe

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UK temperatures exceed 40C while France and Portugal hit new highs, with some extreme consequences

Record-breaking heat continued to affect parts of western Europe during the past week, with UK temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) for the first time since records began.

On Tuesday, several weather stations across London, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire broke the 40C barrier, with a top temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. A further 39 stations across central and southern England also broke the previous highest temperature of 38.7C, which was set in July 2019.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Russia ‘about to run out of steam’ offering Ukraine chance to strike back, head of UK intelligence says – live

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Russian military likely to pause operations in coming weeks, offering Ukraine an opportunity, says British spy chief

The United States estimates that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached around 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, CIA director William Burns said.

“The latest estimates from the US intelligence community would be something in the vicinity of 15,000 (Russian forces) killed and maybe three times that wounded. So a quite significant set of losses,” Burns said while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

Russia is prioritising the capture of critical national infrastructure, such as power plants.

However, it is probably also attempting to break through at Vuhlehirska, as part of its efforts to regain momentum on the southern pincer of its advance towards the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.”

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Ukraine calls for international tribunal to bring Putin to justice more quickly

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Trying top Russians for act of aggression could bring indictments ‘within three months’, says official

Ukraine has said it wants to establish a one-off international tribunal to try Russia’s top regime members for the act of aggression, which could see it issuing an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

Andriy Smyrnov, Ukraine’s deputy head of the presidential administration, said on Thursday that Ukraine believed trying Russia separately for the act of aggression, with international participation, would speed up its quest to hold the Russian president and his inner circle accountable.

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Far right in front for snap Italy election after Draghi goes

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Brothers of Italy party favourites to top ballot in September with 24% of votes based on recent polling

Italy will hold snap elections on 25 September that could see a coalition led by the far-right Brothers of Italy party win a majority, after Mario Draghi’s resignation as prime minister.

Announcing on Thursday that he had signed a decree to dissolve parliament, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, said: “The period we are going through does not allow for any pause in the [government] action which is needed to counter the economic and social crisis and rising inflation.”

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Irish people adopted abroad as children to get full access to their records

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Campaign launched to reach those sent overseas during years of hostility towards unmarried mothers

Irish people who were sent to Britain, the US and elsewhere for adoption when they were children as a result of decades-long Catholic hostility towards unmarried mothers will be entitled to unrestricted access to their birth certificates and other official records in Ireland for the first time thanks to a new law.

The Adoption Authority of Ireland, which has been charged with managing the scheme, has launched a campaign to reach adults who were adopted, formally or informally, overseas. It believes about 100,000 people will be affected by the new Birth Information and Tracing Act. The new law relates to all those born to parents within Ireland and adopted at home or abroad since the foundation of the state 100 years ago.

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Half of Russian spies in Europe expelled since Ukraine invasion, says MI6 chief

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Richard Moore says 400 intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover have been expelled

Half of all the Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover around Europe have been expelled since the start of the war in Ukraine, the chief of MI6 has told a US security conference.

Richard Moore, who heads British foreign intelligence, said the expulsions of about 400 Russian diplomats from countries in continental Europe, including France and Germany, had dramatically reduced the Kremlin’s espionage capabilities.

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Ten UK sex offenders travelled to Poland after Ukraine invasion, says NCA

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Ten said they were providing aid, did not inform police of their intent to travel and were asked to leave

Ten British sex offenders travelled to Poland after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, under the guise of humanitarian aid, according to British police.

In the six weeks after the outbreak of war, the individuals, all of whom had convictions for sex offences, travelled to Poland. The offenders were supposed to inform British police of their intent to travel, a spokesperson for the National Crime Agency said, and declare any convictions upon arrival.

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Italy’s Mario Draghi expected to resign as prime minister

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Former European Central Bank chief had failed to secure support from coalition partners in confidence vote

Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, is expected to confirm his resignation after three key parties in his broad coalition did not participate in a confidence vote on the conditions he set for his government continuing.

The former European Central Bank chief told the senate earlier on Wednesday that the survival of his unity administration hinged on “rebuilding the pact of trust” and spirit of cooperation of its early months, and asked for a vote on this basis.

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Russia may seek to occupy more territory in Ukraine, says foreign minister

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Sergei Lavrov’s televised remarks give signal Kremlin is planning a campaign to annex more regions

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has said that Moscow wants to permanently occupy broad swaths of southern Ukraine in the clearest signal yet that the Kremlin is preparing to launch a new round of annexations.

In televised remarks, Lavrov also said Russia may seek more territory along the frontlines in Ukraine, calling it a buffer against the Himars long-range rocket artillery provided by the US.

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Ukraine’s first lady pleads with US for more weapons: ‘Help us stop this terror’

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Olena Zelenska makes emotional appeal to Congress and asks for weapons to claim ‘joint great victory’ in war against Russia

The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, appealed to US lawmakers on Tuesday to provide more help to her country as it struggles against a five-month-long Russian invasion she called “Russia’s Hunger Games”, saying US weapons could help assure a “joint great victory”.

“We remain completely broken when our world is destroyed by war. Tens of thousands of such worlds have been destroyed in Ukraine,” she said, through a translator, in an emotional 15-minute speech to members of the House and Senate.

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AC Milan player Tiémoué Bakayoko speaks out after police held him at gunpoint

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The French midfielder and a male passenger were stopped by Italian police in Milan after he was mistaken for someone else

AC Milan footballer Tiémoué Bakayoko has spoken out against Italian police who held him at gunpoint after mistaking him for someone else.

The French midfielder and a male passenger were stopped as they drove in the Porta Garibaldi area of Milan on 3 July as police searched for suspects involved in an alleged shootout the night before.

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EU urges member states to slash gas use by 15% to counter ‘Russian blackmail’

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Call for voluntary cut until March 2023 with binding reduction targets possible when Moscow ‘likely’ halts supplies

The European Union’s executive body has urged member states to slash their gas consumption by 15%, as it warned that a complete shutdown of Russian supplies was “likely”.

The EU has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, but is alarmed about a potential energy crisis this winter.

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Indonesian islanders sue cement producer for climate damages

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Claimants say they are experiencing serious negative impacts and demand Swiss-based Holcim pay compensation

Residents of an Indonesian island threatened by rising sea levels have begun legal action against the cement producer Holcim.

The claim for compensation, filed in Switzerland by three men and one woman, is understood to be the first major climate damages lawsuit against a cement company.

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Moscow says peace talks ‘don’t make sense’ and hints at plans for new annexations – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The European Union will set out emergency plans later today to reduce gas demand within months, warning countries that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off deliveries.

Reuters reports:

Europe is racing to fill its gas storage ahead of winter and build a supply buffer in case Moscow further restricts supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Russia’s Gazprom has already halted deliveries to some EU states.

The European Commission will urge countries to prepare for possible further cuts by slashing gas use. A draft of the EU plan, seen by Reuters, would propose a voluntary target for countries to cut their gas demand over the next eight months, which could be made legally binding in a supply emergency.

EU officials said the target would be for a 10-15% cut in gas use.

The proposal, which could change before it is published, would need approval from EU countries who are largely responsible for their own energy policies.

There has been resistance from some countries, including Poland, who feel their contingency plans do not need a boost from Brussels.

A Reuters snap suggests Ukraine has shelled Antonivskyi bridge in the Russia-controlled southern Kherson region again, according to reporting from Russia’s Tass news agency citing Russia-installed authorities.

The bridge is badly damaged and likely to be closed to traffic today, Tass added.

Rachel Hall here, taking over from Samantha Lock on the blog – do get in touch if there’s anything you think we’ve missed. You can reach me at rachel.hall@theguardian.com.

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A new confidence: the east German economy finally gets a boom

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As supply chains fray around the globe, branches of industry are choosing Germany’s east to return to Europe

In over 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, eastern Germans have been told several reasons why they lag behind the west: an uncompetitive industry, a lack of jobs, a shortage of young workers.

But Germany’s new government believes the formerly socialist “workers’ and peasants’ state” is missing something else: trade unions.

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Italy begs Mario Draghi to stay as he prepares to face parliament

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President Sergio Mattarella rejects the prime minister’s resignation while pro-Draghi sentiment grows

The fate of the Italian government hangs in the balance amid growing pressure on Mario Draghi to remain prime minister as he prepares for a crucial speech in parliament on Wednesday.

The former European Central Bank chief’s resignation last week was rejected by President Sergio Mattarella, who instead asked him to address parliament in an attempt to avert what would be Italy’s third government collapse in three years.

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Germany worries about gas rationing as supply from Russia halted

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Temporary closure of Nord Stream 1 prompts fears for private consumers as well as industry

Germans are fretting about the coming winter freeze even while Europe sweats in record temperatures, amid uncertainty over whether a complete stopping of Russian gas deliveries would force energy rationing on private households as well as industry.

Germany, which has managed to reduce its reliance on Russian gas from 55% to about 35% of its demand since the start of the Ukraine war, is still heavily reliant on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which closed down for 10 days from 11 July due to scheduled maintenance works.

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Peace will be on Russia’s terms, says former president – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in occupied Ukraine, which is only recognised as a legitimate authority by Russia, Syria and North Korea, has stated that as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces, “one resident of Verkhnotoretske was killed, and three people were injured. Twenty-two residential buildings and seven civil infrastructure facilities were damaged.”

The claims have not been independently verified.

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