Category Archives: Europe

Greece tells Germans fearing huge heating bills to ‘come here for winter’

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German pensioners seeking ‘asylum’ from soaring energy costs and rising inflation are welcome in Greece, says minister

Greece’s tourism minister has sent an invitation to German pensioners wanting to escape astronomical heating bills and other high living costs this coming winter, urging them to see his country as an attractive alternative.

With gas bills already having doubled in Germany and expected to rise to around seven times the level they were a year ago, Vasilis Kikilias has said Greece offers the promise of warmth, hospitality and lower grocery and restaurant prices.

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Zelenskiy condemns Russian ‘terrorism’ as Vinnytsia attack kills more than 20

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Three children among dead and dozens of people injured after missiles hit civilian buildings in Ukrainian city

Russian missiles have struck civilian buildings and a cultural centre in the city of Vinnytsia, in central Ukraine, killing at least 23 people – including three children – and wounding dozens more in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called “an open act of terrorism”.

The attack on Vinnytsia, far from the war’s frontlines, occurred in mid-morning when the streets were full of people. It appeared to hit a business centre, setting cars on fire and sending plumes of thick black smoke over the city.

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Shanghai declares third rare extreme heat warning of summer

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Temperatures of over 40C cause red alert in the city and test records as heatwave ravages parts of Europe

China’s most populous city, Shanghai, has issued its highest alert for extreme heat for the third time this summer as sweltering temperatures repeatedly tested records this week.

The commercial and industrial hub of 25 million people declared a red alert on Thursday, warning of expected temperatures of at least 40C (104F) in the next 24 hours. Temperatures soared as high as 40.6 C in the afternoon but fell short of Wednesday’s 40.9 C, which matched a 2017 record.

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Russian war slowing growth and hiking inflation, European Commission warns

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Body revises economic forecast and says outlook for EU and eurozone heavily dependent on course of war

Europe’s economy faces the twin blows of slower growth and higher inflation as it struggles to deal with the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission has warned.

In its summer forecast, the governing body in Brussels said the “protracted war” was sending shockwaves through the eurozone and the wider EU, leading to a marked slowdown in activity next year.

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Europe could face energy rationing as ‘really tough winter’ looms, Shell boss warns

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Ben van Beurden says Ukraine war fallout means big rise in bills and possible need to ration supplies

European consumers could face the prospect of energy rationing this winter as costs continue to soar amid the risk of Russia cutting off gas supplies, Shell’s chief executive has said.

“It will be a really tough winter in Europe,” said Ben van Beurden, speaking at the Aurora spring conference in Oxford on Thursday. “We will all face very significant escalation in energy prices. In the worst case, Europe will need to ration its energy consumption.”

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Italy’s government on the brink as 5-Star threatens to boycott confidence vote

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Populist party says it won’t back cost of living package and could withdraw from fragile coalition

The Italian government is close to collapse after the 5-Star Movement said it would boycott a crucial confidence vote in parliament, prompting calls for early elections.

Giuseppe Conte, the former prime minister who leads the populist party, said the funds set aside for a cost of living support package were insufficient and that his senators could not support the bill on Thursday.

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More than 130 grain ships stuck in Black Sea as talks start in Istanbul

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Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey seek deal to enable exports to pass on to the Danube

A traffic jam of more than 130 cargo ships loaded with Ukrainian grain is waiting in the Black Sea to pass into the Danube as negotiators from Moscow, Kyiv, the UN and Turkey hailed progress at talks in Istanbul on easing Ukrainian agricultural exports.

The ships are waiting to access exit routes through the Sulina and Bystre estuary canals to reach a series of ports and terminals in Romania from where the grain can be transported on around the world, amid mounting global concern about the Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Turkey announces deal with Ukraine, Russia and UN aimed at resuming grain exports– live

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Turkey to monitor grain exports and establish coordination centre; Zelenskiy says ‘several hundred thousand children’ taken to Russia against their will

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency is reporting that the Russian delegation has arrived in Turkey for talks over the export of grain from Ukraine. They cite a diplomatic source.

The source told them there was “high confidence” of progress in today’s talks, at which military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet with a UN delegation at a secret location.

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Bakhmut bombarded in wake of Ukraine attack on Russian air defences

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Heavy shelling thought to be reprisal for Ukraine attack or preamble to renewed offensive on Donetsk cities

Russian artillery and rockets pounded the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut overnight and into Wednesday morning in what some sources speculated was a reprisal for a Ukrainian attack using a US-supplied Himars missile system on a Russian air defence site in Luhansk.

Others suggested the shelling could signal a renewed Russian offensive aimed at cities in Donetsk province.

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Halt use of biofuels to ease food crisis, says green group

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RePlanet calls on EU to ditch organic targets and for governments to lift bans on genetically modified crops

Governments should put a moratorium on the use of biofuels and lift bans on genetic modification of crops, a green campaigning group has urged, in the face of a growing global food crisis that threatens to engulf developing nations.

Ending the EU’s requirement for biofuels alone would free up about a fifth of the potential wheat exports from Ukraine, and even more of its maize exports, enough to make a noticeable difference to stretched food supplies, according to analysis by the campaign group RePlanet.

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Northern Italy drought threatens olive oil, risotto rice and passata supplies

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The region’s worst drought in 70 years is expected to hit crop yields significantly, driving up prices by as much as 50%

Supplies of olive oil, risotto rice and passata are under threat as northern Italy suffers its worst drought in 70 years, stirring up the cost of living crisis further.

Specialist importers are preparing for price rises of as much as 50% or more for rice and tomatoes and are considering looking for new sources of supply, after growers in the Po valley, the home of arborio rice used in risotto, warned of a “significant reduction” in crop yields this year.

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Donetsk town of Chasiv Yar reels from deadly Russian rocket strike

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Residents say they have nowhere to go nor the means to leave as frontline encroaches on civilians

In the small town of Chasiv Yar, not far from Ukraine’s eastern frontlines, rescue workers were still searching through the wreckage left by Saturday’s multiple rocket strike. At least 43 people died, one of the biggest losses of life in Ukrainian-controlled Donbas since a single Russian rocket killed at least 52 people at the train station in the nearby town of Kramatorsk in April.

The rescuers had managed to pull nine people out of the rubble but by Tuesday, they told the Guardian, they expected to recover only corpses.

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Russia ‘doesn’t have the courage’ to admit defeat, says Zelenskiy – 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

Russia’s Tass news agency is reporting that “dozens of people were injured as a result of the strike of the armed forces of Ukraine at Novaya Kakhovka”.

Novaya Kakhovka is on the Dnieper river in an area of Kherson occupied by pro-Russian forces in the south of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, there are casualties, a large number of injured, dozens of people were left homeless. The victims were admitted to both the city hospital and the military hospital. We still have to assess the damage, because the situation is still ongoing.

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Lego to end all operations in Russia after earlier halt to deliveries

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Most of toymaker’s staff in Moscow to lose jobs and partnership with retailer to be wound up due to invasion of Ukraine

Lego is to cease all operations in Russia “indefinitely” after pausing deliveries to its 81 stores in the country in March.

The world’s largest toymaker said it was ending the employment of most of its staff in Moscow and terminating a partnership with Inventive Retail Group, the company that runs stores on its behalf in the country.

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Ukrainian strike on Russian-held town attributed to US-supplied missile

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Several people reportedly killed in strike – possibly from Himars system – on ammunition store in Nova Kakhovka

At least seven people were reportedly killed by a Ukrainian missile strike on a large ammunition store in the town of Nova Kakhovka, in Russia-occupied Kherson, in a strike attributed to recently acquired US weapons.

The claims of fatalities were made by the Russian-installed administration in the town and could not be immediately verified, though footage on social media showed a large explosion lighting up the night, burning ammunition and towering smoke.

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Why is the euro doing so badly against the dollar?

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Analysis: Investors often turn to US currency in times of uncertainty and there are plenty of reasons for them to be jittery

It is two decades since the euro was last trading below $1.00 (£0.84) against the US dollar. Now the single currency is once again teetering on the brink of parity.

There are a host of reasons why, although the prompt for the most recent slide in the currency has been the fear Europe faces an energy crunch this winter.

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Dangerous heatwaves engulf parts of China, US and Europe

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At least 86 Chinese cities issue alerts, while temperatures soar in south-west and central US and Iberian peninsula

Dangerous heatwaves are engulfing parts of China, Europe, south-west and central US this week, as dozens of cities have found themselves dealing with soaring summer temperatures.

By Tuesday afternoon, at least 86 Chinese cities in eastern and southern parts of the country had issued heat alerts. Chinese meteorologists forecast temperatures in some cities would top 40C (104F) in the next 24 hours.

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Euro a whisker from dollar parity; Heathrow caps passenger numbers amid travel disruption – as it happened

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Euro slides to a 20-year low of $1.0001 on anxiety that Europe will fall into recession, as Heathrow introduces limit on summer holiday passengers

The euro is teetering ever closer to parity with the dollar.

It’s now trading at just $1.0005, on concerns that the shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for maintenance could become permanent.

“While we believe that a cessation of Russian gas supply to Europe is a real possibility, one that would cause a Eurozone-wide recession with three consecutive quarters of economic contraction, there are also good reasons to assume that gas supplies will resume after the maintenance.”

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Charcuterie’s link to colon cancer confirmed by French authorities

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Blow for industry as government backs WHO data and vows to cut additives in ham and cured sausages

French health authorities say they have confirmed a link between nitrates added to processed meat and colon cancer, dealing a blow to the country’s prized ham and cured sausage industry.

The national food safety body Anses said its study of data published on the subject supported similar conclusions in 2015 from the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Iran to supply Russia with hundreds of combat drones, US says

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White House says it shows how Russia’s weaponry has been depleted by its relentless bombardment of eastern Ukraine

Iran is planning to supply Russia with hundreds of weapons-capable drones for use in Ukraine, according to a top US official.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the information received by the US supported views that Russia’s heavy bombardments in Ukraine, which have led it to consolidate gains in the country’s east in recent weeks, were “coming at a cost to the sustainment of its own weapons”.

Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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