Category Archives: Europe

Patience is vital tactic in Ukraine’s hopes of turning tide against Russia

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Analysis: Kyiv says it is raising a million-strong army but it will need to carefully plan its counterattack

Ukraine hopes to assemble a “million strong” army to try to retake territory occupied by Russia, the defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said over the weekend. Its forces, he added, had also demonstrated to the US they could make good use of newly acquired longer-range rocket artillery, opening the door to the supply of more.

But however impressive sounding the claims were, it is hard to believe Ukraine is yet capable of an effective counteroffensive, even if the much-vaunted US Himars and the British M270 rocket artillery, with their range of 70km to 80km, have begun to arrive and are being put to good use. A turning of the military tide, if it happens at all, will most likely take time.

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Klarna sees its value slashed by 85% in latest round of fundraising

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‘Buy now, pay later’ firm, once Europe’s most valuable private tech company, valued at less than $7bn

Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” fintech darling that was once Europe’s most valuable private tech company, has seen its value slashed by 85% to less than $7bn in its latest round of fundraising.

The company, which enjoyed stellar growth while also being criticised for potentially leading shoppers into unsustainable debt, announced the valuation after the conclusion of a difficult $800m funding round as investors continued to question the true worth of many tech businesses.

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EU seeks clarification from former EC vice-president over Uber revelations

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EU executive responds following claims Neelie Kroes lobbied Dutch PM and others

The EU executive has announced it will write to its former vice-president Neelie Kroes “for clarification” following revelations that she secretly helped Uber lobby the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and a string of other national politicians.

The European Commission has been facing calls to open an immediate inquiry and “defend the EU’s integrity” in the wake of the reports, which showed that Kroes called Dutch government authorities about Uber less than six months after leaving her post as the EU’s top official on internet policy.

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Dior v Valentino: row breaks out after Rome show allegedly blocks boutique

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Dior reportedly demands €100,000 compensation from Valentino after Spanish Steps show ‘hampered’ access to store

A row has broken out in the world of high fashion after the French house Dior demanded compensation from Italian rival Valentino for allegedly blocking access to a Dior boutique during a show on the Spanish Steps in Rome, according to a claim by fashion website Women’s Wear Daily.

Valentino positioned its audience of fashion editors, photographers and celebrities – among them Naomi Campbell, Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway – at the foot of the 18th-century travertine staircase in Piazza di Spagna. The Dior shop on Via Condotti looks on to the piazza.

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EU recommends second Covid booster for vulnerable and over-60s

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Almost all European countries have reported surge in infections, driven mainly by Omicron variant BA.5

European regulators have recommended a second Covid-19 booster jab for everyone over 60 as well as all medically vulnerable people across Europe amid mounting infections and hospitalisations.

The EU’s health and medicine agencies had previously recommended a second booster for people over the age of 80 in April. But with concerns growing over the rise in cases in Europe, driven mainly by the Omicron variant BA.5, the advice has been widened effective immediately.

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Chasiv Yar death toll rises to 33 – 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 death toll from a Russian rocket attack that hit an apartment block in eastern Ukraine over the weekend rose to 18 this morning, and rescuers were still trying to reach survivors in the rubble, the emergency services said.

Rescuers were in voice contact with two people trapped in the ruins of the five-storey block in the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region that was struck late on Saturday, the service said.

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US tourist injured falling into Mount Vesuvius crater after taking selfie

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Man, 23, was trying to retrieve mobile phone and he and his family now face charges for entering forbidden area

An American tourist sustained minor injuries after he fell into the crater of Mount Vesuvius as he scrambled to retrieve his phone.

The 23-year-old and his family reached the 1,281m-high (4,202ft) summit of the volcano towering over the southern Italian city of Naples after bypassing a visitor turnstile and proceeding along an out-of-bounds path.

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Weather tracker: heatwave to sweep northwards across Europe

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Parts of France and Germany likely to experience temperatures above 40C this week, while highs in Iberia could touch 47C

Europe is once again entering a period of significant heatwave conditions this week, with the possibility of some record-breaking temperatures.

Sweltering heat has already been affecting Iberia over the past few days, with temperatures 4-5C above the seasonal norm, leading to highs above 40C (104F). Through the rest of this week, the heat is likely to build even more intensely to about 7C above average, with maximum temperatures touching 46-47C in Seville, for instance.

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Florence Pugh hits back at ‘vulgar’ criticism of her body on social media

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Black Widow actor rails at ‘how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see’

Florence Pugh has hit back at “vulgar” social media users who criticised her body, after she posted photographs of herself wearing a sheer dress at a fashion show.

“What happened to you to be so content on being so loudly upset by the size of my boobs and body?” said Pugh in an Instagram post on Sunday to her 7.4 million followers.

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Russia-Ukraine war live news: at least 15 killed in strike on apartment block; Zelenskiy dismisses ambassadors

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Donetsk governor says dozens trapped after hit in town of Chasiv Yar; Volodymyr Zelenskiy says dismissals are ‘normal part of diplomatic practice

The Independent is reporting that new polling suggests public support from Britons for Ukrainian refugees is waning.

The paper said that polling undertaken by YouGov in March indicated that 75% of people supported Ukrainians settling in the UK.

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Germany braces for ‘nightmare’ of Russia turning off gas for good

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Ministers fear flow may never restart as annual maintenance work soon begins on Nord Stream 1 pipeline

Germany is bracing itself for a potentially permanent halt to the flow of Russian gas from Monday when maintenance work begins on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that brings the fuel to Europe’s largest economy via the Baltic Sea.

The work on the 759-mile (1,220km) pipeline is an annual event and requires the gas taps to be closed for 10 to 14 days. But never before in the pipeline’s decade-long history has Germany seriously been asking whether the flow will begin again.

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At least 15 killed in rocket strike on apartment building in eastern Ukraine

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More than 24 people thought to be trapped in rubble of five-storey block in town of Chasiv Yar

At least 15 people have died and dozens were injured after a series of rockets fired by Russian forces hit a five-storey apartment building in the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow was accused of raising “true hell” in Donbas, stepping up the assault on the city of Sloviansk.

Earlier in the morning, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram that more than 24 people could be trapped under the rubble of the apartment block, as rescue operations were still under way.

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‘The folklore lends itself to it’: Ireland’s horror films find mainstream success

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Country’s film industry makes 20 horrors in last six years, as directors channel the vampires and banshees of traditional tales

A century after Bram Stoker introduced Dracula to the world, Irish storytellers are again conjuring vampires – as well as zombies, ghosts, changelings and grisly, mysterious diseases – and this time on the big screen.

Young film directors are channelling Ireland’s dark folklore and contemporary social ills into a wave of horror films that are finding mainstream audiences overseas.

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Row over UK child visas as Ukrainian violinist’s three-month wait continues

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Talented musician, 17, stuck in Russian occupied area after British government changes policy on travel rules

A talented 17-year-old violinist living on the frontline in south-east Ukraine has been left waiting three months for a British visa, revealing serious flaws in government promises to help unaccompanied children.

Anastasiia, who lives in the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where fighting has been intense, has faced constant shelling while waiting to join a family in Hertfordshire.

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Pivots, petulance and performance: how Boris Johnson will be remembered in Europe’s capitals

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The PM’s frivolous style won’t be missed in the EU, but his serious side emerged on Ukraine

Boris Johnson’s supporters last week championed his legacy as a bullish enforcer of the British people’s will against European technocrats.

The reality of his diplomatic record over six years in office, first at the foreign office and then at 10 Downing Street, is rather different. Negotiators in Brussels found the old Etonian more malleable than they had expected.

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Canada exempts Russian gas turbine from sanctions amid Europe energy crisis

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Ottawa defies Ukraine’s objections to return of equipment for Nord Stream 1 pipeline, saying it needs to support Europe’s access to ‘reliable and affordable energy’

Canada will return a repaired Russian turbine to Germany that it needs for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, despite objections from Ukraine, as the sanctions regime came up against the energy crisis sparked by the war.

Canada’s minister of natural resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, said in a statement on Saturday the government was issuing a “time-limited and revocable permit” to exempt the return of turbines from its Russian sanctions, to support “Europe’s ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas”.

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Ukraine urges people of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to evacuate

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Warning of ‘huge battle’ as Ukrainian armed forces plan counteroffensive in the Russian-occupied territories

Ukraine has warned residents in southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to evacuate as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive to retake the area. The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were quickly occupied by Russian troops in late February after they crossed the bridge from Russian-annexed Crimea.

Late on Friday night, Iryna Vereshchuk, the deputy prime minister for the ministry of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, called on Ukrainians in the occupied territories to leave by “all means possible”.

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‘Jokes are strategic’: how Mykolaiv’s leader uses humour to resist Putin

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Vitaliy Kim, taekwondo-practising governor of Mykolaiv region, is famous for making anti-Russian gags on his social media channels, but deadly serious about defeating his foe in the Kremlin

When Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine on 24 February, Vitaliy Kim was still in bed sound asleep.

“I was dreaming something, but can’t remember what, and when I woke up, everybody was panicking,” said Kim, 41, governor of the industrial region of Mykolaiv. “It was frightening. People were asking me what to do now.”

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‘We lost our fear’: the Basque terror group’s killing that made Spain say enough is enough

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The Eta group’s kidnap and murder of a young councillor in 1997 united a country in revulsion and the wounds are still open today

The place where it happened is out past the hotel, the roundabout, the pharmacy and the blocks of flats hung with washing and geraniums, out where the small Basque town of Lasarte-Oria gives way to a narrow road fringed with trees and ferns.

Today, little carries on the humid coastal air save for birdsong, the barking of a distant dog and the growl of a cultivator. But, 25 years ago this week, two shots from a .22 calibre Beretta pistol rang out beneath the trees and echoed across the length and breadth of Spain.

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