A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Cambodia to Costa Rica
Continue reading...Category Archives: Europe
‘We are ready for whatever comes’: on the Ukraine frontline
In Chonhar a blue and yellow flag marks the de facto border as Russian forces amass across a shimmering expanse of water
Peering through binoculars, Mykola Chekman pointed to the bridge connecting Ukraine to Russian-controlled Crimea. “It’s not the first time the peninsula has been occupied,” he observed. He added: “Crimea has seen a lot of war.”
Chekman – a Ukrainian army photographer – was standing on the castellated tower of what was once a tourist cafe. It is now a base for Ukrainian forces, facing off against their invisible Russian counterparts across a shimmering expanse of water and duck-filled lagoons.
Continue reading...Irish taoiseach looks to spring after lifting one of Europe’s longest Covid clampdowns
‘Humans are social and we Irish more than most,’ Micheál Martin tells country after ending 20 months of social restrictions
Ireland has ended what has been one of the longest and strictest set of coronavirus restrictions in Europe, with the end of lockdown declared “a good day” by the country’s prime minister.
In a televised address to the nation the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, announced that the “the majority of public health measures” would be swept away from 6am on Saturday after the cabinet concluded they were no longer justifiable.
Continue reading...Ukraine: US offers Putin summit with Biden in effort to stop slide to war
Move comes amid ‘frank and substantive’ talks in Geneva and announcement by Russia of new military exercises
The US has offered to hold a summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin as a last-ditch effort to stop the slide to a new war in Europe, as Russia continued to build up its forces along the Ukraine border and announced new naval exercises in the Black Sea.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Washington and its allies were also ready to respond in writing next week to Russian demands on the future of Nato and European security, which Moscow has said must be addressed to avoid it taking “military measures”. But, speaking in Geneva where he held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Blinken repeated the US and Nato position there could still be no compromise on the central issue of the right of Ukraine and other countries to join Nato in the future.
Continue reading...Around the world in 155 days: the teenager who flew into record books
Belgian-British Zara Rutherford braved acrid smoke and freezing Siberia on round-the-world journey in two-seater microlight
It should have been perfect flying weather when Zara Rutherford set off from Palo Alto in California for Seattle, a month into her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly solo round the world. But while the skies were clear, wildfires were raging on the ground.
She tried to avoid the towering plumes of acrid smoke by climbing to 12,000ft, but to no avail. “I couldn’t see in front of me,” she said. “It was all kind of a brownish, smoky, orange, dirty colour. I could smell the smoke as well, which was quite unpleasant.”
Continue reading...Dutch creator of The Voice accused of victim-blaming over abuse claims on show
John De Mol said women could learn lessons from scandal that took The Voice of Holland off air
The creator of reality TV shows including The Voice and Big Brother has been accused of victim-blaming by his company’s female employees after accusations of widespread sexual abuse of contestants on the original Dutch version of The Voice.
In a full-page advert in the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, a group of employees at the production company Talpa Media castigated its founder, John De Mol, for suggesting that women as well as men had lessons to learn from a scandal that has gripped the country this week and prompted the broadcaster RTL to take Friday’s episode of The Voice of Holland off air.
Continue reading...Biden warns Russia will ‘pay a heavy price’ if Putin launches Ukraine invasion – as it happened
- President clarifies comments from Wednesday on Ukraine-Russia
- Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticizes Biden’s ‘minor incursions’ remark
- Mitch McConnell condemned for comments about Black voters
- Democrats fail to advance voting rights bill in Senate
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Continue reading...Teenager becomes youngest woman to fly solo around the world – video
A Belgian-British teenager has flown into the record books by becoming the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. Zara Rutherford, 19, touched down at Kortrijk-Wevelgem airport in Flanders, completing a 52,000km (28,100 nautical mile) journey that took in 31 countries across five continents. 'It’s just really crazy. I haven’t quite processed it,' Rutherford, draped in British and Belgian flags, told reporters
Continue reading...Austria creates Covid lottery with €500 prizes to woo vaccine hesitant
Carrot-and-stick approach includes vaccine mandate and lottery tickets for fully inoculated
Austria has announced plans to give Covid-19 vaccine recipients an almost one-in-three chance to win a €500 (£415) gift voucher while MPs voted to fine those who decline it, as the Alpine republic implements its “carrot and stick” strategy for overcoming reluctance to take the jab.
The conservative-green coalition government of chancellor Karl Nehammer on Thursday morning unveiled what it called its “vaccination lottery” programme, which will run from 15 March until the end of the year and cost the government approximately €1.4bn.
Continue reading...US accuses Russia of conspiring to take over Ukraine government
Treasury imposes sanctions on four current and former Ukraine government officials it says involved in alleged conspiracy
The US has alleged that Russian intelligence is recruiting current and former Ukrainian government officials to take over the government in Kyiv and cooperate with a Russian occupying force.
The US Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Ukrainian members of parliament and two former officials it said were involved in the alleged conspiracy, which involved discrediting the current government of the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Belgian-Briton Zara Rutherford is youngest woman to fly solo around world
Nineteen-year-old completes 52,000km journey that took in 31 countries and five continents
A Belgian-British teenager has flown into the record books by becoming the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.
Zara Rutherford, 19, touched down at Kortrijk-Wevelgem airport in Flanders just after 1pm local time on Thursday, completing a 52,000km (28,100 nautical mile) journey that took in 31 countries across five continents.
Continue reading...Biden lays bare Nato divide over Russian aggression against Ukraine
Analysis: Greatest tension is between US and Germany over arms sale and energy dependency
Joe Biden confirmed at his press conference on Wednesday what has been apparent for weeks – Nato remains divided over how to respond to Russian aggression against Ukraine.
His admission of a split was overshadowed by his passing remark that a minor incursion would be treated differently to a full-scale invasion. The White House afterwards clarified that a minor incursion meant cyber-attacks, as opposed to a movement of Russian troops into Ukraine sovereign territory.
Continue reading...By 2050, a quarter of the world’s people will be African – this will shape our future | Edward Paice
Africa’s unprecedented population growth will impact geopolitics, global trade, migration and almost every aspect of life. It’s time for a reimagining of the continent
In 2022 the world’s population will pass 8 billion. It has increased by a third in just two decades. By 2050, there will be about 9.5 billion of us on the planet, according to respected demographers. This makes recent comments by Elon Musk baffling. According to him, “the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate” is “one of the biggest risks to civilisation”.
Fertility rates in Europe, North America and east Asia are generally below 2.1 births per woman, the level at which populations remain stable at constant mortality rates. The trajectory in some countries is particularly arresting. The birthrate in Italy is the lowest it has ever been in the country’s history. South Korea’s fertility rate has been stuck below one birth per woman for decades despite an estimated $120bn (£90bn) being spent on initiatives aimed at raising it. Japan started the century with 128 million citizens but is on course to have only 106 million by 2050. China’s population will peak at 1.45 billion in 2030, but if it proves unable to raise its fertility rate, the world’s most populous country could end the century with fewer than 600 million inhabitants. This is the “big risk” alluded to by Musk. The trouble is, his statement seems to imply that “civilisation” does not include Africa.
Continue reading...US film-maker faces trial in Italy after testifying in tainted blood scandal case
Kelly Duda faces fascist-era charge of ‘offending the honour or prestige’ of prosecutor in case alarming free speech advocates
An American film-maker has been put on trial in Italy for “offending the honour or prestige” of an Italian prosecutor after testifying in a criminal case against a former health ministry chief and representatives of a pharmaceutical company accused of supplying Italians with tainted blood products.
Kelly Duda, who revealed how contaminated blood taken from prisoners in Arkansas was sold around the world, faces up to three years in prison if found guilty of an offence that dates back to Italy’s fascist period.
Continue reading...Joe Biden thinks Russia will attack Ukraine – but will face a ‘stiff price’
US president alarms government in Kyiv by saying Nato was divided on how to respond to ‘minor incursion’
Joe Biden has said he thinks Russia will attack Ukraine, warning that Moscow would face a “stiff price”, but he admitted Nato was divided on how to respond if there is only a “minor incursion”.
The White House was forced to issue a hasty clarification to that last point, saying that any movement of Russian forces over the border would be treated as invasion.
Continue reading...Macron says EU must start own dialogue with Russia over Ukraine
France’s president hopes to restart four-ways talks between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine
The EU must open its own talks with Russia rather than rely on Washington, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has said as he warned of the prospect of the “most tragic thing of all – war”.
In a wide-ranging speech in Strasbourg, Macron said it was not sufficient for the US to negotiate with the Kremlin over its threats to peace but that Europe needed to have its voice heard.
Continue reading...Ireland announces annual bank holiday to honour Covid victims and workers
Government will also give tax-free bonus of €1,000 to frontline staff in hospitals and nursing homes
Ireland is to get a bank holiday as a national commemoration of those who have lost their lives to Covid and to recognise those who worked on the frontline of the pandemic, the government has announced.
Frontline healthcare workers in hospitals and nursing homes are also to receive a €1,000 (£830) tax-free bonus for their contribution to the national pandemic effort as part of a package of measures agreed by the cabinet on Wednesday.
Continue reading...French actor Gaspard Ulliel dies at 37 after skiing accident
Cesar-winning star of A Very Long Engagement and Hannibal Rising involved in accident in the Alps
The French actor Gaspard Ulliel has died at the age of 37 after a skiing accident.
The star of A Very Long Engagement and Hannibal Rising was hospitalised after the accident in the Alps. Ulliel was transported via helicopter on Tuesday to Grenoble but did not survive his injuries, according to the actor’s family and agent.
Continue reading...Fear and defiance on Ukraine’s frontline: ‘We don’t like dictators here’
With ageing Soviet-era rockets and a depleted, elderly fleet, Ukraine’s military hold their breath for Moscow’s next move
Yiry Ulshin surveyed a scene of ruin. Before him were the remains of what was once a school. Desks were covered in debris. A photo of the class of 2011 lay in the wreckage. There were abandoned crayons and year 3 books in Ukrainian and Russian. Beyond a bullet-scarred wall was a view of pine trees and sea.
“My heart is hurting. Why did Russia do this?” Ulshin, a Ukrainian army commander, asked.
Continue reading...Irish police arrest second man in Ashling Murphy case
Man held in relation to potential withholding of information as police continue to question murder suspect
A second man has been arrested in connection with the killing of the schoolteacher Ashling Murphy while she was out jogging in rural Ireland.
The man is reportedly known to the 31-year-old man who was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of Murphy’s murder. The second male was detained in relation to potential withholding of information contrary to the Offences Against the State Act and can be held for up to three days.
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