Category Archives: Europe

Toledo’s last swordmakers refuse to give up on their ancient craft

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Famed since Roman times, the Spanish city’s artisans are all but extinct. But a reprieve is at hand from the TV and film industry

Its sturdy presence has threaded through more than 2,000 years of history, fuelled by fans that were said to have ranged from the Carthaginian general Hannibal to Roman legions.

These days, however, the longstanding tradition of swordmaking in the Spanish city of Toledo has dwindled to just two artisan swordmakers – the last living link to a tradition that stretches back millennia.

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Climate crisis made deadly German floods ‘up to nine times more likely’

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Study reinforces the hard evidence that carbon emissions are the main cause of worsening extreme weather

The record-shattering rainfall that caused deadly flooding across Germany and Belgium in July was made up to nine times more likely by the climate crisis, according to research.

The study also showed that human-caused global heating has made downpours in the region up to 20% heavier. The work reinforces the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s landmark report this month that there is “unequivocal” evidence that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are the main cause of worsening extreme weather.

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Afghanistan: what does each nation hope to get out of the G7 meeting?

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Analysis: Tuesday’s meeting called by Boris Johnson may include postmortem on Joe Biden’s handling of crisis

The emergency meeting of G7 nations on Tuesday – called by Boris Johnson as this year’s chair of the G7 – is in essence a gathering of the vanquished but faces a threefold agenda: how to ensure as many Afghans as possible can leave Kabul, and whether the US is prepared to stay beyond the original 31 August deadline for the withdrawal of all US forces; how a resettlement programme can be coordinated for the medium term; and finally, how to encourage the Taliban to form an inclusive government, including by threatening sanctions or withholding recognition.

But each country will bring its own concerns and an ugly postmortem on Joe Biden’s handling of the crisis cannot be ruled out.

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Ministers accused of failing to secure rights of Britons with foreign spouses in EU

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Campaigners say Britons are facing problems with Home Office over rights to return to UK

Ministers have been accused of breaching their promise to secure the post-Brexit rights of thousands of British nationals who settled in the EU and married foreigners.

Campaigners at British in Europe (BiE) have written to the Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton and the immigration minister Kevin Foster telling of the “heartbreak” and “distress” endured by British citizens who are facing problems with the Home Office over their rights to return home to the UK.

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‘We love everybody’: the French drag couple making non-traditional wedding dresses

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James and ViviAnn Du Fermoir-de-Monsac want to create an atmosphere where those who don’t fit the vision of an ideal bride feel comfortable

On the third floor of a typical Alsatian building in Strasbourg, a door opens on to a bright atelier, dotted with mannequins draped in bridal wear. This is where James and ViviAnn Du Fermoir-de-Monsac live and work, designing couture wedding gowns watched over by their cheerful mascot – a yellow parakeet named Adam. And they do it in drag.

The pair say seeing clients in their drag personas creates an atmosphere where people can be accepted for who they are. They know the traditional experience of buying a wedding dress is not always easy for everyone in a world where the vision of an ideal bride is often still someone thin, white and able-bodied.

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‘We lost everything’: Afghan wheelchair basketball team captain speaks out

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Nilofar Bayat begins rebuilding her life in Spain after days of fear for her life under Taliban rule

When the Taliban entered Kabul, Nilofar Bayat, the captain of Afghanistan’s female national wheelchair basketball team, knew she had to get out.

“There were so many videos of me playing basketball. I had been active in calling for women’s rights and the rights of women with disabilities,” she said. “If the Taliban found out all of this about me, I knew they would kill me.”

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Stefan Löfven steps down as Sweden’s PM after seven years

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Leader of Social Democratic party recently became first Swedish leader ever to lose a motion in parliament

Stefan Löfven said on Sunday that he will step down as Swedish prime minister and head of the Social Democratic party in November, after seven years in power.

The unexpected announcement – made during his annual summer speech – came before next year’s general election and after Löfven in June became the first Swedish leader ever to lose a motion in parliament.

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Spanish couple arrested over toad-venom and ayahuasca rituals

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Pair allegedly charged €150 for ‘ancestral’ ceremonies involving psychotropic substances

Spanish police have arrested a couple over accusations they were carrying out rituals – billed online as “international ancestral medicine” – involving an array of banned substances ranging from toad venom to ayahuasca.

The couple, aged 42 and 38, allegedly ran an association that performed ceremonies involving psychotropic substances for as much as €150 (£129) a session. Weekend retreats were also on offer at a cost of up to €350 (£300).

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Josephine Baker to become first Black woman to enter France’s Pantheon

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Performer who became part of the French resistance will be moved to the mausoleum in November

The remains of Josephine Baker, a famed French-American dancer, singer and actor who also worked with the French resistance during the second world war, will be moved to the Panthéon mausoleum in November, according to an aide to President Emmanuel Macron.

It will make Baker, who was born in Missouri in 1906 and buried in Monaco in 1975, the first Black woman to be laid to rest in the hallowed Parisian monument.

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Germany’s resurgent SPD has new hope of succeeding Merkel

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The centre-left Social Democrats had been written off but surge of support could make Olaf Scholz chancellor in September

An old party with an ageing membership, fronted by a politician with all the charisma of a middle-ranking bank clerk, following the humiliating descent from national institution to electoral also-rans already suffered by its comrades across Europe. The obituary of Germany’s Social Democratic party (SPD) had already been written.

Yet as Germany’s election campaign is about to enter its home stretch, it is the centre-left party of Olaf Scholz that is enjoying a surge of energy as its rivals start to lag.

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Excommunicated Spanish ‘witch’ village turns curse into tourist cash

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Embracing its strange past is a blessing for Trasmoz as thousands flock to its witchcraft attractions

Tucked into the foothills of northern Spain, the village of Trasmoz attracts thousands of tourists each year. For many, the allure is not its half-ruined castle nor stunning mountain backdrop but rather a curious quirk of history: Trasmoz is Spain’s only excommunicated and cursed village.

“So far, being excommunicated and cursed hasn’t been bad for us,” said Lola Ruiz Diaz, one of the 47 or so people who live all year round in Trasmoz, some 50 miles north-west of Zaragoza. “It’s turned out to be a point in our favour.”

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Greece plans to name heatwaves in the same way as storms

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Personalising the ‘silent killer’ hot spells could raise awareness in time to avert loss of life and property, say scientists

Spurred on by this summer’s record temperatures, Greek scientists have begun discussing the need to name and rank heatwaves, better known for their invisibility, before rampant wildfires made the realities of the climate crisis increasingly stark.

A preventative measure, the move would enable policymakers and affected populations to be more prepared for what are being described by experts as “silent killers.”

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Greek minister defends wall on border with Turkey during Afghan crisis – video

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After Greece finished building a 40km fence along its natural border with Turkey, the minister for citizen protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, defended the move, saying the country could not wait for EU decisions. 

Amid concerns that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan could lead to increased refugee flows to Europe, the EU border agency, Frontex, is helping Greece to secure its land and sea borders as well as using new detecting technology

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The revolt against liberalism: what’s driving Poland and Hungary’s nativist turn? – podcast

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For the hardline conservatives ruling Poland and Hungary, the transition from communism to liberal democracy was a mirage. They fervently believe a more decisive break with the past is needed to achieve national liberation. By Nicholas Mulder

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Disinfection robots and thermal body cameras: welcome to the Covid-free office

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A workplace in Bucharest filled with anti-virus innovations could become the new normal in office design, its creators hope

Not so long ago it may have seemed more like a futuristic vision of the workplace – or a hospital.

But the hands-free door handles, self-cleaning surfaces, antimicrobial paint, air-monitoring display tools, UV light disinfection robots, and 135 other measures at an office block in Bucharest are here to stay, say the creators behind what they are touting as one of the world’s most virus-resilient workplaces, which they hope will become the new normal in office design.

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Levelling up Pompeii: grave shows how a former slave went far

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Inscriptions by the body of Marcus Venerius Secundio proudly list his achievements after being liberated

The inscription on the gravestone proudly attests to how far Marcus Venerius Secundio, a former slave of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, went in life. In order of importance, he lists his achievements after being liberated. The first was his role as custodian of the Temple of Venus, built soon after the creation of Pompeii as a Roman colony.

He also joined the ranks of the Augustales, a college of priests who were in charge of a form of emperor worship. But perhaps the most telling indication of his eventual status was that he financed entertainment events in Greek and Latin.

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Spain offers itself as hub for Afghans who collaborated with EU

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Evacuees who have worked with EU institutions will arrive in Spain and then be settled in various countries

Spain has offered itself as the EU’s hub to take in Afghans who have collaborated with its institutions over the years, as Germany said there was an emerging consensus within the bloc to also ease passage for a limited number of other people in need of protection from Taliban reprisals.

However, migration experts warned that the vast majority of Afghan citizens already displaced by the fighting that brought the new regime to power will be left stranded unless European states proactively work to negotiate a safe corridor out of the country.

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UK imposes sanctions on seven Russians over Navalny poisoning

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FCDO says the individuals, said to be FSB members, will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes

Sanctions have been imposed on seven Russian nationals accused of involvement in the nerve agent poisoning of the key Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the UK government has said.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) announced that the individuals, said to be members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), would be subject to travel bans and asset freezes.

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Forty people feared dead as woman rescued from dinghy off Canary Islands

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The woman, who was trying to make the trip from Africa, was found lying next to two bodies and ‘in a bad state’, officials say

About 40 migrants are feared dead after rescuers recovered a lone woman clinging to an overturned dinghy that had been carrying dozens of people trying to reach the Canary Islands.

A rescue helicopter carrying the survivor – a 30-year-old woman who appeared exhausted and shaken – landed at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria airport on Tuesday, after a cargo ship found her 135 miles off the coast.

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Alexei Navalny calls for tougher action on global corruption

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Exclusive: Russian opposition leader likely to infuriate Kremlin with letter dictated from behind bars

The jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has written from behind bars to urge western politicians to take meaningful action against global corruption and to impose personal sanctions against oligarchs “in the entourage of Vladimir Putin”.

Writing in the Guardian before the first anniversary of his poisoning on 20 August last year, Navalny lambasts western leaders for not doing more to tackle what he admits is a “tricky issue”. He says his own survival after being exposed to novichok was only down to incompetence and corruption inside Russia’s FSB spy agency.

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