Category Archives: Europe

Britain sends RAF specialists to help Belgium combat disruptive drones

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Incursions halted flights at Brussels and Liège airports last week with Russia said to be the most likely culprit

Britain is deploying Royal Air Force specialists to help Belgium counter drone threats to the country’s airports after disruptive sightings last week that some politicians blamed on Russia.

Sir Richard Knighton, the head of the UK’s armed forces, said the British military would provide “our people, our equipment” to help Belgium, though he was careful to say “we don’t yet know” the origin of the drones seen last week.

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Three dead and 15 hurt after rough seas pull people into the ocean in Tenerife

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Two men and a woman died in separate incidents after sudden sea surges battered the Spanish island

Three people have died and at least 15 were injured in separate incidents linked to rough seas battering the Spanish island of Tenerife pulling several people into the ocean, emergency services said.

A rescue helicopter airlifted a man who had fallen into the water at a beach in La Guancha, a municipality in the north of the island, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

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Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities kill at least seven

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Volodymr Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions on Moscow after 45 missiles and 450 drones launched at Ukraine

Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing at least seven people and damaging energy infrastructure in three regions, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles, most of which were shot down.

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Irish football chiefs pass vote seeking Uefa ban on Israel from European competition

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  • Republic of Ireland body alleges two statute violations

  • FAI approved a resolution to submit a formal motion

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has approved a resolution to submit a formal motion to Uefa urging it to ban Israel from European club and international competitions.

The governing body’s resolution – proposed by the Dublin club Bohemians – cited alleged violations by the Israel Football Association (IFA) of two provisions of Uefa statutes. They are its alleged failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy and the organisation of clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian FA.

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UK to announce plans to emulate stringent Danish immigration system

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Shabana Mahmood’s proposals draw scorn from some Labour MPs, while others want government to go further

• Why does the UK want to copy Denmark?

Shabana Mahmood is to announce changes to the UK’s immigration rules modelled on the Danish system, largely seen as among the most stringent in Europe, the Guardian understands.

Last month, the home secretary dispatched officials to Denmark to study its border control and asylum policies. Denmark’s tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.

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Plant importers say border delays in Kent could drive up prices and stop deliveries from EU

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Traders report long waits at Sevington inspection post and claim trees and shrubs are repeatedly being damaged

Importers of plants say long delays and damage to shipments at a Kent border control post risk driving up prices and could lead to transport companies stopping deliveries across the Channel.

Traders have reported long waits in recent weeks at the government’s Sevington facility off the M20 near Ashford, which was built to check goods of plant and animal origin arriving from the EU. One importer said delays were adding £200 of costs to each load.

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Turkey issues genocide arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu

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Israeli PM, ministers and army chief accused of crimes against humanity ‘perpetrated systematically’ in Gaza

Turkey has issued arrest warrants for alleged genocide against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and senior officials within his government.

Among 37 suspects listed were the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, which did not publish the complete list.

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EU plans hub to tackle disinformation threat from Russia and others

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Move follows ‘escalating hybrid attacks’ by Russia and other foreign powers spreading fake articles across social media

The EU executive plans to create a Centre for Democratic Resilience to counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes, according to a leaked paper.

The European Commission intends for the centre to bring together expertise across the EU and from countries seeking to join the bloc to fight foreign information manipulation and interference. The idea forms the centrepiece of the “democracy shield” pitched by the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, when she sought a second term before the 2024 European elections.

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Civil rescue groups in Mediterranean cut ties with Libyan coastguard

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Accusations of violent interceptions and human rights violations levelled at EU-funded Libyan services by NGOs

More than a dozen NGO rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean have suspended communication with the Libyan coastguard, citing escalating incidents of asylum seekers being violently intercepted at sea and taken to camps rife with torture, rape and forced labour.

The 13 search-and-rescue organisations described their decision as a rejection of mounting pressure by the EU, and Italy in particular, to share information with the Libyan coastguard, which receives training, equipment and funding from the EU.

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Italy’s centenarians grow in number as another 2,000 reach the milestone

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Southern European country has more than double the number of people aged over 100 than it did in 2009

The number of people in Italy living to 100 continues to grow sharply, with more than 2,000 reaching the milestone age in 2025, the vast majority of them women.

There are now 23,548 residents in Italy who are 100-years-old or over, compared with 21,211 in 2024, according to the latest figures from Istat, the national statistics agency. Italy has more than double the number of centenarians than it had in 2009, Istat said.

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EU could water down AI Act amid pressure from Trump and big tech

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European Commission confirms reports it is looking at postponing parts of landmark legislation

The European Commission is considering plans to delay parts of the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, after intense pressure from businesses and Donald Trump’s administration.

The commission confirmed that “a reflection” was “still ongoing” on delaying aspects of the regulation, after media reports that Brussels was weighing up changes with the aim of easing demands on big tech companies.

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Famed Florentine diamond surfaces in Canada after century-long disappearance

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Empress Zita brought stone to Canada as Nazis took over Europe in 1940s and it remained in bank vault ever since

At the height of the Battle of Britain, when the UK government needed a secret location to store 186,332 gold bars, it turned to Canada.

Shipped across the Atlantic and stored beneath a hastily constructed vault in Montreal, Operation Fish became known both for the vast amounts of gold involved – and the immense secrecy that followed.

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Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’

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Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

After New York City’s race for mayor catapulted Zohran Mamdani from state assembly member into one of the world’s most prominent progressive voices, intense debate swirled over the ideas at the heart of his campaign.

His critics and opponents painted pledges such as free bus service, universal childcare and rent freezes as unworkable, unrealistic and exorbitantly expensive.

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Louvre heist a ‘deafening wake-up call’, says auditor

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Report says Paris museum prioritised ‘visible and attractive’ projects over security in run-up to robbery

The spectacular theft of an estimated €88m (£77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre last month was “a deafening wake-up call” for the “wholly inadequate pace” of security upgrades at the Paris museum, the head of France’s state auditor has said.

Presenting the report, which was completed before the dramatic heist at the world’s most-visited museum, Pierre Moscovici said the Louvre had sufficient funds for the improvements and “must now implement them without fail”.

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Ukraine faces ‘forever war’ unless Europe steps up pressure on Russia, says ex-Nato chief

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Anders Fogh Rasmussen calls for air shield on Nato territory and deployment of European protection force for Ukraine

Ukraine is facing a “forever war” and a slow erosion of territory unless Europe dramatically increases pressure on Russia, including by deploying troops and establishing a missile and drone shield on Nato territory to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks on its infrastructure, a former Nato secretary general has said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who held the Nato post from 2009 to 2014 and was the prime minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009, said in an interview with the Guardian that if countries such as Poland agreed to host such air defences, Russia would understand that an attack on them would be an attack on the whole of the Nato alliance.

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Danes are Europe’s keenest nudists in principle and practice, survey suggests

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YouGov study of six countries finds those in Denmark most likely to approve of nudism and have been naked in public

Germans may have a hard-won reputation for being Europe’s most enthusiastic nudists, but a survey suggests Danes are not only more accepting of stripping off in public, but more likely to have actually done so.

The YouGov survey of six western European countries – the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – found that Danes were the most likely to say it was perfectly OK to bare all in public places – and to have followed through.

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Belgium to hold security meeting after drone sightings at airports and military bases

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Source says Russia ‘very probably’ responsible amid surge in incursions into European airspace since mid-September

Belgium’s national security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after drone sightings at airports caused chaos for travellers and raised security concerns.

Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium’s busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liège airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions.

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British military announces first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles – eight years late

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First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate

Britain’s military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.

The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.

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Disgraced former king of Spain’s memoir details ‘enormous respect’ for Franco

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Memoir chronicles Juan Carlos’s anointment as heir to dictator and death of younger brother when playing with pistols

A memoir by Spain’s disgraced former king chronicles his anointment as heir to the dictator Francisco Franco, his role in saving democracy from a coup attempt in 1981, and his grief at the death of his younger brother when the two were “playing” with a pistol as teenagers.

The book, published 11 years after Juan Carlos’s abdication and exile, is titled Reconciliation but appears to do anything but, instead detailing how he feels abandoned and misunderstood by his son and heir, King Felipe VI, and by other close family members.

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Louvre heist suspect is social media star and former museum guard, reports say

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Man, identified as Abdoulaye N, is one of four accused over theft of historic jewels worth tens of millions of pounds

One of the men arrested on suspicion of stealing €88m (£77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre museum is a minor social media star with a passion for motorbikes who has worked as a security guard at the Pompidou centre, French media have reported.

Identified by justice officials as Abdoulaye N, the 39-year-old man was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers, the suburb north of Paris where he was born, six days after the 19 October heist. He faces charges of organised theft and criminal conspiracy.

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