Category Archives: Europe

‘It’s a day off’: wiretaps show Mediterranean migrants were left to die

Posted on by

Exclusive: Transcripts of conversations between Italian officials and Libyan coastguard contained in leaked file

At 8.18am on Friday 16 June 2017, the Libyan coastguard Col Massoud Abdalsamad received a long-distance phone call from an Italian coastguard official who told him that 10 migrant dinghies were in distress, many in Libyan territorial waters.

“It’s a day off. It’s a holiday here. But I can try to help,” Abdalsamad told the official. “Perhaps we can be there tomorrow.”

Continue reading...

Russian prosecutors move to liquidate Navalny’s ‘extremist’ movement

Posted on by

Seeking to designate organisation as extremist group is most sweeping assault on opposition supporters yet

The Moscow prosecutor’s office has announced that it will seek to designate Alexander Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and his regional political headquarters as “extremist groups”, moving to in effect liquidate the jailed opposition leader’s political organisation in Russia.

It is the most sweeping assault yet on supporters of Navalny, and comes after his two-and-a-half-year sentence on embezzlement charges and the arrest of his top aides on various charges following large protests in January and February.

Continue reading...

Spain’s Endesa power firm sued over electrocution of birds

Posted on by

Landmark case says thousands of birds including endangered eagles die needlessly each year

In Leonard Cohen’s famous song, a bird on a wire is a symbol of freedom, but for thousands of birds it is the equivalent of being sent to the electric chair.

Now, in a landmark case, a Spanish electricity company is being prosecuted over the deaths of hundreds of birds electrocuted on pylons and overhead cables and for failing to comply with regulations designed to protect wildlife.

Continue reading...

‘They capture history’: the projects saving Spain and Portugal’s shop signs

Posted on by

A collective of projects across Iberia is protecting commercial signs to create a living archive

Fire engine red, bordered by polka dots and stretching the length of three cars, the sign for the Orte clothing store had long loomed over Madrid’s Alcalá thoroughfare, its presence steady even as fast-food restaurants and chain stores began moving into the area.

When the store closed its doors and the space was poised to be rented, news swiftly reached Alberto Nanclares. Within days he was on site, working with a team to painstakingly pry the sign from the facade where it had sat for more than five decades.

Continue reading...

EU and UK hold ‘productive’ talks on Northern Ireland crisis

Posted on by

Brexit minister David Frost says momentum has been established in efforts to ease tensions

Talks between the EU and UK to ease tensions in Northern Ireland have been described as “productive” and “constructive” with momentum now established to achieve a solution to the crisis, the Brexit minister, David Frost, has said.

But the EU used the first face-to-face meeting since lockdown between Lord Frost and the European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, to warn that the outcome needed to be jointly agreed.

Continue reading...

Biden hits Russia with new sanctions in response to election meddling

Posted on by

Ten diplomats expelled as part of fresh package of sanctions announced by US president as Russia says retaliation ‘inevitable’

The Biden administration has announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and broad sanctions against Russian officials and companies in retaliation for Moscow’s interference in elections and cyber-espionage campaigns such as the SolarWinds hack.

The sanctions, which were the Biden’s largest punitive action against the Kremlin yet, also targeted six Russian cybersecurity companies deemed to be involved in the SolarWinds hack, as well as 32 individuals and entities deemed to be involved in efforts to influence the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election.

Continue reading...

Third of French wine lost after rare cold snaps devastate vines

Posted on by

Unseasonal frost is ‘agricultural disaster of 21st century’ as ice after warm weather decimates grape harvests

At least a third of French wine production worth almost €2bn (£1.7bn) in sales will be lost this year after rare freezing temperatures devastated many vines and fruit crops across France, raising concerns over the climate crisis.

“This is probably the greatest agricultural catastrophe of the beginning of the 21st century,” the French agriculture minister, Julien Denormandie, said this week as the government declared an “agricultural disaster” and began preparing emergency financial measures.

Continue reading...

‘Short, fat, ugly’: Gucci family lashes out at cast appearance in new film

Posted on by

Ridley Scott biopic tells story of Patrizia Reggiani’s doomed marriage to Maurizio Gucci

The Gucci family has hit out against the “horrible, horrible” and “ugly” casting of the House of Gucci film, starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver.

The film, which is now in production and directed by Sir Ridley Scott, tells the story of Patrizia Reggiani and her doomed marriage to Maurizio Gucci. Reggiani was convicted of his assassination in 1998 after hiring a hitman to kill him.

Continue reading...

Court tells Uber to reinstate five UK drivers sacked by automated process

Posted on by

Ruling in Amsterdam overturns company’s decision to exclude operators for alleged sharing of account details

Uber has been ordered to reinstate five British drivers who were struck off from its ride-hailing app by robot technology.

The five drivers, backed by the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) and the campaign group Worker Info Exchange, argued that they had been wrongly accused of fraudulent activity based on mistaken information from Uber’s technology, and that the company had failed to provide the drivers with proper evidence to support the allegations.

Continue reading...

Ukraine still outgunned as Russia prepares for larger conflict

Posted on by

Analysis: Ukraine’s military is in better shape than at outbreak of war in 2014, but still no match for Russia’s larger force

Russia’s unexplained buildup along Ukraine’s border set alarm bells ringing in the west last month as military analysts noted unusual flourishes – such as new field hospitals, long-distance shipments of armour and artillery and last-minute railcar bookings – that did not feel like a normal exercise.

Whether it is merely an attention-grabbing feint or a prelude to an escalation will depend on the Kremlin’s will. But through the buildup, Russia has already signalled that if a larger war does take place, it is prepared to deliver a hammer blow to its neighbour.

Continue reading...

Denmark strips Syrian refugees of residency permits and says it is safe to go home

Posted on by

Government denies renewal of temporary residency status from about 189 Syrians

Denmark has become the first European nation to revoke the residency permits of Syrian refugees, insisting that some parts of the war-torn country are safe to return to.

At least 189 Syrians have had applications for renewal of temporary residency status denied since last summer, a move the Danish authorities said was justified because of a report that found the security situation in some parts of Syria had “improved significantly”.

Continue reading...

France, Germany and UK raise concern over Iran’s nuclear plans

Posted on by

Three European countries say there is no ‘credible civilian need’ for enriching uranium to 60%

France, Germany and the UK have warned that Iran took a dangerous step towards the production of a nuclear weapon by enriching uranium to levels for which there is no “credible civilian need”.

Tehran, which claims its nuclear ambitions are limited to creating energy, announced this week it was boosting its levels of uranium enrichment to 60%, just short of weapons-grade purity. The 2015 nuclear deal only allows enrichment to a purity level of 3.67%.

Continue reading...

Polish activists embrace ‘equality jogging’ at Pride parades

Posted on by

Campaigners stage ‘solidarity workouts’ in protest against homophobic attacks

Polish activists are set to embrace “equality jogging” at this summer’s Pride parades following the success of exercise sessions under rainbow flags in public spaces across the country as a show of defiance following a homophobic attack on members of an LGBTQ+ sports club.

Two people were hospitalised last month when members of the Homokomando club were attacked while exercising by a gang of 30 masked men in Gdansk.

Continue reading...

‘Worrying picture’: Journalists in Europe face increasing risk, press freedom group warns

Posted on by

Reporters Without Borders speaks of pressures on press freedom after murder of Giorgos Karaivaz in Athens last week

The murder of a high-profile Greek journalist last week marks the fourth killing of a reporter in Europe in the past five years and has underlined growing concerns about a steady decline of press freedoms in several EU member states.

Related: Greek crime journalist shot dead in Athens in ‘execution-style’ murder

Continue reading...

Iran to boost uranium enrichment levels in wake of Israeli attack

Posted on by

Tehran responds as foreign minister accuses Israel of ‘bad gamble’ in targeting Natanz nuclear plant

Iran is to boost its levels of uranium enrichment to 60%, just short of weapons grade purity, in response to Israel’s attack on the Natanz nuclear facility, the country’s deputy foreign minister has announced.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi broke the news as he arrived in Vienna for the start of talks this week on how to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and bring back both the US and Iran into compliance.

Continue reading...

Biden urges Russia to de-escalate Ukraine tensions in call with Putin

Posted on by

US president proposed a summit between the two leaders amid growing concern over Russian military buildup on Ukraine border

In a phone call with Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden has called on Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine and proposed a summit between the two leaders amid growing concern over a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border.

The president emphasized the United States’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and expressed concern about Russia’s military buildup, the White House said.

Continue reading...

Libya releases man described as one of world’s most wanted human traffickers

Posted on by

Abd al-Rahman Milad, AKA Bija, is accused by UN of being directly involved in sinking migrant boats

Libyan authorities have released a man described as one of the world’s most wanted human traffickers, who was placed under sanctions by the UN security council for being directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats.

The coastguard commander Abd al-Rahman Milad, known by his alias Bija, is suspected of being part of a criminal network operating in Zawiyah in north-west Libya. He was arrested last October but was freed on Sunday after the military attorney general of Tripoli dropped charges against him “for lack of evidence”.

Continue reading...

‘This is all we could get’: Dutch tourists arrive in Rhodes for locked-down holiday

Posted on by

In experiment organised by Dutch government, travellers will have to take regular Covid tests and are barred from leaving resort

A regime that might, in more normal times, resemble a boot camp has been happily embraced by 189 Dutch tourists who traded lockdown in the Netherlands for eight days of voluntary confinement at a Greek beach resort.

In an experiment devised by travel industry experts determined not to lose another season to Covid-19, the tourists arrived on the Aegean island of Rhodes on Monday as part of a test run to see if safe holidays can be arranged during the pandemic.

Continue reading...

Berlin police investigate possible breach of Covid rules at Soho House party

Posted on by

Video of star-studded event apparently held by Bottega Veneta after Berghain fashion launch shows crowded party and no masks

Berlin police are investigating a possible breach of social distancing rules at an illegal star-studded party said to have been held by luxury fashion label Bottega Veneta, after leaked footage apparently of the event inside private members club Soho House caused outrage in a city whose cherished nightlife has been on hold for ordinary clubbers for over a year.

A presentation of the Italian fashion house’s latest collection at Berlin’s famous and exclusive Berghain nightclub last Friday was reportedly attended by a host of celebrity guests including Nigerian singer Burna Boy.

Continue reading...

Military buildup near Ukraine sows confusion over Russian intentions

Posted on by

Analysis: there are several reasons Russia would want to raise tensions, but an attack appears unlikely

Russia’s fortnight-long military buildup to the east and south of Ukraine has helped it mass an estimated 80,000 troops in the border region in an attention-grabbing exercise that is increasingly occupying western thinking.

Tanks and other artillery units have also been arriving at Voronezh, east of Ukraine, according to Janes, a military intelligence firm, and a staging ground for about 3,000 troops been established to the south of the city.

Continue reading...