Category Archives: Europe

‘Nobody can block it’: how the Telegram app fuels global protest

Posted on by

The controversial messaging app has moved huge crowds on the streets of Belarus. But who is its secretive puppet master?

One Sunday in August, two weeks after Belarus’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko declared an implausibly decisive victory in presidential elections, I joined a crowd of around 100,000 people as it moved through central Minsk. Protest in Belarus was no longer the domain of a few hundred hardy opposition figures, and the homemade placards many people carried illustrated how broad the coalition had become: “Let’s drink to love, from the bartenders of Belarus”; “Teachers against violence”; “Working class, go on strike!”

The previous fortnight had been a time of national awakening, as the country united around the goal of ending Lukashenko’s 26 years in charge. As grim footage of police violence circulated on the messenger app Telegram, large numbers came out to demand that their voices be heard.

Continue reading...

Travel to UK from Denmark to be banned amid worries over Covid in mink

Posted on by

Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, understood to be concerned by new strain

All travel to the UK from Denmark is being banned amid mounting concern over an outbreak in the country of a mutation of coronavirus linked to mink, the Guardian understands.

Downing Street had already taken action to remove Denmark from the travel corridor, forcing arrivals to quarantine for two weeks from Friday at 4am.

Continue reading...

Johnson and EU commission chief to hold talks before decisive week for Brexit deal

Posted on by

Phonecall with Ursula von der Leyen could be final chance for PM to avert no-deal Brexit

Boris Johnson and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will hold talks on Saturday before a potentially decisive week in the Brexit negotiations, amid growing concern in Brussels at the lack of progress.

UK sources played down expectations of a breakthrough moment but with time short for parliamentary ratification the phonecall may prove to be the final chance for a political intervention in the troubled talks.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: mink-related strains infect 214 people in Denmark; Sweden hits record case high

Posted on by

One of Danish mink strains prompts country to cull all its mink; Sweden registers 4,697 new infections, highest since pandemic began

The Kremlin has said it is early to judge how effective Russia’s coronavirus restrictions are without lockdowns, as the country reported a record daily number of new Covid-19 infections.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the increase in coronavirus cases to a daily high of 20,582 was alarming and that authorities would take action depending on how the situation developed.

New coronavirus restrictions came into force in Italy on Friday but from pavements dotted with coffee drinkers to lines of striking taxi drivers, the picture on the streets was different from the ghostly scenes of the first lockdown, Reuters reports.

The restrictions, which divide the country into three zones according to the severity of the latest outbreak, are less severe than the blanket measures imposed when the pandemic first took hold in March.

Continue reading...

France reports record 60,486 new cases; Russia saw 9,798 deaths in September – as it happened

Posted on by

France’s new infections more than 2,000 higher than previous record; Italy registers 37,809 new cases; Russia says Covid was main cause in 5,199 cases. This blog is now closed

NSW has reported one new case of locally transmitted Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Four cases were also reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,270.

Dr Michael Douglas provides a #COVID19 update for Saturday 7 November 2020. pic.twitter.com/T2q5LFhLy1

Continue reading...

‘A backlash against a patriarchal culture’: How Polish protests go beyond abortion rights

Posted on by

Mass demonstrations have exposed underlying anger at political and religious interference in people’s everyday lives

For 14 nights they have marched, enraged by a near-total ban on abortion that has stirred a generation to stage the largest mass demonstrations that Poland has seen since Solidarność toppled the communist regime in the 1980s.

Until soaring coronavirus numbers and a looming national lockdown made it almost impossible, up to a million people nightly defied a government ban on protests, taking to the streets from Warsaw to Łódź, Poznań to Wrocław, Gdańsk to Kraków.

Continue reading...

Macron’s task is to show French Muslims they have a place in the republic | Catherine Fieschi

Posted on by

The president must demonstrate that the secular state – with a subtle dose of multiculturalism – works for them

As a dual citizen of France and Canada, I never cease to be amazed by the depth of misunderstanding there is about French attitudes to religion. France’s shortcomings in its management of diversity are obvious – as are everyone else’s – but it is important to recognise some basic facts before pronouncing on them.

The first is that the principle of laïcité in France – the country’s particular brand of secularism – is more than posturing: it is a lived, sociological fact.

Continue reading...

Danish Covid mink cull and future disease fears will kill fur trade, say farmers

Posted on by

Mutation that led to government order fuels debate about future of fur and safety of farms

John Papsø is devastated. You can hear it in his voice over the phone from Jutland. Like every other fur farmer in Denmark, he has 10 days to kill his mink.

“It’s horrible. I’m not even sure it’s dawned on me how grave the consequences will be for us. We are shellshocked. I was up at 4am because I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been pacing up and down the floor, and I’ve cried. It’s a state of shock,” said Papsø, who has more 30,000 mink on his farm.

Continue reading...

UK and others look for lessons from Slovakia’s Covid mass-testing project

Posted on by

Downing Street sent advisers before UK’s large-scale testing programme in Liverpool

Authorities in Slovakia say they hope a nationwide programme in which two-thirds of the country’s population were tested for Covid-19 in just two days last weekend will halve the number of cases of the virus in the country.

The Slovak testing programme has drawn interest from across Europe, as debates continue about whether or not blanket testing is the best way to fight coronavirus. A Downing Street team travelled to Slovakia last weekend to witness the testing, keen to draw lessons before a mass testing programme due to be launched in Liverpool this weekend.

Continue reading...

Russian MPs consider lifetime immunity for former presidents

Posted on by

Second bill in a week sparks talk of whether Vladimir Putin could be preparing for retirement

Russian lawmakers have introduced a bill into parliament that would give Vladimir Putin lifetime immunity from prosecution if and when he decides to leave office.

The draft bill would give a former president immunity from criminal prosecution for any offences committed during his lifetime. A supermajority of lawmakers would be required to revoke the protections. Currently, ex-presidents are protected for actions taken only while they were in office.

Continue reading...

Denmark tightens lockdown in north over mink Covid outbreak

Posted on by

Twelve people infected so far with new strain against which vaccines may be ineffective

An outbreak among farmed mink of a mutant form of Covid-19 with the potential to be resistant to future vaccines has led to the Danish government bringing in tougher lockdown measures in parts of the country.

The measures were announced following the discovery of a new strain of the disease in animals bred for fur in the country’s northern regions.

Continue reading...

Deal struck to enable EU to block budget payments to rogue members

Posted on by

Qualified majority vote by states will be sufficient for removal of voting rights

Brussels will be able to block budget payments to rogue EU governments that undermine the rule of law or the independence of judges, under a hard-fought agreement between the European parliament and member states.

In what was described as the “end of a painful phase” for the EU, a provisional deal has been struck, which will allow a qualified majority of member states to impose sanctions where governments fail to maintain democratic standards.

Continue reading...

Two teenagers arrested in Belgium on suspicion of terrorist plot

Posted on by

Suspects appearing to pledge allegiance to Isis arrested in cities of Eupen and La Calamine

The office of Belgium’s federal prosecutor says two underage people suspected of plotting what has been labelled a terror attack have been arrested.

Aged 16 and 17, the suspects were arrested on 31 October after raids in the cities of Eupen and La Calamine, located in the province of Liège. The prosecutor’s office said they were suspected of “attempted terrorist assassination and participation in a terrorist organisation.”

Continue reading...

Arctic time capsule from 2018 washes up in Ireland as polar ice melts

Posted on by

Cylinder left in ice by 50 Years of Victory ship travelled 2,300 miles to county Donegal

When the crew and passengers of the nuclear-powered icebreaker ship 50 Years of Victory reached the north pole in 2018, they placed a time capsule in the ice floe.

The metal cylinder contained letters, poems, photographs, badges, beer mats, a menu, wine corks – ephemera from the early 21st century for whomever might discover it in the future.

Continue reading...

Spain announces plans for flying taxi service in Barcelona

Posted on by

First air taxis to fly in Catalan capital and Santiago de Compostela in 2022, says Enaire

When Spain’s much-missed tourists and pilgrims finally return, they may be offered a novel way to rise above the crowds and appreciate some of the country’s most dramatic urban architecture.

Enaire, Spain’s air navigation authority, has announced plans to begin demonstrating flying taxis in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela in 2022.

Continue reading...

Activists hail bill to make violence against LGBT people a hate crime in Italy

Posted on by

Bill now needs approval from upper house before becoming law

Activists in Italy have hailed a vote in the lower house of parliament to pass a bill that would make violence against LGBT people and disabled people, as well as misogyny, a hate crime.

The bill, which passed successfully despite months of protests from far-right and Catholic groups, now needs approval from the upper house, where it is backed by the ruling coalition parties, before becoming law.

Continue reading...

Kosovo’s president resigns to face war crimes charges in The Hague

Posted on by

Hashim Thaçi was guerrilla leader during 1990s war for independence from Serbia

Kosovo’s president, Hashim Thaçi, a guerrilla leader during the country’s war for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, has resigned to face charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity at a special court based in The Hague.

Thaçi announced his resignation at a news conference in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital. He said he was taking the step “to protect the integrity of the presidency of Kosovo”.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Italy reports 445 new deaths, highest daily toll since end of April

Posted on by

Daily Italian total comes as Piedmont, Calabria, Lombardy and Aosta Valley face new restrictions from Friday; three-week restrictions in Greece

The head of France’s public health service has said the coronavirus crisis in the country is getting worse and every day in the fight to slow the spread of infections counts.

“We’re facing a very high wave (of infections),” Jérôme Salomon told a news conference. “The epidemic is progressing. We must all slow the spread together.”

Salomon: "The situation is deteriorating. Every day counts. We have to break the chain of this epidemic. Each of us must act to put a brake on the virus." He is outlining the health safety measures. "The slightest doubt, take a test."

Greece has reported 2,917 new coronavirus cases, hitting a new daily peak hours after authorities announced a second nationwide lockdown is going into effect this Saturday, 7 November.

Thursday’s cases follow on the 2,646 cases reported on Wednesday, which was a new record. Authorities said infections have risen 20% in recent days.

Continue reading...

Denmark announces cull of 15 million mink over Covid mutation fears

Posted on by

Mutated virus infects 12 humans, sparking concerns that effectiveness of future vaccine could be affected

The world’s largest mink producer, Denmark, says it plans to cull more than 15 million of the animals, due to fears that a Covid-19 mutation moving from mink to humans could jeopardise future vaccines.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said 12 people are already infected with the mutated virus and that the mink are now considered a public health risk.

Continue reading...