Category Archives: Europe

Ruth Mackenzie: the British change-maker sacked by Paris’s artistic elite

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Despite fulfilling her brief to bring diversity to the Châtelet Theatre, the veteran director was brusquely dismissed. So what went wrong?

When the British arts supremo Ruth Mackenzie was named artistic director of Paris’s Châtelet theatre she thought everyone knew what they were getting.

Her pitch for the job, approved by the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, after a gruelling four interview panels, was to reinvent the historic Paris venue – known as “Broadway sur Seine” after the previous director’s penchant for American musicals – as a more diverse and inclusive people’s theatre.

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Hundreds of people evacuated from Banksy-funded rescue ship after overcrowding – video

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German charity Sea-Watch and the Italian coastguard sent vessels to a rescue boat funded by the British street artist after it issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with people.

Hundreds of people on board the MV Louise Michel were transferred to safety on to the Sea-Watch 4, while an Italian coastguard patrol boat took 49 of those considered most vulnerable on board, transferring them to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa

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Wildfire breaks out near tomb of Agamemnon in Greece

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Fire department said 27 firefighters were being supported by nine fire engines, two planes and a helicopter

A wildfire has broken out near the ruins of the bronze age stronghold of Mycenae in Greece, prompting the evacuation of visitors to the archaeological site.

According to local media, the fire started on Sunday near the tomb of Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae who was killed during the Trojan war.

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Migrant boat bursts into flames off southern Italian coast

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Vessel suddenly caught fire as Italian naval ship was in the process of taking people onboard

A boat carrying dozens of refugees has burst into flames off the coast of southern Italy as its passengers were being transferred to Italian naval vessels to take them to port.

Between five and seven people are believed to be missing. Six people are in hospital with serious burns injuries, including two Italian officials who were taking the people off the boat.

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German leaders hit out at protesters’ attempt to storm Reichstag

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President condemns ‘attack on heart of our democracy’ during protest against Covid restrictions

German leaders have condemned the “unacceptable” attempt by protesters to storm the Reichstag building during a mass rally against coronavirus restrictions.

Some of the protesters on Saturday carried the former imperial flag, which was used up until the end of the first world war.

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Belarus protesters defy crackdown to march again through Minsk

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Calls grow for Lukashenko to step down as president promises tough response

Tens of thousands of protesters in Belarus have defied threats of a government crackdown to march through central Minsk, again voicing demands that the country’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, should step down.

After two Sundays in which the opposition had called huge rallies in Minsk and been left largely unmolested by riot police, this week the president had promised protests would be met with a tough response.

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France: senior military officer suspected of spying for Russia

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Defence minister confirms security breach that may have supplied sensitive documents to Kremlin

The French government is investigating a senior military officer over a “security breach”, the defence minister has said, following a report the person was suspected of spying for Russia.

“What I can confirm is that a senior officer is facing legal proceedings for a security breach,” Florence Parly said. She gave no further details.

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Marseille’s maverick Covid scientist: why the city took doctor to its heart

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Didier Raoult has touted many dubious treatments but is a hero in France’s second city, which has long railed against Paris

The people of Provence in the south of France have a word for a particularly comic or bizarrely dramatic situation: pagnolesque.

It is a tribute to one of the region’s most famous sons, the author Marcel Pagnol, who declared in his play Les Marchands de Gloire (The Glory Merchants): “In politics everything is a comedy.”

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Coronavirus live news: Queensland steps up alert; protesters try to storm Reichstag

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Demonstrations in Germany and UK against coronavirus restrictions; Australian opposition calls for wider care home inquiry; Turkey sees two-month high in cases. Follow all the developments live

AFP is reporting from Rome:

Three Nigerian migrants attacked staff in a military hospital in Rome after testing positive for Covid-19, the defence ministry said Saturday.

And in Victoria, Australia’s worst-affected state.

#COVID19VicData for 30 August, 2020. There were 114 new cases detected in Victoria yesterday. Sadly we report 11 lives lost - condolences to all affected. More information will be available later today via our media release. pic.twitter.com/4voh37S3oM

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Coronavirus live news: India reports record rise in infections; global cases pass 25m

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India records world’s highest single day rise; Latest Johns Hopkins figures show 842,702 people have died; Jacinda Ardern thanks Aucklanders

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down art exhibitions around the globe, but organisers of the RIBOCA2 biennial in Latvia have pushed ahead, reimagining the event to reflect challenging times.

To ensure social distancing, installations by nearly 70 international artists are showcased at the sprawling 20-hectare (50-acre) Soviet-era Andrejsala industrial port in Riga, long abandoned and given up to nature.

Hello, I’m taking over from Amy for the next few hours, as ever please don’t hesitate to share relevant tips and pointers with us, you can get me on Twitter @JedySays or via email.

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UN refugee agency calls on EU nations to let in migrants rescued in Mediterranean

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UNHCR and IOM say 200 rescued people urgently need to get off Banksy-funded ship

The UN refugee agency urged European nations on Saturday to let in hundreds of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by humanitarian boats, including one financed by the British street artist Banksy.

The UNHCR and the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said more than 200 rescued refugees and migrants needed immediately to get off the nonprofit search-and-rescue ship Louise Michel, saying it was far beyond its safe capacity.

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Horses slashed and ears cut off in macabre attacks across France

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About 30 incidents have been reported in stables and equine clubs in suspected ritual mutilations

Attackers are targeting horses and ponies in pastures across France armed with knives in what may be ritual mutilations.

Police are baffled by the macabre attacks, which include slashings. Most often, an ear – usually the right one – has been cut off, recalling the matador’s trophy in a bullring.

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Riots rock Malmö after far-right Swedish activists burn Qur’an

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Leading imam condemns violence after police battle more than 300 on streets of the city

The disorderly phalanx of young men and teenagers, many wearing face masks and hooded tops, started to accelerate, excitement rising, as it neared the row of police vans blocking off the troubled district of Rosengård in Malmö.

“We’re gonna fuck this system up because they want to let a man burn the Qur’an,” one of them yelled, as the group starts hurling jagged chunks of concrete paving towards the armoured riot police sheltering behind the vans. “And we’re gonna fuck the police.”

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‘Anti-corona’ extremists try to storm German parliament

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Police prevent hundreds from entering Reichstag and disband march protesting against Covid protection measures

Far-right extremists tried to storm the German parliament building on Saturday following a protest against the country’s pandemic restrictions, but were intercepted by police and forcibly removed.

The incident occurred after a daylong demonstration by tens of thousands of people opposed to the wearing of masks and other government measures intended to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Police ordered the protesters to disband halfway through their march around Berlin after participants refused to observe physical distancing rules, but a rally near the capital’s iconic Brandenburg Gate took place as planned.

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Belarus deports Swedish journalist amid media crackdown

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Paul Hansen one of 50 reporters, including BBC Moscow’s Steve Rosenberg, detained by police

A Swedish photojournalist has been deported from Belarus, amid a crackdown on local and foreign media and ahead of further mass protests planned for this weekend against the president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Paul Hansen was given 24 hours to leave the country and banned from Belarus for five years. He was one of 50 reporters rounded up by riot police on Thursday and taken into custody, ostensibly so their documents could be checked.

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Armed robbers take £8m after attack on security van in Lyon

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Loomis chief executive calls robbery ‘an audacious attack, right in the city centre’

Robbers in the southeastern French city of Lyon have stolen €9m (£8m) in an armed attack on an armoured security vehicle.

It is believed to be the biggest cash heist in France since notorious robber Toni Musulin in 2009 made off with €11.6m, most of which was subsequently recovered.

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Barnier ‘flabbergasted’ at UK attempt to reopen Brexit specialty food debate

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Bloc sources say Britain is trying to water down EU geographical protections

The UK government has renewed its attempt to reopen the chapter of the Brexit divorce treaty protecting specialty food and drink, such as Parma ham, roquefort cheese and champagne, in a move that left the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, “a little bit flabbergasted”.

The British proposal on protected status for food and drink was included in a draft free-trade agreement handed to Barnier by his opposite number, David Frost, last week, according to two EU sources.

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Reopening schools: how different countries are tackling Covid dilemma

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As schools in England prepare to reopen, we examine the situation around the world

As schools in England and Wales get set to reopen amid continued controversy over safe conditions, attention has focused on potential evidence of coronavirus transmission in the classroom and on the experiences of other countries.

Research on the ability of children of different ages to catch and transmit the virus is contradictory, and differences in education systems and social conventions make comparisons difficult.

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Global report: India sets new national daily case record

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Parisian pedestrians must wear face coverings from Friday; Spain says school children over six must wear masks; China goes 12 days without local case

India has set a new national record of daily coronavirus infections, reporting more than 77,000 cases in 24 hours, just shy of the global one-day record tally held by America.

India’s health ministry reported 77, 266 new cases on Friday. The largest ever one day rise is 78,427, reported by the US on 25 July. India also recorded more than 1,000 new deaths taking total fatalities, to 61,529, the fourth highest total in the world, behind the US, Brazil and Mexico.

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Treble Dutch: £13m old master painting stolen for a third time

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Two Laughing Boys by Frans Hals seized in overnight raid at museum

It’s nothing to smile about for lovers of Dutch art. Police have reported that Two Laughing Boyswith a Mug of Beer, by the old master Frans Hals, has been stolen for a third time.

The Golden Age work, painted in 1626-7, was snatched from a small museum in the town of Leerdam, near the city of Utrecht, early on Wednesday morning.

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