Category Archives: Europe

Global report: Trump says masks ‘patriotic’ as EU leaders agree to deal

Posted on by

US president to restart daily briefings; Melbourne records 374 cases; WHO warns South Africa’s crisis could be precursor for more outbreaks in Africa

Donald Trump has announced his daily US coronavirus briefings will resume and that wearing face masks were “patriotic” as European leaders agreed a huge coronavirus rescue plan and Australia announced it was scaling back economic support as one of its states battles a growing Covid-19 outbreak.

Having almost entirely avoided wearing a mask in public during the pandemic, the US president tweeted that “many people say it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance”. The post came with a photo of the president in a mask, possibly taken at his visit about 10 days ago to the Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington.

Continue reading...

Russia report to be released on Tuesday after nine-month delay

Posted on by

Document on Russian interference into UK politics blocked by Boris Johnson before election

The long-awaited Russia report from the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee is due to be released on Tuesday morning, nine months after its publication was blocked by Boris Johnson before the general election.

An examination of the reach of the Kremlin into UK politics and public life, the document is the product of 18 months’ work by a cross-party committee taking evidence in secret from British intelligence and independent experts.

Continue reading...

Rescuers struggle to free sperm whale trapped in netting off Sicily

Posted on by

Divers and biologists trying to free whale caught in illegal netting near island of Salina

The Italian coastguard is struggling to free a sperm whale caught up in illegal fishing netting off the coast of one of Sicily’s Aeolian islands.

A team of divers and biologists have been working for more than 48 hours to help the whale close to the island of Salina. The whale’s huge size and agitated state has made the operation more challenging.

Continue reading...

Greece braces for rise in refugees as relations with Turkey worsen

Posted on by

Migration ministry ‘concerned Turkey may use migrants as instrument to exert pressure’

Greece is stepping up preparations for a possible increase in migrants and refugees reaching the Aegean islands from Turkey, as police arrested six alleged people smugglers at the weekend.

The ability of traffickers to circumvent the vast flotilla of naval ships and coastguard patrols conducting border surveillance in the area has reinforced fears of a surge in migrants arriving at a time of dangerously deteriorating ties between the two countries.

Continue reading...

Bitter EU summit exposes trust deficit among leaders with no end in sight

Posted on by

Confrontation between ‘frugals’ and countries dubious over rule of law highlights acrimony at heart of union

Bad-tempered, late-running EU summits have hardly been unusual over the last decade of eurozone crisis and endless rows over migration. But the latest gathering of EU leaders, now in its fourth day with no end in sight, may be one of the most acrimonious yet.

With a €1.8tn (£1.6tn) financial plan on the table, the stakes are huge. Nobody expected talks to be easy, but expectations of a historic step towards EU fiscal union had risen since Angela Merkel abandoned Germany’s long-standing opposition to shared debt – reversing the position she took during the eurozone crisis.

Continue reading...

Global wrap: Hong Kong ‘critical’ as Covid cases rise worldwide

Posted on by

Lam says situation out of control, while Melbourne makes face masks compulsory

The coronavirus situation in Hong Kong is “really critical”, with a record 100 new infections recorded on Sunday, the territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, said, as Melbourne became the first city in Australia to make wearing masks compulsory in response to a resurgent and aggressive outbreak there.

Hong Kong was held up months ago as a model for its success in keeping down Covid-19 cases in the crowded city-state of 7.5 million people, but its caseload – although still low by European and American standards – had grown by a third in the past fortnight to nearly 1,800. Lam has shuttered bars, gyms and nightclubs in the past week and on Sunday announced new guidelines including mandatory mask-wearing indoors.

Continue reading...

UK urges EU countries to ensure Britons living abroad can stay after Brexit

Posted on by

Government launches multimillion pound campaign to reach 1m British citizens in EU

The UK government is launching a multimillion pound communications campaign to reach the estimated 1 million British citizens living in the EU to ensure they know what steps to take if they wish to remain in their host countries after Brexit.

And it is urging all EU member states to accelerate the process to enable British nationals to secure their rights amid concern among campaigners that some countries have not yet even opened schemes for UK citizens.

Continue reading...

Spanish government denies spying on Catalan leaders

Posted on by

Calls for investigation into claims senior independence figures were targeted using powerful spyware

As a leading Catalan politician renewed calls for an investigation, Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government has emphatically denied any involvement in the use of spyware to target senior members of the Catalan independence movement, saying: “This government doesn’t spy on anyone.”

A joint investigation by the Guardian and El País has determined that the mobile phones of at least five members of the regional independence movement – including the speaker of the Catalan parliament – were targeted using powerful software its makers claim is sold only to governments.

Continue reading...

EU leaders go into extra time as tempers fray at coronavirus summit

Posted on by

Proposals on the size and terms of a recovery fund have led to splits between member states

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron said they are willing to walk away from a summit of EU leaders, as they arrived at the third day of a long and acrimonious debate on the terms of a €750bn (£682bn) pandemic recovery fund.

With the EU split between northern and southern member states as well as eastern and western, France’s president and the German chancellor both indicated their patience was waning despite the need to respond to the economic recession facing the bloc.

Continue reading...

EU leaders in bitter clash over Covid-19 recovery package

Posted on by

Orbán accuses Netherlands’ Rutte of ‘communist’ tactics on tense third day of talks

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, accused his Dutch counterpart of using the same methods as his country’s former communist leaders on Sunday, as EU leaders publicly clashed during tense and acrimonious negotiations over the terms of a proposed €1.8tn budget and recovery package for the bloc.

A third difficult day of a summit of the EU’s 27 heads of state and government – the first in person for five months – saw movement towards agreement as talks stretched deep into the night, but laid bare the deep splits between north and south, and east and west.

Continue reading...

French police question man over Nantes Cathedral fire

Posted on by

Arson investigation launched after blaze at gothic Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul

French investigators are questioning a man who worked at the cathedral in Nantes, which was badly damaged by fire on Saturday, a prosecutor said.

The man “was responsible for locking up the cathedral on Friday evening and investigators wanted to clarify elements of the schedule of this person”, the prosecutor, Pierre Sennes, told Agence France-Presse.

Continue reading...

Sun, sea, safety: Greece woos Europe’s pensioners with 7% income tax rate

Posted on by

Athens offers generous tax incentives to lure retirees – and boost its own struggling economy

Most countries want to attract the young and the willing – entrepreneurs with ideas, students looking to learn, people prepared to do the jobs locals turn down. Greece, though, has decided on a different approach, by making a play for Europe’s retirees.

“The logic is very simple: we want pensioners to relocate here,” says Athina Kalyva, head of tax policy at the Greek finance ministry, who has helped design a scheme to get people to do just that. “We have a beautiful country, a very good climate, so why not?”

Continue reading...

All quiet in Ibiza as super-rich hide away and young Brits chill by the pool

Posted on by

With its near-deserted streets and laid-back vibe, the Spanish island is a world away from its pre-pandemic party scene

On the first day of lockdown in Britain, 48 private planes flew into Ibiza. While the island has only officially been open to tourists since the beginning of July, following one of Europe’s strictest quarantines, the super-rich have been making the most of a Balearic summer that hasn’t been this quiet for decades. Actor Emma Watson has been spotted in town and musician James Blunt has been living permanently in his villa in Santa Gertrudis, dubbed the island’s Notting Hill.

Exclusive boutique hotels, luxury villas and the island’s most expensive restaurants have reported an unexpected boom in business. Many are already full for July and much of August and say that wealthy customers are staying longer and spending more than the same period last year.

Continue reading...

EU talks to rescue €750bn recovery package stall amid heated debate

Posted on by

Claim of miserliness as second day sees negotiations split over size of fund and seven-year budget

European Union leaders were locked in intense negotiations on Saturday evening in an attempt to save a summit on the terms of a €750bn (£682bn) pandemic recovery fund from an acrimonious end as the debate over the bloc’s financial future became “heated”.

A second day of talks in Brussels saw Poland’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, publicly accuse the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden of being “misers” while the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, claimed the Dutch were trying to rewrite the EU’s rules.

Continue reading...

Arson suspected in fire at 15th-century Nantes cathedral

Posted on by

Investigation opened after blaze destroys grand organ and shatters stained-glass windows

A fire that broke out in a cathedral in the western French city of Nantes blew out stained-glass windows and destroyed the grand organ in the 15th-century building, officials said.

A local prosecutor said three fires were started at the St Peter and St Paul Cathedral and authorities were treating the incident as a criminal act. An investigation has been opened.

Continue reading...

Thousands protest again over arrest of Russian regional governor

Posted on by

Unrest in Khabarovsk as Sergei Furgal is held in Moscow in connection with murders

Tens of thousands of people in the Russian city of Khabarovsk have turned out for a protest over the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders.

Local media estimated that the rally on Saturday attracted between 15,000 and 50,000 people. Protests have taken place every day this week, typically drawing hundreds of people .

Continue reading...

German police capture ‘Black Forest Rambo’ after six-day manhunt

Posted on by

Yves Rausch had been on run after allegedly pulling gun on police last Sunday

German police have captured a heavily armed suspect accused of stealing officers’ weapons, after a six-day manhunt for the “Black Forest Rambo”.

The man, named by police as Yves Rausch, had been on the run since last Sunday morning after holding up four officers and stealing their firearms in what his mother claims was a moment of “panic”.

Continue reading...

Who has been using spyware on Catalan independence campaigners?

Posted on by

At least two victims have blamed the mobile phone infiltration on a ‘dirty war’ by the Spanish state

In spring last year, Sergi Miquel Gutiérrez realised something odd was going on with his mobile.

“I remember some issues, for example losing some information on WhatsApp, and losing emails and having them appear in places I didn’t put them,” he said.

Continue reading...

Medical error led to painter Raphael’s death, study finds

Posted on by

Bloodletting contributed to worsening health of painter, who probably had pneumonia

A medical error contributed to killing the Italian painter Raphael, according to the latest reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding the Renaissance master’s untimely death.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino is believed to have been aged 37 when he died in Rome on 6 April 1520, eight days after contracting a fever. Several museums in Italy are holding exhibitions to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his death.

Continue reading...

Elbow bumps and bows: masked EU leaders start physically distanced summit – video

Posted on by

The leaders of EU27 countries wore face masks as they greeted each other with elbow bumps, nods, bows and some variations at a summit to thrash out a deal on a multibillion coronavirus recovery fund for the bloc's economies.

There were birthday gifts for the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who turned 66, and the Portuguese prime minister, António Costa, who turned 59

Continue reading...