Prime minister responds to Russian anger over Kyiv’s use of British-made drones in ‘deep strike’ campaign
Andy Burnham says the UK will continue to “support Ukraine 100%” after Russia threatened consequences after strikes by British-made drones.
The Russian embassy to the UK said on Monday that Britain had been deliberately escalating the Ukraine conflict and the deeper its involvement, “the higher the price it will pay”.
Continue reading...Creators of chase compilations reject any moral qualms and say they show ‘death is waiting’ for those who join war
To many observers they will appear dehumanising and offensive. To many Ukrainians, however, they are a brutal reminder of the fate that awaits Russian soldiers who take part in Vladimir Putin’s invasion, as well as a potent propaganda weapon.
Over the past year and a half, videos of kamikaze drones chasing Russian service personnel to their deaths have become a distinctive genre on social media. They are the brainchild of Robert Brovdi, the head of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces and founder of “Magyar’s Birds”, named after his call sign.
Continue reading...Vegetable and grain growers call for urgent action, warning of ‘catastrophic’ harvests due to continent-wide drought
Successive intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought have left many of Europe’s farmers in an “unprecedented” crisis, with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.
French vegetable production is down by “a very significant extent” compared with previous years, French growers have said, with shortfalls put at 25% for courgettes, 35% for lettuces, 40% for peas, 60% for broccoli and 50% to 100% for artichokes.
Continue reading...Vegetable and grain growers call for urgent action, warning of ‘catastrophic’ harvests due to continent-wide drought
Successive intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought have left many of Europe’s farmers in an “unprecedented” crisis, with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.
French vegetable production is down by “a very significant extent” compared with previous years, French growers have said, with shortfalls put at 25% for courgettes, 35% for lettuces, 40% for peas, 60% for broccoli and 50% to 100% for artichokes.
Continue reading...Mother and son Olga and Nikita Belov say they were facing jail and potential torture after asylum case was rejected
A Russian family who were on the brink of being deported from Finland after repeatedly being denied asylum – despite the threat of arrest, imprisonment and torture for their pro-Ukrainian activism – have won a court appeal and will have their case reconsidered.
Nikita Belov and his mother, Olga Belov, fled their homeland for Finland in 2022 after attracting the attention of Russian authorities – including a military summons, threatening messages and attempts to locate them – for expressing opposition to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Temperatures could drop by more than 15C compared with last Thursday as cold front moves in
Relief from the unrelenting heat is finally arriving this week across western Europe, with more unsettled conditions bringing the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall back towards the seasonal norm, with some parts of the UK even falling about 3C below normal by Thursday. After such a scorching summer, and with a temperature drop of more than 15C compared with last Thursday’s heat, it may feel surprisingly chilly.
There are signs that some substantial rain could be on the cards for the south of the UK this week as a cold front moves in from the Atlantic on Monday night into Tuesday. As of Monday, parts of southern England had endured 62 consecutive days of no rainfall – this is observed at a Met Office weather station in Wisley, Surrey. Even the last recorded rainfall here on 16 June amounted to just 0.4mm.
Continue reading...Temperatures could drop by more than 15C compared with last Thursday as cold front moves in
Relief from the unrelenting heat is finally arriving this week across western Europe, with more unsettled conditions bringing the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall back towards the seasonal norm, with some parts of the UK even falling about 3C below normal by Thursday. After such a scorching summer, and with a temperature drop of more than 15C compared with last Thursday’s heat, it may feel surprisingly chilly.
There are signs that some substantial rain could be on the cards for the south of the UK this week as a cold front moves in from the Atlantic on Monday night into Tuesday. As of Monday, parts of southern England had endured 62 consecutive days of no rainfall – this is observed at a Met Office weather station in Wisley, Surrey. Even the last recorded rainfall here on 16 June amounted to just 0.4mm.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: The Spanish prime minister has remade himself as Europe’s leading leftwing standard-bearer. Could his success offer the UK’s PM a route forward?
Good morning. To international onlookers, Pedro Sànchez appears to have achieved the impossible. Where other European leftist and left-ish premiers have flopped and flailed, the Spanish PM has endured.
Since June 2018, Sánchez has ruled from Madrid, implementing a raft of progressive policies. More recently, he has emerged as a leading, and often lone, left-wing European voice on the global stage, striking a defiant tone on everything from the Trump administration’s war in Iran (“the smokescreen of war to hide their failure”) to Israel’s actions in Gaza (“exterminating a defenceless people”). The fact that the international press has nicknamed him El Guapo (the handsome one) can’t hurt.
UK economy | The UK should expect to see a new cost of living crisis, with official figures released this week by the ONS expected to show how soaring energy bills drove up inflation close to 3% in July.
Ceuta | Moroccan police arrested 111 people this weekend, who were trying to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides after social media posts called for another mass crossing.
Jason Arday | The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday.
UK politics | Andy Burnham is being urged to protect 4 million gig economy workers, who thinktanks warn miss out on key statutory rights including: parental leave, redundancy pay and protection against unfair dismissal.
Indonesia | Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, searching for bodies after a powerful earthquake killed at least 51 people, and injured more than 100.
Sànchez understands that anchoring his party to the left … is where he can govern.
Monday | Nominations close for candidates seeking to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader.
Tuesday | Opening arguments expected to begin in a lawsuit brought by multiple US states against Meta about social media addiction.
Thursday | Students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will receive their GCSE results.
Continue reading...Head-on collision between two vehicles on M9 in County Kildare also injured four other people, say police
Five teenagers have died and four other people have been seriously injured in a crash involving a car driving in the wrong direction on a motorway in the Republic of Ireland, police said.
Gardaí confirmed the bodies of the youths, all male, had been removed from the scene of the two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 3am on Sunday on the M9 in County Kildare.
Continue reading...Couple die in Salamis, while multinational forces and local farmers tackle Belgium’s biggest fire in a century near Liège
An elderly couple died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis on Sunday and Belgium is battling its largest modern-day wildfire at an inaccessible area near Germany, in the latest wave of European wildfires.
The couple died outside their home in the Peristeria beach area of Salamis, Greece’s coastguard said. More than 500 people were ordered to evacuate.
Continue reading...Hundreds watched the 56-metre monument’s consecration, including anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa
An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, in the presence of the anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa.
Hundreds of people took part in the consecration of the monument, which towers 55.6 metres (182ft) over Konotopie in central Poland, a village of fewer than 150 people.
Continue reading...Theft of four works on national holiday described as wound to historical memory and cultural identity of city of Messina
Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.
Thieves gained access to the Regional Museum of Messina, or MuMe, on Saturday evening, possibly capitalising on attention being focused on La Vara, a huge religious festival that takes place in the city on 15 August, when Italy marks the Ferragosto national holiday.
Continue reading...Kyiv launches what may be its largest attack wave of war, with fire breaking out at warehouse near Russian capital
Ukraine has launched one of its largest drone attacks since the start of the war, causing a fire at a distribution warehouse near Moscow and killing at least six people overnight, according to Russian authorities.
The defence ministry in Moscow said it had shot down 1,478 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours – the highest ever total claimed – in an escalating air war in which seven Ukrainians were also killed as Russia bombed 13 locations inside the country.
Continue reading...Border security tightened after social media posts call for another mass crossing into Spain’s north African territory
Moroccan police have arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides after social media posts called for another mass crossing.
The attempted crossing on Saturday came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, causing tensions within the EU and prompting anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died trying to reach European soil.
Continue reading...Family paid tribute to Bristol University geology student, 18, after being notified by Avon and Somerset police
A body has been found in the search for an 18-year-old British man who went missing last year while hiking in Romania, UK police said.
George Smyth, a geology student at the University of Bristol, went missing in November.
Continue reading...Alex McKee died when picking up showerhead in ‘outdoor and rudimentary’ bathroom on Kimolos
The death of an Irish teenager, electrocuted while taking a shower in a holiday home in Greece, has led to calls for tighter checks on appliances at tourist accommodation.
Alex McKee, 17, is said to have died instantly when picking up the showerhead in a bathroom described as “outdoor and rudimentary” on Kimolos.
Continue reading...British Museum’s £33 tickets sold out in a day but some slots have been reserved for guests at five-star One Aldwych
Those hoping to snare a glimpse of the Bayeux tapestry when it comes to the British Museum this September faced nine-hour online queues, with the £33 tickets sold out within a day.
But the monied guests of a five-star hotel in Covent Garden have not had to go to such arduous lengths to get a view of the nearly 1,000-year-old depiction of William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold II of England at Hastings in 1066.
Continue reading...Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights
The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses.
Five years after the Taliban took power, an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare.
Continue reading...Constitutional council says curbs infringe freedom of expression and privacy as president vows to rework legislation
France’s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy.
The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children’s use of social media.
Continue reading...One person killed and hundreds evacuated in Croatia as blazes also hit Germany, Greece and Spain
Almost 500 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires in France since the start of the summer, authorities have said, as firefighters in half a dozen European countries tackle ferocious blazes amid a record-breaking heatwave.
A fire engulfed homes in a Croatian holiday resort on Friday, killing one person, injuring 40 and forcing 1,200 to evacuate, officials said, as the EU warned that pockets of “very extreme” wildfire conditions stretched across the continent.
Continue reading...