Ruling prevents prosecutors from applying immediately for extradition warrant
An attempt to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden has suffered a setback after a court in Uppsala said he did not need to be detained.
The ruling by the district court prevents Swedish prosecutors from applying immediately for an extradition warrant for Assange to face an allegation of rape dating back to 2010. Assange denies the accusation.
Continue reading...Darren Jones pulled from canal that was first site liberated by second world war allies in 1944
A British soldier taking part in commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-day has drowned at a historic second world war battle site in Normandy.
L/Cpl Darren Jones, 30, of the Royal Engineers was declared dead after firefighters pulled him from a canal at Bénouville near Pegasus Bridge, the first site liberated by the allies on 6 June 1944.
Continue reading...Finland is the only EU country where homelessness is falling. Its secret? Giving people homes as soon as they need them – unconditionally
Tatu Ainesmaa turns 32 this summer, and for the first time in more than a decade he has a home he can truly say is his: an airy two-room apartment in a small, recently renovated block in a leafy suburb of Helsinki, with a view over birch trees.
“It’s a big miracle,” he says. “I’ve been in communes, but everyone was doing drugs and I’ve had to get out. I’ve been in bad relationships; same thing. I’ve been on my brother’s sofa. I’ve slept rough. I’ve never had my own place. This is huge for me.”
Continue reading...The stories of those who were there on 6 June 1944 and others involved in this week’s commemorations
Thousands of people are preparing to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings at commemoration events in the UK and France this week. Senior politicians and members of the royal family as well as hundreds of veterans will attend ceremonies to mark one of the main turning points of the second world war and the biggest amphibious invasion in military history.
More than 200 veterans have boarded a cruise ship, MV Boudicca, charted by the Royal British Legion, to attend the events, while others are descending en masse on Portsmouth and Normandy. Here we hear the stories of those who were there on 6 June 1944 and others involved in this week’s commemorations.
Continue reading...Gianmarco Negri was elected in small town of Tromello, beating far-right League candidate
Italy’s first transgender mayor has said the “arrogant and oppressive” politics of the far right would sooner or later be overcome by a “kindness revolution”.
Gianmarco Negri, a 40-year-old lawyer, was elected mayor of Tromello, a small town south of Milan, last week. Capturing 37.5% of the vote, his leftwing platform scored him a clear victory over the candidate for the far-right League, who came second with 26%.
Continue reading...International Life Sciences Institute used by corporate backers to counter public health policies, says study
An institute whose experts have occupied key positions on EU and UN regulatory panels is, in reality, an industry lobby group that masquerades as a scientific health charity, according to a peer-reviewed study.
The Washington-based International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) describes its mission as “pursuing objectivity, clarity and reproducibility” to “benefit the public good”.
Continue reading...Member states should face punitive action over deaths in Mediterranean, say lawyers
The EU and member states should be prosecuted for the deaths of thousands of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean fleeing Libya, according to a detailed legal submission to the international criminal court (ICC).
The 245-page document calls for punitive action over the EU’s deterrence-based migration policy after 2014, which allegedly “intended to sacrifice the lives of migrants in distress at sea, with the sole objective of dissuading others in similar situation from seeking safe haven in Europe”.
Continue reading...‘March of the mutilated’ calls for ban on use of explosive grenades and rubber bullets
About 200 gilets jaunes have staged a “march of the mutilated” through central Paris. Among them were people seriously injured in demonstrations since the movement started last November.
Several had lost an eye or limb in clashes with riot police. The marchers called for an end to “repressive ultra-violence” and a ban on police use of explosive grenades and rubber bullets.
Continue reading...Ship strikes dock and tourist river boat on busy canal in Italian city
The mayor of Venice has said cruise ships must change their routes after a huge holiday vessel crashed into a wharf and tourist boat, injuring five people.
Luigi Brugnaro said it was no longer conceivable that cruise ships could pass through the busy Giudecca canal and called for a new route to open immediately.
Continue reading...Andrea Nahles’s resignation fuels fears Germany’s embattled government may fall
Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), has announced her resignation, raising concerns that Angela Merkel’s government might collapse.
Nahles, who will step down from all her political roles including that as leader of the SPD parliamentary group, said her resignation was a consequence of the poorest ever performance from the SPD in its 156-year history last weekend, when it received just 15.8% of the vote at the European parliamentary elections, 11 points down on 2014.
Continue reading...People flee in panic as a cruise ship crashes into a dock in Venice. The ship also struck a tourist boat, its horn blowing as onlookers ran down the dock. At least five people were injured.
Continue reading...US president to use state visit to promote House of Trump as he doubles down on Brexit bet
Donald Trump’s state visit this week to the UK is being promoted as a celebration of a close alliance tempered through war.
It could be more accurately described as a personal lap of victory for the US president, performed largely at the expense of his hosts.
Continue reading...US president makes second intervention in British politics, saying UK should ‘walk away’
Donald Trump has called on Britain to leave the European Union without a deal if Brussels refuses to meet its demands, as he urged the government to send Nigel Farage into the negotiations.
In his second extraordinary intervention into British politics ahead of this week’s state visit, the US president suggested the UK should “walk away” from talks and refuse to pay the £39bn divorce bill if its requests were not met.
Continue reading...Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, erupted on Friday, spewing lava and volcanic ash into the sky above Catania. The overnight eruptions led to rivers of lava streaming down the south-eastern slope of the Sicilian volcano. Mount Etna has seen an increase in seismic activity in recent days
Continue reading...The comment team reflects on three extraordinary years of helping readers navigate the biggest political crisis for a generation
Seven million people turned to the wisdom of the Guardian’s comment writers in the 24 hours after the EU referendum result in June 2016. Three years on, it feels disturbing to admit that Brexit, for our small team of opinion editors, is the gift that keeps on giving.
Continue reading...Ratio of females in European parliament up to 39% from 36%, analysis of results shows
More women have been elected to the European parliament than ever before but men still account for 60% of MEPs, according to an early analysis of the European election results.
The proportion of female MEPs has increased slightly from 36% five years ago to about 39%, or 286 out of 751 seats, with nearly all of the official results confirmed.
Continue reading...Elton John biopic’s gay sex and kissing footage edited out in effort to play down singer’s sexuality
A Russian media company has reportedly cut all scenes featuring gay sex and men kissing from the Elton John biopic Rocketman because of laws banning “homosexual propaganda”.
An estimated five minutes of footage have been cut from the film in an attempt to play down the sexuality of one of the world’s most famous gay celebrities for a conservative Russian audience.
Continue reading...Ian Bailey, who lives in Ireland, convicted in his absence of killing Sophie Toscan du Plantier
A court in France has found Ian Bailey, a British former journalist, guilty of murdering Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French film-maker who was battered to death in Ireland.
The cour d’assises in Paris on Friday sentenced Bailey to 25 years for the brutal murder in west Cork in 1996, an infamous cold case that has confounded Irish authorities and divided public opinion over Bailey’s guilt or innocence.
Continue reading...Last Will provides advice to members on how to obtain lethal drug to end their lives
Belgian prosecutors are to investigate a right-to-die group that has been offering advice on the use of a “suicide powder”.
The Last Will group, which has about 23,000 paying members with an average age of 69, was blocked by the Dutch authorities last year from helping approximately 1,000 people purchase the lethal drug but continues to offer advice on legal ways to obtain it.
Continue reading...Call for solidarity follows warning that Jews wearing cap face abuse and attacks
Germans of all faiths and none are being urged to wear kippah skullcaps on Saturday as a symbol of solidarity with the Jewish community, after a steep rise in antisemitic attacks.
Protests across the country have been called by the government’s antisemitism ombudsman after he triggered a heated debate when he warned Jews last week not to wear the kippah because of the increasing likelihood of being attacked.
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