Category Archives: Europe

How do we make Europe more secure? Here are five steps we need to take now

Posted on by

Europe can’t wait to react to Trump’s mood swings but must show we have the will and the wallet to take back control

• Ukraine war live

It’s exhausting and humiliating to have no control – watching every meeting in the Oval Office for a glimmer of Trump’s approval or displeasure, our security resting on a perceived slight or a mood.

The last week of meetings between Trump, Macron, Starmer and finally Zelenskyy always felt like crawling across a minefield. Some might agonise about whether Zelenskyy could have played things differently. It’s the wrong question. The point is that we can’t carry on being so dependent on every meeting at the White House. Until we start taking charge of our future, we will always be one heart palpitation away from dreading doomsday.

Continue reading...

After the Trump-Zelenskyy spat, Starmer may not have many cards left to play on Ukraine

Posted on by

As he attempts to repair relations, the prime minister is being forced closer to a choice between the US and Europe

As Keir Starmer surveys the wreckage of the US-Ukrainian relationship caused by the Oval Office bar-room fight, the UK prime minister is clearly intent on trying to repair the diplomatic damage, but it may be that the mood of mutual antagonism not just in the US, but in Europe, is too great.

It is not as if Starmer, to use Trump’s blunt phraseology, has many cards left to play. He had already played them, and his hand was not strong enough to prevent the US-Ukraine breakdown.

Continue reading...

Pope Francis spends peaceful night after breathing crisis, Vatican says

Posted on by

Doctors caring for pontiff, 88, are assessing how Friday’s incident will affect his condition, says official

Pope Francis, who has been in hospital for two weeks with pneumonia in both lungs, has spent a peaceful night after suffering a breathing crisis, the Vatican said.

Francis, 88, had suffered an “isolated breathing crisis” that caused him to vomit and provoked a “sudden worsening” of his respiratory condition, the Vatican said.

Continue reading...

PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after more than 40 years of conflict

Posted on by

Kurdish militant group responds to call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to lay down arms

Outlawed Kurdish militants have declared a ceasefire with Turkey after a landmark call by the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, asking the group to disband.

It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) after Öcalan this week called for the dissolution of the group and asked it to lay down arms after fighting the Turkish state for more than four decades.

Continue reading...

How JD Vance emerged as the chief saboteur of the transatlantic alliance

Posted on by

Vance snaked his way in first to the row between Trump and Zelenskyy, his second intrusion this month after Munich

JD Vance was supposed to be the inconsequential vice-president.

But his starring role in Friday’s blowup between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy – where he played a cross between Trump’s bulldog and tech bro Iago – may mark the moment that the postwar alliance between Europe and America finally collapsed.

Continue reading...

Zelenskyy admits Trump White House meeting ‘not good for both sides’

Posted on by

Ukraine president expresses regret over contentious meeting but says relationship with Trump can be salvaged

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed regret that an Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump devolved into a shocking display of acrimony between the leaders of two historically allied nations, while insisting that their relationship could be salvaged.

Hours after the public confrontation in which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, accusing him of “gambling with world war three,” the Ukrainian leader defended himself during an in-studio interview on Fox News, while also agreeing that the dispute was “not good for both sides”.

Continue reading...

Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats

Posted on by

Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cyber security threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’

The Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe Russia represents a cyber threat against US national security or critical infrastructure, marking a radical departure from longstanding intelligence assessments.

The shift in policy could make the US vulnerable to hacking attacks by Russia, experts warned, and appeared to reflect the warming of relations between Donald Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

Continue reading...

Macron says French-Algerian author under ‘arbitrary detention’ in Algeria

Posted on by

French president concerned for health of Boualem Sansal who has gone on hunger strike over his imprisonment

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said he is concerned about the “arbitrary detention” and health of Boualem Sansal, days after the French-Algerian author began a hunger strike over his imprisonment in Algeria.

On Tuesday, Pen America issued a statement calling for the immediate release of 75-year-old Sansal, noting that “his hunger strike adds to grave concerns for his wellbeing”.

Continue reading...

Russia to appoint new US ambassador as diplomatic relations thaw

Posted on by

Moscow says Alexander Darchiyev will take up Washington post that has been unfilled since October last year

Russia has announced it will appoint a new ambassador to Washington, signalling a further diplomatic thaw in relations just a day after Russian and American officials met in Istanbul to discuss strengthening ties.

Moscow said Alexander Darchiyev, a career diplomat who is currently the head of the foreign ministry’s North America department, will soon leave for the role in Washington.

Continue reading...

Starmer to hold talks with Zelenskyy and Meloni before Ukraine defence summit

Posted on by

Prime minister will host more than a dozen countries over weekend as Europe tries to secure deal to end war

Keir Starmer will hold talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni in Downing Street on Sunday before a major London defence summit aimed at securing “lasting and enforced” peace in Ukraine.

Fresh from his trip to see Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, Starmer has headed back to London to host the defence summit, where more than a dozen world leaders will gather to discuss Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Five unknowns about any possible deal to end Ukraine-Russia war

Posted on by

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Washington to meet Donald Trump, a number of questions remain unanswered

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Washington to meet Donald Trump, questions remain over the future of Ukraine and the country’s war with Russia. Here are five things we don’t know about a possible deal to end the conflict.

Continue reading...

Youths throw rocks at police in Athens as violence erupts amid train crash rally

Posted on by

Riot officers fire teargas at hundreds of hooded youths as protests across Greece mark anniversary of Tempe disaster

Peaceful protests in central Athens have been eclipsed by the eruption of full-scale clashes between rock-throwing youths and riot police, as demonstrations and strikes were held across Greece to mark the second anniversary of a fatal train crash.

Thousands of people who had crammed into Syntagma Square for a demonstration later fled, some even seeking refuge in the parliament, as riot police fired rounds of teargas at hundreds of black-clad hooded youths lobbying rocks at them.

Continue reading...

Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky dies aged 88

Posted on by

World champion will be remembered for the ‘match of the century’ against American Bobby Fischer in 1972

Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky, who was famously defeated at the height of the cold war, has died at 88, the Russian Chess Federation has announced.

“The tenth world champion Boris Spassky has died at 88,” the federation said in a statement on its website on Thursday, calling it a “great loss for the country”. The statement did not say when he died or from what cause.

Continue reading...

Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’

Posted on by

US president’s plan could prove to be an economic shock to both blocs, German thinktank says

Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger “economic turmoil”, sharply push down growth and send inflation soaring, according to a German thinktank.

The Kiel Institute said the US president’s promise on Wednesday that he would impose the levies “very soon” was a profound moment in the postwar relationship between Washington and Brussels and could prove to be an economic shock to both parties.

Continue reading...

Cypriot authorities ‘failed’ British teenager who reported alleged gang rape, says ECHR

Posted on by

Court highlights shortcomings in 2019 police investigation amid ‘certain biases concerning women in Cyprus’

A British woman who alleges she was gang-raped in Ayia Napa has won a “monumental victory” over Cypriot authorities after the European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled they did not properly investigate the case.

The woman, who was 18 and on holiday at the time, told Cypriot police in July 2019 that she had been raped in a hotel room by several Israeli males.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

Continue reading...

Why has PKK leader called on group to dissolve – and why does it matter?

Posted on by

Abdullah Öcalan’s declaration paves way for end to 40-year conflict between militant Kurdish groups and Turkish state

The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) has called on the group to disarm and dissolve, a major development that paves the way towards ending the 40-year conflict between militant Kurdish groups and the Turkish state and has far-reaching implications for the rest of the Middle East.

“I am making a call for the laying down of arms and I take on the historical responsibility for this call,” Abdullah Öcalan was quoted as saying in a letter read out by political allies in Istanbul. “All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself.”

Continue reading...

Ukraine’s economy could grow by 5% next year if hostilities end, EBRD says

Posted on by

European reconstruction bank will help rebuild country if peace is agreed but a lasting end to conflict is needed

The war-torn Ukrainian economy could expand by 5% next year if a ceasefire is agreed, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has predicted – but prospects for reconstruction depend on a lasting peace.

The London-based lender has invested $6.2bn (£4.9bn) in projects in Ukraine over the course of the three-year conflict.

Continue reading...

Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine

Posted on by

Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war

Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.

“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.

Continue reading...

Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany

Posted on by

Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem

Six beaming election winners huddled around a table and not a woman among them: a viral social media image of the man likely to be Germany’s next chancellor and his transition team has revived longstanding questions about whether Friedrich Merz can bridge a persistent gender gap.

“Not great optics” was among the more generous of the thousands of comments on the post by Merz’s Bavarian ally Markus Söder, which seemed to hark back to another time.

Continue reading...

It’s Jekyll and Hyde, says son of French surgeon accused of abusing 299 patients

Posted on by

Relatives of Joël Le Scouarnec, who allegedly sexually assaulted young patients, tell court of split personality

Members of a French surgeon’s family have described discovering the “Jekyll and Hyde” character of the man accused of raping or sexually assaulting 299 young patients while they were sedated or recovering from operations.

At his trial in the city of Vannes in Brittany, relatives of Joël Le Scouarnec spoke of his split personality.

In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

Continue reading...