List of All Articles with Tag 'euro'

Kazakhstan cut rates for a second straight time, extending its first cycle of monetary easing since 2020 after

The Labour Party won a parliamentary special election in Scotland on a large swing, suggesting leader Keir Starmer

Dubai used to be a place where the best restaurants had been imported from other parts of the

Russian president Vladimir Putin said the plane carrying Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was blown up from the inside and fragments of hand grenades have been found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. This is the first time Mr Putin commented on the details of the plane crash that killed Prigozhin – the mercenary leader who had challenged his regime and launched a military coup by marching onto Moscow in a dramatic threat to the Kremlin not seen in decades. "Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash," Mr Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, but did not share any details on the type and number of hand grenades that could have been detonated on board. He denied an external influence or targeting of the plane from the outside. "There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact," he said, rejecting assertions by unidentified US officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down. Mr Putin said the head of Russia’s investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago. The private Embraer jet carrying the Wagner leader and the mercenary group’s co-founder along with eight other people crashed north of Moscow on 23 August. All 10 people onboard were reported dead. Mr Putin also suggested that the remains of the passengers, including Prigozhin, should have been tested for alcohol and drugs. He said he thought investigators were wrong to have not carried out these tests on the bodies of those killed in the crash. "In my opinion, such an examination should have been carried out but it was not," he said. The searches of Wagner’s offices in St Petersburg by the FSB found 10bn roubles ($100m) in cash and 5kg (11 pounds) of cocaine, he said. The investigators of the crash have yet to report publicly on the cause. Neither Wagner nor Prigozhin’s family could be reached to comment on Mr Putin’s remarks. Prigozhin had claimed pride in casting Wagner as the world’s most war-hardened fighting force and was known to have carried out Russia’s dirty work in middle-east and Africa. The mercenary fighters waged a brutal battle – dubbed the “meat grinder” – in Bakhmut last year in winter, where they eventually handed Moscow its biggest territorial gain in many months. Just two months before his death, he had accused Mr Putin’s top military brass, defence minister Sergei Shoigu and general staff Valery Gerasimov of incompetence and warned that Russia could lose the war in Ukraine unless it raised its game. The brief mutiny against Russia’s defence establishment posed the biggest challenge to Putin’s rule since the former KGB spy came to power in 1999. According to the leaders in the West, not only did it expose the strains on Russia of the war in Ukraine, it also showed the worsening relations between the Russian president and his long-time stooge. Read More Putin’s ‘punishment battalions’ full of convicts and drunk recruits: ‘They’re just meat’ Wagner succession: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s son ‘set to be next mercenary boss’ Putin orders former Wagner commander to take charge of 'volunteer units' in Ukraine ‘Weak’ Putin killed Wagner mercenary chief Prigozhin, Zelensky says

Vladimir Putin’s missile attack on a cafe and grocery store in northeastern Ukraine that led to 51 deaths, six injuries and three people left missing was “no blind strike”, said president Volodymyr Zelensky. The strike is the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Mr Putin’s Ukraine invasion and also among the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian missile attack, especially after January this year. The missile strike occurred on Thursday afternoon in Kharkiv’s Hroza village where dozens had gathered to mourn a fallen Ukraine soldier, officials said. “A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Thursday. “Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike,” he said after attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain. Mr Zelensky said a six-year-old boy was among the dead. According to regional officials, families had remained in the village despite a war-time order to evacuate. The site of the attack showed large piles of bricks, shattered metal and building materials strewn around the cafe and shop struck by a Russian missile. The attack was likely carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile, a Ukrainian minister said, citing preliminary information. Bodies of the dead were laid out in a field next to a children’s playground as rescue workers were seen making their way and sifting through mounds of debris from the attack. Regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov said they will use DNA laboratories to identify the bodies as they have found only bits and pieces and remains of the bodies. Officials said the Russian missile hit a service marking a reburial in his home village of a soldier who had died in action elsewhere. The son of the soldier was also killed in the attack, along with his wife and mother, prosecutors told public broadcaster Suspilne. “There were only civilians. The boy was from this village. When he died, we were under occupation. The (family) decided to rebury him, to bring him home,” said resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi. “Then this happened. Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop.” He said his mother, brother and sister-in-law were among the dead. Local officials were sitting down for a meal when the missile struck, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said. “From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy,” he told Ukrainian television. Defence minister Rustem Umerov said the strike was clearly targeted and Ukrainian security services had launched an investigation into the matter. “The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties,” he said. “There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.” Russia has not issued a comment on the attack in Hroza. It has denied deliberately targeting civilians, but many have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Deadly Russian attack on memorial service was no blind strike, says Zelensky White House condemns ‘horrifying’ Russian attack on grocery store in Ukraine Russian missile strike kills more than 50 Ukrainians gathered for wake – in deadliest such attack in months Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid Russia has tested a nuclear-powered missile and could revoke a global atomic test ban, Putin says

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said a Russian missile attack that killed 51 people at a memorial service was “no blind strike” and that Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were striking. A Russian missile slammed into a cafe and shop in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing 51 people in Hroza village in the eastern Kharkiv region. The attack – thought to have been carried out using an Iskander ballistic missile – appears to have caused one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike. “One-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack,” said regional Governor Oleh Synehubov. Mr Zelensky, who was attending a summit with European leaders, said: “Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike.” Separately, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was forced into a major retreat from a Crimea port, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War. At least 10 of Vladimir Putin’s warships retreated 237 miles to “bases further in the Russian rear” following intensified Ukrainian attacks. Read More Former Russian state TV journalist gets 8 1/2-year sentence in absentia for Ukraine war criticism Russia facing ‘functional defeat’ in the Black Sea – but Kyiv allies warn they are running out of ammunition Russia may attack civilian ships with sea mines and blame Ukraine, UK warns

By Toby Sterling THE HAGUE The Netherlands and the U.N. on Thursday launched a project to help prepare

Kylian Mbappe cannot be satisfied with his recent performances, France coach Didier Deschamps said on Thursday as he

More than 50 people have been killed – including a six-year-old boy – after a Russian missile hit a shop and cafe in northeastern Ukraine where mourners had gathered for a wake. It is one of the deadliest such attacks since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion 19 months ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the southern Spanish city of Granada for a conference with European leaders at the time of the strike, described the attack as a “brutal Russian crime” and accused Moscow of "genocidal aggression". During an emotional address to the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain, he cited the devastating impact Russian strikes were having on Ukrainian children in Kharkiv Oblast, forcing them to take school lessons in makeshift classrooms underground. A short time later officials in Kyiv said a Russian Iskander missile struck the 330-person village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, killing at least 51, including a six-year-old boy. One image of the aftermath of the strike showed a number of bodies strewn across the floor, covered in the dust kicked up by the explosion. A handful of civilians could be seen crying behind them as two ambulance workers stood nearby. The interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said that residents of Hroza had been holding a memorial service in the cafe that was reduced to rubble by the attack. "From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy," Mr Klymenko told Ukrainian television. Reacting to the strike, Kira Rudik, a leading Ukrainian opposition MP, told The Independent: “You may think that we would get used to the news of our people getting killed, but everytime it is a shock.” She reiterated the calls made by Mr Zelensky throughout the summit in Spain for more air defences and weapons from Western allies, arguing that it was essential for Ukraine “particularly to protect those places so close to the front”, such as Hroza. The village sits only around 30 miles from the nearest Russian soldiers. In recent months, thousands have fled the broader Kupyansk district, in which Groza is located, as thousands of Russian troops stage an assault of their own while Kyiv continues to push ahead with its counteroffensive further south. Mr Zelensky has visited the areas around the frontlines Kharkiv in recent days, recording a message of support for the troops battling to keep Russian forces from advancing. "The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties," Ukraine's defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said. "There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians." Mr Zelensky arrived in Spain for the European Political Community (EPC) forum on Thursday morning, meeting first with the Spanish President Pedro Sanchez before holding talks with various other leaders, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni. Though multiple issues, such as energy prices, were on the agenda for the EPC forum, the issue of supporting Ukraine was the “core” topic of discussion, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Mr Sunak reiterated Britain's long-term support for Ukraine and said that he would be encouraging European leaders to work together to supply further defensive weapons. Both Mr Zelensky and his top aide Andriy Yermak said prior to arriving in Spain that securing new air defence systems was their top priority ahead of the winter, when Russia is expected to ramp up its missile campaign on major cities across the country. Mr Zelensky told the leaders in Granada that by providing additional military equipment to Ukraine, European countries could help ensure that a "drone, tank, or any other Russian weapon will not strike anyone else in Europe". In the wake of the attack in Kharkiv, Mr Zelensky added in a social media post: "Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror". A Spanish government source later confirmed to Reuters that Mr Sanchez had heeded that call, reporting that Spain would send both an air defence and anti-drone system to Kyiv. Ahead of the summit, German media reported that German Chancellor Olaf Scholf was reluctant to donate to Ukraine long-range Taurus missiles, despite widespread pressure from his allies to do so, over fears it would escalate tensions with Russia. The chancellor is reportedly concerned that Ukraine will use the missiles, which have a range further than the British Storm Shadows, Kyiv’s longest-range weapon to date, to hit the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia to the Moscow-occupied Crimean peninsula. Mr Zelensky met with Mr Scholz on Thursday, with the two leaders discussing “working on providing Ukraine with an additional ‘Patriot’ [air defence] system for the winter months”. The meeting in Granada was also a space to shore up support for Kyiv after a weekend of political turmoil in the US. A dispute among the Republican majority in the lower chamber of the US Congress has complicated spending negotiations and prompted Democrat President Joe Biden to go from confident that a deal will be made on further Ukraine aid from Washington to openly expressing concern. Mr Zelensky admitted that there was a “political storm” over Washington but said he was “confident” that it would be resolved. “They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy,” he said. “I am confident in America.” Elsewhere, at an address in the Russian resort city of Sochi, Mr Putin accused the West of losing touch with reality over the Ukraine war. In a speech that aired many of his oft-repeated grievances against Ukraine's allies over their support for Kyiv, he also held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in over three decades and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty. Read More IMF chief says the global economy has show resilience in the face of COVID, war and high rates Russia has tested a nuclear-powered missile and could revoke a global atomic test ban, Putin says Live: Karine Jean-Pierre holds White House briefing as Biden vows to stand by Ukraine

Gardaí say they are continuing to investigate the fatal explosion one year on.

Authorities on the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife evacuated some 3,000 people from their homes overnight as a wildfire sparked by high temperatures and strong winds raged in a forested area already ravaged by fire in August. Emergency services said on Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter, they had requested assistance from the army’s Military Emergency Unit, citing the blaze, which ignited on Wednesday, as a high level emergency. Soldiers and firefighters battled to control the fire which broke in the northeast of the island, away from the main tourist areas in the southwest. The same area suffered one of the island’s worst wildfire in decades which burned for days, destroying some 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of woodland within the national park surrounding the Mount Teide volcano, Spain’s highest peak. Thousands were also evacuated then, with most returning to their homes. The Canary Islands regional leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a business event in Madrid on Thursday the August fire had been brought under control but never completely extinguished, with embers still burning in the forest. He said firefighting efforts overnight had “gone well”. “There is less fuel (for the fire), so it shouldn’t get out of hand,” Clavijo said, referring to the already scorched terrain. The island, in the Atlantic off Africa’s northwestern coast, is on alert for high temperatures that are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout Thursday. Read More Spanish police reopen investigation into death of British mother in Tenerife 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded September sizzled to records and was so much warmer than average scientists call it 'mind-blowing'

Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.’s cloud services face an investigation by the UK’s antitrust watchdog over concerns the