List of All Articles with Tag 'europe'

Volvo Car AB expects the profitability of its electric cars to improve in the coming months because of

Italy has begun removing the names of gay mothers from their children’s birth certificates, as part of the right-wing government’s crackdown on same-sex parenting. The move comes after populist prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition announced in March that state agencies should no longer register the children of same-sex couples, a move that sparked protests in Milan. Families have begun receiving letters from the state prosecutor, with PinkNews reporting that 27 parents in the northern city of Padua have been issued notices that they were being removed from their child’s birth certificate. Other families have received letters in Milan, Florence and Fiumicino, near Rome. Michael Leidi and her wife Viola were reportedly among one of the three lesbian couples to be targeted by the crackdown, with Ms Leidi telling LGBTQ+ Nation that she “cried for 10 days” after receiving the letter. It informed them that the inclusion of Ms Leidi’s name was “contrary to public order”, as she was not the biological mother of the couple’s daughter Giulia, the site reported. The policy means only the recognised biological mother has parenting rights, and if she was to die, her children can be handed to relatives or taken into the state’s care. “It was as if I did not exist,” Ms Leidi told LGBTQ+ Nation. “I suspect the government is afraid that a family that looks different, like ours, can be happy - maybe even happier, sometimes - as a traditional family. “On paper, they say Guilia has one mother but we know she has two. We will do everything possible to prove we are a good family.” Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Leidi said that the couple had been together for 11 years and were both teachers of children with special needs. After Viola became pregnant through artificial insemination, their local mayor had signed Giulia’s birth certificate and had been “very supportive”. Despite this, they were recently sent a letter informing them of the changes to the birth certificate. It was followed by an unsuccessful legal attempt to overturn the removal of her name and a rejection by local judges of their bid to take the case to Italy’s Supreme Court. Italy’s first female prime minister had rallied against the ‘LGBT lobby’ and ‘gender ideology’ as part of her successful campaign last year to win power. Despite Ms Meloni comparing herself to British Conservatives and denying she is homophobic, her party rose to power with tough rhetoric against same-sex parenting and support for traditional families and moral values. In a recent speech, she said: “We want a nation in which – whatever each person’s legitimate choices and free inclinations may be – it is no longer a scandal to say we are all born from a man and a woman.” Her coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, of the far-right League party, had previously called gay parents “unnatural” while the government opposed a Brussels plan for a parenthood certificate that would be valid across the EU. In 2016, Italy’s former centre-left government legalised same-sex civil unions, however stopped short from issuing full adoption rights following opposition from the Catholic church. Gay couples are forced to go abroad if they want children, as they are banned from accessing reproductive medical treatment such as IVF and surrogacy is also prohibited. Italian law does not rule if same-sex couples can both be recognised as parents on official certification, which meant local mayors were left to make the call based on their own personal views. However, now the message from the interior ministry to town halls is that such arrangements are illegal. This follows a Supreme Court ruling last December against a male same-sex couple who brought a child obtained through surrogacy into Italy. Pro-LGBTQ politicians have condemned the move, arguing that it is clearly discriminatory. Elly Scheink, the leader of the centre-Left party, who is also in a same-sex relationship, said: “These families are tired of being discriminated against. “We’re talking about boys and girls already growing up in our communities and going to schools.” Meanwhile, a poll last month found that two-thirds of Italians hold positive views on same-sex parenting and adoption, demonstrating a surge of support in recent years. Read More UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologizes for a previous ban on LGBTQ+ people in the military Russian lawmakers pass a bill outlawing gender-affirming procedures to protect 'traditional values' Thousands march at Budapest Pride as LGBTQ+ community voices anxiety over Hungary's restrictive laws Italy begins removing gay mothers from children’s birth certificates Six-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister drown in Texas river New drug to protect babies and toddlers from RSV gets FDA approval ahead of cold season

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Tom Westbrook Barbie's box-office debut began in parts

Oil steadied as persistent demand concerns were offset by declines in crude stockpiles in the US. West Texas

Tesla Inc wants to double the production capacity of its assembly plant outside Berlin to one million electric

A Southern California man was convicted Wednesday of blowing up his ex-girlfriend’s spa business with a package bomb in 2018, killing her and seriously injuring two clients. A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Stephen Beal of four felonies including use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office. Beal could face at least 30 years and up to life in prison when he's sentenced in November. He was retried after a mistrial was declared last year when the jury deadlocked. Beal, 64, of Long Beach, was charged with killing Ildiko Krajnyak on May 15, 2018, with a homemade package bomb he slipped into her Aliso Viejo spa, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. Krajnyak, 48, was killed in the fiery blast when she opened the box. Two clients — a mother and daughter — she had just treated were knocked off their feet. The blast destroyed the business and tore a large hunk from the building. Body parts were found in the parking lot. Beal, a partner in the salon business, was jealous Krajnyak had been dating someone else after their 18-month relationship ended, and he developed a “plan to destroy her,” U.S. Attorney Annamartine Salick said in an opening statement at Beal's first trial. While Krajnyak was in Hungary visiting family, Beal left the bomb at the spa for her to open when she returned, according to the U.S. attorney's statement. A day after the explosion, investigators searched Beal's home and found more than 130 pounds (59 kilograms) of explosive mixtures and precursor chemicals, the statement said. “Beal had years of experience building high-powered model rockets and homemade pyrotechnics," according to the statement. “Laboratory testing determined that the explosive mixture Beal used in the bomb came from the same chemicals he had at his home.” Beal also was found guilty of malicious destruction of a building resulting in death, use of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence, and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne is resigning after months of scrutiny over flaws in his scientific research, sparked

The Russian military could attack civilian shipping in the Black Sea as part of its effort to target

Asian stocks are poised for a cautious open as the US posted modest gains in a choppy session

British politicians have accused the boss of Asda of pushing up prices, lowering wages and taking money out

The Belarus Red Cross has sparked international outrage after its chief told Belarusian state television that the organization is actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas to Belarus. Both Ukraine and the Belarusian opposition have decried the transfer as unlawful deportations, and there have been calls for international war crimes charges for the authoritarian Belarus leader, similar to the charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The actions of the Belarus Red Cross drew stern criticism from the International Federation of Red and Red Crescent Societies. Belarus has been Moscow’s closest ally since Russia's invasion started in February 2022, with its leader Alexander Lukashenko allowing the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine. Lukashenko has also welcomed a Russian military presence in Belarus and the deployment of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons there. Belarusian opposition figures have accused Lukashenko of facilitating the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus, allegations Minsk angrily rejected. A report aired Wednesday by the state Belarus 1 TV channel showed Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, visiting the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region. In the footage, he says the organization was actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus for “health improvement” purposes. “The Belarus Red Cross has taken — and is taking, and will be taking — an active part in it,” Shautsou said. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the International Criminal Court “to issue an arrest warrant" for Shautsou, saying that he "has publicly confessed to the crime of unlawful deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine.” The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which brings together 191 national organizations, said it contacted the Belarus Red Cross to express its "grave concern” and to advise it to “stop any similar activity in the future.” Last month, Belarusian opposition activist Pavel Latushka said he has provided the ICC with material allegedly detailing the forced transfer of 2,100 Ukrainian children from at least 15 Russia-occupied Ukrainian cities to Belarus with Lukashenko’s approval. In May, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office announced an investigation into the forced transfers. Belarusian authorities have confirmed hosting more than 1,000 children, aged 6-15, from Russian-held parts of Ukraine for health reasons. The first group of 350 children arrived in April, officials said, without providing further details. Shautsou from the Belarus Red Cross said he was working with a state-backed charity foundation to make “the children forget the horrors of the war and just rest, feel that there's an island of happiness.” The Belarus Red Cross is the biggest humanitarian organization in Belarus and is part of the international Red Cross movement. The Geneva-based umbrella organization — the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies — said it had learned about Shautsou’s visit to Donbas through the media. it said it referred the issue to its compliance committee, which investigates any “alleged breaches of integrity.” “These actions risk damaging the trust of our work in supporting communities in need, whoever they are, and whichever side of the frontlines they are on,” the federation said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. It stressed that the Belarus Red Cross chief doesn’t speak on behalf of the federation “and his statements do not represent our views.” Latushka, who used to be a top official in Lukashenko's government, insists that taking Ukrainian children to Belarus is illegal and violates international norms. He has called on the ICC to launch a probe as some of those “children are under the guardianship of the Ukrainian state, including orphans, children with disabilities and those whose parents were stripped of parental rights.” “We have evidence that after being taken Belarus, some Ukrainian children ended up in Russia, which must become a subject of an international probe,” Latushka told the AP, speaking over the phone. In March, the ICC issued warrants for both Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Judges in The Hague said they found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the two were responsible for the war crimes of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. Moscow has angrily rejected the move. European Parliament members on Tuesday called on the ICC “to consider a similar arrest warrant" for Lukashenkо. ___ Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Dreams spurred by $1B Powerball, $720M Mega Millions jackpots, but expert warns: Take it slow Officials to discuss use of police force in Fargo shooting that killed gunman who fired on officers Two planets sharing same orbit around their star? Astronomers find strongest evidence yet

Vladimir Putin will not attend a summit in South Africa next month – allowing the hosts to avoid a decision whether or not to arrest the Russian leader thanks to an international warrant over war crime allegations. As a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued the warrant, South Africa would be expected to detain Mr Putin once he sets foot in the country. Although it has refused to honour that obligation in the past, allowing safe passage to Sudan’s then-president Omar al-Bashir in 2015, who was facing allegations of war crimes against his own people. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova in March in relation to the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia . The announcement that Mr Putin will stay away from the two-day summit in August comes a day after court documents showed South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa had sought permission from the ICC not to follow through with the arrest, saying it would amount to a “declaration of war”. South Africa’s largest opposition party, Democratic Alliance, had gone to court to try and compel authorities to carry out the arrest if Mr Putin arrived, but Mr Ramaphosa appeared dead set against the move. “South Africa has obvious problems with executing a request to arrest and surrender President Putin,” he said in an affidavit filed in late June but made public on Tuesday. “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia.” On Wednesday, a statement from South Africa’s presidency said that by “mutual agreement” Russia would be represented by its foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the summit of Brics nations – Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. The Russian state RIA news agency later said, citing the Kremlin, that Mr Putin will take part in the summit via video call. Speaking just before the announcement by South Africa, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, told reporters that everyone understood – without having it explained to them – what an attempt to infringe on Mr Putin’s rights would mean. But he said that Russia did not tell South Africa that an arrest would mean war. The Kremlin has called the warrant issued against Mr Putin outrageous and legally void, because the country is not a member of the organisation. “No, no such formulations were uttered, no one gave anyone to understand that,” Mr Peskov said. “It is clear to everyone in this world what an attempt to infringe on the rights of the head of the Russian State means. So there is no need to explain anything to anyone here.” South Africa has been trying to deal with the issue of the arrest for months. It sees Russia has an ally, but clearly does not want to inflame tensions with Western nations either. South Africa has consistently abstained from voting at the United Nations to condemn Russia’s aggression, calling instead for dialogue to end the war. Claiming neutrality, the country is also part of efforts by a group of at least six African nations who recently embarked on a peace mission to Kyiv and Moscow to meet with both Mr Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. In his court submission, Mr Ramaphosa suggested such efforts might be jeopardised by an attempt to arrest Russia’s president. “An arrest of President Putin would introduce a new complication that would foreclose any peaceful solution,” he said. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary