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Two women say actor assaulted them, one on a film set in 2021 and the other on another shoot in 2014Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults of two women on the set of a film in 2021, prosecutors have announced.Depardieu, 75, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, was questioned for several hours on Monday by officers...

Sánchez announces he will stay on days after saying he was considering resigning after attacks in rightwing media on his wifePedro Sánchez is expected to speak in a few minutes. Stay tuned.Pedro Sánchez’s big announcement will be an “institutional declaration”, which means a televised statement with no questions from the media. Continue reading...

Moscow claims another eastern village as struggling Ukrainian forces await the arrival of crucial weapons from the USHere are some of the latest images on the newswires:Polish protesters unblocked all border crossing points with Ukraine on Monday morning, a Ukraine border guard spokesperson said on a Ukrainian TV broadcast, reports Reuters news agency. Continue reading...

Planned memorial aims at ‘dignified remembrance’ of women of St Pauli detained as perverts under the NazisSex workers in Hamburg’s historic red-light district who were persecuted under Adolf Hitler are to get their own memorial at Herbertstraße, a notorious street in Germany’s second city still blocked off to all but sex workers and their clients.Few people, even residents, know that it was the Nazis...

First warning of 2024 issued more than a month before start of official season, as parts of Europe engulfed in African dustLast week, the US National Hurricane Center issued its first advisory of the year, more than a month before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November. An area of low pressure was identified on...

PP leader accuses prime minister of navel-gazing, while Sánchez’s supporters rally in MadridSpanish opposition parties have stepped up their attacks on the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, as he prepares to announce whether he will resign because of what he describes as a “harassment and bullying operation” being waged against him and his wife by his political and media enemies.Sánchez shocked Spain on Wednesday...

Socialist prime minister poised to decide on his future, but some say it’s ploy to surviveOn Monday, Pedro Sánchez, the great and unpredictable survivor of Spanish politics, and a leader who has seen off more than his fair share of rivals, critics and adversaries, will reveal whether or not he intends to carry on as prime minister.The announcement will come five days after the...

Statement from government contradicts stance taken by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who said Portugal should not put issue ‘in a drawer’Portugal’s government has said it refuses to initiate any process to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, contrary to earlier comments from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.From the 15th to the 19th century, 6 million Africans were kidnapped...

New room would give thousands of daily visitors better experience, says museum presidentThe Mona Lisa, the world’s most famous portrait, could get a room of its own in the Louvre, the museum’s president said.Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the famous painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the broadcaster France Inter. Continue reading...

Ex-soldier, conspiracy theorist, astrologer and anti-vaxxer among the first of 27 people on trial for trying to violently topple the German government – led by Heinrich XIII Prince ReussOne of the largest legal proceedings in German history is due to start on Monday with the first of three trials of a group of far-right conspiracists who planned to violently overthrow the country’s parliament.So sprawling...

Joint UK-French investigation alleges group advertised small-boat crossings of Channel on social mediaFour Vietnamese nationals have been arrested in London after an investigation into alleged people smugglers advertising small-boat crossings of the Channel on Facebook.The joint UK-French investigation alleges the group shared posts aimed at the Vietnamese community and charged migrants thousands of pounds to make the crossing. Continue reading...

Activists say little has changed in treatment of migrants and refugees under Donald Tusk’s new governmentThe case of a woman from Eritrea who was forced to give birth alone in the forested border area between Poland and Belarus has raised questions about the new Polish government’s response to the continuing humanitarian crisis at the border between the two countries.The previous, rightwing government of the...

Mykola Solskyi is first known minister under Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be named in a corruption case“The advance of Russian forces west of Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, has accelerated within the past week,” according to a British intelligence update.The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine, in a...

Mykola Solskyi accused of illegally seizing land worth more than $7m when he was head of major farming firm and an MPUkraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, has been detained after being named as a formal suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry.Blighted by corruption scandals since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyiv has pledged to bolster its anti-graft efforts as part of its bid...

Micheál Martin says UK asylum seekers fearful of being removed to Rwanda are seeking sanctuary in IrelandThe UK government’s Rwanda policy has been described as a “kneejerk reaction” to migration by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, who said an influx of asylum seekers could arrive in Ireland as a result.Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Tánaiste, reportedly said asylum seekers fearful of being removed from the UK to...

Open letter calls for green policies that empower farmers, after months of protests jeopardise future of flagship biodiversity dealThe EU’s nature restoration law will only work if it is enacted in partnership with farmers, a group of leading scientists has said, after months of protests have pushed the proposals to the brink of collapse.In an open letter, leading biodiversity researchers from across the world...

First payments to be made during an ongoing conflict is ‘important step towards restoring justice’, says first lady, Olena Zelenska The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.Up to 500...

Director of Palme d’Or-winning film Entre les Murs (The Class) was much praised for humanism in projectsLaurent Cantet, the award-winning film-maker whose creations tackled some of the most complex issues of modern French society, including meritocracy, the education system, diversity and class struggle, has died aged 63 after an illness.Cantet was best known outside France for his film Entre les Murs (The Class), which...

European parliament term ends with warnings about dangers of disinformation and authoritarian forcesThe starting gun has been fired on the next European parliamentary elections with more than 600 MEPs departing Strasbourg urged to use their “strength and patience” to fight the far right and disinformation and return a vote across the bloc for democracy.There were flowers, tears and cheers on Thursday as Roberta Metsola,...

Locals say city is against plan and accuse authorities of turning Venice into a ‘theme park’ by charging day trippers for visitsOnly about one in ten people present in Venice have paid a €5 fee to access the city, Ansa reported today.The daily Le Parisien ran a front page on the Venice scheme drawing comparisons with the challenges of over-tourism at some sites in...

Ukrainian president meets Jeremy Hunt and calls for sanctions against Russia to be tightenedBelarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the risk of military incidents along his country’s border with Ukraine was quite high, reports Reuters citing Russia’s state-run RIA news agency.RIA also cited him as saying that neighbouring Poland should not expect aggressive actions from Belarus. Continue reading...

Blades of famous cabaret venue fall from roof overnightThe blades of the Moulin Rouge windmill, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, have collapsed, firefighters have said, just months before the French capital hosts the Olympics.There was no risk of further collapse, Paris firefighters said after the incident overnight. Continue reading...

Pedro Sánchez halts public duties, hitting out at opponents after court launches inquiry into alleged corruption by Begoña GómezSpain’s socialist prime minister has cancelled his public duties for the rest of the week and said he is considering resigning, blaming a “harassment and bullying operation” by his political and media opponents for a court’s decision to launch an investigation into his wife for alleged...

Critics of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa say behind remarks is lack of national recognition that slavery should be discussed in schoolsPortugal needs to “pay the costs” of slavery and other colonial-era crimes, the country’s president has said, in a rare instance of a European leader seemingly backing the need for reparations.Portugal has long grappled with calls by campaigners to address its legacy as the...