List of All Articles with Tag 'eu'

A wildfire near the northeastern Greek region of Evros which has been raging for 11 days is unlikely to be brought under control, officials have said. Deputy governor Dimitris Petrovich told national broadcaster ERT wind could cause the flames to spread even further. “Unfortunately, we see that the Dadia front cannot be contained and brought under control,” he said, describing the conditions for firefighters as “difficult”. The European Commission said the blaze, which is raging near the city of Alexandroupolis, is the largest single fire in the history of the EU. Over 400 firefighters, six planes and four helicopters were working to put out the blaze in Evros, the fire department said. Evacuation orders have been issued for a village in Evros and another village in neighbouring Rodopi. The wildfire has been blamed for 20 of the 21 wildfire-related deaths in Greece last week. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which has scorched more than 80,000 hectares (197,000 acres) of land, including in Dadia national park, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Major wildfires have also been seen on the outskirts of the capital Athens and on the Aegean island of Andros. Some 260 firefighters, one plane and three helicopters tackled the blaze on the outskirts of Athens, which burned into the Mount Parnitha national park. Meanwhile, a third fire broke out on Saturday on the island of Andros in the Cyclades archipelago, which is suspected to have been caused by a lightning strike. Greece suffers major wildfires every year and imposes wildfire prevention regulations, typically from the start of May to the end of October, limiting activities such as the burning of dried vegetation and the use of outdoor barbecues. By Friday, fire department officials had arrested 163 people on fire-related charges since the start of the fire prevention season, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said, including 118 for negligence and 24 for deliberate arson. The police had made a further 18 arrests, he said. Last month, thousands of people were evacuated from towns and villages across Greece after wildfires ravaged the country. Fires spread through Corfu, Rhodes, Evia, Crete and the northern Peloponnese region in Greece. The most serious fire in the country was on the island of Rhodes, where some 19,000 people had been evacuated from several locations. Local police said 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels. The region’s deputy mayor said the fires in Corfu were caused by arson. Read More Greece reinforces firefighting forces to tackle massive blaze in the country's northeast Massive wildfire in northeastern Greece persists for 11th day despite European firefighting efforts Greek fire officials arrest 2 for arson as multiple wildfires continue to burn across the country Ore Oduba and wife Portia ‘stranded’ in Greece without nappies for children Court axes lawsuit from Wyoming students trying to bar trans woman from sorority Official says the UN remains committed to helping reach a deal healing Cyprus' ethnic split

The deputy premier of the German state, Hubert Aiwanger, is under pressure over a 1980s leaflet.

It is the first time that ex-US Marine Paul Whelan is seen on video since his conviction in Russia.

President Putin moved his £75million superyacht three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine to avoid having it seized as part of war sanctions, a new investigation has claimed. Secret documents released by Russian investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh, who heads the anti-corruption foundation set up by Alexei Navalny, show the Russian president had his yacht ‘Graceful’ sail from from Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany to the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad two weeks before the invasion. The documents show an email was sent by an employee of Russia’s largest shipping company, the SCF Group, to Blohm & Voss saying the owner of Graceful is unhappy with an on-going “refit” and wants the ship to sail out of the Hamburg port on February 1, 2022. The email does not provide any reason why the owner of the yacht was unhappy with the on-going “refit”, which added two new balconies to the vessel and extended the pool. “The owner is not happy with the retrofit. He is dissatisfied with the delays in the construction process,” the email says. “The owner wants the Graceful to be brought to the Russian Federation on February 1st (...). Please mobilise an uninterrupted crew – 2 shifts.’ The email, sent on January 19, 2022, adds: “Please accelerate all works which may interfere with Graceful sailing out on 01 February. “Please calculate the amount to be paid by Owners due to early departure. Crew and myself will provide full assistance to prepare Graceful for Towing.” According to investigators, Blohm & Voss was set to work on Graceful for another year to fix open holes in its surface. But the company was forced to cancel its work and get the ship ready to set sail in just 12 days. The yacht’s crew, based in Hamburg, were also forced to move out of their homes so they could move the vessel. Reports suggest the company did not meet the deadline of February 1, with pictures showing Graceful being towed out of Hamburg on February 7. Sanctions imposed by the UK, US, European Union and other allied nations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have seen Putin and his allied Oligarchs have their assets seized across the world, including numerous superyachts and houses. But president Putin was preparing for this eventuality by ordering Graceful - which has since been renamed Kosatka (Russian for ‘killer whale’) - to return to a friendly port well in advance, according to investigators. Graceful is alleged to have cost the Russian president 87 million euros (£75 million) and has a 50-foot indoor swimming pool that turns into a theatre and dance floor with the press of a button, a helipad, a gym, and a wine cave that can store 400 bottles. It also features a large library, spa and plunge pools and a cocktail bar. President Putin allegedly owns three yachts, however, his officials deny this. As well as Graceful, Mr Putin is alleged to own the Olympia, gifted to him by a top oligarch almost two decades ago, and the £550 million ‘floating palace’ Scheherazade - seized by the West. Read More Scheherazade: Giant £570m superyacht ‘owned by Vladimir Putin’ is seized by Italian authorities Vladimir Putin owns £500m superyacht moored in Italy, Alexei Navalny allies claim Wealthy Russian businessman loses fight over detained superyacht The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Ahead of the launch of the event on 25 September, the Paris Fashion Week calendar has been announced.

The world record for the most expensive cheese has been broken. The cabrales blue cheese of northern Spain earned the title of the world’s most expensive cheese after a 2.2kg wheel was sold at auction for €30,000. It also won best cabrales of the year at the principality’s 51st annual competition. “We knew we had a good cheese but also that it is very difficult to win,” Guillermo Pendás, who made it for his family’s Los Puertos factory, told EFE, Spain’s state news agency. Mr Pendás mother Rosa Vada, who owns the Los Puertos factory, said the cheese had been matured in a cave at an altitude of 1,400 metres, at a temperature of 7C, where it spent “a minimum of eight months”. The cheese was sold to restaurant owner Iván Suárez, who owns El Llagar de Colloto in Asturias. Mr Suárez said “the passion for the land” and “recognising the work of the cheesemakers” made him buy the cheese. When asked for the address of her factory, Ms Vada said: “Póo [high place] de Cabrales. The town is so small they don’t name the streets. It’s best to ask.” The usual price of cabrales is €35 to €40 a kilo. The cheese is made using raw cow’s milk or a mixture of cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk and matures in caves in the Cabrales area in the Picos de Europa national park. Mature cheeses are taken down the mountain from the caves on foot. The previous Guinness World Record price was set at €20,500 in 2019 for a cheese also bought by Mr Suárez. Read More Man crushed to death by thousands of cheese wheels Woman wins famous UK cheese rolling race despite being knocked unconscious Nacho cheese floods highway after scores of cans tumble from truck

A Richard Mille Co. watch is a powerful symbol of wealth for anyone who’s in-the-know enough to recognize

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Britain’s watchdog overseeing corporate marketing claims says it’s aware of a number of companies making false green statements

She was arrested as part of an investigation into an incident in the Slieve League area in June.

European stocks rose on Tuesday as recent stimulus measures from China and supportive inflation figures from the UK

Airlines are scrambling to restore normal flight operations in the UK and repatriate stranded passengers after an hours-long