List of All Articles with Tag 'euro'

Torrential rain and hailstorms have caused damage in the north while Sicily battles extensive wildfires.

Amy Walker and her family, from Dawlish, are hoping to fly back to the UK later.

Vladimir Putin has signed a new controversial legislation banning surgical gender reassignment in Russia in yet another blow to the country’s LGBT+ population. Crackdowns against the LGBT+ community and gender minorities in the country have only gathered pace ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year as the Russian president seeks popularity among citizens. The latest move by Mr Putin on Monday marks Russia’s final step in rendering gender-affirming procedures illegal and depriving its transgender population of their right to access gender-reassignment services. The bill, cleared unanimously by both houses of the Russian parliament and signed by Mr Putin, now bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person” along with changing one’s gender in official documents and public records. Under the bill, exceptions will only be made for a permissible list of medical interventions “related to the treatment of congenital physiological anomalies in children”. The list of these “anomalies in children” will be drawn up by the Kremlin. Couples who transitioned to their new genders after they adopted children will have their marriages annulled. The law thus bans them from becoming foster parents. The regressive legislation has stemmed from the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what it calls are the country’s “traditional values” and according to Russian lawmakers, it is meant as a safeguard against “Western anti-family ideology”. Some lawmakers have dubbed gender transitioning “pure satanism”. State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the decision to pass the bill “will protect our citizens and our children” after it was set to undergo its third reading. The bill described gender reassignment as “the path leading to the degeneration of the nation”. The future remains bleak for Russia’s transgender population, which earlier had access to gender-reassignment surgeries and treatments like hormone replacement therapy. A transgender man in Russia, identified as Alexei, said he always had plans to change the gender label on his passport, but is now enduring “hell”. The 23-year-old told The Moscow Times that he is in panic, while stating that the process of his gender transition was already lagging as he was living on his own since he turned 18. He also told the newspaper that he did not have enough money, but will now have to start urgently. Russia ranked 46 out of 49 European nations in advocacy group Rainbow Europe’s annual LGBT+ rights rankings. The country’s politicians are “harming transgender and intersex people by continuing to deploy cynical ‘family values’,” according to Human Rights Watch. Read More Russian president signs legislation marking the final step outlawing gender-affirming procedures The upper house of Russian parliament approves a ban on gender changes Russian lawmakers pass a bill outlawing gender-affirming procedures to protect 'traditional values' Parents take on struggle for trans rights for their kids and others in conservative Poland Spain votes in general election that could see it become latest EU country to veer to the right

Matthew Guy and his family were taken straight from the airport to an evacuation centre.

The couple from Stoke-on-Trent said their holiday had been a "rollercoaster".

The epicenter of Europe’s heat wave is shifting back to fire-ravaged Greece, as temperatures are set to hit

L’Occitane International SA’s controlling shareholder is considering a move to take the skin-care company private, people with knowledge

UK greenhouse gas emissions dropped in the first quarter for the first time in two years, as the

South Africa’s electricity minister attacked the country’s groundbreaking $8.5 billion climate finance pact with some of the world’s

Wildfires closed Palermo airport in Italy on Tuesday as firefighters fought to control the raging blazes. The Sicilian airport tweeted to say it would remain shut until 0900 GMT to give firefighters an opportunity to extinguish the fires which were also disrupting local road and rail traffic. It came days after the island’s main airport of Catania, Italy’s fifth-biggest, was closed due to a fire in a terminal building. It has since reopened but only for a few flights. The news emerged as the Mediterranean country - like much of southern Europe - has been hit by scorching temperatures bringing increased risk of fires and deaths. Yesterday, temperatures rose to 47.6 Celsius in some parts of eastern Sicily - close to a record European high of 48.8 Celsius recorded on the island two years ago. This led the government to put 16 Italian cities on red alert. These included Palermo and Catania, where power and water supply cuts that local officials blamed in part on the heat have been frequent in recent days. On Tuesday, Italy put 16 cities on red alert because of the high temperatures. These include Palermo and Catania, where power and water supply cuts that local officials blamed in part on the heat have been frequent in recent days. Meanwhile, an overnight storm in Milan tore off roofs and uprooted trees, blocking roads and disrupting overground transportation in Italy’s financial capital. Two women were killed on Monday and Tuesday in the northern Monza and Brescia provinces after being crushed by falling trees. “I have been through 65 summers in my lifetime... and what I am seeing now is not normal, we can no longer deny it, climate change is changing our lives,” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on social media. Elsewhere, the Mediterranean country has been battered by severe storms. They claimed at least two lives in the north of the country when trees fell on women in separate incidents on Monday and Tuesday in the northern Monza and Brescia provinces. Meanwhile, an overnight storm in Milan tore off roofs and uprooted trees, blocking roads and disrupting overground transportation in Italy's financial capital. Yesterday, a Delta flight headed to New York which had taken off from Milan's Malpensa airport was seriously damaged by hailstorm and forced to land in Rome. Italy is one of the European countries most affected by climate change, and suffered deadly floods in May. Read More Greece fires – live: EasyJet pilot tells tourists flying to Rhodes is ‘terrible idea’ minutes before takeoff How long will the wildfires last in Greece? Simon Calder: Is it safe to travel to Greece right now? Tourist advice amid wildfires New immunotherapy drug shows promise as cancer treatment, research suggests South Korea's Casey Phair becomes the youngest ever World Cup player at 16 years and 26 days of age Greece fires: Thousands flee Rhodes and Corfu as Sicily airport now forced to close

Heat searing enough to knock out mobile phones. Wildfire smoke that turns the skies an apocalyptic orange. Flash

Russia launched a fresh wave of drone strikes on Kyiv and other parts of the country early on Tuesday morning, Ukraine has said. The Kremlin used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said. Air raid sirens wailed across the capital and attacks were also reported in the north and centre of Ukraine but none in the south. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to buildings. Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said air defences had been engaged in three regions in the north of the country. “About 10 drones were recorded, the information is being clarified,” he told Ukrainian television, adding that up to five were destroyed. Earlier, thousands of Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said. Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country. Read More Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin? The Wagner Group mercenary chief who rebelled against Putin Monitoring group says thousands of Wagner mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since failed uprising Wagner mercenaries training Belarus special forces just miles from border with Nato-member Poland