Europe

    EU shuts the door on UK companies Britain’s biggest companies are being frozen out of crucial discussions in Brussels, sparking fears their international operations could face swift “policy punishment” over the decision by voters to leave the EU. Senior executives across the spectrum of industry sectors have told the Sunday Telegraph that they are now struggling to speak to EU officials, despite having operations and partnerships worth billions of euros on the continent. It came as the urgent need for more trade and diplomacy expertise in London is sparking broader fears about the clout British companies are able to draw on further afield. The Brussels representatives of some of the largest FTSE 100 companies are finding that calls go unreturned, discussion papers are not ...

    Paris deal will possibly be the fastest entry into force for any international agreement, certainly for an agreement as global as this As was being expected, the Paris Agreement on climate change reached the threshold necessary to bring it into legal existence a month later, with European Union, Canada and several other parties submitting their instruments of ratification on Wednesday. With the joining of the latest batch, so far, 73 countries have now ratified the agreement and together they account for 56.87 per cent of global greenhouse gases. This meets the double threshold — at least 55 countries together accounting for at least 55 per cent of global emissions — that was required for the agreement to enter into force. The entry into force will happen on the 30th day f...

    Kim Kardashian West's bodyguard filed for bankruptcy for his German security company ten weeks ago with debts of more than €1 million, according to documents obtained by MailOnline . Pascal Duvier, 43, has been a familiar face at Mrs West’s side for many months. He was with her in Paris when she visited the city for Fashion Week. But in the early hours of Monday, when she was robbed of her jewellery in an £8.5million heist at her rental apartment, he was across town protecting Mrs West’s sisters Kendall and Kourtney, who were at a nightclub. Kim Kardashian West leaves 'L'Avenue' restaurant escoreted by her security Pascal Duvier on October 2, 2016 in Paris, France. There is no suggestion Mr Duvier was involved in the robbery. But MailOnline found documents showing that his...

    UK holidaymakers hoping for a break in Europe could be hit hard in the pocket next year with experts predicting the pound and euro will cost the SAME. Currency experts warn that the pound could reach parity with the euro next year - spiking the price of a European break. Sterling fell 0.68% today to fresh five-year lows against the euro at 1.137, its lowest since October 2011. This compares to more than 1.30 euros to the pound prior to the Brexit vote in June. Now there has been a warning that by 2017 the pound could be worth the same as the euro. According to the Daily Post It would mean more expensive European trips for Uk holidaymakers but could boost the tourism industry in North Wales by making Britain cheaper for foreign travellers. John Wraith, head of UK rates stra...

    The Russian government has launched a nationwide civil defence training exercise to ensure the country is properly prepared in the event of a nuclear, chemical and biological attack from the West. Amid growing international tensions, particularly over Russia's conduct in Syria, the Defence Ministry-run Zvezda TV network announced last week: Schizophrenics from America are sharpening nuclear weapons for Moscow. Lasting three days, the exercise being run by the Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) will involve 200,000 emergency personnel and the co-operation of 40 million civilians. EMERCOM stated on its website: The drill will rehearse radiation, chemical and biological protection of the personnel and populat...

    Thousands of people joined a rally in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday to protest a proposed bill that would institute a complete ban on pregnancy terminations, in line with the position of the Catholic church in the country. The leader of the governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party announced earlier last week that he supported the call from Catholic bishops to tighten the regulations, which are already some of the most restrictive in Europe. At the rally, organized by the leftwing Together party, protesters shouted such slogans as keep your hands off the uterus and my body, my business, while some waved coat-hangers as a symbol for the kind of underground abortions that are widespread in the country according to pro-choice activists. Even Iran’s abortion laws are more...

    US reality TV star Kim Kardashian West has fled the French capital after being robbed at gunpoint in an exclusive hotel by a gang posing as police officers who stole up to ten million euros worth of jewellery. Sources close to Kardashian West, who is married to the US rapper Kanye West, said she was left "badly shaken but physically unharmed." A police source told AFP that Kardashian West left Paris on Monday morning after being questioned about the robbery. Unconfirmed French media reports said the masked robbers, who were disguised as police officers, found Kardashian West in the bathroom when they struck. They are said to have tied her up before fleeing with an estimated 10 million euros (£8.6m) in valuables. The gang had kidnapped and handcuffed a night guard who led t...

    French police used tear gas and water cannons in violent clashes with migrants and British activists who attempted to hold a banned rally beside the squalid Jungle camp in Calais. Demonstrators - including many British activists from migrant support groups - said they were expressing solidarity with the migrants. The confrontation, the worst since February, lasted three hours police union official Gilles Debove reported 10 officers were hurt, including one who was hospitalised after activists hurled stones at them. A photographer said he was also slightly injured from the stone-throwing and seven police vehicles were damaged. Tensions mounted in the Jungle, set to be closed by winter, after a demonstration planned Saturday by a group working with migrants was banned by loc...

    Bulgaria has followed France and Belgium by banning face veils in public with a £664 fine for those who repeatedly flout the law. Referring to the burka and the niqab, its parliament approved a law that "bans wearing in public clothing that partially or completely covers the face". There will be a fine of 200 lev (£89), rising to 1,500 lev (£664) for repeated offences. Several towns have already banned the niqab locally. The niqab covers the face except the eyes, while the burka covers the whole face, often incorporating a mesh screen to see through. Bulgaria's Muslim community, which makes up about 13% of the population, dates back centuries to Ottoman times. There has been a small reported rise recently in the number of Roma women wearing the niqab among conservative com...

    CBS New York reported that the transit train had struck a wall after entering the station in Hoboken. Fox News is reporting that more than 100 people are believe to have been hurt. It happened at around 8.30am at Lackawanna Station, close to the waterfront with the Hudson River, opposite Manhattan island and about a mile away from downtown Jersey City Images of the scene posted on Twitter showed what appeared to be debris from the roof and supporting pillars strewn across the platform with a carriage twisted sideways on to a platform. Another image showed wreckage, cables and pipes dangling from the building's ceiling, which appeared to have collapsed. One tweeter posted a picture of a man clutching his head with blood down his arm and T-shirt. An anchorman for CBS affilia...