Europe

    The president of the European Council has warned opponents of Brexit not to give in to fatalism and accept Britain’s departure from the European Union. Speaking in the European Parliament on Tuesday Donald Tusk said Europe and Britain needed dreams and dreamers to keep the idea of a united Europe alive and Britain in the EU. During the European Council one of the leaders warned us not to be dreamers and that we shouldn’t think that Brexit can be reversed, Mr Tusk told MEPs in Strasbourg. I didn’t respond at the time. But today in front of you I would like to say at this rather difficult moment in our history, that we need the dreamers and dreams. We cannot give into fatalism. At least, I will not stop dreaming about a better and united Europe. Mr Tusk says he acce...

    The fire that destroyed two-thirds of the roof of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris on Monday did more than damage a beloved historic landmark: It also endangered the vast collection of Christian relics and artwork housed both within the building and on its grounds. One of the cathedral’s most precious treasures a relic of the crown of thorns believed to have been worn by Jesus Christ at the time of his crucifixion was saved from the flames, according to the rector of the cathedral, Msgr. Patrick Chauvet. But the condition of many of its other treasures including sculptures, paintings, stained glass windows and liturgical art and relics remained unclear, Monsignor Chauvet said. He said the main threats to the artwork were fire, smoke damage and falling material l...

    Angela Merkel is the Theresa May of Europe. Whenever something goes wrong, she gets the blame. Just look at Brexit. Clearly, there we were many reasons why the UK voted to leave the EU. A deep-rooted national identity crisis, for example, and the pervasive image of the EU as a boring bureaucratic behemoth imposing its will – an idea propagated by many eurosceptics. But shortly after the Brexit referendum, some European commentators quickly found the real culprit to blame for the disaster: the German chancellor herself. Many blamed her immigration policy. In 2015 she had allowed tens of thousands of refugees into Germany. The Ukrainian billionaire George Soros argued – to the glee of the Daily Mail – that Merkel had brought chaos to Europe. It was “an inspiring gest...

    Michel Barnier has said a no-deal Brexit is becoming more likely by the day after the Commons rejected all the alternative solutions to Theresa May’s deal. Speaking in Brussels, the EU’s chief negotiator said there had to be a positive vote by MPs in order to avoid a cliff-edge Brexit on 12 April. No deal was never our desired or intended scenario, Barnier told an audience at a thinktank event. But the EU27 is now prepared. It becomes, day after day, more likely. Three scenarios were set out by the EU official: agreement this week on the prime minister’s deal or a variant of it, no deal, or a long extension to article 50 requiring a strong justification. Such is the frustration in EU capitals at the failure of Westminster to coalesce around a vision of its post-Br...

    Brussels says it has completed its preparations for a no-deal Brexit and warned that it is increasingly likely that the UK will crash out. In a statement released on Monday the European Commission said preparedness and contingency work, which it has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement comes days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UK’s Brexit date though not by as long as she had asked for. Article 50 has now been extended until April 12, meaning the UK will crash out without a deal if it does not pass the withdrawal agreement by then, secure a further extension, or unilaterally cancel the Brexit process. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Commission said: “While the European Union continues to ...

    Now those same MPs are in the driving seat. There was an embryonic sliver of almost regret from the PM over her frustration with the delay in that extraordinary statement. At times it was difficult to imagine that the prime minister who presented her delay compromise to the media in Brussels was the same one who had a day previously launched an uncompromising attack on the Commons for blocking her deal, and promised no lengthy delay. But here in Brussels after a day of behind-closed-doors drama, the PM had to accept a path to a long delay she had ruled out the day before, and that a short delay would be far shorter than she had hoped. Because this was the EU itself setting the terms and calendar of the Article 50 extension. The image of the day was the representat...

    EU leaders have granted Theresa May's request to delay Brexit, giving the UK a two-tier extension. After crunch talks at a summit in Brussels that ran late into the night, the premiers formally announced 29 March 2019 should be scrapped as the date Britain will leave the EU. They softened the immediate threat of a no-deal divorce by offering a delay until 22 May if MPs pass the prime minister's Brexit deal by the end of next week. But if parliament rejects it again in meaningful vote three, the UK faces a new hard deadline on 12 April. At that point it must indicate a way forward including asking for a long Brexit delay and to take part in the EU Parliament elections - or fall out of the bloc with no deal. Mrs May pressed her case for a delay to EU leaders earlie...

    There are multiple injuries after a shooting in the Dutch city of Utrecht, police have said. The shooting began at 10.45am local time when a gunman opened fire in a tram on 24 Oktoberplain, a square outside the city centre. According to news website AD, the gunman then fled the scene. A number of trauma helicopters were sent to the area, police said, but it is unclear how many people have been taken to hospital. Jimmy de Koster, who lives nearby, told RTV Utrecht that several shots had been fired and that he had seen a woman lying on the ground shouting: I didn't do anything. Mr De Koster said: I came from my job when it happened. I am standing at the traffic lights on 24 October Square and I see a woman lying down, I think she is between 20 and 35. At that momen...

    Bangladesh players and support staff have been preparing for the third test of a series against New Zealand, set to begin on Saturday, and were walking through Hagley Park when shooting broke out at the Al Noor mosque. The Bangladesh cricket team (pictured) were on their way to Al Noor Mosque when shooting broke out inside Tweets from sports reporters and team members say the group just escaped the shooting, which saw a man enter the mosque and fire multiple shots at dozens of people as they tried to flee. The team's opening batsman, Tamim Iqbal said on Twitter the 'entire team got saved from active shooters. He said it was a frightening experience and asked supporters to keep the team in their prayers. Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim said Allah had saved the team. ...

    A white Australian right-wing terrorist is one of four people arrested over a pair of mosque massacres in New Zealand that has left at least 49 dead and 48 injured. The gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, NSW, Australia, stormed the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island about 1.30pm, opening fire with a semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle on hundreds of defenceless worshippers attending Friday prayers. A sickening 17-minute video of the unfolding horror shows the self-confessed white supremacist dressed in army fatigues firing mercilessly at people scrambling to flee, and calmly reloading when he runs out of bullets. At about the same time, what appears to be a second shooter opened fire at at mosque in Linwood, whi...