Europe

    The Duchess of Cambridge has arrived for a reception at Belfast’s iconic Empire Music Hall in a stunning Missoni gown with husband Prince William as he uses his speech to call for calm and unity over Brexit. Kate and William, who arrived for a surprise visit to the city on Wednesday, are attending a party celebrating young people who are making a difference in Northern Ireland this evening. The Duchess, 37, stunned in a £1,590 Missoni metallic-knit wrap dress featuring a mid-length pleated skirt, just hours after donning her sport gear for an impromptu football match. The mother-of-three paired the powder blue gown with her signature Gianvito suede stilettos, costing £505, and a nude Mulberry clutch, as she was greeted by Lord Lieutenant of Belfast Fionnuala Jay-OX...

    France would block a delay to Brexit unless it had a clear objective based on a new choice by the British, Emmanuel Macron has said. Speaking at a joint press conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris, the French president became the first EU leader to categorically raise the possibility of blocking an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period. We would support an extension request only if it was justified by a new choice of the British, he told reporters. But we would in no way accept an extension without a clear objective. France has a veto on an Article 50 extension because all EU countries must unanimously agree to an extension for one to happen. Speaking at the roughly same time in Madrid, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez warned that ...

    A Dutch court has backed the suspension of a Muslim man’s benefits over his refusal on religious grounds to shave his beard while on training for a job. The unnamed man had been offered a job as an asbestos removal officer but was subsequently told he would need to be clean shaven in order to undergo the training course. When he refused on the basis of his religious convictions, Amersfoort city council suspended payments to both him and his wife for a month under the Participatiewet, which provides a minimum income for every legal resident in the Netherlands. The man appealed the decision at the court of central Netherlands, where he claimed that the removal of his benefits was an infringement of article nine of the European convention on human rights which protect...

    All this, one may say, puts the view of Donald Tusk that irresponsible Brexiting politicians deserve a special place in hell into perspective. The UK leaving the European Union may resemble the various long retreats from Moscow at the end of failed campaigns; but the real diplomatic warfare threatened in Europe is now between France and Italy. Matteo Salvini, the Italian deputy minister, has advised the French to get rid of their “terrible leader” Emmanuel Macron, and apparently throws darts at a picture of the French president. Macron has described right-wing populism of the Rome government as a kind of “leprosy” spreading across Europe. Italy has even threatened to stop a loan of Leonardo da Vinci’s works for a show in Paris at the Louvre. France has now recalle...

    A beloved helicopter service from Penzance on the Cornish mainland to the Isles of Scilly has come a step closer to restoration thanks to EU funding worth almost £2m. The last regular flight between Penzance and Scilly took place seven years ago after half a century of service, with the operator blaming the stoppage on rising costs, falling passenger numbers and a land dispute over its the heliport site. It was a loss to visitors, who loved the 15 minute trip, but it was even more serious for islanders, who relied on the helicopter for quick getaways to the mainland, including for medical emergencies. Many have reported a slump in tourism, especially in the winter months when the passenger ship stops sailing and the fixed-wing planes can be grounded by poor weather...

    European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has told Theresa May during robust but constructive talks that the European Union will not renegotiate the Brexit deal. He added that the bloc was ready to work more on the accompanying political declaration of EU-UK new ties after Brexit, which is seperate to the withdrawal agreement. A joint statement said Mrs May raised various options to address MPs' concerns about the Irish border backstop and that the two agreed their teams would work together on whether a way through can be found. The statement said: The discussion was robust but constructive. Despite the challenges, the two leaders agreed that their teams should hold talks as to whether a way through can be found that would gain the broadest possible suppor...

    Angela Merkel has given no extra assurances on Brexit to help Theresa May win a second vote her spokesman has insisted. Reports suggested the German chancellor promised extra concessions once the current deal is rejected by Parliament. Sources told the Sun these could include persuading the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varakkar to agree an end date to the hated Irish backstop. But today a spokesman for the German chancellor rigorously denied any such promises had been made. "The German Chancellor has given no assurances beyond those that were discussed by the European Council in December and what is set out in the letter from (European Commission President)Jean-Claude Juncker and (European Council President) Donald Tusk," said the spokesman. The categorical denial will be...

    A Belgian ban on the Muslim and Jewish ways of ritually slaughtering animals went into effect on New Year’s Day, part of a clash across Europe over the balance between animal welfare and religious freedom. With both animal rights advocates and right-wing nationalists pushing to ban ritual slaughter, religious minorities in Belgium and other countries fear that they are the targets of bigotry under the guise of animal protection. “It is impossible to know the true intentions of people,” said Yaakov David Schmahl, a senior rabbi in Antwerp. “Unless people state clearly what they have in mind, but most anti-Semites don’t do that.” Laws across Europe and European Union regulations require that animals be rendered insensible to pain before slaughter, to make the process...

    First, it emerged that the start-up company hired to operate extra ferries as part of no deal Brexit planning has no ships. Now, new questions are are being asked about the readiness of Seaborne Freight to handle the £13.8m contract after it turned out that terms and conditions on its website appeared to be intended for a food delivery firm. It is the responsibility of the customer to thoroughly check the supplied goods before agreeing to pay for any meal/order, read part of the text on the company’s website. Another section, which appeared to be constructed with a view more to mitigating against the impact of prank pizza orders than transporting goods across some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, warned: Users are prohibited from making false orders through o...

    According to a local prosecutor, Pascal Marconville, who spoke to news service AFP, the migrants included a mother and her two children and they claimed to have come from Iraq. Police continue to look for two individuals whom they suspect of being the people smugglers involved in the incident, according to Mr Marconville. The claims follow a series of attempted Channel crossings in recent days, which have prompted UK Home Secretary to declare a major incident. Of the total number of attempted crossings, 42% were intercepted by French authorities before they made it to the UK. On Monday, Mr Javid said patrol vessels will be brought back from overseas to the Channel as part of efforts to stem migrant crossings to UK shores via small boats. In December, around 230 mi...