Tag - europe

2023-07-03 02:20

Biden to Visit UK, Lithuania on Way to NATO Summit in Finland

US President Joe Biden will travel to the UK, Lithuania and Finland July 9-13, the White House said.

2023-07-02 22:48

Swiss Regulator Probes Ex-Credit Suisse CEO Gottstein: Blick

Switzerland’s financial regulator is investigating Thomas Gottstein, the former CEO of Credit Suisse, for his role in the

2023-07-02 18:53

Ukraine Recap: CIA Chief Burns Calls War ‘Corrosive’ for Putin

The invasion of Ukraine has had a “corrosive” effect on President Vladimir Putin’s regime and Russian society, William

2023-07-02 17:55

Russia Ukraine – live: Kyiv shoots down drones after first aerial attack in 12 days

Ukrainian air defence system thwarted attacks by Russian drones, in first aerial attack on capital after 12 days, Kyiv officials said. The country’s air force said that the attack included eight Iranian-made Shahed drones and three cruise missiles which were shot down by Ukraine’s air defence system. Three private houses were damaged as a result of falling drone debris in the Kyiv region, injuring one person, the military head of the region, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on his Facebook page. Kyiv and a number of central and eastern Ukrainian regions were under air raid alerts for about an hour after 2am local time. “Another enemy attack on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads the city’s military administration, said in a post on the Telegram channel. No information on casualties or damages has been made available yet, Mr Popko said. Read More Ukraine holds drills in Zaporizhzhia to prepare for radiation leaks from Russian-held nuclear plant Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Mystery surrounds fate of Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ in wake of Wagner mutiny

2023-07-02 16:58

The murky online world of Andrew Tate and ‘pick-up artists’

“Martinis, martinis, martinis, martinis,” he tells the camera, gesticulating wildly. “Bang, threesome. Slam them both.” This is Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer, preaching to his audience about how to recruit women to perform for webcams. Sitting in an unremarkable room, the former kickboxing world champion turned “success coach” implores viewers to get women drunk and stream content of themselves on an online pornography website. It is more than six months since Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested in Romania, prompting an outcry over how easily accessible his vile content was for impressionable young Britons. But now, even as the Tates are charged with rape and human trafficking, The Independent has found their videos can still be found within minutes online. What they reveal is a murky world promoting the exploitation of female sexuality for financial gain, coercive control, and retrograde views centred around women performing domestic duties for men. The brothers’ videos proclaim them to be “pick-up artists”, a term tied to an industry where men seek to cajole women into sleeping with them via charm and compliments, intricate mind games, as well as coercion and harassment. For sums that can run into hundreds of pounds, users are encouraged to sign up for access to their content. For instance, the “Tate webcam program” purports to provide a “PhD course” to “teach you how to obtain and retain unlimited beautiful women and this course will teach you how to turn them into cold hard cash.” Other courses, advertised as being run by Andrew Tate, teach participants “how to lie”, as well as “how to intimidate”, and “how to get your girl on lock down”, and “have multiple women who are all loyal to you”. It comes as The Independent revealed TikTok has been accused of not acting to block misogynistic videos from influencer Tate that can be viewed by children as young as 13. Figures show that videos linked to the Tate hashtag have been viewed 74 million times in the UK on TikTok in the past three months alone. Tate and his brother Tristan, dual British-US citizens initially arrested in December, were recently charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women - allegations they deny. Videos The Independent found of Tristan Tate, the younger of the siblings, show him teaching “pick-up artistry” show the 34-year-old boasting about being “one of the baddest playboys in the world” and an “elite level guy”, as well as speaking about how to sleep with virgins. In one clip, he explains he has multiple girlfriends who are all exclusive to him as he brags about women “who cry their eyes out if I stop speaking to them”. In his own words, “that is power”. The influencer also explains he looks for girlfriends who leave their phone “unlocked” and do not mind if he looks at the device, as well as someone who ”never goes out the room” to take a phone call, “cleans up my house” and “cooks my meals”. He adds: “If these things are adding up then I’ll usually turn it into something serious. I’ll tell her she is exclusively with me.” Tristan Tate says he will “never trust a woman like I will trust a man”, also saying that while he knows his girlfriends do not cheat on him, “you have to test their loyalty”. He suggests doing this by saying “Hey baby, give me your phone, unlock it, I want to do something”, as he recommends “Don’t do sh*t, take a selfie. Give it back to her”. In his view, “if she will hand you her unlocked phone, she ain't cheating”, however, “if they won't unlock” their phone and give it to you then “she is probably not girlfriend material”. Other relationship advice offered by the younger Tate brother involves asking women to do tasks, as he claims “good women are servile” and females are “very servile creatures”. He recounts the example of asking a woman to top up drinks, add ice cubes, find beers, and fetch lighters for his male friends when they are spending time together - adding “a good woman”, will “love” doing this. “A good way to keep your relationship fresh and a good way to keep your relationship happy is to make demands of women,” he adds. “Women love to serve men, they really do”. Discussing the Tate brothers' pick-up artist content, Callum Hood, of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, warns the “Tate brothers' original business as pick-up artists involve viewing women as objects and applying simple formulas that they believe will result in women sleeping with you”. The organisation’s head of research states “this is really dangerous” as he argues “pick-up artists have contempt for women and contempt for consent”. Mr Hood adds: “Their pick-up artist advice instructs men to view women as objects and instruct women to do whatever you want - whether that is sleep with you or perform on webcams for your profit. He notes a “unique” element about the Tate brothers in comparison to other pick-up artists is that while others focus their attentions on “one-night stands”, the Tate brothers are concentrated on “lasting coercive relationships where you have control over multiple women”. A website titled “pick-up artist tools” running a course called the “Tate webcam program” asks “What’s the only thing better than hanging around with beautiful women? Being paid to do it!” “THE £250 PHD course teaches you very important and valuable lessons about retaining and obtaining women,” the course states. "You will learn: How to convince girls to work for you. How to start a webcam company from home with zero investment. How to do banking and handle taxes, so that you get paid day one. The best way to motivate women to make you rich. Tips and tricks from over seven years in the game. A full breakdown of how to earn 30k per month profit from only three girls.” The course boasts if you “listen carefully to Tate’s system”, then you will make all of your course investment back in the first day!” Joe Mulhall, of leading anti-fascist charity Hope not Hate, said the Tate brothers’ "brand of extreme misogyny and disdain for women is plain to see in these videos”. He warns the siblings are “financially benefiting from churning out this misogynistic content to their male audience”. In his opinion, “Tate’s aspirational lifestyle videos are a disturbing gateway to more extreme far-right content.” The Independent previously reported on research by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate which unearthed 47 videos of Tate pushing what it describes as “extreme misogyny”. The report uncovered adverts on videos where Tate discusses fighting women, saying “grip her up by the neck” in a video, which has been viewed 1.6 million times, as well as referring to putting his “imprint” on 18-19-year-old girls in footage which has accrued 8.4 million views. A representative for the Tates declined to comment when approached by The Independent. Ruth Davison, chief executive of Refuge, a leading domestic abuse charity, branded the so-called pick-up artist content from the Tate brothers “horrifying” as she argues the origins of so-called pick-up artist culture lie in misogyny. “This coercively controlling, love bombing and gaslighting behaviour displays all the warning signs of domestic abuse,” she adds. “We are seeing a worrying trend of disturbing misogynistic content across social media and online, whereby men seemingly brag about abusing women, profit by victimising them and try to influence more men to do the same.” Read More I went inside Andrew Tate’s Hustler University – where ‘Gs’ celebrate making $11 Andrew Tate to remain under house arrest in Romania as human trafficking case drags on One in four young men agree with Andrew Tate’s views on women, poll finds Figures that lay bare the shocking scale of toxic influencer Andrew Tate’s reach among young men Why are so many British Muslims getting seduced by Andrew Tate? This is what Andrew Tate means for Muslim women like me Inside Andrew Tate’s collection of supercars and their ‘enormous emissions’ Andrew Tate trial: Why Romania wants to remind the world the toxic influencer is British

2023-07-02 16:50

France endures fifth night of violence after teenager’s funeral with street battles in Marseille

France has endured a fifth night of violence following a day when emotional mourners gathered for the funeral of a teenager whose killing by police sparked nationwide unrest. Even though the rioting appeared to be less intense on Saturday, with tens of thousands of police deployed in cities across the country, more than 700 people were arrested. Police fired tear gas and fought street battles with protestors late into the night in flashpoint Marseilles. Earlier in the day, 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was laid to rest in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he had been shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, triggering days of fierce clashes. President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to Germany, which was due to begin on Sunday, to handle the worst crisis for his leadership since the “Yellow Vest” protests paralysed much of France in late 2018. Some 45,000 police were on the streets with specialised elite units, armoured vehicles and helicopters brought in to reinforce its three largest cities, Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the situation was calmer than the previous four nights, although there was some tension in central Paris, and sporadic clashes in the Mediterranean city of Nice and the eastern city of Strasbourg, with Marseille city centre proving to be the biggest flashpoint. In Paris, police increased security at the city's landmark Champs Elysees Avenue following a call on social media to gather there. The street, usually packed with tourists, was lined with security forces carrying out spot checks. Shop facades were boarded up to prevent potential damage and pillaging. The interior ministry said 1,311 people had been arrested on Friday night, compared with 875 the previous night, although it described the violence as "lower in intensity". Police had made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday. Local authorities all over the country announced bans on demonstrations, ordered public transport to stop running in the evening, and some imposed overnight curfews. This came after a day of heightened emotions when several hundred people lined up to enter Nanterre’s grand mosque for the funeral of the teenager, of Algerian and Moroccan parents, who was fatally shot by police. Volunteers in yellow vests stood guard, while a few dozen bystanders watched from across the street. Some of the mourners, their arms crossed, said “God is Greatest” in Arabic, as they spanned the boulevard in prayer. Marie, 60, said she had lived in Nanterre for 50 years and there had always been problems with the police. “This absolutely needs to stop. The government is completely disconnected from our reality,” she said. The shooting of the teenager, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism. Nahel was known to police for previously failing to comply with traffic stop orders and was illegally driving a rental car, the Nanterre prosecutor said on Thursday. Macron has denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies. There is also a broader anger in the country’s poorest suburbs, where inequalities and crime are rife and French leaders have failed for decades to tackle what some politicians have called a “geographical, social and ethnic apartheid.” The unrest, a blow to France's global image just a year from holding the Olympic Games, will add political pressure on Macron. He had already faced months of anger and sometimes violent demonstrations across the country after pushing through a pension overhaul. Postponement of the state visit to Germany is the second time this year he has had to cancel a high-level event because of the domestic situation in France. In March, he cancelled King Charles’ planned state visit. Rioters have torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the unrest. More than 200 police officers have been injured, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Saturday, adding that the average age of those arrested was 17. Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti said 30% of detainees were under 18. More than 700 shops, supermarkets, restaurants and bank branches had been "ransacked, looted and sometimes even burnt to the ground since Tuesday", Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. In Marseille, where 80 people had been arrested on Friday, police said they had detained 60 people. "It's very scary. We can hear a helicopter and are just not going out because it's very worrying," said Tatiana, 79, a pensioner who lives in the city centre. In Lyon, France's third largest city, police deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter. The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that lasted three weeks and forced then President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency, after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Players from the national soccer team issued a rare statement calling for calm. "Violence must stop to leave way for mourning, dialogue and reconstruction," they said on star Kylian Mbappe's Instagram account. The South Winners supporters group, an influential fan group for Olympique de Marseille, called on the city's youth to "be wise and show restraint". "By acting in this way you are dirtying Nahel's memory and are also dividing our city." Events including two concerts at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris were cancelled, while LVMH-owned fashion house Celine cancelled its 2024 menswear show on Sunday, creative director Hedi Slimane said on Instagram. With the government urging social media companies to remove inflammatory material, Darmanin met officials from Meta, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok. Snapchat said it had zero tolerance for content that promoted violence. The policeman whom prosecutors say acknowledged firing a lethal shot at Nahel is in preventive custody under formal investigation for voluntary homicide, equivalent to being charged under Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions. His lawyer, Laurent-Franck Lienard, said his client had aimed at the driver's leg but was bumped when the car took off, causing him to shoot towards his chest. "Obviously (the officer) didn't want to kill the driver," Lienard said on BFM TV. Read More France riots - live: Nearly 500 arrested on the fifth night of unrest as teen’s funeral held Macron needs to get a grip on police brutality and social exclusion Warning to British travellers amid rioting in France France faces 5th night of rioting over teen's killing by police, signs of subsiding violence What the papers say – July 2 France riots: Cities face fifth night of violence despite police reinforcements

2023-07-02 15:50

Ukraine Russia – live: Wagner mutiny showed ‘corrosive effect’ of war on Putin’s leadership, says CIA director

Wagner mercenaries’ challenge to the Russian regime was a stark reminder of the “corrosive effect” of the war on Vladimir Putin’s leadership, head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said. Delivering the annual lecture at the Ditchley Foundation in the UK, William Burns said “disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership”. His comments came a week after the failed mutiny by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. “That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA,” he said, referring to the role of the agency in recruiting human agents in providing intelligence to the agency. In Ukraine, residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens after Russia launched an overnight drone attack, the first attack on the capital in 12 days, an official said. “Another enemy attack on Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads Kyiv’s military administration said. Ukrainian air defence system repelled the drone attacks, the official said, adding that there is no information about possible casualties or damage. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is “technically ready” to provoke a localised explosion at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and that there is a “serious threat”. Read More Ukraine holds drills in Zaporizhzhia to prepare for radiation leaks from Russian-held nuclear plant Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Pence makes a surprise trip to Ukraine and meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Mystery surrounds fate of Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ in wake of Wagner mutiny

2023-07-02 13:16

Squeezed on Housing, Sunak’s Tories Take Aim at EU-Era Water Law

Rishi Sunak is considering scrapping an environmental law dating back to UK membership of the European Union, as

2023-07-02 12:59

Outrage and agony at funeral of boy whose ‘execution’ set France alight

The number of mourners was so large, crowds spilled out of the Parisian mosque and stopped traffic as they prayed in the middle of the street. The killing of 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk by the police has been labelled an “execution” and has ignited the fury of the nation, sparking a level of unrest not seen in France for over a decade. At least 2,400 people have been arrested across the country, curfews imposed and public transport curtailed as open street battles raged between protesters and police, and looting became rampant. In response, President Emmanuel Macron deployed 45,000 officers, including elite anti-terrorism units and armoured vehicles which scour the streets. But on Saturday, at Nahel’s funeral at a mosque in Nanterre, the west Paris suburb where he lived and was fatally shot, the most glaring absence was the security forces. Volunteers from the local community instead curtly policed the streets, which are scrawled with the phrase “the country of police impunity”. They reined in the emotions, which ran high when the body was brought out to a hearse escorted by hundreds of people on foot and on scooters. “It is finished,” Nahel mother Mounia said bravely, in a cloud of female well-wishers after the coffin was lowered into the earth. “He has gone to paradise.” Nahel – a teenager of Moroccan and Algerian origin – was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday: an incident which was caught on mobile phone footage, and showed Nahel driving away from the officers before one fired at him. Outraged at the murder, and the apparent efforts by the police to paint Nahel as a troubled teenager wanted by the law, thousands have protested across the country. Nahel’s death was “the last drop to cause the vase to overflow”, family friends repeatedly told The Independent. France exploded. For four nights the streets of cities including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille have been ablaze with looters ransacking dozens of shops and torching 2000 vehicles according to the interior ministry. There have been calls for calm and for President Macron to impose a state of emergency, with more unrest on the horizon. The United Nations has also weighed in urging the country to “seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement”. It has taken a toll on Mr Macron’s diplomatic profile. On Saturday Mr Macron was forced to postpone what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years, citing internal security issues. In the funeral march to the hill-top cemetery friends of the family said they were in “deep shock” and talked of struggling with racism endemic in the French police force. “I’m shaken, we all are, especially as a mother with children living in this neighbourhood,” said Theresa, 60, who lived next door to Nahel’s grandmother and personally knew the teenager, she described as “smiley, hardworking and kind”. “Thank god there is a video, the police are lying all the time. This might change things,” she added. Mohamed, 60, who is also part of the Algerian community in Nanterre and a friend of Nahel’s mother Mounia, said they were all treated like “second-class citizens”. “Nahel was his mother’s entire world, and now he is gone. She has lost everything. We simply do not get the same rights.” Nahel was his mother’s entire world, and now he is gone. We do not get the same rights Mohamed, friend of the family His comments were echoed by half-a-dozen other mourners The Independent spoke to throughout the day. “If you are not white, you’re not equal. There is a two-tiered nationality system,” said Abdelmalek Hamchoui, 62, a local community leader. “I’m made to feel like I’m only French on paper,” added Hadhrami Belhachemi, 35. And so the incident has thrown a searing spotlight onto France’s judicial and legal system. Abdelmadjid Benamara, one of the family’s lawyers who is also from Nanterre, called Nahel’s killing an “execution” and told The Independent it was just the latest in a long line of alarming incidents committed by the French police. He called for a slew of investigations into police response to the incident and for major reforms to the legal system. You have to call a spade a spade: this is an execution Abdelmadjid Benamara, Nahel’s family lawyer “You can’t be hypocritical about it. When a policeman kills a young teenager you have to call a spade a spade: this is an execution. You have to open the correct investigation,” he added. While the police officer who fired the shot was taken in custody on charges of voluntary homicide when a video of the incident emerged, the second police officer on the scene has not been charged and is still working, Mr Benamara continued. “The problem is with the legal system as a whole after a 2017 bill relaxed the rules around police officers' rights to use their firearms.” “In 2022 there were 13 instances where the French police fired on citizens, in similar circumstances to Nahel M’s killing. Of those only five are being investigated” he added. The only difference this time is that there is a video of the event. “There is a social contract between the people and the government that has been broken. There is no trust any more,” he added. The unrest has also revived memories of riots in 2005 that rocked France for three weeks and forced then-president Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency. That wave of violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and spread across the country following the death of two young men who ended up being electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Many people The Independent spoke to said nothing had changed since then. “I’ve been living in this neighbourhood for 27 years, and it has only got more racist every year,” Laslah Baghdad, 58, another mourner from Nanterre said back at Nahel’s funeral. “How you fight that I don’t know .” The explosion of rage across the country, triggered by the video evidence of Nahel’s killing that points to homocide, might be the catalyst for a different future, Theresa continued. “We have an expression: 100 years for the thief, a year for the master. This really embodies the situation here,” she said. “But now we feel change will happen.” Read More France riots - latest: Mourners line street for funeral of teenager shot dead by police Watch: View of Nanterre as funeral held for teenager shot dead by French police Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France

2023-07-02 05:55

France riots: Cities hit by fifth night of violence despite police reinforcements

France faced its fifth night of rioting on Saturday night, with police reinforcements sent into cities in a bid to control the unrest that has torn through the country since a 17-year-old was shot dead by police in Paris. Emmanuel Macron announced that he was cancelling his planned state visit to Germany after more than 1,300 arrests were made on Friday night in cities including the capital, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse - almost a third of them under the age of 18. More than 200 police officers were injured, according to interior minister Gerald Darmanin. In Nanterre, thousands came out for the funeral of Nahel Merzouk who died in the Paris suburb on Tuesday night. Outside the Ibn Badis Mosque, Therese, 60, a friend of the family who lives next door to Nahel’s grandmother paid tribute to the “kind and smiley” teenager and said the community was in complete shock. She added: “He helped me with my groceries. When he was younger I would give him pocket money. I’m shaken, we all are - especially as a mother with children living in this neighbourhood - we’re scared and extremely sad.” Nahel’s mother told a crowd of women at her son’s funeral: “It’s finished. Now he is in heaven.” In response to the teenager’s death, looters have ransacked dozens of shops and torched 2,000 vehicles since the start of the riots, which have spread to cities such as Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille. 45,000 police have been deployed in attempts to quell the unrest and reinforcements were sent out on Saturday night. Specialist tactical police have been sent to the southern city of Marseille, where rioters looted a gun store and stole hunting rifles, but no ammunition, according to the police. Reinforcements have also been sent to Lyon after officials requested further help. Public transport was stopped after 19:00 in Marseille and 20:00 in Lyon in an attempt to limit the violence. Macron was forced to reschedule what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years. The French leader’s office said he had spoken with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and told him “given the internal security situation, the president said he wishes to stay in France over the coming days”. Macron has held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option last used in 2005. British holidaymakers have been warned by the Foreign Office about travelling to France and star French footballer Kylian Mbappé has appealed for calm. In a statement issued on social media, together with teammates of the French national football team, the striker said: “As many of us come from working-class neighbourhoods, we also share these feelings of pain and sadness. But this suffering is compounded by the helplessness of witnessing a process of self-destruction. Violence solves nothing.” The mayor of Nanterre, Patrick Jarry, has said that the death means authorities must “reflect on the police’s terms of engagement”. The 17-year-old of Algerian and Moroccan descent was shot by police during a traffic stop on Tuesday. The 38-year-old officer involved in the shooting has been charged with voluntary homicide and placed in provisional detention. He has said that he fired the fatal shot because he feared that someone could be hit by the car. The unrest has revived memories of nationwide riots in 2005 that forced then President Jacques Chirac to declare a state of emergency after the death of two young men electrocuted in a power substation as they hid from police. Macron has denied there is systemic racism in French law enforcement agencies but people of the North African French community have expressed their anger. "If you have the wrong skin colour, the police are much more dangerous to you," said a friend of Nahel who attended his funeral but declined to be named. Nahel Merzouk was laid to rest on Saturday with Abdelmadjid Benamara, the family lawyer, saying: "Saturday, July 1 is a day of meditation for Nahel's family." Additional reporting by agencies. Read More France riots - latest: Mourners line street for funeral of teenager shot dead by police Rioters attack Strasbourg Apple store over Paris police shooting Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Rioting rages across France for fourth night ahead of funeral for teenager shot dead by police Is it safe to travel to Paris right now? Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening?

2023-07-02 03:17

Ukraine Recap: Zelenskiy Renews Warning of ‘Act’ at Atomic Plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeated a warning that Russia plans a “terrorist act” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power

2023-07-01 22:49

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