Norway’s monarchy once seemed like a fairytale – recent crises have exposed its dark underbelly | Magnus Nome

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Norway’s monarchy once seemed like a fairytale – recent crises have exposed its dark underbelly | Magnus Nome

The royals were always popular, but Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s Epstein connections and her son’s rape convictions have profoundly shaken public trustThe Norwegian monarchy is in crisis. Not because its future queen is gravely ill, nor even because her son has this week been convicted of serious crimes, but because the institution’s greatest asset – public trust – has been eroded by a series of self-inflicted mistakes.Yesterday, it was announced that Norway’s crown princess, Mette-Marit, underwent a successful lung transplant after reports of a dramatic deterioration of her pulmonary fibrosis. That initial news prompted an outpouring of sympathy and even a surge in organ donor registrations. Without jumping the queue, she was matched with a compatible set of lungs less than two weeks after being placed on the list. Continue reading...

The Guardian 29 minutes ago

Rejoining customs union would not fix damage caused by Brexit, research finds

Exclusive: Economists find Brexit caused 12% depression in UK exports, most of which is due to leaving single marketBrexit has depressed UK exports to the EU by 12%, and rejoining the customs union would undo only a fraction of the damage, research shared with the Guardian shows.With the UK’s future relationship with the bloc likely to feature prominently in a potential Labour leadership contest, the economists John Springford and Anton Spisak, of the Centre for European Reform, provide fresh evidence of the damage caused by exiting. Continue reading...

The Guardian 29 minutes ago

Western Europeans believe crime is rising despite fall in overall rates, poll finds

YouGov survey of six countries shows respondents think crime is increasing – though most trust their national police Western Europeans believe crime is rising in their country, according to a survey, despite long-term overall crime rates falling across the region since the mid-1990s.The YouGov poll of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain found most countries trusted their national police, led by Denmark where 74% of respondents said they had a lot or a fair amount of confidence in police nationally. Continue reading...

The Guardian 29 minutes ago

Culture wars: the fight to save Ukraine’s art – podcast

The Guardian’s chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins, on the citizens risking their lives to salvage Ukraine’s cultural heritageThe Chernobyl Museum in Kyiv, recently renovated to mark the 40th anniversary of the disaster, stood as a vital site of memory for an independent Ukraine. But just weeks after its reopening, a massive missile strike left its halls in ruins.Charlotte Higgins, the Guardian’s chief culture writer, tells Annie Kelly that this tragic loss is not an isolated incident; it serves as a harrowing focal point for a much larger, unfolding crisis threatening the history of the entire nation. Continue reading...

The Guardian 2 hours ago

UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of shadow fleet oil tanker

No formal warning issued to captains or ship owners, but industry body says they are exercising greater vigilanceBritish officials believe Russia will try to retaliate for the Royal Marines’ seizure of the oil tanker Smyrtos, prompting UK ship owners to exercise greater vigilance until tensions with Moscow ease.Military sources said the UK had considered possible responses to the seizure of the vessel carrying Russian crude worth $40m (£30m) to India, and anticipate that the Kremlin will want to hit back. Continue reading...

The Guardian 9 hours ago

French police authorised to use water cannon on asylum seekers in £660m deal with UK

Refugee charity says decision to let riot police use water cannon, which are banned in Great Britain, is ‘sickening’French riot police deployed in northern France under a £660m deal with the UK are authorised to use water cannon against asylum seekers, the Guardian has been told.Two specialist policing units, including a 50-officer riot squad, have begun working to prevent asylum seekers and people smugglers from launching small boats under the UK-France deal in time for the summer months. Continue reading...

The Guardian 10 hours ago

Golden ticket: why Versailles invite is the ‘real deal’ for Trump

The US president’s opulent tastes will be well served in a palace that has hosted Putin, King Charles and JFKFor a US president who has likened himself to a king and redecorated the Oval Office with golden paint and gold ornaments, it feels like the perfect dinner venue.Donald Trump said one of the deciding factors in accepting an invitation to dine with Emmanuel Macron at the spectacular, 2,300-room Palace of Versailles was that it was “not gold leaf” but the “real deal”. Continue reading...

The Guardian 10 hours ago

Macron hails US alignment with G7’s ‘shared commitment’ on Ukraine

French president welcomes group’s unity after ‘very deep change’ in Washington’s approach Emmanuel Macron has said the whole of the G7, including the US, recognises “the territorial integrity of Ukraine” as he hailed a “re-synchronisation” of positions on the issue.The French president welcomed a “very deep change in the US approach”, saying Donald Trump and all the leaders present at the G7 summit at Évian-les-Bains understood that Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace. Continue reading...

The Guardian 11 hours ago

Trump tells G7 summit he hopes Europe ‘finds its way’ on immigration and energy – as it happened

This blog has now closed – see all our coverage of the G7 summit hereRutte says the adjustment in the US pledge to the Nato Force Model is “not primarily about where forces and assets are currently, but about who would do what if our defence plans were activated.”He says historically the model was “overly reliant” on the US.“You will likely have seen news adjusting its contributions to the Nato force model. In some cases, this has been cast as a problem, as the US pulling away from its allies, but that is not the reality. The US has made clear that it is committed to Nato.That commitment comes with an expectation that allies will more fairly share the responsibility for our security here in Europe.” Continue reading...

The Guardian 11 hours ago

Burnham says he wants to ensure Makerfield byelection ‘changes British politics’, in eve-of-poll speech – as it happened

This blog has now closed. See all our UK politics coverage hereAndy Burnham may have trouble getting through to Keir Starmer if he tries ringing him after the Makerfield byelection to urge him to set a timetable for his departure. Burnham reportedly wants to call Starmer this weekend. (See 9.47am.) But, in his interview with Sky News, Starmer said: “I’m sure I’ll talk to Andy after the weekend.”If Starmer declines to take Burnham’s call, he may be following Ed Miliband’s example. In a Times story today, Patrick Maguire and Steven Swinford report:Sir Keir Starmer’s relationship with Ed Miliband has broken down to such an extent that the energy secretary has been accused of “ghosting” the prime minister in recent weeks.Senior government sources claimed that Miliband declined to take calls from the prime minister during a tense stand-off over defence spending. Continue reading...

The Guardian 11 hours ago

Why did Russian warship fire warning shots in the Channel? – The Latest

Keir Starmer has called the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship at a British yacht sailing across the Channel on Tuesday ‘deeply concerning and reckless’.Russia’s defence ministry said the yacht was on a ‘dangerous course’ and several attempts were made to contact it – a claim disputed by the retired couple onboard the 40ft yacht.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh Continue reading...

The Guardian 11 hours ago

Starmer warns against ‘looking backwards’ to Brexit after rivals back UK’s return to EU

Speaking at the G7 summit, prime minister says he stands by Labour’s manifesto pledge not to rejoin blocThe UK and the European Union should not waste time “looking backwards” to Brexit, Keir Starmer said on Wednesday, as he comes under pressure to reconsider rejoining the EU.The prime minister reaffirmed his government’s manifesto commitment to not re-enter the bloc, but said there had been “real progress” with the relationship, which was “slowly but surely building”. Continue reading...

The Guardian 12 hours ago

Faith, belonging, survival – and now destruction: a photographic account of Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra monastery before Russia’s attack

Award-winning French photographer Laetitia Vançon has spent years capturing images at Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra monastery complex. She says the Lavra ‘became a reflection of everything Ukraine has been going through’. Now the Unesco world heritage site has been damaged by Russian airstrikes. This selection of pictures brings together some of the scenes she has witnessed and, she says, serves as a reminder that ‘when a place like this is hit, it is never only stones and domes that are damaged’ Continue reading...

The Guardian 14 hours ago

Labour came to power with no big idea for relations with EU, says former top diplomat

Ivan Rogers, Britain’s EU ambassador from 2013 to 2017, says party’s ideas did not ‘remotely measure up’ to challengeLabour arrived in power with no big idea on the UK’s future relationship with the EU, a former British ambassador to Brussels has said.Ivan Rogers, Britain’s EU ambassador from 2013 to 2017, said Labour presented “a ragbag of issues” on the EU in its manifesto, which did not “remotely measure up to the challenge of the times” and would “make no measurable difference to the UK macroeconomy”. Continue reading...

The Guardian 19 hours ago

Lib Dems to urge Labour to drop ‘torpor and timidity’ on EU and rejoin single market

Exclusive: Ed Davey to make call ahead of 10th anniversary of Brexit vote, in strengthening of party’s position on EUThe Lib Dems will urge Andy Burnham to end Labour’s “torpor and timidity” towards the EU as they call for the UK to rejoin the single market, in a notable strengthening of their own position.Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote next week, Ed Davey will challenge Burnham to scrap Labour’s red lines on the customs union and single market if he becomes prime minister and immediately begin talks on a more ambitious deal with the EU. Continue reading...

The Guardian 23 hours ago

The Guardian view on defending Europe in a new era: collaboration is the key | Editorial

The recent abandonment of plans for a Franco-German fighter jet sent a disastrous signal. Strategic autonomy will be jointly achieved or not at allIt has become a truism to assert that Europe needs to fast-track its own strategic independence in a volatile world. A recent paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations describes the continent’s leaders as grappling with “a ‘Schrödinger’s NATO’ moment, in which America remains formally inside the alliance while behaving as though it were not, just as the Russian threat looms larger”. Donald Trump’s United States has become at best an unreliable and at times reluctant ally, as Vladimir Putin’s revanchist ambitions have exposed the need to strengthen Europe’s defences.But if the goal of greater autonomy is to be achieved, far better coordination of resources and cooperation between national defence industries will be required. Neither has been much in evidence this month, with France and Germany abandoning a joint £100bn project to build a new fighter jet as part of an updated Future Combat Air System. Originally launched by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel in 2017, plans for the jet were pulled as a result of irresolvable disagreements between Dassault, the French aviation company involved, and Airbus, the European aerospace company whose defence unit is based in Germany.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

Starmer’s waning influence is apparent at awkward G7 summit

British prime minister was left making small talk unsure if a meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy was going aheadThe wait for Keir Starmer’s first session of the G7 gathering in Évian-les-Bains was undoubtedly awkward. A meeting about the future of Ukraine had been due to start at 9am but more than half an hour later, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron were nowhere to be seen.On a live Reuters feed, Starmer could be seen standing next to the leaders of Canada and Japan as they milled about making small talk. “Are they, are they having a meeting?” the British prime minister could be heard asking. If he was referring to the missing attenders, and they were indeed having a meeting, it was clear he hadn’t been invited. Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

Zelenskyy’s clever play to win over Trump at G7 - The Latest

Donald Trump has urged Russia to ‘make a deal’ with Ukraine as the leaders of G7 countries meet on Tuesday and try to put the conflict back at the top of the agenda. European leaders are hoping to capture Trump’s attention for long enough to speak to him about Ukraine, with the US president’s focus more on the US-Israeli war against Iran. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley. Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

Starmer carries on regardless as G7 leaders ponder question of leaving gift | John Crace

‘I am going to fight on,’ said the PM. Perhaps his delusion was more deep-rooted than the others had fearedShortly before he arrived in Évian at the beginning of the week, Emmanuel Macron set up a new WhatsApp group for world leaders. Keir Starmer wasn’t included. Call it the G6, if you like. The idea was to have a safe space to discuss how best to deal with the UK prime minister. Should they confront head-on that this was going to be his last G7? That next year’s outing would be an athleisure occasion with Andy Burnham (T-shirts just a tad on the small size)? Should they club together to buy him a leaving present? A French World Cup football shirt signed by all of them?Or was it best not to mention it at all? Just proceed on the basis that this was a perfectly normal occasion and they would all soon be meeting again at another global get-together. Nothing to see here. A quick competition for a photo opportunity with President Zelenskyy, a few jokes, promises to make the world a better place and then everyone goes home without acknowledging that Keir is about to get booted out of their select club. At least Starmer was bringing his wife, Victoria. Maybe she would get to say a few goodbyes. Continue reading...

The Guardian 1 day ago

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