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Europe

Yesterday

Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets British Steel workers near Scunthorpe ahead of the emergency bill.

UK to seize control of Chinese-owned British Steel mill

Keir Starmer’s government accused the firm of trying to shut down the country’s last steel-making plant as Labour took a major step towards nationalising it.

This Month

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

EU warns of taxing US big tech if Trump trade talks fail

The European Commission president says she wants a “balanced” deal but could hit US services in retaliation.

Europe could end up more like 1980s Qld than 1930s Germany

There’s a problem with being on the lookout for a rerun of the 1930s: you could miss what’s actually happening.

A Gianni Versace store in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping mall in Milan.

Versace’s ‘quiet luxury’ blunder opened door to Prada takeover

Fashion executive John Idol sold the high-end fashion house to its rival for $2.2 billion, amounting to a loss of about $1.1 billion.

Bourbon was removed from the bloc’s list amid pressure from member states after Trump threatened 200 per cent duties on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from France and elsewhere.

EU adopts tariffs on $45b of US goods in metals fight

The European Commission said the countermeasures can be suspended at any time “should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome”.

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A production line of hybrid Nissans at the automaker’s factory in Sunderland.

EV targets watered down to help UK’s tariff-hit car industry

New rules in Britain will allow manufacturers to sell full hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles until 2035.

Jes Staley leaves court last week.

Ex-Barclays boss awaits judgment in court battle over Jeffrey Epstein

With the courtroom drama concluded, banker Jes Staley has to wait and see if his high-profile legal gamble to clear his name has paid off.

President Donald Trump with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington.

Clock ticks on Keir Starmer’s cautious Trump strategy

The UK prime minister set himself apart from most other European leaders by taking a pragmatic approach to the US that detractors have accused of being fawning.

UK comedian Russell Brand attending the the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year.

Russell Brand charged with rape, sexual assault by British prosecutors

The English actor and comedian has been charged with five counts of rape and assault stemming from incidents with four women between 1999 and 2005.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen in Nuuk.

Greenland embraces Danish PM after Vance’s disastrous visit

Mette Frederiksen was cheered upon her arrival in the Danish overseas territory, a visit that shows solidarity in the face of repeated US take-over threats.

Donald Trump also levelled his strongest criticism to date against Vladimir Putin.

UK names Russia as a top-level foreign influence threat

The move means that anyone who does business with Russian agencies must register their activity with British authorities.

Prince Harry with Meghan Markle and Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka at the charity polo match.

Prince Harry ‘sent unpleasant and imperious message’ to charity boss

The Duke of Sussex allegedly demanded the Sentebale chair “explain herself” after she refused to issue a statement defending his wife.

Marine Le Pen leaves the courtroom after a judge found her guilty in an embezzlement case.

Le Pen election ban threatens fragile peace in French politics

A court has convicted the far-right leader of embezzlement, preventing her from running in elections for five years and detaining her under house arrest.

March

A cat rummages through furniture and uncollected refuse bags in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham, amid an ongoing refuse workers’ strike in the city.

‘Rats gnawed through my sister’s car. Now there’s no escape’

Binmen in Birmingham, the UK’s second-largest city, have been on strike for three weeks, leaving bin bags obstructing pavements like an assault course.

Donald Trump says he is “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump ‘pissed off’ with Putin, threatens tariffs on Russian oil

The US president is angry at the autocrat’s suggestions of how to install a new leadership in Ukraine and sideline Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Isar Aerospace test rocket “Spectrum” lifts off on Andøya island, Norway, on Sunday.

German rocket’s test flight hailed as it crashes and burns

Fraying defence ties with Washington and a backlog at Elon Musk’s SpaceX have added to Europe’s sense of urgency to develop its own satellite launch capacity.

Spanish Civil Guard General Alfonso Lopez Malo, second right, and Portuguese Police Director Luis Neves, left, speak during a news conference at the Portuguese police headquarters in Lisbon.

Submarine carrying tonnes of cocaine seized in Atlantic

Spanish authorities, who tipped off the Portuguese, said it was the first time a drug-running semi-submersible had been intercepted in the open sea.

Vice President J.D. Vance at the US military base in Greenland.

Denmark, Vance raise tensions over Greenland ownership

Denmark’s prime minister will visit Greenland this week, hot on the heels of J.D Vance’s trip to the territory which ruffled feathers and lasted just hours.

Jamie’s parents in Adolescence are confronted with the knowledge that they could have done more to protect their son from harmful online rhetoric.

Boys are in crisis, but it’s adults who need educating

The real problem hit Netflix series Adolescence has raised is one that hand-wringing over toxic masculinity won’t solve.

Prince Harry with Meghan Markle at a charity polo match.

Prince Harry accused of ‘harassment and bullying at scale’

The head of the prince’s African AIDS charity claims the Duke tried to use the organisation as “an extension of the Sussex PR machine”.

President Donald Trump arrives to play golf at his course in Florida.

Trump warns EU companies to comply with his DEI ban

The move signals a push by the American president to widen his ideological campaign abroad.

Vice President J.D. Vance, left, and second lady Usha Vance pose during a tour of Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.

Vance slams Denmark for not keeping Greenland safe

The US vice president, without being specific, said the Danish territory had endured “a lot of very aggressive incursions” from Russia, China and other nations.

Jeff Bezos to hold star-studded three-day wedding

The guest list reportedly includes Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her property developer husband Jared Kushner, along with Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey.

President Donald Trump.

‘Never seen anything like it’: Trump’s outrageous new Ukraine deal

The latest version of Donald Trump’s “minerals deal” is unprecedented in the history of modern diplomacy and state relations.

King Charles was hospitalised in London after experiencing side effects from ongoing cancer treatment.

King Charles in hospital with a health scare after cancer treatment

The monarch was admitted briefly and his appointments have been cancelled, in what royal sources said was a minor setback following therapy.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/europe