Author: Sam

Sunak cancelling meeting after Greek PM’s Parthenon marbles comments ‘wasn’t a snub’, minister claims – UK politics live | Politics

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Rishi Sunak cancels meeting with Greek PM amid Parthenon marbles row Good morning. Rishi Sunak does not have all the qualities of a great human being but, among other virtues, he is generally calm and polite, and that makes his row with the Greek PM about the Parthenon marbles even harder to comprehend than it otherwise would be. The official explanation is that Sunak cancelled his meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis because Mitsotakis went back on a promise not to raise the issue of the sculptures during his three-day visit to the UK. But did anyone in No 10 seriously think that Mitsotakis would be able to get through media interviews without being asked about the subject? And so if the pretext for cancelling the meeting was flaky, was this all just some political ruse to present Sunak in a positive light ahead of the election. (One of the problems with political commentary at this stage of the political cycle is that it is assumed that everything is motivated by calculations about electoral positioning. Roughly 80% …

Geert Wilders says he is there for ‘everyone’ amid uncertainty over Dutch government formation – Europe live | Netherlands

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Wilders argues he is there for ‘everyone’ amid uncertainty over government formation Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most seats in last week’s election, is upping efforts to portray himself as an acceptable possible prime minister. The Party for Freedom is a “broad” people’s party, he wrote on social media this morning. “2.4 million people voted for us. High and low educated, native and immigrant, employed, retired, young and old. From the city, the countryside,” he wrote, adding: “The PVV is there for everyone”. But despite his strong election performance, Wilders’ views remain controversial – and it is unclear if the PVV can reach agreements with other parties to form a coalition. Geert Wildersmeets the press as Dutch parties’ lead candidates meet for the first time after elections. Photograph: Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters Updated at 08.17 GMT Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Tom van der Meer, a professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam, said today that when …

The best recent crime and thriller writing – review roundup | Thrillers

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It has been 10 years since Terry Hayes published the international hit I Am Pilgrim, and it’s fair to say that his second novel, The Year of the Locust (Bantam), has been much anticipated. Emerging dazed and somewhat brutalised after two intense days reading this utterly gripping, elegantly written 650-page-plus thriller, I can say that it was most definitely worth the wait. Kane (not his real name) works for the CIA, one of a small group of spies who specialises in entering “denied access areas – places under total hostile control such as Russia and Syria, North Korea, Iran, and the tribal zones of Pakistan”. So when an asset with information that could save the west from a terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11 needs exfiltrating from the wilds of Iran, he is sent in. Kane is a fantastic character: preternaturally brilliant and brave, humble and insightful, he comes up with a solution no matter what he’s faced with, and is the sort of narrator who calmly says things such as: “It was now …

Wilko rescue failed because ‘everyone got a little bit greedy’, says HMV owner | Wilko

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The HMV owner Doug Putman has said his planned rescue of the retailer Wilko collapsed because “everyone just got a little bit greedy” and was not thinking about the jobs that could have been saved. The Canadian retail billionaire, who has engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, was close to a deal to take over as many as 200 of Wilko’s 408 stores in September, which would have saved more than 12,000 jobs. Struggling under a debt pile of £625m, Wilko collapsed into administration in August and called in PricewaterhouseCoopers. Speaking on Tuesday, before former Wilko bosses will be grilled by MPs on the collapse of the chain, Putman said: “I thought we did have a deal, we thought we would get that over the line.” He said he would have needed to use Wilko’s IT systems for about four months before transitioning to a new system, and agreement could not be reached on the financial terms. “They were super inflexible,” he told BBC Radio 4’s …

Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘enemy attempts to storm Avdiivka from all directions’, says Ukrainian official | Ukraine

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Ten people have died in snowstorms in Ukraine, the country’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, has said. Icy winds and storms have swept in since Sunday, cutting power and blocking roads, particularly in the south. “As a result of worsening weather conditions, 10 people died in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions,” Klymenko wrote on Telegram. “Twenty-three people were injured, including two children,” he added. A total of 411 settlements in 11 regions had lost power, and more than 1,500 vehicles had to be rescued, Klymenko said. Summary It is Tuesday and this is the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the Russian war against Ukraine. Here are the top developments. Russian forces are intensifying their drive to capture Avdiivka, trying to advance on all sides, according to Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration. “The Russians have opened up two more sectors from which they have begun making assaults – in the direction of Donetsk … and in the so-called industrial …

Greed blamed for failure of Wilko rescue deal as MPs examine retailer’s collapse – business live | Business

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Introduction: “Everyone got a little bit greedy” as Wilko failed, claims Putman. Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Greed has been blamed for the failure to agree a rescue deal for Wilko, as MPs prepare to examine the collapse of the discount retailer this autumn. Doug Putman, the billionaire Canadian business executive, says he came very close to agreeing a deal that would have saved thousands of jobs, but was thwarted by the homeware chain’s suppliers. Putman told Radio 4’s Today Programme that he really thought he had a deal to take over Wilko, which closed its doors last month with the loss of around 12,000 jobs. But, he explains, companies – such as Wilko’s IT suppliers – refused to budge on fees they wanted to charge for the transition. Putman says these companies were “super inflexible” about cooperating for the “four months or so” that he would have needed their systems before transitioning to his own. Putman, who owns HMV, says: I thought …

Yes, Germany supports Israel – but not uncritically, and not for the reasons you think | Joerg Lau

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Who could have anticipated such a twist in Germany’s fraught relationship with its dark past? The German government is coming under increasing pressure to break free of the constraints of German guilt. And it is Turkey that wants the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to deliver the reversal. On a visit to Germany earlier this month, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, standing next to Scholz in Berlin, claimed that Germany was too absorbed by historical remorse to grasp the reality of the Middle East. Before his arrival in Germany, Erdoğan had called the Hamas terrorists “freedom fighters” and said that Israel’s legitimacy was in doubt due to its “own fascism”. Scholz had staunchly resisted calls to cancel the visit, but made clear before Erdoğan’s arrival that he considered the president’s view of the conflict “absurd”. What followed was an awkward visit that highlighted how tricky the navigation of German foreign policy has become. Erdoğan is fully aware of his leverage in Berlin: almost 3 million people in Germany are of Turkish heritage. Ankara provides close to …

TV tonight: haunting diaries and unseen footage of prewar Germany | Television

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Berlin 1933 9.10pm, BBC Four The fractured mood of metropolis Berlin on the verge of international calamity is captured through personal diaries, letters and extensive film footage in this haunting three-part documentary. It starts with the dawn of the new year, when the country is divided as the National Socialists have become the strongest party in Germany and Hitler aims to eliminate his opponents. Hollie Richardson The Great British Bake Off 8pm, Channel 4 Tasha flaked out of patisserie week, which means that Dan, Josh and Matty are the three bakers in this year’s final. They have each been named star baker twice, making it one of the show’s trickiest ones to call yet. First up: the trio must wow Prue and Paul through the power of choux pastry. Then it’s time to make an eye-popping celebration cake for their nearest and dearest. HR Louis Theroux Interviews 9pm, BBC Two In the booth … Louis Theroux and Raye. Photograph: Ryan McNamara/BBC/Mindhouse Productions It doesn’t take Louis Theroux long to tell singer-songwriter Raye that the 2022 …

Levels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales | Cetaceans

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Nearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found. Among orcas stranded in the UK, levels of PCBs, a group of highly dangerous and persistent chemicals that do not degrade easily, were 30 times the concentration at which the animals would begin to suffer health impacts, researchers said. Scientists described the findings as a “huge wake-up call” that should ring alarm bells not only for the future of marine mammal health but for human health, too. Dr Rosie Williams, lead author and researcher from the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Institute of Zoology, said: “It’s been over 20 years since several of these chemicals were banned globally, yet we still see concerningly high concentrations in wildlife. “Although concentrations of the pollutants seem to be declining, our findings reveal that in many species they are still present at levels associated with negative effects on the immune and reproductive systems.” High PCB concentrations are a major cause …

David Cameron to visit Brussels in official role for first time since Brexit | David Cameron

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David Cameron will return to Brussels on Tuesday in an official capacity for the first time since his doomed campaign for Britain to remain in the European Union. The former prime minister, who made a surprise return to frontline politics this month when he became the UK foreign secretary, will attend a Nato meeting of foreign ministers to discuss issues including ammunition supply to Ukraine and the alliance’s continued presence in Kosovo. He is also expected to try to squeeze in a meeting with Maroš Šefčovič, the vice-president of the European Commission responsible for the Brexit deals, before or after the two-day summit. Referring to the tortuous years-long negotiations surrounding the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020, one diplomat likened Cameron’s visit to the EU headquarters to a “divorcee returning to the family home”. But though his history with Brussels has had its complications, Cameron’s return to politics after a reshuffle by Rishi Sunak has caused a frisson of anticipation around the Nato table. “Everyone, I mean everyone, is looking for bilaterals with him,” …