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© John Sibley / REUTERS
© John Sibley / REUTERS
© Icon Sport / Loic Cousin / Icon Sport / Loic Cousin
© Loic Cousin / Icon Sport
© Loic Cousin / Icon Sport
© Sandra Ruhaut / Icon Sport
The most romantic way to traverse the continent is environmentally friendly and popular with the public. But market challenges need addressing
When the European Union made its 2020 commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, there was a wave of excitement about what that might mean for the continent’s most romantic form of travel. The golden era of night trains had, it was previously assumed, gone for good amid the rise of low-cost, short-haul flights. But the new environmental imperatives suggested that they could be a glamorous part of a greener future, delivering a climate impact that was 28 times less than flying. The European Commission enthusiastically identified a plethora of potential new routes that it judged could be economically viable.
Sadly, due to a series of challenges that Brussels and national governments have done too little to address, the renaissance appears to be stalling. Last month, a two-year-old night service linking Paris with Vienna and Berlin was scrapped after state subsidies were removed. The French operator, SNCF, has claimed that without financial assistance, the particular costs associated with running a night train are simply too high. Meanwhile, a petition was vainly launched to save the new Basel-Copenhagen-Malmö route, which was due to open in April but has also been derailed by the withdrawal of state funding.
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© Photograph: Belga News Agency/Alamy
© Photograph: Belga News Agency/Alamy
© Photograph: Belga News Agency/Alamy
Health minister Nina Warken says Robert F Kennedy Jr’s assertions that German doctors are facing legal action are unfounded
The German government has sharply rejected claims by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, that doctors in Germany have faced legal action for issuing vaccine and mask exemptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The statements made by the US secretary of health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected,” Germany’s health minister, Nina Warken, said in a strongly worded statement released late on Saturday.
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© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/UPI/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/UPI/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/UPI/Shutterstock
Danish prime minister says country is at a crossroads and accuses US of turning its back on Nato
Mette Frederiksen has said that Denmark is at a “fateful moment” amid Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, accusing the US of potentially turning its back on Nato.
Speaking at a party leader debate at a political rally on Sunday, the Danish prime minister said her country was “at a crossroads”.
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© Photograph: Tschaen Eric/ABACA/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Tschaen Eric/ABACA/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Tschaen Eric/ABACA/Shutterstock
55-year-old worker died during overnight shift
Temperatures plunged to -12C in Cortina d’Ampezzo
A guard at a construction site near a 2026 Winter Olympic venue in the mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo died during a freezing overnight shift, authorities have confirmed. Italy’s infrastructure minister, Matteo Salvini, called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 55-year-old worker’s death.
Italian media reported that the death occurred on Thursday while the worker was on duty at a construction site near Cortina’s ice arena. Temperatures that night plunged to -12C (10.4F).
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© Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP
© Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP
© Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP
Move would mean Brussels would receive compensation if future government reneged on deal Starmer is negotiating
The EU is reportedly demanding guarantees the UK will compensate the bloc if a future government reneges on the Brexit “reset” agreement Keir Starmer is currently negotiating.
The termination clause is a stark reminder of the painful and costly divorce in which the EU set up a colossal €5.4bn (£4.7bn) fund to help its member states cope with the disruption caused by the UK’s exit in 2020.
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© Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
© Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
© Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
© Loic Cousin / Icon Sport
© Icon Sport / Sandra Ruhaut
© Sandra Ruhaut / Icon Sport
© Sandra Ruhaut / Icon Sport
© Sandra Ruhaut / Icon Sport
Kennedy did not give provide specific examples or say which reports he was referring to
© AP
The Paris declaration by the ‘coalition of the willing’ supports a nonexistent ceasefire that remains at the mercy of Russian intransigence
Gwendolyn Sasse is director of the Centre for East European and International Studies
An end to Russia’s war against Ukraine is still not in sight. The frequency of high-level meetings of Ukrainian, US and European representatives in recent weeks, as well as the intermittent US-Russia exchanges, have not changed this fundamental reality. There is no ceasefire in place, European and US military support is not confirmed and, most importantly, Russia does not want the war to end.
The latest talks in Paris managed to bring 35 countries of the “coalition of the willing” together. The core objective was to advance the principle, and implementation, of security guarantees for a future ceasefire. The participation of the US alongside European leaders and a wider coalition of partners was noteworthy. However, the actual result remains vague.
Gwendolyn Sasse is the director of the Centre for East European and International Studies and non-resident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe
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© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
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