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EU set to sign off €90bn loan for Ukraine and fresh Russia sanctions – Europe live

Oh, that’s (potentially) interesting. The European Commission was planning to offer journalists a technical briefing on the €90bn loan and the 20th package of sanctions just now. But it’s just been rescheduled. The commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, Olof Gill, told the midday briefing it was due to the fact that “the adoption process … is still ongoing” and that a new date will be set “once we can confirm timelines.” For all we know, the formal deadline for the adoption process is 1pm local time in Brussels, so in about 20 minutes. Is the commission just playing it safe, or is there more to the story? Let’s wait and see.

Spanish conservatives revive regional pacts with far-right Vox party

Spain’s opposition conservatives are rekindling their regional pacts with the far-right Vox party by adopting the latter’s hard line on immigration less than two years after disagreements over the issue led to the collapse of coalition administrations in five of the country’s self-governing regions. The renewal of the regional deals between the People’s party (PP) and Vox comes ahead of next year’s general election and as Spain’s socialist government seeks to extol the benefits of immigration by regularising the status of at least 500,000 undocumented migrants. The PP, which six years ago repudiated its far-right rival as a party that practised a politics based on “fear, anger, resentment and revenge”, subsequently entered into regional coalitions with Vox in Valencia, Aragón, Murcia, Extremadura, and Castilla y León. But those alliances ended in July 2024 when Vox abandoned all five coalitions after the PP opted to support the central government’s plans to bring about 400 unaccompanied foreign children from the Canary Islands and redistribute them around the mainland. Last week, however, the PP and Vox reached an agreement to jointly govern the south-western region of Extremadura following months of negotiations that came after last December’s election. That was followed on Wednesday by the announcement of a pact to govern the north-eastern region of Aragón. Vox agreed to facilitate the return of María Guardiola as PP president of Extremadura in exchange for control of three regional ministries and the introduction of a range of measures that include favouring Spaniards over foreign-born people when it comes to benefits and subsidies. Under the agreement, there will now be “priority assignment of public resources to those who maintain a real, lasting and verifiable link to the territory”. Guardiola, who promised to make Extremadura a “fairer, freer and more prosperous” place as she was returned to office in a vote on Wednesday, had originally refused to even consider governing with Vox. After the previous regional election in May 2023, she made plain her disdain for the party, saying: “I can’t allow those who deny gender-based violence … those who are dehumanising immigrants … into government.” A few weeks later, the PP had a rethink and entered into coalition with Vox. The deal to rule Aragón, which held a regional election in February, is similar to the one struck in Extremadura. The far-right party will run three regional ministries and has trumpeted its success in compelling the PP to accept more Vox policies, including “national priority” – or favouring Spaniards over others. Vox said: “We will guarantee that the Spaniard always comes first. We will put in place national priority for accessing subsidised housing, social rentals, grants and benefits.” Coalition negotiations between the PP and Vox are still taking place after last month’s election in the northern region of Castilla y León. The renewed regional partnerships between the two parties point to a possible national coalition should the PP finish first in next year’s general election but fail to secure a majority. Both parties have criticised the central government’s regularisation programme. The PP has claimed the move will overwhelm Spain’s public services, while Vox has again suggested that the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is trying to replace the Spanish population and “accelerate the invasion”. In July last year, Vox floated the idea of deporting up to 8 million people of foreign origin – including the children of immigrants – arguing that “it’s very difficult for them to get used to our customs”. The party later backtracked on the “remigration” plan.

Middle East crisis live: US and Iran in blockade stalemate as Pentagon reportedly says clearing strait of Hormuz could take six months

In its 10-point document for negotiating a peace deal with the US, Iran has demanded that its “control” over the strait of Hormuz be guaranteed. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Iran is planning a fixed payment of $2m per ship or a system based on each ship’s cargo, similar to that of the Suez Canal. The plan was trialled by Iran earlier this month. According to reports, Tehran required tankers hoping to pass through to the strait to give details of the ship’s cargo, destination and ultimate owner before paying a toll of at least $1 a barrel. This system stands in direct opposition to the UN convention on the law of the sea, sometimes known as Unclos, which provides vessels a right of unimpeded transit passage through more than 100 straits around the world, including the strait of Hormuz. About 170 countries and the EU have ratified Unclos, which is generally considered customary international law. But Iran and the US have not. Still, the US has made clear that it disputes Iran’s right to control the strait. To learn more about Iran’s demands for tolls on the strait of Hormuz, and whether it can legally impose them, you can read this explainer by the Guardian’s energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose and business reporter Tom Knowles:

EU risks fallout with US over Trump-linked Balkans pipeline plan

The EU risks a confrontation with Donald Trump after it sought to stall the awarding of a lucrative Balkans pipeline contract to a company fronted by his personal lawyer, documents seen by the Guardian show. Brussels has clashed with Trump over trade, Ukraine and military spending, but the intervention in the Southern Interconnection pipeline project appears to mark the first time it has challenged a commercial venture by those close to the president. The pipeline will run through Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under what Bosnian sources say have been months of pressure from US officials, its leaders have been moving quickly to award the contract to a previously little-known company based in Wyoming. AAFS Infrastructure and Energy was incorporated in November last year and has not disclosed its owners. It is fronted by two leading members of Trump’s campaign to overturn his 2020 election defeat: Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who defended him against allegations of inciting the Capitol riots after his defeat, and Joe Flynn, the brother of the president’s former national security adviser. Despite lacking any apparent track record, AAFS is planning to invest $1.5bn in the pipeline and other Bosnian infrastructure projects, its local representative has said. In March, lawmakers approved legislation that Transparency International said would set a “dangerous precedent” by stipulating that the contract must go to AAFS without a tender. Days later, Brussels’ representative in Sarajevo delivered a private warning to Bosnia’s leaders that they were jeopardising the country’s hopes of joining the EU. In a letter sent on 13 April, obtained by the Bosnian investigative outlet istraga.ba and seen by the Guardian, the EU official Luigi Soreca wrote that, under an energy agreement between Bosnia and Brussels, it was “crucial that draft laws are thoroughly coordinated” with the EU. Soreca said Brussels should have a say in the pipeline legislation. “In this way, Bosnia and Herzegovina can continue to progress on its European path and avoid missing out on opportunities for further integration, as well as financial opportunities,” he said. Binnall has said the pipeline is a “priority for the Trump administration”. Asked about the EU’s intervention, he said: “AAFS will never lose sight of what truly matters in this project: delivering energy security and fostering economic development for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are committed to working closely with all relevant authorities to develop the infrastructure needed to make this vision a reality.” By connecting Bosnia to a liquefied natural gas terminal off the Croatian coast, the pipeline would allow US gas to reach a country that depends on Russia for its entire supply. After Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Brussels set a deadline for EU members – plus aspiring members, such as Bosnia – to stop buying Russian gas by 2028. Nonetheless, Brussels faces the prospect of a crucial new piece of Europe’s energy chessboard falling under the control of not just a US company, but one personally connected to an antagonistic president. AAFS’s website displays a large eagle, evoking US power. It does not name any staff but says they have “decades of combined experience across energy, infrastructure, finance and international project development”. AAFS does not appear to have undertaken any infrastructure projects on the scale of the one planned in the Balkans. Binnall and Flynn are not the only ones from Trump’s circle to have shown an interest in Bosnia. Joe Flynn’s brother Michael – a former US intelligence chief whose conviction for lying to the FBI about his dealings with Russia was quashed by a pardon from Trump in 2020 – has been lobbying for the head of Bosnia’s Serb nationalist faction. The lobbying campaign succeeded in October in having US sanctions lifted from Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader who has been undermining the 1995 peace accord that ended a three-year war in which more than 100,000 people were killed. In April, Donald Trump Jr, who runs the family business empire, visited Sarajevo. Although neither he nor Michael Flynn appear to be directly involved in the pipeline project, Dodik has thrown his support behind it.

What would a permanent ‘Tehran’s tollbooth’ on oil mean for the world?

A second round of peace talks between the US and Iran has begun amid renewed attacks on oil tankers in the strait of Hormuz and a US blockade on Iranian vessels through the crucial trade route. The future of this narrow waterway – and curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme – are at the centre of the talks after Tehran’s de facto blockade on oil and gas tankers via the strait pushed up energy prices. Iran’s plan to maintain a chokehold on the strait by extracting a payment of $2m from each passing tanker has raised concerns that “Tehran’s tollbooth” for Middle Eastern oil could lead to higher prices for years to come. Here we look at what the strategy could mean for oil markets and the world economy. What is Tehran demanding from shipping companies? Within Tehran’s 10-point peace plan is a requirement that Iran and Oman will be free to charge a fee of up to $2m on each vessel transiting through the strait, according to reports. Iran suggested this money would be used for reconstruction. The suggestion that safe passage through the narrow waterway would be allowed only under Iranian military management has been roundly condemned by Washington DC and economic commentators. The plan was trialled by Iran earlier this month. According to reports, Tehran required tankers hoping to pass through to the strait to give details of the ship’s cargo, destination and ultimate owner before paying a toll of at least $1 a barrel. For oil tankers, which typically carry 2m barrels of oil, the toll for a single transit was $2m, payable in Chinese yuan or a cryptocurrency. Once approved, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boats would escort a tanker through the strait via a narrow designated route close to Iran’s southern coast. So far, ships from Malaysia, China, Egypt, South Korea and India have been among those allowed to pass. It is not clear whether they paid a toll to Iran to do so. Is this legal? This system stands in direct opposition to the UN convention on the law of the sea, sometimes known as Unclos, which provides vessels a right of unimpeded transit passage through more than 100 straits around the world, including the strait of Hormuz. About 170 countries and the EU have ratified Unclos, which is generally considered customary international law. But Iran and the US have not. Still, the US has made clear that it disputes Iran’s right to control the strait. There is also the issue of sanctions. Iran has been subject to many complex layers of sanctions from countries including the US and the UK since the 1970s, which would rule out any major western shipping company making payments to the IRGC. What is the impact on costs? Adding $1 to the cost of every barrel of crude passing through the strait could add costs of $20m a day to the market, or $7bn a year, based on the pre-crisis flows of oil and gas via this trade route. That’s relatively small in the context of a global market valued at $3tn last year. In addition, there are also doubts that a return to pre-crisis volumes of traffic would be possible under this regime. But experts have said the financial cost of using the strait is likely to spiral beyond the payment of the toll. Shipping companies are likely to charge higher rates to use their tankers via a route where the risk of attack is substantially greater. Insurers are likely to charge higher premiums too. The seafarers operating these tankers – who will have seen the hardships of those trapped on stranded vessels – are entitled to double pay while working in an area designated as hazardous. The greatest impact on energy costs is expected on the global oil markets, which requires flows through the strait to return to normal for pre-crisis prices to return. How would a toll affect global oil prices? The de facto closure of the strait, which once saw about 20m barrels of oil and gas transit each day, cut exports from the region by about 10m barrels a day and caused oil prices to surge. The price of Brent crude climbed from just below $70 a barrel last year to highs of $119 a barrel on the futures market, and to record highs of almost $150 a barrel for physical cargoes. Market analysts suggest that a sustained squeeze on supplies will keep oil market prices higher for longer. Some suggest that prices of about $100 a barrel could remain for most of this year, with higher prices persisting into 2027. This is because, while some Gulf oil and gas volumes have been redirected using the region’s limited pipelines, there are doubts over whether the Middle East’s petrostates will be able to return to pre-crisis shipping volumes as infrastructure was damaged and it will take time to reopen shut fields. Meanwhile, higher costs, complicated legal risk and heightened security fears suggest that oil traders would sooner avoid buying Gulf crude, even if transit was allowed under the control of Iran. What does this mean for Iran? Fees from the “Tehran tollbooth” would allow the IRGC to rebuild its military and provide a lifeline to Iran’s crippled economy. Controlling the strait would also allow Tehran to resume exports of oil, the lifeblood of the Iranian economy, which have ground to a halt after the US blockade on Iranian ports. Long-term influence over the strait promises revenues that would help to rebuild its infrastructure and economy. About 2 million people in Iran have lost their jobs as the war has forced factories, retailers and businesses to close, according to Gholamhossein Mohammadi, the country’s deputy work and social security minister. Experts believe this is likely to be a conservative estimate. Meanwhile, Iran’s internet blackout is costing the economy at least 50tn rials ($35m) a day, according to Sattar Hashemi, the information and communication technology minister. Does the tollbooth matter for the global economy? Economists at the Belgian thinktank Bruegel have estimated that the world economy “would barely notice the toll” if Tehran successfully retained control of the strait. The extra cost would have to be shouldered by the Gulf oil producers, which would probably end up paying roughly 80% to 95% of the total cost, or as much as $14bn a year on oil shipments, according to Bruegel. This would mean the world oil price would rise by only about $0.05 to $0.40 a barrel compared with the prewar level, the thinktank estimates. But the precedent would raise more troubling concerns if it helped to legitimise Iran’s seizure of an international waterway and prevented flows of crude from returning to pre-crisis norms. Experts have warned of widespread consequences for the global economy if the strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. Already, the closure has been described as the worst energy supply crisis in history by the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, who said the situation was “absurd but real”. Any further escalation in the Iran war could trigger a global recession, and the International Monetary Fund has said the UK economy is expected to be more affected than any of the other G7 nations.

UK looked at ways to ‘open doors’ to US chlorinated chicken, FoI request shows

British officials were briefed on the possibility of allowing chemical-washed chicken into the UK before a meeting with the US embassy, new documents reveal. The Food Standards Agency is also looking at studies performed in the US on washing chicken with bacteriophages, including chlorine dioxide, to remove pathogens, according to the documents, released to the campaign group 38 Degrees under freedom of information laws. Ministers have repeatedly said they have “no plans” to allow chicken washed with chlorine and other chemicals into the UK, despite pressure from the Trump administration to do so during trade deal talks. In the US, farmers are allowed to use chlorine washes and other disinfectants to remove harmful bacteria that may have infected chickens during rearing and slaughter. The EU banned the practice in 1997, leading to a long-running dispute over imports of chicken from the US. There are concerns that chlorine may compensate or mask poorer hygiene and animal welfare standards earlier in the food chain. During trade deal negotiations last year, the US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said US agriculture was being treated “very unfairly” by countries such as the UK, and she wanted the UK to accept “all meat” from the US. The White House adviser Peter Navarro at the same time called sanitary standards a “phoney tool used to suppress what is very fine American agricultural product” and said the market should decide, adding: “We don’t believe that once [British people] taste American beef and chicken that they would prefer not to have it.” The documents confirm that high-level briefings were prepared for a meeting between a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) director and the US embassy in London on or around 4 December 2025, during the trade deal talks. It confirmed that it would be possible to change standards to allow for chemical-washed chicken, reading: “Pathogen reduction treatment rules (including decontamination with chlorine) are set out in UK hygiene legislation. The legislation provides for new substances to be authorised for use, only after a rigorous UK risk analysis process.” A separate request to the Food Standards Agency revealed the government quango “did conduct work on the strength of evidence for the effectiveness of interventions against campylobacter [a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea] at various stages of the food chain, this included a review of chemical treatments including studies performed in the USA. These reports are currently being prepared for publication with a view to being published on our website in late May.” This work was conducted around the same time as the trade talks. Matthew McGregor, CEO at 38 Degrees, said: “These documents uncovered by 38 Degrees prove that while the government is publicly telling us they have ‘no plans’ to lower our food standards, behind closed doors it’s a different story. “A ‘plan’ can change with the stroke of a pen. With officials being briefed on exactly how the UK could open its doors to chlorinated chicken in order to appease Donald Trump, it seems nothing’s off the table. This revelation will be a cause for concern for consumers across the country, who have zero appetite for chlorinated chicken. “The British public’s message is clear: they don’t want to hear about ‘legislative processes’ for toxic washes, they want a cast-iron guarantee that our food standards are not for sale.” A government spokesperson said:“We have consistently said imports of chlorinated chicken remain illegal and there are no plans to change that. We have also been consistently clear that we will never lower our high food standards in trade deals.”

Thursday briefing: Why the US president is losing support from crucial allies

Good morning. Starting a war of choice that is rapidly spiralling out of control, poll ratings at a second-term low, and a cost of living crisis intensifying for millions. Any conventional US president would be in big trouble. But Donald Trump is not a conventional president, and normal rules do not seem to apply to him. More than a third of Americans continue to believe he is doing a good job despite the global chaos he has unleashed. Even so, cracks have started to appear in the Maga base: the influential former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has become the latest high-profile Republican to express his regret for cheerleading Trump, admitting he is “tormented” by his prior support. For today’s First Edition, I spoke with Guardian US live news editor Chris Michael about how the fallout from the conflict with Iran has affected the domestic fortunes of the US president. But first, the headlines. Five big stories UK politics | Keir Starmer was looking increasingly isolated over the Peter Mandelson scandal as the Guardian learned of concerns around the cabinet table, a senior minister refused to say the dismissal of Olly Robbins was fair and several mandarins called for Robbins to be reinstated. One Labour MP called on Starmer to quit. Middle East | Iranian forces seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the shipping waterway. West Bank | Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy, were killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli settlers opened fire near a school, witnesses and local officials said. Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed a journalist after rescuers were blocked from accessing the building where she was buried under rubble because of further Israeli fire, according to several witnesses. UK news | Britain’s high military dependence on the US is “no longer tenable” and the UK has to become increasingly independent of the special relationship, a former Nato chief has said. Palantir | The Metropolitan police has held talks with Palantir that could lead to the London force buying the US spy-tech company’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis for criminal investigations. In depth: ‘Trump campaigned on the cost of living and did nothing about it after he won’ Donald Trump is an unpopular US president. In the wake of the US-Israel attacks on Iran, his favourability has reached a level comparable to the aftermath of the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack. A series of recent polls puts his approval rating in the mid-30s, driven down by the economic fallout from the war that has worsened a cost of living crisis for millions of struggling Americans. Chris Michael says the rise in fuel prices has been a crucial issue for voters, who were promised falls in the cost of filling up their cars and trucks by Trump ahead of the election. “People are not really thinking about Iranians being killed – obviously some are – but they are really bothered about gas prices, and the Trump administration’s messaging on that has been terrible,” says Chris. “The energy secretary Chris Wright said it wouldn’t be until next year that we would see gas back down to $3 a gallon. It’s currently around $4, so it’s up 25%. That has a direct impact on everyone in the US. “Trump campaigned on the cost of living and has basically done nothing about it after he won. To make matters worse, he has started a war that has driven up energy prices and been quite dismissive about it.” *** Tucker’s ‘torment’ In Trump’s apparent moment of weakness, critics are feeling emboldened. Tucker Carlson recently apologised for supporting Trump in the 2024 US presidential election, claiming he will be “tormented” for a long time over the decision. (Some observers even say this is a sign Carlson might be distancing himself ahead of a presidential run to replace Trump in 2028.) Carlson is not alone. From Joe Rogan to Megyn Kelly, other former Trump supporters in the media are expressing their anger at the fighting in the Middle East and his administration. “The hardcore America First people are turning against Trump. They can smell something in the wind and Iran is a big part of that. They firmly believe that you shouldn’t get involved in foreign wars. The fringe right of the Maga movement has had enough of Trump,” says Chris. *** Seeds of doubt Conspiracy theorists in the Maga movement have also started to turn their attention to the US president. Almost two years ago, Donald Trump was nearly assassinated during a campaign rally when a bullet clipped his ear but he was largely unharmed. Afterwards, he stood, defiant with his fist raised, as blood dripped down his face, telling the crowd to “fight”. It was a key moment for Trump in the 2024 election. But now, some in the Maga base are questioning whether it was staged – among them, comedian Tim Dillon, a prominent Trump supporter. In normal circumstances this would just be another conspiracy theory on the internet, but it is gaining traction online, says Chris. “Trump encouraged all this stuff and rode the wave of conspiratorial thinking. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword, and now it’s turned on him a little bit. It stems from Epstein, which is seen as a real moral failure for Maga. For a lot of Trump voters, the protection of women and girls is a key value.” *** A cornered animal With just six months to go before the midterm elections, Trump and the Republican party’s political fortunes appear bleak. The Democrats could win back control of both Congress and the Senate, restricting the US leader’s ability to govern and opening the door to future impeachments. With the exception of the “big, beautiful bill”, Trump has largely ruled by executive order. But heavy losses in the midterms would still restrict the president in his final years in office. “He can certainly carry on with his executive orders but they don’t work well. His signature tariff policy was overturned by the supreme court. He has made very little attempt to get Congress to do much. If the Dems win the House, even less legislation will get passed. They can set up any number of investigations and subcommittees into corruption in the White House, which is a huge issue,” says Chris. “That will be more bad press for him. It will contribute to an atmosphere of Trump starting to look weak and cornered. But a cornered animal is a dangerous animal.” What else we’ve been reading Emine Saner interviews New York Times investigative journalist Jodi Kantor, who exposed allegations against Harvey Weinstein and Amazon’s work practices – and has now set her mind to helping young people find their life’s work. Martin The London marathon runners doing the race in fancy dress are the real heroes, just like my colleague Patrick Barkham, who will be dressed as a badger. He has interviewed other fancy dress runners about what to expect. Patrick Daniel Engber goes out on a limb for the Atlantic and describes the current mania over missing US scientists as – in a strong field – the single dumbest conspiracy theory of 2026. Martin I was fascinated by this feature on Iran’s Jewish community and how they are coping with the attacks from Israel and the US. Patrick Expanded tournaments have left many nations in men’s football believing European championship qualifying has gone stale. An exclusive from Nick Ames suggests Uefa may be on the verge of revamping the system. Martin Sport Football | Manchester City leapfrogged Arsenal to go top of the table as Erling Haaland’s goal in the 1-0 win against Burnley relegated the Clarets. Leeds drew 2-2 with Bournemouth. Football | Chelsea sacked Liam Rosenior after a dreadful run of form saw the head coach lose the support of the dressing room. Rosenior has departed three months into a six-and-a-half-year deal and leaves with his side in danger of missing out on European football. Snooker | Ronnie O’Sullivan dusted off an old cue from under his bed in Ireland and duly rocketed into the second round of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield after wrapping up a 10-2 win over He Guoqiang. The front pages “PM isolated as cabinet divisions emerge over Mandelson scandal” – that’s the print splash in the Guardian. The Times has “PM ‘should face sleaze inquiry over Mandelson’” while the i paper stokes leadership speculation: “Streeting allies now open to Rayner pact – with cabinet losing confidence in PM”. The Financial Times leads with “Iran seizes two ships in show of force as bid to revive peace talks flounders”. The Telegraph has “Hermer pursued ‘witch hunt’ against troops despite warnings” which is about false claims about Iraq war veterans. “It’s my life, my choice” – a story about assisted dying in the Mail. The Express resents the latest immigration enforcement deal with France: “Here’s another £660m to stop the boats”. Top story in the Mirror is “Knox’s letter to Letby … Cleared of Meredith murder, now reaching out to jailed baby killer”. The Metro shames people on long-term sickness benefits, by profiling two people who are not: “Workshy Brits? Not this pair”. Today in Focus What the new Michael Jackson biopic leaves out A blockbuster film about the controversial singer could make $1bn worldwide. Owen Myers and Lanre Bakare explain what it says about Jackson’s legacy. Cartoon of the day | Martin Rowson The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad An Arizona utility worker has been hailed as being “in the right place at the right time” after rescuing a toddler from rush-hour traffic. Robert Butler leapt from his truck and scooped up the child just feet from a busy four-lane road, moments before a car sped past. He said: “I just think about when I get home and my son’s happy to see me. That little boy can be happy to see his parents or whoever.” His employer called it “a powerful reminder of what it means to look out for one another”. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Martin Belam’s Thursday news quiz Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Erdogan says Iran war ‘starting to weaken Europe’ – as it happened

We’re closing this file now but our live coverage of the Middle East continues in a new blog here, including a fresh summary of the latest developments. Thanks for following along.