Russia to expel 150 diplomats
In a tit-for-tat move following the decision by many EU countries, the USA and western allies to expel its diplomats, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said the country would be expelling 150 foreign diplomats. He announced the decision on Thursday evening. 60 of the diplomats will be from the United States, which will also have its consulate in St. Petersburg shut down, the Financial Times reports. Lavrov said that the United Kingdom was “forcing everyone to follow an anti-Russian course” following its decision to expel diplomats in the wake of the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury earlier this month. The Guardian reports that Lavrov told journalists in Moscow that the UK was “making mockery of international law”.
EP accused of hypocrisy over Selmayr criticism
The chair of the staff committee at the European Parliament has accused the institution of “shady, backroom deals, political machinations and fast-tracking of favoured individuals” to its most senior positions. A Politico article says that Pilar Antelo has sent a letter to the parliament’s president, Antonio Tajani, in which she expresses concern at what she calls the increasing politicisation and manipulation of the EP’s senior appointment procedures. Referring to the parliament’s recent criticism of the promotion of Martin Selmayr to secretary general of the European Commission, Antelo wrote: “We regret to say that the situation in our house is not better when it comes to fair and transparent senior appointments,”
.eu domains to be cancelled post-Brexit
The European Commission announced it will cancel all .eu domains that have a UK registrant. The move will apply to companies and organisations as well as individuals with a .eu account. "As a result of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom, a holder of a domain name does no longer fulfil the general eligibility criteria,” a statement from the Commission reads. The Register reports that most recent statistics indicate there are just over 317,000 .eu domains registered in the UK – roughly a tenth of the registry's total.
Papa Roach unveils Beaufort video
The latest video released by Californian rock band Papa Roach was shot on location at Beaufort Castle and features Luxembourg based ballet troupe DanceXperience. The video to ‘None of The Above’, a track from Papa Roach’s “Crooked Teeth” album, was unveiled on Thursday. Video director Bryson Roatch came up with the idea of going to a castle while the band was on its European tour. "It was amazing and such an honour to work with other artists from a different culture and see their passion," he said.