Ex-soldier, conspiracy theorist, astrologer and anti-vaxxer among the first of 27 people on trial for trying to violently topple the German government – led by Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss

One of the largest legal proceedings in German history is due to start on Monday with the first of three trials of a group of far-right conspiracists who planned to violently overthrow the country’s parliament.

So sprawling is the network, so extensive their plans, that for a mixture of logistical and security reasons, the 27 people due in the dock have been split into three separate groups.

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Ustica stripped local recognition for fascist dictator in law snaring all those deceased, but debate continues elsewhere

A simple vote last Friday was enough to strip Walt Disney of his honorary citizenship of Ustica, as the tiny Sicilian island of 1,300 people passed a law saying that only the living could be granted such recognition.

But the late American animator was mere collateral damage: the true target was Benito Mussolini , Italy’s fascist dictator, who eight decades after his death remains an honorary citizen of hundreds of Italian towns and cities, much to the disgust of many of their inhabitants.

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Today, we remember the 1974 Carnation Revolution. But as memories of dictatorship fade, anti-democratic forces are on the rise

Fifty years ago, on 25 April 1974, a military-led movement in Portugal took down the rightwing authoritarian regime that had governed the country for 41 years. The Carnation Revolution , named after the flowers people offered soldiers on the streets, led the country to democracy and an era of immense social progress – reducing infant mortality and illiteracy rates , for example, which were comparatively very high in 1974. By 1986, Portugal had made enough strides to be able to join the European Communities, now the EU.

I was born in the early 1990s, but even in my generation 25 April is a hallowed anniversary for many. Growing up as a teenager interested in politics generated a strong emotional attachment to a national holiday centred on the celebration of political freedom.

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Exclusive: Hungary’s PM and EU’s most isolated leader says he is pursuing ‘friendship with everybody’ – particularly the former US president

Europe’s most isolated leader was beaming.

Standing in a hallway in Brussels, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, spoke excitedly about the politician he hopes will change his political fortunes – Donald Trump.

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Gabriel Attal says state needs ‘real surge of authority’ in speech in Viry-Châtillon, where 15-year-old killed

The French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, is facing criticism for his proposed crackdown on teenage violence in and around schools, after he said some teenagers in France were “addicted to violence”, just as the government seeks to reclaim ground on security issues from the far right before European elections.

In his speech in Viry-Châtillon, a town south of Paris where a 15-year-old boy was beaten and killed this month by a group of young people , Attal said the state needed “a real surge of authority”.

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Kari Lake of Arizona warned supporters of ‘intense’ election year in which Democrats will come after them ‘with everything’

Republican US Senate candidate Kari Lake has told supporters to “strap on a Glock” ahead of the 2024 elections as she struggles to gain ground against her Democratic rival in Arizona.

In a campaign speech made to a crowd in Arizona’s Mohave county on Sunday, Lake echoed Trump-like terms in calling Washington DC a “swamp” – and used a reference to carrying guns when she told people to prepare for an “intense” election year.

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Investigation urged into alleged bid to turn Rai into propaganda channel for ruling parties before elections

The European commission has been urged to investigate alleged attempts by Italy’s far-right government to turn the public broadcaster, Rai, into a “megaphone” for the ruling parties ahead of the European elections.

The appeal from the European Green party came after the Italian parliament’s supervisory committee for Rai approved a measure allowing the broadcaster’s news channel to televise political rallies in full and without any journalistic mediation in the run-up to the vote in early June.

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Belgian PM condemns move by local mayor to shut down radical rightwing conference as ‘unconstitutional’

The NatCon conference featuring Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman and the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, among its speakers will resume on Wednesday after a Brussels court overturned a local mayor’s decision to close it down on Tuesday.

After moves condemned as “unacceptable” and “unconstitutional” by the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, the organisers took the matter to the conseil d’état, the country’s supreme administrative court.

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Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman speak at Brussels event as mayor issues order on public safety grounds

• UK politics – latest updates

Authorities in Brussels have ordered the closure of a radical right conference that was addressed by British politicians including Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.

Emir Kir, the mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district in Brussels, said an order had been issued banning the National Conservatism conference from taking place on Tuesday “to guarantee public safety”.

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