Estonia spirited away the controversial statue of a Red Army Soviet soldier from the centre of the capital, Tallinn, in the early hours on Friday after violent riots against its removal in which one man was killed. Russia reacted furiously to the move and its upper House of Parliament voted to ask President Vladimir Putin to sever relations with the small Baltic state.

The European Union’s environment chief on Thursday condemned the discharge of toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire that killed at least eight people and vowed to beef up policing to stop the illegal transport of dangerous waste in the future. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the actions of the Dutch-chartered tanker killed and injured innocent people.