Kyiv helicopter crash is a grave blow to Ukraine’s war efforts and a personal loss for Zelensky
The president has lost one of his closest confidantes just as the war faces an escalation in fighting, says World Affairs Editor Kim Sengupta
Europe
‘A job I love, but I need to pay bills’: Thousands of nurses strike over crisis at the NHS
Tens of thousands of nurses across England and Wales walked out Wednesday in a new protest over pay and patient safety, with no end in sight to a wave of strikes that has piled pressure on the overburdened public health system.
Union threatens to ‘cut electricity to MPs and billionaires’ ahead of pension protests in France
‘It would be good if we cut off their electricity so that they can put themselves, for a few days, in the shoes of … French people who can’t afford to pay their bill’ says head of hardline CGT union
Leo Varadkar grills Sinn Fein over donation from ex-councillor convicted of facilitating murder
Leaders’ questions returned with a roaring start, as Sinn Fein accused the Cabinet of being ‘mired in scandal’
Italian police find suspected ‘secret bunker’ of captured mafia boss
‘Last godfather’ of Sicilian mafia Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested after 30 years on runItalian military police have found a possible secret bunker suspected of being used by Matteo Messina Denaro, the “last godfather” of the Sicilian mafia who was …
Cash for influence inquiry homes in on Brussels meeting days before World Cup
Ex-MEP allegedly called on friends to ask questions at meeting to lead Qatari minister ‘on a known path’Belgian police seized nearly €1.5m in cash from homes and hotels in Brussels last month, allegedly paid by Qatar to sway decisions in the European p…
Nearly half of Spanish families pay for private ‘shadow education’
Study shows 47% of households with school-age children paid for lessons between 2019 and 2020Almost half of Spanish families pay for private classes for their children, but while richer households invest in “widening and perfecting” their offspring’s k…
Bulgaria secretly supplied Ukraine fuel and ammunition in first months of war
Pro-Russia sympathies meant operation providing crucial help was covert, reveal politicians involvedRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesBulgaria, one of the poorest EU members and long perceived as pro-Moscow, helped Ukraine survive Russia’s early …
French mayor says Madonna ‘likely’ has painting lost during WWI, asks for loan
The mayor of Amiens in northern France has released a video “requesting” that Madonna “loan” the city a painting from her personal collection which resembles one lost there during World War I.
France braces for ‘Black Thursday’ general strike over pension changes
Union leaders call for ‘massive mobilisation’ to oppose latest attempt to overhaul pension systemFrance is braced for widespread chaos as unions and protesters call for a “Black Thursday” general strike this week against the government’s pension change…