All Europe
First LookHow wind and solar is restoring Ukraine’s energy and resisting Russian missile attacksRussia has consistently targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities, forcing companies to constantly rebuild and go weeks without power. Clean energy has begun to replace damaged coal and gas power plants, and it is proving more reliable and harder to destroy.
First LookEurope nations investigate cut cables in the Baltic Sea. Was it Russian sabotage?Communication cables linking Finland to Germany and Sweden to Lithuania have been cut. European governments say Russia did it, which it denies. “No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally,” says German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
First LookNow UK farmers have a reason to protest. They say a tax hike will destroy family farms.Thousands of farmers flooded the streets of London protesting an inheritance tax on agricultural land that they say would devastate family farms. The U.K. government says the tax would mainly affect rich individuals who bought farmland as an investment.
First LookUkraine has been waiting to strike deep into Russia. Is Biden’s approval too late?Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy can now use U.S.-built long range missiles to strike deep into Russia. The Biden administration gave him permission as North Korean troops come to Russia’s aid and Donald Trump prepares to take over the presidency.
Ukraine’s Pokrovsk was about to fall to Russia 2 months ago. It’s hanging on.The story of the grinding Russian-Ukrainian land battle is one of an imbalance of forces and supplies, mostly in Russia’s favor. Yet Ukraine finds ways to defy the odds, at least for a while.
Trump leaves European allies fearing for their futureDonald Trump is set on weakening Western support for Ukraine and weakening Europe’s economy with tariffs. Can the continent withstand a dual assault?
A British ‘culture warrior’? Kemi Badenoch sets Conservatives on populist path.After a record defeat in Britain’s last election, many Conservatives decided that they needed to be more populist. Their selection of Kemi Badenoch as party leader locks in that agenda.
They took up arms to fight Russia. They’ve taken up pens to express themselves.Ukrainian soldier-poets are springing up all along the front lines of their war against Russia, feeding a literary renaissance.
First LookUkrainian drones strike Moscow as Russia looks toward Trump’s presidencyA massive drone strike has rattled Moscow and its suburbs, injuring several people and temporarily halting traffic at some of Russia’s busiest airports. Meanwhile a huge nighttime wave of Russian drones targeted Ukraine.
The Berlin Wall fell 35 years ago. Young east Germans fall for relics of the time.When the Berlin Wall fell, East German “stuff” went to landfills. The nostalgia of identity is creating a new market for communist-era goods.
First LookGermany can’t balance its budget. Now its government is in free fall.Germany’s governing coalition fell apart on Nov. 6 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz tried to push through a plan to borrow more money in support of the Ukrainian war effort. Years of tension peaked when the fiscally conservative Free Democrats jumped ship.
Ukraine’s jittery new reality: ‘Work with Trump and hope for the best’Ukrainians followed the U.S. presidential contest almost as if it were their own, nervously expressing the sense that their country’s future hung in the balance of an election in which they had no say.
First LookCargo packages waiting for North American flights ignited. Officials blame Russia.Intended for cargo planes headed to North America, the incendiary devices ignited while in storage in Germany and England. Linking the plot to Russia, Western security officials say the Kremlin is sabotaging Ukraine’s allies.
First LookMoldova’s pro-West president, reelected, slams external ‘hostile forces’President Maia Sandu won a second term in a runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent, Alexandr Stoianoglo, in a race that was overshadowed by claims of Russian interference, voter fraud, and intimidation in the European Union candidate country.
An unwanted kiss shook Spanish soccer – and society. A new documentary explores why.Just as the Spanish women’s national team was celebrating its 2023 World Cup victory, it found itself embroiled in a fight with the soccer federation president over an unwanted kiss. A Netflix documentary looks at the scandal.
First LookSpain’s recent floods are the worst in living memory. What caused them?Three days after flash floods swept through towns in Spain, residents are working together to pick up the pieces. The floods followed battles with prolonged droughts in 2022 and 2023. Experts say drought and flood cycles are increasing with climate change.
First LookUkraine’s AI drones are now actively deployed in combat. And they hit targets.Rolled out to combat Russian signal jamming, Ukraine is deploying new AI systems to drive its drone warfare. Early tests find the automated pilots are far more likely to hit targets, though only a small proportion of Ukraine’s fleet uses the new technology.
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years. How did he last so long?The Russian public is generally satisfied with how their country has transformed under Vladimir Putin. But that’s less because of his attributes and more a reflection of Russian history and culture.
The French love to hate ‘Emily in Paris.’ But they won’t let her leave.“Emily in Paris,” the cult Netflix series French viewers love to hate, is hinting at a move to Rome. Fans, from President Macron on down, are indignant.
At BRICS summit, Russia tries to build a world without the USRussia has long aspired to use the BRICS bloc of countries to circumvent the U.S.-dominated global economic system. The group’s latest meeting shows how much progress Russia has made – and how other BRICS members keep that goal from being fully realized.
