All Europe
- First LookUkraine calls on UN to counter Russia’s ‘nuclear blackmail’
President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, in response to Ukraine’s support from the West. Ukraine has asked for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, calling on nations’ “special responsibility” in the war.
- First LookMacron ‘is not a king’: 1 million French protest pension reform
Over a million people protested across France Thursday to oppose President Macron’s proposal to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Amid violent nationwide demonstrations, unions called for strikes to coincide with King Charles III’s visit.
- Has war in Ukraine sealed the bond between Russia and China?
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin’s summit in Moscow was nominally meant to be about bringing peace to Ukraine. But it appears to have strengthened the countries’ partnership against the West.
- Ukraine to invade? Russia plotting? Rumors fly in Moldova amid protests.
In Ukraine’s neighbor Moldova, the war is exacerbating old tensions as the country’s East-West divides bring protesters onto the streets.
- First LookBanking giant UBS is acquiring troubled rival Credit Suisse
Banking giant UBS is acquiring smaller rival Credit Suisse in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in global banking, Swiss President Alain Berset announced.
- First LookInternational Criminal Court targets Putin, issues arrest warrant
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Court says Mr. Putin is allegedly responsible for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
- ‘Life doesn’t stop, it just changes’: Entrepreneurs flourish in Odesa
After a hard winter, optimism is returning to Odesa’s businesspeople. Small and medium enterprises are coming to life, expanding and launching new products despite the war.
- First LookPension pains plague Paris, as Macron raises retirement age by force
Protests in Paris continue to mount against President Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64, which he is pushing through parliament without a vote. Opposition plans a no-confidence vote on the government led by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
- First LookRight-wing ‘folksy nationalism’ party wins in Dutch elections
The Farmer Citizen Movement in the Netherlands, which focuses on rural issues, has won its first provincial elections. The populist right-wing party’s victory is seen as a triumph over Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s four-party coalition currently in power.
- Safe space: In liberated Lyman, dank but familiar cellar is still home
Russian forces were driven from the Ukrainian village of Lyman months ago, but the fighting is too close to give many residents the confidence to return to their homes. Underground is security, and community.
- By sharing housing, seniors and migrants in Sweden build bridges
Migrant youths and Swedish seniors face different difficulties, but help each other solve them in a shared-living project, finding common ground.
- Bakhmut battle lays bare high stakes for both sides in Ukraine war
Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have died in 10 months of fighting for Bakhmut. Kyiv sees the battle as key to homeland defense.
- First LookHamburg rocked by shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses congregation
A gunman killed six people at his Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation in Hamburg, Germany, before taking his own life. An anonymous tip to the police stated that the motive was likely to be anger toward religious groups.
- Rattled by Ukraine war, Georgia wrestles with tighter societal controls
As its huge neighbor wages war in Ukraine, Georgia is finding its own society polarizing between those who distrust Russia and those who want to avoid entanglement in the West’s anti-Kremlin efforts.
- FocusOn Ukraine’s front: Grit, gratitude – and hope for West’s weapons
What does it take to win a war? In a tour of Ukraine’s long eastern front, fighters say they still have determination and hope. What they need is more and better weapons.
- First LookBattle for Bakhmut: Will Ukraine triumph or fall to Russian forces?
Ukranian President Zelenskyy has vowed not to give up on the eastern city of Bakhmut despite a six-month-long siege by Russia. The strenuous defense of the city has a symbolic value for Ukraine’s resilience in the ongoing fight against Russia’s aggression.
- Climate activists too radical? They point to suffragettes as a comparison.
Activists are taking radical steps, like gluing themselves to streets, to draw attention to the climate crisis. Such acts, if unpopular, fall in line with earlier, violent moral crusaders like British suffragettes.
- First LookWho is responsible? Greece faces hard questions after train wreck.
Rail strikes have halted national rail services in Greece after a deadly crash killed nearly 60 people. Family members are assisting in the search for missing relatives. Officials say the crash will lead to a full safety overhaul of the country’s rail system.
- First LookYes, we have no tomatoes today. Britain faces salad shortage.
For the past few weeks, Britain has experienced a shortage of fresh vegetables. The problem seems to be unique to the United Kingdom, leading some to wonder if Brexit is to blame.
- Will exiled Kurds pay price of Sweden’s NATO entry?
Turkey holds the key to Sweden's application to join NATO. Ankara's demands that Stockholm drop its support for Kurdish independence groups is worrying Kurdish exiles.