All Europe
- First LookHow a tech worker and hacker team aims to save migrants lost at sea
The Mediterranean is the most dangerous route for migrants – nearly 28,000 have died or gone missing en route. Enter the tech activist Nik Zimke of One Fleet, whose app will assist search and rescue missions, pinpointing lost migrant ships.
- First LookTower of London has a new ravenmaster. His mission is unflappable.
Legend has it that the Kingdom of England will fall if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London. There’s one man standing between Britain and certain peril – and it’s Michael “Barney” Chandler’s first day on the job.
- Why Europe’s ambitious Green Deal hinges on farmers
Farmers in Europe demand slower shift to climate-friendly agriculture. Can they halt the green transition?
- In France, a new prescription for mental health: Museum visits
Can going to a museum be therapeutic? A partnership of therapists, health care workers, and educators in France is creating pathways for doctors to “prescribe” museum visits and art interactions to those needing mental health care.
- French cinema has a sexual abuse problem. Why is it persisting?
Auteurs and actors are held in high esteem in France. That may be in part why the country is still wrestling with sexual abuse scandals involving some of its cinematic leading lights.
- The ExplainerWhat has two years of war cost Ukraine and Russia?
The war in Ukraine has tallied massive costs in lives, money, and materiel not just for the combatants, Ukraine and Russia, but for much of the world. It will take years before restoration is even within reach.
- Ukraine: After two years of war, the abnormal is the new normal
How has Lyman, a battered community in eastern Ukraine, endured two years of a war that never feels far away? Children need a secure routine. Services need to be restored. Yet everywhere, still, is uncertainty.
- First LookWith fighter jets in hand, Hungary ready to approve Sweden’s NATO bid
A new defense deal between Hungary and Sweden marks an easing of tensions between the countries. Their cooperation comes at a critical moment as Sweden is poised to join NATO.
- After two years of war, Russia finds itself frozen, but transformed
Between Alexei Navalny’s death and the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is in transition. The public may be going along with the war, but the country’s space for expression is shrinking.
- First LookHelp at the border: Albania agrees to receive Italy’s asylum seekers
Once a haven for Albanian émigrés from communism, Italy will send new asylum seekers to Albania while they await visa approval. Albania’s parliament approved Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s plan to stem the migrant crisis.
- Outgunned, Ukrainians watch Congress while facing Russians
In the midst of a grim third winter of a grinding war, Ukrainian soldiers voice mixed emotions: gratitude for U.S. support so far, but concern that Americans unsure of their global role won’t supply the ammunition the soldiers need to stop Russia.
- New leader wants to ‘clean up’ Poland. Does public trust him to do so?
Poland’s government wants to clean up the excesses of its populist predecessor. But do so too quickly and it risks repeating the patterns that caused the former government to violate public trust in the first place.
- First LookRussian forces seize eastern Ukrainian city Avdiivka
Russian forces have taken complete control of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. The announcement came the same day that Ukraine’s military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the city where outnumbered defenders battled a Russian assault for four months.
- With Navalny’s death, Russia’s opposition loses its last leader
Many in the West saw Alexei Navalny as the Russian opposition’s most promising challenger to Vladimir Putin. His death in prison on Friday brings a tragic end to a struggle the Kremlin had already largely contained.
- Europe casts wary eye as Americans debate engagement with world
U.S. willingness to stay engaged on the global stage is on display this week amid a trio of security meetings in Brussels and Munich.
- First LookAs birth rates plummet, Europe questions existing incentives
Birth rates are dropping to record lows in Europe, following worldwide trends. France, Italy, and Finland are searching for ways to incentivize people to produce more children, including tax credits and increased social welfare programs.
- Poland appears torn by abortion. Research hints divide isn’t so deep.
Poland seems like a bitterly divided country, especially over hot-button topics like abortion. But there’s middle ground to be found, thanks to empathy among even the most conservative Poles.
- Northern Ireland’s lessons for Gaza: Peace is possible
A recent session in the Northern Ireland Assembly had a powerful message for those seeking a cease-fire in Gaza and eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace.
- ‘Thank you’ matters: Why a stronger society starts with your bus driver
Saying hello can go a long way in building social connections, and researchers in London found a simple way to encourage such behavior.
- Tucker Carlson is interviewing Putin. What’s in it for the Kremlin?
To hear it from Tucker Carlson or his Russian fans, his soon-to-be aired interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin is an exercise in journalistic parity. But both Mr. Carlson and the Kremlin are pushing agendas.