Author: Press Room

Published on 18/05/2026 – 12:26 GMT+2 Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine in its latest overnight drone and missile barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, with local authorities reporting that the strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Russian forces fired 524 attack drones and 22 ballistic and cruise missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Air raid alerts remain in effect across many border and frontline communities, but our services are operating wherever the security situation allows,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “Russia relies on ballistic missiles to strike people and that is precisely…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 12:01 GMT+2 The former chief of staff of Ukraine’s President Volodmyr Zelenskyy was released on €2.7million bail on Monday after spending four days in custody as part of a major anti-corruption investigation. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The bail was reportedly paid by multiple sources after Andriy Yermak said on 13 May that he could not afford to pay it himself and would “rely on friends for help.” According to Ukraine’s anti-corruption investigators, Yermak is a suspect in a large money laundering probe tied to the construction of a luxury residence complex outside Kyiv. If convicted, he could face…

Poland’s ambitious push to build a hydrogen-powered public transport system is faltering, with several buses halted by soaring fuel costs and fragile infrastructure, according to a new report by the NGO Central and Eastern Europe Bankwatch Network. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Polish municipalities embraced hydrogen buses largely because subsidy schemes covered up to 100% of vehicle purchase costs, while electric buses typically received only 60–80% support, according to the report. But once hydrogen buses entered service, operators discovered the fuel was dramatically more expensive than electricity. The analysis argues that hydrogen buses were promoted as a shortcut to green transport, backed by…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 9:00 GMT+2 Months after a historic EU Free Trade Agreement, this tour executes that “mother of all deals” by balancing Brussels with individual capitals. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Over the weekend, Modi met with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. The Netherlands is a key trading partner for India, with bilateral trade worth nearly €26bn ($28bn). The immediate prize is a €10.2bn ($11bn) semiconductor deal between Tata Electronics and Dutch firm ASML to build a microchip plant in western India. It is a textbook example of Europe’s “China plus one” strategy, as Western companies rush to diversify supply chains…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 9:08 GMT+2 Around 10 “new” suspected victims have come forward as part of a French probe into the network of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a prosecutor said on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT France opened a human trafficking investigation after the US Justice Department released the latest cache of files from the investigation into the disgraced financier in January, who died in prison in 2019 while facing charges of trafficking underage girls for sex. French magistrates are seeking to investigate possible offences committed in France or involving French perpetrators who facilitated his crimes. Top Paris prosecutor…

Published on 18/05/2026 – 7:58 GMT+2•Updated 8:01 Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party suffered a bruising defeat in Andalusia’s regional elections. Europe Today’s Europe Editor Maria Tadeo analyses what the result could mean for Spain, Brussels and Europe. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Also on today’s show: The latest on the war in Ukraine after a deadly drone strike on Moscow killed four people and injured dozens, in one of the most significant attacks on Russian soil since the start of the full-scale invasion. The World Health Organisation declares a global health emergency over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as world…

The count has only just begun and the figures are still preliminary, but the Sigma Dos exit poll for ‘Canal Sur’ already points to a clear winner: Juanma Moreno would again secure an absolute majority in Andalusia. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The PP would take between 56 and 59 seats, roughly matching the 58 they held in the outgoing parliament and above the 55 needed for an absolute majority. If confirmed, Moreno would govern alone for another four years, without having to sit down to negotiate with anyone. The PSOE, led in Andalusia by María Jesús Montero, by contrast, is failing to…

Published on 17/05/2026 – 20:38 GMT+2 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Sweden on Sunday, the second stop of a tour through Europe that also includes the Netherlands, Norway and Italy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In Gothenburg, Modi met with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen at the European Business Round Table for Industry to meet with European and Indian business leaders. “This will also deepen investment linkages between India and Europe,” Modi said in a post on X ahead of the event. Von der Leyen reiterated the commitment to the EU-India trade agreement,…

Investigators have ruled out that terrorism was at play after a man drove a car into crowd in the Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The driver, a 31-year-old Italian man of Moroccan heritage, hit several people before crashing into a shop window, colliding head-on with a woman. Four people were in critical condition following the incident, authorities said. The driver, an economics graduate born in 1995 who was not known to the police, went through a spell of “psychological disturbance” in 2022, city prefect Fabrizia Triolo said at a news conference on Saturday. “He…

Published on 17/05/2026 – 13:15 GMT+2 Former British health secretary Wes Streeting has labelled the UK’s decision to leave the European Union a “catastrophic mistake” as he launches his bid to become the country’s next prime minister. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Streeting, who quit his Cabinet position earlier this month, has openly called for Keir Starmer to resign as leader, and told reporters on Saturday that he would stand in any leadership race. Speaking at the Labour Party’s Progress conference, Streeting also took aim at Brexit. “At the core are three big important choices we have to make as a country that…