Austria has passed a law banning headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14. The conservative-led coalition of three centrist parties, the ÖVP, the SPÖ and the Neos, says the law is a “clear commitment to gender equality”, but critics say it will fuel anti-Muslim feeling in the …

Four French men purposely travelled to Australia’s capital city to allegedly carry out a multi-million-dollar heist which included a Swiss-made “Smiley” watch worth A$5m ($3.3m, £2.5m), police say. The quartet came to Australia in October and broke into a property in Canberra, where they allegedly made off with more than …

Portugal is facing severe disruption to transport, flights, hospitals, schools and other public services on Thursday, as the two main union federations stage a general strike over unprecedented labour reforms. The last time the CGTP and the generally less militant UGT joined forces was during the eurozone debt crisis in …

Reuters The former French president wrote about his brief imprisonment for criminal conspiracy Rushed out in under three weeks, Nicolas Sarkozy’s new book “A Prisoner’s Diary” has plenty of colour about what it’s like for a former president to find himself in the isolation wing of a French jail. We …

The leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella has welcomed “for the most part” concerns raised about Europe in US President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy. Last week, the White House published a document which outlined Trump’s vision of the world and the state of the European …

James GallagherHealth and science correspondent Shutterstock The donor’s sperm was used in clinics across Europe (stock image) A sperm donor who unknowingly harboured a genetic mutation that dramatically raises the risk of cancer has fathered at least 197 children across Europe, a major investigation has revealed. Some children have already …

Reuters French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces a crucial test on Tuesday as the country’s divided parliament prepares to vote on a 2026 budget bill. If Lecornu fails to win a majority in the National Assembly for his social security budget, it bodes ill for the main budget bill which …

The Lithuanian government has declared a “nationwide emergency situation” in response to a series of incursions from neighbouring Belarus by weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes. Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene condemned the balloon incursions as a “hybrid attack” by Belarus that posed a real risk to national security and civil aviation. …

Alex Bish & Jonathan EdenSouth East investigations team Adele the sniffer dog searches lorries and coaches for small boats smuggled into Europe More than 1,600 miles (2,574km) from the white cliffs of Dover is one of the world’s busiest land borders. Customs staff use an English pointer called Adele to …

Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent in Pavlohrad BBC/Matthew Goddard Ukrainian soldiers in Pokrovsk show a Ukrainian flag to prove the city has not yet fallen Pokrovsk has not fallen yet. That is despite President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that Russian forces have taken the city. There is no doubt Ukraine has been …

Reuters While peace talks continue, so does fighting along the front line in eastern Ukraine Ukraine is preparing to present a revised peace plan to the White House, as it seeks to avoid making territorial concessions to Russia. Kyiv is set propose alternatives to the US after President Volodymyr Zelensky …

Katya AdlerBBC Europe editor Getty Images On Monday Zelensky held talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has met key European allies as he faces US pressure to reach a swift peace deal with Russia. In …

A water leak at the Louvre museum in Paris has damaged hundreds of works, just weeks after thieves stole priceless French crown jewels from the museum in broad daylight. The museum’s deputy administrator, Francis Steinbock, said between 300-400 works, mostly books, were affected by the leak – and that the …

Russia has welcomed Donald Trump’s new US National Security Strategy, calling it “largely consistent” with Moscow’s vision. The 33-page document, unveiled by the US administration last week, suggests Europe is facing “civilisational erasure” and does not cast Russia as a threat to the US. Combatting foreign influence, ending mass migration, …

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 is set to take place in February. BBC News

Patrick Jacksonand Emma Brancatisano Reuters Recruits on live-fire exercises in Ahlen, Germany, last month Some of Europe’s biggest Nato members are moving to strengthen their professional armies through voluntary national service schemes. Large conscripted armies were a feature of Nato states during the Cold War but they dwindled in size …

Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after it was decided Israel could compete. BBC News

Which countries are boycotting Eurovision and why? BBC News

Paul KirbyEurope digital editor BELGA MAG/AFP Federica Mogherini became rector of the prestigious College of Europe in Belgium in 2020 Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief until 2019, has resigned from a leading role in Belgium after she was detained for questioning and accused in connection with an anti-corruption …

President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow disagrees with parts of a US plan on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after talks with US negotiators in the Kremlin. “At times we said that yes, we can discuss this, but to that we can’t agree,” Putin told India Today. He did …