BBC The Dutch centrist liberal party of Rob Jetten has won Wednesday’s neck-and-neck election race, according to vote analysis indicating it cannot be beaten by anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders. Jetten’s D66 currently has a narrow lead of 15,000 votes over Wilders’ Freedom Party, and Dutch news agency ANP says even …

“It’s not something you expect,” says Franz Zehetner, who opened a parcel addressed to Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral to discover a skull inside. The cathedral archivist admits to being taken aback by the package, but alongside the skull was a letter of explanation. A man in northern Germany said he …

Latvian MPs have voted to withdraw from an international accord aimed at protecting women from violence, including domestic abuse, after a long and intense debate in parliament. Several thousand people protested against the vote this week in Riga. It is now up to President Edgars Rinkevics to decide whether to …

Five more suspects have been arrested over their involvement in the Louvre heist, Paris’ public prosecutor has said. They were arrested on Wednesday night in the Paris region, Laure Beccuau’s office said. A main suspect was among those taken into custody, AFP reported. The new arrests come after two men …

Guy HedgecoeIn Benetússer, Valencia region Getty Images More than 230 people died in eastern Spain as a result of the 29 October 2024 floods The last time Toñi García saw her husband, Miguel, and 24-year-old daughter, Sara – their only child – was when flash floods struck their hometown of …

Romania’s defence ministry has said the US intends to reduce some of its troops stationed on Nato’s eastern flank. Between 900 and 1,000 American troops will remain in Romania, Bucharest said – down from 1,700. The ministry said the decision was expected and that the “resizing” of US forces was …

Two suspects have been arrested over the theft of precious crown jewels from Paris’s Louvre museum, French media say. According to Le Parisien newspaper, the men were originally from the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, and one was preparing to board a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Items of inestimable …

Two cooling towers of a nuclear plant have been demolished in the German town of Gundremmingen, having been a fixture of the landscape since 1980. Thick clouds of white smoke and dust rose into the air as the towers collapsed during a controlled demolition with explosives. The nuclear plant has …

More than 20 nations supporting Ukraine have pledged to “take Russian oil and gas off the global market” as part of efforts to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war. “We’re choking off funding for Russia’s war machine,” said UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, after hosting a summit …

Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent, Lossiemouth BBC / Dave Bull John Healey says there has been a rise in Russian vessels threatening UK waters Defence Secretary John Healey has a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We’re hunting your submarines.” There has been a “30% rise in Russian vessels threatening UK waters”, …

A German company inadvertently embroiled in the Louvre Museum heist after one of its lifts was used in the theft is making the most of its free publicity – by launching a new advertising campaign. Werne-based firm Böcker this week published a social media post featuring the now famous image …

Getty Images Áras an Uachtaráin, which is located in Phoenix Park, Dublin, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland People in the Republic of Ireland will head to the polls on Friday to elect their 10th president. Voters will choose between Independent TD Catherine Connolly, …

Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondent ‘A hugely symbolic moment’: Watch Pope and King Charles pray together King Charles and Pope Leo made history in the Sistine Chapel by praying side by side – a first for the leaders of the Church of England and Catholic Church. Under the scrutinising eyes of Michelangelo’s …

Ukraine’s president has urged the European Union to back a plan to release billions of euros in frozen Russian cash to help fund the country’s defence. As EU leaders met in Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped they would make a “positive decision” about using €140bn (£122bn) in Russian assets …

Steve RosenbergBBC Russia Editor Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via Reuters and Reuters One week ago I had the distinct feeling it was Groundhog Day, or as the Russians call it, Dyen Surka. Amid US threats to pressure Moscow – by supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine – Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump …

Reuters The price tag of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery has been put at well above $486bn European leaders aim to endorse controversial plans to use Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The unprecedented proposal for what the EU has dubbed a “reparations loan” …

Astra/Telegram CCTV cameras captured the moment of the blast in Kopeisk near Chelyabinsk An explosion at a Russian factory in the Urals producing ammunition and weapons for the military has left at least 10 people dead, reports say. Witnesses described seeing explosions and a fireball at the Plastmass military plant …

PA Media A migrant who was sent back to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme later returned to the UK on another small boat, the BBC understands. More than 36,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats since the start of 2025. At the Labour …

Reuters New sanctions announced by the US have blacklisted Russia’s two largest oil producers US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced “tremendous” new sanctions against two of Russia’s largest oil companies, in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending the war on Ukraine. The sanctions, announced via Trump’s Truth Social …

Andrew HardingBBC News, in Paris and Gravelines Videos shared with the BBC shows a police boat circling a small boat in a shallow canal near the sea in Gravelines France is backing away from a recent commitment to intervene more forcefully at sea to stop small boats from crossing the …