A Russian warship, shadowed by a Royal Navy vessel, carried out a live-fire artillery exercise just 40 nautical miles south of Plymouth on Monday. The Royal Navy monitored the exercise and is continuing to “track the vessel’s activity closely”, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson said. The Russian frigate, Neustrashimy, …

The Spain World Cup champions met with King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters, Princess Leonor and Princess Sofía after arriving back home in Madrid. The royal family payed tribute to the team’s talent, determination and historic achievement. The team capped off the celebrations with a raucous open-top bus …

A Shropshire blacksmith is part of a team that has been invited to Denmark to forge an authentic anchor for a reconstructed Viking ship. Rowan Taylor, who is based in Ellesmere, said the trip to Aggersborg to take part in the project was a “dream work trip” because he had …

The death toll of a Russian strike on a cargo ship off the coast of the Ukrainian city of Odesa has risen to 10. The Guinea-Bissau-flagged ship was hit by Russian cruise missiles on Sunday, the Ukrainian Air Force said, causing a fire. A search and rescue operation was launched …

Days ahead of Sunday’s final, Messi, now 39, described Yamal as “one of the best” footballers right now. “He’s a tremendous player – a global star. He’s 19 years old and has his whole career ahead of him. I wish him the best, but we’ll give it our all to …

A 13-year-old boy was killed after part of a fountain collapsed in Salamanca province, northwestern Spain, during the country’s World Cup victory celebrations. Two other young people were injured, emergency services told the BBC, including one child who was taken to hospital with a possible broken bone in his leg. …

Ukraine is struggling to mobilise men to fight in the war against Russia as the conflict enters into its fifth year. The reasons many people are hesitant to sign up range from plain fear of the front line to a reluctance to fight in a war with no end in …

Norway has opened a new memorial for the 77 victims of the country’s deadliest terror attack in peacetime, days before its 15th anniversary. On 22 July 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Breivik killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo and shot dead another 69 – mostly teenagers – at a …

The EU’s new border system has nearly tripled the time it’s taking for Brits to get through passport control even after improvements have been made, a boss at Rome’s main airport has said. It comes as Ryanair has warned passengers travelling to Europe this summer to prepare for extended waits. …

Cracking down on the shadow economy has become a key goal for the Kremlin. Before the VAT rise took effect, Putin warned the new rules must not push firms into the shadows and called for a “radical reduction in illegal employment”. “One arm of the government is trying to squeeze …

Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok has agreed to step down, signing an amendment to the country’s constitution which will end his presidency at midnight on Sunday. Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s Tisza party had used its majority to steamroll the law change through parliament to oust Sulyok – widely seen as a …

Under the 1990 Embryo Protection Act, surrogacy in Germany is punishable with three years imprisonment or a fine. For many German couples, single-sex or heterosexual, surrogacy abroad has become an important option. As recently as February, Spahn’s party signed a resolution reaffirming its support for a ban on the practice …

More than 100 homes have been destroyed by a massive fire burning through Drammen in southern Norway, rescue officials said. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the area, around 30 miles west of Oslo. No casualties or missing people have been reported so far. Dozens of firefighters are working …

Chief among the “fossils”, in the eyes of some of the soldiers who responded to our requests, is Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the austere 60-year-old commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces. Regarded as a national hero four years ago, following his successful defence of Kyiv in the weeks following Russia’s full-scale invasion, …

The European Union has unveiled proposals that would slow cuts to businesses’ greenhouse gas emissions limits, as part of a major climate policy overhaul. The reforms would relax the rules of the bloc’s emissions trading system (ETS) to give businesses more time to reduce their carbon output than previously planned. …

German centre-right politician Jens Spahn has been accused of double standards, after he revealed he and his husband had become parents using a surrogate mother in the US. Surrogacy is banned in Germany – a policy firmly backed by his Christian Democrat party, and several years ago by Spahn himself. …

The 18-year-old was also charged with making preparations to fly a drone over Polish president Karol Nawrocki’s vehicle during last year’s Polish Armed Forces’ Day parade in Warsaw on August 15. He was arrested three days before the event took place. The suspect, who faces life in prison if found …

The former head of Italy’s motorway operator has been given a 12-year prison sentence over the collapse of Genoa’s Morandi bridge in August 2018. Ex-Autostrade per l’Italia chief Giovanni Castellucci was handed a 12-year term – several years less than prosecutors had asked for. Forty-three people died when the motorway …

“This is the worst mistake Zelensky has made during his entire presidency,” Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier, told the BBC. He had signed up to the army earlier this year because he trusted Fedorov’s team and vision, he said: “I don’t know anyone who supports the decision to replace him. Not …

France’s National Assembly has voted to create a right to assisted dying under strict conditions, after years of debate and changes to the proposals. MPs voted by 291 to 241 to back the bill, which had been rejected three times by the upper house of parliament, the Senate. Prime Minister …