Viasna/Odnoklassiki Julia Fenner was given a seven-year jail term last month UK-Belarus dual citizen Julia Fenner, who is the wife of a British diplomat, has been freed from prison by Belarus as part of a broader release agreed with the US. She had been given a long jail term last …

The Dutch public broadcaster, Avrotros, has confirmed the Netherlands will also boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest if Israel is involved. It follows Irish broadcaster RTÉ, which has said it will not take part if Israel does “given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza”. Eurovision will take …

Secondary schools in two neighbouring towns in the Netherlands were told to shut on Friday because of a spate of violence involving two groups of young people. All five schools in Beverwijk and Heemskerk have been closed in a bid to restore calm after images circulated of teenagers being attacked, …

French children under 15 should be banned from social media and there should be an overnight “digital curfew” for 15-18 year olds, a parliamentary commission has recommended. The six-month inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors has found that the short video-sharing platform “knowingly exposes our children, our …

Reuters Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Wednesday’s incident a “large-scale provocation” by Russia Nato members are sending troops, artillery, and air defence systems to secure its eastern flank after what Poland called an unprecedented Russian drone incursion into its airspace. In the early hours of Wednesday, three Russian drones …

Orla GuerinSenior International Correspondent, Istanbul BBC For 13 terrifying seconds on 23 April this year, Turkey’s largest city was shaken by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. It was so strong that 151 people leapt from buildings in Istanbul in panic causing injuries, but no deaths. But the Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, could …

EPA Protests took place nationwide following a call by grassroots movement Bloquons Tout (“Let’s Block Everything”) France is seeing a day of protests led by a grassroots movement named Bloquons Tout (“Let’s Block Everything”) in a show of anger against the political class and proposed budget cuts. The demonstrations are …

Sarah RainsfordBBC correspondent in Kyiv Inside Kyiv government building hit by missile strike Ukraine has shown reporters fragments of the missile it says hit a key government building in Kyiv this weekend, identifying it as a Russian Iskander cruise missile. Officials here now believe the building was struck deliberately in …

Getty Images France’s Emmanuel Macron has had time to prepare to name a new prime minister French President Emmanuel Macron has come under pressure to name a new prime minister quickly after François Bayrou lost a vote of no confidence and on Tuesday handed him his resignation. The fall of …

The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford says Sunday’s attack caused “a huge amount of damage”. BBC News

Norway’s Labour party under Jonas Gahr Støre has won a second term in general elections, ahead of a populist right-wing party that doubled its vote. In a country used to minority governments, Labour has a chance of forming a narrow two-seat majority in the 169-seat Storting, if it secures the …

A former anaesthetist has gone on trial in the city of Besançon, in eastern France, accused of intentionally poisoning 30 people, including 12 patients who died. Frédéric Péchier, 53, considered by colleagues to be a highly-talented practitioner, was first placed under investigation eight years ago, when he was suspected of …

More than three million people watched a segment about Guernsey on French television, the States of Guernsey has said. The six-minute prime-time slot on national TV channel M6 featured a tour of Victor Hugo’s house, a visit to the spot where Auguste Renoir created some of his paintings, and visits …

The first millennial saint has been canonised by Pope Leo on Sunday, with thousands attending the ceremony in Rome. Carlo Acutis, a London-born Italian boy, died of leukaemia in 2006, aged 15. He has been labelled “the patron saint of the internet” for his work recording miracles online, and running …

Police in the Czech Republic have finally arrested the driver of a Formula 1-type racing car which had been spotted on the motorway on numerous occasions since 2019. The red racing car, decked out in full Ferrari livery, was followed to a property in the village of Buk, some 60km …

One of Kyiv’s main government buildings has been damaged in overnight missile and drone strikes by Russia. Until now, no government building has been hit with the centre of Kyiv very heavily defended since the start of the full-scale invasion. Elsewhere in the city, several multi-storey residential buildings were struck …

Alex MaxiaBBC News, in Norway STIAN LYSBERG SOLUM/NTB/AFP Conservative Erna Solberg is challenged by Labour’s Jonas Gahr Støre during a TV debate in the run-up to the election Norwegians go to the polls on Sunday and Monday in a tight race to decide whether to continue with a Labour-led government …

Portuguese officials investigating Wednesday’s deadly funicular crash in Lisbon say a cable along the railway’s route snapped, but the rest of the mechanism was functioning properly. “After examining the wreckage at the site, it was immediately determined that the cable connecting the two carriages had given way,” the preliminary report …

Italian designer Donatella Versace carried a bouquet of white flowers as she arrived to pay tribute to the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani. Armani’s coffin is on public view this weekend in Milan, Italy, before a private funeral on Monday. The designer’s casket was surrounded by candles at the Armani/Teatro …

As Sonia Silva prepared to leave work on Wednesday evening, she was asked by a colleague to help with a quick task. It meant she missed her regular funicular ride down the hill with a work friend on their commute home from the office in the centre of Lisbon. When …