MOD The UK military is “so run down” it could not lead a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the former head of the army has said. Lord Dannatt told the BBC that up to 40,000 UK troops would be needed for such a mission and “we just haven’t got that …

Tourists in the popular Portuguese city of Albufeira may soon be banned from wandering its streets in swimwear, or face a hefty fine. The beachside city in the southern Algarve region, a favourite with British holidaymakers, has revised its code of conduct, explicitly prohibiting people from being in a state …

Paul Kirby Europe digital editor VIFOGRA/PAUL/EPA-EFE The attacker admitted using his Mini Cooper to drive into the crowd in Munich An Afghan man arrested on suspicion of driving into a crowd of people in Munich, injuring 36, has admitted carrying out the attack and appears to have had a religious …

James Waterhouse Ukraine correspondent Reporting fromMalokaterynivka BBC/Matthew Goddard Oleksandr is out of work after the loss of his fishing business “I have no plans for the future at all,” says Oleksandr Bezhan, standing next to an empty, frozen paddock where he used to work as a fisherman on the bank …

An Afghan asylum seeker drove a car at a group of people in Munich, police say, injuring at least 28 people. The suspected car ramming attack happened on Thursday, a day before several world leaders are expected to arrive in the city for a security conference. BBC reporter Daniel Wittenberg …

Getty Images The driver, an Afghan asylum-seeker, was detained at the scene, officials said At least 30 people have been injured, some seriously, after a car was driven into a crowd in Munich, just a week before the country’s federal elections. The driver was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, police …

Lucy Clarke-Billings BBC News Getty Images A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a crowd in the German city of Munich on Thursday, injuring at least 30 people, police have said. Officers said they were treating the incident as a suspected attack. Here’s what we know about the …

Jeremy Bowen International Editor Reporting fromKyiv, Ukraine Reuters America is under new management. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is joining a growing list of US allies who are finding that the world according to Donald Trump is a colder, more uncertain and potentially more dangerous place for them. It must have …

Drone footage shows Europe’s tallest volcano spewing smoke and lava on a snow-capped Mount Etna. Lava and ash emissions have increased in the last few days, primarily from the summit craters. Located on the Italian island of Sicily, Etna is also Europe’s most active volcano, though its outbursts rarely cause …

Reuters Michael Schumacher has not been seen since he suffered serious brain injuries in a ski accident in 2013 Three men have been convicted by a German court of trying to blackmail the family of ex-Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher. Yilmaz T, 53, was jailed for three years for threatening …

Paul Kirby Europe digital editor CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/POOL/AFP v Foreign ministers from major European countries joined their Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday, as news of Trump’s call with Putin emerged Arriving at Nato headquarters early on Thursday, Europe’s defence ministers had one common message – that there could be no negotiations …

TERRES AUSTRALES ET ANTARCTIQUES FRANCAISES The Indian Ocean island does not have any permanent residents but there is a scientific research station For nearly a month the French territory of Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean has been engulfed in flames. Located about halfway between Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar, …

Austria’s far-right populist Freedom Party says it has ended its attempts to form a coalition government with the conservative People’s Party, ÖVP. The announcement follows several weeks of heated negotiations and marks the second time coalition talks have failed since September’s election. The ÖVP first attempted to form a three-party …

When anti-mafia police swooped on the Sicilian mob on Tuesday, their main aim was to stop them regrouping and creating a new governing body or cupola. But what has emerged from their wide-ranging investigation is an organised crime group having to adapt to modern realities and displaying a nostalgia for …

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said it is “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders, when Russia first took control of Crimea. Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels, Hegseth said it would only be possible to establish a “durable peace” …

Theo Leggett International business correspondent BBC For decades, car-making has been the jewel in Germany’s industrial crown, a powerful symbol of the country’s famous post-war economic miracle. Its “Big Three” brands, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, have long been praised for their performance, innovation and precision engineering. But today, the German …

A Swedish woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing genocide and war crimes against the Yazidi people after she joined jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Lina Ishaq, 52, was found guilty of holding three Yazidi women and six Yazidi children as slaves in Raqqa …

Luis Rubiales has told a court that Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso gave her consent before he kissed her after the Women’s World Cup final in 2023. The former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is on trial accused of sexual assault and attempting to coerce Ms Hermoso into …

As well as gender, migration and economic issues, social media is playing a part. Platforms like TikTok allow political groups to bypass mainstream, traditional media, which the far-right regard as hostile. It’s clear that AfD “dominates” TikTok when compared to other German parties, says Mauritius Dorn from the Institute for …

His popularity has been boosted by efforts to extend government control over the ethnic-Serb majority north. But that has antagonised Kosovo’s main backers – the EU and the US. Opposition parties advocate a more conciliatory approach, and have criticised the government’s handling of the economy. The centre-right LDK has campaigned …