By Paul Kirby In Paris French elections 2022 Emmanuel Macron has done something no other French president has achieved before: winning re-election while still being in charge of his own government. The centrist president’s victory over Marine Le Pen may have been convincing, but he has a problem. There are new elections around […]
By Reality Check and BBC Monitoring BBC News Russia-Ukraine war Video footage has emerged from the city of Mariupol in Ukraine showing the bodies of more than 20 civilians lying along a main road. The graphic videos, posted on social media in recent days, come as the United Nations has confirmed that it is […]
By Matt Murphy BBC News Russia-Ukraine war Russia is aiming to take full control of southern Ukraine as well as the eastern Donbas region, a senior Russian commander says. Maj Gen Rustam Minnekayev was quoted in state media as saying that goal would allow Moscow to form a land bridge to Crimea, which it […]
By Paul Kirby in Paris French elections 2022 The two candidates fighting for the French presidency have launched bitter attacks on each other in a final bid to win over millions of undecided voters before Sunday’s election. Centrist Emmanuel Macron is aiming to become the first sitting president to win a second term for […]
By Toby Luckhurst BBC News, Lviv Russia-Ukraine war Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to seal off Ukrainian defenders inside the besieged port city of Mariupol. Mr Putin told forces to abandon plans to storm the sprawling Azovstal steel works there, where Ukraine is still resisting the invaders. But an official in […]
By Matt Murphy BBC News Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès says she will temporarily step down to care for her husband, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Ms Wilmès, who also serves as deputy prime minister, will take leave until “the end of the summer”, when her family will reassess the situation. She says […]
By Hugh Schofield BBC News, Paris French elections 2022 The first sign that everyone in France will have been looking out for in the debate was whether Marine Le Pen would again be as cringingly awful as she was five years ago. That was when – in the equivalent pre-election encounter with Emmanuel […]
Russia-Ukraine war Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia has launched an assault to seize the eastern Donbas region. Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed on Tuesday along the eastern front line, after Mr. Zelensky said the battle for the Donbas had begun. Ukraine’s top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russia was trying breakthrough Ukrainian […]
By Jessica Parker BBC Brussels correspondent French elections 2022 European Union officials return to work on Tuesday after basking in a balmy bank holiday. But, just over the border, the EU’s future is being fought over in the French presidential election. Far-right candidate, Marine Le Pen, insists she has no secret “Frexit” agenda. But opponents […]
Russia-Ukraine war Ukrainian officials have rejected demands by Russian forces that defenders of the city of Mariupol should lay down their arms. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with ABC that Ukrainian forces still in the city would “fight to the end”. Troops of the Azov Battalion are still holed up in […]
