Europe

• Ukraine: Putin unwilling to accept peace proposal 4 December 2025
  The current round of diplomacy over the war in Ukraine suggests that Vladimir Putin remains firmly unwilling to accept any current peace proposal. After lengthy talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov admitted that no compromise version has yet been found – not surprising given Putin’s…
• France: Paris leads the way in tackling ‘carspreading’ 4 December 2025
  Across the UK and Europe, cars are steadily growing longer, wider, and heavier - a trend critics have nicknamed ‘carspreading’. SUVs in particular have surged in popularity, with their market share rising from 13% in 2011 to nearly 60% by 2025. Buyers praise them for visibility, practicality, comfort, and a…
• Italy: parliament passes law defining femicide 27 November 2025
  Italy has taken a major and symbolic step in addressing gender-based violence by unanimously passing a law that defines femicide - the killing of a woman because she is a woman - as a distinct crime punishable by a mandatory life sentence. Symbolically, the vote came on the International Day…
• Ukraine: differing signals about peace proposals 27 November 2025
  Hopes of a swift peace agreement to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been tempered after the Kremlin cautioned against assuming a deal is close. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was ‘premature’ to suggest a resolution may soon be reached, adding that outside actors - including the USA - might…
• Ukraine: two ministers dismissed over corruption allegations 20 November 2025
  Ukraine has been shaken by its most serious political crisis since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, after parliament voted to dismiss the energy and justice ministers in response to a major corruption investigation. The probe centres on an alleged $100 million scheme involving contracting at the state nuclear agency,…