27 lives per kilometre: How Russia suffered record losses in Ukraine in 2024 Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war with at least 45,287 killed.

2024 was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine - at least 45,287 people were killed. The latest BBC Russian investigation into Russia's invisible losses by Olga Ivshina: www.bbc.com/news/article...

BBC tracks down man behind Channel crossing which killed Sara, 7 After the BBC saw a girl die in a small boat off France, we found the man who arranged the deadly trip.

Many congratulations to Andrew Harding and the BBC team in Europe whose reporting on the deadly people smuggling across the English Channel has been nominated for an Emmy
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Romanian elections: TikTokers and an election scandal The BBC speaks to Romanian influencers, implicated in the unprecedented cancellation of an EU election

How TikTok became central to an extraordinary election scandal in Romania that is being closely watched from Washington to Brussels to Moscow. Great piece from BBC World Service and BBC Trending www.bbc.com/articles/cqx...

Over to You - The challenges facing the BBC’s Russian service - BBC Sounds The editor of BBC News Russian explains the impact of being labelled “foreign agents”

Journalists from BBC Russian are facing serious threats under the country’s foreign agents legislation. Listen to editor Sergei Rakin on the challenges facing Russian journalists from the BBC and other organisations www.bbc.co.uk/sounds...

Trump's threat makes Ukraine mineral deal look like business move As Trump threatens to walk from peace talks, a mineral deal looks unlikely to offer Ukraine security.

#Ukraine may have signed a minerals deal with the US but is it actually going to buy a sustainable peace as a result? @jameswaterhouse.bsky.com reports www.bbc.com/news/article...

Italian opposition file complaint over far-right party’s use of ‘racist’ AI images Centre-left parties slam ‘racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic’ faked images posted on social media by League party

The hard right League Party - whose leader Matteo Salvini is Italy’s deputy PM - is using AI generated fake images of violent incidents committed by ethnic minorities in its political communications reports @lorenzo_tondo www.theguardian.com/...

JD Vance heads to Rome - could he meet Pope Francis? The US vice-president will meet Italy's prime minister but an audience at the Vatican could also happen, the BBC learns.

It's a seriously big week for the Italian-American relationship. Meloni in the White House yesterday. Today JD Vance is in Rome. But will one of the most influential Catholics in the world meet with Pope Francis? www.bbc.com/news/art...

Ukraine war: ‘Russians are even trying to ban our holidays' - life in occupied territories Ukrainians in Russian-held land tell the BBC about the difficulties of life under occupation.

Fear and resistance in Russian occupied regions of #Ukraine - a rare snapshot of life inside: www.bbc.co.uk/news/a...

Damascus, divided How more than a decade of war has changed Syria’s newly liberated capital

I am a month late, but this programme by my friend Sarah Birke is one of the smartest things I’ve heard on Syria after Assad. A portrait of Damascenes in a space between processing and reconciling the history of their shattered city and country economist.com/podcas...

The last grand strategists: what Brzezinski and Kissinger could teach Trump Living parallel lives, they counselled presidents and changed the course of the cold war. How would they steer America today?

“The question is whether Americans can ever understand that we are living in a continuous experience that has no end,” Kissinger said. “[As Europeans] we knew that we were living in a continuous history. It never comes to an end.” Great read: on.ft.com/43QWEXJ

Sorry!

Fantastic being back in Perugia for the International Journalism Festival - energising and inspiring - and great conversations with amazing journalists from Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Azerbaijan and beyond @journalismfestival.com

Ukraine war live updates: UK announces further £450m military support as 50 countries to meet in Brussels The UK and Germany are convening a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group aimed at "piling pressure" on Vladimir Putin.

More immediate military aid for Ukraine seems to be back on the agenda as 50 allies of the country meet in Brussels today - the US not attending, in person at least. £450m from the UK. BBC reporting live from NATO HQ www.bbc.com/news/liv...

Germany is back, says Merz, after sealing government deal The chancellor-in-waiting's conservatives have reached a coalition agreement with Germany's Social Democrats, five months after the last government collapsed.

German government agreed but challenge for Merz seems immense: revolutionary defence and debt expansion, economic weakness, demand for rapid infrastructure improvements and AfD now polling one point ahead of his party for first time www.bbc.com/news/art...

Ursula von der Leyen has just welcomed Trump’s tariff pause: ‘Clear, predictable conditions are essential for trade and supply chains to function.’

War has changed Zelensky - but now is the time to transform again How have the last three years shaped Ukraine's wartime president and where does he go from here?

Has President Zelensky's international diplomacy failed to keep track with changing politics in the US and Europe? Great read from @jameswaterhouse.bsky.social on the Ukrainian leader under pressure www.bbc.com/news/art...

Cocaine-smuggling submarine reveals Europe's drug crisis One secret boat took three men and $150m (£121m) of drugs from the Amazon rainforest to Spain.

It joins the dots to reporting done by @nickbeake.bsky.social on Europe's cocaine crisis as the contintent struggles to deal with South American imports - watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt-Y... and read: bbc.com/news/world-e...

Tracking the world’s major cocaine route to Europe - and why it’s growing The UK is now a major market for cocaine in Europe - and that's affecting people around the world.

Great piece by @ionewells.bsky.social on how important Ecuador is for flows of cocaine to Europe, often involving Albanian mafia bbc.com/news/article...

Italy's Meloni to meet Trump on April 17 for tariff talks Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to the United States next week for talks on tariffs with U.S. President Donald Trump, her office said on Tuesday.

Italy's Meloni to meet Trump on April 17th in Washington - can Europe’s ‘Trump whisperer’ pull off a diplomatic coup? www.reuters.com/world/italys...

How will the EU respond to Donald Trump's tariffs? The EU has enormous economic clout as the biggest single market in the world, but does not want to risk a backlash.

The EU is an economic powerhouse and a market to rival the US - but will political divisions limit its response to Trump’s tariffs? Katya Adler analysis - www.bbc.com/news/article...

Assad’s fall brings joy and the call of home Exiled journalist Asser Khattab on what the news from Syria means to its diaspora

Assad’s fall brings joy and the call of home - lovely piece from Asser Khattab on the uprising in Syria and the exile experience Assad’s fall brings joy and the call of home on.ft.com/4getNjf

How Syria broke the world and is now Iran’s Achilles heel Helping Damascus stretched Tehran’s capabilities, while Russia exploited perceived western weakness

Must read by Kim Ghattas - yes recent Mid East history cools hope. But when my father in law from Aleppo expresses such joy despite years of grief - ‘the future will be fine’ - who am I to disagree? Need to guard against hopeless pessimism not just naive optimism on.ft.com/4gteP92

Germany to tighten people-smuggling law in UK deal The Joint Action Plan sees Germany commit to making it easier to prosecute those facilitating people-smuggling to the UK.

www.bbc.com/news/article... Germany and UK sign agreement to toughen action against those facilitating people smuggling across the Channel based in Germany. Follows five month investigation into legal loopholes by BBC’s Jess Parker and team

Absolutely

Brilliant reporting from BBC World. Service this morning including Barbara Plett-Usher from Damascus

Breathtaking news. Thinking mainly this morning of all the Syrians I have met who lost family at the hands of Assad and his father and those worried about fate of prisoners inside. Hope for stability and peace but prepare for trouble to come.

Outside Georgia’s parliament building tonight...

Ever since the UK left the EU, talks have been going on with all parties to resolve the issues for Gibraltar - which barely register in the UK. They're still unresolved as the BBC's Guy Hedgecoe finds. Listen here - www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... Pick of the radio in Guardian and Sunday Times

Notre Dame: How Paris's cathedral was restored after fire Paris's Gothic cathedral has been painstakingly returned to its former glory. Here's how it was done.

Massive interest from audiences in the first images of the restored Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. A bit of hope and an example of amazing craftsmanship? Lovely piece from Hugh Schofield here www.bbc.com/news/article...

Berlin airport at its best. 45 minute line for X-ray machine. Mediocre flat white for Euros 6.20.