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Europe Today
Ukraine seeks urgent funding in Brussels as Russia's drones pound Kyiv
EU allies meet in Brussels to plug Ukraine's wartime funding gap, as Russia pounds Kyiv with more than 120 drones, one hitting the National Academy of Sciences in broad daylight. Pope Leo XIV wraps up his France visit in Metz, where he praised multilateralism and warned against dominance.
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Pope Leo ends France trip in Metz, spotlighting Schuman and EU unity
Pope Leo XIV ended his four-day visit to France in Metz on Monday by urging Europe to build on its Christian heritage and culture of dialogue rather than succumb to what he called the “desire for domination” behind many of today’s wars.
Ukraine
Ukraine's city of Oleshky faces starvation as Russia blocks all aid
Russia is shooting down food deliveries, confiscating supplies that reach the ground and blocking evacuation of some 2,000 residents still trapped in the occupied Kherson town, where the Council of Europe warns civilians face "a high risk of death" with no food, medicine, water or electricity.
Business
TotalEnergies raises buybacks to $2.5bn and promises higher dividends
TotalEnergies will buy back $2.5 billion (€2.2bn) of its own shares in the fourth quarter, up from $1.5 billion (€1.3bn) authorised for the third, and raise its dividend by more than 5% a year through 2030, as high oil prices boost the French energy giant’s earnings.
Smart Regions
Līvāni: the fibre-optic capital of Latvia
In partnership with the European Commission
Latvia is focusing on a technological niche: fibre optics. It exports more than 90% of its production. This versatile technology, made from synthetic quartz, is flexible and capable of transmitting ultraviolet and infrared rays.
Europe
Macron urges Europe to resist the ‘return of nationalisms’
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Europe to rediscover the “courage” of its founders and resist what he described as a return to nationalisms. He was speaking in Metz during a meeting on European integration and peace attended by Pope Leo XIV.
Culture news
Significant sign of first settlement in Paris found in French capital
French archaeologists have revealed details of a find that is thought to be evidence of the first settlement in central Paris. The discovery of a 20-metre stretch of an ancient wall near Notre Dame Cathedral suggests Lutetia, the ancient name for the capital, was built on the Île de la Cité.
Russia
Russia plans new 'superprisons' despite war recruitment emptying jails
Seven complexes holding more than 20,000 inmates are planned for 2035, including one in Russian-occupied Kherson, even as the prison population has dropped from 465,000 to 282,000 since 2021, largely because inmates have been recruited as contract soldiers for the war in Ukraine.