Russia: senior general assassinated
19 Dec 2024
On 17 December Lieutenant-general Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed in Moscow by a Ukrainian agent in a targeted assassination, intensifying a new front in the conflict. Kirillov, the head of Russia’s nuclear, chemical, and…
In a landmark case in Avignon, 72-year-old Dominique Pelicot and fifty co-defendants have been found guilty of mass rape against his wife Gisele over a decade. Dominique, who admitted to drugging and allowing strangers to abuse…
Germany: early election after no-confidence vote
19 Dec 2024
The chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has lost a vote of no confidence in the German parliament, resulting in an early election which will take place on 23 February. Although he expected the loss, Scholz saw this as…
US intelligence suggests Russia may launch its experimental Oreshnik hypersonic missile against Ukraine within days. First used in an attack on Dnipro in November, the missile displayed astonishing speed and precision, striking a military facility with…
French-Cameroonian author Charles Onana has been found guilty of downplaying the Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 800,000 people in 1994. He was fined €8,400, and his publisher was fined €5,000. The two…
Prime minister Michel Barnier has been ousted in a historic no-confidence vote, leading to the collapse of his government. The motion follows his controversial use of special powers to pass a budget without parliamentary approval. The…