CA:Europe

Michael Alexander Gloss, 21, who died on 4 April 2024, was the son of top-ranking US spy Juliane Gallina

An American man identified as the son of a deputy director of the CIA was killed in eastern Ukraine in 2024 while fighting under contract for the Russian military, according to an investigation by independent Russian media.

Michael Alexander Gloss, 21, died on 4 April 2024 in “Eastern Europe”, according to an obituary published by his family. He was the son of Juliane Gallina, who was appointed the deputy director for digital innovation at the Central Intelligence Agency in February 2024.

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Decision by Ploiești city appeals court over cancelled result is likely to be overturned before two-round ballot in May

• Europe live – latest updates

Piling confusion on controversy, a Romanian district appeals court has ruled barely a week before the rerun of the country’s presidential election that the constitutional court’s decision cancelling the original vote should itself be annulled.

Romania’s central electoral bureau said on Thursday night that the ruling by the Ploiești city appeals court would not affect the two-round ballot, due to be held on 4 and 18 May, and legal experts have said constitutional court decisions are final.

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Two Bayeux scholars at loggerheads over whether dangling shape depicts dagger or the embroidery’s 94th phallus

In a historical spat that could be subtitled “1066 with knobs on”, two medieval experts are engaged in a battle over how many male genitalia are embroidered into the Bayeux tapestry.

The Oxford professor George Garnett drew worldwide interest six years ago when he announced he had totted up 93 penises stitched into the embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England.

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine has done as much as possible to progress talks with the US but he does not see strong pressure on Russia

We understand that while the visit will be cut short after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Ramaphosa, their media activities will still proceed, meaning we should hear from the Ukrainian president in the next few hours.

Rachel and I will keep an eye on this development to see if Zelenskyy takes part in a scheduled press conference in Pretoria in case he wants to say more about the attacks overnight.

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More than 60 MPs sign letter calling for time-limited visas for 18- to 30-year-olds to travel freely

• Starmer’s realignment with Europe will be a low-key one

Keir Starmer is under pressure from more than 60 Labour MPs to allow thousands of young Europeans to live and work in the UK, a move seen as key to unlocking a more ambitious trade reset with Brussels.

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said discussions on a potential scheme were ongoing, in the clearest hint yet that the government is preparing to do a deal.

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London peace talks are postponed after news that US secretary of state Marco Rubio would not attend

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, citing the Ukrainian air force, reports that overnight Ukraine claimed to have shot down 67 out of 134 drones used in Russian attacks.

Additionally the air force reported that 47 drones did not reach their target. Attacks, it said, happened in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Donetsk, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions.

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David Lammy to host US and European negotiators for ceasefire talks in London amid encouraging speculation

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will host US and European negotiators for fresh talks about Ukraine on Wednesday amid speculation that Russia has told Washington it might be willing to drop its claim to parts of Ukraine it does not occupy.

The price would include the US making concessions to Moscow such as recognising the 2014 annexation of Crimea, though Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no such proposal had been shared with him by the White House and that his country could not endorse it.

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Pope Francis, head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, died at his home in the Vatican on Monday aged 88

The Vatican also confirmed that Pope Francis’s coffin will be transferred to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, where it will stay until the funeral.

It will be taken there from the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, pictured in the earlier photo.

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Worshippers gathered in Rome for the Easter weekend reflect on legacy of pontiff who pushed the limits

Bill Nicoletti and his family, from Philadelphia, were among the thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square for Easter Sunday mass when Pope Francis arrived in his open-air popemobile.

The vehicle cruised through the square, stopping occasionally for the pontiff to bless babies that were brought towards him, as the delighted crowd shouted “Viva il papa!” (Long live the pope!)

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Russian military confirms ‘Easter truce’ is over and fighting has begun again as Ukrainian says Moscow launched 96 drones and three missiles overnight

When Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, he demanded that Ukraine renounce joining Nato, sharply cut its army, and “protect” Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscow’s orbit.

Now, he also demands that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully occupied — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

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‘Easter truce’ ordered by Putin on Saturday but Ukraine president says Russian army continuing efforts to advance. This live blog is closed

• Zelenskyy dismisses Putin ceasefire as ‘PR’ and says Russian attacks continue

Easter falls on the same day this year for orthodox and western churches, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukrainians not to give up hope that peace will one day return.

Here are some of the latest images coming out of the newswires from Ukraine where festivities continue despite Russian attacks:

We are documenting every Russian violation of its self-declared commitment to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are prepared to provide the necessary information to our partners.

In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage. It’s a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.

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The pope wished a happy Easter to tens of thousands of worshippers gathered at Vatican’s St Peter’s Square on Sunday. Doctors have advised the pontiff to rest for at least two months following his five-week hospital stay earlier this year. Pope Francis was discharged from hospital on 23 March after being treated for a lung infection that developed into pneumonia

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Ukraine says five regions damaged overnight after wave of drone and missile attacks by Russia

• Analysis: Trump team reveals lack of expertise – and patience – as it threatens to abandon peace talks

Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:

Russian troops recaptured the village of Oleshnya in Russia’s western Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, the RIA state news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Saturday.

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Donald Trump has said the US will ‘take a pass’ on a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine if ‘parties make it difficult’. The US president made the comments to reporters during the swearing-in ceremony for Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Trump added that he believed there was a ‘good chance’ of ‘solving the problem’. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had earlier said the US will abandon its efforts ‘within days’ to broker a peace agreement unless there are clear signs a settlement can be reached

• Trump says US will ‘take a pass’ on Ukraine peace deal ‘if parties make it difficult’ – live

• US ready to abandon Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress, says Marco Rubio

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‘We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,’ US secretary of state says

The Kremlin said on Friday that some progress had already been made in talks about a possible peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine but that contacts were rather complicated with the United States.

“Contacts are quite complicated, because, naturally, the topic is not an easy one,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Russia is committed to resolving this conflict, ensuring its own interests, and is open to dialogue. We continue to do this.”

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US secretary of state to meet Macron as well as British and German politicians and Ukrainian officials

• Europe live – latest updates

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, is due to meet the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in high-level talks in Paris on Thursday as Washington and Europe seek common ground on ending the fighting in Ukraine and averting a conflict with Iran.

A previously unannounced team of senior Ukrainian officials also flew into the French capital to meet the US and European delegations, as Donald Trump’s efforts to arrange a ceasefire three years after Russia invaded its neighbour remained fruitless.

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Wave of assaults ‘declaration of war’ by drug gangs after crackdown on bosses operating from jail, French media say

Emmanuel Macron has warned that those behind a wave of apparently coordinated attacks on French prisons and staff will be “found, tried and punished”.

The president’s comments came after at least a dozen assaults on French jails in the past three days. In one attack, gunmen using automatic weapons fired at the entrance to Toulon prison in the south of France.

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Country may be home to as many as 13,000 bears, the highest total by far in Europe outside Russia

Romania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the country’s forestry research institute has said, as officials promised new laws to allow communities to deal with “crisis bear situations”.

The institute’s study of 25 counties in the Carpathian mountains was the first to use DNA samples from material such as faeces and hair. Previous estimates based on prints and sightings put the bear population at less than 8,000.

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Consumption and production falls in almost every market as industry fears a ‘generational’ change in drinking habits

Worldwide consumption of wine fell in 2024 to its lowest level in more than 60 years, the main trade body has said, raising concerns about new risks from US tariffs.

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said on Tuesday that 2024 sales fell 3.3% from the previous year to 214.2m hectolitres.

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European Commission is considering plans to allow energy firms to declare force majeure, absolving them of obligations

The European Commission is considering plans that would allow European companies to break long-term Russian gas contracts without paying penalties to Moscow, it has been reported.

Citing three officials with knowledge of the plan, the Financial Times reported that the commission was studying the possibility of allowing companies to declare force majeure, which would absolve importers of their obligations to pay penalty fees for ending contracts.

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Thousands of people took to the streets of Hungary’s capital, Budapest, on Monday to mock and protest a constitutional amendment which passed through the country’s parliament banning LGBTQ+ gatherings

• Hungary passes constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings

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EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg after Russian attack kills at least 34 in Sumy

The Russian defence ministry also responded to the criticism for its attack on Sumy, claiming it had targeted a meeting of Ukrainian commanding officers, Russian news agencies reported on Monday.

We are now hearing from the Kremlin, with Russia insisting that it “strikes only military or military-related targets,” despite the widespread condemnation for the attack on civilians in Sumy (9:18).

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy says dozens killed and wounded on ‘ordinary city street’ while going to church for Palm Sunday

At least 31 people have been killed and dozens injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people were going to church for Palm Sunday.

Two missiles landed in the crowded city centre. One hit a trolley bus full of passengers. Footage from the scene showed bodies lying in the street, burning cars, and rescuers carrying bloodied survivors. Two of the dead were children.

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Open trade with Europe is more important to the UK than a deal with Donald Trump, most Britons believe

A clear majority of UK voters want the government to concentrate on rebuilding trade ties with the EU over forging a new economic deal with the US, according to research published this weekend.

The study, based on analy­sis of polling that used new methods of questioning participants, suggests people of voting age now see their economic interests, and the UK’s, as far more closely linked to open trade relations with our EU neighbours than any deals that Keir Starmer might or might not strike with the US.

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Swedes are stockpiling supplies of the drink amid cost hikes, with some saying the coffee culture is changing

Nursing an iced chai latte in a Stockholm department store, Emma Tomth says she has cut down her cafe coffee consumption considerably. The 28-year-old social media manager used to buy a latte most days, but with prices having gone up by about 15-20 kronor (about £1-£1.50), she has cut down to two or three times a week.

But it is not just about coffee. The economy also extends to fika – the historically hardwired Swedish tradition of meeting for a catch-up over a coffee and a biscuit or cake. “Many I know are abstaining from meeting for fika to save money. So we do something else instead,” Tomth says. Low-cost alternatives include meeting at home or going on walks, but it is not quite the same as fika, which plays a key social role in an otherwise often introverted society.

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