France: Le Pen’s death highlights his daughter’s rise
Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Front (FN), has died at 96, leaving behind a divisive legacy. Known for incendiary rhetoric, he propelled anti-immigration nationalism into mainstream French politics. His controversies included dismissing Nazi…
Azerbaijan: Putin urged to accept responsibility for air crash
President Ilham Aliyev has urged Russia to accept responsibility for the Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which killed 38 of the 67 onboard. The flight, from Baku to Grozny, was diverted from Chechnya…
Ukraine stops transporting gas to Europe
Ukraine has decided to stop transporting Russian gas to Europe after a deal with Moscow expired, marking a historic and symbolic shift in policy. As a result, both countries will incur financial losses: Ukraine will forfeit…
Russia: senior general assassinated
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…
