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…
France: fifty men found guilty of mass rape in landmark case
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
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…
Ukraine: Russia could launch hypersonic missile ‘within days’
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…

