Drones launched by Ukraine overnight crossed into Estonian and Latvian territory as part of a wider strike on Russian Baltic ports, authorities in Tallinn and Riga said.One unmanned aircraft struck the chimney of a power plant in Auvere, Estonia, while another fell and detonated in Latvia’s southern Krāslava region.Officials reported no serious damage or injuries. The incidents happened...

German politicians are preparing to make the creation and sharing of pornographic deepfakes a criminal offence after a high-profile complaint from a television actress sparked national debate.Collien Fernandes has lodged a legal complaint in Spain accusing her former husband, actor Christian Ulmen, of circulating sexualised images of her online.The allegation, first detailed in a German magazine,...

A major industry group is warning the UK it must boost domestic oil and gas production to avoid growing dependence on imported fuel as global tensions push prices higher.Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) says the government should rethink its ban on new North Sea exploration licences, arguing that Britain risks exposure to supply shocks if more home-grown output is not allowed.Energy markets have...

Two years after Dutch schools removed smartphones from the school day, teachers and education officials are reporting calmer corridors and sharper attention in class.Devices including phones, smartwatches and tablets are now kept out of classrooms, hallways and cafeterias across the country as part of a nationwide agreement reached with schools, parents and teachers rather than through new...

Denmark's Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in Tuesday's election but failed to secure the parliamentary majority needed to govern alone.Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's party took 21.9% of the vote and won 38 seats — its weakest result in more than a century.The left-leaning “red bloc” has a narrow lead with 84 seats, while the centre-right “blue bloc” holds 77. Neither...

Larry Fink, chief executive of asset manager BlackRock, warned that oil at around $150 a barrel would likely push the global economy into a deep downturn.He told the BBC that if tensions with Iran persist and energy prices remain elevated, the fallout would be severe for growth and living standards.Fink, who runs a firm with about $14 trillion under management, outlined two broad paths for the...

Health officials in England were not notified about a suspected meningitis patient for two days, slowing contact tracing and delaying a public warning about a growing outbreak in Kent.The patient first arrived at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate on the evening of Wednesday 11 March, sources say.The hospital reported the case to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on the...

Five women who say they were abused by Jeffrey Epstein met on camera for the first time in a BBC Newsnight session to share how the crimes still shape their lives.One of them, Joanna Harrison, said she had kept silent for years but was forced into the open when US government files were published with insufficient redactions.That disclosure stripped her of anonymity and pushed her to speak. The...

Russian forces launched an unprecedented daytime drone assault across western Ukraine on Tuesday, hitting multiple cities and damaging a historic monument.Local officials in Lviv said the 16th-century Bernardine monastery, a UNESCO-listed landmark, sustained damage.Video shared by authorities shows flames spreading through the roof of a nearby residential building. The drone wave also struck...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the government is drawing up contingency plans to shield the most vulnerable households if the war in the Middle East drives UK energy costs higher.Reeves warned the full economic fallout is still unclear but promised measures would focus on those most in need, while sticking to borrowing limits and a goal of keeping inflation and interest rates down.Households in...