Two Russian men are set to stand trial in Angola, accused of running a covert campaign to sow dissent, spread false information and interfere in next year’s presidential vote.Igor Ratchin and Lev Lakshtanov were detained in August and face 11 counts including terrorism, espionage and illicit influence.Angolan prosecutors say their activities were part of a wider operation tied to a network that...

Postal staff around the UK have told the BBC that managers instructed them to remove or stash first-class letters so rounds appeared completed, a practice they say has helped mask missed delivery targets.The claims come from ten postal workers who spoke anonymously to BBC Your Voice.They described mail being put on trolleys or moved out of sight and returned the next day when inspections or...

Many families who once treated days out as a routine are tightening their belts as everyday leisure costs climb.Parents across the UK say meals, attractions and activities have become harder to justify on a middle-income budget, even when both adults are in work.Bianca and Paul Osborne, who live in Stockport and earn close to the national average household income, found a typical family outing...

Lionel Jospin, a leading figure of France's Socialist movement who served as prime minister during the late 1990s, has died at the age of 88.He was widely known for reshaping parts of French social policy and for his dramatic exit from politics after the 2002 presidential election.Jospin led a left-wing government in cohabitation with President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002. He had been a...

Germany's shortage of skilled workers has pushed employers to recruit abroad, and India has emerged as a major source of talent.With retirees outnumbering young entrants, businesses from bakeries to construction sites are looking overseas to keep operations running.Demographic trends are at the heart of the problem. A recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation found Germany needs roughly 288,000...

Italy is holding a weekend referendum on changes to its constitution that would alter how judges and prosecutors are governed.What began as a technical tweak has morphed into a political showdown that could reshape Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s standing.The measure would split the career tracks of judges and prosecutors, set up separate governing bodies for each and create a new disciplinary...

France heads to second-round municipal votes on Sunday in contests seen as an early barometer for the 2027 presidential campaign.Attention is focused on major cities where control could shift political momentum — notably Paris and Nice.In the capital, Socialists are scrambling to hang on after a quarter-century of centre-left leadership. Rachida Dati, the right-wing challenger, has closed the...

A recent Oscar-winning documentary has exposed how Russia’s wartime messaging has seeped into primary schools, placing children at the center of an expanding state-led patriotic program.Footage from a provincial town in the Urals, filmed by school events organiser Pavel Talankin, shows pupils taking part in flag ceremonies, scripted lessons and other activities that promote a...

Dame Jenni Murray, the broadcaster best known for presenting BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, has died at the age of 75.She led the programme for more than three decades and left in 2020 as its longest-serving host.Murray joined Woman’s Hour in 1987 and became famous for sharp, revealing interviews with a wide range of public figures. Her guests included political leaders and cultural icons,...

Hungary's decision to block a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine has provoked sharp criticism from fellow European leaders and exposed deep divisions ahead of next month's Hungarian elections.After a tense summit in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused to lift his veto, posting on X: "No oil = no money." He linked his move to a dispute over a damaged section of the Druzhba pipeline that...