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Kharkiv schools go underground amid Russian bombardments EU

For Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, 2024 has started with renewed bombardment by Russian missiles. But inhabitants, loathe to leave again, are adapting to life with such dangers. A key question is education, which has been almost exclusively online for the past two years. Many school buildings have been destroyed and all are considered unsafe. So the city, and its region, are taking education underground – quite literally. Gulliver Cragg reports.

Seven suspects go on trial in France over 2018 Trèbes and Carcassonne terror attacks EU

The trial of suspects allegedly complicit in the planning of the 2018 Trèbes and Carcassonne terrorist attacks in the south of France opens on Monday in Paris. Three men were shot dead in a car park and a supermarket, and a receptionist was taken hostage until a gendarme, Arnaud Beltrame, volunteered to take the place of the captive at the cost of his life. FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin reports.

An unspoken pain: Tackling France’s infertility problem EU

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed this week to tackle the country’s growing infertility problem as part of efforts to revive the country’s sluggish birth rate, describing the subject of infertility as “the taboo of the century”. More than three million people in France are said to suffer from the condition, making it a major public health issue – but one that has never been treated as such.

Sweden’s call for population to prepare for war sparks panic and criticism EU

It’s been described as a bombshell moment. The upper echelons of Sweden’s government and defence forces last week shocked the nation by explicitly warning that war might come to Sweden, and that each and every Swede should prepare themselves. While some have taken the warning seriously and flocked to the stores to stock up on fuel and survival kits, others have accused the country’s leaders of fear-mongering.

France’s controversial culture minister to run for Paris mayor in 2026 EU

France’s controversial new culture minister, Rachida Dati on Wednesday said she plans to run for Paris mayor in 2026, only days after joining President Emmanuel Macron’s reshuffled government. Dati’s arrival was the biggest surprise in last week’s cabinet shake-up that saw 34-year-old Gabriel Attal take over as prime minister.