Europe
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Battle of wills
A New Year’s interview with Volodymyr Zelensky
The Ukrainian president remains defiant, despite the prospect of a bleak year ahead
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A heavy strike
Russia tries to overwhelm Ukraine with missiles
As the land war grinds on, the aerial one is heating up
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Charlemagne
In Turkey, Erdogan’s charges of Western hypocrisy stick
He is making hay with the war in Gaza
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French style
Why French women no longer wear high heels
A footwear revolution in the world’s fashion capital
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Charlemagne
At Christmas, Europeans look less united than ever
There is no single market for how to celebrate the holidays
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The blue queen
The head of the hard-right Alternative for Germany is riding high
Alice Weidel’s laments for the decline of Germany, and broadsides against immigrants, strike a chord among voters
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Rough draft
Ukraine’s army is struggling to find good recruits
Russia is suffering immense casualties—but it has the edge in manpower
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Navalny vanishes
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s opposition leader, is missing in the gulag
His last message announced a campaign against Vladimir Putin
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An early Christmas for Kyiv
Ukraine takes an important step towards EU membership
The EU’s leaders agree to open accession talks with it—but Hungary blocks a big aid package
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Charlemagne
Stolpersteine grieve for victims of the Nazis, one at a time
Gunter Demnig’s paving stones spark countless acts of remembrance
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Unfair play
Spain’s institutions are groaning under partisan pressure
The left, the right and separatist movements all play a role