German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday marked by renewed Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital, including the latest drone attack on a bridge spanning the Dnipro River.

In Bulgaria, the remains of medieval ruler Tsar Samuel have been laid to rest in the capital Sofia, after being flown back from the border with Greece by Bulgarian fighter jets. Their return follows decades of negotiations with Athens, in exchange for the return of religious artefacts. Nicholas Rushworth has more.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Sunday on an unannounced visit in a show of support for the country in its war with Russia. Merz's visit comes just a day after Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital, saying that "massive" new airstrikes would hit the city. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Kyiv Gulliver Cragg has more.

Bosnia is heading to the polls on Sunday after a general election campaign dominated by parties that identify closely with the ethnic divisions of its 1990s war. Voters will elect a vast number of officials across multiple tiers of government, in a complex system that has held the partitioned country together since the 1995 peace deal. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Belgrade Laurent Rouy has more.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the US wants to broker a new round of talks with Ukraine and Russia on ending the war and hold it by the end of October. Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the city's Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River was again hit in a Russian attack during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Bosnians head to the polls Sunday in elections that ​could impact how much influence Russia has over the small Balkan nation, with separatist Serb leader Milorad Dodik dominating the campaign despite his ban from public office. Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country marred by ethnic tensions, has struggled to recover since its brutal 1992-95 conflict.

Latvian ​Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs was set to retain power and form a coalition after his centrist United List won parliamentary elections on Sunday, the biggest in the country's post-independence history. While the result is expected to reinforce the Baltic country’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian stance, populist parties also made significant gains.

The Bronze Horseman, the iconic equestrian statue in Senate Square in St Petersburg, was commissioned by Catherine the Great in honor of Peter the Great, the city's founder. The pedestal of the statue bears a laconic dedication: "To Peter the First, Catherine the Second, 1782". Does Putin want to be the third, Vladimir the Great? And is that ambition – expansion at any cost – the real reason behind the war in Ukraine? According to former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, "Putin only cares about what will be written about him in history books."

France’s decision to share defence documents with the Italian judiciary has raised hopes of a breakthrough in investigations into the 1980 crash of a passenger jet near the island of Ustica, which a former Italian president claimed was mistakenly shot down by a French fighter jet. Sceptics caution that the files are unlikely to shed light on one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries, let alone reveal a culprit.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other cities in Spain on Saturday to demand affordable housing, fuelled by anger at lawmakers who narrowly rejected measures put forward by the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to strengthen protection for tenants.

Kyiv's Northern Bridge across the Dnipro river was hit by a Russian air attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday, deepening travel chaos amid an escalation in strikes ​on ‌infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. The latest attack comes a day after the city's Southern Bridge was hit by several strikes that officials said were "tearing Kyiv apart".

Demonstrators protesting against Spain's housing crisis reacted with fury on Friday after the country's parliament rejected two bills put forward by the government that centre-left Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hoped would address their concerns. Rents have doubled over the past decade, with average prices now almost equivalent to the average young person's monthly salary.

We sit down with David McAllister, the chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He talks to us about the security threats facing Europe, and what defence gaps the EU urgently needs to close. For McAllister, the EU is "not at war with the Russian Federation, but we are no longer at peace with Russia". He also believes that the EU is not, as yet, capable of making sovereign decisions in certain areas of defence "because we are too dependent on US capabilities."

Alarm bells are ringing about fuel prices across the EU. The average cost of diesel per litre is well above €2, whereas in October of last year it was around €1.50. Even before this latest spike, the cost of living was already biting, and it seems that the conflict in the Middle East is not going to give Europeans much respite as the winter draws closer. We review what EU member states have done to cushion the blow of rising energy prices for ordinary people, and whether those measures have been effective.

Members of the Group of Seven bloc of highly industrialised economies on Friday agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from their reserves over four months, averting a potential US ban on diesel exports. The European Union had earlier pushed back against Washington's threat, with an EU official saying the 27-member bloc “fully” rejected the move.

Delano D'Souza is pleased to welcome Carlos Mascarell Vilar, political scientist based in Spain. From his own perspective, Emmanuel Macron's visit to Spain needs to be understood by European power, political legacy, and geoeconomics. France and Spain are seeking to reinforce their bilateral relationship at a moment when the balance of power within Europe is changing rapidly, particularly with the growing importance of countries in the east such as Poland. For Macron, strengthening the Madrid-Paris axis is also part of a broader effort to advance European defence and strategic sovereignty.

Russia is “tearing Kyiv apart”, the city’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Friday, as Russia pummelled key infrastructure across the Ukrainian capital. Russian drones have pummelled Kyiv’s Southern Bridge, forcing authorities to close traffic on it. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.

The United States on Thursday urged European allies to release strategic diesel reserves immediately to curb prices driven higher by the US war on Iran. EU states will discuss a coordinated response on Friday, as Washington increases pressure following US President Donald Trump's suggestion that he could ban US diesel exports.

British police on Thursday arrested a British-Iranian dual national in connection with the security incident at the Fairford airbase Wednesday. Five other men initially arrested over the incidence were later released without charge on bail.

This Thursday October 1, the French government is holding a summit aimed at attracting investors and revitalising wealth creation in France's overseas territories. Among the assets Paris wants to highlight is New Caledonian nickel. But the industry has been severely weakened by the political deadlock and tensions that have rocked the archipelago in recent years.