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Black Sea and black ops: How exposed is Europe to Ukraine war spillover?

The story is as underreported as it is consequential for the entire planet. Three Turkish-owned cargo ships out of Ukraine have been hit in EU waters by suspected Russian drones. One, the Togo-flagged Alfa Watan, sunk on Tuesday off Bulgaria. Ten Egyptian and Syrian crew members are missing. For its part, Ukraine has been hitting Russian tankers in the Black Sea, with no sign of a return to a UN-brokered deal to allow oil, grain and fertiliser ships to pass. 

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Two Latvian men arrested at UK base housing US and NATO intelligence hubs

British ​counter-terrorism police are investigating after two Latvian men were arrested Thursday near a Royal Air Force ​base in southeast England housing US and NATO intelligence operations, police said in a statement. The arrests come days after a major incident at another UK base led the US military to withdraw B-1 bombers stationed there.

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Search warrants for former prince Andrew's homes were unlawful, UK court rules

Police who searched the properties of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as part of investigations into his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have agreed the search warrants were unlawful, a London judge said Thursday. The 66-year-old younger brother of King Charles II was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

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New Paris exhibition explores Ireland's housing crisis through contemporary art

Huge demonstrations have been held over the last few weeks in Spain over its housing crisis, but the issue is not restricted to Spain. Many other countries also have a huge problem with housing, including Ireland, with experts saying that for every street of 10 houses, the country actually needs 12. Now a new exhibition in Paris at the Irish Cultural Centre is trying to reflect the issue. In Perspective, we spoke to the museum's director and one of the artists taking part.

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Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to Canada’s Anne Carson

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson on Thursday by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Toronto-born Carson, 76, draws from ancient Greek and Roman literature for her works blending elements of poetry, essay and fiction. She will receive 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million) alongside the prestigious award.  

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Evicted pensioner Maricarmen, symbol of Spain's housing crisis, dies at 87

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, October 8: Maricarmen, the evicted Spanish pensioner who became the face of Spain's housing crisis, dies in hospital. Also, France braces for "Act Four" of high school student protests against dilapidated schools and poor staff presence. Finally, actress Zendaya sparks a row over etiquette at Paris Fashion Week.

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Evicted pensioner who sparked Spain housing protests dies: tenant union

Maricarmen ​Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction sparked housing ​protests in Spain, has died, Madrid's tenants' union said on Wednesday. Abascal's eviction sparked a series of ​protests ‌across Spain in the past couple ⁠of weeks, including activists camping on one of Madrid's main ‌squares, and calls for tackling a ⁠mounting housing crisis. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid.

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What we know about espionage, treason allegations against Germany's ex-spy chief

A court on Wednesday ordered the former head of Germany's foreign intelligence service August Hanning to remain in pretrial detention after his arrest on suspicion of espionage and treason, along with a former deputy who allegedly supplied him with secret files. Here's what we know about one of the biggest security breaches in German history.

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Russia warns against spreading 'false information' as reports emerge of second plague case

The World Health Organization joined Western leaders on Wednesday in urging Russia to share more information about what killed a plague institute worker in Siberia as reports emerged of a second suspected case. The Kremlin said Moscow had shared what it knew and accused the media ​of spreading "false information".

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Philip Ingram sees Russia, China and Iran stepping up 'grey zone' activities across UK and Europe

François Picard is pleased to welcome Philip Ingram, journalist and former British military intelligence officer. The events surrounding RAF Fairford are not an isolated incident, Ingram explains. They are part of a much wider security issue in which conventional military operations, intelligence activity and "grey zone" tactics increasingly overlap.

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Russian lab worker's death sparks plague fears as unverified claims spread online

The death of a 28-year-old Russian lab worker at Siberia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute has sparked online panic about a "plague, despite the WHO assessing the public health risk in Russia as low. Unverified claims about how the worker became ill, including a laboratory accident involving a test tube, are circulating online. Misleading posts and out-of-context videos have also fuelled speculation and fear. Vedika Bahl goes through them, and what we know, in Truth or Fake.

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Politkovskaya 'predicted' Russia's turn under Putin, editor says on 20th anniversary of her death

Assassinated Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya "predicted" Moscow's trajectory under President Vladimir Putin 20 years ago,  her former editor said ahead of the anniversary of her death on Wednesday. Politkovskaya had reported on the war in Chechnya and Putin's rise before she was gunned down in her Moscow apartment block on October 7, 2006.  

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