She finally found a way to pay off the interests she owes to Putin.

Hopefully her compatriots will explain to her what is the opportunity cost of not supporting Ukraine. Although it's clear that this is the point where her interests diverge from those of France.

"These things are important now to put clearly on the record and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia," the Observer reports Burnham saying.

"I find it very unfortunate that this entire discussion has come to focus on who blew [the pipelines] up, rather than who built them," Heorhii Tykhyi told the BBC, forcefully.

He argued that Nord Stream had "untied Russia's hands" to go to war, because it no longer needed to transit Ukraine for its gas to reach Europe.

"Did we warn about this? We did," Tykhyi wanted to know. "Did anyone listen to us? No, no-one did."

Despite withdrawing its branding as an official supporter, the EU continues to fund the conference.

A diplomatic source at France’s foreign ministry said “there’s absolutely no reason for us to change our commitments” when it came to supporting the conference.

“We stick to supporting civil society. It’s not just principled, it’s operational,” she said, adding that the conference was a “laboratory” that helped Europe develop key policy around disinformation.

The Halkalı–Kapıkule railway project covers approximately 231 kilometres between the Istanbul area and the Bulgarian border. It is divided into two main sections: Halkalı–Çerkezköy and Çerkezköy–Kapıkule. Construction of the latter, which is 153 kilometres long, is co-financed by the European Union and Turkey.

According to official project information, the line is designed as a double-track railway for passenger and freight services, with a design speed of up to 200 km/h. These technical specifications apply to the project as a whole and should not automatically be taken as a guaranteed operating speed for every train along the entire route.

This could be a first step towards a demilitarized Black Sea. Post-Putin Russia could be forced into it, bit Turkey would be difficult to persuade for the idea.

A civilian cargo ship has sunk and its crew is missing after being attacked by drones in the Black Sea, Bulgarian officials say.

A second vessel - carrying grain - was also hit within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said. Its 18 crew were rescued.

Radev did not say who was behind the attacks, which come as Russia intensifies strikes in the Black Sea, particularly the eastern side, as part of its war against Ukraine.

He also challenged the human-rights argument behind the demand, saying politicians should not be responsible for determining whether a community's rights have been violated. He pointed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and the Council of Europe as the institutions responsible for assessing such issues.

The Reform UK leader claimed it is “targeted directly” at his party.

... effectively admitting that he works for Russian interests.

...as he does for crypto and other corrupt money.

He just sells to the highest bidders.

Russian state media have brought into the open a conflict between the Ministry of Defense and the Chechen unit Akhmat, along with its commander, Apti Alaudinov. Ukrainian journalist Denys Kazanskyi has reported on renewed tensions between Russian authorities and the Chechen formation Akhmat, including with its leader Alaudinov. According to Kazanskyi, there are moves to bring the unit fully under the command structure of Russia's Ministry of Defense, stripping Chechen authorities of their previous influence in the military sector.

Kazanskyi cited reports in Russian Telegram channels describing a dispute between Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and Alaudinov. The Russian Ministry of Defense has launched what it calls a "sweeping purge" within Akhmat, with plans to require its leadership to meet the same standards enforced on other Russian units.