Syria and Russia rekindle realpolitik romance fuelled by military strategy, geopolitical ambitions
Europe • Oct 16, 2025, 10:33 AM
1 min de lecture
The nascent Syrian leadership now seeks to "redefine" ties with Russia as the Damascus‑Moscow axis has undergone a startling metamorphosis: Russia’s deadly firepower from the air saved the ruthless Assad regime from the brink of collapse, amid civil war in 2015, and then, flash-forward to 2024, as the brutal Syrian regime came crashing down, Moscow offered the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad, and his family, a life-line and safe haven. And so, as Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, for the first time since Assad's abrupt downfall, Yinka Oyetade welcomes Thomas Pierret, Syria Specialist and Senior Researcher at CNRS's IREMAM. He illustrates that while they may make strange bedfellows, this marriage of convenience is a veritable logic of survival.
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Polish teens learn to fly drones as Russian threat grows
Europe • 3:42 PM
1 min
As the threat of Russian incursion in Europe grows, Polish teens in a military school are following the country’s first drone class, overseen by the ministry of defence. The goal is to learn how to use them, and how they can be used in a military strateg
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EU solidarity in the Azores: Miracle or mirage? (part 1)
Europe • 3:33 PM
1 min
Europe Rendezvous brings you a special programme from the Azores, a beautiful and remote archipelago in the Atlantic. The dramatic volcanic islands constitute an Autonomous Region of Portugal, and also an Outermost Region of the EU. That means their rela
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EU solidarity in the Azores: Miracle or mirage? (part 2)
Europe • 3:22 PM
1 min
Europe Rendezvous brings you a special programme from the Azores, a beautiful and remote archipelago in the Atlantic. The dramatic volcanic islands constitute an Autonomous Region of Portugal, and also an Outermost Region of the EU. That means their rela
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Frenchman sentenced to 30 years for murdering wife in missing-body case
Europe • 2:07 PM
1 min
A French court sentenced Cédric Jubillar on Friday to 30 years in prison for murdering his wife, Delphine Jubillar, who went missing in southern France in December 2020. Investigators concluded that a pair of Delphine's broken glasses, along with screams
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Macron wagers there's little to 'no appetite for an election', outside the political fringes
Europe • 1:27 PM
1 min
The president's seventh premier since 2017, Lecornu must now steer a cost-cutting budget through a deeply divided parliament before the end of the year, in what is expected to be a bruising fight. Lecornu, who became prime minister last month, resigned a
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Lithuania: children join drone school to build, programme and fly them
Europe • 1:02 PM
1 min
In Lithuania, near the border with Russia, several schools have launched extra-curricular drone courses for children in a new government initiative to prepare Lithuania's future generation for challenges posed by their Russian neighbour. Story by Liza Ka
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Ukraine: Visit a city on the frontline with our correspondent on the ground
Europe • 1:00 PM
1 min
The war on Ukraine’s frontlines rages on. Russia has yet to take any major towns in Donbas this year, but its forces are inching forward. Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and now Druzhkivka have become dangerous no-go zones with attacks by First-Person View or F
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Live: Zelensky to push for Tomahawk missiles at Trump meeting ahead of new Putin summit
Europe • 11:29 AM
1 min
President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to discuss the possible supply of US Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine during his meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday. But Trump's surprise announcement, following a phone call Thursday with Pre
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Vatican panel urges reperations for sex abuse victims and tougher sanctions for abusers
Europe • 9:58 AM
1 min
The Vatican’s child protection board said Thursday the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to help victims of clergy sexual abuse heal. Financial reparations for the abused and tougher sanctions for the abusers and their enablers are essential remedie
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EU proposes 'flagship' defence projects to counter drones and protect its eastern border
Europe • 9:00 AM
1 min
The European Commission on Thursday proposed four flagship European defence projects, including a counter-drone system and a plan to fortify the eastern border, as part of a drive to get the continent ready to defend itself by 2030. Story by Liza Kaminov
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Bomb destroys prominent Italian investigative journalist’s car
Europe • 7:50 AM
1 min
An explosive device detonated under the car of Sigfrido Ranucci, one of Italy’s leading investigative journalists, outside his home, his TV news show announced Friday. No one was injured in the bombing, which damaged two cars and a nearby home. Prime Min
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Zelensky heads for Trump meeting to push for Tomahawk missiles
Europe • 5:13 AM
1 min
Following a lengthy phone call between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US president cast new doubt on whether he was ready to sell long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to change Trump'
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