EUROPE

A MAFIA EXECUTION: THE BLOODY END OF JEAN-PIERRE MALDERA

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The dark world of organized crime resurfaced in brutal fashion this week as Jean-Pierre Maldera, a notorious former mafia figure, was gunned down in broad daylight on a French motorway. Maldera, once a key player in the "Italo-Grenoblois" criminal syndicate, met his end in a hail of bullets, reportedly from military-grade weapons such as a Kalashnikov rifle.

TRANSPORT PARALYZED IN PARIS AFTER BOMB IS UNEARTHED

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A massive 500-kilogram World War II bomb unearthed near tracks outside Paris brought travel to a standstill on Friday, impacting thousands of passengers and causing significant disruption at the Gare du Nord train station. The station, France's busiest railway terminus and a key international hub serving London and mainland Europe, saw all traffic halted as authorities worked to safely remove the device.

NORTHVOLT FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY IN SWEDEN

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Northvolt, a Swedish electric car battery maker once hailed as a cornerstone of Europe's efforts to rival Asia and the United States in battery cell production, has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. The company, founded in 2016, struggled with debt, slow demand, and production delays, ultimately failing to secure the necessary financing to continue operations. The setback follows BMW's cancellation of a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) order in May 2024.

DENMARK TO END LETTER DELIVERING SERVICE

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Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, will end its 400-year-old letter delivery service at the end of 2025 due to a 90% drop in letter volumes since the start of the century. The company will begin removing Denmark's 1,500 post boxes from June.

PORTUGAL FACES THIRD ELECTION IN THREE YEARS AS PM MONTENEGRO LOSES CONFIDENCE VOTE

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In a dramatic political upheaval, Portugal is hurtling toward its third general election in barely three years after Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's right-of-centre minority government collapsed on Tuesday. Lawmakers decisively rejected Montenegro's confidence motion by 142 to 88, with zero abstentions.

TESLA AND CHINESE COMPETITOR BYD UNITE TO OUTPACE EU PETROLEUM CARS

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Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has extended an olive branch to rival Tesla, proposing collaboration to combat their "common enemy" - internal combustion engine vehicles. Stella Li, BYD's executive vice-president, emphasized this strategic alignment during a recent Financial Times interview, stating that cooperation between the two EV powerhouses is essential to transform the automotive industry.

RUSSIAN SPY RING OF BULGARIAN NATIONALS FOUND GUILTY IN UK

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In one of the largest foreign intelligence operations uncovered in Britain, three Bulgarian nationals have been convicted of espionage for Russia. Vanya Gaberova, 30, Katrin Ivanova, 33, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, were found guilty of conspiracy to spy after a trial at the Old Bailey that revealed a sophisticated network operating across Europe.

ZELENSKY WARNS RUSSIA: "HALT ATTACKS IF YOU WANT PEACE TALKS"

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that Russia must halt its aerial attacks before any peace negotiations can begin. Speaking on social media, he highlighted the devastating scale of recent Russian aggression: "More than 1,050 attack drones, nearly 1,300 aerial bombs, and over 20 missiles" targeted Ukraine in just one week.