Who makes the Pope’s coffin?
Burying a Pope is a complicated business. Somewhere deep inside the Vatican, in a highly secret location, a group of carpenters is creating a very special casket
How populism gives youth wings
Bitter at the old politics, young Germans saw the far-right AfD as a revitalising tonic. How can the left get that taste out of their mouths?
Why you should visit Heligoland
Eighty years ago, the island was nearly wiped off the map. Today it relies on wind-farm crews more than tourists
The downside of living the Italian dream
Expats must learn that smaller rural Italian communities run on gossip
The papal succession
Pope Francis came close to anointing his heir. But the conclave will consider a range of cardinals, from progressives to Trump fans
Europe’s explosive history with the bomb
Britain and France both have atomic weapons. Now that the US is no longer a reliable ally, how should Europe deploy its nuclear deterrent?
When Switzerland gave Trump the finger
The Swiss are famously moderate – but when an image from a Basel carnival went viral, it led to a period of national self-examination
The sweet sound of ‘Brexit betrayal’
The Brexit reset deal will fix some of the mess made by Boris Johnson and Lord Frost. No wonder the latter is already moaning about it
Totò, the unlucky actor who took it on the chin
That he remained upbeat despite his many misfortunes was amazing. That he managed to make his home country laugh for over half a century borders on the miraculous
Vive la France, à bas JD Vance!
If Trump and his vice-president have a genius for anything, it’s global media dominance
Merz’s honeymoon is over
Thanks to the SPD, expectations of the soon-to-be chancellor are now so low he can hardly fail to impress once in office
The bridge at the end of Europe
Across the river from Russia, the Estonian city of Narva is part of the European Union. But Vladimir Putin is watching and waiting
Misan Harriman: A lens on a world in protest
The photographer’s images command attention – whether capturing the fiery passion of an activist rallying a crowd or the powerful, expressive gaze of a lone protester
Attacked by the regime’s hooligans
Serbia has seen five months of student protest and now the country is at breaking point
When Istanbul’s cafes fell silent
The opposition in Turkey has been reluctant to use protests as a tool against Erdoğan. But the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, has changed everything
Greenland knows what it wants, and it’s not JD Vance
If the vice-president wishes to return to the country, he may want to be better prepared
The bus ride that sums up France’s poverty and plenty
Provence conjures up images of lavender fields and honey-coloured villages… but the reality of the périphérique is somewhat different
The revenge of the Spanish economy
Spain has made a spectacular economic recovery since the last economic crash– but Spaniards are still struggling and fear Trump’s tariffs might trigger another disaster
Letters: Labour are showing a complete lack of empathy
The party has no clear vision or strategy, and appears to take delight in announcing further cuts that will adversely affect peoples’ lives
Germany’s embarrassing mobile network
Mobile phone coverage is notoriously patchy due to past policy failures and slow infrastructure expansion, leaving rural areas full of dead zones
North Macedonia loses an entire generation
With 59 fatalities and over 200 hospitalisations, the fire at Club Pulse was the stuff of nightmares
The barbarians of Italy’s far south
A vampire-style taste for pig’s blood is found across the country, where it is a key ingredient in traditional cakes and sausages
Can Spain keep the kids away from porn?
Today, it seems that sexual content is so easily accessible online as to have become almost mainstream. Spain’s government is trying to change that
How Le Pen wrote the rules of her own downfall
The far right leader demanded French courts get tough on corrupt politicians. Now she is paying the price
Stop worrying about a Le Pen backlash
Her political ban might boost the National Rally – but equally, it could now crumble. So let’s celebrate
Paris versus the populists
The city’s referendum gives Parisians the chance to have their say. Should Britain do the same?
The ‘hellish nightmare’ of the Depardieu trial
While a cinema legend faces sexual assault claims, his Kremlin-defending lawyer denigrates witnesses – and compares his client’s treatment to the French revolution terror
Will Trump accidentally trigger a European boom?
Trump doesn’t understand anything about economics – might his aggressive stance on Europe have some unintended consequences?
Rob Pilatus, the new Elvis who signed a deal with the devil
He was one half of Milli Vanilli. So was he a failure, a fraud – or an extraordinary success?
Letters: We can’t afford to alienate young men
Dismissing the possibility of issues unique to young men may further isolate those who are struggling
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: Putin’s dirty tricks campaign
Whether or not they were involved in the Heathrow fire, the Russians revel in the mayhem their hybrid actions cause
What the Cybertruck says about Trump’s America
Elon Musk’s creation is EU-unfriendly and poses a danger to anyone who gets in its way. Sound familiar?
The Alto Knights is Robert De Niro’s victory lap
Barry Levinson’s true-crime gangster story is a pleasing encapsulation of five decades of cinematic culture
Liverpool and the worldmakers
Throughout the 20th century, the currents of global change pulsed through the city. One man was at the centre of it all
The iron curtain and the silver screen
Under communism, Polish artists were given freedom to produce posters advertising Hollywood films in a way their makers never dreamed of
Letters: Look at the bigger numbers, Rachel
The chancellor should be targeting the big oil, tech and energy firms to raise extra revenue – it’s an untapped tax goldmine
Merz faces his next challenge
If Germany’s problems don’t get resolved, the extremists could be leading the charge in the next general election
Vučić under pressure as Serbia erupts in protest
Over 100,000 people gathered in Belgrade at the weekend for the latest in a series of anti-corruption demonstrations against the president
Healing through harmony: 20 years of the European Doctors Orchestra
The EDO celebrated the milestone with a public charity concert at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead
The rise and fall (and rise?) of the people’s ski resort
Le Balcon de Villard was cheap and very cheerful. Climate change and underinvestment changed that – but now NBA star Tony Parker wants to revive it
Brexit Britain is being outstripped by Slovenia and Malta
Real incomes in most European countries are growing faster than the UK – and our poorest households are losing out
The ex-Wetherspoon’s pub that’s now defiantly European
‘This was the perfect opportunity to give two fingers to Tim Martin and Nigel Farage’ says owner Robert Thomas
Pick Putin’s pockets to pay for the war against him
The case for confiscating $300bn worth of frozen Russian assets is clear
The days of Dolce Vita
Hollywood on the Tiber lifts the lid of Rome’s riotous postwar film industry
Letters: Britain is fundamentally European
The UK needs to be part of the European project as a fully active member. Only then can Europe truly stand united against both Trump and Putin
Our media obsession with Trump is playing into China’s hands
China may soon become the most powerful country on earth – but the UK media has taken its eye off the ball thanks to the circus in America
A lost piece of the Bayeux Tapestry
A stolen fragment of the tapestry, looted by a Nazi archaeologist for racial research, has resurfaced in Germany. But France wants it back
A place of peace and resistance
After 700 years of often turbulent history, the monks of Kosovo’s Visoki Dečani have taken on a strong symbolic resonance
The world capital of ugliness
Ugliness in Piobbico is a virtue, and the ‘uglies’ are heroes
The Alpine border towns making capital out of culture
Gorizia and Nova Gorica share a history of division but are now united as the first transnational European Capital of Culture