Mapping the World Essentials

With endless air raids and drone strikes, the Ukrainian people are getting used to having to shelter in the metro and basements.

Sonu, Aman, Sajid and Tenu are part of the 20,000 foreign fighters fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

The US has pulled almost all its funding just as Ukraine is entering its fifth year of war. Can the EU plug the gap?

In Ukrainian Mariupol, occupied by Russia for four years, people pay in roubles and their passports are now Russian.

For four years, Russia has struck at Ukraine's vital infrastructure with the aim of demoralising the population. 

Life on the frontline with a Ukrainian drone division feels like a strange and deadly video game.

Restored wetlands would slow down tanks and infantry while also protecting the climate.

Harsher conditions for accessing social aid for Ukranian refugees is the aim of a bill that's being discussed in Warsaw.

A look at the daily struggle to survive amid a war that seems without end.

Despite the war, the summer vacation season is starting again this year in Odessa, albeit under strict rules.

They risk their lives working in the fields: farmers near Kherson are being targeted by Russian drone pilots.

To reform their assault units, which have been wiped out after three years of war, the Ukrainian army is recruiting prisoners.

Putin has agreed to talks with Ukraine to take place in Turkey. But why there?

The Dnieper is one of Europe’s longest rivers and has been at the centre of the Ukraine war since the Russian invasion.

Strict sanctions are  imposed on Russia by Europe.So how is it that a Russian car dealer manages to import Porches from Germany with impunity?

Artist Émeric Lhuisset's reinterpretation of a famous 1891 painting is part of a media war between Russia and Ukraine.

As the war continues, tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have lost their husbands in the fighting, a difficult situation in this war-weary country.

In Kharkiv children rehearse a play to forget the war for a few hours.

Since the start of the war, private delivery service; Nova Poshta has maintained its services throughout the country, as close as possible to the front lines.

Two years of war has taken its toll on Ukraine, and the psychological wounds are becoming ever more apparent.

Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children are thought to have been abducted and taken to Russia.

The US has pulled almost all its funding just as Ukraine is entering its fifth year of war. Can the EU plug the gap?

Yekaterina Duntsova was not allowed to stand for election against Putin. But she is not giving up.

Moldova is torn in two - part of the population wants rapprochement with the European Union, part looks back nostalgically to the Soviet era.

Masha Borzunova meets a Russian deserter who tells how he went from being a war hero to an ostracised traitor of his country.

"Europe remains a dream for Ukraine," says Andrey Kurkov.

With elections on the horizon in Hungary, Victor Orban’s party produced a deepfake of a rival candidate who is ahead in the polls

A look back at the Jeffrey Epstein's life and how the Epstein Files are exposing corruption at the highest level.

In February 2026 the US supreme court ruled that the president cannot unilaterally decide tariffs,Trump’s favourite economic lever.

How can we have more fulfilling sex? Ronja von Rönne meets couples and singles who have reinvented their sexuality.

From queer cake sitting to sex positive tasting evenings, Tracks finds out about food and sexuality.

In Brussels, the Commission is hoping for a fresh start in relations with Hungary.

How can we age well? Ronja von Rönne trys to find out by talking to chimney sweep Norbert Skrobek, who is close to retirement and Monika Gutte who defies age with a zest for life

They are reclaiming their bodies and freely expressing their sexuality: A focus on sex positive popstars in contemporary culture.

For many, family means love and cohesion but can also be a source of tension and conflict.

The conservative Pater Magyar has beaten Viktor Orban with a larger two-thirds majority in parliament.

Paris city hall is pursuing a green traffic policy: Less cars, more bicycles. But not everybody is pleased.

A new trainline linking the major Maya archaeological sites is a boon for the tourism industry.