From Italy and the World

CNN  —  A boy was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly opening fire in an elementary school in the Serbian capital Belgrade, authorities said. Five children were wounded in the incident, CNN affiliate N1 reported, before a seventh-grade student – typically aged 12 or 13 – was placed under arrest. The…

CNN  —  European police carried out raids in multiple European countries on early Wednesday, as part of a probe into the Calabrian Mafia, according to the Belgian federal prosecutor. “This morning, a large-scale European operation took place in several countries. It concerns a case opened by the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s…

Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 28. (Stringer/AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had no conversations with the White House after a trove of classified US intelligence documents were posted on social media, he told The Washington Post Monday. In an interview with the Post, Zelensky said he learned…

CNN  —  London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a man outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after he allegedly threw suspected shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds, just days before the coronation of King Charles III. Police attended the palace about 7pm local time and arrested the man on suspicion of possessing an…

Catalonia, Spain CNN  —  Standing in his field of stunted, withered maize, Santi Caudevilla is very worried. “If the weather does not change it will be zero. Nothing is going to be harvested,” he said. Caudevilla, who grows maize, sorghum and other crops in Gimenells in Catalonia, has been hit…

A destroyed Russian tank remains on the side of the road near the frontline town of Kreminna in Luhansk region, Ukraine on March 24. (Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters) Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties since December and the “stunning” number is a key signal that Moscow’s winter offensive has “backfired,” according to new estimated…

CNN  —  A former US Marine, Cooper “Harris” Andrews, 26, was killed on the outskirts of Bakhmut late last week, according to his mother and colleagues in Ukraine. Andrews, from Cleveland, Ohio, was hit by a mortar, his mother, Willow Andrews said, likely on April 19 on the so-called “Road…

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine CNN  —  Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive appears imminent – and the way each side is preparing speaks volumes about their readiness. Kyiv’s front lines are abuzz with vehicle movement and artillery strikes, with regular explosions hitting vital Russian targets in occupied areas. Its defense minister has said preparations are…

Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive appears imminent — and the way each side is preparing speaks volumes about their readiness. Kyiv’s frontlines are abuzz with vehicle movement and artillery strikes, with regular explosions hitting vital Russian targets in occupied areas. Its defense minister has said preparations are “coming to an end” and President…

Paris CNN  —  After months of protests and widespread strikes that saw transport grind to a halt and garbage mount in the streets of Paris, hugely unpopular changes to France’s pension system have been signed into law. France’s Constitutional Council, which plays a similar role to the US Supreme Court,…

CNN  —  The Vatican is part of a peace mission to end the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis said Sunday. “The mission is in the course now, but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it,” Francis told reporters. The pontiff made the remarks as…

CNN  —  If you’re looking for a job, love animals and don’t take yourself too seriously, an opportunity at the Blackpool Zoo might pique your interest. The animal sanctuary in Lancashire, England, is seeking seagull deterrents to help with the “nuisance” of the birds stealing food from visitors and animals.…

Russia has had nearly six months to prepare the ground for Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive this spring, building an elaborate array of defenses in occupied territory near the front lines. Breaking through will present a huge challenge for Kyiv’s troops, with obstacles extending hundreds of miles across the meandering southern front…

CNN  —  The artist behind a sculpture of a walrus that was controversially euthanized over public safety concerns says she hopes her creation becomes a “three-dimensional history lesson” after it was unveiled in Norway’s capital Oslo. The life-sized bronze statue shows Freya the walrus curled up on her side close…

CNN  —  Russia says it will retaliate after Polish authorities seized the Russian Embassy school in Warsaw, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Polish police and staff from the Warsaw city hall entered the campus Saturday morning, asking employees to leave the premises, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti…

CNN  —  Two civilians have died in a village in Russia’s Bryansk region following Ukrainian shelling, according to a local governor. Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk, said in a message on his Telegram channel early Sunday that a strike had “killed two civilians, unfortunately.” One residential building had been…

CNN  —  Ukraine says its preparations for a spring counter-offensive are almost complete. When it’s launched, probably in the south, it will mark a pivotal moment in the conflict. But the Russians have had nearly six months to prepare the ground – and build an elaborate array of defenses. Breaking…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he appealed to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, this week for help returning Ukrainian children who were deported by Russia. Zelensky shared new details about the diplomatic call, which was held Wednesday, during a joint press conference with the presidents of Slovakia and the Czech…