Event: Eva

Journalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found.The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe.Europe’s leading civil liberties group also warned public media independence was being steadily eroded by political interference and budget cuts, and journalists were being increasingly hampered by restrictions on free expression and access to information.“A healthy, pluralistic media system is a litmus test and mirror of democracy,” said Eva Simon, Liberties’ senior advocacy officer. “Where the rule of law weakens – through deliberate government action or neglect – media freedom is undermined.”Journalist safety in particular reached what the report called “a crisis point” in Europe in 2025, with reporters and media workers facing “extreme physical violence and systemic legal harassment”, including bomb attacks targeting investigative reporters.In Athens, a device containing fivekg of TNT was thrown at the Athens home of Yannis Pretenteris, the editor of the weekly newspaper To Vima. In Italy, a device exploded under the car of Sigfrido Ranucci, a leading investigative journalist.In total, 118 attacks against journalists were recorded in Italy last year, 15 of them involving physical violence. Twenty Italian journalists – mainly investigating organised crime – live under police protection, the highest number in Europe.The Netherlands recorded an increase in attacks on journalists for the third year in a row last year, with 106 threats, 67 incidents of intimidation and 55 cases of physical violence.Online harassment also grew. A record 377 serious online attacks, including death threats, targeted journalists in 2025, while in Malta,…

A wounded resident stands at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine. | Photo Credit: Reuters A Russian drone attack before dawn on Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa wounded 14 people, including two children, authorities said Monday (April 27, 2026), in the latest barrage of attacks on civilian areas that have been a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour.Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people in the Russia-occupied part of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, Moscow-installed Gov. Vladimir Saldo said Monday (April 27). A man and a woman in their 70s died in the village of Dnipriany, he said. Published - April 27, 2026 12:01 pm IST

Morning opening: Another night of Russian attacks on UkraineJakub KrupaAnother night of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine overnight left more than 10 people injured, particularly damaging residential buildings in the Odesa region.The strikes caused the biggest damage in the central Prymorskyi district, where residential buildings, a hotel and facilities in the center of the city were damaged, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram in comments reported by Reuters.A rescue worker walks inside apartments destroyed by a Russian strike in Odesa, Ukraine. Photograph: Michael Shtekel/AP“It was an extremely difficult night,” he said, adding that high-rise residential buildings, private homes and vehicles came under attack in two other districts.The Ukrainian prime minister Julia Svyrydenko is expected to visit Poland today as she takes part in a conference on the “security and defence dimension” of Ukraine’s recovery, where she will meet with Poland’s Donald Tusk.I will keep an eye on lines coming out of that meeting for you.Elsewhere, France’s Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Andorra (of which, a little-known fact, he is a co-prince), Germany’s Friedrich Merz is expected to speak to pupils about Europe, the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen is in Berlin for a (politically awkward) chat with her former CDU/CSU party.It’s Monday, 27 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.Good morning.Key events15h agoClosing summary15h agoEU experiences 'prolonged China shock' with record trade surplus driven by EV exports15h agoPro-choice campaigners in Malta create lockboxes containing abortion pills15h agoAndorra's co-prince Macron expected to join debate on abortion16h agoEU and Hungary to discuss reforms needed to release frozen funds this week17h agoLithuania charges 13 people linked with Russia with attempted murders, terrorism18h agoRussia summons German ambassador over MP's meeting with Chechen exile19h agoPolish influencer’s nine-day, non-stop live stream raises £50m for cancer…

Father of two and "dad influencer" Diego Di Franco takes his daughter Eva to a birthday party, in Trezzano sul Naviglio, Italy, on April 9. | REUTERS ROME – Every afternoon in a Milan suburb, Diego Di Franco picks up his children from school, manages after-school activities and prepares dinner, tasks traditionally associated with Italian mothers.The routine is unremarkable in Italy, except that he is a father and he shares it online. Italy's parliament in February rejected a proposal to equalize maternity and paternity leave, but Di Franco and a growing number of what are being called "dad influencers" are reshaping how fatherhood looks in a country still struggling ​to reconcile work, family and gender equality. In the euro zone's third-largest economy, led by its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who has a ‌9-year-old daughter, women ‌shoulder most care work and face one of Europe's widest gender employment gaps, a drag on long-term growth as ​the population ages.Economists and activists say the situation is exacerbated by a stark policy imbalance: five months of maternity leave versus just 10 days of paternity leave. An opposition-backed proposal to introduce equal, non-transferable and fully paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, modeled on reforms adopted in countries such as Spain, was turned ⁠down by 137 votes to 117 by the center-right majority, citing budget constraints. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW