Mapping the World Essentials

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

The outcome of the war in Ukraine is far from certain. But the Ukrainians are convinced that they will eventually retake the Crimean Peninsula. 

Many in Ukraine no longer want to share Christmas with the Russian enemy. The Christmas war has been declared, and Ukraine now celebrates Christmas on 25 December instead of 7 January.

A highly charged debate is ongoing in Latvia on the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, aimed at preventing violence against women.

Qatar has long relied on football to increase its prestige, from buying French club Paris-Saint-Germain to sponsoring Barcelona. With TV rights selling for astronomical amounts, football is much more than just a sport.

After weeks of confinement to protect the Chinese capital from COVID-19, Beijing begins to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel 

As the world heats up, cities around the world are responding to the challenges of climate change with fresh ideas.

With Keir Starmer ‘s resignation, British politics is still unstable after six prime ministers in the ten years since the Brexit vote.

In 2016, he was one of the main supporters of Brexit. Today, his credo is the fight against immigration.

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

When Pope Leo XIV spoke out against war, President Trump criticised the leader of the catholic church, which caused a backlash.

Hybrid warfare and new technologies are putting intelligence services under serious pressure worldwide.

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

Was everything better in the past? Twist meets nostalgia enthusiasts to find out.

An odyssey through Iran in search of a lost father for one Tehrani teenager and her friends.

As the world heats up, cities around the world are responding to the challenges of climate change with fresh ideas.

With one of his paintings, Gerhard Richter made an intervention into a long-running an passionate debate: Which way round should you put the toilet roll?

Behind the glitzy facade of the World Cup... there's a darker side to the world of football.

It seems that scientist have proven that the enigmatic gaze of the Mona Lisa does not follow you as you move around the room. So why did we think that in the first place?

Hellfest kicks off now! Day one of France's most famous heavy metal festival includes sets from Shelter and The Plot In You.

With Keir Starmer ‘s resignation, British politics is still unstable after six prime ministers in the ten years since the Brexit vote.

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