Ukraine says Russia bombed apartment block as birthday gift for Putin

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a macabre gift for Vladimir Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday on Wednesday.

Ukraine’s president described Russia’s overnight drone and missiles strikes, which killed at least 15 people, as “despicable”. “The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” he said.

Royal Mail to cut up to 2,500 jobs amid restructure and fall in letter deliveries

Royal Mail is to cut up to 2,500 jobs as the embattled company seeks to restructure its business amid intense competition and the continuing decline in letter deliveries.

The postal service, which has been fined a total of £37m since 2023 for missing delivery targets set by Ofcom, said the job cuts would focus on head office and “support function roles” with the restructure to be completed by the end of next year.

France halts police use of stun grenades at student protests

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to make public address after hundreds of thousands rally to demand more funding for education.

France has temporarily banned police from using stun grenades at student-led protests, the interior minister said, amid growing accusations of police brutality following several days of student demonstrations nationwide.