Europe focus

UNITED KINGDOM

Former ambassador to US released on bail

Former United Kingdom ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson was released on bail on Monday, hours after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The London Metropolitan Police said the 72-year-old was released pending further investigation. Mandelson returned to his London home in the early hours on Tuesday. The police launched a probe earlier this month over allegations that while serving as a government minister, Mandelson passed on market-sensitive government information to Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of child sex offenses and who died in jail in 2019.

SLOVAKIA

Nation pulls plug on electricity to Ukraine

Slovakia went ahead with a threat to cut off electricity supplies to its neighbor Ukraine on Monday in an on-going row over the closure of a Russian oil pipeline running through Ukrainian territory, and supplying Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico published a video message on Facebook to confirm he had gone through with what he had previously warned about. "I have fulfilled what I announced on Saturday," he said, adding "in January 2026 alone, there were twice as many such emergency supplies needed to stabilize the Ukrainian energy grid as in the whole of 2025".

DENMARK

PM calls snap election over security concerns

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced early elections in March, with national security a key issue. An election had been due to take place before the end of October but following the row with the United States over its designs on Greenland, she has decided to go early. "Even though there is now an election campaign in Denmark, the world out there is not waiting," she said. "As everyone knows, the conflict over Greenland is not over yet. The government will of course continue to look after Denmark's interests."