Russia on Thursday targeted Ukraine with a barrage of missiles in strikes which Moscow said were in response to a border incursion earlier this month.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, hoping to deepen their co-operation over migration and Ukraine and cement a new start between the countries after years of Brexit rows.

In the 37 years since the last coal pit closed in Whitehaven, the once-proud mining town on northwest England's remote Cumbrian coast has hit on hard times.

Britain's Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is temporarily subsidising electricity and gas bills this winter.

At a nuclear waste site in Normandy, robotic arms guided by technicians behind a protective shield manoeuvre a pipe that will turn radioactive chemicals into glass as France seeks to make safe the byproducts of its growing reliance on atomic power.

Protests against French government plans to raise the retirement age had a muted impact on the energy sector on Thursday, the first day of 48-hour strikes, lowering hydropower output and curbing some refinery deliveries.

The European Union should introduce more sanctions against Russia's technology sector to curb Moscow's ability to produce arms and rockets it is using to wage war on Ukraine, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told Reuters.

European Union proposals to overhaul its electricity market will attempt to better protect consumer energy bills from short-term swings in fossil fuel prices, the European Commission said on Monday.

The leaders of France and Germany sought at a summit on Sunday to pave over divisions that have dogged Europe's closest bilateral relation since the war in Ukraine broke out, leaving many of their most vexed issues to be worked out later.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a changing world order are straining ties between France and Germany as they prepare to celebrate 60 years since a post-World War II treaty sealed their reconciliation.

Steps taken by the government so far to try to generate growth have been questionable.

A fresh barrage of Russian missiles battered Ukraine on Thursday, wounding at least five people including a teenager and cutting electricity in the west.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave Ukraine an ultimatum on Monday to fulfil Moscow's proposals, including surrendering territory Russia controls, or its army would decide the issue, a day after President Vladimir Putin said he was open to talks.

Moscow said on Monday its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone close to a long-range bomber base deep inside Russia, while Ukraine said the Russians had unleashed heavy artillery barrages on its cities in the past 24 hours.

Coal has made a comeback in Germany this year, as Europe's largest economy turns to the dirty fuel to power it through an energy crisis.

Britain on Tuesday ousted China General Nuclear from construction of its new Sizewell C power station, further cutting controversial economic ties with the world's second biggest economy.

Britain on Tuesday summoned the Chinese ambassador in London for a rebuke after the arrest and alleged assault of a BBC journalist covering Covid protests.

Fossil fuel producers benefited from sympathetic treatment in Egypt at the COP27 climate talks, government officials said, bringing their influence to bear in rushed final negotiations and frustrating those who hoped for a more ambitious outcome.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian air strikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that have again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

France's financial markets regulator on Tuesday approved the state's plan to fully control heavily indebted national power utility EDF that is to spearhead efforts to relaunch the French nuclear industry.

Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) economies will hold a second day of talks on Wednesday, although the schedule at the summit was disrupted by an emergency meeting to discuss reports of a missile landing in Polish territory near Ukraine.

The G20 gathering will inevitably be overshadowed by Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, which has shocked global energy markets and aggravated food shortages.

Republican U.S. representatives heading to U.N. climate talks in Egypt plan to discuss developing critical minerals used in everything from nuclear energy and electricity transmission to batteries for electric vehicles, the head of the delegation said on Wednesday.

EU leaders are set for tough talks on how to handle Europe's energy shock Thursday.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss won power by appealing to Conservative members as the heir to Margaret Thatcher.

Liz Truss successfully campaigned to become prime minister by saying she was opposed to the idea of a tax on the profits of energy giants.

The French government on Wednesday ordered some staff at an Exxon Mobil depot back to work and warned a TotalEnergies' depot could be next, risking a wider conflict with trade unions as it battles to secure petrol supplies following weeks-long strikes.

The energy security crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and disrupted access to Russian gas has sparked fears that countries will fall back on dirty fuel sources like coal.

The dollar started the week firmly on Monday, with a strong U.S.