Top 5 stories from Europe: 6 killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine; UK police hunt for motive in Nottingham knife attack, and more

Here are 5 key headlines from Europe and the United Kingdom today:

1. 01

   Nottingham police say man fatally stabbed 3, stole van and ran down 3 more in English city

   A knife-wielding assailant stabbed two college students to death in the streets of the English city of Nottingham and then fatally stabbed a middle-aged man, stole his van and ran down three pedestrians in a shocking rampage early Tuesday morning, police said.

   Sources have told TalkTV that the Nottingham Attack suspect is a foreign national who has a history of mental health problems, and is understood to have a legal visa to stay in Britain. pic.twitter.com/vDS8U8TX5W

   — TalkTV (@TalkTV) June 13, 2023

   Police arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder. A man who was among the people struck in the hit-and-run was hospitalised in critical condition. The dead included two 19-year-old students from the University of Nottingham.  The Nottinghamshire Police force said investigators believe the perpetrator acted alone and detectives were working with counterterrorism officers to try to establish a motive. (AP)

2. 02

   Romanian prosecutors change human trafficking charge against Andrew Tate

   Romanian prosecutors said on Tuesday that social media influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two other suspects were being investigated for human trafficking in continued form, saying it was a more serious crime than separate counts of trafficking.

   Andrew Tate (Twitter/Reuters)

   The Tate brothers and two Romanian female suspects are under house arrest pending a criminal investigation for suspected human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, accusations they have denied.

    

   Under Romanian legislation, prosecutors have filed charges against the four suspects, but the case is under investigation and has not yet gone to trial. Prosecutors are expected to commit them for trial later in June. (Reuters)

3. 03

   Russian missile strike in Ukraine's south, shelling in east kill at least 6 people

   Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight and shelling destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring more than a dozen others, regional officials said.

   Last night, russians attacked #Odesa with four Kalibr cruise missiles.
   Three people were killed, and 13 were injured.#russiaisaterroriststate pic.twitter.com/JpBsj0JuEa

   — Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 14, 2023

   A Ukrainian military spokesman said Russian forces have stepped up aerial strikes in their 15-month war against Ukraine, just as the country's troops have reported limited gains in an early counteroffensive.  In the east, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that at least three people died after shelling destroyed seven homes and damaged dozens more in the cities of Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka. (AP)

4. 04

   Britain's Covid-19 inquiry hears government was under-prepared

   Britain's government was under-prepared and failed to anticipate measures needed to protect the vulnerable, an official inquiry heard on Tuesday, as its chair pledged to put the bereaved at the heart of her work.

   The UK recorded one of the world's highest total number of deaths from COVID.

   At the centre of the COVID inquiry are documents, WhatsApp messages and bereaved families waiting for answers.

   Read more: https://t.co/Bb0YeiQRhy pic.twitter.com/XfYNWR6WS2

   — Sky News (@SkyNews) June 12, 2023

   Former prime minister Boris Johnson ordered the investigation after Britain recorded one of the world's highest death tolls. More than 175,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus had been reported by the time Johnson stood down in July last year. As the inquiry this week hears its first evidence, it could prove a headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was finance minister during the pandemic and faces an election next year.

   "Fundamentally, in relation to significant aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were taken by surprise," said the counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith, who leads questioning. (Reuters)

5. 05

   Vatican court fines climate activists over museum protest

   Two Italian climate activists from the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group were given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay nearly €30,000 (approximately $32,300) in damages for gluing themselves to the base of a statue in the Vatican museum last year.

   ⚠️ Oggi a Città del Vaticano la sentenza: 9 mesi di carcere per un grammo di colla ⚠️

   una sentenza esagerata, che non vuole riconoscere la drammaticità della situazione che motiva tutte le nostre proteste: https://t.co/3gNhbzTmNC pic.twitter.com/MDevTuKuL6

   — Ultima Generazione (@UltimaGenerazi1) June 12, 2023

   Guido Viero and Ester Goffi glued themselves to the marble base of the museum's timeless Laocoon statue last August.

   The statue depicts sea serpents crushing the mythical priest while he was trying to warn the Trojans against accepting the Greek-gifted wooden horse. Last Generation and other similar climate groups mostly rely on pulling similar stunts to raise climate awareness. They argue that provoking a strong reaction is an effective form of protesting. (Deutsche Welle)