Laura Smith-Spark

Newsdesk Editor, CNN Digital

Laura Smith-Spark covers mostly Europe, Middle East and Africa news for CNN Digital in London.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 25: Columbia University students participate in an ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment on their campus following last week's arrest of more than 100 protesters on April 25, 2024 in New York City. In a growing number of college campuses throughout the country, student protesters are setting up tent encampments on school grounds to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and for their schools to divest from Israeli companies. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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April 27, 2024 - Campus protest updates
Apr 28, 2024
Pro-Palestinian protests continue at major US universities, where several schools have called police on protesters, leading to the arrests of hundreds across the country. Follow for live updates.
Catherine, Princess of visits Nottingham Trent University to learn about their mental health support system on October 11, 2023 in Nottingham, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales are carrying out engagements across the UK to mark World Mental Health Day and to highlight the importance of mental wellbeing, particularly in young people.
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March 22, 2024 - Catherine, Princess of Wales, says she has cancer
Mar 23, 2024
Catherine, Princess of Wales, disclosed Friday she has been diagnosed with cancer and is in the “early stages” of treatment.
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, pictured in this 2019 file photograph, has died in prison, according to state media reports.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in Putin’s side
Feb 16, 2024
Alexey Navalny, who has died aged 47, according to the Russian prison service, had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
TOPSHOT - CORRECTION / Smoke billows over Khan Yunis during Israeli bombardment from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 25, 2023, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) / "The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by SAID KHATIB has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [December 25] instead of [December 24]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require." (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
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December 26, 2023 Israel-Hamas war
Dec 27, 2023
Israel’s war in Gaza “will be a long fight” and is far from ending, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, after he returned from a trip to the enclave. Follow the latest news here.
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from Israel, November 3, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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November 4, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news
Nov 5, 2023
As Israel intensifies its air and ground assault, up to a million people have fled northern Gaza to the south, according to a US special envoy, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Flares and explosions are seen in Gaza, as Nic Robertson reports from Sderot, Israel, on November 2.
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November 3, 2023 Israel-Hamas war news
Nov 4, 2023
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli leaders, as Israel’s military says it is surrounding Gaza City amid an intensifying bombardment of the strip.
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July 8, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
Jul 8, 2023
It’s the 500th day of Russia’s war in Ukraine. With a pivotal NATO summit looming, Ukraine has held high-profile meetings and secured controversial cluster munitions from the US.
Destroyed Antonivskyi bridge is seen over the flooded Dnipro river after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Kherson, Ukraine June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer
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July 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
Jul 4, 2023
President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged difficulties Monday on the battlefield — but said Ukraine is “making progress.”
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July 1, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
Jul 1, 2023
Russia killed at least 30 soldiers and has eliminated a Ukrainian foothold along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, a Russian-appointed leader said. Follow here for live updates.
Leader of Italy's liberal-conservative party Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi speaks during a rally of Italy's far-right League party, conservative Brothers of Italy party and Forza Italia party against the government on October 19, 2019 in Rome. - Italy's strongman Matteo Salvini holds a key rally in Rome on October 19 aimed at re-launching the Italian right and making a power-grab for the capital. Some eight special trains and 400 coaches transported supporters from across the country for the "Italian Pride" demonstration. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister and mogul, dies
Jun 12, 2023
Italy’s flamboyant former leader, Silvio Berlusconi, has died in Milan after a period of illness, marking the end of an era in Italian politics. Follow here for live updates.
ROME, ITALY - AUGUST 30: Silvio Berlusconi of Forza Italia party, speaks to the press at the end of the interview with Giuseppe Conte in charge of forming the new government,on August 30, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Simona Granati - Corbis/Getty Images)
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Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former showman leader, battled a string of scandals to dominate politics for decades
Jun 12, 2023
Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant billionaire and former Italian prime minister who once described himself as the “Jesus Christ of politics,” has died at a Milan hospital at the age of 86, his press office confirmed on Monday.
Ukrainian servicemen of the State Border Guard Service work in the operations room in Bakhmut on February 9, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP) (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
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February 12, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news
Feb 13, 2023
At least one person was injured after a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, but Kyiv and other areas have been spared planned power outages.
The historic center of Odesa, Ukraine, is now listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
bergamont/iStockphoto/Getty Images
Three sites ‘in danger’ added to UNESCO World Heritage List
Jan 25, 2023
The historic center of the Ukrainian port city of Odesa was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List as well as its list of sites “in danger” on Wednesday, alongside Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli in Lebanon and Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba in Yemen.
This file picture taken on December 29, 2012, in St.Peter's square at the Vatican shows Pope Benedict XVI saluting as he arrives to the ecumenical christian community of Taize during their European meeting. Pope Benedict XVI on February 11, 2013 announced he will resign on February 28, a Vatican spokesman told AFP, which will make him the first pope to do so in centuries. AFP PHOTO / FILES / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
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Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies
Dec 31, 2022
Former Pope Benedict XVI, who shaped Catholic theology for decades before shocking the world by resigning as pontiff, has died at 95.
Smoke billows after Russian attacks in the outskirts of Bakhmut, Ukraine, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos)
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December 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news
Dec 29, 2022
Russia has launched dozens of shells into Ukraine’s southern Kherson region in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian officials say, as the United Nations states nearly 7,000 Ukrainian civilians have died since Russia invaded. Follow here for the latest news updates.
A Ukrainian flag flies in a damaged residential area in the city of Borodianka, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. In Borodyanka in the Kiev region, rescuers pulled out the bodies of 41 dead from under the rubble. This was reported by the press center of the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, triggering the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. (Photo by Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/Sipa USA)No Use Germany.
Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Reuters
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December 27, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news
Dec 28, 2022
Three Russian servicemen were killed after a Ukrainian drone crashed near an air base inside Russian territory, according to Russian state news. Over the weekend, Russia struck Kherson more than 70 times, killing 16 people. Follow for the latest updates.

About

Laura Smith-Spark covers mostly Europe, Middle East and Africa news for CNN Digital in London.