| Nord Stream Blasts Remain an Unsolved Mystery Gripping Europe The mystery attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines drastically cut the potential natural gas supplies from Russia just as everyone in Europe wanted to stop buying from Moscow. Leaders quickly figured out the blasts were deliberate, but in the half-year since, a contentious debate has raged over the question of responsibility. There's been surprisingly little public collaboration on investigations. Denmark, Germany, Poland and Sweden launched independent inquiries, as did Russia. One thing is clear: Infrastructure is an easy target. Deepening Drought Forces Europe to Accelerate Climate Adaptation  Images captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 in February highlighting the drought on France's Loire River. Photographer: ESA-processed Copernicus data via Bloomberg The record heat and drought hurting European farmers, power utilities and insurers foreshadows even faster change to the continent's climate, with scientists warning that knock-on effects of a drying Earth likely will lead to dangerously high temperatures again this year. "We are really moving into unchartered territory," says Carlo Buontempo, the director of Copernicus Climate Change Service. Endgame Nears for N. Ireland Unionists Facing World's Glare  US President Joe Biden delivers a speech at Ulster University in Belfast, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Northern Ireland geared up to celebrate this month as US presidents past and present flew in to join British, Irish and local leaders marking 25 years of peace since the region's violent "Troubles." But just as in 1998, the Democratic Unionist Party is frustrating progress. Its refusal to re-join Northern Ireland's power-sharing government — an innovation that lies at the heart of the peace accord and seen as a model for conflict resolution around the world — is laying bare the old divisions. Germany Fights to Green Production of Most Important Commodity  An employee works in the blast furnace at the Salzgitter mill Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg In Germany's industrial heartland, a slender spire of tubes rises amid a cluster of smoke-belching foundries. Owned by Salzgitter, Germany's second-largest steelmaker, the installation is an ambitious attempt to revolutionize the steelmaking process, and in doing so, to secure a critical piece of the country's economy. Steel, however, is also one of the worst offenders in terms of carbon emissions. Ukraine Pitches High Returns in Wartime Fire Sale of State Firms Ukraine is looking for investors brave enough to bet that it will beat back Russia's invasion with a simple pitch: High risk can offer high reward. The war-torn country is preparing to sell big government-run firms at distressed prices to shore up its aid-dependent budget — and end a decades-old, post-communist legacy of corruption. Cyberwar Descends on an Unprepared Moldova Russia's hackers have had a surprising lack of success in Ukraine, but in Moldova, Moscow and its affiliated hacking groups appear to be running roughshod over the country's relatively weak defenses. Moldovan officials say the cyberattacks and disinformation is an attempt to undermine — or even displace — a government friendly to the West in a country abutting the war zone. "They want to scare the population to infuse a constant sense of panic, of fear," says Ana Revenco, Moldova's minister of internal affairs. | 
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