Denmark

Bulgaria climbs 21 places in the Reporters Without Borders' annual Freedom of Speech Index and now ranks 91st instead of 112, as it was last year, the Association of European Journalists said.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The head of the military administration in Kharkiv confirmed that four settlements were recaptured by Kyiv from the Russians: Kutuzivka, Verkhina Rohanka, Slobidske and Prelensne.

Scholz defended his policy for Ukraine

NATO has launched major military exercises on its eastern flank.

From 1 to 27 May, Defender Europe 2022 and Swift Response 2022 will be held in nine NATO countries with 18,000 troops from more than 20 countries. This was announced on May 1 on the website of the Armed Forces of Poland, one of the host countries, quoted by the Ukrainian site "Gordonua".

Denmark says the virus is now under control

When Henri Matisse painted "The Red Studio" in 1911 he portrayed 11 of his artworks on a single canvas. An exhibition in New York is about to display all the surviving works together for the first time.

Poland and Bulgaria said Russian energy giant Gazprom's decision to halt natural gas supplies to them won't cause unbearable problems as they either have enough gas stored, or have alternatives to draw on.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called Gazprom's move "a direct attack on Poland, revenge for the sanctions we imposed", in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ljubljana – This year’s Festival of Genre Film, dedicated to film soleil, an offshoot of film noir, will get under way tonight with a screening of John Sturges’s Bad Day at Black Rock at Kinodvor cinema in Ljubljana. Another highlight will be a screening of The Amusement Park, a rediscovered film by the horror visionary George A. Romero.

Atanas Atanasov, co-chairman of "Democratic Bulgaria" (DB), described as "hypocrisy" the fact that Bulgaria declares that it does not export weapons to Ukraine, and at the same time "according to publications in authoritative Ukrainian publications, Bulgarian products from the military-industrial complex are on the 4th place of supply for the country invaded by Russia."

From plans for liquefied natural gas terminals in northern Germany, Finland and France to potential new routes through Spain and the Mediterranean, Europe is striving to rid itself of its dependence on Russian gas, though experts say the task will take years to complete.

Voting takes place at three polling stations - in Washington D.C., New York and Chicago. The polls opened at 8 a.m. local time, and 1.155 voters were registered.
Polling stations are open in Canada and London.