'Revenues from Europe are paying for Mr Putin's war'

Can Europe give up Russian gas? Plus, why the end of an Olympic dream led a cyclist to turn to robbery, the story of oil in Nigeria, and entertainers who get inside their audiences' minds

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Having difficulty reading this email? View it online     Can Europe give up Russian gas? The war in Ukraine has highlighted how dependent energy systems across Europe have become on natural gas supplies from Russia. With sanctions beginning to bite, and the Kremlin threatening retaliatory financial and logistical action, how hard will it be for European countries to find alternative solutions for their energy demands? 'Revenues from Europe are paying for Mr Putin's war' Reports and updates from the Global News Podcast     What does 'net zero' actually mean? Plenty of world leaders have pledged their countries will reach 'net zero' carbon emissions, but what does that really mean? What have they committed to, and what difference will it make? 'Politicians are paying lip service to it' The story of Shell, oil and Nigeria When one of the world's biggest oil companies arrived in Nigeria in the 1950s, there was huge excitement about the country's future. But the story didn't unfold as expected. 'They were seen as the great white hope'   From bike racer to bank robber In the 1990s, Tom Justice had ambitions of becoming an Olympic cyclist. When that dream fell apart, his life took a very different turn. 'There came a time when that wasn't enough anymore'   How accordions became the sound of murder in Lesotho Tim Whewell discovers how a hugely popular style of accordion music has become synonymous with gang violence in Lesotho, a country with one of the world's highest homicide rates. 'They started killing each other over the music' Is Sweden changing its attitude to refugees? Sweden has a reputation as one of Europe's most welcoming countries for refugees and immigrants, but recent incidents have led some to question if those attitudes are shifting. 'The borders of normality have changed'   How entertainers get inside people's heads Ava Do and Khruti Parekh are mentalists: Entertainers who use psychological skills to play tricks in their audiences' minds. How do they figure out what complete strangers are thinking? 'You need a very nice personality to carry it off'   From apartheid township to seafaring pioneer Earlier this year, Knowledge Bengu led the expedition that discovered the wreck of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance. It was a far cry from his childhood in apartheid South Africa. 'I was told, 'Mandela doesn't exist at sea'' What do we really know about Emperor Nero? There a few figures in ancient history with more outrageous reputations than the Roman Emperor Nero. Rajan Datar asks historians to help sort the facts from the fiction. 'His image was carefully crafted'

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