Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Turkey that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace, an initiative welcomed by US President Donald Trump. Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has l
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday his country wanted to develop relations with Russia, and he derided those in the European Union who he said created obstacles to his attendance at World War Two commemorations in Moscow. Fico broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday backed a proposed unconditional 30-day ceasefire in the Russian war in Ukraine and said that the EU was ready to impose more sanctions on Russia if a ceasefire is breached. "The ball is now in Russia’s court," von der Leyen wrote
France and Poland will on Friday sign a treaty to increase cooperation on defence and energy issues, in a sign of growing security alliances among European nations amid concerns about US commitment to Europe's defence. The signing comes just 24 hours after the 80th anniversary of the end of the Se
Russia on Friday paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first. President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and more than two dozen other foreign leaders looked on as various truck-mounted Russian-made drones wer
The cause of the fire at an electricity substation that forced Britain's Heathrow Airport to shut down for almost a day remains unknown, the National Energy System Operator said in an interim report on Thursday.The closure of Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, on March 21 cost airlines tens o
The recovery of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht from the waters of northern Sicily is expected to begin in the coming weeks to help shed light on how a supposedly unsinkable vessel disappeared into the sea last August. The 56-metre-long (184-foot) Bayesian, with its majestic single 72-
Germany's new interior minister has issued orders to reject undocumented migrants and wants to deploy thousands more police officers at the country's borders, Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday, the first day of work for a new government under migration hardliner Friedrich Merz. Interior Ministe
All members of the European Union must boost their defence spending to fill gaps in the bloc's capabilities and secure continued support for Ukraine, Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in Paris on Wednesday. "Only in this way can we gradually close our capability gaps and collectively su
Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is sometimes called the "Asian Francis" because of his infectious smile, easy laugh, and spontaneity with words. Like the late Argentine pope, he hails from a country far from the Catholic Church's traditional power base of Europe and came to Rome with an outsi
Germany's new coalition government will be sworn in on May 6, with chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz picking close allies and corporate executives to tackle the country's economic malaise amid trade tensions and a surging far right. The Social Democrats, junior coalition partners, have nominate
Catholic cardinals entering a conclave on Wednesday to pick a new pope do not yet have a clear idea of who will emerge as Pope Francis' successor, several said, and speeches by individual clerics in meetings this week may be decisive. The 133 cardinals are holding near daily meetings to discuss is
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Saturday that nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during World War Two victory celebrations on May 9. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday decla
