Russia's gold reserves exceeded 310 billion US dollars for the first time on Dec. 1, 2025, according to a report released Friday by the Central Bank of Russia. Marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the value of Russia's gold holdings reached a record 310.72 billion dollars, up 3.6 per c
The European Union is trying to lend Ukraine tens of billions of dollars, as support from Washington wanes, Russia ekes out gains on the battlefield and Kyiv edges closer to a funding crunch early next year. The 27-member bloc is discussing borrowing against Russian assets held in Europe frozen by
Russia is considering retaliatory measures against the Faroe Islands after the Faroese parliament passed a law giving the government the authority to bar Russian fishing companies from its waters, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The Faroese public broadcaster said on Wednesday that
President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Thursday that Russia would take full control of Ukraine's Donbas region by force unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, something Kyiv has flatly rejected. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years o
Four people were killed and 40 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the eastern-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Monday, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came amid an intensified diplomatic push to end the nearly four-year war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visiting Paris o
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week's budget had retained market confidence which was key to providing stability for investors and businesses, and would in time lead to economic growth. Starmer gave a speech on Monday in which he sought to defend the budget outlined last week by fin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will pay his first official visit to Ireland on Tuesday, the government said in a statement. His engagements are expected to include a meeting with Prime Minister Micheal Martin and the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, alongside Ir
Switzerland on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of 50 million Swiss francs ($62 million) or more, with 78 per cent of votes against the plan, an outcome that even exceeded the two‑thirds opposition indicated in polls. Bankers have watched the vote clo
Ukraine hit two tankers used by Russia to export oil while skirting Western sanctions with marine drones in the Black Sea, an official from the SBU security service said on Saturday. The joint operation to hit the so-called 'shadow fleet' vessels was run by the SBU and Ukraine's navy, the official
Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. The first US pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque a
Actors Kate Winslet, Hannah Waddingham and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be among the stars joining the British royals for the annual Christmas carol service at London's Westminster Abbey hosted by Kate, the Princess of Wales, her office said on Saturday. The 'Together At Christmas' service, which will be
Ask Ukrainians who the country's most powerful figure is after the president and many will say Andriy Yermak, his chief of staff and a key negotiator during four years of war when Western financial and military aid has kept Kyiv in the fight. Yermak, a friend of President Volodymyr Zelensky and hi
Karl Bushby, a British ex-paratrooper who set out in 1998 to walk around the world, is on the final stretch of his 27-year-long trek home, and trying to cope with social media pressure in a world that has changed profoundly. Walking in pouring rain in northwest Hungary, Bushby, 56, who started out
