Vladimir Putin is in China for crucial talks with President Xi Jinping, shortly after Russia launched a fresh incursion into Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Putin was received with full military honours, and Xi emphasised their strong 'friendship’.…
According to Ukrainian intelligence, a Russian assassination plot against Volodymyr Zelensky has been thwarted and two men arrested. They supposedly intended to kidnap and kill the president and other top officials as a ‘gift’ to Vladimir…
North Macedonia: crucial election votes
10 May 2024
On 8 May, North Macedonia held parliamentary and presidential elections. If Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, from the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, wins the presidential election, that could complicate EU accession talks. These talks have been delayed, partly due to…
US officials have accused Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine, violating international laws. They claim that the choking agent chloropicrin was used to make ‘battlefield gains’. The Kremlin has yet to respond but has denied…
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has denied Nicaragua's request for emergency measures to halt Germany's arms sales to Israel, claiming that this violated the UN genocide convention. Germany is a key ally of Israel and…
A deputy defence minister, Timur Ivanov, has been detained in Moscow, accused of accepting large-scale bribes. Ivanov, who denies the charges, has been overseeing military infrastructure projects since his appointment in 2016. There have been few…