Europe
Putin demands more Ukraine land to end war
President Vladimir Putin said yesterday Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its Nato ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.
G7 hammers China over Russia ties, ‘harmful’ trade
G7 leaders meeting in Italy yesterday hardened their tone against China, warning Beijing to stop sending weapons components to Russia and play by the rules on trade, according to a draft summit statement.
JULY 4 POLLS in UK / Reform UK outstrips Tories for first time: poll
The Conservative party of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fallen behind the hard-right anti-immigration Reform UK party for the first time in a poll by YouGov, which called the development a “seismic shift”.
French left vows ‘total break’ with Macron policies
France’s left put up a united front yesterday, vowing a “total break” with President Emmanuel Macron’s policies if it wins historic polls, while far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen pledged a “national unity government” if her party emerges victorious.
US, Ukraine ink 10yr defence deal
US President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement yesterday aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defence against Russian invaders and getting Ukraine closer to NATO membership.
Ukraine support plan / G7 leaders agree $50bn deal
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies yesterday agreed an outline deal to provide $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Moscow launched its invasion of its neighbour in 2022.
Over 300,000 troops now on high readiness
Nato countries have “comfortably exceeded” a target of placing 300,000 troops on high-readiness as the alliance grapples with the threat from Russia, a senior alliance official said yesterday.
Russia destroyed half of Ukraine’s power generation
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities have destroyed half of its electricity generation capacity since winter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday.
Dengue, mosquito-borne diseases rising in Europe: EU agency
Cases of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases are rising significantly in Europe as climate change creates warmer conditions that help invasive mosquitos spread, the EU's health agency warned on Tuesday
Far right surges in EU vote
The snap election called by President Emmanuel Macron after Sunday’s bruising loss to the far-right in European Parliament elections will be France’s most fateful legislative vote in decades, its finance minister said yesterday.
Macron calls shock French elections after far-right rout
While the centre, liberal and Socialist parties were set to retain a majority in the 720-seat parliament, the vote dealt a domestic blow to the leaders of both France and Germany, raising questions about how the European Union's major powers can drive policy in the bloc
WWII veteran, 100, weds 96-yr-old bride on D-Day anniversary
It might have been the longest wait but on Saturday 100-year-old American World War II veteran Harold Terens married his 96-year-old fiancee in Normandy, just days after being honoured on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in northwestern France.
UK foreign minister fooled by hoax call
Britain’s foreign minister David Cameron has been the victim of a hoax video call from someone claiming to be the former president of Ukraine, officials said.
World on ‘highway to climate hell’
Each of the past 12 months ranked as the warmest on record in year-on-year comparisons, the EU’s climate change monitoring service said yesterday, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent action to avert “climate hell”.
Humble fern wins world record for largest genome
A small, seemingly unremarkable fern that only grows on a remote Pacific island was crowned the Guinness World Record holder for having the largest genome of any organism on Earth.
Zelensky hails US weapons green light as ‘step forward’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday hailed a US decision to partially lift restrictions on using US-donated weapons to strike inside Russia as a “step forward”.
Nine killed in series of missile attacks: Ukraine
Ukraine yesterday reported nine people had been killed in four regions of the war-battered country, as Russia presses gains on the front line where Kyiv’s troops are struggling.
UK police arrest 40 people after pro-Gaza rally
UK police yesterday said that 40 people had been arrested and three officers injured after protesters refused to disperse following a demonstration in London over Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza.
