Taiwan’s Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-chang expressed concern that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would have the ‘complete capability’ to attack Taiwan by 2025. The Minister expressed concern while also highlighted sanctions as the means to deter aggression during a virtual seminar titled “Taiwan: is it key to the continuing world order?” organised by The Democracy […]

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered all civilians still living in parts of eastern Donetsk region under Ukrainian control to evacuate. Speaking during a late-night address from Kyiv, Mr Zelensky warned of an intensification of fighting. “The more people leave Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he […]

Russia plans to annex more Ukrainian territory using a similar “playbook” to its takeover of Crimea, the US says. Citing US intelligence, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia is already laying the groundwork for annexation. Occupied regions of Ukraine could hold “sham” referenda on joining Russia as soon as September, he said. Russia […]

Russian missile and rocket strikes have caused more widespread damage in towns and cities across eastern and southern Ukraine, regional officials say. Four civilians died in a strike on Siversk, a town in Donetsk region, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Civilian areas of Druzhkivka, in the same region, were also hit. A supermarket was destroyed […]

The heads of UK and US security services have made an unprecedented joint appearance to warn of the threat from China. FBI director Christopher Wray said China was the “biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security” and had interfered in politics, including recent elections. MI5 head Ken McCallum said his service had more […]

At least 21 people, including one child, have died in overnight Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Ukrainian officials say. The state emergency service, DSNS, says 16 people were killed in a nine-storey building hit by one missile in the village of Serhiyivka. Another five people, including the child, were killed in a […]

Nato member Turkey has agreed to support Sweden and Finland’s membership of the alliance. It had initially opposed the Scandinavian countries’ bids to join. Turkey was angered by what it saw as their willingness to host Kurdish militants. Sweden and Finland could not join Nato without Turkey’s support. Russia strongly opposes the two states joining […]

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Ukraine and Moldova have both been granted EU candidate status, President of the European Council Charles Michel has announced. “Today marks a crucial step on your path towards the EU,” Mr Michel said, describing the European Council’s decision as a “historic moment”. Ukraine applied days after the Russian invasion in February, and the process moved […]

It’s not even two months since Emmanuel Macron was convincingly re-elected as president but he is already in a crunch election that could prevent him pushing through his reforms. French voters go to the polls on Sunday to decide who will control their National Assembly. Mr Macron beat the far right in April, but this […]

Thousands of civilians are trapped in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk with essential supplies running out, the United Nations is warning. Many of them are sheltering in bunkers beneath the city’s Azot chemical plant. The last bridge leading out of the city was destroyed in fighting earlier this week – effectively trapping its 12,000 remaining […]

All bridges to the embattled Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk have now been destroyed, the local governor says. With the city effectively cut off, Serhiy Haidai says delivering supplies and evacuating civilians are now impossible. Fierce fighting is taking place in the eastern city where Ukrainian officials said Russian artillery had driven its forces out of […]

Russia has killed hundreds of civilians in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv using indiscriminate shelling and widely-banned cluster munitions, according to new research by Amnesty International. Amnesty said it had found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster bombs, as well as “scatterable” munitions – rockets that eject smaller mines that expl...

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev has replaced Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings, two weeks before a Wimbledon at which he will not be allowed to play. Wimbledon has been stripped of its ranking points over its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, that decision means […]

The bodies of some Ukrainian fighters killed defending the key south-eastern port of Mariupol have arrived in Kyiv, the soldiers’ families say. They say this was part of a swap with Russia, with each side receiving 160 bodies. Moscow has not commented. The fighters spent weeks holed up in the city’s Azovstal steelworks. In May, […]

Russia’s UN ambassador has stormed out of a UN Security Council meeting after the European Council president blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for causing a global food crisis. Charles Michel said Russia was using food supplies as a “stealth missile” against the developing world, forcing people into poverty. The Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia accused Mr […]

Around 15,000 suspected war crimes have been reported in Ukraine since the war began, with 200 to 300 more reported daily, its chief prosecutor said. Some 600 suspects have been identified and 80 prosecutions have begun, Iryna Venediktova told reporters in The Hague. The list of suspects includes “top military, politicians and propaganda agents of […]

By Nick Beake Billions of dollars of Chinese money are boosting some European economies – but some of the deals being struck have a catch. Critics say they are “debt traps”, where China gets to choose what happens if loans aren’t repaid. China insists it is a reliable investment partner – but it is also […]

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could cause global food shortages in the coming months, the UN has warned. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war had worsened food insecurity in poorer nations due to rising prices. The world could face famines that last for years if Ukrainian exports are not restored to pre-war levels, he added. The […]

Ukraine has confirmed that hundreds of its fighters trapped for more than two months in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks have been evacuated. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said 53 badly wounded soldiers were taken to the town of Novoazovsk, held by Russian-backed rebels. She said another 211 were evacuated using a humanitarian corridor to Olenivka – […]

Bodies of 44 civilians have been found in the rubble of a collapsed building in the Ukrainian city of Izyum as the battle for control of the area rages. The five-storey building collapsed in March as residents hid in the basement from Russian shelling. But rescuers have only just been able to reach the building, […]

Russia has dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as “nonsense”. Moscow has up until now denied it is at war, instead referring to the invasion as a “special military operation”. But Western officials have speculated that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to […]

Russian mercenaries have been accused of summarily executing, torturing and beating civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR). Witnesses told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that in one incident last July, Russian-speaking fighters shot dead at least 12 unarmed men at a roadblock. Most victims were put in a shallow hole by the road near Bossangoa, […]

The US defence department has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of acting with “depravity” in his invasion of Ukraine. Spokesman John Kirby became visibly emotional as he asked how anyone “moral” could justify the atrocities committed by Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he was still open to peace talks with Mr Putin. […]

Two British volunteers providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine have been captured by the Russian military, an aid organisation has said. The non-profit Presidium Network said the men were detained at a checkpoint near the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Monday. The Foreign Office is said to be urgently seeking more information. On Thursday, […]

Any country trying to intervene in the Ukraine war will face a “lightning-fast” response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned. “We have all the tools no-one can boast of… we will use them if necessary”, he said, in what is seen as a reference to ballistic missiles and nuclear arms. Ukraine’s allies have stepped up […]

Emmanuel Macron has won five more years as France’s president after a convincing victory over rival Marine Le Pen, who nevertheless secured the far right’s highest share of the vote yet. He won by 58.55% to 41.45%, a greater margin than expected. The centrist leader told jubilant supporters at the foot of the Eiffel Tower […]

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