World

Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war. In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be “wrong to simply wait” until the war in Europe becomes the focus of the US’s attention once more, adding peace could only come “through …

Germany’s foreign minister says support for Ukraine and Israel may have cost votes after Berlin failed to secure a rotating spot on the UN Security Council. Johann Wadephul described losing out to Portugal and Austria as a “bitter defeat” after a vote on which countries would become one of the five new members of the council was held on Wednesday …

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), says Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have risen to 344 confirmed infections, with 60 deaths recorded so far. Speaking during a news conference on Wednesday, Ghebreyesus said the backlog of suspected Ebola cases had dropped significantly from more than 1,000 to 116 as laboratory testing …

  -Six states held primary elections Tuesday, with results revealing shifts in key races that could reshape the midterm landscape. -Iowa Democrat Josh Turek won his Senate primary decisively despite his opponent’s attacks on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. -A Trump-backed candidate, Rep. Randy Feenstra, lost the Republican primary for Iowa governor to businessman Zach Lahn. Six states ranging from …

Alabama has repeatedly come to the US Supreme Court to defend a racially discriminatory congressional map, asserting dubious claims and employing questionable tactics. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against Alabama. Late Tuesday night, the emboldened conservative majority did the opposite, endorsing a state plan that eliminates a seat held by a Black Democrat that a special US district court …

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has been elected President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for the 81st session after defeating Andreas Kakouris of Cyprus in a closely contested vote. Rahman, secured the highest votes, in an election, which took place at the UN headquarters on Tuesday in New York. In a secret-ballot election, Rahman secured 99 votes to Kakouris’ …

The United Nations says some weapons looted during the Libyan conflict in 2011 have ended up in the hands of extremist groups in Nigeria. Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, stated this at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday as delegates gathered to tackle the global spread of illicit firearms. The UN’s top …

  -Russia launched one of its deadliest attacks in months on Ukraine, killing at least 22 people in Kyiv and Dnipro, according to Ukrainian authorities. -More than 600 drones and 73 missiles struck civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities and residential buildings across multiple cities, Ukraine’s military said. -The assault follows Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries that knocked out 40% …

  -Trump’s emergency diplomacy on Monday temporarily halted Israeli-Hezbollah escalation that threatened to derail his Iran talks. -Lebanon remains a volatile flashpoint because Iran views Hezbollah as critical to its regional power and Israel demands full disarmament. -The president’s intervention may have shown he can restrain Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, but deep-rooted Middle East conflicts could still upend any deal. …

Oil prices jumped and equities struggled on Monday as Middle East peace talks stumbled and tensions mounted between Iran and the United States. Crude futures shot around seven percent higher after an Iranian news agency announced Tehran had suspended the negotiations with Washington via mediators. The United States and Iran had traded strikes over the weekend and Tehran had insisted …