Ukraine should remain a “buffer zone” between NATO and Russia instead of joining the alliance, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.   He pointed out at a meeting of Hungary’s ruling party that Kiev’s accession to NATO would create a constant threat of a military conflict, which is why there should be “some buffer zone”…

Russia launched another vast attack on Ukraine’s energy system in the small hours of Saturday, rocking Kyiv with explosions throughout the night and leaving 1.2 million properties without power countrywide, Reuters reports.   Nearly 6,000 buildings in the capital were left without heating on Saturday morning as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees Celsius (14 F)….

The French government led by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Friday after deputies in the National Assembly rejected the motions.   The motions, filed separately on Tuesday by left-wing parliamentary groups including La France Insoumise, the Democratic and Republican Left group (GDR) and the Ecologists, as well as by the far-right…

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff have been described by the Kremlin as constructive, unusually frank and beneficial to both sides. The discussions, held late on Thursday, lasted more than three and a half hours and focused primarily on prospects for peace in Ukraine.   According to the…

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have become my friends, U.S. President Donald Trump said at the signing ceremony of the Board of Peace charter in Davos.   “They are my friends. Every member of the Board of Peace is my friend. Usually, there are a few people I don’t like. But not this time….

Sir Keir Starmer has said he “will not yield” to pressure from Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, after the US president attacked the UK’s Chagos Islands deal, BBC reports.   Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said the US president had criticised the Chagos deal after previously saying he supported it “for…

European resistance to U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to purchase Greenland and his proposed “Board of Peace” initiative has derailed efforts to finalize an economic aid package for postwar Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.  A planned announcement of an $800 billion prosperity plan to be agreed between Ukraine, Europe and the U.S. at…

U.S. President Donald Trump landed safely on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews near Washington to change aircraft on Tuesday night after crew on his initial flight identified what the White House called a “minor electrical issue” shortly after takeoff, Reuters reported.   After the Boeing 747 landed, the trip continued on a smaller…

President Ahmad al-Sharaa held Monday a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, during which they discussed developments in Syria, SANA news agency reports.   During the call, the two presidents stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial unity and independence, and supporting all efforts aimed at achieving stability.   Both sides underlined the need…

Iran’s foreign minister will not be attending the Davos summit in Switzerland this week, the World Economic Forum said on Monday. Araghchi was supposed to appear on Davos stage on Tuesday, Euronews reports.   Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will not attend the Davos summit in Switzerland this week, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said…

The Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has acknowledged for the first time that thousands of people were killed during the protests that rocked Iran over the last two weeks, The Guardian reports.   In a speech on Thursday, Khamenei said that thousands of people had been killed, “some in an inhuman, savage manner”, and…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump discussed the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic in a phone call on Sunday.   “We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week,” Rutte said in a post on US social media company X….

US President Donald Trump has invited his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join as a co-founder of the “Peace Council” in the Gaza Strip.   “On January 16, 2026, the US President, as founding chairman of the ‘Peace Council,’ sent a letter inviting our President to join as a co-founder of the council,” the…

“Starting today, after the Cairo meeting, we will move to Gaza and begin providing relief to our people,” said Ali Shaath, the head of the newly formed Palestinian technocratic body tasked with administering post-war Gaza, in an exclusive interview with Al-Qahera News on friday after the committee held its first meeting in the Egyptian capital….

Intense diplomatic efforts to dissuade Donald Trump from striking Iran, including communication between the Islamic republic and the US administration, have de-escalated tensions in the Gulf, according to five people close to governments in the region.   Countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Egypt have been urging restraint from the White House, warning…

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, speaking after leaving the White House, said a US takeover of Greenland was “absolutely not necessary,” Euronews reports.   The deployment of European troops in Greenland has no impact on US President Donald Trump’s plans to take control of the Arctic island from Denmark, the White House said on…

Reuters. US President Donald Trump, who has struggled throughout his presidency to end Russia’s war in Ukraine despite campaign boasts that he could end it in a day, said Zelenskiy is the main impediment to resolving the four-year-old war.   Trump has frequently criticized both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy but seemed more downbeat…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed any killings that have taken place on an “Israeli plot” intended to create a large number of casualties.   The claim came during an interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Brett Baier” Wednesday evening.   He also said that “now there is calm and we are in full…

US President Donald Trump has said the US will take “very strong action” against Iran if it executes protesters, as rights groups say more than 2,400 anti-government demonstrators have been killed in a violent crackdown by Iranian authorities, BBC reports.   Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, who was detained last week, told BBC Persian he…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the joint statement on the publication of the Armenia–U.S. implementation framework for the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” project in a post on his social media page.   “Today, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and I issued a statement on the framework document for the implementation…

Reuters. Venezuela’s government said on Monday (January 12) that 116 prisoners have been released “in the past few hours,” according to a statement from the Penitentiary Services Ministry, though rights groups reported a lower figure.   The government statement follows three days of reports from rights organizations about delays in the releases, which the Foro…

Reuters/CCTV. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that any country doing business with Iran will pay a tariff rate of 25 percent on any business conducted with the United States.   The order is “effective immediately,” Trump announced on Truth Social, adding that it is “final and conclusive.”   The statement marks the latest escalation…

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she ruled out a U.S. military intervention to combat drug cartels, following a “good conversation” on Monday with President Donald Trump on security and drug trafficking.   In her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said she declined offers of military action from Trump and “ruled out” U.S. military intervention in Mexico….

Iran has warned the US not to attack over protests that have rocked the country, as Donald Trump weighed the options for a response from Washington, with the reported death toll from the demonstrations soaring to the hundreds, The Guardian reports.   At least 538 people have been killed in the violence surrounding demonstrations, according…

Syrian security forces and demining teams have entered the Sheikh Maqsoud district, which had earlier been brought under the control of the Syrian Army and completely cleared of armed presence. This was reported by ‘Lurer’ correspondent Zarmik Poghikyan.   The Aleppo Operations Command has called on the civilian population of the district to stay in…

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has told the BBC that he believes there is now a “real threat” of US military action against Colombia, BBC reports.   Petro said the US is treating other nations as part of a US “empire”. It comes after Trump said a military operation in Colombia “sounds good”. Petro said that…

Nickolay Mladenov, who is set to become the Director of the Board of Peace for Gaza, met Friday with Hussein Al-Sheikh, Vice President of the Palestinian Authority and Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Al-Sheikh posted on X.   On Thursday, the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the…

Reuters. Venezuela’s interior minister Diosdado Cabello said late on Wednesday (January 8) that 100 people died in the U.S. attack which removed President Nicolas Maduro from power on Saturday (January 3).   Caracas has not previously given a number for those killed, but the army posted a list of 23 names of its dead. Venezuelan…

Reuters/CCTV. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday met with Venezuelan Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Samuel Moncada.   During their meeting, the secretary‑general reiterated his publicly stated position on the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela on January 3 that led to the forcible seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.  …

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would “always” stand by the NATO military alliance, amid alarm among European allies over his stated aim of controlling Greenland, DPA reports.   “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us,” Trump wrote on his social media…