Italy's Renzi seeks key role for Russia

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Thursday Russia could play a decisive role in resolving the crisis in Libya, during a rare visit by a European leader to Moscow.
6 March 2015

Polish jails open doors for a day

Warsaw bank manager Grazyna Dubiel would not normally be behind bars on a Sunday.
6 March 2015

Wife of Frenchman on Indonesia death row still hopeful

The wife of a Frenchman on death row in Indonesia says she refuses to believe she has seen him for the last time, as fears grow he will soon be executed with a group of foreigners.
6 March 2015

Kerry and Lavrov hold Geneva discussions

The US and Russian foreign ministers expressed cautious optimism after holding talks in Geneva yesterday
2 March 2015

Frontlines calm ahead of gas talks

Ukraine's frontlines were relatively calm yesterday ahead of high-level EU-mediated gas talks between Kiev and Moscow.
1 March 2015

Mass anti-immigration rally in Rome

Thousands of supporters of Italy's Northern League have poured into one of Rome's biggest squares for a rally against immigration.
1 March 2015

Isolated clashes hamper shaky Ukraine truce

Ukraine yesterday said that isolated clashes were punctuating a shaky truce with pro-Russian rebels after international monitors warned that the conflict in the country stands at a "crossroads".
28 February 2015

Top China diplomat backs Putin

China has voiced its support for Russia's handling of the Ukraine crisis, with prominent diplomat Qu Xing calling on the West to "abandon its zero-sum mentality".
28 February 2015

Ceasefire takes hold in Ukraine

A UN-backed ceasefire showed signs of taking hold in Ukraine on Wednesday, but tensions remained high after the US accused Russia of "lies" and Britain ordered a small troop deployment to train Kiev's forces.
25 February 2015

All out war with unlikely

Foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France yesterday called for a total ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out the "apocalyptic scenario" of all-out war.
24 February 2015

Leaks oppose Israel PM's claim

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that Iran was a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his secret services, according to reports Monday citing leaked documents.
24 February 2015

Pro-Russia rebels violate truce

Pro-Russian forces massing near Ukraine's port city of Mariupol are continuing to attack government troop positions, Kiev said yesterday, fuelling concerns for the fate of an internationally brokered ceasefire.
23 February 2015

Parties wrangle over truce

A bomb killed two people during a pro-government march in the east Ukraine city of Kharkiv on Sunday, officials said, as Kiev's army and rebels wrangled over a truce requiring them to pull back heavy weapons.
22 February 2015

Please, return home

The families of three British schoolgirls feared to be travelling to join the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria issued emotional appeals for them to come home Saturday.
22 February 2015

Rebels ready for prisoner swap

Pro-Russian rebels yesterday prepared to swap prisoners with their Ukrainian government foes as part of a battered ceasefire, as an adviser to Ukraine's president said Kiev had lost 179 troops in fighting over the past month.
21 February 2015

Quote of the day

“No one should have any illusions that it could achieve military supremacy over Russia or to put pressure on us in any form"
21 February 2015

Germany rejects Greek loan proposal

Germany's finance ministry yesterday rejected a Greek request to European partners for a six-month extension to its EU loan programme, but the German vice chancellor called it a "starting point".
19 February 2015

Greek eurozone hope hangs in a thread

Greece's crunch talks with its European creditors broke down after just four hours today, pushing the country closer towards a potential exit from the single currency.
17 February 2015

Truce hope fades

Street-to-street fighting broke out for the first time inside a flashpoint town in east Ukraine yesterday, officials and pro-Russian rebels said, dealing a harsh blow to a fragile ceasefire just three days old.
17 February 2015

Working-class poet dies at 87

Not all of Philip Levine's poetry was about his hometown of Detroit, but a lot of it was.
16 February 2015