SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used a Russian luxury limousine gifted by President Vladimir Putin, Kim’s sister said Saturday, praising the car’s “special function” and the two countries’ deepening bilateral ties. In February, Putin sent Kim a high-end Aurus Senat limousine, which he had shown to the North Korean leader … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — A Russian missile strike on Odesa in southern Ukraine on Friday killed at least 14 people and injured 46 others, local officials said. A first missile struck houses and when emergency crews arrived at the scene a second missile landed, authorities said. Among those killed were a paramedic and an emergency service … Read more
GENEVA — U.N.-backed human rights experts said Friday they have gathered new evidence of “horrific” torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by their Russian jailers, saying such practices could amount to war crimes. The Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said human rights violations have been widespread since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to … Read more
Ukrainians living in regions illegally annexed by Russia are being coerced to vote in the presidential election of their wartime occupier, Vladimir Putin — an exercise denounced by Ukraine as an illegitimate effort by Moscow to tighten control over its neighbor. Polls don’t open in Russia until Friday, but they are open in four annexed … Read more
BERLIN — German lawmakers on Thursday rejected a new call by the opposition for the government to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, a day after Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his refusal to supply the weapons. The main center-right opposition bloc has sought to keep up pressure on the issue and exploit divisions in … Read more
VIENNA — Austria said on Wednesday it has ordered two diplomats from Russia’s Embassy in Vienna to leave the country. An Austrian official said the expulsions were related to spying activities. The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that the two Russian diplomats had “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status” and have … Read more
President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to its statehood, sovereignty or independence, voicing hope that the U.S. would refrain from actions that could trigger a nuclear conflict. Putin’s statement was another blunt warning to the West ahead of a presidential vote this week in … Read more
ROME — The Vatican secretary of state is trying to defuse Pope Francis’ latest diplomatic kerfuffle, insisting in media interviews that a primary condition for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine is an end to Russia’s aggression and that any peace must be a “just peace.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s chief diplomat, made … Read more
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive arm will recommend that member countries open accession negotiations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, despite lingering ethnic divisions in the Western Balkan country. Bosnia-Herzegovina country is among six nations from the region — alongside Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia — who … Read more
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s president on Monday called on other members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to 3% of their gross domestic product as Russia puts its economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its invasion of Ukraine. President Andrzej Duda made his call in remarks directed at … Read more