Author: staff

The Ukrainian Air Force has reported that Russian forces launched a total of 108 Shahed attack drones and various types of decoy drones against Ukraine during the night of 11 May. By 9:30 am, the Ukrainian military confirmed that 60 drones had been shot down in the country’s east, north, south, and centre, while 41 decoy drones were “lost locally without causing any negative consequences.”In the Brovary and Obukhiv districts of the Kyiv region, one man was injured, and private houses were damaged.Over the past 24 hours, at least seven civilians have been injured in Russian attacks on populated areas…

Koyo Kouoh, the curator of the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, has died at age 58, her home institution in South Africa said in an Instagram post Saturday.The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town in South Africa confirmed the news overnight but gave no cause. The Biennale said it was “deeply saddened and dismayed” to learn of her death.Kouoh was the first African woman asked to helm the Venice Art Biennale. Born in Cameroon in 1967, she was invited to curate the 2026 edition of the Biennale in December. A leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism throughout the art…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed Vladimir Putin’s offer for direct peace talks with Kyiv, calling it “a positive sign.” In a potential turning point in the conflict, the Russian leader opened the door to direct negotiations with Ukraine “without any preconditions,” suggesting a meeting in Istanbul next Thursday. His overture followed renewed pressure from Kyiv’s Western allies on Saturday. “The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time,” Zelenskyy wrote on X Sunday morning, referring to Putin’s announcement. “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.” U.S. President…

“Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner,” Trump said. Trump did not elaborate on the progress achieved, nor did U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the talks in Switzerland. On Saturday, Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met in Geneva with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is Beijing’s lead negotiator on economic and trade affairs with the U.S. The meeting comes after both countries hiked tariffs on each other’s imports, triggering financial mayhem and huge disruptions to global supply chains. But ahead of the gathering in Geneva, Trump…

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, late on Saturday night, said he is ready for ‘direct talks’ with Kyiv in Istanbul on Thursday, 15 May. “We propose to resume direct talks with the Kyiv regime on Thursday, 15 May, in Istanbul,” Putin said in the rare overnight address. The Russian leader offered to resume direct talks “without preconditions,” saying this was to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace.”Moscow had previously said it could consider a ceasefire agreement only under certain conditions, including the total suspension of Western military aid to Ukraine. Kyiv’s 12…

The leaders from the four Kyiv allies had traveled to the Ukrainian capital together by train for a visit of more than nine hours with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The visit came shortly after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected calls for an extended ceasefire as long as the West doesn’t stop its military support for Kyiv. French President Emmanuel Macron issued a direct rebuke to Russia’s demand, telling reporters that “anything that disturbs the process by imposing conditions is, in a way, a delaying tactic to avoid peace.” During the three-hour discussion between the leaders in Zelenskyy’s Mariinsky Palace, Macron…

The new pope could also “reinterpret,” without rolling back, some of Francis’ more contentious progressive moves, such as his declaration permitting blessings for individuals in same-sex couples, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the progressive archbishop of Luxembourg, told a handful of reporters including POLITICO in a side-room of the Nuova Chiesa church in Rome on Friday. Some of the traditionalists have already expressed hope that Prevost will strike a more conciliatory tone. Edward Feser, a Catholic professor of philosophy at Pasadena City College, suggested on X that while the new pope’s theology skewed progressive, he seemed like a more “reasonable man [who]…

The leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom arrived together at the train station in Kyiv, where they met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Shortly afterwards, they laid flowers at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers at Kyiv’s Independence Square during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.The visit marked the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled together to Ukraine, while Friedrich Merz is making his first visit to Ukraine as Germany’s new chancellor.Along with US President Donald Trump, the European leaders are pushing for Russia to…

India had accused Pakistan of harboring terrorist groups that carried out a deadly attack on tourists last month in India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied involvement. The two countries have fought a series of wars since gaining their independence from Britain in 1947, largely over the Kashmir region, to which both sides lay claim. Since the terrorist attack last month, writes the New York Times, the crisis has spiralled into the most expansive confrontation between the two countries in half a century, with fierce fighting along sections of their border and drone attacks and other strikes hitting deeper within each country. The escalating confrontation…

Earlier this week, the ministry issued a statement saying Key had “stepped back due to private reasons,” according to a report in the Financial Times. The FT cited people familiar with the matter saying Key’s move was not related to the government’s strategic defense review, expected to be published soon. Key was due to retire from his position this summer, after serving as the head of the Royal Navy since 2021. This means the search for his successor was already under way. Key last year made an unreserved apology for “intolerable” misogyny in the Submarine Service, after a series of investigations…