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Putin and Xi mark victory in WWII

Russia has marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with a parade attended by China’s Xi Jinping amid tight security to guard against Ukrainian attacks after three years of devastating war. President Vladimir Putin, the longest-serving Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin, stood beside Xi, several dozen other leaders and Russian veterans on a roofed tribune beside Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum on Red Square as Russian troops marched past.

Reuters

Religion

Leo XIV becomes first US pontiff

Cardinal Robert Prevost, a little known missionary from Chicago, has been elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church, becoming the first US pope and taking the name Leo XIV. Pope Leo appeared on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after white smoke had billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

Reuters

5 hours ago

Leaders herald ‘breakthrough’ deal

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a “breakthrough deal” on trade that leaves in place a 10 per cent tariff on goods imported from the UK while Britain agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8 per cent from 5.1 per cent and provide greater access to US goods.

Reuters

5 hours ago

Middle East

6 hours ago

Trump meets with diplomat ahead of Mideast tour

President Donald Trump has met with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to discuss nuclear talks with Iran and Israel’s war in Gaza, Axios has reported, citing two sources briefed on the meeting. The meeting was held at the White House and was not made public by the US or Israel, according to Axios.

Reuters

6 hours ago

Pakistan

Vance: India, Pakistan tension ‘none of our business’

US Vice President JD Vance says that India and Pakistan should de-escalate tensions, but he added that the US cannot control the nuclear-armed Asian neighbours and a war between them would be “none of our business”. “We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can’t control these countries, though,“ Vance said in an interview on Fox News.

Reuters

Panama

Ambassador casts China as threat to frayed alliance

The United States’ new ambassador to Panama has pledged to strengthen ties with the Central American country while pushing China as a common threat. “First among my priorities will be to strengthen our joint work to counter harmful influences in the region, such as that of China,“ Ambassador Kevin Cabrera said during a press conference at his official residence.

Reuters

Ukraine

10 hours ago

Kyiv: Three-day ceasefire a ‘farce’

Ukraine’s foreign minister says Russia has repeatedly violated its own three-day ceasefire, even hours after it began, and called the initiative a “farce”, while Moscow says Kyiv had continued fighting. There was, though, a drop-off in combat activity after the ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin came into force in the early hours of Thursday, with a respite in the drone and missile attacks that had rattled Ukrainian cities earlier this week.

Reuters

10 hours ago

North Korea

Kim inspects ‘nuclear trigger’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has supervised a test of a short-range ballistic missile and long-range artillery and stressed the importance of combat readiness of the country’s nuclear forces, state media has reported. The test, which also included an inspection of the operational reliability of its “nuclear trigger” system, was designed to ensure the rapid response posture to counter the sensitive regional military climate, KCNA news agency said.

Reuters

Russia

Moscow wary of Kyiv ahead of WWII parade

Russia is set to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with a military parade attended by China’s Xi Jinping that Moscow fears Ukraine will try to disrupt after three years of devastating war. President Vladimir Putin, the longest-serving Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin, will speak at a morning parade where thousands of Russian soldiers usually march by and drive military hardware such as intercontinental ballistic missiles and tanks past Lenin’s Mausoleum on Red Square.

Reuters

Ukraine

13 hours ago

Kyiv ratifies US minerals deal

Ukraine’s parliament has voted in favour of ratifying a minerals deal signed with the United States, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure future military assistance from Washington in its fight to repel Russian troops. Despite misgivings by some...

Reuters

13 hours ago

Russia

18 hours ago

Xi and Putin profess friendship of steel

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia’s Vladimir Putin their two countries should be “friends of steel”, as they pledged to raise cooperation to a new level and “decisively” counter the influence of the United States. At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the US.

Reuters

18 hours ago

Ukraine

21 hours ago

Skies quiet, but ceasefire shaky

Ukraine’s foreign minister says Russia has repeatedly violated its own three-day ceasefire hours after it began, calling the initiative a “farce”, while Moscow says Kyiv has continued fighting. There was, though, a drop-off in combat activity after the ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin came into force in the early hours of Thursday, with a respite in the drone and missile attacks that had rattled Ukrainian cities earlier this week.

Reuters

21 hours ago

Economy

Ukraine considers shift from dollar to euro

Ukraine is starting to consider a shift away from the US dollar, possibly linking its currency more closely to the euro amid the splintering of global trade and its growing ties to Europe, Central Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyi says. Potential accession to the European Union, a “strengthening of the EU’s role in ensuring our defence capabilities, greater volatility in global markets, and the probability of global-trade fragmentation,“ are forcing the central bank to review whether the euro should be the reference currency for Ukraine’s hryvnia instead of the dollar, Pyshnyi said. “This work is complex and requires high-quality, versatile preparation,“ Pyshnyi added, in the most direct comments by a Ukrainian official on a possible shift.

Reuters

North Korea

NK fires short-range missiles in possible demo for export

North Korea has fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s military says, in what may be a performance test of various projectiles for export. The missiles were launched from Wonsan, North Korea’s eastern coastal city, around 8.10am (2310 GMT Wednesday) and flew up to 800km (497 miles) before splashing down in the sea, the military said. South Korea is closely communicating with the US and Japan to share information about the launch, it added.

Reuters

Government

Chief Justice Roberts: Judicial independence is key

US Chief Justice John Roberts has underscored his defence of the American judiciary amid verbal attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies on judges who have impeded aspects of his sweeping agenda, again stating that impeachment is an inappropriate response to unfavourable rulings. Trump, some fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk have advocated impeaching some of the judges who have issued decisions against the president’s policies since he returned to office in January, a process in Congress that could lead to removal from the bench.

Reuters

Yemen

Houthi-US ceasefire ‘does not include Israel’

A ceasefire deal between Yemen’s Houthis and the US does not include sparing Israel, the group says, suggesting its shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade and challenged world powers will not come to a complete halt. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the US would stop bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, saying that the group had agreed to stop attacking US ships. After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire deal to halt attacks on US vessels.

Reuters

Economy

Federal Reserve holds rates steady

The Federal Reserve has held interest rates steady but said the risks of higher inflation and unemployment had risen, further clouding the US economic outlook as its policymakers grapple with the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. At this point, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, it isn’t clear if the economy will continue its steady pace of growth, or wilt under mounting uncertainty and a possible coming spike in inflation. With so much unsettled about what Trump will ultimately decide and what of that survives possible court and political battles, “the scope, the scale, the persistence of those effects are very, very uncertain,“ Powell said in a press conference at the end of a two-day policy meeting.

Reuters

Tragedy

Doomed chopper broke into pieces

A tourist helicopter that crashed into New York City’s Hudson River last month, killing all six people on board, broke into three major pieces before descending rapidly, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The Bell 206 chopper, operated by New York Helicopter Tours, departed on April 10 at 2.58pm ET from a downtown Manhattan helicopter pad and flew north over the Hudson River before crashing about 17 minutes later, the NTSB said in a report. Several witnesses described hearing several loud “bangs” coming from the helicopter before it broke up and descended, the NTSB said.

Reuters

Trade

Turkey announces talks to modernise FTA

Turkey and the United Kingdom agreed to hold the first round of negotiations to modernize and expand the scope of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between them by end-July, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said. The FTA between NATO allies Britain and...

Reuters