France’s Le Pen refuses to bow out of 2027 vote after being convicted of graft and barred from running
Judge Benedicte de Perthuis said Le Pen had been “at the heart” of a scheme to misappropriate more than 4 million euros ($4.3 million) of EU funds and use them to pay the far-right party’s staff back home.
US and Russia delegations meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine war, eye Black Sea ceasefire
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the US, Russian and Ukrainian delegations were assembled in the same facility in Riyadh.
New investigation finds Germany knew about Covid lab leak in 2020 but hid evidence from public for political reasons
The FBI had evidence in 2021 that the virus leaked from a lab, but wasn’t allowed to present it, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker said major US news outlets have not reported on the German investigation “because it doesn’t fit their politics.”
Over 291,000 passengers stranded as huge fire consumes London’s Heathrow airport after 25,000 litres of oil burn
The airport’s owners include France’s Ardian, the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, plus other investors in Australia, China and Spain.
Uncertainty surrounds Zelenskiy willingness to relent after Trump, Putin agree to 30-day halt on Ukraine energy facility strikes
Trump has urged Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire that he hopes would move one step closer to ending Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two. The war has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and reduced entire towns to rubble.
Russian leader provisionally agrees to 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine pending conclusion of terms
Putin said it appeared that the US persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is interested because of the battlefield situation, particularly in Kursk.
Moscow says it’ll talk peace with Ukraine if Crimea, four provinces are recognised as Russian territories
Some US officials, lawmakers and experts fear that Putin, a former KGB officer, would use a truce to intensify what they say is an effort to divide the US, Ukraine and Europe and undermine any talks.
US resumes military aid, intelligence sharing after Ukraine signalled it’s open to 30-day ceasefire
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”
AU, EU scramble to end the war in Congo as fears rise it could suck in the wider Great Lakes Region
The high-powered delegation consisting of European Union Special Representative Johan Borgstam and other key speakers who met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised concerns over the growing unrest especially in the DRC and embarked on working on how to end the hostilities and restore normalcy.
South Africa says Zelenskiy will visit in April as part of its ongoing talks with Ukraine and Russia
Ramaphosa is due to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa next week in Cape Town at an annual European Union-South Africa summit.
