World /
Russia & Central Asia
Related Topics:
Russia's alleged election meddling
Ukraine
Russia
Vladimir Putin
Espionage
Ukraine war
US has agreed to give Ukraine security guarantees in peace talks: officials
Following discussions with Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin, the US said the offer of guarantees will not be on the table ‘forever’.
3 hours ago
videocam
Britain
Russia has thrust world into new ‘age of uncertainty’, says UK’s new spy chief
5 hours ago
videocam
Russia
Pussy Riot punk protest group declared ‘extremist’ by Russian court
15 Dec 2025 - 11:30PM
videocam
Ukraine war
Zelensky suggests Ukraine could drop Nato goal for security guarantees
The shift, which includes a call for ‘Article 5-like’ guarantees, comes as Washington presses for an end to the four-year Ukraine war.
15 Dec 2025 - 9:16AM
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a meeting with the US delegation in Berlin. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters
Ukraine war
Europe fears hidden Russian threat in Trump-backed Ukraine peace plan
Europe worries a US plan for a demilitarised zone in the Donbas region may help Moscow to reinvade Kyiv.
14 Dec 2025 - 10:39AM
videocam
Belarus
Belarus frees 123 prisoners in exchange for US sanctions relief
Peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and 121 others have been released by one of Russia’s key allies.
13 Dec 2025 - 10:38PM
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Ukraine war
Over 1 million in Ukraine lose electricity after strikes on infrastructure
Kyiv and its allies say Moscow aims to cripple Ukraine’s power grid to deny residents access to light, heat and running water.
13 Dec 2025 - 9:25PM
videocam
A Ukrainian power plant worker walks in front of a damaged production hall after a Russian missile attack this month. Photo: AP
China-EU relations
EU fears China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine is deepening
Multiple sources confirm increase in Beijing backing before China-Russia ties are discussed by ministers from the EU’s 27 members on Monday.
14 Dec 2025 - 4:47PM
videocam
41
Ukraine war
Ukraine retakes Kharkiv areas as Russian troops ‘completely cut off’ in Kupiansk
Disputing Moscow’s claim of controlling Kupiansk, Ukraine retakes villages and isolates Russian troops amid fierce eastern battles.
12 Dec 2025 - 8:59PM
7
Ukraine war
Zelensky floats referendum on territory, as US pressure mounts to end war
Ukraine’s president says Russia wants ‘the whole of Donbas’ in return for peace, but Ukrainians must have their say.
12 Dec 2025 - 3:35PM
6
Ukraine war
Proposals on territorial concessions by Ukraine sent to Trump: Merz
The German chancellor emphasised Ukrainian consent in peace talks amid diplomatic tensions.
11 Dec 2025 - 7:30PM
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz speaks during a press briefing in Berlin, Germany on Thursday. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war
Ukraine sends US a revised peace plan as Trump blasts European allies
US president says ‘pretty strong words’ were used in his discussion with leaders from the UK, France and Germany.
11 Dec 2025 - 2:10PM
Russia
Crew killed in Russian military plane crash during test flight
State media reported seven people were on board at the time of the crash.
9 Dec 2025 - 11:26PM
Ukraine war
European allies back Ukraine’s Zelensky after Trump criticism
Ukrainian president met leaders in London and Brussels, declaring that ceding territory to Russia - a central point of the US proposal - was impossible.
9 Dec 2025 - 9:16AM
5
China-Russia relations
Chinese firms gear up for Russia’s reopening amid talks aimed at peace deal
Many Chinese exporters expect the first wave of post-war demand in Russia to come from infrastructure.
7 Dec 2025 - 8:57PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses reporters after attending the Russia Calling! investment forum in Moscow on December 2. Photo: EPA
Ukraine war
Hungary’s Orban to send team to Russia, expecting end of Ukraine war
The PM is anticipating a post-war landscape in which sanctions are lifted and Russia becomes reintegrated with the Western economy.
7 Dec 2025 - 5:40AM
videocam
Ukraine war
Ukraine’s Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with Trump envoys
The president’s negotiators are in Florida for talks on a US-led plan to end the war with Russia.
7 Dec 2025 - 1:20AM
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Pakistan
5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing
Each side has accused the other of launching ‘unprovoked’ attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.
6 Dec 2025 - 7:52PM
A mortar lies on the ground near a damaged house in Chaman on Saturday, following overnight cross-border fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo: AFP
Ukraine war
Why more women are embracing combat roles in Ukraine’s military
Equipment such as drones has opened up new paths for women and helped them overcome resistance in the military.
6 Dec 2025 - 5:40PM
India
India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030
India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.
6 Dec 2025 - 1:15PM
Britain
UK Novichok report blames Putin for ‘reckless’ poisoning of ex-Russian spy
Inquiry concluded that the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal must have been ‘authorised at the highest level’.
5 Dec 2025 - 3:35AM
Ukraine war
Trump says next steps for Ukraine talks unclear after Putin meeting
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner had spent hours at the Kremlin with no breakthrough on ending the war.
4 Dec 2025 - 7:53AM
A Ukrainian serviceman stands in church damaged by a Russian military strike in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka on Friday. Photo: Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Reuters
Central Asia
Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule
The public execution, the 11th carried out since the Taliban seized power in 2021, has drawn global condemnation.
3 Dec 2025 - 1:51PM
Ukraine war
Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys
Before the talks, the Kremlin chief warned European powers that if they wanted a war, Russia would defeat them.
3 Dec 2025 - 12:31PM
14
Ukraine war
Zelensky reinforces European support as he eyes Trump talks on US deal
Ukrainian president met Macron in Paris to sound out allies on the US blueprint for peace, which was drafted without input from Kyiv or Europe.
2 Dec 2025 - 3:04PM
4
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW