According to a new report by Stockholm-based International IDEA, disinformation and manipulation of social media algorithms to influence results are among the major threats to democracies during election campaigns.

The United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its drone attack last weekend has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters.

The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was "existential" for Russia, after it launched a wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes that killed at least four people.

Wilders has been frustrated with what he saw as the slow pace of introducing the "strictest-ever immigration policy", agreed with coalition partners after his shock election win in November 2023.

US President Donald Trump is "open" to meeting his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in Turkey, the White House said, after the two sides failed on Monday to make headway towards an elusive ceasefire.

In a victory for European conservatives inspired by US President Donald Trump, Nawrocki secured 50.89 percent of the vote, election commission data showed, an outcome that presages more political gridlock as he is likely to use his presidential veto to thwart Prime Minister Donald Tusk's liberal policy agenda.

President Prabowo Subianto hosted France’s President Emmanuel Macron in Magelang, Central Java, on Thursday as the two leaders pledged closer ties, particularly in defense, to navigate a world bereft of trust and full of conflict.

In democracies worldwide, a political gender divide is intensifying among Gen Z voters, with young men voting for right-wing parties and young women leaning left, a break from pre-pandemic years when both tended to vote for progressives.

President Prabowo Subianto said France was one of Indonesia's main partners in upgrading military hardware, including the development of the defense industry through joint production and technology transfers.

Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 1000 prisoners each on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in the largest such swap since the war began three years ago.

The comments were a rare rebuke to Putin, and came after a record number of Russian drones killed at least 13 people across Ukraine, despite a prisoner exchange and a US push for a truce.

Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, an initiative agreed in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey last week.

Countries including Brazil and Indonesia, which have historically had among the world's highest rates of deforestation, will be labelled as "standard risk", which means they will face lighter compliance checks on goods exported to Europe.

Britain agreed the most significant reset of defense and trade ties with the European Union since Brexit on Monday after US President Donald Trump's upending of the global order pushed the two sides to move on from their acrimonious divorce.

Donald Trump said after his call on Monday with President Vladimir Putin that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire, but the Kremlin said the process would take time and the US president indicated he was not ready to join Europe with fresh sanctions to pressure Moscow.

WHO's annual assembly is expected to adopt a landmark agreement on tackling future pandemics on Tuesday, after a top committee in the UN agency unanimously approved it.

Navy chief of staff Adm. Muhammad Ali visited the United Arab Emirates and Turkey last week to strengthen cooperation, as well as visiting a number of defense companies in both countries. 

Hundreds of officials from the World Health Organization will join donors and diplomats in Geneva from Monday with one question dominating their thoughts – how to cope with crises from mpox to cholera without their main funder, the United States.

Pope Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy Sunday with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalizing the poor, before an audience including JD Vance and tens of thousands of pilgrims.

The talks in Turkey on Friday were the first time the sides had held face-to-face talks since March 2022, weeks after Russia's full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.

KUKB chair Jeffry Pondaag has urged the administration of President Prabowo Subianto to take a firm stance on postindependence atrocities committed by Dutch forces ahead of Indonesia's 80th independence anniversary this year.

The EU accused TikTok on Thursday of breaking digital rules after concluding that the Chinese-owned social media platform was not transparent enough about advertisements.

Roughly half the world's population is already at risk of contracting the two diseases, which were once mainly confined to tropical regions.

Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday "without any preconditions". Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin - but Putin's name was not on the list.

Scorching heatwaves fueled by global warming are increasing the risk of dangerous complications during pregnancies across the world, a report warned on Wednesday.

"Our position is well known. You know that Russia was not a country that took part in the investigation of this incident, so we do not accept any biased conclusions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he would be willing to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Turkey "personally", after Donald Trump said direct talks were needed to determine whether peace was possible.