Foreign Secretary Liz Truss insisted the first flight to Kigali would take off no matter how many people were on board, after 23 of the 31 migrants had their tickets cancelled.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western support for Kyiv has heightened tensions among the world's nine nuclear-armed states, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think-tank said in a new set of research.

The conflict in Ukraine has fuelled a global food crisis, with surging prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key fertilizer exporter and Ukraine a major supplier of corn and sunflower oil.

Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine's coast, blocking farm exports and driving up the cost of grain.

Ukraine's fierce resistance of Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbour led to a stalemate in parts of the country, with Moscow subsequently re-focussing its forces in the east.

In her first major interview since stepping down six months ago, Merkel insisted she had not been naive in her dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Johnson, who scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, has been under increasing pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under lockdowns to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ukrainian president will not attend in person if the war is ongoing and hopes the summit will not include ‘occupiers’.

A local SAR operation resumed on Friday morning after Ridwan Kamil's son Eril was swept away by a strong current in Bern's Aare River yesterday afternoon.

More than a dozen countries where monkeypox is unusual, mostly in Europe, have reported at least one confirmed case, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in an epidemiological note released Wednesday night.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a top fossil fuel exporter, has triggered a dash among some countries to buy more non-Russian fossil fuels and burn more coal to cut reliance on Russian gas - raising fears that the energy crisis triggered by the war could undermine efforts to fight climate change.

“Sometimes it is important to take a stand for what you think is right, even if disagreement between friends can be uncomfortable,” read a British Embassy Instagram caption.

As of Saturday, 92 confirmed cases and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states that are not endemic for the virus, the UN agency said, adding it will provide further guidance and recommendations in coming days for countries on how to mitigate the spread of monkeypox.

The travel bans have only symbolic impact but form part of a constant downward spiral in Russia's relations with the United States and its allies since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Cases have now been confirmed in countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, the United States and Australia.

Rutte, whose devotion to his old Nokia has chimed with his frugal public image, made the admission after De Volkskrant newspaper sought access to government communications during the COVID pandemic.

Sunak's inclusion is largely a result of his wife's wealth, but comes at a politically difficult time for the man in charge of Britain's budget as he faces pressure to increase support for households struggling with soaring energy bills and food prices.

"The applications you have made today are an historic step. Allies will now consider the next steps on your path to NATO," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, after receiving the bids from the Finnish and Swedish ambassadors at the alliance's headquarters.

"The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to become a member of the alliance," Andersson told reporters a day after neighbouring Finland made a similar announcement.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Ukraine, Ghafur Akbar Dharmaputra, has passed away after being hospitalized for treatment in Jakarta on his return from Kyiv, where he had coordinated a massive evacuation effort of his fellow compatriots.

Former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said such a conflict with NATO always carried the risk of turning into a full blown nuclear war.

The World Health Organization said the leading hypotheses remain those involving adenovirus.

"We have a military doctrine - everything is written there," Alexander Grushko was quoted by state news agency RIA as saying.

The embargo, part of a sixth package of EU sanctions under discussion, is being resisted by some member states that rely on Russian oil to keep their economies running and are seeking guarantees of alternative sources.

Addressing massed ranks of servicemen on Red Square on the 77th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Putin condemned what he called external threats to weaken and split Russia, and repeated familiar arguments he had used to justify its invasion - that NATO was creating threats right next to its borders.

The overnight attack in the village of Skovorodynivka in eastern Ukraine hit the roof of the museum, setting the building ablaze and injuring a 35-year-old custodian. The most valuable items had earlier been moved for safety, said Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Sinegubov.

"The German chancellor (Olaf Scholz) will hold the third video conference since the start of the year with his G7 partners," Christiane Hoffmann told reporters on Friday, noting that May 8 is a "historic date marking the end of World War II in Europe". 

Reacting to an explosive New York Times report on US support for Ukraine's military, Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said it was true that the United States supplies Kyiv's forces with military intelligence "to help Ukrainians defend their country."

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday condemned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for making an "unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error" and summoned Moscow's ambassador for "clarifications".

"As of May 1, at least 228 probable cases were reported to WHO from 20 countries, with over 50 additional cases under investigation," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.