With President Donald Trump pushing for a rapid end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of people, US negotiators shuttled separately over three days in the Saudi capital Riyadh between delegations from Ukraine and Russia.

Pope Francis' hospitalization since Feb.14 was the longest of the pope's reign, and the fourth since his election in 2013. 

While the highly anticipated Putin-Trump call did not secure the breakthrough ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine last week, it did result in a scaled-back commitment to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.

The blaze at the hip-hop concert in the eastern town of Kocani also injured around 155 people and triggered an outpouring of grief in the small Balkan country where authorities vowed an investigation. 

The movement formed after 15 people were killed when a railway station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in November, igniting long-simmering anger over alleged corruption and lax oversight in construction projects.

US officials had expressed optimism Sunday that a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal could be reached in weeks after Washington proposed a halt in fighting in the three-year war after talks in Saudi Arabia, which Kyiv accepted. 

Richer nations committed at the UN COP29 summit in November to boost spending on climate action in developing countries to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.

While vote counting was not yet complete on Wednesday morning, the Democratic party -- which describes itself as "social liberal" and has also called for independence but in the longer term -- held an insurmountable lead, Greenland's public broadcaster KNR said.

The 79-year-old faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

The pope has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from colon surgery in 2021 to a hernia operation in 2023, but this is the longest and most serious hospitalization of his papacy.

Unexploded ordnance is still found across Europe, particularly in Germany where the ground remains riddled with it, 80 years after World War II.

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Gennadievich Tolchenov reasserted the country's readiness to advance energy cooperation with Indonesia, including through investments in and trade of oil and gas as well as assisting in building nuclear power plants. 

Monday's move goes beyond the no-new aid stance Trump had taken since assuming office - and appears to halt deliveries of military equipment approved by Biden including munitions, missiles and other systems.

"President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution," said the official on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not concede any territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. He said he was still willing to sign a minerals deal with the US and described a discussion on Sunday with European leaders to send a draft peace plan to the US as a key development. 

The acrimonious shouting match was a gift to Moscow, which is working to build ties with Trump's new administration while trying to discredit Zelensky and undermine his legitimacy.

An agreement between Ukraine and the United States to jointly develop Ukraine's rich natural resources, which Kyiv and its European allies had hoped would usher in better relations, was left unsigned and in limbo.

Democrats accused Trump and Vance of doing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's "dirty work" after they berated Zelensky in front of the world's media. 

Holding his first cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump said the Ukrainian president's visit to Washington was "now confirmed", after days of tension between the two leaders over the minerals deal.

The 88-year-old pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14.

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump rekindled the most touchy-feely bromance in world politics as they met on Monday for talks on Ukraine.

The two votes highlighted a seismic shift in the balance of power at the UN, where Washington had steadfastly voted for resolutions that favored Ukraine and condemned Russia, until the abrupt rupture with Kyiv.

"I think it's a good idea. The US would cut by 50 percent and we would cut by 50 percent and then China would join if it wanted," Putin said in a televised interview.

A long-time rival of centrist ex-chancellor Angela Merkel within the CDU party, Merz has attacked her open-door migrant policy and drawn her ire for accepting support from the far-right AfD on the flashpoint issue in parliament.

The pope was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on February 14 after having trouble breathing for several days and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in both lungs.

Tedros urged countries not to sink the agreement on a word, a comma or a percentage in the text, imploring them not to make perfect the enemy of the good.

Francis is being treated at Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he was admitted on Feb. 14 after struggling with breathing difficulties for several days.

Late on Thursday, the Vatican said Pope Francis is "slightly improving" and his blood analyses are stable, in the latest sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.

To some, the chant is provocative. German media and commentators have highlighted how it recalls the phrase "Alles fuer Deutschland" (Everything for Germany) a banned Nazi-era slogan, engraved on the daggers of Adolf Hitler's paramilitaries. A state AfD leader, Bjoern Hoecke, has been fined for using those words. Weidel's spokesman denies a resemblance.

However, no specifics on a possible meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin emerged from the gathering in Riyadh, the first high-level official Washington-Moscow talks since Ukraine's 2022 invasion.