News

Syrian foreign minister met Israeli delegation for regional stability talks

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met an Israeli delegation in Paris on Tuesday to discuss bolstering stability in the region and southern Syria, Syria's state news agency SANA reported. Syrian…

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Trump says US may provide air support to back a Ukraine peace deal

President Donald Trump said he has ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, but said the United States might provide air support as part of a deal…

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Polish police bust smuggling networks and seize drugs worth $275 million

Polish police said on Tuesday they had dismantled a number of interlinked drug smuggling networks that operated across Europe, seizing narcotics worth 1 billion zlotys ($275 million). The core of…

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EU citizens awaiting UK residency status have right to travel, Home Office told

EU citizens waiting for the Home Office to decide their pre-Brexit residency status should not be removed from the UK if they make a short return visit abroad for business,…

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Microsoft Embeds OpenAI’s GPT-5 Across Key Platforms

Microsoft announced that it has integrated OpenAI’s newly released GPT-5—its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date—into several leading products, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, and…

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Germany Stresses Importance of Security Pledges to Ukraine, Rules Out Troop Presence

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that his country can play an important role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, but that Berlin likely doesn't have the capacity to send…

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Malta News Briefing – Tuesday 19 August 2025

Updated 1030 Students Ordered to Leave After University Licence RevokedOver 80 students at the International European University in Gżira have been told to leave Malta after Identità cancelled their residence…

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US deploys warships near Venezuela to combat drug threats

Three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers will arrive off the coast of Venezuela in the next 36 hours as part of an effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels,…

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Hamas accepts proposed deal for ceasefire with Israel and hostage release

Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel's release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian…

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US would help assure Ukraine’s security in a peace deal, Trump tells Zelenskiy

U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there, though the extent…

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North Korea’s Kim calls for rapid nuclear buildup

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country needed to rapidly expand its nuclear armament and called U.S.-South Korea military exercises an "obvious expression of their will to provoke…

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Bolivia set to elect first non-left wing president in two decades

Bolivia is set to elect a non-left wing president after nearly two decades of near-continuous rule by the incumbent socialist party, according to official preliminary results. Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira…

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EU’s von der Leyen to meet Trump in White House

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she will be meeting U.S. President Donald Trump along with other European leaders in the White…

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Outline emerges of Putin’s offer to end his war in Ukraine

Russia would relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine and Kyiv would cede swathes of its eastern land which Moscow has been unable to capture, under peace proposals discussed by Russia's…

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Israelis stage nationwide protests to demand end to Gaza war and release of hostages

Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike on Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement…

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Trump tells Zelenskiy that Putin wants more of Ukraine, urges Kyiv make a deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not", after…

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What deal might emerge from Trump-Putin summit and could it hold?

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine when they meet on Friday in Alaska for a summit…

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Why Alaska for the Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine?

It is unlikely that Vladimir Putin will arrive in Alaska on Friday to present Donald Trump with a territorial demand for the 49th state, sold by Tsar Alexander II to…

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Cyprus Reservoirs Near Record Lows as Drought Persists

Cyprus warned the population of severe water shortages as reservoir levels plunged to just 16% of capacity amid the island’s worst drought in years. The Water Development Department said inflow…

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US military deploying forces to southern Caribbean against drug groups

The United States has ordered the deployment of U.S. air and naval forces to the Southern Caribbean Sea to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, two sources briefed on…

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Kyiv’s supporters must be ‘prepared’ to deploy forces to Ukraine – Lithuania’s president

The Lithuanian president says countries of the so-called “coalition of the willing” need to be prepared to deploy forces to Ukraine. Gitanas Nausėda took part in the meeting of the…

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Ethiopian fossils reveal new species in human evolutionary lineage

Researchers have unearthed tooth fossils in Ethiopia dating to about 2.65 million years ago of a previously unknown species in the human evolutionary lineage, one that lived in the same…

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Sicily set for mild Ferragosto heat as millions take to the roads

As much of central and northern Italy braces for oppressive Ferragosto heat, Sicily is expected to enjoy milder conditions, with three of its major cities forecast to stay in the…

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Search Continues After Migrant Shipwrecks Off Lampedusa Kill at Least 27

At least 27 people, including a 1-year-old girl and three teenagers, died when two overloaded migrant boats capsized in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Wednesday, officials…

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Geneva makes public transport temporarily free to combat pollution spike

Public transport will be temporarily free of charge in Geneva, in a first for Switzerland, as part of a series of measures aimed at tackling a spike in pollution in…

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Oil climbs on supply risks

Oil prices climbed on Thursday as investors remain cautious the U.S.-Russia summit on Ukraine on Friday will lead to a loosening of Russian crude sanctions and may even result in…

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Trump threatens ‘severe consequences’ if Putin blocks Ukraine peace

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Russia's Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine but also said on Wednesday that a meeting between them could swiftly…

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China cuts ties with Czech President Petr Pavel over meeting with Dalai Lama

China says it has suspended all ties with Czech President Petr Pavel over his recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, further straining relations between Beijing and Prague. During a private…

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Extreme heat is a growing public health emergency, experts warn

Extreme weather events are not only a climate crisis but also a public health one, straining health systems, economies and the lives of those most at risk, the Pan-European Commission…

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Latvia to Ban One-Off Bus Trips to Russia and Belarus from October

Latvia plans to ban occasional passenger bus services to Russia and Belarus from 15 October, citing heightened border security concerns, the Ministry of Transport said. The measure would cover one-off,…

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At Least 370 Dead, 300 Missing on Central Mediterranean Migrant Route in 2025

At least 370 people have died and 300 remain missing on the Central Mediterranean migrant route between January 1 and August 9, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM)…

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Cyprus Hotels Experience Peak Summer Occupancy

Cyprus hotels will be at their busiest from the following weekend until August 18, with occupancy rates between 90 and 95 per cent, according to Thanos Michaelides, president of the…

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Children Aged 11–13 Behind Fatal Milan Hit-and-Run in Stolen Vehicle

Milan municipal police have identified and detained four minors who were inside a stolen car that fatally struck 71-year-old Cecilia De Astis on Monday in Via Saponaro, in the Gratosoglio…

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Israel in talks with South Sudan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza

Israel is reportedly in discussions with South Sudan about the possibility of resettling Palestinians from Gaza to the war-torn East African country, part of a wider effort by Israel to facilitate…

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Oil Prices Steady as Investors Await Trump-Putin Meeting

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as investors awaited clearer indications of U.S. inventory data, while eyeing an upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.…

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Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defense system

The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome missile defense system will include four layers -- one satellite-based and three on land -- with 11 short-range batteries located across the continental U.S.,…

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Europe’s wildfires hit tourism spots and forests

Firefighters across Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans are battling wildfires, with another heatwave pushing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of Europe. Global warming…

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Russia has won war in Ukraine, Hungary’s Orban says

Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir…

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Russia and Belarus to hold joint military exercises in September

The Russian and Belarusian armies are set to hold joint strategic exercises in Belarus from September 12-16, the Belarusian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The aim of the drills is…

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Air conditioner sales up as heat wave hits Germany

A heat wave that has gripped Europe for weeks has now arrived in Germany, with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday and national weather service DWD…

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Giorgia Meloni Surpasses Renzi, Eyes Craxi and Berlusconi in Longevity Record

Giorgia Meloni’s government on Tuesday became the fourth longest-serving administration in the history of the Italian Republic, reaching 1,024 days in office since its inauguration on October 22, 2022. This…

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Internationally active Albanian organised crime network busted

A series of raids performed 7 to 8 August 2025 in Albania saw the arrest of 10 suspected members of an Albanian organised crime network engaged in multi-tonne cocaine trafficking…

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Russian Facility in Królewiec Behind Baltic GPS Interference

Estonian news portal Delfi reports that a covert Russian military installation in the Królewiec region, just east of Poland’s border, is responsible for GPS interference affecting the Baltic states and…

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West Nile Virus Death Toll in Italy Rises to 20

The death toll from West Nile Virus outbreaks in Lazio, Campania, Piedmont, Calabria and Lombardy has risen to 20, health authorities said. An 83-year-old man died in Caserta, the eighth…

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Oil gains as US-China tariff pause extension boosts trade hopes

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the United States and China extended a pause on higher tariffs, easing concerns an escalation of their trade war would disrupt their economies and…

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Trump takes over DC police in extraordinary move, deploys National Guard in capital

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington and temporarily taking over the city's police department, an extraordinary assertion of presidential power…

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Trump says both sides in Ukraine war will need to cede territory

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin…

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Swarm of jellyfish shuts nuclear power plant in France

The Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France has been shut down after a swarm of jellyfish entered the filter drums that pull in cooling water, according to its state-owned…

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Anger after Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists…

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Southern Europe swelters under deadly heatwave as temperatures pass 40C

Deadly heat of up to 42C is searing southern Europe, as scientists warn of a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires across the Mediterranean. Météo-France placed…

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Liverpool’s Salah questions UEFA ‘Palestinian Pele’ tribute

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah criticized European football's governing body UEFA over its tribute to former Palestinian international Suleiman al-Obeid. The Egyptian star, who is one of the best-known Arab soccer players…

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President Donald Trump pledged to evict homeless people from the nation’s capital

President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to evict homeless people from the nation's capital and jail criminals, despite Washington's mayor arguing there is no current spike in crime. While details…

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Veteran Belarus leader Lukashenko signals this may be his final term

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview published in the weekend that he did not intend to seek another term, and denied he was lining up his son as…

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Australia to recognise Palestinian state in September, New Zealand may follow

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly to add momentum for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday. Albanese, who…

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Turkey earthquake flattens buildings in north-east Balikesir province

One person has died in Turkey after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the north-west province of Balikesir on Sunday evening. An 81-year-old woman passed away shortly after she was pulled…

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Polish PM Tusk says pause in Ukraine war could be close

A pause in the conflict in Ukraine could be close, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday after speaking to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump…

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Mayor of Estonia’s Capital Blames Alcohol Availability for Persistent Public Nuisance

Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski has emphasized the need for long-term structural solutions to address alcohol-related social issues in the capital, rather than superficial measures such as removing benches from public…

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