The number of battlefield casualties in Ukraine is approaching nearly 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, US officials say, underscoring the brutality of Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.

Austria’s disgraced ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz faced a tough weekend after being charged with making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption in his first government.

The United States on Friday pledged to support the delivery of F-16 fighter planes to war torn Ukraine after Russia allegedly destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet.

Sweden on Thursday raised its terrorist threat level to the second-highest level possible amid heightened security fears over several burnings of the Koran, deemed a holy book by Muslims.

Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world’s longest rail tunnel once viewed as a human miracle, will be closed for months for passenger services after a derailment, the country’s primary railway operator SBB acknowledged Thursday.

Lebanon’s al-Zahrani and Deir Ammar power stations, in the south and north of the country respectively, have ceased operations due to the operating company’s financial debt, the Electricity Authority of Lebanon announced Wednesday evening.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi discussed Iran’s possible future membership of the BRICS grouping during a phone call on Thursday, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.

A new report shows that 25 countries, home to 25% of the world’s population, face extremely high water stress every year, using up almost their entire annual supply of water. Titled the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, the report was prepared by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Ukraine said Wednesday that its forces entrenched themselves on the outskirts of Urozhaine after recapturing the settlement in the Donetsk region of Russian troops. The announcement came while a merchant ship left the Ukrainian port of Odesa, despite concerns Russia could target vessels in the Black Sea amid attacks that reportedly killed several people.

Questions remained Wednesday after three suspected spies for Russia in Britain were detained and charged in a major national security investigation, several sources said.

Pyongyang has, for the first time, commented on the detention of Travis King, saying the detained U.S. soldier admitted to legally entering North Korea on July 18.

Record numbers of people have been hospitalized with heart attacks in the wake of the pandemic, official figures show.

United Nations experts warned this week that there are still between 5,000 and 7,000 Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq, and that the terror group presents a serious threat in Afghanistan as well, the Associated Press reports.

With days left before new European Union internet legislation is enforced, concerns are growing about freedom of speech protection across the 27-nation bloc.

Ukraine’s president has confirmed that he had fired dozens of conscription officials accused of taking bribes and smuggling people out of the country to avoid being called to serve in the army. The announcement came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues with attacks and counter-attacks reported by both sides.

Indian Christians have observed an annual “Black Day” to remember suffering Christians and Muslims among Dalits consigned by the Hindu hierarchy to the dirtiest occupations.

Dozens of migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty, including several children, have died after a boat carrying them sank off Italy’s Lampedusa Island in the Strait of Sicily, survivors said.

Norway’s prime minister warned his Nordic nation to prepare for more floods after a massive dam on a Norwegian river partly collapsed following heavy rain.

Russia sped up a space race Friday as it tried to reach the moon after nearly half a century ahead of an Indian spacecraft.

Local authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region have declared Monday an official day of mourning after a Russian attack killed seven people, including a 23-day-old baby girl, her 12-year-old brother, and their parents. “Today, the Kherson region shuddered from terrible news,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on the social media network Telegram shortly after Sunday’s artillery strike.