Belgian-Russian national Mike Loschchinin says he ignored warnings not to travel to Russia, where he was convicted of high treason

Construction accounted for an estimated 429 lost jobs in the first half of 2026, while retail bankruptcies increased

Belgian-Russian national Mike Loschchinin says he ignored warnings not to travel to Russia, where he was convicted of high treason

Construction accounted for an estimated 429 lost jobs in the first half of 2026, while retail bankruptcies increased

Protests erupted in Ukraine on Thursday after Mykhailo Fedorov's removal - and now soldiers are also criticising the move.

While Boris Nadezhdin is barred from running for parliament, blogger Ilya Remeslo is remanded in custody.

LONDON — Green Party Leader Zack Polanski warned Friday that there is no future for the Labour Party under Andy Burnham — the U.K.’s incoming prime minister — unless he proves that he is not “completely like Keir Starmer.” In an interview with POLITICO to discuss how the leftist party will handle Labour’s leadership change, Polanski said Burnham needed to take up Green policies to win over young people. And he labelled claims Burnham made as he was elected Labour leader “bizarre.” Burnham said Friday that he would carve out a uniquely “Labour” identity for the party, and promised he would not try to “out-Green the Greens.” Some MPs in the governing party have felt pressure from the Greens at a local level, while Polanski’s troops snatched a Commons seat off Labour in a by-election earlier this year. Burnham vowed to “give hope back” to neglected constituents across the country. Polanski — whose political broadcasts have used the slogan “let’s make hope normal again” — said “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” but argued that Burnham’s “vibes-based” hope is “a distraction from actually doing the policies.” He told POLITICO that the Green agenda — which includes promised wealth taxes, rent controls, and measures to tackle climate change — makes for “the most popular policy platform with the under-50s.” “By saying we’re not going to out-Green the Greens, what I’m really hearing them say is I’m going to continue to sit on the fence and not really keep anyone happy, which sounds completely like Keir Starmer,” Polanski charged. Starmer fiercely criticized Polanski in the run up to May’s English local elections, including labelling him “soft on Putin” during a Commons debate. Polanski described the attacks as “toxic” as he appealed to Burnham for “robust debate” rather than “character assassinations.” But he said the Manchester mayor-turned -PM would be “undoubtedly” easier to work with than Starmer. “I don’t think he’s a pantomime villain at all,” he added, pointing to rhetorical progress on issues like Gaza. Burnham apologized last week, saying the Labour party had “got it wrong” in declining to more openly criticize Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza. As Starmer contemplates his future, there is speculation over whether he will resign as a member of parliament. Polanski said he would be “incredibly tempted” to stand in Holborn and St Pancras if the seat does become vacant.

BERLIN — French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Friday to reach deals on an ambitious slate of topics before year’s end, but the duo cast their urgency as a matter of economic survival rather than a bid to safeguard the Franco-German relationship from a Marine Le Pen presidency. Speaking at the end of two days of Franco-German meetings, the leaders of the EU’s two biggest economies said they were expediting work on agreements to confront the glut of subsidized Chinese exports flooding the single market; finalize the bloc’s next seven-year budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework; and build a U.S.-style capital markets union between member countries. Both leaders suggested that without drastic action, Europe’s sputtering economy could nosedive, especially in the face of American and Chinese competition. “The implementation plan has to move as quickly as possible and as vigorously as possible,” Macron said. “This is crucial for us — it is vital — just as it is for Europe.” Merz underscored that urgency. “Work between Germany and France is essential at a time when Russia threatens our security, when the People’s Republic of China poses a challenge to our economy and when the transatlantic partnership is no longer taken for granted,” the German leader said. The prospect of France’s next president coming from the far-right National Rally has cast a shadow over Franco-German relations for months. EU countries last year began racing to get a deal done on the MFF by the end of 2026 over fears that Le Pen, a Euroskeptic who has vowed to drastically slash Paris’ contributions to the EU budget, could win France’s 2027 presidential elections. Surveys currently place Le Pen as the front-runner. When asked about the possibility of a far-right successor undoing the agreements struck Thursday and Friday, Macron said “be wary of polls,” citing his experience as a dark-horse candidate who was not expected to win the race for the Elysée at the outset of his first presidential campaign. “Trust the French people. Don’t always predict the worst for them,” he said. Merz said Germany “will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our cooperation with our French neighbors remains as close, deep, and trusting as possible.” He added: “This is true regardless of how voters in France decide.”  Keeping the Franco-German engine humming with a far-right French president could prove difficult, however. Le Pen and her party have historically been critical of Franco-German partnerships, though current leader Jordan Bardella had been trying to build bridges with Berlin when he was a potential National Rally presidential candidate. Le Pen had been expected to be barred from the election due to her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds, but a Paris appeals court earlier this month created an unexpected path for her to run. Big promises, little time Berlin and Paris frequently portray themselves as the motor that drives the EU, but the two governments have often struggled to reach compromises, including recently on matters of trade, defense and joint debt. When it comes to the EU budget and China policy, Germany and France have traditionally represented opposing camps within the bloc — so bridging those historic divides in a matter of months will be tough. Macron said that France and Germany would examine together the European Commission’s proposal for new so-called own resources, taxes levied by the bloc that directly put cash in EU coffers and thereby make the bloc less dependent on member countries’ contributions.  The summit also highlighted Germany’s recent shift toward the French positions on tackling unfair trade practices from China. Given its reliance on exports, its close economic ties with Beijing and fear of retaliation, Germany has traditionally been more cautious on launching probes and imposing duties on Chinese exports as regularly suggested by France.  In their joint declaration, Paris and Berlin asked the European Commission to launch more trade probes into Chinese practices and to strengthen the bloc’s trade defense arsenal. Macron also said a joint plan on the matter would be developed by the end of the year.

FIFA failed to deliver on a pledge to make the 2026 World Cup the "most inclusive" in history as the Trump administration's visa policies shut out fans from several countries and even barred a referee from officiating at the tournament, the Sport & Rights Alliance, a coalition of rights groups, said on Thursday, adding that it would release a report in September detailing human rights issues at the tournament.

In a week that’s seen rare wartime demonstrations in Ukraine protesting the ousting of Defence Minister Mykhailo (Misha) Fedorov after six months in a job in which he’s been credited with making a difference on the battlefield and in an anti-corruption drive. But he had reportedly clashed with Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, over how the war should be waged.

Officials in the southern state have seen new warning systems tested by the floods, after last year's deadly rainfall.

World Cup organisers are monitoring the situation 'closely', with US and FIFA presidents meeting on Friday.

Family company has quoted the six-figure sum for high-speed access to Truth Social platform

Rome declines to reveal cost of security for billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta’s ‘coastal diplomacy’

The World Cup has brought renewed attention to the art of celebration. Here’s a look at all kinds of athletes whose rituals of triumph became part of their legacies.

At a time of political upheaval and economic stagnation, Andy Burnham will on Monday become the seventh prime minister in a decade.