Fresh border fighting erupted Friday between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, both sides said, a day after deadly clashes threatened to derail EU-led weekend peace talks between the two countries.. The EU-led diplomacy comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers to Washington for talks in early May.
After eight years running City Hall, Barcelona's left-wing mayor, Ada Colau, is eyeing a third mandate on May 28, when Spain votes in local and regional elections whose outcome is unclear. . The polls are widely seen as a trial run ahead of a year-end general election, which is expected to be a tight race for the left-wing government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Ukraine claimed Friday to have retaken swathes of ground near the frontline city of Bakhmut, as Russia reported having repelled an attack along a broad stretch of the front line.. Moscow denied Ukraine had made any breakthroughs in the flashpoint city, adding on Friday that it had repelled Kyiv's forces along more than 95 kilometres (60 miles) of front near the eastern town of Soledar Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine had deployed more than 1,000 military personnel and up to 40 tanks.
French director Louis Leterrier was a regular fan of "The Fast and the Furious" when the multi-billion-dollar franchise started more than two decades ago.. "I was a fan, buying my ticket on the Champs Elysee in 2001, who became a director and now I'm ending the franchise," Leterrier told AFP. "That never happens!"
Volunteers in camouflage aprons packed the ingredients for Ukraine's UNESCO-recognised borshch soup into ready-to-make kits, preparing food with a symbolic weight for troops battling Russia's invasion.. As she worked, volunteer Svitlana Korotkova proudly noted she was preparing "the intangible heritage recognised by UNESCO that is the Ukrainian borshch".
Hundreds sought shelter and higher ground in western Myanmar on Friday ahead of a looming cyclone forecast to bring high winds and a storm surge to the eastern Bay of Bengal.. The office predicted a storm surge of between two and two-and-a-half metres (6-8 feet) for the low-lying coastal region, which on the Bangladeshi side is home to sprawling camps hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.
South Africans were left angry and baffled on Friday after the US accused their country of secretly shipping arms to Russia, a charge that triggered both a government rebuke but also the announcement of an inquiry.. The foreign ministry on Friday said there was no record of any approved arms sales to Russia during the period in question but the probe would shed light on the case.
Visitors to Belgium's coast are having to get used to North Sea visitors not seen for a while -- dozens of seals that are using the short sandy coastline as a resting place.. In one spot near Belgium's main coastal town of Ostend, a dozen people stand behind a rope fascinated by two seals on the sand.
The UK government on Friday hit out at European broadcasters for banning a message by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at this weekend's Eurovision final, for fear of politicising the event.. "The prime minister believes it would be fitting for President Zelensky to address the event, and we're disappointed by the decision from the European Broadcasting Union," Sunak's spokesman said.
EU foreign ministers met Friday to seek a common approach and "recalibrate" Europe's position on China, lessening reliance and coaxing Beijing to take a tougher stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.. Polish deputy foreign minister Pawel Jablonski on Friday said that "any attempt at breaking international law" or "deteriorating security" should be met with a "decisive answer."
