WORLD

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has fired defense chief Stefan Yanev over his word choices in describing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling the situation a “military intervention” or an “operation” rather than a “war.” “My defense minister cannot use the word operation instead of the word war,” Petkov told reporters on …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the West an “empire of lies,” responding to a new wave of sanctions that hit the country over its special military operation in neighboring Ukraine. Speaking to top government officials on Monday, he said: “I invited you to discuss economic and financial issues … …

US President Joe Biden on Monday sent a group of former military and national security figures to Taiwan, where they will meet with officials, including President Tsai Ing-wen. The trip comes amid concerns in the US that Beijing may be enticed to invade the island having observed the US’ unwillingness …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt by the World Taekwondo Federation. Putin was awarded the prestigious item by the federation’s chief, Choue Chung-won, and was also made a grandmaster of the martial art during a November 2013 visit to South Korea, where taekwondo …

Airbnb announced on Monday that it will offer “free, short-term housing” for refugees fleeing conflict in Ukraine. The platform’s efforts will focus on Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Romania, and could extend to providing longer-term accommodation. Airbnb announced the move in a blog post, stating that it would be funded by …

Russia seeks to save lives in the Donbass and punish those responsible for eight years of genocide and atrocities, Moscow’s envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzia told the General Assembly during a session called to denounce the invasion of Ukraine. “Occupation of Ukraine is not part of our plans. The …

As their fears of catching Covid-19 fade, Americans are becoming less inclined to think that their fellow citizens should be forced to wear masks in public places, a new poll has revealed. About 50% of Americans favor requiring face coverings in public, down from 55% last August, according to a …

Toppling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is the goal of the new wave of international sanctions introduced in response to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, a spokesman for Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday. Downing Street later clarified that the spokesperson had “misspoken”. “The measures we are introducing, that …

Football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have banned all Russian teams from their competitions until further notice, as the two organizations issued a joint statement on Monday. “FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both …

The Vatican has called on Russia to cease its military offensive in Ukraine and sit at the negotiating table in hope of putting an end to the offensive through diplomacy, which Pope Francis is said to be ready to mediate. In a statement on Monday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal …