Russia escalated its war rhetoric Friday, stating that any ceasefire with Ukraine is conditional on Kyiv’s complete withdrawal from the Donbas region, as Ukrainian forces claimed new gains near the strategic northeastern hub of Kupiansk.

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief SOFIA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Bulgaria plunged into renewed political turmoil Friday after Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned following mass protests accusing his minority government of corruption, just weeks before the Balkan nation is due to adopt the euro. Zhelyazkov stepped down ahead of a planned parliamentary no-confidence vote, less than a month before Bulgaria is scheduled to adopt the euro as its official currency by joining the eurozone on January 1. “We hear the voice of citizens protesting against the government,” Zhelyazkov stressed in a televised address. “This civic energy must … Read more

Hungary’s embattled Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely viewed as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally within the European Union, has accused the EU’s executive arm of “systematically raping European law” over plans to lock up Russia’s frozen assets until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine and compensates for the devastation it has inflicted.

Germany on Friday summoned the Russian ambassador amid allegations that Moscow is conducting a coordinated campaign to destabilize the country, the European Union’s largest economy, according to government officials.

A leading human rights group has condemned Hungary’s decision to place state-run youth detention centers under police oversight after abuse scandals triggered calls for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s resignation.

Growing frictions between the United States and its European allies emerged Thursday after tense conversations over how to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two, the ongoing war in Ukraine.

European Union health authorities have warned that “changing diets and an aging population” may contribute to a rise in serious and sometimes deadly Listeria infections across the continent.

Thailand and Cambodia rushed reinforcements to their shared frontier Wednesday as artillery exchanges and air strikes shattered a fragile ceasefire, forcing thousands of residents on both sides of the border to flee. The crisis raised fears of a widening conflict in one of Southeast Asia’s most volatile regions and impacted churches.

The Czech Republic, regarded as one of Europe’s most atheist nations, was preparing for a new government Wednesday after a Trump-style billionaire was appointed as its new prime minister amid ongoing scrutiny from the European Union.

The United States has seized a large crude tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from both Venezuela and Iran, a dramatic enforcement action that immediately raised oil prices and heightened tensions with the Maduro regime.

South Africa’s authorities have released new details about a mass shooting that killed 12 people, including children, at an unlicensed bar near the administrative capital Pretoria.

Britain is facing calls for stronger safeguards on the planned use of facial recognition cameras across the country after the Home Office admitted the system is more likely to incorrectly identify black and Asian people than their white counterparts.

Indonesia’s capital was plunged into mourning late Tuesday after at least 22 people, including a pregnant woman, were confirmed dead when a massive fire swept through a seven-story office building in central Jakarta.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered in the Pacific Ocean some 45 miles west of Misawa, Japan, shook the northern region of the archipelago around 11:26 p.m. local time.

European Union leaders have expressed deep concern about a new U.S. national security strategy that they view as “ideologically anti-European,” supportive of “far-right” and populist movements across the continent, and a threat to transatlantic unity.