Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) has warned that corruption is worsening in democracies worldwide and said the United States had fallen to its lowest-ever score on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Europe to ramp up investment in strategic industries, warning that the continent risks being “swept aside” by competition from the United States and China.

Ukraine and France have agreed to start joint weapons production, Ukraine’s defence minister said on Monday, after hosting his French counterpart in Kyiv. 

The Portuguese electorate has delivered a decisive blow to the far-right, electing veteran Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro after a storm-hit campaign.

Portugal, which is reeling from a battering by deadly storms, began voting in the second round of a presidential election on Sunday, with the moderate candidate expected to trounce his far-right rival. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday that he will be going to Washington “in two weeks” to attend the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”.

With Haiti’s interim authority set to dissolve and no new government in sight, political infighting and deepening gang violence leave the country facing another uncertain chapter.

US President Donald Trump said that Washington had “very good talks” on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman, pledging another round of negotiations next week. 

Tensions in the Arctic are putting new pressure on Svalbard, a Norwegian-administered archipelago long seen as an example of international cooperation, as climate change transforms the region and rivalry between major powers intensifies.

Several French public figures are mentioned in newly released documents from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, showing correspondence between the financier or his circle and personalities from politics, culture and academia.