Andrew Rettman

Hungary and Slovakia risk delaying new EU sanctions on Russia, but Malta is falling into line, less than a week before Europe’s Ukraine-war anniversary deadline. EU ambassadors will discuss the 20th-round sanctions proposal in Brussels on Friday (20 Febru... See more

The ‘frog’ poison that killed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was likely made in a high-end lab, according to a Belgian toxicologist. Navalny died in prison in Russia in 2024 after being poisoned by “epibatidine … a toxin found in frogs in South America”... See more

The international chess world is heading for a geopolitical showdown, whilst Ukrainian players die on the battlefield under Russian fire. The Russian president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich, might be forced out of his rol... See more

The EU’s political elite gave a standing ovation and breathed “relief” after a US message of “reassurance” in Munich, even though it was laced with far-right tropes. “Our home may be in the western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe,” sai... See more

Israel’s “de facto annexation” of the West Bank has been met with a relatively mild EU rebuke, indicating business as usual. A slew of new Israeli laws helping Jewish settlers to buy Palestinian land approved by the Israeli security cabinet on Sunday (8 F... See more