At least five people have been injured and several large fires have broken out in the Black Sea region of Odessa after new Russian drone attacks, officials said on Thursday. "During the night, the enemy launched a massive attack on the Odessa region with combat drones. Most of the enemy targets were destroyed by air defences," Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram. However, energy and port infrastructure, as well as several houses, were damaged, he said. Containers of wood pellets and cooking oil caught fire in the port and some 30,000 were left without power, according to Kiper, who po...
A handwritten note from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to his boss, Donald Trump, played an important role in the announcement of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement. "Very close," was written at the top underlined on the note that Rubio slipped to Trump during a meeting on Wednesday with conservative influencers at the White House. Photographers captured the moment, as well as the text on the white sheet of stationery: “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Trump then told the gathering: “I was just given a note by...
Following the breakthrough in the negotiations to end the Gaza war, Germany wants to organize a reconstruction conference with Egypt. "This will have to be a conference with broad political aims that sets out the political framework for the Gaza Strip and, of course, always keeps in mind that a two-state solution will have to be found at the end," Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday. Wadephul made the remarks in Belfast, where he is attending a conference on the Western Balkans, hours after US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement had been reached between Israel and ...
Germany's leading stock market index, the DAX, reached a record high on Thursday. The index rose to 24,698 points shortly after opening, before dropping back slightly. According to the bank Helaba, the DAX received tailwinds from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 set new records on Wednesday. Japan's leading Nikkei index also topped its previous high. Analysts said the DAX may have been boosted by the prospect of interest rate cuts in the United States, which could make shares more attractive than fixed-interest securities. Signs of a solution to the French political crisis may...