Russian special forces freed two prison guards and shot dead six inmates linked to the Islamic State militant group who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov on Sunday (16 June), Russian media said.

European environment ministers will gather in Luxembourg this morning (17 June) for the final Environment Council meeting of Belgium's EU Council Presidency, aiming to progress several outstanding Green Deal files.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised plans announced by the military on Sunday(16 June) to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate aid delivery into the Palestinian enclave.

As EU leaders meet on Monday (17 June) evening to discuss the bloc's top institutional jobs after the European election, a quick 'political agreement' might be in the cards.

Today, the heads of state and government of the 27 European Union member states will meet at an informal European Council dinner, and one of the topics on the agenda will be who will take the top jobs in the next Commission.

Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler announced that Austria would support the Nature Restoration Law, on Sunday (16 June), in the following day’s meeting with her 26 EU counterparts, opening the possibility that the contested text may be approved into European law

Though the Ukraine peace summit on Sunday (16 June) outlined a roadmap to peace, many key Global South countries - including Saudi Arabia, Mexico, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Indonesia - did not sign the final declaration.

In this week's edition: Ukraine peace push in Switzerland, G7 aftermath and accession talks progress.

Three British opinion polls released late on Saturday (15 June) presented a grim picture for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party, and one pollster warned that the party faced "electoral extinction" in 4 July's election.

Former French Socialist president François Hollande on Saturday (15 June) said he is to stand again for parliament in legislative elections, the latest political twist after his successor Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called snap polls.

Kazakhstan’s legislative reforms targeting domestic violence are at a pivotal moment, with new laws taking effect on 16 June which aim to protect women and children. Kazakhstan is seeking to establish zero tolerance for domestic violence.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday (15 June) refused to disclose whom she would be backing in the EU's top job discussions next week.

Russian officials privately admit their chances of preventing an Armenian exit from the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are slim, former Moscow officials and diplomat admit