Today marks the expiry of the New Start nuclear weapons treaty which was concluded between the US and Russia in 2010 to limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons in their possession. At the time, both sides agreed on a maximum limit of 1,550 warheads and 800 delivery vehicles. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to extend the treaty for another year, but US President Trump didn't accept the proposal.
The Labour government and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are under pressure. Following the release of further Epstein files, Peter Mandelson is suspected of having passed on confidential government information to Jeffrey Epstein, who was already a convicted sex offender, during his time as Secretary of State for Business and Trade. Starmer is now facing accusations of having knowledge of Mandelson's ties to Epstein when he appointed Mandelson as US ambassador in 2024.
Italian MEP and former general Roberto Vannacci has announced he is withdrawing from the right-wing populist Lega and launching a new far-right party called Futuro Nazionale. Vannacci was deputy leader of Lega, which is led by Matteo Salvini and forms part of Italy's coalition government together with Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia and Forza Italia. What is his goal?
At least 15 people were killed and 25 injured, including two Coast Guard officers, when a speedboat carrying migrants collided with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel off the Greek island of Chios on Tuesday. As in the case of a similar accident in December, the authorities are claiming that the camera on board the Coast Guard vessel was not in operation.
The publication of further files in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to raise new questions. Dozens more prominent names appear in the more than three million pages of documents, thousands of videos and well over 100,000 photos most recently released by the US Department of Justice. Commentators discuss the connections between these individuals and Epstein and what consequences they will have.
France's budget for the current year has been finalised. On Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two votes of no confidence brought by the opposition. His predecessors François Bayrou and Michel Barnier were forced to step down shortly after taking office amid disputes over the budget. Is France entering calmer political waters?
Russia attacked energy facilities across Ukraine on Tuesday night, just as the country is experiencing extreme winter weather. Donald Trump had agreed a week-long ceasefire with Vladimir Putin last week, but the exact timing remained unclear. Commentators discuss Putin's current strategy ahead of the peace negotiations set to begin today in Abu Dhabi.
The European Union has decided to end imports of natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027 at the latest. The decisions comes after 24 EU countries voted in favour of the move while Hungary and Slovakia voted against it and Bulgaria abstained. The governments in Budapest and Bratislava now plan to challenge the decision before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Europe's commentators discuss the options for gas supplies to the bloc.
On 8 March, Switzerland will vote on the "200 francs is enough!" initiative, or "halving initiative" aimed at a substantial reduction in radio and television license fees for citizens and an exemption for businesses. If successful, the budget for the country's public broadcasting service SRG would be almost halved. The initiative is supported by the right-wing SVP, the Young Liberals and the Swiss Trade Association.
Several winners at the Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday used their acceptance speeches to criticise the actions of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE and to make other political statements. Afterwards, US President Donald Trump described the event as "garbage" and announced that he would be taking legal action against its presenter.