Negotiators from the US and Iran held indirect talks in Oman on Friday. Both sides lauded the start of negotiations, but at the same time upped the pressure: US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional punitive tariffs on countries that do trade with Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that attacks on his country would be met with attacks on US bases in the region.
Japan's national conservative ruling party has secured a resounding election victory: under the leadership of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has only been in office since October, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won more than two-thirds of the seats in the parliamentary election - the first time a single party has achieved such a majority in Japan. Takaichi has promised to upgrade Japan's military to create a counterweight to China in the region.
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.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is coming under increasing pressure within his own party over the Peter Mandelson affair. Media have quoted Labour MPs as saying that the prime minister's days were numbered. Mandelson is alleged to have passed on confidential government information to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s. In 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite knowing about his relationship with Epstein.
Around a third of the journalists at the Washington Post, one of the US's most prestigious newspapers, have been laid off. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acquired the financially struggling paper from the family that owned it in 2013 and invested heavily in its digital transformation. During Trump's first term in office from 2017 to 2021 it was one of the most critical voices, but since his second term began Bezos has increasingly sought to cultivate a close relationship with the US president.
The 25th Winter Olympics kick off in Italy today. For the first time in Olympic history, two cities, Milan and the winter resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, will jointly host the games. Before all the attention turns to games and medals, the media discuss the event from an economic - and environmental - perspective.
The New Start nuclear weapons treaty, which was signed between the US and Russia in 2010 to limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons, expired on Thursday. The agreement foresaw a maximum limit of 1,550 warheads and 800 delivery vehicles for both sides. Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a one-year extension of the treaty last September, but US President Donald Trump didn't take up the offer.
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 2023, the authorities are claiming that the camera on board the Coast Guard vessel was not in operation.
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?