Donald Trump has announced that Washington and Moscow have agreed on terms for ending the war in Ukraine: "I think we have a deal with Russia," the US president said on Wednesday, adding that Russia was making a big concession by agreeing to end the war now rather than seizing the whole country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that Russia was in principle ready to conclude an agreement. Trump had previously lambasted Zelensky for refusing to cede on his country's right to keep Crimea.
The Spanish government has announced that it is backing out of a contract with an Israeli company to purchase ammunition for the Guardia Civil (the Spanish military police). The move comes after left-wing coalition partner Sumar condemned the plan to purchase 15 million bullets worth 6.6 million euros on the grounds that the cabinet had pledged not to enter into any arms deals with Israel.
Sweden's government has announced plans to set up a commission to examine how to combat fraud in LSS services - which encompass services such as healthcare, children's homes and transport for the disabled - more effectively. Fourteen people received prison sentences in Gothenburg in 2021 for fraud involving the use of fake patients, carers and documents which amounted to roughly four million euros. Since then, 85 care services have lost their licences.
The EU has imposed massive fines on two US IT companies, with Apple being to pay 500 million euros and Facebook parent company Meta 200 million euros for violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the first time fines have been imposed under the DMA, which was introduced in 2022. Among other things, it obliges internet giants to open up their platforms to competitors. Europe's media back the ruling.
The Turkish government has banned elective C-sections in private healthcare facilities. According to the Ministry of Health, the move aims to lower the number of caesarian section births, which usually require a longer recovery period until the next pregnancy, in order to promote population growth. Commentators look at pros and cons.
After the death of Pope Francis, 135 eligible cardinals under the age of 80, known as cardinal electors, will elect the new head of the Catholic Church from among their ranks. The top candidates include Pietro Parolin from Italy and Péter Erdö from Hungary. Around 80 percent of the cardinal electors were appointed by Francis, but according to Europe's press it is by no means certain that his course will be continued.