The traditional Victory Day parade in the Russian capital Moscow on May 9, 2026 will be scaled back. It will not feature the usual display of military vehicles on Red Square, and no cadets from prestigious military academies will attend. Russia's Ministry of Defense cited the "current operational situation" as the reason for the decision.
Voters' expectations could not have been higher when Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his government coalition of center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) took office on May 6, 2025. Economic recovery was to be the top priority.
Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know German exports have risen 0.5% month on month and 1.9% year on year in March, while imports have jumped 5.1% Shipments to the US and China have declined sharply Germany's Commerzbank says plans 3,000 job cuts to fend off a takeover bid by
Police on Friday said a hostage situation was over at a bank in the western German town of Sinzig, with no injuries. Suspects were no longer at the scene when special forces searched the building, officers said, with two hostages locked in a vault room who were freed unharmed. What do we know about the incident?
Skip next section US willing to mediate but not to waste time: Rubio May 8, 2026 US willing to mediate but not to waste time: Rubio US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is still prepared to mediate between Russia and Ukraine to end the war between them if it can be productive.
South Africa's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the country's Parliament to reconsider impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa. The ruling stems from an allegation that $580,000 in US banknotes, hidden in a couch, was stolen from Ramaphosa's private Phala Phala game farm in 2020. The court did not rule on the substance of the allegations.
In late April, an unusual court trial in China's southwestern Yunnan province led to a landmark ruling, where a local court found a minor guilty of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. At the time of the crime, the defendant was 14 years old.
A rescue mission was underway on Friday in eastern Indonesia as 20 hikers went missing following a volcanic eruption. Three of the missing people, including two foreigners, are reported to have died. What do we know? Mount Dukono, located on the Halmahera island in North Maluku province, erupted on Friday at 07:41 a.m.