Laureta* remembers the day she decided to break her silence. After 10 years of continual physical and psychological abuse by her husband, she walked into her local police station in a coastal city in Albania — afraid but with a new determination to save herself and her two daughters. Laureta reported her husband and sought legal protection.
Skip next section South Africa says 2 citizens died in Ukraine fighting for Russia February 26, 2026 South Africa says 2 citizens died in Ukraine fighting for Russia Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday said that at least two South African nationals had died fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine after being tricked
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's second term in office ends early next year. The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Greens are campaigning for a woman to succeed him. This would be a first in history: Twelve men have held Germany's top office since the end of World War II.
President Salva Kiir's firing of finance minister Bak Barnaba Chol is a symptom of growing instability in South Sudan, analysts say. Chol had only taken up the post in November 2025. His replacement, Salvatore Garang, served in the same role from 2018 to 2020, but faced corruption allegations.
As tensions between the US and Iran threaten to bring a major military conflict to the region, Lebanon's situation is particularly precarious. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has repeatedly said that his country will not interfere in foreign disputes. Earlier this week, he urged Hezbollah to not drag Lebanon into "another adventure."
An emergency meeting Thursday morning of the organization that manages the Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale, has left the future of the festival's current head, Tricia Tuttle, open-ended, as the festival continues to reel from controversy related to the Israel-Hamas war.
In the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine, the West has moved to cut off Moscow's oil and gas revenues — from US President Donald Trump hitting India with tariffs for buying Russian oil to the European Union vowing to phase out Russian gas imports "once and for all" by November 2027.
Skip next section Interior Minister Dobrindt says waiting on final AfD verdict February 26, 2026 Interior Minister Dobrindt says waiting on final AfD verdict Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said that the federal government had taken note of Thursday's initial ruling on the AfD.
US President Donald Trump and his allies have long expressed their support for the right and far right of the European political spectrum. This was made official in the United States National Security Strategy (NSS) published in December 2025.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday poured oil on the fire in a dispute with neighboring Ukraine by ordering tighter security at critical energy infrastructure sites, while accusing Kyiv of seeking to disrupt the Hungarian energy system.
Throughout his career, Nickolay Mladenov has often found himself in the eye of the storm.
Skip next section Closing summary: Takeaways from Merz's trip to China February 26, 2026 Closing summary: Takeaways from Merz's trip to China Friedrich Merz tours Siemens Energy facility (German manufacturer that works on energy technology) in HangzhouImage: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Thursday completed his inaugural trip to China with a host of business