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US officials are headed to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to President Donald Trump. The news comes after Ukrainian officials agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following a highly anticipated meeting with American officials in Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the “ball is truly in their [Russia’s]…

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 71-year-old former mafia boss on a motorway near Grenoble in south-eastern France. Jean-Pierre Maldera, described by French media as a “godfather” of the local mafia in the 1980s, was reportedly chased in his car and shot as he travelled up the A41 motorway on Wednesday morning. The…

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected the idea of negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme, as Tehran confirmed receiving a letter from President Donald Trump. Last week, Trump said the letter proposed talks on a deal that would prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and avert possible military action. Although Khamenei said…

The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has arrived in the Netherlands after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant over his deadly “war on drugs”. During Duterte’s time in office, thousands of small-time drug dealers, users and others were killed without trial. BBC correspondent Anna Holligan reports from The Hague. Video…

Paul Kirby, Bethany Bell & Adam Easton In London, Rome & Warsaw Getty Images Imports of American jeans, motorcyles and bourbon will be hit by EU countermeasures In Brussels, it was just after 06:00 on Wednesday. But it was midnight in Washington DC when President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium took effect…

Getty Images Duterte was arrested in Manila in a dramatic turn of events A plane carrying former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in the Netherlands where he is to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his deadly “war on drugs”. Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on…

BBC Jay, a dealer who crossed the border to Mexico from LA, says there will always be demand for fentanyl The fentanyl dealer from Los Angeles stands to the side watching carefully as a Mexican drugs cartel operative prepares his latest shipment. The synthetic opioid drug is wrapped in foil, sealed in plastic, then dropped…

Pakistan’s army says it has freed more than 300 hostages from a passenger train seized by militants in Balochistan province on Tuesday. The military spokesperson said 33 militants were killed during the operation. Twenty-one civilian hostages and four military personnel were killed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) before the operation began, the military spokesperson…

Yolande Knell Middle East correspondent BBC Markets in Khan Younis in southern Gaza are reporting some food shortages after Israel blocked deliveries 10 days ago The White House’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Qatar to join indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on extending the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. This week, negotiators from both sides…

Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News Watch: What is a tariff? The BBC’s Adam Fleming explains US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs – or import taxes – on billions of dollars worth of goods coming into the US from some of its top trading partners. The tariffs apply to steel and…