In India, derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed made two officials from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have sparked a mixture of deadly protests and diplomatic spats. Countries like Oman, Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia have lodged complaints with India's ambassadors. We take a closer look and get analysis from Subir Sinha, a lecturer in development studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, decried Russia's attacks during their joint trip to Ukraine.

Protesters set train coaches and vehicles on fire, and clashed with the police. The new military policy, aimed at creating a younger and fitter force, has angered many aspirants.

The executive body of the European Union has recommended that Ukraine be granted EU candidate status. Kyiv has sought candidate status since 2014.

The Cypriot government says the vast majority of migrants enter the island's breakaway north via Turkey and then seek asylum in the EU-backed south. Arrivals doubled to about 10,000 in the first five months of this year.

The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.

Meta, Microsoft and other tech giants racing to build the emerging metaverse concept have formed a group to foster the development of industry standards that would make the companies' nascent digital worlds compatible with each other.

Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia have criticized the slow progress on their EU membership bids. With Ukraine on the fast track, Western Balkan leaders are meeting with their EU counterparts — but hold out little hope.

Hindu nationalist groups in India claim that many mosques and Islamic monuments from the Mughal era were built on sacred Hindu sites. Muslims fear more marginalization as a result of these measures.

EU leaders are in Brussels to discuss the membership bids of Ukraine and Moldova. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has voted heavily in favor of the two countries' getting candidate status.

The European Union should change the way it does business with Africa to redress imbalances left over in part from the colonial era, EU lawmakers have said.