The war in Ukraine overshadows Moscow's annual celebration of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Following the huge military parade, the Russian president has claimed Russia is defending the "Motherland" in Donbas.

A nuclear threat from Ukraine? A Ukrainian invasion of Crimea? Ukrainian neo-Nazis? Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 9 speech contained new and familiar accusations amid the war in Ukraine. Most of them are false.

Enter the twilight of the world's longest reign. The 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II missed what is arguably the highlight of any British monarch's calendar: the reading of the government's parliamentary program instead delivered by her son, the crown prince. The importance is mostly symbolic, since the Queen's Speech is written by the prime minister. However the optics of the exercise beget the question: what United Kingdom will Charles inherit?

Beijing has accused the US of spreading "disinformation" after Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China could try to upend the international order.

India had supported Afghanistan's previous, Western-backed government. Since the Taliban took over, Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis has left millions of people at risk of hunger.

The new Philippine president has set out an ambitious economic and social blueprint for his six-year term. However, his family's chequered past and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic pose significant hurdles.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is not known for his restraint, but he may have finally gone too far with a speech railing against "mixed-race" populations. A close adviser has stepped down — and fallout continues.

A small group of women rallied in the Afghan capital for the first time in months, demanding a return of their freedoms, after the Taliban reneged on promises to maintain the marginal gains women made in recent years.

A small group of women rallied in the Afghan capital for the first time in months, demanding a return of their freedoms, after the Taliban reneged on promises to maintain the marginal gains women made in recent years.

The speech therapists were sentenced to 19 months in prison for publishing books that explained the city's pro-democracy movement to children. Human rights campaigners have called the convictions an act of repression.

King Charles III has been visiting Northern Ireland on the latest leg of his tour after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Meanwhile, police are facing criticism over their treatment of anti-monarchy protesters.

In a much-awaited speech this week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen focused on the acute problems facing the Union: the war in Ukraine, energy prices and the challenge from autocracies. But some of the MEPs in the audience said the solutions she proposed are vague. We debrief von der Leyen's annual address with two MEPs.