BBC News (World)

2022-10-22 09:01:56 Ukraine war: US and Russian defence ministers discuss Ukraine in rare talks

The US and Russian defence secretaries have spoken in a phone call, in a rare moment of high-level contact between the two countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu spoke on Friday, the two countries confirmed.

Both sides said the situation in Ukraine was discussed.

It is the first time they have spoken since a call on 13 May.

After Friday's call, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told the BBC that the US was "eager to keep lines of communication open". read more Open / Comment

2022-10-21 16:02:12 Italy Meloni: Far-right leader poised to govern despite Putin row

Italy's far-right leader Giorgia Meloni and her coalition allies have met President Sergio Mattarella and say they are ready to form a government "as quickly as possible".

He is set to ask Ms Meloni in the coming hours to become prime minister.

Veteran ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attended the brief talks, despite shaking the coalition's unity with leaked pro-Putin remarks.

Ms Meloni has sought to assure Italy's Western allies nothing will change.

The Brothers of Italy leader could be sworn in as early as this weekend as the country's first female prime minister - and first far-right leader since World War Two. She said her coalition of right-wing and far-right parties was unanimous that she should lead Italy. read more Open / Comment

2022-10-21 02:30:39 Ukraine war: Iranian drone experts 'on the ground' in Crimea - US

Iran has deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch drone attacks on Ukraine, the White House says.

The Iranians are trainers and tech support workers, a US spokesman said.

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was struck by so-called "kamikaze" drones on Monday, deployed by Russia but believed to be Iranian-made.

The UK has announced sanctions on Iranian businesses and individuals responsible for supplying the drones.

"We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. read more Open / Comment

2022-10-20 16:22:30 Liz Truss resigns as prime minister after Tory revolt

Liz Truss has dramatically resigned as prime minister after just 45 days in the job.

The PM said her successor will be elected in a Tory leadership contest, to be completed in the next week.

Tory MPs urged Ms Truss to go after her government was engulfed by political turmoil, following the ditching of most of her economic policies.

Ms Truss was elected by the Tory membership in September, but she lost authority after a series of U-turns.

In a brief speech outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said the Conservative Party had elected her on a mandate to cut taxes and boost economic growth. Open / Comment

2022-10-20 09:00:02 Ukrainians told to 'charge everything' as power grid hit by Russia

Ukraine's national energy company has urged citizens to "charge everything" by 07:00 (04:00 GMT) Thursday because of expected power cuts caused by Russian missile strikes.

Energy plants were hit by Russian missiles again on Wednesday - part of a wave of such strikes since 10 October.

Outages of up to four hours at a time will affect the whole country on Thursday, grid operator Ukrenergo said.

It comes as Russia declares martial law in areas of Ukraine it has annexed. read more Open / Comment

2022-10-19 15:00:07 Ukraine war: Russia begins evacuation from Kherson in south

Tens of thousands of civilians and Russian-appointed officials are being moved out of Ukraine's southern Kherson region ahead of a Ukrainian offensive, says the Russia-installed local leader.

Vladimir Saldo said 50-60,000 civilians would leave four towns on the west bank of the Dnieper river in an "organised, gradual displacement".

All Russian-appointed departments in Kherson city would cross the river too.

Russian TV footage showed a number of people gathering near the Dnieper.

As they queued for boats, it was not clear how many were leaving. The transfer or deportation of civilians by an occupying power from occupied territory is considered a war crime. read more Open / Comment