The latest developments in the war in #Ukraine
* Eurovision win lifts spirits
* President Volodymr Zelensky warns of 'Very difficult' situation in east Ukraine
* Finland to apply for NATO membership u.afp.com/w6A8
Map of Ukraine showing position of military forces in Ukraine as of May 15, 0700 GMT #AFPgraphics@AFP
#UPDATE The Finnish government officially announced its intention to join NATO on Sunday, as Sweden's ruling party was to hold a decisive meeting that could pave the way for a joint application u.afp.com/w6Ab
VIDEO: The Finnish government officially announces its intention to join NATO. Less than three months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the move is a stunning reversal of Finland's policy on military non-alignment dating back more than 75 years
#BREAKING NATO chief says Finland, Sweden member bids show 'aggression does not pay'
#UPDATE NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that membership by Finland and Sweden would prove "aggression does not pay" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine
#BREAKING 'Ukraine can win' war against Russia: NATO chief
#UPDATE Ukraine can defeat Russia's invasion, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday, urging the alliance to keep sending military aid to Kyiv
#BREAKING NATO chief 'confident' on resolving Turkey concerns on Sweden, Finland membership
#BREAKING NATO will look at providing security guarantees for Finland and Sweden during the interim period from their application for membership to accession, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday
#BREAKING Blinken confident on Finland, Sweden NATO bids
#UPDATE NATO will look at providing security guarantees for Finland and Sweden during the interim period from their application for membership to accession, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday
#UPDATE US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Sunday that Sweden and Finland would join NATO once they formally apply despite Turkey's voiced concerns
VIDEO: Speaking virtually at a NATO meeting in Berlin, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine can defeat Russia's invasion, urging the alliance to keep sending military aid to Kyiv
#BREAKING Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party backs NATO membership bid: statement
#UPDATE Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party on Sunday said it was in favour of joining NATO, reversing its decades-long opposition and paving the way for the country to submit a membership application
📸 Swedish soldiers prepare to go out on patrol near Boden
#BREAKING Joint Swedish-Finnish NATO bid is 'best thing' for Sweden's security: PM
Finland officially announced its intention to join NATO on Sunday, as Sweden's ruling party said it also backed membership
Though Turkey has raised some objections, US Secretary of State Blinken said he is 'very confident' a concensus will be reached
#BREAKING Biden says still considers Xi a 'dictator'
#UPDATE US President Joe Biden said after a summit with Xi Jinping that he still considers the Chinese president a "dictator", after he sparked fury from Beijing by making the comparison earlier this year.
"Well look he is, I mean he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who's running a country, a Communist country, that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden said at the end of a news conference when a reporter asked if he would still use the term to describe Xi
#BREAKING China will not begin armed conflict with any nation, President Xi Jinping said Wednesday, after a high-stakes summit with US President Joe Biden.
"China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold or hot war with any country," he told a gathering of business leaders in San Francisco
#BREAKING Any compromise with Russia will 'destroy' Ukrainian statehood: presidential aide to AFP
#BREAKING Putin says West used grain deal for 'political blackmail'
VIDEO: Ukrainian firefighters battle flames after a Russian strike on Odesa.
Ukraine's president accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure in the city after Moscow ended a landmark deal and lifted security guarantees in the Black Sea
#BREAKING Putin says situation 'difficult' in Rostov in southern Russia
#UPDATE Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday acknowledged a "difficult" situation was unfolding in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where the Wagner mercenary group has taken control of key military sites in an effort to oust Russian military's top brass.
#UPDATE President Vladimir Putin vowed Saturday he would not allow Russia to slip into civil war, after the leader of the Wagner mercenary force seized a key military headquarters overseeing the offensive in Ukraine.
https://t.co/PDuskr13ZGu.afp.com/izzr
#BREAKING Titanic sub operator believes passengers have 'sadly been lost': statement
#UPDATE The US Coast Guard now says the discovered debris from the submersible -- which was carrying five passengers down to the wreckage of the Titanic when the small vessel vanished on Sunday -- suggests 'catastrophic loss'
#BREAKING Pakistan offer condolences to family of British-Pakistan nationals on Titanic sub