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Brunner eschews conventional plotting. Instead, we get postcards from the future, a world on fire, ravaged by climate change and ecocide.

Fake cosmetics, massage pillows and sex toys. Crude homemade explosives. A Russian known as Warrior. A code word: Mary. These are among the key elements of a suspected Russian-run sabotage plot that led to three parcels being detonated at courier depots in Britain, Germany and Poland last summer, a person with knowledge of the Polish investigation told Reuters. The pillows, packed into the parcels with the cosmetics and sex toys, contained hidden homemade incendiary devices made of a cocktail of chemicals including highly reactive magnesium, according to the person familiar with the case who provided the most granular account yet of the alleged plot. The chemicals were ignited by pre-timed detonators adapted from cheap Chinese electronic gadgets used to track items like lost keys, with the effect enhanced by the tubes of what looked like cosmetics but in fact contained a gel made of flammable compounds including nitromethane, according to the source. «The proceedings in this case concern criminal activities inspired by Russia's GRU,» this person said, referring to Moscow's foreign military intelligence agency.

Such units are among the thousands of troops that South Korea's spy agency says Pyongyang has deployed to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. During the visit to a special operations unit on Friday, Kim said the «actual war capability for guaranteeing victory in the war field is bolstered up through intensive training,» the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He added that their training is «the most vivid expression of patriotism and loyalty to the country,» according to the agency. Images released by state media showed Kim peering through the scope of a sniper rifle that KCNA said was going to be «newly supplied to special operation units».

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday confirmed that the death toll from recent Russian strikes has reached 16 in Kryvyi Rih, including six children, while five others were killed in Kharkiv following a targeted drone attack. He further said that 34 people were also injured in the strike, which involved six «Shahed» drones. Sharing a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, «Rescue operations are currently underway in Kryvyi Rih following a Russian missile strike. As of now, 16 people are confirmed dead, including six children. In Kharkiv, rescue efforts continued all day after a targeted Russian drone strike. A deliberate attack by six „Shahed“ drones. Sadly, five people were killed. Thirty-four were injured. My condolences to all the families and loved ones. In Kherson — another targeted strike by a Russian FPV drone hit an energy facility — the Kherson thermal power plant.» He further said, «These strikes cannot be accidental — the Russians know exactly what they're hitting. They know these are energy facilities that should be protected from attacks under what Russia itself promised to the American side. Every Russian promise ends with missiles or drones, bombs or artillery. Diplomacy means nothing to them.»

The Andaman Skies is transferring its cargo of crude oil to the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel Ozanno, the sources said. While many buyers have shunned Russian oil since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India and China have remained keen buyers. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which accounted for about 35% of its crude imports in 2024. However, port authorities last week barred the more than 20-year-old Andaman Skies from entering India's port of Vadinar as its seaworthiness certificate was not issued by an Indian-approved classification agency. The Tanzania-flagged vessel, carrying about 100,000 metric tons (or some 800,000 barrels) of Varandey Russian oil sold by Lukoil from the northern port of Murmansk, is sitting off the port of Mumbai in western India, LSEG shipping data shows.

Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire talks to bring a halt to fighting in Ukraine and ramped up pressure on Moscow by insisting that he owes the United States an immediate answer. Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting after a Kremlin official said on Monday that Moscow views efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine as «a drawn-out process.» «Our judgment is that Putin continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet,» British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at NATO headquarters, standing alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in a symbolic show of unity. Britain and France are helping to lead a multinational effort known as the «coalition of the willing» to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine. Lammy said that while Putin should be accepting a ceasefire, «he continues to bombard Ukraine. It's civilian population. It's energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin. We know what you are doing.»

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s pursuit of breakneck diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine is colliding with Moscow and Kyiv’s go-slow approach. Russia is putting sticks in the wheels of Trump’s cease-fire drive, playing for time as it presses its gains on the battlefield and pushes for maximum concessions in negotiations.

What matters now is the reaction of the other three key players to this latest move by the mercurial and inconsistent U.S. leader. Do Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping believe that Trump will actually follow through, and if he does what will it mean for their energy situation?

Russia and the United States have started talks on joint rare earth metals and other projects in Russia, and some companies have already expressed an interest in them, President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy said in remarks published on Monday. Amid efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, minerals cooperation has been floated by both Kyiv and Moscow, though Trump said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to back out of a proposed deal. Putin in February suggested that the United States might be interested in exploring joint exploration for rare earth metals deposits in Russia, which has the world's fifth-largest reserves of the metals used in lasers and military equipment. Kirill Dmitriev, Kremlin special envoy on international economic and investment cooperation, told the Izvestia newspaper in remarks published on Monday that talks had already begun. «Rare earth metals are an important area for cooperation, and, of course, we have begun discussions on various rare earth metals and (other) projects in Russia,» said Kirill Dmitriev, who is also the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ABOARD THE HNLMS LUYMES—Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx was patrolling the Baltic Sea recently when he got word that a ship on NATO’s watchlist was acting in a suspicious manner. After leaving a Russian port, it had slowed down while passing near a pipeline on the sea bottom.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. THE PREMIERE on February 28th of a new staging of “Macbeth" at the venerable Franko theatre in Kyiv was initially eclipsed by the diplomatic disaster unfolding the same day between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in the White House. Since then the production has become the talk of the city’s elite.

Trump said Sunday he was «very angry, pissed off» with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, NBC reported, marking a sharp change of tone as Washington seeks to end the war in Ukraine. NBC's Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his anger over Putin questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's future as a leader — something that Trump himself has done. Welker, on her NBC show «Meet The Press» on Sunday, quoted directly from an early-morning telephone conversation with the president. Trump said that «if Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia's fault» then he would impose «secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia.» Welker said Trump told her «I was very angry, pissed off» when Putin started making comments about Zelensky's credibility and talking about new leadership in Ukraine.

secondary tariffs of 25% to 50% on all Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and they could start within a month if there is no ceasefire. Trump told NBC News he was angry and «pissed off» when Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's leadership, NBC reported. Trump told NBC News by phone that he planned to speak with Putin this week. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised repeatedly to end what he calls a «ridiculous» war in Ukraine, and he has focused heavily on the issue since taking office on January 20. Trump himself has called for new elections in Ukraine and falsely called Zelenskiy a dictator. Putin on Friday suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections and the signature of key accords, which could effectively push out Zelenskiy.

Six strikes hit the northeastern border city overnight Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials. A spokesperson for the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office, Dmytro Chubenko, confirmed two deaths and said another 30 people were wounded, including children. According to the emergency medical services, the «massive attack» reduced one home to a fiery ruin and damaged other houses, office buildings, cars and garages. The Ukrainian army said that a military hospital building and nearby residential buildings «were damaged by a Shahed drone».

Putin's comments, during a visit to the northern port of Murmansk, come amid U.S. attempts to forge a settlement to the conflict by re-establishing links with Russia and engaging with both Moscow and Kyiv, in separate talks. The Kremlin leader has been accused by Ukraine and European leaders of trying to prolong ceasefire talks without any serious intent of stopping fighting. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the sharpest confrontation for decades between Moscow and the West. Putin's suggestion of a temporary administration appeared to address his long-held complaint that Ukraine's authorities are not a legitimate negotiating partner as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has stayed in power beyond the May 2024 end of his mandate.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus here on Friday, official media reported. Yunus, on a four-day visit to China, took part in the country's Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Hainan after his arrival there on Wednesday. He arrived in Beijing on Thursday and was received at the airport by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong. Gearing up for his meeting with Xi, Yunus called on China on Thursday to reduce interest rates for Chinese loans and waive commitment fees on Chinese-funded projects. In his meeting with the Chinese Executive Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, Yunus sought Chinese support in an array of development projects, Bangladesh media reports said. He also called for a reduction of interest rates for Chinese loans from three per cent to 1-2 per cent to Bangladesh and sought a waiver of commitment fees on the Chinese-funded projects in Bangladesh. China is Bangladesh's fourth-largest lender after Japan, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, with total loans disbursed since 1975 coming to USD 7.5 billion, according to a report in the Daily Star newspaper of Bangladesh.

geopolitical landscape", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, as he underlined that the «era of multipolarity» necessitates greater cooperation between the two nations. In an online video address to the conference — 'Russia and India: Towards a New Bilateral Agenda' — he said «further enhancement of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia continues to be a shared foreign policy priority». The conference is being hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Indian Embassy in Moscow. In his address, Jaishankar said India «immensely values» its relationship with Russia and the two nations «remain committed to nurturing this deep friendship and exploring new frontiers of cooperation». «This relationship with deep historical roots, and a long tradition of trust and mutual respect, continues to expand and deepen, in the backdrop of a dynamic world order,» the external affairs minister said. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is also taking part in the conference.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The U.S. said it had agreed with Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump acknowledged that his rapid drive to end the war in Ukraine had hit a snag, observing that Russia appeared to be slow-walking the U.S.-brokered negotiations as it angles for further concessions from the West. Trump’s comments came hours after the White House announced a Black Sea cease-fire deal and Russia promptly demanded additional steps from the West on sanctions relief before complying with such a truce.

global shipping industry should be open to working with a new group of insurers that emerged to support Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, provided they follow best practice, according to a leading maritime group. The new insurers and P&I clubs — groups that pool risks — should be assessed based on their adherence to international safety and technical standards, Nikolaus Schues, president of shipping association Bimco, said in an interview. They may become legitimate should the Trump administration roll back sanctions on Russia, he said, with the US bidding to end the war in Ukraine. “Some of the new insurers may become part of the IG,” Schues said on Tuesday, referring to the International Group of P&I Clubs, an association whose members provide cover for most ocean-going tonnage against risks including spills and collisions. “Hopefully, after the Russian sanctions end, the bad part of the parallel fleet will go away.”