Reuters

Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are heading for a diplomatic battle over the leadership of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), with both fielding rival candidates as fighting grinds on in eastern Congo. 

A U.S. delegation led by CIA director John Ratcliffe met with his counterpart at Cuba's Interior Ministry in Havana on Thursday, the Cuban government said in a statement, as tensions worsen over a U.S. fuel blockade that has starved the island of fuel and power generation.

China's Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump that trade talks were making progress at the start of a two-day summit on Thursday but warned that disagreement over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path and even lead to conflict.

Chinese emperors once prayed for bumper crops under the blue-tiled, triple-eaved roof of Beijing's Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, in sacred rites affirming their mandate to rule.

Orthodox Christian bishops in Georgia elected a new patriarch, Shio III, on Monday, in what is a pivotal juncture for the South Caucasus country where the Church plays an influential role in social and political life.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to fight on and said his government was a "10-year project" despite calls to quit after his party's drubbing in local elections earlier this week.

Russia held its most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years on Saturday due to the threat of attack from Ukraine, where victory for Moscow's forces has proven elusive more than four years into the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.

Keir Starmer's Labour Party suffered heavy early losses in local elections on Friday, showing the depth of voter anger with the British prime minister and increasing doubts about his future just two years after a landslide victory in a national vote.

Romania's parliament is likely to oust Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's minority government on Tuesday after it debates a no-confidence motion put forward by the two largest parties, potentially leading to a policy deadlock that endangers the country's sovereign debt ratings, access to EU funds and its leu currency.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was on course to win two of four crucial state elections on Monday, expanding its influence and weakening its key rival half-way into his third term in office.  

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leading figure in the hard-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) political party, will stand in next year's presidential election, he said on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday broadening U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government, two White House officials told Reuters, as he seeks to put more pressure on Havana after ousting Venezuela's leader.