A sea drone exploded Friday near Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties. The incident prompted authorities to evacuate more than 1,000 people amid heightening concerns over the spillover effects of Russia's war in Ukraine just a week after a separate drone incident injured two civilians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a face-to-face meeting to end the four-year war, saying he saw "no point" in meeting his Ukrainian counterpart until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called for a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter, saying he was also ready for a “full ceasefire”. In response, the Kremlin said Zelensky could meet Putin in Moscow "any time".

A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, is facing mounting resistance from protesters in Albania, angered by its environmental impact and doubts about its legality. Here's what we know.

Russia has increased its pressure on Armenia ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, pulling out virtually all the stops linked to trade should its long-term ally persist in its ambitions to join the European Union. Moscow has threatened to raise gas prices, put measures in place to be able to restrict the Russian import of certain Armenian products and warned it may suspend the country from the Eurasian Economic Union.

At least four people have been killed in Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said on Thursday, a day after Kyiv targeted energy and military facilities in Saint Petersburg during Russia's flagship economic forum. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of a "real" risk of escalation, while Ukraine described the attacks as justified retaliation for intensified Russian strikes on its territory.

The captain of the Tagor, a tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet” that was boarded in the Atlantic Ocean by the French Navy, was taken into custody on Tuesday, announced Brest prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger.

Ukrainian drone attacks in St. Petersburg targeted military and energy infrastructure overnight into Wednesday, setting ablaze a Russian warship and oil depots on the Baltic coast. This attack deep in Russian territory came on the opening day of Putin's three-day economic forum held in the city and as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said in Kyiv on Wednesday that Russia was growing desperate as it faced mounting military and economic difficulties in its four-year-long invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Kyiv launched drone attacks on the Russian city of St. Petersburg where officials and visiting dignitaries were gathering for a flagship economic forum. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog.

Protesters in the southern British city of Southampton on Tuesday attacked police at the site of the murder of an 18-year-old student who was handcuffed as he lay dying in December from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack. Far-right firebrand figure Tommy Robinson addressed the crowd, with many of them waving Union Jack and England flags.

Eight bottles of Chateau d'Yquem – one of the world's most expensive white wines – were among a collection of 136 bottles discovered under a Czech castle floor that were hidden by the owners after the end of World War II. They have now been restored by the original French winemakers in what the cellar master called a "magical experience" of preserving "liquid memory".

The European Union on Monday agreed a deal to allow countries to send migrants ordered to leave the bloc to third-country "return hubs". The legislation, which still requires formal approval by EU governments and the European Parliament, has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

Russian air strikes hit several major Ukrainian cities early on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 100, authorities said. Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv were among the hardest hit, with residential buildings damaged and thousands of residents sheltering underground amid ongoing air raid alerts.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Monday that she has formed a new left-leaning minority coalition after months of negotiations following inconclusive elections in March. The agreement secures her third term in office, bringing together four parties that hold a slim parliamentary majority.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar on Monday threatened legal action and said the government would use its two-thirds parliamentary majority to amend the constitution to ​force President Tamas Sulyok from office. Sulyok, who was appointed under former prime minister Viktor Orban, has refused to resign before his term ends in 2029. 

Drones piloted by artificial intelligence are now being deployed on the Ukrainian front lines, and while there has been much talk about them, there is still much that remains unknown. The US-made Hornet Drone, which is partially guided by AI, is at the centre of a new Ukrainian strategy to target Russian logistics.

Ukrainian drones struck targets across several Russian regions overnight from Saturday, including an oil pumping station, a refinery and a fuel depot, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said Sunday. Kyiv however denied Moscow's claims that a Ukrainian drone struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Former title holders crashed out at Paris's Roland-Garros tennis stadium and PSG faced off with Arsenal in Budapest to win their second Champions League final in a row as a heatwave shattered European temperature records for the month of May: FRANCE 24 looks back at some of the week's most striking images.

Maltese ⁠Prime Minister Robert Abela ​claimed a record-breaking, fourth successive general election victory ​for his Labour Party on Sunday after campaigning on the strength of a thriving economy and calling for a strong mandate to shield the tiny island state from the crisis in the Middle East. 

Parliamentary elections in Malta began on Saturday as voters cast their ballots in elections likely to secure a record-setting fourth term for the Labour government, according to opinion polls, despite concerns about over-construction and corruption in the tiny Mediterranean nation. Preliminary results are expected on Sunday afternoon.