You can find festive cheer and scenic settings right across the country

Putin, on visit to India, says Russia is ready to continue to provide uninterrupted fuel supplies to the country

• Analysis: Putin and Modi to meet amid politically treacherous times for Russia and India

A Kremlin aide has said Russia is encouraged by negotiations with the US over the Ukraine war and is ready for more talks, according to Reuters.

Russia and the United States were making progress in talks over a deal on Ukraine and Moscow was ready to continue working with the current US team, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

The coffee brand Lavazza engaged Alex Webb, a contemporary street photographer from the Magnum Photos agency, for its 2026 calendar, which explores the rich tapestry of elements that make up the Italian lifestyle

‘Future of Europe’ at stake with Von der Leyen and Merz desperate to persuade Belgian PM to allow use of frozen Russian assets

Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, for emergency talks on Friday as the EU races to save its sorely needed financing plan for Ukraine.

The three leaders will dine in private in Brussels, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday, as Belgian officials continued to express strong opposition to the scheme, which involves the unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets.

The commission wants Moldova to join the union – so it should drop its dry bureaucratic culture and instead meet people where they are

• Paula Erizanu is a Moldovan journalist and writer based in Chișinău

It was both enjoyable and strange to see the EU enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, present the news on Moldovan TV a couple of months ago. For one thing, she is Slovenian – and she is also a diplomat, not a news anchor. But there she was, announcing that Moldova had made more progress in the last three years than it had in the previous 30, and that negotiations for our country to join the European Union would open soon.

It was equally surprising to spot Kos in the Instagram stories of leading Moldovan influencer siblings Emilian and Nina Crețu at the end of August – she had invited them to her house in Brussels for a Moldovan pie-making workshop. Kos even brought together the two heads of Moldova’s biggest Orthodox churches for a meeting, in spite of their mutual animosity. This is not the way we are used to EU officials communicating.

Paula Erizanu is a Moldovan journalist and writer based in Chișinău