World

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is likely to resign in June after two cronyism scandals sent his approval ratings to an all-time low and risk damaging his party’s fortunes in elections next year, according to one of Japan’s...

Inspectors from the global chemical weapons watchdog have been unable to access sites controlled by Russia and the Syrian regime in the town of Douma to investigate an attack on 7 April that killed dozens and...

The Croatian parliament strengthened Andrej Plenkovic’s position by rejecting a no-confidence bid to unseat the deputy premier and ratifying a European convention on violence against women despite conservative protests. Croatian Premier Andrej Plenkovic scored two important...

Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj said that he will not resign as an MP despite his war crimes conviction, which legally disqualifies him from sitting in parliament. Vojislav Seselj, who was sentenced to ten years...

By Sam Leith Forget all that horse manure about sanctifying your relationship before God and in the presence of your loved ones. The real, practical value of the institution of marriage is that it’s a stress...

Rebel Wilson’s application to have $1.3m of her $1.4m legal costs paid by Bauer Media, which was found to have defamed her, has been refused by an Australian court. In September Wilson was awarded the highest defamation payout in...

By Emma Brockes I am too far in to leave Facebook, but I want to register my disapproval of the company after their part in the data leak to Cambridge Analytica. What should I do? Ah, the urge...

The Belgian army has been criticised over plans to allow homesick recruits to sleep at home rather in barracks during their initial training, as it deals with a major recruitment crisis. The 28,000-strong army has suffered...

As a series of key international summits draw closer, Pyongyang is seeking support from a traditional ally, while Russia is keen to play a significant role on the international stage. Julian Ryall reports. Russian Foreign Minister...

A spokesman for the Russian president has dismissed Trump’s “Twitter-diplomacy” in a call for caution. The US president had earlier warned Russia to “get ready” for American missiles that “will be coming” to Syria. Russia and...