Italian P.M Giorgia Meloni: “A trip to Baku to strengthen a strategic partnership that for Italy holds concrete and long-term value. “With Azerbaijan, we aim to consolidate cooperation that is already very important in the areas of energy, security, connectivity, investments, and political dialogue, increasingly transforming it into concrete opportunities for our Nations. “In a complex time like the one we are going through, it is essential to hold tight to certainties. And the relationship between Italy and Azerbaijan is one of these.”

EU Vice President Kaja Kallas: “Our first EU-Armenia summit is a landmark diplomatic moment, and I thank Armenia for hosting us in Yerevan. “Armenia is a key pillar in our relationship with the South Caucasus. Today we forged closer ties on trade, energy, and digital. “The EU will support the Armenian people in choosing their own destiny, including with a new EU mission to counter foreign interference and strengthen resilience.”

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday it was a basic right for countries to hold state visits, as he returned from his three-day trip to the African kingdom of Eswatini, which his government says China tried to block. Lai was supposed to travel to the country, one of Taiwan’s 12 remaining diplomatic partners last month, but had to cancel the initial trip owing to Chinese pressure, Taiwan’s government said. China pressured three countries to revoke flight permits, denying Lai transit through their airspace, Taiwan’s government said. China did not confirm whether or not they had pressured the countries, but thanked...

The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a lower-court ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortions are provided across the nation. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Those practices had been permitted for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week. The latest order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the high court considers the...

Russia’s Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday to mark the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, but it threatened to strike back at Kyiv if it tries to disrupt the Victory Day festivities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in response said his country would observe a truce beginning at 12 a.m. on Wednesday and respond in kind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. He did not put an end date on the truce. The announcements on Monday come as Russia prepares to celebrate its most important secular holiday...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is breathing on his own after being hospitalized with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, his spokesperson said Monday. Giuliani, 81, remains in critical but stable condition at a Florida hospital and is being monitored as a precautionary measure, spokesperson Ted Goodman said. Goodman said Giuliani’s condition was exacerbated by restrictive airway disease attributed to his exposure to dust and toxins from the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. Giuliani’s hospitalization, near Palm Beach, Florida, came after he was heard coughing Friday on his nightly online talk show and hoarsely...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has wrested control of the opposition stronghold of West Bengal in a key state election. The Election Commission of India released partial results Monday showing the Bharatiya Janata Party won at least 124 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly and was leading in 83 others. Modi’s party has never governed West Bengal and had tried for years to dislodge the All India Trinamool Congress government led by state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She is one of Modi’s most prominent critics and has held power in the politically influential state since...

Dolly Parton has canceled her previously postponed Las Vegas residency due to health challenges that leave her feeling “swimmy headed” — but has assured fans her ailments are treatable. “The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day,” the 80-year-old country superstar said in a short video posted to her official Instagram account. “Now the bad news is, it’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a lit bit swimmy headed, as my grandma used to say.”...

The United States has revoked the visas of several board executives at La Nación, one of Costa Rica’s leading media outlets, triggering fresh accusations that the U.S. — in conjunction with the allied Costa Rican government — is stripping visas to punish critics and political opponents. In a statement that ran as the newspaper’s front page on Sunday, the board of directors said that the affected members first learned they had been stripped of their visas to enter the U.S. from reports in pro-government media. La Nación has long been a thorn in the side of outgoing Costa Rican President...