German lawmakers on Friday approved the government's plan to attract more military recruits as the country tries to boost the ranks of its armed forces in the face of rising concern about the threat posed by Russia. The plan also foresees mandatory medical checks for young men.

It stops short of reintroducing conscription, though it leaves open the possibility of compulsory service for at least a limited number should the need arise.

Pope Leo XIV has taken his biggest step yet to correct one of Pope Francis' more problematic financial moves, canceling a special Holy See fundraising commission that was announced under questionable circumstances while Francis was hospitalized.

Leo on Thursday formally suppressed the fundraising commission, abrogated its statutes and fired its members. He decreed that its assets would go to the Holy See as a whole, and that the Vatican patrimony office would oversee the commission's extinction.

Close to 1.5 million Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned to their home country over the past year.

UNHCR Estimates that 383,326 have returned from Lebanon to Syria since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in December 2024.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he would continue "uninterrupted shipments" of fuel to India, as New Delhi faces heavy US pressure to stop buying oil from Moscow.

"Russia is a reliable supplier of oil, gas, coal, and everything that is required for the development of India's energy," Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to New Delhi.

An ancient dam, pandas and ping-pong: French leader Emmanuel Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China on Friday, striking a more relaxed note in the city of Chengdu after tough discussions on Ukraine and trade with his counterpart Xi Jinping a day earlier.

Far from the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing where the two leaders held talks, Xi and First Lady Peng Liyuan showed Macron and his wife Brigitte around the centuries-old Dujiangyan Dam, a World Heritage Site set against the mountainous landscape of Sichuan province in the center of China.

Public broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia on Thursday pulled out of next year's Eurovision Song Contest after organizers decided to allow Israel to compete, putting political discord on center stage over a usually joyful celebration of music.

The walkouts came after the general assembly of the European Broadcasting Union — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs the glitzy annual event — met to discuss concerns about Israel's participation, which some countries oppose over its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In a sign for the potential for turmoil, the leader of an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia, Yasser Abu Shabab, was shot to death during a dispute with another family in southern Gaza, his militia said Thursday. The killing could be a setback for Israeli efforts to prop up its own alternative to Hamas in Gaza.

The Popular Forces is one of several armed Palestinian groups supported by Israel and operating in Israeli-controlled zones. The groups tout themselves as anti-Hamas nationalist forces but have been denounced by many Palestinians, including Abu Shabab’s family, as tools of the Israeli military.

Britain sanctioned Russia's GRU intelligence agency and summoned Moscow's ambassador on Thursday after an inquiry concluded that President Vladimir Putin was responsible for a nerve agent attack on British soil in 2018.

Harry Kane scored his 25th Bayern Munich goal of the season and gave away a penalty as he led his team to the German Cup quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over Union Berlin on Wednesday.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in the Spanish league on Wednesday.

Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as it moved back within one point of Barcelona, which beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday.