Ukraine on Tuesday announced that President Volodymyr Zelensky will skip the Ukraine Recovery Conference, to be hosted in Poland later this week, amid a spiraling diplomatic spat between the allies and neighbors over World War II memory.

"I am leading Ukraine's delegation and our overall work at the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026", Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on social media, effectively confirming that Zelensky will not attend the event.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Tuesday to push through a proposed reform of the country's creaking pension system that would include raising the retirement age gradually in line with life expectancy, declaring that "failure is not an option."

Merz's coalition of center-right and center-left parties took office just over a year ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany's sluggish economy, Europe's biggest. It has since become deeply unpopular, in part because of perceptions that it has squabbled but so far achieved little.

Iran's president was traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday for talks with officials who have been mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East.

President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Islamabad comes as technical teams are working on details of the deal, following high-level negotiations in Switzerland on Monday led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Security forces in the Turkish capital carried out sweeping raids on Tuesday ahead of next month's NATO summit, and detained more than 200 people with suspected links to extremist groups, including the Islamic State group.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to join other leaders of the 32‑member alliance in Ankara for the July 7–8 summit.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday after fewer than two years in office in a term characterized by policy U-turns and deep public unpopularity.

"Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party," Starmer said as he choked up in an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street.

Iranian state television reported on Sunday a pause in the U.S.-Iran talks mediated by Pakistan and Qatar in Switzerland, and said that the Islamic republic's nuclear program had not been discussed.

"No negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program took place during the 80-minute first round of talks," the state broadcaster said, adding that the focus had been on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington, and the situation in Lebanon.

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday warned the United States against making threats at the Islamic republic, vowing that "our armed forces are ready to respond".

Iran said on Sunday that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah will top the agenda in talks with the United States in Switzerland, as well as issues such as frozen Iranian funds and the sale of the country's oil.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, saying his "constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless" after he escalated a diplomatic row by accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States could impose tolls on the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway if negotiators are unable to complete a deal to end the war in Iran.

There will be no tolls "unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs," Trump posted on Truth Social.