Brent Renaud, a U.S. citizen and award-winning filmmaker who has previously contributed to the New York Times, was fatally shot in the northern Ukrainian city of Irpin on Sunday. Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebitov confirmed the death in a Facebook post, where he shared Renaud’s press ID and passport. #ukraine #rusia @garoweonline

Flight cancellations prompted by the war in Ukraine have left Russian tourists temporarily stuck in Thailand as they look for alternate ways home, the head of the Phuket Tourist Association said on Friday. Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, the association’s president, estimated that 3,500 Russian travelers were “stranded” on Phuket, a popular Thai resort island. He based that on the number of recent arrivals on Russian airlines that have since suspended international flights. @nytimes 📷 @reuters #ukraine...

A U.N. report seen by Reuters says the Taliban and its allies are believed to have killed scores of former Afghan officials, security force members and people who worked with the international military contingent since the U.S.-led pullout. - @reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow did not want war with Ukraine and spoke positively about security proposals received from the United States. - @reuters

Russia said on Thursday it was clear the United States was not willing to address its main security concerns in their standoff over Ukraine, but kept the door open for further dialogue. . The United States and NATO submitted a written response on Wednesday to demands Russia has made for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe since it massed troops near Ukraine, provoking Western fears of an invasion. . Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow needed time to review the re...

Relations between Ukraine and Russia have deteriorated recently. Attempts to defuse the tensions have come up with scarcely any results. What are related parties calculating amid massive military buildup regarding Ukrain? - XINHUA

Taliban and Western diplomats are holding a meeting outside Norway’s capital Oslo for talks focused on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, which has escalated drastically since last August when the Taliban stormed back to power 20 years after being toppled in a US-led invasion. @aljazeeraenglish

French telecoms multinational Orange is days away from naming Christel Heydemann as its first female chief executive, replacing disgraced head Stephane Richard, sources close to the company said on Monday. . French national Heydemann, who is currently vice president for Europe at Schneider Electric and has previously worked for Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia, is the leading candidate to succeed Richard who is to step down at the end of the month. . The French government, which holds more than 20 perce...

Taliban and Western diplomats meet in Oslo for talks on Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis and human rights, especially those of women whose freedoms have been curbed by the hardline Islamists. - AFP

Thai-born janitor Kriangkrai Techamong stole $20 million worth of precious gems in 1989 from the home of a Saudi prince, triggering a feud between the countries dubbed the "Blue Diamond Affair" that has yet to be resolved. . Thai police later returned some of the jewels but Saudi officials claimed most were fakes, while the whereabouts of the most precious gem -- a rare 50-carat blue diamond -- remains unknown. . The invitation to Prayut for a two-day visit beginning Tuesday was issued by Saudi ...

The 96-year-old is in the cardiac care unit of the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, a spokesperson who asked not to be named said, without giving further details. . Media descended on the hospital as news spread that Mahathir had been admitted again, about a fortnight after he had a procedure at the same facility. . He was also admitted in December for several days to undergo a check-up. - AFP

Washington and Moscow's top diplomats were meeting on Friday in #Geneva in an urgent bid for a solution over #Ukraine, with the United States increasingly worried that Russia will invade despite warnings of severe reprisals. - AFP