Russia leapfrogged Saudi Arabia to become China's top crude oil supplier in 2023, data showed on Saturday (20 January), as the world's biggest crude importer defied Western sanctions to purchase vast quantities of discounted oil for its processing plants.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he was optimistic about regaining regional power in Galicia with a first round in 2024 against his Popular Party (PP/EPP) rivals scheduled for 18 February after his party PSOE lost in last year’s local elections. 

The death of veteran finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble marks the end of the post-war generation of Francophile German politicians and heralds rockier relations for the EU's Franco-German “engine” as Berlin shifts its focus eastward.

The controversial changes in the public media by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government were necessary, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), who added that the government needs to be more transparent and predictable when it comes to its changes in the media landscape.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday, a meeting that appears to have laid the groundwork for an upcoming agreement between Italy and Turkey to curb the arrival of migrants from Libya.

The WerteUnion (Union of Values), a group of mainly members of the centre-right CDU (EPP), voted on Saturday to defect and create a new party as the battle for right-wing voters in Germany intensifies amid public anger over the rise of right-wing extremism.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his fading presidential campaign on Sunday (21 January) and endorsed Donald Trump just two days before the pivotal New Hampshire primary.

Russian energy company Novatek said on Sunday (21 January) it had been forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack.

The proposed fast-track procedures for approving new medicines in the EU risk weakening the evidence on benefits and safety, key stakeholders in Sweden warn.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday (21 January) denounced Israel for the "heartbreaking" deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and called it unacceptable to resist statehood for the Palestinian people.

In this week's edition: An EU peace plan for the Middle East, the EU executive's economic security blueprint previewed and a stark NATO warning.

Drug smugglers in the EU have become so "very creative" that the bloc's seaports should join forces to combat their ever-changing tactics, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told AFP.

Missile attacks in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Saturday (20 January) threw into sharp focus the increasing risk of the war in Gaza triggering a wider regional conflict pitting Iran and its allies against Israel and the United States.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday (20 January) said neighbouring Ukraine was not a sovereign nation but was under the absolute control of the United States.