Vladimir Putin will not stop trying to expand Russia until he has “conquered” Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland, one of his closest former advisers has said.

Up to 16,000 Russian troops have tightened their stranglehold on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, openly defying the US and the European Union.

Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has appealed for the US and Britain to adopt the "strongest means" against Russia.

A Jerusalem Post photographer has snapped a completely unplanned and highly awkward photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German leader Angela Merkel.

An independent Scotland would find it extremely difficult if not impossible to join the European Union, the President of the European Commission has warned.

An Italian MP has “blacked up” to deliver a staggering anti-immigration rant in the country’s parliament.

Europe faces a vital week in an increasingly vicious tussle with Russia over the future of Ukraine.

Two-thirds of Europe's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are still afraid to show their sexuality in public, and a quarter have been victims of physical or verbal attacks, a European Union report says.

"Who should bear which liabilities in the event of a banking collapse?" asks Bryan Gould. "The NZ proposal is an astonishing assault both on the property rights of depositors and on confidence in the banking system."

The Scots, the Catalans and the Basques tend to see themselves as victims, but nobody else does, writes Gwynne Dyer.

Clear cut results are thin on the ground but Prime Minister John Key said today he was happy with this year's Apec economic meeting in Vladivostok, Russia.