EU chief Antonio Costa said it was time to up pressure on Russia and support for Kyiv on Friday, rallying behind Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky as tensions spike with Washington.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression".

Romanian President Nicusor Dan on Thursday said drone attacks on vessels in the Black Sea were "unacceptable" and must stop, after two ships were struck off the country's coast, spillover from Russia's war with Ukraine.

Istanbul was battling on Thursday to recover from flooding caused by what officials described as the heaviest rainfall in at least 80 years, as the toll rose to three dead and four missing.

The firing squad execution of a convicted military base shooter will not be livestreamed, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday, scrapping a plan by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that had prompted bipartisan and international outrage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels Thursday seeking to rally support from Europe as his relations with US President Donald Trump have taken a fresh battering.

Zelensky said he would meet NATO chief Mark Rutte and hold a string of bilateral talks with European leaders before joining an EU summit on Friday.

The United States is considering using its biggest non-nuclear bomb against Iran if President Donald Trump should decide to renew combat in the war that has hit a deadlock, CNN reported Thursday.

The military is planning for the potential use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb -- better known by its nickname, the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to the news outlet, which quoted officials familiar with the matter.

Authorities on Wednesday raided the headquarters of one of Turkey 's few broadcasters not aligned with the government, and appointed a trustee manager to oversee it as part of an investigation into alleged corruption.

Press freedom groups and opposition parties, however, denounced the move against Halk TV — a popular news channel — calling it yet another step by the government to silence opposition voices.

Bulgaria on Wednesday said Russia was likely behind drone attacks that struck four ships in the Black Sea in the past week, sinking two, but there was no way of proving Moscow's culpability.

Rescuers are still searching for 11 crew members missing after drone strikes on Tuesday sank two ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone and adjacent waters, while five other crew members were rescued.

The United States is helping Russia in its war with Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Wednesday, blaming Washington for not warning Kyiv about incoming strikes and slowing Starlink.

"There have already been two cases where the Americans did not provide warnings about Russian ballistic launches, a massive ballistic attack against our energy sector... And on top of that they've throttled Starlink speeds," said the official, who asked not to be identified.