Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Thursday to new torture charges brought against them by US authorities, calling them “false allegations". The couple has been held in a New York jail since their capture in early January and is facing a new indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents and US citizens.

NATO will put drone strikes in the Black Sea on its agenda at a meeting next week, officials said Thursday, following two new attacks and the disappearance of seven people. Incidents involving civilian vessels in the Black Sea have been on the rise off the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania in a suspected spillover from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was cancelling plans to livestream the firing squad execution of a convicted military base shooter – a project that had sparked outrage in the United States. Nidal Hasan is scheduled to be executed on December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas, where he killed 13 people in 2009.

An association in Haiti is organising capoeira classes – an Afro-Brazilian martial art – in an attempt to reduce community violence and promote social reintegration. The Observers team spoke to its founder, Rodney Jean Marc, who said their doors are open to everyone, “even children in armed gangs”. The initiative takes place as the country's security situation has worsened in recent years.

Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police for the third consecutive day on Thursday in Albania, with Prime Minister Edi Rama condemning the “chaos” that caused damage to government buildings. Thousands of protesters are calling for Rama's resignation and better studying conditions for Albanian students.

Sergei Sokolov, the editor-in-chief of Russia's independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was detained and taken for questioning on Thursday after authorities searched his home, the newspaper said.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "go" after Kyiv raised doubts over US support for his country against the Russian invasion. A day earlier, Musk said any restrictions on Ukraine's use of the Starshield system would be due to decisions made by the US government after Zelensky called on Musk to restore Starlink, which Kyiv says has been slowed down.

Les chefs d'État et de gouvernement des Vingt-Sept se retrouvent jeudi à Bruxelles à l'occasion d'un sommet. Les discussions doivent porter sur les moyens de ralentir les exportations chinoises, la hausse des prix de l'énergie et, surtout, le budget du bloc européen.

Far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday that France could no longer afford to fund Ukraine, citing the country's high deficit and weak economic growth.

French President Emmanuel Macron urged EU leaders on Thursday to reach a deal on the bloc’s nearly €2 trillion budget by Christmas, warning that elections in France and other European countries in 2027 could leave little room for compromise as divisions deepen over spending priorities and funding.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels Thursday to rally support at a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte the same day, and a summit with EU leaders to follow Friday. Earlier, Zelensky asked the United States not to stand with Moscow and called for "honesty" after Kyiv said it had been betrayed by Washington's intelligence-sharing gaps. Follow our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Thousands of Colombians protested peacefully across the country on Wednesday against right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, in the opposition’s first major demonstrations since he took office in August. Former leftist president Gustavo Petro led a rally in Bogota joined by trade unionists, Indigenous groups, students and feminist activists.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s party plans to file a complaint against Meta with the Organisation of American States alleging election interference, his campaign said Wednesday. The party accuses Meta of restricting Lula’s online content ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff against far-right Senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Meta denies the allegations.

Anti-government protests in Albania’s capital Tirana turned violent for a second consecutive night on Wednesday, leaving several government buildings damaged and at least one ablaze. As thousands demanded improved university conditions and the government's resignation, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he would not step down.

Elon Musk’s ⁠SpaceX restricted “military-grade” ​Starlink services overnight into Wednesday, hampering Ukrainian drone strike missions and air defences, Ukraine reported. In response, Musk said that the US government was behind any slowdown in Ukraine's Starshield system. 

The Nord Stream gas pipelines were a political and economic “weapon” for Russia, the lawyer for former Ukrainian officer Sergei Kuznetsov said Wednesday. The first to appear in the high-profile case, Kuznetsov is accused by German prosecutors of having led the plan to sabotage the infrastructure in 2022.

Elon Musk's Starlink imposed restrictions on the operation of internet terminals in Ukraine overnight, disrupting military missions, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said on Wednesday. The official said Ukraine was given no prior warning about the restrictions to the satellite system it relies on for battlefield operations.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a "massive" oil, gas and mineral exploration was slated to begin in Greenland. The US, Denmark and Greenland last month signed a security agreement after Trump's repeated threats to seize control of the island.

SpaceX boss Elon Musk said Wednesday that any disruptions in the Starshield satellite communications system would be the responsibility of the US government, not his company. Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Musk to “switch on” the system which Kyiv relies on for communications and logistics. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Pope Leo underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung after saying that a nodule had been "detected at a very early stage". Following a "successful" operation, the Vatican said the 71-year-old pontiff would undergo additional testing.