Last-ditch diplomatic efforts were underway yesterday to prevent what Western powers warn could be the imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine and a catastrophic European war.

Britain’s 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday but her symptoms are “mild” and she intends to continue with light duties at her Windsor Castle residence, aides said.

Russia is preparing to plunge Europe into its worst conflict since World War II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, warning that any invasion of Ukraine would freeze Moscow out of global finance.

Russia and Belarus are extending military drills that were due to end on Sunday, the Belarus defence minister said, in a step that further intensifies pressure on Ukraine as Western leaders warn of an imminent Russian invasion.

In a show of force, Russia yesterday test fired nuclear-capable missiles as the United States again warned that it believes Moscow plans to invade Ukraine within days or next week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said that if Western nations failed to fulfil their promises to support Ukraine’s independence, it would have damaging consequences worldwide, including for Taiwan.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has submitted his response to a police questionnaire relating to Downing Street parties that may have breached coronavirus regulations, his office said Friday.

Emergency crews yesterday battled to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Britain after Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Western Europe and left transport networks in disarray.

The Covid-19 pandemic continued its retreat this week, with fewer deaths and the number of new cases decreasing in most regions of the world.

The chances of reviving the Iran nuclear accord are dwindling and the “moment of truth” has arrived for Tehran’s leadership, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said yesterday.

Western leaders yesterday said Russia and China were seeking to “replace the existing international rules” with their own order, as Beijing backed Moscow over its showdown with Nato.

Separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization Saturday amid a spike of violence in the war-torn region and fears in the West that Russia might use the strife as a pretext for an invasion.

Ukraine's army on Saturday reported the first death of a soldier in weeks and accused Moscow-backed rebels of sharply escalating attacks that have redoubled fears of an imminent Russian invasion.

Twelve people are missing after a blaze swept through a ferry sailing from Greece to Italy early on Friday, Greek authorities said on Saturday, as firefighters battled to control the flames.

Mali’s army-led government yesterday asked France to withdraw its troops from the Sahel state “without delay”, calling into question Paris’ plans to pull out over several months.

Germany yesterday accused Russia of endangering Europe’s security with demands that recall the Cold War, as Western leaders arrived for a Munich Security Conference set to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis.

Canadian police on Thursday began arresting leaders of the trucker-led protest that has choked the capital’s streets for three weeks and provoked the government into calling on rarely used emergency powers.

The world must by 2030 slash $1.8 trillion in annual subsidies that destroy the environment, in order to “finance a net-zero global economy”, according to a study Thursday from business groups including one founded by tycoon Richard Branson. 

Britain’s meteorological service yesterday issued a rare “red weather” warning with the approaching Storm Eunice packing wind gusts of 100 miles (160 kilometres) per hour and set to cause “danger to life”.

The Kremlin yesterday said that Russia’s withdrawal of forces from around Ukraine’s borders would take place over an extended period, after reports of Moscow’s drawdown drew scepticism from Kyiv’s allies.