Warsaw Accuses Paris, Berlin of Being too Close to Moscow

Ukraine's biggest national flag on the country's highest flagpole is seen at a compound of the World War II museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 16, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. (Reuters)
Ukraine's biggest national flag on the country's highest flagpole is seen at a compound of the World War II museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 16, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. (Reuters)
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Warsaw Accuses Paris, Berlin of Being too Close to Moscow

Ukraine's biggest national flag on the country's highest flagpole is seen at a compound of the World War II museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 16, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. (Reuters)
Ukraine's biggest national flag on the country's highest flagpole is seen at a compound of the World War II museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, December 16, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. (Reuters)

Poland's deputy prime minister accused France and Germany of being too close to Russia in an interview published Sunday, as he condemned Berlin's behavior towards Moscow before the invasion of Ukraine.

"Germany, like France, has a strong bias in Moscow's favor," Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is also leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, told German daily Die Welt in an interview.

Kaczynski saved his strongest words for Berlin, AFP said.

"Over the years, the German government did not want to see what Russia was doing under the leadership of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we see the result today," Kaczynski said.

"Poland is not pleased with Germany's role in Europe," he added.

He rebuked Berlin for having sought to rebuild what the former 19th-century chancellor Otto von Bismarck "had done... German domination but side by side with Russia".

The Polish deputy prime minister condemned Berlin especially for failing to deliver enough weapons to Ukraine and refusing an embargo at least on the import of oil from Russia.

"It's important to know that Russia gets four to five times more revenue from its oil sales than gas sales," Kaczynski said.

"We cannot continue to permanently support a great power like Russia by paying it billions," he added.

Before Russia's invasion on February 24, Germany imported 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia, half its coal and around 35 percent of its oil.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.