Senate sanctions bill targeting Russia's energy exports with hefty tariffs gains momentum as Trump shifts position on Russia, with Graham teasing presidential support.

In a new attack on international bodies, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sanctions on a United Nations special rapporteur who's severely critical of Israel's actions against Palestinians.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday urged Slovakia to drop its veto on the European Union's new sanctions package against Russia. At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, Merz emphasized that all countries should increase pressure on Moscow to compel Russian leadership to return to the negotiating table and end the war in Ukraine.

Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe's Eastern neighborhoods.

The House will vote on three bills during a plenary session on Thursday, that include, among other provisions, the establishment of a national sanctions implementation unit. The sanctions implementation unit,

Russia's new sanctions-busting method is "netting," an accounting tactic.

Background: Norway imposed sanctions on Syria in 2011 in response to Assad’s crackdown on protesters that sparked the civil war. The measures prohibited dealing with Syrian financial institutions, including the Central Bank, as well as supplying oil and other products to Syria.

“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt @IntlCrimCourt action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on X on Wednesday.