Rome

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky secured fresh promises of military aid during weekend visits to France and Germany to boost his nation's weapons stockpile ahead of a widely expected counter-offensive against Russia.

Day 445 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin early Sunday for talks with German leaders about further arms deliveries to help his country fend off the Russian invasion and rebuild what's been destroyed by more than a year of devastating conflict.

Ukraine said on Friday it had retaken swathes of ground near the frontline city of Bakhmut, as Russia insisted it had repelled an attack along a broad stretch of the front line.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, who is spearheading Moscow's attack on Bakhmut, accused the Russian army of "fleeing" from around the eastern Ukraine city.

Starting a family in Italy is starting to become a "titanic effort" that only the rich can afford. This was stated by Pope Francis, quoted by Reuters and BTA.

A meticulously reconstructed Pompeii bridal chariot that eluded the ancient city's modern-day looters is a star of an ambitious new exhibition in Rome, which invites viewers to reflect on today's connections with classical Roman and Greek civilizations.

According to legend, Rome was born April 21, 753 BC, when Romulus, the survivor of its feuding twin founders, hitched his plow and furrowed a circular perimeter in the hills above the Tiber River. Everything inside was urbs, city space consecrated by priests who interpreted the will of the gods; everything outside was ager - unhallowed open territory.

The Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture's Directorate General of Museums and the National Roman Museum, is organizing an exhibition titled "The Moment and Eternity: Between Us and the Ancients" (L'istante e l'eternita. Tra noi e gli antichi) at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.

Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Milkov was released by decree of President Rumen Radev. It was published today in the State Gazette.

With the same decree, Ivan Iliev Kondov, who until now held the position of permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed to the position of acting foreign minister.

As the unions reported, a million people are expected on the streets in French cities.
Workers staged protest marches across France today, May 1, International Labor Day, unhappy that President Emmanuel Macron raised the retirement age and police fired tear gas in Paris and Nantes in the west of the country.