Number of billionaires globally could reach 4,000 in next five years

President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with EU leaders Thursday in Cyprus as the bloc prepares to approve a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, ending a prolonged deadlock. Hungary premier Viktor Orban had vetoed the funds until Kyiv repaired a pipeline hit by a Russian strike – work now completed, allowing oil flows to resume – shortly after his electoral defeat to pro-EU rival Peter Magyar.

Polling has begun in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in high-stakes assembly elections. DW has more.

Nice secured a 2–0 win away at Strasbourg in the French Cup semi-final and will face Lens in the final. Elye Wahi made the difference with a brace. Initially dominated by a Strasbourg side sitting 8th in Ligue 1, Nice, 15th, remained defensively solid and clinically efficient in attack. They will return to the Stade de France on 22 May, four years after losing their previous final to Nantes (1–0).

US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has left his post with immediate effect, the Pentagon said Wednesday, without providing an explanation. His departure comes amid a broader clear-out of senior military figures under President Donald Trump, as the United States remains locked in an unresolved conflict with Iran.