FINLAND: Voters went to the polls today to elect a new president.

Finland’s president holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy, particularly when dealing with countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia and China.

GERMANY: The train drivers’ union ended a six-day strike early today and has re-entered talks with the main railway operator, according to the dpa news agency.

This week-long strike was the fourth by the union’s members during the current dispute with state-owned Deutsche Bahn over working hours and pay.

WEST AFRICA: The military regimes of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso said today that they were withdrawing immediately from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), according to a joint statement read out on Niger’s national television.

The leaders of the three Sahel nations said it was a “sovereign decision” to leave the bloc “without delay.”

UKRAINE: Defence Ministry officials conspired with an arms firm to embezzle almost $31 million (£24.4m) earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, the security service reported at the weekend.

A statement said that five people had been charged, with one person detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border. If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.