3 h. ago Europe, Ukraine prepare plan to end war, proposing peace board headed by Trump

European nations are working with Ukraine on a 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war along current battle lines, pushing back against Vladimir Putin’s renewed demands to the US for Kyiv to surrender territory in return for a peace deal. A peace board chaired by US President Donald Trump would oversee implementation of the proposed plan, according to people familiar with the matter. Once Russia follows Ukraine in agreeing to a ceasefire and both sides commit to halting territorial advances, the...

Politics

35 h. ago Will Zelensky join Trump and Putin in Budapest for peace talks? Only if invited

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be ready to join Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Hungary if he is invited. Trump and Putin said they would meet in the Hungarian capital, possibly in a matter of weeks, as the US leader continues to try to broker a peace deal to end the three-and-a-half-year war, triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion. “If I am invited to Budapest – if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three...

Politics

4 d. ago Polish court blocks extradition, frees Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream blasts

A Polish court on Friday blocked the extradition to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of involvement in the 2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and ordered his release, a ruling that was welcomed by Poland’s prime minister. Volodymyr Zhuravlov, 46, was arrested near Warsaw on September 30 on a German warrant. German prosecutors have described him as a trained diver and allege that he was part of a group that placed explosives on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm three...

Events

5 d. ago EU and China lawmakers spar over Moscow, Taipei in first talks since 2018

Lawmakers from Brussels and Beijing clashed on Russia and Taiwan, during their first official talks for seven years in the Belgian capital on Thursday. EU lawmakers and other people present said delegates from the National People’s Congress (NPC) echoed Russian narratives on the cause of the three-year war in Ukraine, as they visited the European Parliament for the first dialogue since 2018, following a normalisation of ties earlier this year. “The Chinese side questioned Nato’s right to exist....

Politics

5 d. ago Brussels and Beijing lawmakers spar over Russia, Taiwan in first talks since 2018

Lawmakers from Brussels and Beijing clashed on Russia and Taiwan, during their first official talks for seven years in the Belgian capital on Thursday. EU lawmakers and other people present said delegates from the National People’s Congress (NPC) echoed Russian narratives on the cause of the three-year war in Ukraine, as they visited the European Parliament for the first dialogue since 2018, following a normalisation of ties earlier this year. “The Chinese side questioned Nato’s right to exist....

Politics

5 d. ago Trump ready to slap 'Ukrainian victory tariff' on China if Europe follows suit, treasury secretary says

Trump ready to slap 'Ukrainian victory tariff' on China if Europe follows suit, treasury secretary says  The Kyiv Independent

Politics

5 d. ago US willing to hit China with ‘Ukraine victory tariff’ if Europe follows suit

US willing to hit China with ‘Ukraine victory tariff’ if Europe follows suit  TVP World

Events

6 d. ago Zelensky imposes military control in Odesa after revoking mayor’s citizenship

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has placed the Black Sea metropolis of Odesa under military administration amid a conflict with the city’s mayor. In a decree issued on Wednesday, Zelensky established the new military administration and appointed intelligence general Serhii Lysak as its head. Lysak was simultaneously relieved of his position as military governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, a role he had held for more than two and a half years, to take on this new responsibility. On...

Events

7 d. ago Russia strikes Ukrainian hospital, days before Zelensky meets Trump

Russian forces launched powerful glide bombs and drones against Ukraine’s second-largest city in overnight attacks, hitting a hospital and wounding seven people, an official said on Tuesday. The strikes came as European military aid for Kyiv dropped sharply and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepared to ask US President Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles. The Russian attack on Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast hit the city’s main hospital, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients, regional...

Politics

8 d. ago China must overcome tech ‘choke points’, People’s Daily warns, amid US tensions

The mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party has urged the nation to break through technological “choke points” and avoid becoming “subordinate to other nations” in a series spotlighting the country’s achievements in hi-tech industries. The series of editorials comes as Beijing prepares to outline its next five-year plan and amid a renewed escalation in trade tensions with the United States. “Only by keeping core technologies firmly in our own hands can we truly take the initiative in...

Events

8 d. ago Trump sets off for the Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump says ‘war is over’ as he heads to Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Events

8 d. ago Trump says Gaza ‘war is over’ as he heads to Middle East on high

The war in Gaza has ended and the Middle East is going to “normalise”, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday as he flew to Israel, which was waiting for Hamas to release Israeli hostages as world leaders were gathering to discuss the next steps toward peace. “The war is over, you understand that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he began a flight from Washington to Israel. Asked about prospects for the region, Trump said: “I think it’s going to normalise”. A ceasefire between...

Politics

1 week ago Trump to head to Middle East, says hostages to be freed Monday or Tuesday

US President Donald Trump said he expected to travel to the Middle East on Sunday to celebrate the first phase of the Gaza peace deal and be there for the release of hostages by Hamas. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian armed group had “ended the war in Gaza”. The US leader added that “nobody’s going to be forced to leave” the Palestinian territory under his 20-point peace plan, which formed the basis for indirect negotiations...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says he may go to Middle East, with Gaza deal ‘very close’

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he may travel to the Middle East later this week, as negotiators in Egypt reported “encouraging” progress toward a deal to end the Gaza war. Trump, whose 20-point peace proposal forms the basis of the talks in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, said a peace deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is “very close”. “Negotiations are going along very well,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I may go there sometime toward...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Trump’s invasion’: Illinois sues to halt National Guard deployment to Chicago

The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued US President Donald Trump on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federalised National Guard troops to Chicago, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas headed to the nation’s third-largest city. Trump then escalated the widening clash with Democratic-led states and cities over the domestic use of military forces, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act as a means to circumvent court restrictions on deploying troops where they...

Politics

2 w. ago Hamas ready for peace as Israel prepares ‘immediate implementation’ of Trump plan

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Friday to immediately stop bombing Gaza after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, but vexing issues like disarmament appeared unresolved. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was preparing for an “immediate implementation” of the first stage of Trump’s Gaza plan for the release of Israeli hostages, following Hamas’ response. Shortly after, Israeli media reported that the...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine’s Zelensky warns Europe that Russia is looking to ‘escalate’ war

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Europe on Thursday recent drone incursions showed Russia was looking to “escalate” its aggression, as he offered his country’s war-honed expertise to help counter the threat. The warning came at a summit of European leaders from just under 50 countries, who converged on a conference centre in Copenhagen under tight security after mystery drone flights rattled Denmark last month. The drone sightings in Denmark and high-profile aerial incursions by...

Events

3 w. ago Hamas reviewing Trump Gaza plan as Netanyahu insists on Israeli control

Hamas was reviewing Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza on Tuesday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would stay in most of the territory after he gave the US president his backing. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself. “Hamas has begun a series of consultations within its political and military...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump gives Hamas ‘three or four days’ for Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump gave Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” on Tuesday to respond to his plan for Gaza, as the militant group reviewed the proposal backed by Israel. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself. World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas had yet to issue its...

Politics