19 h. ago Lukashenko frees Belarusian opposition leader after meeting Trump envoy

Sergei Tsikhanouski was jailed for 18 years after challenging Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency

Politics

4 d. ago Israel and Iran strikes continue into fifth day as Trump demands ‘complete give

US president says he is looking at something ‘better than a ceasefire’ after leaving G7 in CanadaLiving in Israel: how have you been affected?Living in Iran: how have you been affected?Donald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.There is indeed an offer to meet and e...

Politics

2 w. ago Kremlin and Trump aides raise nuclear war fears after Ukraine drone strike

Vladimir Putin has warned Russia will respond to Kyiv’s attacks on nuclear-capable aircraft at airfieldsAs Vladimir Putin pledges to retaliate against Ukraine for last weekend’s unprecedented drone attack, Kremlin advisers and figures around Donald Trump have told the US president that the risk of a nuclear confrontation is growing, in an attempt to pressure him to further reduce US support for Ukraine.Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and an important intermediary between the Kremlin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, called the Ukrainian drone strike an attack on “Russian nuclear assets”, and echoed remarks from Maga-friendly figures warning of the potential for a third world war. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Hamas pledges to free Israeli hostages in prisoner exchange as it seeks amendments to US ceasefire proposal

In a dramatic development, the terror group submitted its counterproposal to a framework drawn up by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East.

Events

3 w. ago ‘Looks like Munich 1938’: Eastern bloc hits out at US sympathy for Putin’s anti

Exclusive: Backlash from top Eastern European officials after Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine said Moscow’s opposition to Nato expansion was ‘fair’

Politics

3 w. ago Russia's concern over NATO's expansion is FAIR, Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine says

The key Trump confidant and former National Security Adviser added the future of NATO enlargement ultimately rests with Trump.

Politics

3 w. ago Hamas says US ceasefire plan accepted by Israel does not meet demands to end war in Gaza

Draft reportedly includes release of 28 hostages in first week, a 60-day ceasefire and aid for Gaza as soon as deal signed offIsrael has agreed to a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House has said, and Hamas said it was reviewing the plan although its terms did not meet the group’s demands.As a US-backed system for distributing food in the shattered territory expanded, Israeli media reported that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Former Russian president threatens Trump with World War III after Putin criticism

Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg has hit back at ‘reckless’ comments by security official Dmitry Medvedev

Politics

3 w. ago Former Russian president threatens Trump with World War 3 after Putin criticism

Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg has hit back at ‘reckless’ comments by security official Dmitry Medvedev

Politics

3 w. ago Trump envoy Witkoff blasts Hamas response to Israel ceasefire as ‘completely unacceptable’

Steve Witkoff said that the militants had not accepted a ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the U.S. after Hamas claimed they did

Politics

3 w. ago Donald Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg calls for ‘ceasefire now’ after Russia's ‘shameful’ bombardment on Kyiv

Russia launched its largest aerial bombardment on Ukraine this week. Ukrainian forces shot down six missiles and neutralized 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted

Events

4 w. ago Trump’s Russia sanctions refusal leaves Europe with few options but to wait

Frustration is growing amid increasing signs US could wash its hands of Ukraine, but some observers counsel patienceGen Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s somewhat estranged special envoy on Ukraine, is said by some US diplomats to like to joke that the president did indeed say he would solve the Ukraine crisis in 24 hours, he just never specified which 24 hours.Dark humour may be all that is left to Europeans as they absorb not just Trump’s refusal to impose the promised “bone-crushing sanctions” over Russia’s rejection of a 30-day ceasefire but also the increasing signs that the administration will wash its hands of Ukraine and instead focus on forging a new economic partnership with Russia. Continue reading...

Politics