51 h. ago Trump says next steps for Ukraine talks unclear after Putin meeting

The path ahead for Ukraine peace talks is unclear, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after what he called “reasonably good” talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Putin accepted some US proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and was prepared to keep working to find a compromise. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner spent hours at the Kremlin, departing in the early hours of...

Politics

69 h. ago Afghan boy, 13, executes family’s killer in echoes of worst days of Taliban rule

A 13-year-old boy executed a man found guilty of killing his family in front of a cheering crowd in Afghanistan, in a chilling detail revealed after the event. The public execution, echoing the worst days of Taliban rule, was of a man who the Supreme Court ruled had killed 13 members of the same family, including nine children and their mother. About 80,000 people, including relatives of the victims, attended the execution in the sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost on Tuesday. The...

Events

3 d. ago Ukraine talks: Putin meets Trump envoys in Russia, sends Europe a warning

Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War II. Just before the meeting, Putin warned Europe that it would face swift defeat if it went to war with Russia, and he dismissed European counterproposals on Ukraine as being absolutely unacceptable to Russia. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war but his...

Events

3 d. ago Russia says no Ukraine compromise reached after Putin meets Trump envoys

Russia and the US did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s top envoys, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Trump has repeatedly complained that ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II has been one of the elusive foreign policy aims of his presidency. The US president has at times scolded both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Talks in Moscow between...

Politics

5 d. ago Kazakhstan tells Ukraine to stop Black Sea oil terminal attacks

Kazakhstan told Ukraine on Sunday to stop attacking the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which handles more than 1 per cent of global oil, after a major drone attack halted exports and seriously damaged loading infrastructure. The CPC, which includes Russian, Kazakh and US shareholders, said it had halted operations after a mooring at its Russian terminal on the Black Sea was significantly damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone attack. Ukraine this year mounted wave after...

Events

6 d. ago Ukraine naval drones strike Russian oil tankers in Black Sea off Turkish coast

Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, an official from Ukraine’s security services said on Saturday. The two oil tankers, Kairos and Virat – said to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions – were struck in quick succession off Turkey’s Black Sea coast late Friday afternoon. The strikes prompted rescue operations by the Turkish coastguard and other teams. Crew members on board both vessels were reported to be...

Events

6 d. ago Russian strikes kill 2 in Kyiv, injure 29, as efforts to end war continue

Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, killed at least two people in the early hours of Saturday, local officials said. The attacks came just before a second round of peace negotiations was set to begin, as a renewed US-led push to end the war gathers steam this week. Writing on its official Telegram channel, the Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed in the strikes. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 people were wounded, noting that falling debris...

Events

6 d. ago Russian strikes kill 3 in Kyiv, injure 29, as efforts to end war continue

Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the surrounding area killed at least three people in the early hours of Saturday, local officials said. The attacks came just before a second round of peace negotiations was set to begin, as a renewed US-led push to end the war gathers steam this week. Writing on its official Telegram channel, the Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed in the strikes on the capital, and a woman died in a combined missile...

Events

8 d. ago Russia’s Putin sets hardline condition for peace: Ukraine must cede land

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own - otherwise his army would take it by force. The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces. Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks...

Politics

8 d. ago Pope warns ‘piecemeal’ third world war ‘threatening’ humanity

Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday, and he warned that a third world war was being “fought piecemeal”, with humanity’s future at risk. In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first US pope, said “ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace” were destabilising the world. He told political leaders in...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine ready to advance peace plan, will discuss disputed points with Trump

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies. In a speech to allies known as the coalition of the willing, Zelensky urged European leaders to hash out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to keep backing Kyiv for as long as Moscow showed no inclination to end its invasion. US and...

Politics

1 week ago Zelensky ready to advance Trump’s Ukraine plan, urges Europeans be included

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies. US and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow the gaps between them over Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War II, with Ukraine wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on Russian terms,...

Politics

1 week ago Sensitive issues of Ukraine peace plan to be discussed with Trump, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US President Donald Trump. “As of now, after [talks in] Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps...

Politics

1 week ago Zelensky says ‘sensitive issues’ of peace plan to be discussed with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US President Donald Trump. “As of now, after [talks in] Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps...

Politics

1 week ago Zelensky says ‘sensitive issues’ of Ukraine plan to be discussed with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US President Donald Trump. “As of now, after [talks in] Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps...

Politics

1 week ago Trump blasts Ukraine’s ‘zero gratitude’ as officials discuss US peace plan

Ukrainian, US and European officials met in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday to discuss a draft plan presented by Washington to end the war in Ukraine, after Kyiv and its allies voiced alarm over what they saw as major concessions to the aggressor Russia. US President Donald Trump, who has championed the 28-point plan, said on Sunday that Ukraine had not been grateful for American efforts over the war, even as US weapons continue to flow to Kyiv via Nato and Europe keeps buying Russian...

Politics

1 week ago Trump accuses Ukraine of ingratitude as officials report progress on peace plan

The United States said it had made significant progress on crafting a plan to end the war in Ukraine during talks on Sunday but no agreement was reached on how to guarantee Kyiv’s security amid concerns about the threat posed by Russia. Earlier, Trump said Ukraine had not been grateful for American efforts over the war, prompting Ukrainian officials to stress their gratitude to the US president for his support. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio led the talks in Geneva with a high-level Ukrainian...

Politics

1 week ago US peace plan for Ukraine being refined under Trump’s deadline pressure

The United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war with Russia that apparently modified an earlier plan drafted by the Trump administration which Kyiv and its allies saw as too sympathetic to Moscow. In a joint statement released after talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian delegations, the two sides said their discussion was “highly productive” and said they would continue in coming days. They did not provide specifics about a host of...

Events

1 week ago US and Ukraine refine draft of peace plan under Trump deadline pressure

The United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war with Russia that apparently modified an earlier plan drafted by the Trump administration which Kyiv and its allies saw as too sympathetic to Moscow. In a joint statement released after talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian delegations, the two sides said their discussion was “highly productive” and said they would continue in coming days. They did not provide specifics about a host of...

Events

2 w. ago Trump wants Ukraine to accept peace deal with Russia by Thursday

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine faced losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s support over a US peace plan which endorses key Russian demands and which Donald Trump said Kyiv should agree to by Thursday. The US president told Fox News Radio he believed next Thursday was an appropriate deadline for Kyiv to accept the plan. In a solemn address to the nation which he delivered in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses,...

Politics