Donald Trump has accused the host nation South Africa of prosecuting its white minority

The White House National Security Council has instructed US federal agencies to suspend preparations for the G20 summit in Johannesburg, as President Donald Trump continues to accuse South Africa of “genocide,” The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Citing two people familiar with the matter, the Post said the move aligns with Trump’s earlier threat to boycott the November meeting over what he called a campaign of prosecution against South Africa’s white minority.

Pretoria has drawn international attention since passing a law in January permitting the expropriation of land without compensation – most of which is currently owned by white farmers. South Africa has insisted that the land reform is aimed at addressing the imbalance in land ownership that remains from the apartheid era.

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“White farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa and the newspapers and the media [don’t] even talk about it,” Trump told reporters on Monday. He slammed Pretoria’s recent land reform and indicated last month that he was not planning to attend the annual G20 meeting.

President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected the accusations of genocide as a “completely false narrative.” He said that he would like to meet with Trump to “discuss this matter further.”

On Monday, State Department officials welcomed around 50 members of South Africa’s white minority who are in the US as asylum-seekers. Trump promised to provide safe haven for them and expedite the naturalization process.

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Representatives of Kiev and Moscow are expected to hold direct talks in Turkiye for the first time since 2022

US President Donald Trump has said he expects positive developments from expected Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Thursday. The two sides are preparing to hold their first direct negotiations since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to restart direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in order to find a lasting settlement that would address its root causes. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, also expressed his willingness to travel to Istanbul.

Kiev stated that the only official from Moscow that Zelensky would talk to is Putin. However, the Russian president has so far made no indication that he is planning to travel to the Turkish city.

Speaking during a meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha on Wednesday, Trump said, “I think we’re having some pretty good news coming out of there today and maybe tomorrow and maybe Friday, frankly. But… we’ll see about that.”

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While the US president suggested earlier this week that he could also attend the meeting between Ukrainian and Russian representatives on Thursday, he appeared to downplay that possibility while on board Air Force One en route to Qatar.

“Now tomorrow we’re all booked out, you understand that, we’re all set,” Trump told reporters.

Bloomberg has quoted anonymous Turkish officials as saying they were not expecting the US president to make an appearance at the talks, but were “not entirely ruling out” such a possibility.

Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed to reporters in Doha that he would travel to Istanbul on Friday alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to participate in discussions.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Trump described the upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks as “very important,” saying that he expected a “good result,” and that he believed both Zelensky and Putin would come to Istanbul.

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US officials are set to arrive the day after anticipated Russia-Ukraine direct talks begin, according to the agency

US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has said he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Istanbul on Friday, according to Reuters. Earlier this week, Trump announced that US officials would take part in the upcoming talks on the Ukraine conflict.

The first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are set to take place in the Turkish city on May 15. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume dialogue to find a lasting settlement to the ongoing conflict that would address its root causes.

Witkoff made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to reporters in Doha, where he and Rubio are accompanying Trump on a state visit to Qatar as part of a broader Middle East trip.

Trump said on Tuesday that Rubio and other US officials would join the talks in Istanbul. A White House spokesman later clarified to reporters that Rubio, Witkoff and US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg would attend the negotiations.

Trump, who had previously suggested he might attend in person, told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar that his schedule would not allow it.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would be sending a delegation and expected Ukraine to do the same. Kiev stated previously that Vladimir Zelensky would only talk directly to the Russian president.

READ MORE: Why the Russia-Ukraine peace talks are doomed before they begin

On Wednesday evening, the Kremlin named its delegation for the talks, to be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who also headed the Russian side during negotiations in Istanbul in 2022.

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The team will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian team during the negotiations in 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Wednesday named the country’s delegation for proposed talks with Ukraine, expected to take place in Istanbul the next day.

The team will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s side during negotiations with Kiev in 2022. The delegation also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin and the head of Russia’s military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov.

Apart from the negotiators themselves, Putin unveiled a team of experts who will also participate. It is composed of several senior military and civil officials, as well as diplomats.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reports indicated the country’s leader Vladimir Zelensky was set to travel to Istanbul alongside several top officials, including his head of office Andrey Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga. The exact composition of the negotiating team, however, is expected to be determined by Zelensky on the spot.

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Putin offered on Sunday to resume direct talks with Kiev, stating that only negotiations could lead to “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire.”

“We are set on serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their aim is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to achieve a long-term lasting peace for a historical perspective,” the president said.

The offer got a mixed reaction from Ukraine and its supporters, who continued to insist that talks be preceded by at least a 30-day truce. After the proposal was backed by US President Donald Trump, however, Zelensky proclaimed his readiness to negotiate with the Russian president “personally” in Istanbul.

The Kremlin announcement of its team was met with apparent disappointment in Kiev. Zelensky’s aide Mikhail Podoliak launched a personal attack on Medinsky, claiming the Russian official was not the right figure to discuss unspecified “fundamental issues.”

“No, of course not, that’s not the format. The president can’t meet, especially with Medinsky – the status won’t be entirely clear,” Podoliak stated.

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And why every ceasefire attempt in the conflict so far has collapsed

Diplomatic tensions are rising once again. Just days ago, the focus was on Moscow’s 80th anniversary Victory Day parade. Now, all eyes are suddenly on Istanbul, where direct talks between Russia and Ukraine – the first since the spring of 2022 – could take place as early as Thursday.

The significance of these prospective talks has snowballed. What began with Russian President Vladimir Putin responding to a Western call for a 30-day ceasefire starting May 12 has now escalated into a high-stakes international spectacle. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky initially appeared ready to reject the proposal outright, but after pressure – bordering on an ultimatum – from Donald Trump, he reversed course.

Zelensky, however, introduced his own conditions. He demanded that talks be held at the highest level immediately, or not at all, and threatened new sanctions against Russia if his terms were ignored.

As a result, expectations for the Istanbul meeting have soared. But are they realistic? Are we truly on the verge of a breakthrough?

In short: no. Thursday’s meeting, if it happens at all, is almost certain to fail – for two clear reasons.

1. The conditions for real peace talks simply don’t exist.

Militarily, Ukraine’s situation remains precarious. While its forces are still holding defensive lines in the Donbass, morale and manpower are faltering. Some positions are visibly collapsing. Yet politically, Kiev continues to act as though it holds the upper hand, buoyed by support from the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ – Britain, France, and Germany. These European states have consistently obstructed any serious effort by Washington to push for a quick peace.

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Zelensky’s current strategy is transparent: appease Trump just enough to avoid backlash, but stop short of agreeing to anything that might commit Ukraine to a negotiated settlement. Even in a weakened state, Kiev shows no willingness to make meaningful concessions – or even to engage directly with Moscow.

On the Russian side, there is little incentive to indulge a Western-managed process designed to give President Trump a diplomatic win. Russia is holding firm on the front line and continues to expand its gains methodically. There is no reason to offer a ceasefire now, just when progress is being made.

Moscow’s current approach is clear: test Kiev’s seriousness through exploratory contacts, but avoid binding itself to any formal ceasefire until the military campaign yields stronger leverage. There’s a pragmatic desire in the Kremlin to buy time – finish the job this spring and summer, and then talk from a position of strength.

The recent flurry of ultimatums exchanged between Kiev, Moscow, and Washington wasn’t diplomacy. It was a game of political brinkmanship. Each side hoped to provoke the other into rejecting talks, thereby gaining the moral upper hand. In reality, no one was particularly eager to negotiate sincerely.

2. All previous ceasefire attempts have failed – and this one will too.

Let’s not forget the fate of earlier efforts: the naval ceasefire, the moratorium on energy strikes, and the much-hyped ‘Easter’ and ‘Victory Day’ ceasefires. Each of these collapsed under the weight of unrealistic expectations, conflicting interpretations, and total lack of enforcement mechanisms.

Since the start of the year, the US has been juggling multiple contradictory peace tracks, hoping to fashion a settlement from irreconcilable demands. But no formal agreements have been reached, no unified documents signed, and no real monitoring structures put in place. Each side has its own idea of what a ceasefire entails. The result? All rhetoric, no results.

The build-up to Istanbul bears a strong resemblance to these previous failures. No one really knows what’s on the agenda. There is no clarity on whether the two sides even share a common understanding of what they’re meeting to discuss. The level of the delegations is also in flux – even the question of who’s coming remains unanswered.

Zelensky insists he will attend in person, but only if he can meet directly with Putin. He says he wants to discuss the 30-day ceasefire – and nothing else. Putin, meanwhile, seems uninterested in performative diplomacy. He has no reason to show up merely to satisfy Western optics, and is more likely to focus on concrete treaty discussions, if and when the moment is right.

So far, the Russian side is expected to be represented by presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. Trump, currently in Saudi Arabia, has said he “might” fly to Istanbul – if he feels like it. If not, Secretary of State Marco Rubio could lead the US team, alongside advisers Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff.

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What does this all mean in practical terms?

At best, the delegations from Moscow and Kiev will arrive in Istanbul, hold separate meetings with US and Turkish intermediaries, and leave with a vague commitment to “continue discussions.” At worst, they’ll fail to meet at all – speaking only to the Americans and Turks before departing and blaming each other for sabotaging the process.

In the best-case scenario, the long-dormant corpse known as the “Ukrainian peace process” might be kept breathing a little longer. In the worst-case scenario, we can pronounce it officially dead – and any hopes for real progress will be shelved.

Whether that’s a tragedy or a relief depends on your point of view. But one thing is certain: on Thursday no peace deal is coming. The Istanbul summit will be another chapter in the long and cynical theater of diplomacy, where each player enters the stage knowing full well how the script ends.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

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Ukraine’s membership reportedly won’t be on the June meeting’s agenda

The US is against inviting Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to the NATO summit in The Hague next month, Italy’s ANSA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous diplomatic sources.

Kiev has long sought membership in the US-led military bloc - something Russia considers a fundamental threat to its national security. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly described the prevention of such a scenario as one of Moscow’s top objectives in the Ukraine conflict.

Since assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump has on multiple occasions ruled out Ukraine’s accession to NATO in the foreseeable future.

In its article, ANSA reported that “for now… a NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of leaders is not planned,” adding, however, that no final decision has been made yet. According to the publication, Kiev could participate in some of the meetings on June 24-25, but only at the level of foreign and defense ministers.

The Italian outlet reported that for the time being the only non-member states that have received invitations are Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

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ANSA also reported that “at the moment, a very concise program is expected at the summit, in contrast to what has happened in recent years, to avoid possible friction with Donald Trump.”

Zelensky joined NATO leaders for sessions of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the 2023 Vilnius Summit and the 2024 Washington Summit.

Also on Wednesday, Bloomberg quoted unnamed diplomats familiar with the matter as saying that membership for Ukraine will not be on the agenda during the upcoming gathering in the Netherlands, with the main focus expected to be on ramping up defense spending. The outlet similarly reported that the NATO summit in June will likely be shorter than the previous meetings.

Speaking during a press conference last Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that “we never agreed that, as part of a peace deal, there would be guaranteed NATO membership for Ukraine.”

He emphasized that Ukraine’s accession to the bloc had been agreed upon by its members, but “for the longer term, not for the peace negotiations ongoing at the moment.”

Rutte noted, however, that NATO maintains close cooperation with Kiev with respect to military aid and personnel training.

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Karim Khan reportedly sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders a little over two weeks after the accusations were made

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan set in motion a plan to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leadership shortly after he faced sexual misconduct allegations, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing documents from a UN probe into the scandal.

Khan announced he would file applications for arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on May 20 last year, a mere two and a half weeks after he first learned about the sexual misconduct allegations against him, the Journal said. “The timing of the announcement has spurred questions about whether Khan was aiming to protect himself from the sexual-assault allegations,” the newspaper suggested.

According to the materials the WSJ reviewed, Khan’s alleged sexual misconduct spree began in late 2023, when “the 55-year-old prosecutor was increasingly lashing out at his team” after coming under a barrage of criticism. Pro-Palestine activists had labeled him a “genocide enabler” and accused the ICC of a lack of action on the Gaza conflict.

One of his assistants, a “woman in her 30s who often traveled with him for her job” requested a meeting “to urge him to ease up,” according to the report. Khan allegedly invited her to his suite in the Millennium Hilton hotel next to the UN, where he sexually assaulted her.

“She said she attempted to leave the room several times, but he took her hand and eventually pulled her to the bed. Then he pulled off her pants and forced sexual intercourse, according to the testimony,” the report reads.

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The misconduct allegedly continued after the first incident, with Khan performing “nonconsensual sex acts” on his staffer on multiple occasions during trips to New York, Colombia, Congo, Chad and Paris, as well as “at a residence owned by his wife where he stayed in The Hague,” according to the accuser’s testimony cited by the WSJ.

The woman, a lawyer from Malaysia, kept silent on the affair for a while, fearing retaliation from Khan and losing her job. When the allegations became known within the organization, the prosecutor attempted to press her into disavowing them and insisted the scandal would ultimately hurt the Gaza investigation, the woman claimed in her testimony.

Khan’s legal representatives have rejected all allegations, stating it is “categorically untrue that he has engaged in sexual misconduct of any kind.” The prosecutor previously pledged to cooperate “fully and transparently with the external investigation” and denied any “retaliatory behavior” against his accuser or other staffers.

Israel asked the ICC to withdraw the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on November 21 last year. The country rejects the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court, and also urged the body to suspend its investigation into alleged atrocities in Gaza altogether.

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This year, the annual event is bringing together participants from over 100 countries

A major summit aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between Russia and the Islamic world has opened in Kazan, drawing participants from a record 103 countries.

The 16th international ‘Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum’ is running from May 13 to 18 in the capital of Tatarstan Republic, central Russia. Business sessions will officially start on Thursday, with more than 140 conferences and around 200 events scheduled under the main theme ‘Digitalization and the New Reality’, according to the organizers.

In a message to the participants, President Vladimir Putin said Russia continues to “successfully and consistently” expand its global ties despite the “challenging international environment.” He added that “deepening dialogue and partnership” would help to effectively counter terrorism, extremism, and the escalation of local conflicts.

This year’s forum is expected to attract a high-level international presence, including ministers from Malaysia, Iraq, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Chad, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau, along with ambassadors from more than 20 countries. Last year’s event hosted over 20,000 participants from 87 countries.

According to Andrey Belyaninov, secretary general of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, representatives from Western countries are also taking part. He said the forum will serve as a lead-up to the first World Public Assembly, set to be held in Moscow in September 2025.

READ MORE: Russia’s ties with the Middle East will keep growing despite all pressure. Here’s why

Forum participants will also discuss the expansion of cargo transit routes along the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) – a 7,200-kilometer multimodal network integrating sea, rail, and road transport to facilitate trade between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.

Organizers say several international agreements are expected to be signed.

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Israel has no plans to stop its war with Hamas despite ongoing hostage release talks, according to the prime minister

The Israeli military will finish off Hamas in Gaza in the near future, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed. Meanwhile, his government intends to continue negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages held by the militant group.

Speaking to wounded Israeli reservists on Tuesday, Netanyahu insisted that “in the coming days, we will go in [to Gaza] with full force to complete the operation.” This means “destroying Hamas” as well as “freeing all our hostages,” according to the prime minister.

He did not rule out a “temporary ceasefire” in exchange for the release of captives taken by the Islamist group during its attack on Israel in 2023. However, Netanyahu made it clear that “there will be no situation where we stop the war.”

The prime minister said that Israel had already “set up a governing body that will allow [civilians] to exit” Gaza, though no country has apparently expressed a willingness to take them in. Given the opportunity, more than half of its residents would leave, according to him.

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Netanyahu’s comments follow Tuesday’s airstrike by Israel Defense Forces on the European hospital in Khan Yunis in the south of the Palestinian enclave. According to the IDF, Hamas militants had set up an underground “command and control center” beneath the building. Local media reported that the attack targeted a Hamas leader, Muhammad Sinwar, whose fate remains unknown.

On Wednesday, several media outlets claimed that Israeli warplanes had struck the site again, in an apparent attempt to prevent rescue workers from approaching the hospital.

Gaza’s civil defense agency later confirmed that IDF warplanes “deliberately targeted anyone who tried to reach” the wounded. According to Palestinian officials, the airstrikes claimed the lives of at least 28 people.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a deadly Hamas incursion on October 7, 2023, which left more than 1,100 people dead, with more than 200 taken hostage. The heavy aerial and artillery pounding of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, coupled with an Israeli ground operation, have claimed the lives of over 60,000 people, with many more injured or missing, Palestinian authorities have estimated.

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Vinay Kumar has told RT that India’s anti-terrorist response, not US mediation, led to Islamabad ceasing hostilities

India’s zero tolerance for terrorism and ability to react to Pakistani moves is what led to a ceasefire between the South Asian neighbors after four days of intense fighting, Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has told RT in an exclusive interview.

“We responded to the terror attack and Pakistan, instead of understanding the gravity of the situation, decided to escalate,” Kumar said, adding that India countered “every” attempt at escalation from its neighbor.

“Finally on the 10th [of May] they realized that they were moving on the wrong path and their Director General of Military Operations called and offered a ceasefire, which we agreed to,” the Indian diplomat said. An April terrorist attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which India blamed on Pakistan, preceded the escalation and was widely condemned by the international community.

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Even before New Delhi and Islamabad announced the ceasefire, US President Donald Trump said that Washington had helped mediate ceasefire. On Monday, he reiterated those claims in a press briefing where he said his administration was instrumental in brokering the truce, and that he was confident it would last.

However, Kumar appeared to contradict Trump’s assertions, stating that hostilities were resolved directly by the parties. “You know that ceasefire… was bilaterally arrived at between the two DGMOs (Director General of Military Operations) after they talked to each other,” the ambassador said. “So, we don’t want any third-party mediation,” he added.

He also reiterated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s position that as far as New Delhi is concerned, the new normal is that every terrorist act will be given a fitting response on India’s own terms, with no tolerance for nuclear blackmail and no acceptance of any differentiation between the government sponsoring terrorism and the terrorists themselves.

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The new measures would reportedly reduce duty-free quotas on agricultural products, amid pressure from Eastern European members

The EU is preparing tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural imports when the current duty-free trade regime expires next month, Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources.

Brussels suspended import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU in 2022 following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. The Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) were extended last year and are set to expire on June 6. The EU previously said it would not prolong the tariff-free regime further, after cheap imports flooded Eastern European countries, sparking waves of farmer protests, most notably in Poland.

Following the unrest, Brussels introduced an emergency mechanism which allowed tariffs to be reimposed on specific products such as eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, maize, and honey, if imports of these products exceeded average annual volumes. Being part of the ATMs, it is also set to expire in three weeks.

The EU is currently working to review and update its overall free trade agreement with Ukraine, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). The bloc’s officials have suggested that if the talks are not finalized by June 5, “transitional measures” will be applied, to allow more time for negotiation.

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According to FT, Warsaw has asked Brussels to “delay highly unpopular trade talks” with Kiev so as not to stir the sensitive issue ahead of a presidential election on Sunday to “minimize the chances” that nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki will prevail.

Nawrocki, who is backed by Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, has capitalized on domestic discontent over Ukrainian agricultural imports and has been critical of the idea of Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO. He is currently polling in second place ahead of the May 18 vote.

The transitional proposal, recently sent to EU member states, “would drastically cut the tariff-free quotas,” specifically on maize, poultry, wheat and sugar, FT cited unnamed diplomats as saying.

The maize quota will drop on an annual basis from 4.7 million tonnes to 650,000 tonnes, with poultry falling from 57,110 to 40,000 and sugar from 109,000 to 40,700, according to the outlet.

READ MORE: Ukrainian membership of EU would drag bloc into war – Hungary

Ukraine’s government estimates that the cancellation of free-trade quotas would reduce its revenues by about €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion) a year.

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From tactical results to strategic messaging, India’s deployment of the S-400 was as much about capability as it was about intent

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made headlines when he publicly credited Russia’s S-400 “Triumf” air defense system with playing a key role in the country’s response to recent Pakistani strikes. More than a political gesture, Modi’s remarks marked the first confirmed combat use of the S-400 by Indian forces.

“Platforms like the S-400 have given unprecedented strength to the country,” he said while standing before the system. “A strong security shield has become the identity of India.”

He also noted that India now has access to military technology that its adversaries – chiefly Pakistan – simply can’t match. Coming amid a real military confrontation, his words carried unmistakable weight.

A real-world test

The clash erupted during India’s counterterrorism operation “Sindoor.” Pakistan responded with strikes on Indian military infrastructure using drones, precision-guided munitions, and air-to-ground missiles. For the first time, India deployed its Russian-made S-400s in combat, stationing them in the strategically sensitive states of Punjab and Rajasthan.

According to reports, the system successfully neutralized incoming threats before they even entered Indian airspace. Debris found on Pakistani territory suggests that ultra-long-range 40N6E missiles may have been used, capable of taking down targets from up to 370 kilometers away.

Military analyst Mikhail Khodaryonok summed it up bluntly:

The ultimate test for any weapon system is war. That’s where it either proves itself – or fails completely.

He believes the S-400 not only met but exceeded expectations during Russia’s own military campaign, successfully intercepting a wide range of targets – from SCALP cruise missiles and tactical ballistic rockets to drones and MLRS projectiles.

Now, it has proven itself again – this time in South Asia.

Why India сhose the S-400

India signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five regimental units of the S-400 after an exhaustive review of the country’s long-term defense needs. The country’s primary concerns: China and Pakistan.

At the time, China had already secured its own S-400 systems and was reportedly planning to deploy them in Tibet, just across the border from India. Delivery to India began in 2021, and the final shipments are scheduled for 2025. With each new deployment, India extends a sophisticated “air defense umbrella” across more of its vulnerable frontier.

The decision to buy the S-400 was driven by its standout capability to intercept virtually any airborne threat: aircraft, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles, smart bombs, and ballistic missiles. No other air defense system on the market offers this level of versatility.

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Khodaryonok points out that if the coordinates are known, the S-400 can even be used to strike ground targets – though that’s not its primary function.

Equally important for India, the system integrates smoothly with the country’s existing command infrastructure, which still bears the hallmarks of Soviet and Russian design. For India, adopting the S-400 wasn’t just a technical upgrade – it was an evolution built on decades of military-technical continuity.

S-400 vs. Patriot: Different philosophies

The American-made Patriot system is often cited as an alternative, but the two platforms reflect fundamentally different doctrines.

The Patriot was developed during the Cold War to protect NATO forces from enemy aircraft and short-range missiles. Its fire zones are narrow, and it can take up to 25 minutes to fully deploy – an eternity in a fast-moving conflict.

The S-400, on the other hand, was designed to provide wide-area coverage as part of a national air defense grid. It takes just five minutes to deploy and can simultaneously track up to 300 targets. Its engagement range extends up to 400km in distance and 35km in altitude.

As Khodaryonok put it, “In almost every key metric, Patriot falls short of Triumf – especially in range, target variety, and electronic countermeasures.”

The missile loadouts tell the story too:

• S-400 uses a broad mix: 48N6 (up to 250 km), 9M96M (up to 130 km), 40N6E (up to 370 km), and 9M100 for short-range defense.

• The Patriot relies mainly on MIM-104 and ERINT, with far fewer options.

Cost vs. Capability

The S-400’s biggest advantage might just be its price-to-performance ratio.

When China purchased two S-400 regiments, the price tag exceeded $3 billion. For India, each regiment cost around $1 billion. That’s enough to defend an area roughly 1,000 by 500 kilometers against simultaneous attacks by hundreds of aircraft and missiles.

By contrast, equipping India with enough Patriot systems for comparable coverage would cost several times more. A single Patriot battery alone is often priced similarly to an entire S-400 regiment – despite offering much less coverage and flexibility.

India’s choice, in this light, wasn’t just practical. It was strategic – and smart.

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Strategic Reach and Export Appeal

Only a handful of nations can produce air defense systems like the S-400. So far, China, India, and Turkey have officially acquired the system. But dozens of countries – from Saudi Arabia and Algeria to Iran and even Latin American states – have expressed an interest.

“There’s a waiting list for the S-400—and it keeps growing,” says Khodaryonok. “Quality weapons don’t come cheap. But nations that prioritize defense choose Triumf.”

Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 despite threats of US sanctions shows just how powerful that appeal can be. For many, it’s not just a weapons purchase – it’s a step toward greater strategic autonomy.

India’s S-400 Future: Ready for Anything

Once all five regiments are in place, India will be able to shield its entire northern and western borders, as well as critical coastal zones in the south—vital for securing trade routes and deterring precision air strikes.

What’s being built is more than just a missile shield. It’s a multi-layered, autonomous defense system designed to withstand massive air raids, drone swarms, hypersonic threats, and saturation missile attacks.

The recent conflict with Pakistan was a turning point. For the first time, India brought high-end Russian technology into real combat – and saw firsthand what it could do. The S-400 didn’t just stop enemy missiles. It sent a message.

The S-400 “Triumf” isn’t just another piece of hardware. It’s a political lever, a pillar of strategic independence, and a cornerstone of airpower in South-East Asia.

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Eighty years after WW II, EU leaders are approving huge budgets to solve a self-made security problem. Yet the silver bullets are defective

It has been said that quantity has quality all of its own.

The origins of this dictum, which is often attributed to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, can be traced back to ancient dialecticians. They argued that continued quantitative changes will eventually lead to qualitative transformations. After all, if you incessantly add one grain of sand to another, finally a heap will emerge.

Imbued with an unshakeable belief in the power of quantity, European leaders, who due to their incompetence form a veritable kakistocracy (rule of the worst), in March 2025 hastily adopted financial mega-packages simultaneously at the supranational level (European Union) and national level (Germany) for additional defense spending and other outlays far exceeding one trillion Euro.

This catchpenny action, which served special interests (such as those of the defense industry), was touted as an antidote to a much-hyped security problem. The quagmire allegedly consisted of an acute threat of Russia exploiting a vacuum, which had been created by the United States’ decoupling from Europe, by invading the old continent in no time. On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the European alarmists exploited threat bias by conveniently reinforcing long-harbored fears concerning Russia. More specifically, they remined their audiences of the latter’s iron grip on Eastern Europe in the wake of the worst military conflict in history - irrespective of the fact that the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic constituted only one part of the Soviet Union and this federation of republics had long ceased to exist.

However, the mega-spending approach is highly questionable in terms of process and content. In this context, it needs to be remembered that there is no free lunch - food in officers’ messes not excluded! The veracity of this dictum is revealed by a closer look at the following, partially interrelated problems associated with the gargantuan debt-financed defense packages and other new mega-spending programs adopted across Europe.

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1. Widening democratic deficit and credibility gap

Across the EU, the success of conservative Eurosceptic parties, which are defamatorily labelled “extreme right-wing” and “populist” by the governing elites and their media mouthpieces, shows that broad swathes of the electorate there are opposing the building of a European superstate. Especially the new EU-wide defense splurge aimed at financing one building block of this expensive European mansion (that is, a common defense capability), thus clearly defies the popular will in many places.

At the EU-level, the decision-making process, which is opaque, has been driven by the upper caste of EU bureaucrats, who lack democratic legitimacy. They routinely jump the bandwagon and succumb to groupthink and delusional, hubris-fueled wishful thinking, with no political-economic Cassandra warning them of the clear and present dangers courted by their foolishness. Feeling safe inside the herd and being absolved of individual accountability and responsibility, the members of the exclusive EU club tend to take overly risky decisions. Clearly, the grand ambition of the EU to become the new “leader of the free world”, after the US has retired for good reasons (including financial ones!), is both unaffordable and anachronistic (especially given that a growing number of people around the world are rejecting unchecked, woke-filled liberalism).

Worse, the dire predictions regarding Russia are fraught with the grave risk of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies, since the so-called enemy might feel threatened and take reactive and preventive measures (as happened in Ukraine according to Russia’s account of the special military operation). This, in combination with the strategic failure of not incorporating exit ramps into the grand European plans, which can be used to transit from crisis mode to normalcy, might result in a dangerous spiral of escalating commitments and violence.

Using a combination of scaremongering and the slippery slope argument based on domino theory, Russia’s attack on Ukraine is framed as being just the prelude to Russian invasions of other countries if Moscow remains unchecked. The recycling of the rhetorical device of the slippery slope, which is classified as a fallacy, bodes ill. It was used to great effect by the U.S. to justify its participation in the Vietnam war, allegedly to prevent the spread of Communism to other Asian countries. However, it is extremely unlikely that Russia, assuming that it will not be provoked, will invade Germany, for example, which is a member of NATO and has a long history of friendly ties with the Eastern bear in manifold spheres.

Even though different options always exist, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in an oxymoronic antithesis claimed apodictically on 18 March 2025 that the “choice is none”. After touting the alleged virtues of pacifism and individualism for decades, European leaders suddenly in unison are preaching a new dangerous form of collectivism, demanding heavy sacrifices for what is portrayed as the common good.

Using the alleged Russia threat as a red herring and smokescreen, as well as igniting and exploiting one upheaval after another, they create a perpetual crisis and constant threat reminiscent of the situation depicted in George Orwell’s dystopic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. They are thus impeding critical thinking through tactics of continuous diversion and detraction, in order to pursue a hidden agenda in a mendacious and unencumbered fashion. The pernicious effect of the stratagem of blurring the water to catch a fish is heightened by the sheer speed by which EU groupthinkers are hastening through the mega spending packages at different levels, leaving potential opponents little time to mount resistance.

In Germany, a softening of constitutionally enshrined debt ceilings, known as the Schuldenbremse (debt brake), among other things, limiting annual structural deficits to 0.35% of a gross domestic product (GDP), was approved in March 2025 in a hastily reconvened lame-duck Bundestag (federal parliament), even though a new parliament had already been elected. The loosening of fiscal shackles was destined to make it possible to borrow large amounts of money for new mega-spending packages. Due to the increase in the number of seats of the Eurosceptic AfD, the radical constitutional change, which required a supermajority, would most likely not have been adopted by the new parliament.

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Even if, in purely technical terms, the gambit of using the old parliament was legal, it clearly bore witness of utter disrespect for the popular will. Since the sweeping change of the constitutional debt limits and the spending spree were not clearly highlighted in party programs and on the campaign trail, the move also amounts to egregious voter deception. In addition, the CDU, given that it failed to achieve stellar results in the 2025 federal election and thus was forced to enter another grand coalition with the SPD, which pursues different objectives, has no sweeping mandate for transformation. As a consequence of all the machinations and disregard for the wishes of voters, the democratic credentials and political credibility of mainstream parties in Germany are further undermined.

2. Waste of resources and corruption potential

Lacking strategic focus, the big spenders in Europe are pursuing an excessive number of mutually conflicting objectives and employ a reactive shotgun approach aimed at combating the phantom enemy in the east and conveniently solving other problems at the same time. As a consequence, resources are likely to be wasted at a grand scale. The German language, with its great capacity for compounding words, possesses an apt, humorous term that is well-suited for describing the all-in-one financial mega packages adopted in March 2025 and their wished-for all-inclusive results, that is, eierlegende Wollmilchsau, which is literally translated as egg-laying wooly dairy pig. Would it not be great to have such a fabulous multifunctional animal as a cornucopian source of myriad desirable products?

Apparently inspired by a comparable unrealistic, perfectionist vision of completeness in the field of politics, the German all-in-one package adopted by the Bundestag in March 2025, among other things, included spending on infrastructure, defense and climate projects (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Clearly, the addition of environmental spending aimed at combatting yet another phantom, that is, a changing climate (which by nature is always changing!), constitutes a surrender to the demands of clientele politics pursued by the Green Party. Money, so the German spendthrifts think, is the answer to all problems – a conception as erroneous as hoping that pouring an ever-increasing amount of water on a plant will further healthy growth. Again, adopting a shoot-then-aim approach and trying to be a jack of all trades, while being master of none, undermines the credibility of the political mavericks and tricksters.

Due to the package approach, vaguely stated purpose and large amounts of money involved – coupled with the lack of democratic due process and concomitant intransparency – there is a high risk of moral hazards and unintended consequences occurring, including wide-spread and large-scale misappropriation of funds under different disguises by officials who simply do not care or are outright corrupt. In fact, it is quite easy to hide expenditure items, which are not related to the overall stated purpose, inside a large financial package, especially if one uses budget tricks and “creative accounting”. For example, given the vague nature of spending labels, it is easy to misappropriate infrastructure funds for defense.

The problems get compounded when a fast-track approval, steam-roller-like process without due diligence and accountability is used to deceive voters and confront them with a fait accompli before they can react. A case in point is Western military aid to Ukraine, in regard to which some critics doubting whether all funds and arms reached the intended destination. As an earlier example, the hastily approved European Covid-19 rescue funds were partially misappropriated by corrupt actors. The EU president even negotiated a deal with Pfizer via SMS, in order to procure the American pharma giant’s vaccines without proper accountability.

The so-called thin-edge-of-the-wedge effect becomes clearly visible when one analyzes political patterns in the EU: After taboos have been shattered and the breaking of national, democratically legitimized resistance has become a well-established pattern, erstwhile unthinkable action – such as mutualizing debt and misappropriating funds earmarked for other purposes - is now taken publicly without shame.

While the financing of the Covid-19 packages through European loans constituted a crossing of a German red line, creating another European financing vehicle for the EU defense package prompted no real debate and met no serious resistance. Furthermore, as an example of budget tricks used, one key ingredient of the European defense package announced in March 2025 is the redirecting of funds originally earmarked for the promotion of interregional cohesion to investments in defense projects. Even the lifting of EU fiscal rules to allow for defense spending of 650 billion Euro was calmly accepted by all important players.

In this context, it is important to note that referring to the Covid-19 rescue packages as a precedent to justify new mega spending packages constitutes a false analogy, given that there are crucial differences with respect to their financing costs. When the pandemic broke out in 2020, the key interest rate set by the European Central Bank (ECB) was 0%. Yet in 2022, the monetary authority started to increase rates to combat high inflation. In March 2025, at the time the new mega spending packages were announced, the key interest rate stood at 2.5%.

Finally, the promise to do “whatever it takes” (WIT) in a perpetual crisis mode – as part of a reactive pattern of long-time procrastination followed by sudden bursts of radical measures – coupled with the lack of a clearly defined exit ramp back to consolidation ensures that waste and corruption can go on for a long time, with commitments being escalated all along - in for a penny, in for a pound (even if one does not have a penny to bless oneself with!).

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The WIT approach is adopted despite the fact that as regards spending, there are always costs and benefits, as well as declining marginal returns, which makes it necessary to strive for an optimum instead of continuously pouring more funds in a limitless fashion (which is particularly pernicious if the problem is a phantom one). The idiomatic “whatever it takes” label thus is clearly ominous, since, according to its definition, in certain contexts it serves as a euphemism for improper behavior, including harmful measures in the pursuit of a given objective.

In fact, EU leaders are behaving like addicted gamblers, opting for one stimulus after another, such as injecting funds into defense after the COVID-19 stimuli have fizzled out, while the amount of funds spent increases at an exponential rate. By behaving like a gambler at the roulette table who is ready to spend whatever it takes to win, they are essentially gambling their own nations away.

Theoretically, the entire spending process can go on indefinitely, since the targets are extremely soft and subjective and thus elusive. For example, there is no point where one can conclude with absolute certainty that Europe is “properly defended”, especially when there is considerable heterogeneity between the countries on the old continent in many regards. Given such fuzziness and the lack of solid anchors, it comes to no surprise that targets are shifted easily, as witnessed by the raising of the minimum that NATO members are supposed spend on defense (lately, the minimum expenditure measured as a percentage of GDP has risen from 2% to 5%).

3. Imbalances due to lopsided Keynesianism

During the Great Depression (1929-c.1939), the British economist John Maynard Keynes managed to transform public policy by challenging the neoclassical view that labor markets would adjust automatically to changing economic conditions and instead arguing for increased government spending to combat unemployment. In his view, the specific nature of the spending did not matter, as long as it contributed to employment. In his book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936, he praised the building of pyramids and even suggested that it would make sense for the government to pay for the digging of holes and then again to spend money on filling them up!

After his widely popular theory fell into disrepute during the period of stagflation (declining output coupled with inflation) in the 1970s and rule-based, fiscally conservative ordo liberalism gained supremacy over discretionary economic pump priming, Keynesianism became fashionable again during the 2008 financial crisis and was reignited during the Covid-19 pandemic. The bonanza of spending announced in March 2025 with the aim of combatting the imagined Russia threat continues this trend of Keynesian revival.

However, Keynesian economic policy is lopsided, since it focuses only on the demand side of the economy. In figurative terms, it is concerned only with how to slice the economic cake – allocating economic output to consumption, investment, government expenditure and net exports respectively – instead of focusing on how to actually increase the gâteau, which requires supply-side economic measures that expand the production possibility frontier.

Increasing demand - through measures such as raising defense spending - without expanding supply, ceteris paribus, eventually will push up prices. Such inflation distorts economic signals and leads to a misallocation of economic resources, thus creating serious imbalances in society (such as pensioners on fixed incomes being hurt more than people whose nominal income will be increased when the general price level rises). An inflationary spiral ensues when (a) wages are incessantly increased to compensate for losses in purchasing power due to price rises and (b) inflationary expectations, which are particularly difficult to dampen, are heightened as a result.

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Instead of lopsided, inflation-fueling neo-Keynesianism and mere occasional lip services to the future removal of structural bottlenecks, a robust combination of different economic policies is needed in the EU and many other places, focusing on both the demand side (as long as the production possibility frontier has not been reached) and the supply side (aiming at expanding the production possibility frontier). Unlike Keynes, who, when push came to shove, did not exhibit real interest in the particular nature of government expenditure (as long as it contributed to employment), supply-side economic measures need to be targeted, focusing on the drivers of long-term growth, that is, capital, labor and technological progress.

4. Negative impact of reckless financial engineering

In theory, Keynesian stimuli programs can be financed by various means, but in practice, they most often rely on borrowing, which also applies to the EU spending packages approved in March 2025. This particular financing approach – used instead of offsetting spending cuts, for example – is problematic in various regards.

First, financing the huge spending packages via loans instead of by means of proportional reductions in other expenditure constitutes an act of deception, since it hides crucial tradeoffs. More specifically, one aim of such financial engineering is to hide the “guns versus butter” tradeoff in the short run. Given limited resources, in the absence of supply-side economic growth, higher spending on military goods (which are a deadweight in times of peace) at least partially comes at the opportunity cost of lower spending on civilian goods – now or in the future. Put simply, the money you spend on a tank will not be available for building a hospital.

Moreover, the increased demand of the government for loanable funds, ceteris paribus, is bound to drive up real interest rates. As a foretaste of things to come, Germany’s borrowing costs rose quickly after the new huge spending package was announced in March 2025, with 10-year note yields jumping by over 20 basis points. Increased rates in turn make it more expensive for businesses to finance their investments. As the final result of increased government borrowing, private investment is crowed out.

Furthermore, as confirmed by cutting-edge academic research using input-output analyses, the positive economic impact of spending on arms purchases (a hidden form of industrial policy) tends be smaller than the effect exerted by non-military government spending. In addition, military expenditure is also positively correlated with income inequality.

The net multiplier effect of defense spending viewed in isolation, which hinges on technological spillovers from the defense industry to other sectors within the same economic region, tends to be lower as compared to many other investments with lower opportunity costs. In particular, the multiplier is likely to be comparatively small in the EU, since it procures approximately 80% of defense products from outside the block.

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Furthermore, debt-financed Keynesian policies also tend to deceive uneducated and myopic consumers in other ways. More specifically, the short-term demand-side growth of an economy that has not yet reached the production possibility frontier comes at the expense of future consolidation of state finances – a fact not known to economic laymen. In a form of yo-yo-effect, consumers may provoke a temporary spike in aggregate demand by pulling forward consumption, which, however, in a later “snap-back” movement, will need to be curtailed when the government adopts austerity measures. In the final analysis, the impact of a government’s fiscal expansion program on the demand side is positively correlated with the degree of irrationality of consumers, which it is ruthlessly exploiting. More specifically, Keynesianism partly hinges on kindling consumers’ “animal spirits”, increasing their optimism by injecting stimuli funds into the economy, even though such optimism is misplaced when life-time income is considered.

If on the other hand, citizens are very savvy and farsighted, they at least instinctively grasp the so-called Ricardian Equivalence, understanding that debt-financed stimuli programs will necessitate fiscal consolidation in the form of future tax raises. This expectation will prompt them to curtail consumption after an expansion program has been adopted, so that they will have sufficient funds to pay the higher taxes in the future. If this happens, the demand boost that policymakers wanted to achieve through Keynesian stimulus packages will not materialize.

A responsible, prudent and honest statesman would need to offset increased military spending by either reducing other government expenditure or raising government income (such as by increasing taxes) or a combination of both. By seemingly effortlessly and quickly paying for the military buildup through new debt, EU leaders simply shift the economic pain, which current voters would probably be unwilling to endure, to future generations. Clearly, this ruse hinging on what I call “guilt-by-succession” gravely violates intergenerational justice. As soon as somebody calls out the bluff, EU leaders will suffer another blow to their credibility.

Apart from the serious problems associated with debt-financing mentioned above, ceteris paribus, an increasingly larger share of EU members’ budgets will need to be used for interest payments if debt levels continue to increase across the block. This means that less money will be available to meet other important public needs. Those include, among other things, financial means for coping with foreseeable problems undermining long-term supply-side economic potential (such as an aging population and concomitantly shrinking labor pool) and emergency funds to deal with various unforeseen shocks to the system.

The US, whose federal debt amounted to a staggering 35.46 trillion US-dollars in 2024, offers a cautionary tale in this regard. This is because the so-called leader of the free world had to spend more on interest in that year than on other big-ticket items. For instance, interest payment exceeded spending on higher education by a staggering 756 billion US dollars (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

In addition, rising debt levels are dimming the long-term prospects for growth in national income, partly because they lead to an increase in risk premiums and real interest rates. The mere expectation of slower long-term growth can negatively affect the current business cycle. This happens, for example, if entrepreneurs, due to high government debt, lose confidence in the economy and reduce investments in the expectation of future austerity programs. If the debt is monetized through loans from the central bank which prints new money, inflation is likely to be stoked in a vulnerable economy. Similarly to what usually happens in the wake of wage inflation, inflationary expectations will rise concomitantly, unleashing an inflationary spiral that is particularly difficult to end.

Moreover, the continuous increase in government debt across the EU can lead to members suffering from debt overhang whereby, due to their indebtedness, they cannot attract new funds even if there are investment projects that promise high yields. Finally, they are likely to end up in a debt trap, that is, a vicious circle where debt service obligations are met with a succession of new loans. This pernicious pattern is likely to trigger increasingly serious financial crises (including sovereign debt crises) and finally a total collapse of the entire system. Then, European leaders may conclude that the only solution to this plight is a great reset after a major war, possibly between former allies on European soil!

5. European disintegration

The new mega-financial packages threaten European unity in various ways. To start with, the huge spending programs announced in March 2025 create another layer of supranational debt, which comes on top of high national debt mountains. In particular, a new dedicated program of funding is to be launched at the EU level to finance military projects.

The scheme will be used as a smokescreen to deepen European integration and relies on new loans hinging on Germany’s still formidable financial prowess and still favorable credit rating. This approach enables member states with overshooting budget deficits and national debt to take a free ride. This is because, for the time being, they can profit from lower interest rates due to the favorable credit rating of the erstwhile financial poster child Germany, which also assumes the lion share of the EU budget and EU debt without commensurate returns in any form. This is bound to create additional tensions between Germany and the European spendthrifts in particular. Once a truly patriotic leader, who puts national interests first, has emerged in Germany, the land of poets and thinkers is likely to leave the EU and the whole European project will probably collapse, since its most important financier will have disappeared.

Furthermore, there are other destructive forces at work creating fissures that make European disintegration more likely. For example, a second pernicious yo-yo effect is bound to manifest itself at the macroeconomic level. As happened before, the spending surge in 2025 will have to wind back in the form of tough austerity measures in the future - with at least the same force as the initial measures, or, to resort to the yo-yo metaphor, using the full rotational energy unleashed.

After all, previous austerity programs, instead of being mere flashes of inspiration of ill-intentioned and moody economists, were desperately needed as antidotes to reckless overspending in the past and to recuperate subsequent layouts for bailouts. In this context, it is noteworthy that Germany is at least in a better position than many other heavily indebted countries to increase spending precisely because it endured austerity programs before, including the introduction of the above-mentioned constitutionally enshrined debt brake, a sound vehicle promoting fiscal rectitude, in 2009 as a response to the 2008 financial crisis.

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EU members states with particularly high debt-to-GDP ratios, such as Greece (158.2% at the end of Q3 2024), Italy (136.3%) and France (113.8%), whose dire straits are the result of a lack of financial rectitude in the past, are likely to be hit particularly hard by future austerity measures. As a consequence, populist politicians there will probably put the blame for unpopular budget consolidation efforts on the EU as a whole and ‘overly strict Germans’ (especially if Berlin again bails out the splurgers and demands tough fiscal measures). As a consequence of the painful policy zigzag between fiscal expansion and hang-over contraction, intra-European tensions will rise further and the very fundament of the EU again be damaged, increasing the chances of its final collapse.

Moreover, the Euro, the block’s common currency, is undermined by reckless, instability-inducing financial engineering. If countries with high budget deficits and national debt had their own national currency, they could devalue it to increase international competitiveness and thus increase demand-side growth through a rise in net exports. However, given that the spendthrifts inside the Eurozone are locked into a common currency, this option is not available to them. Instead, they must count on fiscal transfers from countries with better finances, whose citizens will not be amused by the solemn call to take on the burden of others in the name of “European solidarity”. Furthermore, the high budget deficits and national debt of individual member states can cause market panic, for example, since investors might be spooked by the specter of a sovereign debt crisis. Due to contagion in an intertwined financial system (including banks in sound economies holding debt of countries in trouble), problems may spill over to the rest of the Eurozone and trust in the system could be undermined. If, as a result of all these problems, the Euro is abandoned as a common currency, one prestigious European project will have failed and one important glue of European integration will have disappeared.

Incidentally, the reckless behavior of fiscally irresponsible member states such as Greece is also a classic case of postcontractual opportunism and time inconsistency in the form of reneging on ironclad promises, since they busted previously agreed-upon financial rules. More specifically, the Maastricht Criteria were introduced in 1992 as a basic requirement for the launch of the Euro in 1999. Among other things, those obliged countries that intended to join the Euro to adhere to strict convergence targets in terms of maximum permissible levels of budget deficits (3% of GDP) and national debt (60% of GDP) – precisely to avoid problems such as those outlined above. Furthermore, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) was concluded in 1997, which specifies binding financial restrictions for all EU member states, including the same ceilings related to budget deficits and national debt as the Maastricht criteria.

However, several members with little concern for sound public finances missed the clearly specified financial conditions to which they had earlier agreed. For example, as mentioned above, the national debt of Greece amounted to a staggering 158.2% of GDP at the end of Q3 2024, far exceeding the 60% ceiling to which the country had committed.

The disrespect shown for the various institutional constraints, functioning as much-needed checks and balances in a fragile system, witnessed in the past and in the case of the gargantuan spending packages announced in March 2025 is highly problematic. This is because such behavior constitutes a negative precedent opening the floodgates to future economic trouble created by unhinged actors and further undermines the trust in the EU, thus precipitating its eventual disintegration. In this context, the fact that Germany, the former guardian of sound public finances in the EU, strayed from fiscal rectitude by softening constitutionally enshrined debt limits bodes particularly ill.

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Another factor contributing to European disintegration is the expected misappropriation of EU funds in the wake of the permission given in March 2025 to channel EU cohesion funds into defense projects. These cohesion funds, which are distributed to EU members with a gross national income (GNI) per capita that is lower than a threshold of 90% of the EU average (with an expected 37% of funds to be used to meet climate targets!), were destined to even out interregional differences inside the EU.

For Germany, which is the main contributor of cohesion funds, too, the scheme in essence meant that the country had to give its own money to foreign customers as a gift so that they could subsequently purchase products made by German companies and their competitors. Clearly, this giveaway had been approved by German politicians who did not pursue German interests.

Since less cohesion funds will flow to weak EU members, there will be less leveling out of existing disparities. The imbalances remaining as a result constitute another factor destabilizing the common European house. If more fiscal transfers will occur in the future to increase cohesion, the paymasters are likely to become disgruntled about another act of so-called solidarity, which will result in more disharmony inside the EU.

Finally, another dangerous centrifugal force will be the widening cleavage between Atlanticist EU members, who still believe in a strong defense alliance with the U.S., and Gaullists, keen on promoting European independence. This is partly due to the increasing disgruntlement of US loyalists about the gargantuan funds earmarked to build a standalone European defense capacity.

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In conclusion, it has been said that if you want to make God laugh, you should tell him about your plans.

Rather ironically, the clique of EU leaders with the blueprint of building a stronger European house in the form of a veritable fortress, through their reckless spending spree that hides critical tradeoffs, are likely to undermine the existing building’s very foundations and thus eventually cause its collapse.

In this context, it is truly amazing how inventive human beings tend to become when trying to justify more debt. In this regard, they are prone to display the same seemingly boundless creativity and criminal energy as used for scheming, carrying out and covering up heinous crimes, especially through highly ingenious lies that distort facts in a devilish fashion - after all, etymologically the diabolos is the one who ‘throws through’ things and via distortion cunningly sows confusion.

Without a grand supranational idea and noble mission based on truth and honesty, which act as an invisible glue, the European project will eventually falter, especially, given that the interests of European nations in the political, economic, social, military, cultural and other spheres diverge widely. Undoubtedly, this destructive process is accelerated by reckless financial engineering at the supranational and national level.

To avoid committing collective political and economic hara-kiri, EU leaders need to immediately stop prioritizing politics over sound economics and refrain from exploiting the irrationality and myopia of their citizens. Instead, they should act as real statesmen, building their own nations rather than Europe at the expense of their homelands, and enrich their people through smart and enlightened human-centered policies, which also include education as an antidote to economic naivety. To sum up, when the band begins to play (a sad song), it is high time to change course (and advisable to play a different tune)!

This article forms part of a series on the new European spending packages. Previous column: Prof. Schlevogt’s Compass No. 14: ‘Whatever it takes’ revisited – Euromaniacs exploit threat bias again, 19 March 2025.

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Poland wishes to remain only a regional NATO “logistics hub,” the country’s top officials have said

Poland has no plans to send its military to Ukraine in any role, the country’s top officials have said, responding to remarks by Keith Kellogg. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy had said Warsaw’s troops could be a part of a “resilience force” to be deployed to the country.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday that was not the case, stating that his country would only serve as a “logistics hub” and the government “does not plan and will not send Polish soldiers to Ukraine.”

“This is the clear position of the government, the president, and all political forces in Poland. Poland sees its very important role – and we are talking about this within the coalition led by Great Britain, France, most European countries, NATO countries – in stabilizing the situation in Ukraine after the long-awaited ceasefire or peace as a country supporting the logistics hub, infrastructure security, and protection of NATO’s eastern flank,” he said.

The message was further reinforced by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Wednesday, when the top diplomat told web portal Onet that “Kellogg could have overinterpreted the fact that Poland would be part of this operation if it took place.”

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“Stop manipulating, the head of government, the minister of defense, and I repeat: Poland will NOT send Polish soldiers to Ukraine,” Sikorski wrote on X shortly after the conversation with the outlet.

Trump’s special envoy told Fox Business on Tuesday that Washington was in talks with its European NATO allies about sending military contingents to Ukraine as part of a possible post-conflict settlement. Kellogg spoke about the potential “resilience force” being deployed west of the Dnieper River, which would place them “outside the contact zone.”

“This is a force referred to as the E3, but it’s actually now the E4 – when you include the Brits, the French, and the Germans, and in fact, the Poles as well,” he claimed.

A group of European NATO member states has for months been trying to muster a “coalition of the willing” for what they describe as a post-conflict peacekeeping force. Thus far however, Kiev’s backers have failed to agree on its exact goals, mission, or shape.

Russia has unequivocally rejected the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine in any form, arguing it would pose a direct threat and could ultimately trigger a nuclear conflict.

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The bloc’s members are reportedly rushing to agree to spend 5% of their GDP on defense ahead of a summit next month

NATO member states are struggling to overcome divisions and define the details of an increase in spending targets demanded by the US ahead of the bloc’s annual summit in The Hague, Bloomberg has reported.

US President Donald Trump has demanded that European NATO states spend 5% of their GDP on defense, warning that Washington may reconsider its commitments to the bloc if they fail. According to NATO’s latest report, ten of the bloc’s 32 members do note even spend 2% of GDP on defense, a baseline bloc target.

The US has argued that European NATO members must take primary responsibility for their own defense. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently described the current dynamic as the US alongside “a bunch of junior partners that aren’t doing their fair share.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is reportedly pushing for a compromise spending target of 3.5% of GDP within seven years, plus an additional 1.5% for wider defense-related spending, Bloomberg has cited senior diplomats as saying.

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Foreign ministers are meeting in Türkiye on Wednesday and Thursday to define what qualifies under the 1.5% category, including military mobility, dual-use goods, and cybersecurity.

NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to debate the 3.5% target and review “highly classified lists of weapons and other capabilities” that are part of the bloc’s “ambitious” militarization drive, according to Bloomberg.

The talks come as Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss possible steps toward ending the conflict.

Earlier media reports speculated Trump might skip the summit if the 5% spending demand is not met. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker insisted on Tuesday that Trump will attend.

READ MORE: Russian delegation will be waiting for Ukrainians in Istanbul – Kremlin

The increased militarization of the bloc follows claims, long denied by Moscow, that Russia could attack a NATO member in coming years. Russia has accused the bloc of “irresponsibly stoking fears” of a fabricated threat.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the bloc “has degraded into an openly militarized entity.”

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It could help stabilize the Middle East and ultimately serve in the interests of the Jewish state

Media reports are increasingly suggesting that President Donald Trump may announce US recognition of a Palestinian state during his upcoming visit to the Middle East.

The White House is preparing to unveil a plan that would support the establishment of a Palestinian state – explicitly excluding Hamas, The Media Line reports, citing a Gulf diplomatic source. Such a move, the source claims, could dramatically shift the regional balance of power and pave the way for new normalization agreements between Israel and the Arab states.

The visit, scheduled from May 13 to 16, will include official stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – countries with significant influence on both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the region’s economic and energy dynamics. Notably, Saudi Arabia was also Trump’s first foreign destination during his initial term in office, underscoring its continued strategic importance.

A key component of the trip will be the US–Gulf Cooperation Council summit, set for May 14 in Riyadh, where Trump is expected to outline a renewed American vision for the region. In addition to security and diplomacy, the summit will cover trade, investment, and potential economic agreements, including possible tariff exemptions for American goods in the region as part of broader investment deals.

Analysts believe that if Trump does recognize a Palestinian state, it will not only mark a diplomatic milestone but also serve as a catalyst for expanding the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalization deals between Israel and several Arab nations which were introduced 2020. Trump officials, including Jason Greenblatt and Richard Goldberg, have set goals to broaden these accords by 2026, viewing Palestinian statehood – under revised terms – as key to Saudi participation.

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Riyadh has repeatedly stated that normalization with Israel is contingent upon a credible roadmap toward Palestinian statehood and an end to hostilities in Gaza. A US announcement recognizing Palestine could thus serve as a turning point, easing Saudi entry into the Abraham Accords and shifting the regional paradigm.

Qatar’s position will also be pivotal, given its mediating role between Israel and Hamas; excluding the militant group from a future state will place Doha at the center of a new diplomatic equation.

Beyond the political stakes, the visit will also emphasize economic cooperation. The Trump administration is aiming to finalize trade and investment deals while promoting global oil price stability, which it views as vital to economic recovery in the US.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former advisor, is expected to play a key role in negotiations with Saudi Arabia, given his close personal ties to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his prior role in the original Abraham Accords. If this initiative proceeds, it could redefine both American strategy in the region and the future of the Israeli-Arab normalization process.

Why does Israel hold exceptional importance for the US?

The relationship between the US and the State of Israel is not simply a strategic alliance between two nations – it is a unique phenomenon in international relations, built on a combination of geopolitical interests, shared values, historical ties, and deep cultural and religious connections. US support for Israel has long been systemic, bipartisan, and remarkably stable, making it one of the few enduring constants in American foreign policy, largely unaffected by changes in administration or global disruptions.

From a strategic standpoint, Israel plays a central role in American policy in the Middle East, a region that has been at the heart of global politics throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the US has viewed it as a natural ally in a region often dominated by hostile or, during the Cold War, pro-Soviet regimes. Israel quickly proved itself to be a militarily capable and politically stable state, with a strong pro-Western orientation. Unlike many of America’s other regional partners, Israel has avoided revolutions, regime change, or anti-American shifts, making it not only useful but reliably aligned with US interests.

Yet strategic logic alone cannot fully explain the depth of US-Israeli ties. A strong ideological and cultural affinity reinforces the relationship. In the American public and political imagination, Israel is often portrayed as “a democracy among dictatorships” – a nation that shares core Western values such as a liberal economy, pluralism, and freedom of speech and religion. This image, consistently reinforced by Israeli diplomacy and American media, positions support for Israel as support for democratic civilization in a region seen as volatile and authoritarian.

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A major pillar of this support is the religious and ideological backing provided by American evangelical Christians, who make up a large segment of the Republican base. For many evangelicals, Israel is not just a political partner – it is the Holy Land, central to biblical prophecy and eschatological beliefs. According to their theology, the return of Jews to the Promised Land and the restoration of the Jewish state are signs of the approaching end times and the Second Coming of Christ. While rooted in theology, this belief has real political consequences: evangelical groups consistently pressure US leaders to offer unwavering support for Israel. Donald Trump, for example, heavily relied on evangelical backing, which played a key role in his 2018 decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Another influential factor is the American Jewish community, one of the most politically engaged and organized demographic groups in the country. US Jews have historically played a vital role in public discourse, media, academia, and – crucially – campaign financing. Organizations such as AIPAC have successfully built a durable lobbying infrastructure that secures congressional and executive support for Israel. In this context, support for Israel has become a political norm in the US, and any deviation – such as criticism of settlement policy or calls for Palestinian statehood – is often viewed as politically risky.

Historical memory also plays a powerful role. In the wake of the Holocaust, the idea that the Jewish people must have a secure national homeland gained strong moral legitimacy. For many Americans – especially those shaped by World War II and Cold War narratives – supporting Israel is seen as an act of historical justice and ethical responsibility. These sentiments are deeply embedded in American education and cultural production, making the pro-Israel stance virtually unassailable in mainstream discourse.

Together, these factors create a situation where US support for Israel transcends conventional geopolitics. It is not just a transactional partnership, but a deeply rooted political-cultural alignment shaped by overlapping strategic interests, religious convictions, historical legacies, and domestic political structures. Even when Israeli policies draw international criticism – such as actions in Gaza, settlement expansion, or restrictions on Palestinians – US support tends to remain steadfast, often in defiance of global public opinion.

This exceptional relationship is not a temporary arrangement or convenient alliance – it is part of the structural identity of US foreign policy. The idea of rethinking these ties is rarely taken seriously in American politics, as it would challenge moral sensibilities, religious beliefs, national security logic, and entrenched electoral alliances. For this reason, Israel continues to occupy a privileged position in US foreign affairs, receiving unwavering bipartisan support regardless of changes in international context or leadership in Washington.

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The evolution of US policy on Palestine

For over seventy years, Washington’s position on the Palestinian question has reflected not only the shifting dynamics of the Israeli-Arab conflict but also the broader evolution of American global priorities, ideological frameworks, and regional alliances. From its early and unwavering support for the creation of Israel to periods of active diplomacy and, more recently, attempts at strategic rebalancing, Washington’s approach has been shaped by domestic political considerations, pressures from allies, and the competition for influence in the Middle East.

In 1947, the US endorsed the UN Partition Plan that called for the division of British-mandated Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. President Harry Truman was among the first world leaders to recognize the State of Israel in May 1948, cementing America’s role as Israel’s primary international sponsor. However, the fate of the Palestinian Arab population – their rights, status, and national aspirations – was largely sidelined. For the next two decades, Washington viewed the conflict primarily through the lens of Cold War geopolitics, prioritizing Israel’s role as a pro-Western stronghold over the unresolved plight of the Palestinians.

It was only after the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, that the US began to acknowledge that a lasting peace would require a solution to the Palestinian statehood issue. The Nixon and Carter administrations gradually shifted toward diplomacy, and UN Security Council Resolution 242 laid the foundation for the principle of ‘land for peace.’ President Carter’s role in brokering the 1978 Camp David Accords was a landmark, though the Palestinian issue remained largely peripheral to the Israel-Egypt peace treaty.

For years, the US refused to engage with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), branding it a terrorist entity. But by the late 1980s, following the outbreak of the First Intifada and Yasser Arafat’s renunciation of violence and recognition of Israel’s right to exist, the US opened diplomatic channels with the PLO – marking a significant turning point. In the 1990s, Washington became the chief mediator of the peace process, organizing the 1991 Madrid Conference and, under President Clinton, facilitating the 1993 Oslo Accords. These agreements saw mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO and established the Palestinian Authority, formalizing America’s endorsement of a two-state solution as the only viable framework for peace.

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However, efforts to finalize the process faltered. The 2000 Camp David Summit, which aimed to resolve final status issues – including borders, refugees, and Jerusalem – ended without an agreement. The subsequent eruption of the Second Intifada dampened US enthusiasm for direct mediation. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, American priorities in the region shifted dramatically toward counterterrorism. Under President George W. Bush, Hamas was designated a terrorist organization, and its electoral victory in Gaza in 2006 further fragmented Palestinian leadership. Although Bush proposed a ‘Road Map to Peace,’ tangible progress remained elusive.

President Barack Obama voiced support for Palestinian statehood and criticized Israeli settlement expansion, but his administration made little headway in advancing negotiations. Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts in the 2010s collapsed amid deep mistrust and political resistance, both in the region and in Washington, where pro-Israel lobbying groups strongly opposed any perceived tilt toward Palestinian demands.

Under President Trump, US policy took a decisive turn in Israel’s favor. His administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, relocated the US embassy there, ended funding for UNRWA, and shuttered the PLO’s diplomatic mission in Washington. Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ proposed a fragmented Palestinian entity with limited sovereignty and full Israeli security control. The Palestinian leadership rejected it outright. Nevertheless, the Trump era saw the signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing Israel’s relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Palestine, notably, was excluded – its statehood effectively reduced to a bargaining chip in broader regional realignments.

The Biden administration mildly recalibrated course by restoring aid to Palestinians, reestablishing ties with the PLO, and formally reaffirming Washington’s commitment to a two-state solution. However, preoccupied with domestic priorities and strategic competition with China, the administration largely refrained from deep involvement in the peace process. The US continued to promote the expansion of the Abraham Accords, without placing significant pressure on Israel to address core Palestinian concerns.

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Now, reports suggest that Trump may once again shift the paradigm by recognizing a Palestinian state – this time explicitly without Hamas in its future structure. If such a move materializes, it would mark a dramatic turn in US policy and reflect a calculated effort to unlock Saudi-Israeli normalization, for which a credible solution to the Palestinian question remains a precondition.

In the long term, the recognition of Palestinian statehood – if anchored in genuine sovereignty and political viability – could prove to be a stabilizing force for the region and ultimately serve Israel’s interests by integrating it further into the Arab world. Yet such a move would clash with the hardline stance of Israel’s current right-wing government, risking a rift between Washington and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Moreover, any serious shift toward a two-state solution would require a transformation of Israeli domestic politics, potentially leading to internal polarization and upheaval.

In this light, a possible US recognition of Palestine is far more than symbolic. It is a profoundly political act, with the power to reshape regional dynamics, recalibrate US alliances, and reignite long-stalled hopes for a just and lasting peace – but not without significant costs and risks on both sides.

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The US president has reportedly backed off the renaming of the Persian Gulf in light of ongoing nuclear talks in Oman

US President Donald Trump has backed off a reported plan to rename the Persian Gulf, CNN wrote on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The move was described as a concession to Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks between the two countries.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Trump was planning to refer to the waterway off Iran’s southern coast as the “Arabian Gulf’ during his May 13-16 Middle East trip. However, Trump later told reporters he would “have to make a decision,” adding that he did not want to “hurt anybody’s feelings.”

The US president reversed the idea in recent days, the source said, as Tehran has signaled strong opposition to the renaming amid ongoing talks.

Washington and Tehran have held several rounds of negotiations in Oman over Iran’s nuclear program. The talks, described by both sides as constructive, have been overshadowed by rising tensions in Yemen, where the US and UK have intensified strikes against allegedly Iran-backed Houthi militants. Trump’s announcement of a bombing pause in early May was aimed at building momentum for the ongoing talks, sources told CNN at the time.

Speaking at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Trump said he wanted to “make a deal” with Iran.

Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 UN-backed nuclear deal during his first term, accusing Iran of violating the agreement – a charge Tehran denies. The Islamic Republic began scaling back its commitments after the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

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The UK, Germany, and France have urged Iran to abandon its nuclear program in the coming months or face new sanctions, UK Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters said in February.

Iran has also been accused of increasing production of near-weapons-grade uranium, which it denies.

The naming of the gulf has long been a point of contention between Iran and the Arab states. Tehran insists on calling it the Persian Gulf, citing historical evidence and ancient maps linking the area to its territory. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and others, however, refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or simply ‘the Gulf.’

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called the renaming proposals “indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people.”

Trump has previously used symbolic renaming in foreign policy. In January, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

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The European Commission acted improperly by refusing to release communications with Pfizer to the media, the ruling states

The European Commission wrongly denied the media access to secret text messages between its president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the CEO of pharma giant Pfizer, exchanged during negotiations of a multi-billion dollar Covid-19 vaccine deal, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Wednesday.

The so-called “Pfizergate” case centers on a 2021 interview von der Leyen gave to the New York Times (NYT) in which she claimed she had been negotiating a deal for 900 million COVID vaccine shots with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla via sms messages.

The NYT subsequently filed an access request for the messages, to which the EC claimed the texts, which have never been released, were not in its possession.

The court ruled that the EC “cannot merely state that it does not hold the requested documents but must provide credible explanations enabling the public and the Court to understand why those documents cannot be found.”

It also criticized the Commission for failing to justify why the texts were not retained and to clarify how they were deleted.

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In response, the EC said it recognized the need for greater transparency and promised to issue a new decision with more detailed reasoning. It did not, however, commit to releasing the messages in question. The ruling can be appealed to the European Court of Justice.

A similar CJEU judgment last July found that the EC lacked transparency in how it negotiated vaccine contracts with Pfizer and AstraZeneca. The deals, signed in 2020 and 2021 and worth approximately €2.7 billion ($3 billion), were shielded from disclosure to European Parliament members on the grounds of protecting commercial interests.

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Dhaka has said the disqualification of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League is necessary to protect national security and sovereignty

Bangladesh’s interim government has decided to ban former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party and bar it from running in the next general election, saying it is necessary to protect national security and sovereignty, according to local media.

The ban was imposed under a revised anti-terrorism law, which was introduced overnight on Monday.

Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, defended the ban and told state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) that elections in the country were an internal matter and that other countries should respect the sovereign will of the Bangladeshi people.

Alam’s remarks on Tuesday were aimed at neighboring India, which has backed the Awami League for years.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had described the ban as a “concerning development” that was imposed without due process.

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The Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Hasina, was ousted from power on August 5 last year in a student-led uprising. Hasina fled to India, and Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of an interim government. Ties between the two South Asian neighbors have been tense since that time.

New Delhi has repeatedly called for the early holding of free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh.

No date has been finalized for the next general election in Bangladesh, which could take place anytime between December 2025 and June 2026.

On the sidelines of the sixth BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit in Bangkok in April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Yunus and conveyed New Delhi’s desire “to forge a positive and constructive relationship with Bangladesh based on pragmatism.” He highlighted, however, that “rhetoric that vitiates the environment is best avoided.”

At the meeting with Modi, Yunus broached the issue of extraditing the former prime minister.

The interim government has been seeking the extradition of Hasina and members of her government to face trial on charges including murder, torture, abduction, crimes against humanity, and genocide. New Delhi has not publicly commented on the request.

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The South American leader said he had already relayed a message from Kiev to his Russian counterpart during the Victory Day celebrations

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he will urge his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to personally attend peace talks with Ukraine, which are expected to take place in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Thursday.

The talks were originally proposed last week by Putin, who offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions to reach a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has expressed readiness to engage in direct dialogue, but has insisted that this must be preceded by an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected. Zelensky has also said he would only come to the meeting in Istanbul if Putin attends in person.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Lula said that “when I get to Moscow, I’m going to try to talk with Putin. It doesn’t cost me anything to say: ‘Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul to negotiate, damn it’.”

The Brazilian president was expected to stop over in the Russian capital on his way back from China, and according to Russian media, has already touched down in Moscow.

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Addressing the press in Beijing several hours prior to his flight, Lula revealed that his foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, had earlier received a phone call from a senior Ukrainian official, asking whether the Brazilian president could “talk with Putin about Türkiye.”

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has refused to confirm to journalists whether or not the Russian and Brazilian presidents would be meeting. “If contacts are agreed upon in any form, we will inform you immediately,” the official stated.

According to Lula, he has already honored a request by Kiev to bring up the issue of a 30-day truce with Putin during the Victory Day celebrations that he attended in Moscow on May 9. The Brazilian leader recounted that the Russian president replied that he was “willing to discuss [peace].”

Last week, CNN Brasil quoted Lula as saying that during a meeting with Putin ahead of the Victory Day celebrations he had offered to act as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga confirmed that he had spoken with his Brazilian colleague, Vieira, calling on the Latin American country to “use its authoritative voice in its dialogue with Russia” to help ensure that a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Istanbul does take place.

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At least ten South African lawmakers were part of a group that recently traveled to West Jerusalem on a “fact-finding” mission

The ANC has demanded an urgent parliamentary probe into what it calls a “shameful” visit to Israel by MPs from the DA, PA, and ACDP — slamming the trip as a disgraceful and a constitutionally reckless act that defies South Africa’s official stance on the conflict.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, ANC MP Fasiha Hassan delivered a scathing rebuke of the delegation, describing the trip as “irresponsible” and “a betrayal of South Africa’s constitutional values and its historic solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

In a moment of fierce condemnation, Hassan declared, “shame on you,” to the MPs involved.

The visit occurred amid the ongoing war on Gaza, which has resulted in over 60,000 Palestinian deaths and the displacement of millions.

”What ‘facts’ were these MPs looking for?” Hassan questioned, “when the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is well-documented and undeniable.”

Hassan likened the delegation’s actions to the apartheid-era propaganda tactics, recalling how the National Party once orchestrated similar international visits to sanitise racial oppression and white minority rule.

”This trip echoes the shameful tactics of the apartheid past,” she said.

READ MORE: South Africa presents case against Israel at World Court

The incident has provoked additional outrage given its timing: South Africa is currently leading a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ruled that a plausible case of genocide exists.

Hassan alleged that the visiting MPs were attempting to justify crimes against humanity. She stated this was not a mission for truth — it was an endorsement of brutality under the guise of diplomacy.

At least ten MPs were part of the visit, facilitated by the South African Friends of Israel. The itinerary included a high-profile meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

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The DA sent several senior figures, including its spokesperson on international relations, Emma Powell; justice spokesperson, Glynnis Breytenbach; and chairperson of the Social Development Committee, Bridget Masango.

The PA was represented by Ashley Sauls and Milicent Mathopa, while the ACDP’s delegation included Chief Whip Steve Swart and former MP Marie Sukers.

The ANC and other critics have emphasised that the trip was not authorised by Parliament or the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).

Meanwhile, DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp had told IOL previously that “the trip was arranged and attended by individuals in their private capacity and not through the party”.

The PA defended their MPs, stating that their policies and political positions were known when they entered the GNU.

The party added that the trip was not a secret.

First published by IOL

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The US will be “less and less” interested in the EU and UK in the coming years, the French president has warned

Western Europe must work to obtain strategic independence from the US because Washington will be disengaging from the continent as part of its ‘America first’ policy, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. He commented on the future of European-American relations in an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Tuesday.

Since the start of his second term, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted the EU and UK for being “terrible freeloaders,” accusing them of not contributing enough into NATO and “ripping off” America through unfair trade practices.

Last month, he said he would not even rule out withdrawing some or all of the 84,000 American troops currently stationed in Europe since Washington is not getting “reimbursed by much” for footing the bill for the continent’s security.

Macron told reporters that “we know that American interests will be less and less [focused] in Europe” in the coming years.

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According to the French president, he and other Western European leaders “have known this for about 15 years.”

The signs of the US disengagement have been visible “since the US decided not to go into Syria with us, since they unilaterally withdrew from Afghanistan, and since what we have been experiencing in recent months,” he explained.

“It is ‘America first,’ and it is legitimate,” Macron said of the policies pursued by the Trump administration.

In such circumstances, it would be “irresponsible” if the region fails to gain strategic independence from the US within the next five to ten years, he stressed.

Trump’s latest attack on the EU came on Monday when he said that the bloc was “in many ways nastier than China.” The US President insisted that “they sell us 13 million cars; we sell them none. They sell us their agricultural products; we sell them virtually none,” adding that Brussels has also been “suing all our companies… Apple, Google, Meta.”

READ MORE: Ukrainians know they won’t get territory back – Macron

In early April, Washington imposed a sweeping 20% tariff on all EU goods and a 25% tariff on all car imports and metals. While Trump later announced a 90-day reprieve on most trade duties, a baseline 10% tariff and the aforementioned 25% tariff remain in force until an agreement on the issue is reached between the sides.

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The US president has claimed that the super-luxury Boeing 747-8is a “gift from a Nation” to the federal government

US President Donald Trump has defended a gift of a $400mn million luxury jet to the US from Qatar, describing it as a “valuable asset” for the country.

The luxury liner will be handed to the Department of Defense and replace Air Force One, while the US government awaits on a replacement for the presidential jet from Boeing, delivery of which has been set back years by the troubled plane maker.

Trump is set to receive the super-luxury Boeing 747-8, known as the “flying palace,” from the Qatari royal family in what could become the most expensive gift ever given to the US by a foreign government.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump insisted that the jet “is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense.” It is a “gift from a Nation” to the US government “NOT TO ME!,” he wrote, claiming “only a FOOL” would turn it down.

Since the US had “successfully defended” Qatar for years, it should accept a free plane while “our new Boeings which are very late” remain grounded. Why should taxpayers foot the bill when a grateful ally was happy to reward America “for a job well done,” Trump argued? The savings, “naturally, would go to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he concluded.

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His remarks followed a day of red-carpet treatment by Saudi Arabia, the first stop on his first major overseas tour as president.

Trumps decision to accept the jet drew criticism from allies and opponents. The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Raskin, labeled the deal “a grift.” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said that the plane “poses significant espionage and surveillance problems.”

Critics also point to the awkward optics, legal murkiness, and the steep cost of outfitting the aircraft with the secure communications and classified systems needed to make it a functioning airborne White House.

The US Air Force’s contract with Boeing for two new Air Force One jets has been plagued by delays and soaring costs. Originally slated for delivery in 2024, the customized 747-8 aircraft are now expected to arrive as late as 2027 — or even 2028.

Shortly after his tour of the 747-8 plane Trump said he was “not happy with Boeing,” noting the contract was awarded “a long time ago” and hinting he might have to “buy a plane or get a plane, or something” to bridge the gap.

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New Delhi agreeing on ceasefire with its troubled neighbor poses many going ahead – due to Islamabad’s risk-taking, military control, and proxy tactics

Following four days of intense hostilities, India and Pakistan reached an agreement for a ceasefire. However, in light of Pakistan’s historical pattern of violating ceasefire agreements, there remains little belief in India that this cessation of hostilities will endure.

The concern is not whether a breach will occur, but rather when. The frequency of ceasefire violations by Pakistan has prompted a prominent International Relations scholar and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, to dedicate an entire book to the issue. The work, titled “Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics”, delves into the complexities of this ongoing conflict.

For New Delhi, a precarious peace has been established. Accordingly, there is little ambiguity regarding the statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Ministry of Defence on the ceasefire. Both ministries emphasised that the armed forces would remain fully prepared and vigilant, committed to safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Monday announced that Operation Sindoor has “redefined the fight against terror … setting a new standard and a new normal in counter-terrorism measures.” The prime minister singled out a hardening of India’s stance against cross-border terrorism, and its resolve in the face of perceived threats.

Military standoff

The sequence of events began on April 22, when a deadly terrorist attack orchestrated by the Pakistan-backed militant group, the Resistance Front (TRF), resulted in the deaths of 26 Indians, predominantly tourists.

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TRF, an armed separatist organisation operating in Kashmir, is a faction of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Established in 2019 in the aftermath of the Indian government’s revocation of Article 370, TRF initially claimed responsibility for a series of smaller attacks, including several targeted killings, beginning in 2020. However, the attack in Pahalgam represents the most significant operation carried out by TRF to date.

In response to the attack, India initiated a significant counterterrorism operation, codenamed Operation Sindoor, on May 7. Under the operation, India targeted nine terrorist camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Following the strikes, India faced a series of drone assaults along the northern and western sectors of the border, particularly in regions such as Jammu, Pathankot, Udhampur, and extending as far as Jaisalmer.

Fortunately, these drone attacks were successfully intercepted by Indian forces with minimum damage. In phase two of the operation, on May 8, India conducted an airstrike that targeted and destroyed the air defence system in Lahore.

The ceasefire

Immediately following the signing of the ceasefire agreement, US President Donald Trump claimed credit for successfully mediating between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Paradoxically, on the same day, a financial institution with significant US influence, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), approved a $1 billion loan to Pakistan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). In addition, the IMF sanctioned another $1.4 billion to Pakistan under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

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As anticipated, India abstained from voting at the IMF Executive Board meeting, signalling its opposition within the constraints of IMF protocol, as there is no provision for a formal rejection. By abstaining, India expressed significant dissent and seized the opportunity to formally register its objection. The loan from the IMF has provoked an intense backlash against the IMF, with critics using expressions such as “terrible optics,” “blood on its hands,” and “IMF bankrolling bloodshed.”

Meanwhile, India’s decision to enter into a ceasefire has largely disappointed those who believed that the time had come to assertively address Pakistan’s actions and seek retribution for the victims of the May 7 attack, along with others. In fact, many of these analysts contend that the ceasefire is a temporary pause and that India is likely preparing for a more substantial action to deliver a decisive message to Pakistan. In his speech before the nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Pakistan a veiled warning that the army stands ready, in case of any future act of terror.

Nonetheless, the reasoning behind the timing of the ceasefire agreement remains perplexing.

Challenges ahead

Ceasefire agreements are inherently challenging, even in the most favourable circumstances, as they are contingent upon the adversary’s cost-benefit calculations.

Despite power asymmetries, a resolute opponent may still choose to employ force. Whether through proxy warfare or conventional military engagement, with or without the threat of nuclear weapons, Pakistan’s revisionist objectives, ideological mindset, high tolerance for risk, and the preeminent role of its military make it particularly difficult to deter. Pakistan does not operate as a typical state; it does not perceive the consequences of using force in the same manner as other nations.

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Secondly, ceasefire agreements are inherently difficult to enforce, as they depend on the absence – rather than the presence – of hostile actions. As a result, occasional breaches are inevitable. While the desire to penalise Pakistan is understandable, New Delhi must also acknowledge that such violations have become less frequent than in the past. Pakistan-backed terrorism is now primarily confined to Kashmir, where major attacks occur sporadically.

Thirdly, proxy wars complicate the enforcement of a ceasefire, as plausible deniability obscures accountability and undermines the effectiveness of targeted responses. Given the Pakistani Army’s historical involvement in similar offences, it is not unreasonable to regard it as a suspect, as this behaviour reflects a pattern that cannot be overlooked.

Finally, ceasefire agreements entail significant costs, and any military action must be carefully assessed in light of the potential harm and the associated risks of escalation. India has every right to impose costs on Pakistan and should demonstrate a higher tolerance for risk in order to counter Pakistan’s resolve. Penalising the Pakistani Army is preferable to allowing it to sponsor terrorism with impunity. However, in strategic calculations, the adversary’s response must always be considered – Pakistan is not a state to be underestimated, and each crisis-response cycle increases the potential for future escalation.

Key takeways

Despite the rather unwelcome ceasefire, India achieved certain objectives in the 72 hours. It successfully destroyed several key terrorist launchpads in Pakistan. Additionally, a significant shift in India’s Pakistan policy occurred during this period. Going forward, any act of terrorism originating from Pakistan will be regarded as an act of war, prompting a conventional response that extends deep across the border.

In other words, in future instances of terrorism, India will no longer merely target the terrorists but will instead launch direct attacks on Pakistani territory. Consequently, the ceasefire has failed to extinguish the underlying tensions and, at best, serves only to sustain the precarious volatility of the nuclear threat.

Another crucial lesson for Indian leadership is recognising the level of international support it can garner in the event of direct conflict. Except for Israel, no other country offered unequivocal support to India. While the ambiguous positions of the United States and the United Kingdom were anticipated, Russia’s neutral position represents a significant setback. Although Russia pledged full support to India in its fight against all forms of terrorism, the absence of direct condemnation against Pakistan may also carry an important message for India. In recent United Nations votes concerning Russia, India either abstained or favoured Ukraine. If India wants to shore up diplomatic support in its favour, it may need to behave more assertive diplomatically and stand up for what it believes is right.

Moreover, most nations, including those in the Middle East, have adopted a firmly neutral stance. Turkey, notably, was the only country that openly expressed support for Pakistan.

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India has also come to understand that, despite recent diplomatic efforts, China will not deviate from its long-established policy of supporting Pakistan and limiting India’s influence in the region, confining India in the “South Asia box”. As China’s influence grows, New Delhi will need to leverage American power and strategic alignment more effectively to counterbalance this challenge.

In conclusion, although India asserted that the launch of Operation Sindoor was a strategic initiative aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure based in and sponsored by Pakistan, this rationale can, at best, be seen as an attempt to justify the action.

In essence, the operation was an emotional response driven by the desire to avenge the deaths of the victims in Pahalgam. In politics, optics play a significant role, and any silence – whether framed as strategic patience or not – by the Modi government would likely have been interpreted by opposition parties as a sign of weakness.

Pakistan has consistently assumed the role of the provocateur, instigating violence while simultaneously portraying itself as the victim. This dual strategy has been amplified by certain Chinese and Western media outlets, which have, at times, uncritically propagated pro-Pakistan narratives. These include unverified claims such as the downing of Indian fighter jets, including Rafale aircraft, the capture of an Indian female pilot, and the destruction of Indian military installations. Though lacking substantiation, such reports contributed to a perception of victory for Pakistan.

India must develop a robust and strategic international communication framework to disseminate its narrative and secure broader global support effectively. In this regard, India could draw lessons from Russia, which – despite extensive Western sanctions, information warfare, and diplomatic isolation – has sustained its lone fight in Ukraine, a country backed by NATO. Furthermore, India should explore and leverage the internal political fissures within Pakistan, as these divisions render the state increasingly susceptible to domestic instability. India certainly hit pause but not reset.

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Moscow and Kiev have not held direct negotiations since meeting in Istanbul in April 2022

The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are scheduled to take place in Türkiye’s largest city, Istanbul, on Thursday.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct dialogue between Moscow and Kiev in order to find a lasting settlement to the ongoing conflict that would address its root causes.

After US President Donald Trump supported the proposal and said Kiev should accept it “immediately,” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, also expressed his readiness to travel to Istanbul.

Kiev had earlier stated that the only official from Moscow that Zelensky would talk to is Putin. However, the Russian president has so far made no indication that he is planning to travel to Türkiye.

Moscow and Ukraine last talked to each other in April 2022, also in Istanbul. Russia, which initially expressed satisfaction with the results of that meeting and withdrew its forces from the outskirts of Kiev as a goodwill gesture, later accused Ukraine of backtracking on the progress achieved in Türkiye, saying it had lost trust in Kiev’s negotiators.

Russian officials, including President Putin, later blamed the West and, in particular, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for derailing the peace process, saying he had urged Kiev to “just continue fighting.”

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Violence flared again in Tripoli late on Tuesday, despite authorities declaring an end to military operations

Armed clashes erupted overnight in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, less than 24 hours after the North African country’s internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) declared it had completed military operations and restored stability in the city.

Fighting resumed late on Tuesday and reportedly continued into Wednesday, with gunfire and explosions heard in several neighborhoods. Eyewitnesses cited by local media said militias were seen mobilizing along major roads, including the Al-Shat highway, the Fashloum roundabout, and near Mitiga airport, which was forced to suspend operations.

Libya remains divided between rival factions and has seen repeated eruptions of violence since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

The latest tensions followed the assassination of Abdulghani al-Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, head of the government-affiliated Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). He was reportedly shot in southern Tripoli on Monday. Armed factions aligned with Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah are said to have quickly overrun SSA positions in Abu Salim and other districts following the incident.

JUST IN: Deadly clashes in #Tripoli, capital city of #Libya is being continued. In fact, various militia groups fighting each other for power. These clashes are between Rada and militants of the Libyan Government of National Unity.
The situation is very hostile and getting worse. pic.twitter.com/nh065bMF4L

— World Safety (@nickngei2) May 14, 2025

On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry announced it had regained full control of targeted areas. Hours later, however, clashes resumed between pro-government units and forces affiliated with the militia group Special Deterrence Force (Rada), according to local daily Libya Herald.

READ MORE: Tripoli-based Libyan government declares capital secure

The Defense Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday, announcing a “ceasefire in all axes of tension inside the capital” aimed to “protect civilians, preserve state institutions, and avoid further escalation.” It said neutral units have been deployed to calm flashpoints.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) earlier condemned the “accelerated escalation of violence in Tripoli” and troop mobilizations reported in other parts of the country, warning that the situation “may quickly spiral out of control.”

The mission expressed “deep concern” over reports of civilian casualties and reiterated its call for “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in all regions,” urging the opening of safe corridors to evacuate civilians stranded in high-conflict areas.

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Speaking to RT, Tamara Ryzhenkova, a senior lecturer at the Department of History of the Middle East at St. Petersburg State University, said Ghaniwa’s death is not the sole reason for the renewed violence, as armed clashes are “unfortunately common in the western part of the country.” However, “the setback of his group could contribute to centralization of power, however fragile it might be.”

Libyan author and award-winning journalist Mustafa Fetouri told RT that while the fresh clashes were triggered by the murder of Ghaniwa, who had grown “too powerful” and extended his influence beyond security, “it all boils down to militias competing with each other for power and money.”

The expert warned that Ghaniwa’s death “will not bring any long-term peace to the capital but could actually make things worse despite GNU announced ceasefire across the capital.”

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International order is losing its meaning – just like multipolarity

The day is not far off when the very notion of “international order” will lose its former meaning – just as happened with the once-theoretical concept of “multipolarity.” Originally conceived in the mid-20th century as a way to balance power among great states, multipolarity now bears little resemblance to what its originators had in mind. The same is increasingly true of international order.

In recent years, it has become commonplace to say that the global balance of power is shifting and that previous leaders are no longer able to maintain their dominant positions. This much is obvious. No group of states today is capable of enforcing its vision of justice or order upon the rest of the world. Traditional international institutions are weakening, and their functions are being re-evaluated or hollowed out. Western Europe, once a central pillar of global diplomacy, appears to be in the final phase of its strategic decline – a region now better known for procedure than power.

But before we join the chorus, lamenting or celebrating the end of one era and the start of another, it is worth asking: what exactly is “international order”? Too often, this concept is treated as a given, when in fact it has always been a tool – one used primarily by states with both the means and the will to coerce others into accepting certain rules of the game.

Historically, “international order” has been imposed by dominant powers capable of enforcing it. But today, emerging players outside the Western sphere – nations like China and India – may not be particularly interested in taking up that role. Why should they invest their resources in a vague, abstract idea that primarily served the interests of others?

The second traditional purpose of international order has been to prevent revolutionary upheaval. In the current strategic environment, this function is largely fulfilled not by institutions or diplomacy but by the simple fact of mutual nuclear deterrence. The handful of states with major nuclear capabilities – Russia, the United States, China, and a few others – are enough to keep general war at bay. No other powers are capable of truly challenging them in an existential way. For better or worse, that is what guarantees relative global stability.

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It is therefore naive to expect new great powers to be enthusiastic participants in building a new international order in the traditional sense. All past orders, including the current UN-centered one, emerged from intra-Western conflicts. Russia, while not a Western country in the cultural or institutional sense, played a decisive role in those conflicts – especially the Second World War – and was central to the global architecture that followed.

In fact, one could argue that the current international order, such as it is, was a product of Russia’s intervention in a Western civil war. It’s no coincidence that at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Tsar Alexander I behaved not as one of many European leaders, but as a figure set apart – an “arbiter of Europe.” Russia has always seen itself this way: too large, too sovereign, and too independent to be just another node in someone else’s system.

This is a key distinction. For Russia, participation in international order has never been an end in itself, but a means to preserve its own unique position in world affairs. That is something it has pursued with remarkable persistence for over two centuries.

As for today’s great powers – China, India, and others – it is far from clear that they view “international order” as an instrument of survival or control. For many, the phrase remains a Western invention, a theoretical construct that served to legitimize power imbalances under the guise of shared rules.

At the same time, the concept retains appeal for many medium-sized states, especially those in the so-called Global Majority. For them, international law and the UN system – however flawed – offer a semblance of protection from the arbitrary power of the strongest. Despite their limitations, these institutions give smaller countries a seat at the table, a platform from which to bargain, and sometimes a shield against the worst abuses of power.

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But even this minimal order is under strain. Its legitimacy was once based on mutual recognition by the powers capable of upending it. Today, however, former leaders are losing their grip, and no new actors are rushing to take their place. Without legitimacy or coercive backing, the very idea of a shared order becomes difficult to sustain.

That leads us to a paradox: we may be entering a world in which the West’s vision of international order is no longer accepted or relevant – yet no one is particularly eager to replace it with something new. What we may see instead is a gradual emergence of equilibrium, a new arrangement that scholars might label a “new international order,” though in practice it will have little in common with the frameworks of the past.

In sum, the category of “international order” may soon follow “multipolarity” into conceptual obscurity. It will be talked about, invoked in speeches, and cited in academic papers – but it will no longer describe how the world truly works.

We are moving into an age where power is distributed differently, where the mechanisms of control are less formalized, and where legitimacy is negotiated in real time rather than bestowed by inherited institutions. In such a world, stability will not depend on abstract rules or formal alliances, but on the raw calculations of capable states – above all, those that have the resources and resilience to shape events rather than be shaped by them.

This article was first published by Valdai Discussion Club, translated and edited by the RT team.

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Caracas has hosted a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II

A monument commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II has been officially unveiled in Caracas, Venezuela. The ceremony was attended by senior Venezuelan officials, Russian diplomats, and members of the public.

The Russian Embassy in Caracas confirmed the unveiling took place at the newly named Victory Square in the center of the Venezuelan capital on May 14. The monument, titled ‘80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War over Nazism and Fascism’, was created by sculptor Jesus Manuel Suescun. It depicts the Soviet flag being raised over the Reichstag building in Berlin and is surrounded by 12 memorial columns symbolizing major battles of the war.

According to Russian Ambassador Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, the ceremony marked a moment of “deep symbolic and historical significance.” In a statement to RIA Novosti, he said the monument “speaks volumes: of the strong spiritual connection between our peoples, of Venezuela’s respect for the feat of the Soviet people, of our common commitment to memory, justice, and the fight against the falsification of history.”

Melik-Bagdasarov added that the structure “has become a living symbol of unity, memory and resistance – both then, 80 years ago, and today.” He also stated that “Caracas is rightfully becoming the epicenter of the fight against neocolonialism, ideological dictates, and attempts to rewrite history in the region.”

“We once again confirm: Russia and Venezuela are shoulder to shoulder, in a single line for truth, for freedom, for a multipolar, just world,” he added.

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Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who spoke on behalf of the Venezuelan government during the ceremony, described the structure as “a monument to true history” and “a monument that glorifies the truth of free peoples,” reflecting the spirit of “anti-fascist peoples.” She added that the history of the victory cannot be erased by “the Hollywood machine,” emphasizing the Red Army’s role in liberating Europe from fascism.

Construction of the monument is said to have begun in April at the initiative of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Last week he also took part in the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, where he attended the annual military parade on Red Square alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Public Works Minister Juan Jose Ramirez described the Caracas monument as “an international reference point against fascism” and a symbol of friendship between Russia and Venezuela. The ceremony concluded with a large-scale drone show above the site.

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Ibrahim Traore has outlined his country’s growing partnership with Moscow, noting progress in economic, scientific, and humanitarian cooperation

Russia and Burkina Faso are entering a new phase of strategic cooperation, particularly in defense, education, and commerce, the African nation’s interim president, Ibrahim Traore, has said.

Speaking to RT, the Burkinabe leader emphasized that collaboration between the two countries has significantly expanded across multiple sectors over the past two years.

Traore noted that one of the most promising areas of cooperation is scientific education, especially in disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry. He also revealed that there is growing interest in Russian higher education among Burkinabe students, many of whom are already studying at universities across Russia.

“I even asked that we increase the number of students here, perhaps through scholarships,” he stated.

On the economic front, Traore explained that the relaunch of relations with Russia, which had significantly declined following the death of former Burkinabe President Captain Thomas Sankara, is already yielding practical benefits. Products such as mangoes, which previously passed through European intermediaries, are now being exported directly to Russia. Other goods, such as cotton, are expected to follow.

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“This is a new relationship that is beginning,” Traore said.

He also underscored Russia’s role in supporting agricultural and domestic control over Burkina Faso’s mineral wealth, particularly through education. He credited ongoing collaboration with Russia’s Ministry of Education for helping train engineers and technicians to operate and maintain new industries. “Machines are what make the world go round,” he said, noting that Russia’s scientific capacity, from military to digital technologies, remains highly relevant for Burkina Faso’s development goals.

Traore also described ongoing health support for internally displaced persons in Burkina Faso, citing previous wheat donations from Russia as an example of effective assistance. However, he noted that his country is now shifting from reliance to self-sufficiency. “We made a promise to President [Vladimir] Putin that we no longer want to be supplied with wheat because we will produce the wheat,” he stated.

READ MORE: Feeding Africa: Sanctions make it worse, imports don’t help, what’s the solution?

The Burkinabe interim president was among more than two dozen world leaders who attended the World War II Victory Day celebrations in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, which featured thousands of troops and advanced weaponry. Traore met with Putin on the sidelines of the event to discuss security and counter-terrorism in the Sahel.

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The Ukrainian leader has demanded a meeting with Putin despite a 2022 decree barring negotiations

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that a law he signed banning negotiations with Russia does not apply to him personally, after calling for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky intends to travel to Türkiye later this week, where direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are expected to resume for the first time since Kiev suspended talks in 2022. He has insisted that Putin must attend the talks in person to prove that Moscow has a genuine interest in peace.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Zelensky rejected claims that his outreach contradicts Ukrainian law. A September 2022 decree, endorsed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and signed by Zelensky, prohibits negotiations with Russia while Putin remains in office. The law was introduced as Kiev pursued a military victory in the conflict.

”It’s a Russian narrative that I cannot speak with Putin,” Zelensky said. “Nobody but me can conduct negotiations on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, on our course.”

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Zelensky claimed in January that the ban was intended to prevent unauthorized negotiations by other Ukrainian officials, particularly to curb separatist influences and “shadow” negotiation channels. Russian officials have pointed to the law as evidence that Kiev is unwilling to engage diplomatically.

The Ukrainian Constitution bars elections during wartime and requires that presidential authority pass to the speaker of parliament if no legal successor is chosen. Zelensky’s presidential term expired last year, yet he remains in power, dismissing opponents as Kremlin sympathizers for questioning his legitimacy.

Moscow has described Zelensky’s political status as an internal Ukrainian matter but cautioned that any treaties he signs could be challenged for lacking legitimacy. US President Donald Trump, whose administration has offered to broker a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow, has described Zelensky as “a dictator without elections.”

The US has conducted multiple rounds of talks with Moscow and Kiev, promoting trust-building measures such as a 30-day moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure. Russia says its forces adhered fully to the plan, while accusing Ukraine of violating the partial ceasefire multiple times.

READ MORE: Russian delegation will be waiting for Ukrainians in Istanbul – Kremlin

US officials have called direct talks the next logical step in the Ukraine peace process. Senior American negotiators will reportedly observe the meeting in Istanbul. Kiev has urged its Western supporters to impose additional sanctions on Russia, should Putin decline to attend. Moscow has yet to confirm its delegation.

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The names of the officials representing Moscow will be announced in due time, Dmitry Peskov has said

Moscow will be sending a delegation for direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday and expects Kiev to do the same, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to find a lasting settlement to the conflict between the two countries. After his proposal was supported by US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, also expressed his readiness.

Kiev earlier stated that the only official Zelensky would talk to is Putin. The Russian president has so far made no indication that he is planning to travel to Istanbul.

When asked by journalists on Wednesday if the talks in Türkiye were still on the cards, Peskov replied by saying: “Indeed, the Russian delegation will be waiting for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15, that is – tomorrow.”

“I can confirm once again that everything that the president said in his statement on May 11... remains relevant,” he stressed.

READ MORE: France can’t give Ukraine any more arms – Macron

Peskov declined to reveal the lineup of the Russian delegation that will travel to Istanbul. It will be announced “when we receive instructions from the president. So far, there have been no such instructions,” he explained.

On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that, during potential talks, Moscow wants to discuss “a sustainable settlement of the situation, first of all, by addressing the very roots of this conflict, resolving issues related to the denazification of the Kiev regime, ensuring recognition of the realities that have developed recently, including the entry of new territories into Russia.”

Ryabkov refrained from making any forecasts on the outcome of discussions, but stressed that Moscow is committed to negotiating “seriously and responsibly.”

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The US president’s love for the Big Mac has long been documented

Saudi Arabia has rolled out a mobile McDonald’s truck outside the Royal Court ahead of US President Donald Trump’s arrival in Riyadh – a nod to his well-known love for the Golden Arches.

Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his first major foreign trip after returning to the White House. While in Riyadh, he signed a “strategic economic partnership” deal, which would see the Saudis investing some to $600 billion in the energy, defense, mining, and space sectors in the US.

A short video of a McDonald’s double-decker trailer parked outside a media hub called ‘Media Oasis’ – where journalists covering Trump’s visit to Riyadh were stationed – was posted on social media earlier in the day.

Conservative journalist Benny Johnson, who was among those sharing the clip, wrote that “Saudi Arabia brought in a mobile McDonald’s for President Trump on his visit.”

Some online commentators described the move by the Saudis as “a charming gesture” and “an ultimate sign of hospitality.” But the most frequent comment was: “I'm Lovin’ It.”

Saudi Arabia brought in a mobile McDonald’s for President Trump on his visit.
pic.twitter.com/6fxgqKHbjP

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 13, 2025

A White House official confirmed to Fox News that there really was a McDonald’s truck in Riyadh during Trump’s visit. However, there have so far been no reports of the US leader stopping for a meal there.

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Trump once said in an interview that “the Big Macs are great. The Quarter Pounder. It is great stuff,” while his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski claimed in his book ‘Let Trump Be Trump’ that his typical diet during the race for the White House in 2016 included: “...two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish, and a chocolate malt.”

During his first term, Trump ordered burgers for the national college football champions the Clemson Tigers, who visited the White House. According to his son-in-law Jared Kushner, the president also asked for McDonald’s after his recovery from COVID-19 in 2020.

Last year, he worked at a fryer and handed out food through the drive-thru window at a McDonald’s joint in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The company issued a statement afterwards, saying that it did not give permission for Trump to hold the campaign event at its restaurant. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office… We are not red or blue – we are golden,” it read.

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Self-declared monarch Peter Fitzek led a far-right group which opposes the country’s constitutional order

German authorities have banned an extremist group known as the “Kingdom of Germany” and arrested four of its top members, including the group’s self-declared “king,” Peter Fitzek. The secessionist group had declared itself a “counter-state” governed by an absolute monarch.

The Kingdom of Germany is affiliated with the Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement – a far-right conspiracy-driven network that denies the legitimacy of the modern German state. According to Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, around 25,000 individuals are actively involved in Reichsburger groups across the country.

Adherents claim that the historical German Reich continues to exist and refuse to recognize Germany’s government, including its parliament, laws, and judicial system. Members of the group also reject state obligations such as paying taxes or fines.

Around 800 police officers carried out raids on Tuesday, targeting properties linked to the group and the residences of its key members across Germany.

“These extremists created a counter-state in Germany and ran criminal financial operations,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated when announcing the ban. “They reinforce their bogus claim to power with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” he added.

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The minister told reporters that the Kingdom of Germany’s activities were far from “harmless nostalgia,” despite what its name might imply. He explained that the ban was imposed because authorities were dealing with “criminal structures” and “criminal networks.”

Founded in 2012 in the eastern German city of Wittenberg, the Kingdom of Germany gained notoriety for operating unlicensed banking services and promoting its own parallel legal system. Fitzek, the group’s leader, who once ran unsuccessfully to enter parliament, styled himself as “King Peter I” and appointed two deputies along with a finance minister to support his self-declared rule.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe said Fitzek, as the “so-called supreme sovereign,” had “control and decision-making power in all key areas.”

The authorities added that the Kingdom of Germany regards itself as a sovereign state under international law and aims to expand its so-called national territory to match the borders of the German Empire as they stood in 1871.

In 2022, German authorities arrested members of a group linked to Reich Citizens that included a former MP and ex-military personnel for allegedly plotting to storm the parliament, overthrow the government, and install aristocrat and businessman Prince Heinrich XIII Reuss as the new head of state.

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Russian exports to the East African state have climbed by a quarter this year, as both sides pursue new agreements in agriculture, aviation, and healthcare

Trade between Russia and Tanzania has increased by 20% since the beginning of 2025, with Russian exports to the East African country growing by a quarter, TASS reported on Tuesday, citing data discussed at a joint Moscow-Dar es Salaam economic cooperation meeting in St. Petersburg.

The surge has been driven largely by outbound shipments of wheat, meslin, and fertilizers, while tobacco raw materials, coffee, tea, and fruit remain key imports from Tanzania, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said.

“After last year’s decline in trade turnover, we managed to increase figures by 20% in January-February this year,” Reshetnikov stated, summarizing the outcome of the plenary session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Russia and Tanzania have maintained diplomatic relations since 1961, with cooperation spanning education, energy, defense, and infrastructure. During a two-day meeting in St. Petersburg from May 12–13, officials from both countries agreed to deepen joint efforts in trade, logistics, transport, energy, agriculture, investment, tourism, and education.

READ MORE: Russia in talks on new cargo line with African state

According to Reshetnikov, Russian fertilizer producers are ready to increase shipments to Tanzania, which imports over 90% of its annual 700,000-tonne compost requirement. Russian entrepreneurs are keen to support the efficient use of mineral fertilizers and are willing to train Tanzanian partners in advanced agronomic practices, the minister added.

The talks also touched on pharmaceutical cooperation, including the possibility of Russian businesses localizing production of diagnostic test kits and vaccines to serve the Tanzanian market.

Read more

Moscow and Dar es Salaam are working to implement a bilateral air service agreement signed in June of last year, which aims to resume direct flights between the two countries. Prior to the suspension of flights in 2021, several Russian airlines operated flights to the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar, with official statistics indicating that approximately 6,300 Russian nationals visited Tanzania in 2019, including 4,000 tourists.

“In tourism, the top priority is to resume direct air connections. It is essential to finalize all procedures as quickly as possible to bring the agreement into effect,” Reshetnikov stated.

Commenting on the meeting, Andrey Maslov, head of the Center for African Studies at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, told RT “I was impressed by the level of the delegation, which included representatives of the business community and leading companies in Tanzania.

The dialogue has been built around the expansion of trade and investment, the creation of infrastructure for them. The meeting demonstrated a high level of interest of the Tanzanian side in developing the relationship. Special attention was given to various projects in the field of training, exchange of knowledge in the field of state-building.”

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Sending more weapons would compromise NATO, the president has said

France has reached the limit of its military support for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In a televised interview with TF1 on Tuesday, Macron defended his administration’s handling of the Ukraine conflict, saying the French have done “the maximum we could” to help Kiev, given that the country’s military was not set up to conduct a protracted, high-intensity land war.

”We gave away everything we had,” Macron said. “But we can’t give away what we don’t have, and we can’t strip ourselves of what is necessary for our own security.” He noted that France’s approach, coordinated with those of other Western donors, aims to avoid direct confrontation with a nuclear-armed power.

France has committed more than €3.7 billion ($4.1 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, according to the Kiel Institute’s aid tracker. Macron highlighted efforts to scale up the domestic defense industry to continue supplying arms.

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The remarks came as the French government struggles with an economic crisis. The national budget deficit hit 5.8% last year, once again surpassing the 3% threshold recommended for EU members. Public debt has climbed above 110% of GDP, and economic forecasts predict growth of less than 1% in 2025. Macron is also facing increased challenges in pushing legislation through parliament.

The TF1 broadcast opened with a montage of public criticism, including accusations that Macron has mismanaged the economy, treated ordinary citizens with contempt, and focused too heavily on foreign affairs. One citizen described him as “a president who practically wants to send us to war.”

Macron advocates for deploying French troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow, arguing that such a move could help deter Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned it would not accept any NATO presence in Ukraine, citing the military bloc’s expansion in Europe as a core reason for the conflict. Russia views the war as a US-led proxy campaign, with local troops serving as “cannon fodder.”

Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, which Kiev called off in 2022, are expected to resume this week in Türkiye. Kiev has demanded that President Vladimir Putin participate in person and urged its Western backers to impose new sanctions if he refuses. Moscow has yet to confirm its delegation.

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New Delhi and Islamabad have ordered unnamed officials to leave within 24 hours

India and Pakistan each expelled diplomats from the other’s high commission on Tuesday, accusing them of espionage. The move has further strained relations amid border tensions.

New Delhi first ordered the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat, citing “activities beyond his official role” and suggesting that the unnamed official was engaged in espionage. India also issued a formal protest to the Pakistani charge d’affaires in New Delhi regarding the official’s actions, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Pakistan responded by asking an unnamed Indian diplomat in Islamabad to leave the country, according to a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement.

“The Government of Pakistan has declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission, Islamabad, as persona non grata for engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status,” the ministry said on Tuesday. Islamabad also followed in Delhi’s footsteps with its own demarche.

?PR NO.1??3??7??/2??0??2??5??

A Staff Member of the Indian High Commission, Islamabad, Declared as Persona Non Grata.

??? https://t.co/r7TbFLHGYt pic.twitter.com/WjSHQ8mgfE

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) May 13, 2025

The measures come days after a military pause was announced between the South Asian neighbors, following a brief showdown. It also follows the downgrading of diplomatic ties, announced by the two countries last month after the April 22 terrorist attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that claimed 26 civilian lives.

Immediately after the attack, New Delhi implemented significant measures to reduce its diplomatic and trade relations with Islamabad, affecting diplomatic missions and visa services to Pakistani nationals. India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which allows the two countries to share the waters of the Indus River system.

Indian media reports said the expulsion of the Pakistani diplomat was related to leaks of sensitive information and photographs of Indian Army cantonment areas and air bases to Pakistan’s intelligence agency. On Sunday, police in the Indian state of Punjab arrested two individuals for allegedly leaking classified Indian Army information to a Pakistani handler, India Today reported.

READ MORE: Western reporting on India-Pakistan escalation ‘one-sided’ – ex-Indian foreign secretary

The latest expulsion of diplomats means staff strength in the diplomatic missions of both countries has been reduced to 29.

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Military contingents from France, Germany, the UK, and Poland may be involved, Keith Kellogg has said

Washington is in talks with its European NATO allies about deploying military contingents to Ukraine as part of a possible post-conflict settlement, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, has said.

A group of European NATO member states has for months been seeking to muster a force to be deployed to Ukraine as part of a so-called “coalition of the willing,” purportedly in a post-conflict peacekeeping role. Russia has repeatedly warned it would treat any foreign troops on Ukrainian soil as legitimate targets, saying such a move could escalate the conflict.

Speaking to Fox Business on Tuesday, Kellogg said troops from France, Germany, the UK, and Poland could be part of what he described as a “resiliency force.”

“This is a force referred to as the E3, but it’s actually now the E4 – when you include the Brits, the French, and the Germans, and in fact, the Poles as well,” he said. Kellogg added the troops would be positioned west of the Dnieper River, placing them “outside the contact zone.”

“And then to the east you have a peacekeeping force, and what it would look like with a third party involved with that. So, you can actually monitor a ceasefire; we have this thing pretty well planned out,” he said.

The remarks come as preparations are underway for possible direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. Kellogg and Steve Witkoff, another senior envoy for US President Donald Trump, are reportedly expected to attend. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed conducting negotiations without preconditions in Türkiye on May 15.

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Vladimir Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin on Thursday, but insisted that any talks should be preceded by the start of a 30-day ceasefire. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out this suggestion, saying such a pause would give Kiev an opportunity to regroup militarily and renew hostilities.

On Monday, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK, along with the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, issued a joint statement after talks in London. They pledged “robust security guarantees for Ukraine,” including “exploring the creation of a coalition of air, land, and maritime reassurance forces that could help create confidence in any future peace and support the regeneration of Ukraine’s armed forces.”

Russia has rejected the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine in any form. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said it would pose a direct threat to Russia. Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has warned it could trigger World War III, potentially involving nuclear weapons.

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The US president said the step would help the new government in Damascus “stabilize” the situation in the country

US President Donald Trump has said he will lift sanctions on Syria, reversing more than a decade of policy aimed at pressuring Damascus. He added that he hoped for a “fresh start” with the transitional government of Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, came to prominence as the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group with ties to Al-Qaeda which led a coalition of opposition groups that toppled longtime leader Bashar Assad last year.

“There’s a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” Trump said during an investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” he added.

“It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off,” Trump said. “Good luck Syria, show us something very special.”

The US president reportedly plans to meet Al-Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. “We ... stand ready to foster a relationship with the United States that is rooted in mutual respect, trust, and shared interests,” Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told Reuters. He added that Trump could achieve a “historic peace deal and victory for US interests in Syria.”

Al-Sharaa, who traveled to Paris last week to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, has said there was “no justification” for maintaining sanctions that hamper Syria’s recovery from nearly 15 years of civil war.

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During a visit to Qatar in February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that the sanctions were “harming the Syrian people” and should be lifted without preconditions.

Syria descended into a chaotic civil war following an anti-Assad uprising in 2011. Under President Barack Obama, the US helped train and equip “moderate” militants, many of whom later defected to jihadist groups. Trump carried out airstrikes on various military sites in the country during his first term in office.

The opposition offensive, which culminated in the capture of Damascus by Al-Sharaa’s HTS militants and others in December, was accompanied by massacres of Alawites, Christians, and Assad loyalists. Earlier this year, the UN and human rights groups expressed concern over deadly clashes between pro-government militias and the Druze community.

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Kiev has no capacity to reclaim the regions that have become part of Russia since 2014, according to the French president

The Ukrainians are well aware that they do not have the means to retake all the territory they claim that is held by Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

Ukraine has rejected Russia’s demand that it renounce its claim to the lost territories. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said in April, however, that Kiev “did not have enough weapons” to retake Crimea by force.

“The war must end, and Ukraine must be in the best possible position to enter into negotiations … that will make it possible to address territorial issues,” Macron told TF1 on Tuesday.

“Even Ukrainians themselves have the lucidity to acknowledge … that they will not have the capacity to reclaim everything that has been taken [by Russia] since 2014.”

“We can’t leave Ukraine on its own,” the French president added. “Since it will not be joining NATO, we are proposing reassurance forces. In other words, the allies who are willing … will deploy forces far from the front line, in key locations, to conduct joint operations and demonstrate our solidarity.”

France and the UK have proposed sending peacekeepers to Ukraine following a ceasefire but have provided few details. Russia has warned that any foreign troops stationed in Ukraine without its permission – especially those from NATO countries – would be treated as enemy targets.

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Crimea, which is populated predominantly by ethnic Russians, voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia shortly after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev. The largely Russian-speaking Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, along with the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, did the same after holding referendums in September 2022.

US President Donald Trump told Time magazine last month that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” claiming that Zelensky understood this as well. Trump’s peace plan reportedly envisions freezing the conflict along the current front line and recognizing Russian sovereignty over the peninsula. The president has repeatedly stressed that he wants to end the bloodshed as soon as possible.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said that Moscow seeks to discuss a “sustainable settlement” with Kiev during potential talks in Istanbul on May 15.

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The investigation into the 2014 downing of the airliner in Ukrainian airspace was biased, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said

Russia has rejected the UN civilian aviation agency’s claims that it was responsible for the 2014 downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has insisted that the Dutch-led investigation into the incident was politically motivated and relied on “questionable” evidence submitted by Kiev.

“Moscow’s principal position remains that Russia was not involved in the crash of MH17, and that all statements to the contrary by Australia and the Netherlands are false,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website on Tuesday.

The statement came after the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) voted that Russia had failed to uphold its obligation to “refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.”

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board, most of whom were Dutch, Malaysian, and Australian nationals. The incident occurred as Ukrainian troops were attempting to retake the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, which voted to secede following a Western-backed coup in Kiev earlier that year. The two entities later voted to become part of Russia in September 2022.

In 2015, the investigation – conducted by the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine – concluded that the plane was shot down by a Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air missile system delivered by Russia to the Donbass militias. Moscow denied providing heavy weapons to local forces and argued that the aircraft was hit by a version of the missile used by Ukrainian, not Russian, troops. It also criticized its exclusion from the investigation.

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The Foreign Ministry condemned the ICAO Council’s decision as politically motivated, alleging “multiple procedural violations.” It said the ICAO had ignored “ample and convincing factual and legal evidence” submitted by Russia to demonstrate its non-involvement in the shootdown.

“The conclusions of the Dutch investigation were based on the testimonies of anonymous witnesses – whose identities were classified – as well as on questionable information and materials submitted by a biased party: the Security Service of Ukraine,” the statement read.

The Foreign Ministry added that Ukraine should ultimately be blamed for the tragedy because Kiev “launched a military operation in Donbass under the false pretense of combating terrorism.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that, because Russia was not part of the investigation, it “does not accept biased conclusions.”

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The parade, the past, and the rise of a post-Western world

The 9th of May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow once again captured international attention – despite the many other global events vying for the headlines. This wasn’t simply about pageantry or military symbolism. The Red Square parade was, as always, a statement: a public expression of one country’s position in the evolving global environment. Whether critics will admit it or not, events like this provoke reactions – and that in itself signals relevance.

Eighty years after the end of the Second World War, the memory of that conflict is being viewed through new lenses. It was, undeniably, a world war – its consequences reshaped the international order. The creation of the United Nations was its most formal legacy, but the broader historical impact extended far beyond. The war marked the beginning of the end for the colonial system. From the late 1940s onward, decolonization accelerated rapidly. Within three decades, colonial empires had all but disappeared, and dozens of new states emerged across Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. Their paths varied, but they fundamentally changed the structure of global politics.

Looking back from 2025, one could argue that this wave of decolonization – driven by the global South – was no less historically important than the Cold War or the bipolar superpower confrontation. Today, the role of the so-called “global majority” is expanding quickly. These nations may not dominate the international system, but they increasingly form a vibrant, influential environment in which all global actors must operate.

The presence of guests from Asia, Africa, and Latin America at this year’s parade in Moscow was a symbolic confirmation of that shift. It signaled that the world has definitively moved beyond the Cold War structure, which framed international life around a North Atlantic-centric axis. Equally important was the fact that this reconfiguration was highlighted in Moscow – through Russia’s own initiative. It reflected not just commemoration, but transformation. A similar event is expected in Beijing in September to mark the end of the war in the Pacific theater. Together, these ceremonies highlight how the geopolitical center of gravity is gradually shifting away from its traditional Western base.

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As time distances us from the largest war in human history, its meaning doesn’t diminish. On the contrary, it reappears in new forms. Like it or not, memory has become a political force. It increasingly defines which community a country belongs to. Each nation has its own version of the war – and that’s to be expected. This isn’t revisionism. It’s the natural result of different historical experiences shaped under different conditions.

There will never be a single unified narrative of the past, and attempts to impose one are not only unrealistic but dangerous. The focus should be on finding compatibility between differing interpretations, not enforcing uniformity. Using memory as a political weapon erodes the foundations of peaceful international coexistence. This issue is particularly relevant for the global majority, which may one day voice its own historical claims more loudly – especially against former colonial powers in the West.

In this context, the growing divergence between Russia and Western Europe over the legacy of the Second World War cannot be ignored. Efforts to preserve and defend Russia’s interpretation of the conflict are vital – not to convince others, but for domestic coherence and national identity. Other countries will write their own histories, shaped by their own interests. That cannot be controlled from the outside. The real issue is whether differing historical narratives can coexist. And on this front, it turns out that Russia has a far more productive engagement with many countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America than with most in Europe.

Many of these countries have their own war stories – ones that align more naturally with the Russian perspective. Unlike in the West, particularly in Europe, where the memory of the war has become a political wedge, countries in the global South tend to see history less ideologically and more as a shared human experience. Even parties in Western Europe that are ostensibly more sympathetic to Russia, such as the Alternative for Germany, are likely to hold radically different positions when it comes to questions of historical memory.

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If we simplify the picture, the previous world order was built on the shared memory and outcomes of the Second World War. That order is now gone – and so is the consensus that supported it. The current global situation doesn’t amount to a new order in the traditional sense, but perhaps a new equilibrium can emerge. This equilibrium won’t be based on universal values or unified narratives, but rather on peaceful coexistence among diverse interpretations and interests.

Irreconcilable historical differences will remain a source of tension – particularly between Russia and the West – but differing perspectives need not always lead to conflict. With the global majority, Russia finds more space for mutual respect and constructive interaction. These countries do not seek to overwrite Russian memory; they have their own, and they don’t clash. That opens the door to new relationships and partnerships, grounded not in conformity but in compatibility.

What we are witnessing is the slow dissolution of the Western-centric worldview. In its place is emerging something far more complex and diversified. This shift is not merely the result of the current geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West, but a reflection of deeper structural changes. It is an objective process – and, for Russia, a potentially advantageous one.

As a transcontinental power, Russia has more flexibility than any other state to operate in a multidirectional, multi-civilizational world. The new international environment – whatever form it ultimately takes – will not be shaped by a single hegemonic center. And that reality will force everyone, including Russia, to adapt.

But adaptation is not the same as subordination. On the contrary, Russia’s unique historical identity and geopolitical position may allow it to thrive in this emerging world – not by conforming to a Western blueprint, but by helping to build something more balanced, inclusive, and representative of the world as it actually is.

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Ukraine’s inability to negotiate, however, makes it hard to predict if the meeting will yield results, Russia’s deputy FM has said

Moscow wants to discuss a “sustainable settlement” with Kiev during possible upcoming talks in Istanbul, including the recognition of formerly Ukrainian territories as an integral part of Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said.

The senior diplomat spoke with reporters about the proposed meeting on Tuesday, explaining that the issues Moscow would bring up are effectively “the same” it has in the past and largely concern the goals of Russia’s special military operation against Ukraine.

“They have been on the agenda all the time – how to ensure a reliable, sustainable settlement of the situation, first of all, by addressing the very roots of this conflict, resolving issues related to the denazification of the Kiev regime, ensuring recognition of the realities that have developed recently, including the entry of new territories into Russia,” Ryabkov stated.

The deputy minister was apparently referring to Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which were incorporated into Russia in late 2022 following a string of referendums. In the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev, Crimea also opted to break away from Ukraine, joining Russia via a referendum shortly after.

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The senior diplomat refrained from making any prognosis on the potential outcome of the proposed talks, but stressed that Moscow is committed to negotiating “seriously and responsibly.”

“It is premature to make any predictions. The question should be addressed to the sponsors of the Kiev regime and Kiev itself. Are they ready to negotiate? We have a strong impression that with the current approach, these figures can be characterized by their inability to negotiate,” Ryabkov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct negotiations on Sunday. He insisted that the settlement process must start with talks, and that negotiations could ultimately lead to “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire.”

The offer has received a mixed reaction from Kiev and its backers, who continued to say that negotiations must be preceded by at least a 30-day truce. The proposal, however, was backed by US President Donald Trump, who urged Kiev to “immediately” accept it. Following Trump’s statements, Ukraine shifted its position, and leader Vladimir Zelensky announced his readiness to meet with the Russian president “personally.”

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the prospect of Putin’s personal participation, confirming only that a Russian delegation will be “waiting” for the Ukrainian side in Istanbul on Thursday. Peskov did not disclose who exactly would represent Russia at the meeting, since he said he had not been authorized to say.

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Moscow can’t trust Kiev to live up to its part of any agreement, and a third-party guarantor is needed, Sergey Ordzhonikidze has told RT

Vladimir Zelensky’s regime enjoys relative stability only because of the conflict with Russia, and so may be reluctant to seal a peace agreement with Moscow, former director-general of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Sergey Ordzhonikidze, has told RT.

The untrustworthiness of the Ukrainian leadership will loom large for the Russian delegation during an expected meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Thursday, the veteran diplomat predicted on Tuesday.

The talks were originally proposed last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions to reach a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Zelensky has expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Russian side, but has insisted that it be preceded by an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected. Zelensky has also said that he would only come to the meeting in Istanbul if Putin attends in person.

Ordzhonikidze told RT that should a peace accord be reached during the negotiations, “I don’t know how long the Zelensky regime will [last]. It may fall apart.”

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“He obviously will have many internal problems because… he has some Nazi, fascist organizations that would [convict] him of betrayal,” he predicted, claiming that “it’s not a stable regime in the sense that it can be stable only during war.”

The seasoned Russian diplomat also predicted that once Western leaders see Zelensky as a liability, they will get rid of him without a second thought.

History shows that months and in some cases even years of “homework” have underpinned successful negotiations. While overnight breakthroughs have also happened, much is determined by the level of trust between the parties concerned, Ordzhonikidze stressed.

Ukrainian authorities have a poor track record in this respect, he told RT, citing the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements, which were supposed to grant Donetsk and Lugansk regions special status within the Ukrainian state, but were never implemented.

”Obviously, we need a country that would act like a… guarantor of the… possible agreement, if any at all,” Ordzhonikidze stated, noting that even if some nation, most likely the US, assumes the role, there is not much room for optimism as to whether Kiev would honor any agreement.

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The US president has warned of crippling sanctions on the Tehran’s oil industry if it rejects Washington’s “olive branch”

US President Donald Trump has threatened to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero if ongoing talks in Oman fail, which are aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord that eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

“If Iran’s leadership rejects this olive branch... we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero,” Trump said at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday.

The US president reminded the audience of the crippling sanctions he imposed in 2018, which he claimed left Iran’s economy on the brink of collapse. “They were a virtually bankrupt country because of what I did,” he claimed.

In 2023, the UN Human Rights Council reported that Washington’s sanctions prevented Iranians from receiving vital medical care. The report noted that producers, shippers, insurers, or banks are reluctant to do business with Iran, fearing “aggressive US sanctions enforcement and penalties.” This has led to “fear, pain and premature death,” it added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reported progress in the negotiations with the US, noting that the two sides have reached “a better understanding.”

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Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 UN-backed deal on Iran’s nuclear program during his first term in office, accusing the Islamic Republic of secretly violating the agreement. Tehran has denied any wrongdoing but has since rolled back its own commitments under the deal and increased its stockpile of enriched uranium.

The US and its allies have expressed concern about Iran’s enrichment activities, which they fear could provide the country with a head start to quickly produce weapons-grade uranium.

On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected a key US demand to dismantle his country’s nuclear infrastructure.

Tehran has insisted that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes only and has repeatedly dismissed the allegations that it is seeking to create a nuclear bomb.

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Dozens of Kursk Region residents were captured by Ukrainian forces during a cross-border incursion last year

Ukraine is stalling the return of civilians captured in Russia’s Kursk Region to use them as bargaining chips in a potential swap for fighters from the notorious neo-Nazi Azov unit, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.

Dozens of captured civilians remain in Kiev’s custody following its incursion into Russian territory last August. Ukrainian forces captured several towns and villages before being pushed back. On April 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the full liberation of Kursk Region, saying Ukraine had suffered heavy losses.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the SVR cited intelligence suggesting that Kiev plans to delay the civilians’ return “for as long as possible.” People close to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, it added, see them as a “valuable asset” that could be exchanged for “something more substantial from Moscow than wounded and unfit-for-combat prisoners of war.”

According to the agency, Kiev hopes to leverage the detainees in talks to secure the release of fighters from the Azov brigade – a nationalist unit designated a terrorist organization in Russia – who have been convicted of serious crimes.

Originally formed as a volunteer unit of radical nationalists, Azov rose to prominence following the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, reportedly becoming a central part of an international white supremacist network. The Ukrainian government incorporated it into the National Guard the same year.

As of March, more than 140 Azov members had been convicted by Russian courts, according to Investigative Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin.

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The SVR said Kiev is “cynically” exploiting the fact that Russia has no similar “trump card” in the form of captured Ukrainian civilians and claims this increases its chances of “forcing the Kremlin to play by their rules and agree to exchange the Kursk civilians for Azov fighters.”

In March, Ukraine released more than 30 civilians, mostly elderly, along with four children. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, said at the time that Moscow would continue pressing for the return of all the remaining detainees.

Last October, she reported receiving over a thousand inquiries from families searching for missing civilians.

The Russian Investigative Committee has reported incidents of looting, arson, and shootings of civilians by Ukrainian troops during the incursion.

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Russia, on the contrary, experiences no shortage of army volunteers, the president has said

Ukrainian recruitment officials have been catching would-be soldiers “like dogs” in the country’s streets, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Putin made the remarks on Tuesday during a meeting with members of ‘Business Russia,’ during which he noted that Russia has been enjoying a steady flow of volunteers to fight against Ukraine.

“While the Kiev authorities are engaged in forced mobilization – people are caught like dogs on the street, then our guys go voluntarily, they go themselves… They are catching 30 thousand people there now, and we have 50-60 thousand a month enlisting willingly,” Putin said.

Ukraine launched a general mobilization following the escalation of the conflict with Russia in early 2022, barring most men aged between 18 and 60 years old from leaving the country and setting the conscription age at 27. Last year, faced with mounting losses and manpower shortages, Kiev lowered the limit to 25, while introducing stricter penalties for draft dodgers and simplifying other mobilization rules.

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Mobilization in Ukraine has grown increasingly chaotic and violent over the course of the conflict, with numerous videos circulating online showing enlistment officers, frequently backed by civilian police, chasing would-be recruits in the streets, brawling and threatening them with military-grade weaponry.

The Ukrainian mobilization effort has become popularly known as the “busification” - describing the process of violently packing recruits into minibuses, which are commonly used by enlistment officials.

While top Ukrainian officials have repeatedly rejected allegations of issues around mobilization as “Russian propaganda,” last month the country’s military admitted the process has run into certain shortcomings. “Busification is a shameful phenomenon, and we’re doing our best to avoid it,” deputy head of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Lt. Gen. Ivan Gavrilyuk has said.

This year, Kiev launched an enrollment campaign aimed at men aged 18 to 24 who are not subject to compulsory service. The centerpiece of the drive is a one million hryvnia ($24,000) fee for one year of service offered to the younger volunteers. The campaign has been promoted with assorted propaganda videos and posters, which usually focus on this sum and calculate it into items, supposedly appealing to the youth, including servings of fast food and online game currencies.

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Moscow will act pragmatically, evaluating the pros and cons to its economy in each case, the Russian president has said

Russia is ready to welcome back some of the Western companies that left its market after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, as long as it serves Moscow’s economic interests, President Vladimir Putin has stated.

Back in 2022, numerous US, European, and Asian companies pulled out of Russia, citing supply problems brought about by the sweeping Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, as well as fears of secondary sanctions or public relations fallout.

Speaking during a meeting with Russian business leaders on Tuesday, Putin said that “we need to look at how [these companies] have behaved.” Those who “have been rude, insulted us” should be denied the right to re-enter the Russian market, he said.

Commenting on suggestions that a simple apology from other firms would be sufficient, the Russian president replied, “Well, no. This is clearly not enough.” He explained that shrewd Western business executives would readily offer apologies if they were interested in returning to the Russian market.

“This is not enough. We absolutely must consider all these issues from a pragmatic viewpoint,” Putin stated.

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“[If] it is in our best interest that some company or another comes [to our market], then we need to let it in. I’ll put it simply: If not, we need to find a thousand reasons why it shouldn’t be here,” he clarified, adding that the vast majority of such reasons would be in line with the World Trade Organization’s guidelines.

In March, Putin ordered the Russian government to draft clear, tight regulations for Western firms seeking to return to the country’s market, that would prioritize the adequate protection of local businesses.

Speaking to reporters last Thursday, President Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, revealed that “some firms [that have left the Russian market] are already returning. It’s just that there is no publicity around it.”

Late last month, figures by Russia’s patent office, Rospatent, indicated that McDonald’s submitted more than 50 trademark applications at the end of 2024, covering food items and beverages. Some commentators suggested that it might point to the American fast-food chain’s plans to return to the country.

Also in April, TASS, citing Rospatent filings, reported that South Korean automaker Hyundai had also registered at least eight new trademarks in Russia.

In March, LG Electronics confirmed it had resumed operations at its home appliance plant in Moscow. Italian household appliance manufacturer Ariston also announced its return to Russia around the same time.

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A prominent Jewish restaurant in Berlin chose to celebrate Israel Day with a joke about the slaughter of Palestinians

A single, small, low-quality do-it-yourself poster recently displayed in the center of Germany’s capital Berlin has caused a minor scandal that has gone against the grain of the country’s usually unshakable support for Israel while the latter is committing genocide.

The essence of the incident is simple: in late April, the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft (DIG) – “German-Israeli Society” – held one of its “Israel Days” in Berlin. In Germany, the DIG is a prominent and powerful organization. Its main source of funding, according to the country’s official lobbying register for 2023, is the German state. The latter’s Federal Agency for Civic Education – in essence, Germany’s office of Centrist ideological orthodoxy and indoctrination – describes it as the country’s “ central organization […] where friends of Israel come together in non-partisan cooperation.”

“Israel Day” in Berlin was a largely informal event, really a street party with speeches. To make things even more fun, there was catering by the restaurant Feinberg’s. In particular, Feinberg’s, specializing in what it calls Israeli cuisine – Palestinians recognize many dishes as plagiarized from their tradition – offered a very special melon smoothie.

The poster advertising the drink showed a lion (used by Israelis as a national symbol) wearing an apron emblazoned with the Israeli flag (just to make sure). The lion held two large glass tumblers, one with pieces of melon (an already traditional and well-known symbol of Palestine and its resistance), the other with the finished smoothie and a small Israeli flag.

The background consisted of a pile of melons, often cut open, many featuring instantly recognizable baby faces. The poster’s text said (partly in English and partly in German): “Watermelon meets Zion. Israeli-style watermelon, shredded, mashed, and hacked to pieces.”

An Israeli restaurant in Berlin offers “Israeli-style blended Watermelon, pureed, and chopped to pieces” at an Israel lobby event with faces on the watermelons. Many are interpreting this as a violent fantasy pic.twitter.com/AEHFPmZbBd

— James Jackson (@derJamesJackson) April 27, 2025

The watermelons evoked what is known as “Kindchenschema” or “cuteness” (in the scientific sense): an almost universally recognized pattern of features that signals babies and children and – with psychologically normal individuals – stirring deep hormonal and neurological responses of sympathy and care or at least restraint.

The message was obvious and not at all funny: The Israeli “lion” was crushing the Palestinian “watermelons” into an enjoyably refreshing ice-cold and blood-red pulp, available with a “shot” of – presumably celebratory – vodka, too. That the faces on the anthropomorphized “melons” were childlike made everything even more repulsive: clearly, whoever felt this picture was a good idea is not normal enough for the Kindchenschema to work on them.

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Those who study genocide have long agreed that the deliberate dehumanizing of the victims by propaganda and indoctrination is one of its elementary methods and signs. Those who pretend to fail to recognize a textbook case of such dehumanization in this poster are deliberately obtuse.

The poster was, of course, an unmistakable allusion to Israel’s ongoing combined genocide- ethnic cleansing operation, with its main ( though not sole) target the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. That is the place where the majority of Israel’s victims, many of them babies and children, have literally been “shredded” and “cut to pieces” by air raids and bombing as well as systematically starved and deprived of housing and vital infrastructure, especially medical institutions, and, not to forget, their caretakers: it is Gaza under Israeli assault for which doctors had to invent a new abbreviation: WCNSF – wounded child, no surviving family.

In the words of Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office responsible for Gaza, Israel is practicing “deprivation by design” and the “deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life.”

The latest - de facto minimum - death toll among the Palestinians is approaching 63,000. Almost 112,000 victims have been injured, often severely, leading to lifelong consequences, such as amputated limbs. Horrifying as they are, these figures, generated by Gaza’s health ministry – which, contrary to Israeli and Western propaganda, is conservative in its counting – are only the tip of the iceberg. For one thing, a study in the authoritative medical journal The Lancet has long maintained that the real figures are likely to be substantially higher.

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Killing, injuring, and maiming are, of course, only one part of Israeli violence. Mass displacement and the literal razing of the Gaza Strip, much of which has been pounded into toxic dust, and deep and pervasive psychological trauma are others. There is no room here to even sketch all the vicious methods of Israel’s genocide or all its horrendous consequences. And as with genocides before, there is also a limit to language: It is hard to even accommodate in ordinary words both what the Israeli perpetrators have been doing, together with their Western accomplices, and the vicious sadism that not a few but many Israelis, in and out of uniform, are proudly displaying.

Yet this is, after all, what Amnesty International – and many others – have rightly identified as a “live-streamed genocide.” Due to the stunning shamelessness of many Israeli perpetrators and the development of modern media and especially social media, this is a genocide in the global public eye as never before.

That is why it is entirely impossible to believe the silly attempts to obfuscate and backpedal now made by the clearly anything but “leonine” creators of the poster. Obviously stung by protests and afraid of possible legal consequences, Yorai Feinberg, owner of Feinberg’s, has retreated to claiming that the melons were meant to stand for – drum roll – “antisemitism,” and that the whole thing was just satire anyhow.

Both claims are offensively absurd: Everyone knows that watermelons stand for Palestine, Palestinians, and their resistance, not “antisemitism.” It may, of course, be that in the unwell minds of the poster’s creators those two things appear to be the same. That would be a classical Zionist delusion as well as a propaganda trick. And still, obviously, a lie.

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Also, it is very, very hard to explain why things now allegedly representing merely “antisemitism” needed to be drawn with cute, childlike faces. No, this is, let’s print it, for-crying-out-loud bullshit, nonsense of the same evil, brazen sort as the Israeli genociders’ endless, daft lies about Hamas here and Hamas there, whenever they feel – which is often – like bombing yet another hospital, tent encampment, or residential building.

Regarding “satire” – a cop-out publicly endorsed by (surprise, surprise) the DIG – where to even start? If the makers of this revolting picture really felt that they were producing something akin to a “witty” or “edgy” statement, a kind of “joke,” then that simply means that they find “joking” about genocide and especially the mass murder of children “normal.” And there can’t be anything less normal and more morally rotten than such a sense of “humor.” Seriously boasting of mass murder or “just kidding”? You know what: It does not matter – either means you are a monster.

But this scandal involves more than the bloody bigotry of one German and Israeli restaurant. Consider that this was an official DIG event, attended by both its president Volker Beck and the Israeli ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor. They cannot have been unaware of the ‘lion-exterminates-melons’ poster: an Instagram picture showed both of them in front of the stand displaying it.

Beck is a major – if past his prime – politician from Germany’s Green Party, a fanatical supporter of Israel, and, as it happens, also a figure with a less than shining past. He has argued for the decriminalization of “pedosexuality,” that is, de facto the unpunished sexual abuse of minors, a fact he later tried to conceal without success; he has also been caught with serious drugs. Prosor is a veteran Israeli diplomat who does what Israeli diplomats do: Past highlights include attacking UNRWA, a signature move of Israeli aggression against Palestinians designed to cut them off from any support that might disturb Israeli siege and starvation operations. Indeed, Israeli assaults on UNRWA are currently the subject of yet another case against it at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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Recently, Prosor has sought to suppress critical voices in Germany, including Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm, and, for good measure, police German universities by defaming resistance to Israeli crimes and German complicity as “new antisemitism.” How original.

It’s not hard to imagine that both gentlemen saw nothing wrong with that melon-shredding lion and may even have enjoyed a splash of genocide-’joke’ smoothie. And they won’t face any consequences, of course. For – and this is the widest and saddest context of this vile affair – Germany has chosen to side with Israel with a ‘to-the-bitter-end’ obstinacy reminiscent of that other very disappointing Germany that failed to ever stop being loyal to – and fighting for – Nazism until finally stopped by others, mostly the Soviets.

Berlin, the capital, has been at the forefront of this new, as it were, transferred nationalism-without-restraint and Nibelungentreue for pure, obvious evil. Its mayor Kai Wegner has acquired a reputation for genocide denial; its police for brutality against those showing solidarity with Israel’s Palestinian victims. And it is the city where an anti-genocide protester has just been convicted for “trivializing the Holocaust” simply for peacefully holding up a sign saying “Have we learned nothing from the Holocaust?” Clearly, that judge has not.

Against this background of pervasive, dominant ethical perversion, a poster viciously dehumanizing Palestinians came as no surprise. What is intriguing is that this time there has been some protest even, if all too faintly, in some mainstream media outlets. Maybe Germany is not entirely lost yet. Or is it, as before in German history, only a minority that shows decency but cannot change the deeply indecent course of the country’s morally and intellectually kaput elites and the majority still following them?

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The US president has also offered to personally attend the potential peace negotiations in Istanbul

US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to send his senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to Türkiye this week to attend the potential talks between Moscow and Kiev, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.

The talks, which are expected to be held in Istanbul on Thursday, were originally proposed last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions in order to reach a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict.

Vladimir Zelensky has expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Russian side, but has insisted that it be preceded by an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a demand Moscow has repeatedly rejected. Zelensky has also said that he would only attend the meeting in Istanbul if Putin comes in person.

Trump has also supported the proposal to renew talks between Moscow and Kiev. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday ahead of his Middle East tour, the US President stated that he might even personally attend the negotiations in Türkiye, especially if Putin decides to attend.

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“I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump said. “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey,” he added.

Moscow has not commented on the possibility of Putin traveling to Istanbul. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also has yet to confirm who would be representing Moscow during the talks, stating that the Russian president’s decision on the matter will be announced in due time.

According to Reuters, regardless of whether Putin, Zelensky or Trump decide to take part in the talks, Kellogg and Witkoff have been ordered to go to Istanbul on Thursday to attend the meeting. The outlet noted that the two senior advisers will not actually take direct part in the negotiations and will only play the role of observers.

While it’s still unclear if the talks will actually take place and in what form, Peskov has stated that preparations for Thursday’s negotiations are underway. He has also ruled out the possibility of any of Kiev’s Western European backers taking part in the process, arguing that they are “entirely on Ukraine’s side” and “rather pro-war,” which excludes them from being considered “unbiased.”

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The ex-Philippines president is currently facing trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity

Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has won a mayoral race in his home city, according to unofficial election results released on Tuesday. The apparent win comes even as he remains in custody at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, facing charges of crimes against humanity.

Duterte, 80, was arrested by Philippine authorities at Manila’s international airport in March and flown to The Hague, where he is facing trial over his ‘war on drugs’ policy. Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges may run for office unless convicted and all appeals have been exhausted.

Preliminary results showed Duterte had secured more than half a million votes in Davao City – nearly eight times more than his nearest rival. He served as the city’s mayor for two decades before winning the presidency in 2016. Official results are expected within a week.

“Duterte landslide in Davao!” his youngest daughter Veronica posted on Facebook.

The “overwhelming” support Duterte received shows the public’s “total rejection” of efforts to “attempt to stamp out” his legacy, his lawyer said, as quoted by ABS-CBN news agency.

Supporters reportedly chanted his name as early tallies were announced.

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The ICC alleges that from 2016 to 2022, Duterte oversaw “death squads” responsible for killing suspected drug dealers and users. He has denied wrongdoing but admitted the crackdown was violent.

Government records show at least 6,200 people were killed in police operations. Rights groups say the real toll could be far higher.

Some human rights advocates have called Duterte’s arrest illegal, noting the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 on his orders. The court argues it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while the country was still a member.

His lawyers have filed a petition accusing the Philippine government of “kidnapping” and say the extradition violated both domestic and international law.

Vice President Sara Duterte, his eldest daughter, told reporters after voting this week that she was in talks with her father’s lawyers about how he might take his oath as mayor while in detention. She is widely seen as a leading contender for the 2028 presidential race, despite an impending Senate impeachment trial in July.

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The decision includes potential delivery of Taurus cruise missiles, a government spokesman has said

Germany wants to maintain a “low profile” on future arms deliveries to Ukraine and has refused to publicly discuss the potential delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev, according to a German government spokesperson on Monday.

Extensive public debate of arms deliveries helps Russia, according to Stefan Cornelius, spokesman for new Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Previous deliveries to Kiev under Olaf Scholz were widely debated in public.

“We will also no longer comment on any plans regarding the supply of Taurus cruise missiles,” Cornelius said, “Information about what weapons and ammunition we are supplying should remain open. The situation is different when it comes to such details as the number of specific missiles. This information is not so important for the public, but the Russian aggressor can draw conclusions from it.”

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The official silence could precipitate the long-debated delivery of the Swedish-German Taurus missiles to Ukraine, which Scholz opposed, citing escalation of the conflict, but which Merz is open to supplying.

Taurus missiles have a 500km operational range, meaning they could be used to attack targets deep inside Russian territory. Moscow has repeatedly warned Berlin that deliveries to Ukraine would make Germany a direct participant in the conflict.

“Since live-firing these cruise missiles is impossible without the direct assistance of Bundeswehr servicemen, a strike on any Russian facilities, critical transport infrastructure... all this will be regarded as direct German participation in military operations,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last month.

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It is “shameless” for the US president to threaten American ally Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said

US President Donald Trump should drop his plans to take control of Greenland as its residents do not want to become Americans, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.

Trump has been talking about making Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, part of the US, since winning a second term in the White House in November. He has offered to buy the resource-rich Arctic territory from Copenhagen, but also warned that he could go as far as using force to bring it under Washington’s sovereignty.

“I do not say I am going to do it, but I do not rule out anything,” the US president said of a possible military scenario in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press earlier this month. “We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people [around 57,000], which we will take care of, and we will cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security,” he claimed.

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Rasmussen, who previously served as Danish prime minister, told Politico on Monday that it is “shameless that an American president can threaten an ally. Denmark is one of the closest and most reliable allies of the US.”

The former NATO boss, who oversaw the military bloc’s disastrous intervention in Libya, destroying the country’s economy, unleashing immigrant flows across North Africa and slave auctions in Tripoli, stressed that he is “concerned” by Trump’s rhetoric regarding Greenland.

He noted that the US already has a right to keep military bases on the island as part of a 1951 treaty.

“The fact is that Greenland is part of NATO. If the US is dissatisfied with the defense of Greenland... we would appreciate a strengthened defense cooperation with the US,” Rasmussen stressed.

However, he insisted that Greenland “is part of Denmark and Greenlanders do not want to become Americans.”

READ MORE: Western states want Ukraine conflict to continue – EU state’s leader

Last week, the Danish Foreign Ministry summoned the acting US ambassador to the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered US spy agencies to ramp up their intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the meeting was aimed at conveying to Washington that Copenhagen treats the claims “very seriously.”

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, described the alleged spying activities by the US as “completely unacceptable, disrespectful… and entirely abnormal.”

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Narendra Modi has praised the air defense system’s performance in his country’s military standoff with Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the prowess of the country’s air defenses on Tuesday, particularly noting the performance of its Russian-made S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems.

In an interaction with soldiers at the Adampur air base in northwest India, Modi said that during India’s recent military operation against Pakistan, codenamed Operation Sindoor, a combination of well-trained manpower and the right technology had helped the armed forces perform well.

“Platforms like the S-400 have given unprecedented strength to the country,” Modi said in an address to the soldiers, while standing in front of the Russian-made air defense system. “A strong security shield has become the identity of India.”

On May 7, New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor, a series of missile strikes against suspected militant facilities in Pakistan and Islamabad-administered Kashmir, in response to a terrorist attack in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in April which claimed 26 civilian lives.

In response to the Indian strikes, Pakistan attacked air bases including Adampur, where an S-400 system is operated from.

Adampur was targeted by Pakistan on May 10, according to reports. At that time, Pakistan’s state-run television channel PTV said its JF-17 fighter jets fired hypersonic missiles which destroyed the Indian base, including the S-400 air defense system. Indian military officials, however, were quick to refute these claims as false.

Defense analysts have praised the Indian government’s decision to buy the S-400, as it successfully negated the Pakistani attacks. The systems were acquired from Russia in 2016 at a cost of $5.4 billion, in defiance of a US threat to impose sanctions.

??PM Modi Sings #S400 Praises - Lauds its Role in Defending India ???? #OperationSindoor #Adampur https://t.co/j2xrUrlORr pic.twitter.com/dD9NXHpTg4

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 13, 2025

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2021 visit to India, New Delhi confirmed the delivery of five of the surface-to-air systems.

Following the successful use of the S-400 during Operation Sindoor, India has formally approached Russia with a request for additional units, India Today TV has reported, citing sources in the defense ministry.

READ MORE: India seeks to levy duties on US steel and aluminum

Media reports have also indicated that Russia has offered joint production of the S-500 system with India. The S-500 would have a range of 600 kilometers, compared to 400 for the S-400, a response time of under 4 seconds (under 10 seconds for S-400) and could reach altitudes up to 200 kilometers (30 kilometers for S-400).

?? Attention India! You've Seen the S-400 in Action - Now Check Out the S-500! pic.twitter.com/ccuctogtXx

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 12, 2025

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Ex-banking magnate Sergey Pugachev was convicted in absentia for embezzlement and abuse of authority

A Moscow court has sentenced former banking magnate Sergey Pugachev to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of embezzlement. Pugachev has been living in France for the past several years and was convicted in absentia.

The Tverskoy Court in the Russian capital issued the verdict on Tuesday, also ordering Pugachev to pay an 800,000 ruble ($9,900) fine.

Pugachev cofounded Mezhprombank in the early 1990s, and later served as a senator for the Republic of Tuva in the national parliament. He renounced his Russian citizenship in 2012 amid accusations of deliberately bankrupting Mezhprombank, and has since been naturalized in France.

In the verdict announced by Judge Aleksey Krivoruchko, Pugachev was found guilty of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of authority. The court ordered the seizure of his assets and upheld a civil claim by the Deposit Insurance Agency, awarding 28.7 billion rubles ($310 million) in damages.

The sentence was handed down in absentia as the French authorities have refused to extradite Pugachev, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said.

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According to investigators, between 2008-2009 Pugachev coordinated the theft of funds from Mezhprombank alongside Aleksandr Didenko, head of the bank’s executive board, and Dmitry Amunts, general director of ZAO OPK Development.

Additionally, in 2010, on Pugachev’s instructions, acting executive board chair Marina Illarionova allegedly signed agreements canceling collateral linked to earlier loan contracts. Prosecutors said this action deprived the bank of the means to recover loaned funds.

The loans were never repaid, causing losses of at least 64.5 billion rubles ($796 million) according to the Prosecutor General’s Office. Authorities said the damage led to the bank’s insolvency and its inability to meet obligations to creditors.

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Forty-nine members of South Africa’s white minority recently emigrated to the US amid allegations of persecution at home

President Cyril Ramaphosa is planning a meeting with United States President Donald Trump regarding the refugee status granted to a group of Afrikaners.

The critical meeting comes in the wake of a recent chartered flight that transported 49 Afrikaners to the US, leading to questions about their eligibility for refugee status.

President Ramaphosa addressed the issue on Monday at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where he made it clear that the beleaguered migrants did not conform to the established criteria for individuals deserving of refugee protection.

Ramaphosa said he spoke to Trump on Monday afternoon and told him that he had been provided with false information.

“I told him I would like to come and meet him so that we can discuss this matter further,” said Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa said that he clarified to the US president that some Afrikaners often resist change, preferring to uphold the remnants of apartheid-era practices.

On Monday morning, IOL reported that a chartered plane carrying 49 South African Afrikaners departed for the United States on Sunday night under Trump’s offer for the “discriminated” South African individuals and families to relocate.

The first batch of Afrikaner refugees left OR Tambo International Airport on a flight operated by the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based charter company Omni Air International, and are expected to land in Washington on Monday evening.

READ MORE: US welcomes white South African asylum-seekers (VIDEO)

Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola said the notion being peddled, that Afrikaners are being persecuted in South Africa, is false.

Today @DeputySecState welcomed the first group of Afrikaner refugees fleeing persecution from their native South Africa. We stand with these refugees, many of them farmers and former business owners, as they build a better future for themselves and their children here in the… pic.twitter.com/W16RJSU3tB

— Department of State (@StateDept) May 12, 2025

“We understand it is 49 people who have taken up the offer for refugee status in the United States. Just to be clear, the South African government unequivocally states that these are not refugees. In a country like ours, some of us went to schools where we were taught Afrikaans and by the way Afrikaans is still a medium of instruction and language in many of our schools,” said Phiri.

”We have judges, ministers, former mayors, we have streets named after Afrikaner heroes and Afrikaner nationals in the liberation context as well. To this day, you can drive on Voortrekker Street in any town in South Africa.

“This idea that Afrikaners are being persecuted is completely false, let alone the fact that Afrikaners are not just white people. There are also Africans who are Afrikaners, so this is something that we have stated quite unequivocally, that we contest the status of them being refugees. But we also said we are not going to stand in the way,” he said.

The group of 49 left the country on their South African passports and the government in Pretoria said there is no intention to deprive them of citizenship.

Phiri however highlighted that once the individuals are accepted into the United States refugee system, they cannot be returned to South Africa by the US government - for any reason.

First published by IOL

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The 76-year-old film star has been found guilty of groping two women in 2021

French actor Gerard Depardieu was convicted on Tuesday of sexually assaulting two women during the filming of a movie in Paris in 2021. The 76-year-old cinema veteran was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

The court also ordered Depardieu to pay more than €29,000 ($32,650) in damages to the victims, a set decorator and an assistant director, and added his name to France’s national sex offender registry.

The verdict marks the most high-profile conviction for sexual misconduct in the French film industry since the rise of #MeToo, a global social movement against harassment and assault which encouraged survivors to share their experiences to raise awareness. Depardieu, who has appeared in more than 200 film and television productions, has denied any wrongdoing.

He has faced over 20 sexual misconduct allegations in recent years, most of which were dropped due to lack of evidence or statute of limitations. He also remains under investigation in a separate rape case linked to a complaint filed by actress Charlotte Arnould in 2018.

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One of the victims, identified as Amelie K., told the court that Depardieu grabbed her waist, pulled her toward him, and groped her intimate areas while making obscene remarks. The second woman, a 34-year-old assistant director who has not been publicly identified, said Depardieu had touched her breasts and buttocks on three occasions during the production of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters).

During the March trial, Depardieu admitted to grabbing one of the women by the hips during an on-set dispute but denied any sexual intent. He acknowledged using vulgar language and attributed his behavior to differences in social norms across generations.

“I hope this is the end of impunity for cinema artists. I’ve heard some actors recently still supporting Depardieu. Now with this verdict, no one can say Gerard Depardieu is not a sexual predator,” Carine Durrieu Diebolt, Amelie’s lawyer, reportedly said.

Depardieu, who did not attend the verdict due to filming commitments in the Azores, intends to appeal. In 2023, veteran actress Brigitte Bardot publicly defended him, saying, “Those who have talent—if they put their hands on a girl’s butt—they are thrown into the dungeon.” Bardot has not commented since the ruling.

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Edan Alexander has been reunited with his family after the Palestinian group let him go as a “goodwill gesture” to Trump

The last US citizen held hostage by Hamas, Edan Alexander, has been reunited with his family after the Palestinian group released him on Monday.

Hamas said the release was a “goodwill gesture” to US President Donald Trump, who is touring Gulf Arab states this week, as Washington continues efforts to broker a ceasefire between the militants and Israel.

The 21-year-old Israeli-American had been serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) when he was captured on the border of Gaza during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel. During the assault, approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken, making it the deadliest day in the nation’s history. In response, Israel launched a sustained military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas.

Following negotiations with the US on Sunday – mediated by Egypt and Qatar – the Palestinian group announced that it would release Alexander as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paused military operations in the Palestinian enclave for several hours to allow Alexander’s transfer. He has since been reunited with his family at an Israeli military base.

US President Donald Trump was the first to announce that Alexander would be released, writing on his Truth Social account on Sunday that it was a “step taken in good faith” by Hamas towards ending the “very brutal war” and returning all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.

The next day, Trump confirmed that Alexander was being let go and congratulated his parents, family and friends. He also shared a video showing his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who personally traveled to Israel to oversee the transfer, giving Alexander’s mom a phone to talk to her son shortly after his release.

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Alexander’s family later shared a statement thanking Trump and urging the Israeli government and negotiators to continue efforts to release the remaining 58 hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Alexander’s release came thanks to Israel’s military pressure in Gaza and political pressure by the US president.

IDF fire resumed after the release with authorities in Gaza saying an air strike killed three people and wounded several others at a shelter housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave.

Netanyahu emphasized that the temporary pause in military operations was solely to facilitate Alexander’s safe transfer and did not signify a broader truce. He further stated that Israel plans to intensify its military operations in Gaza.

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Officials in Brussels have been enraged by diplomatic outreach to Russia, Cypriot politician Fidias Panayiotou has claimed

A member of the European Parliament claims he and other lawmakers who recently traveled to Moscow are facing an EU investigation over their diplomatic outreach to Russia.

Independent Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou visited the Russian capital with other lawmakers during Victory Day celebrations, where he met with the chairman of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.

In a video posted to X on Monday, Panayiotou said his trip “was not liked at all in the European Parliament, and they have already started an investigation against us.”

Panayiotou has openly criticized the EU’s combative stance on Russia and the Ukraine conflict. He argues that Brussels should prioritize diplomacy over supplying weapons to Kiev.

During last Saturday's meeting, Volodin lauded international dialogue that allows officials “understand each other and come up with decisions important for their peoples and states,” according to the State Duma’s website.

Other guests at the Russian parliament reportedly came from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

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The Moscow visit coincided with Russia’s Victory Day commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The event drew 28 foreign leaders, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic – both of whom ignored threats from Brussels should they go.

“I consider today’s trip to Moscow to be extremely successful,” Fico said, noting he held talks with senior officials from Brazil, China, and other countries on the sidelines of the event.

Vucic, speaking from Moscow’s Red Square, said he was proud to represent Serbia – an EU candidate – at the ceremony, even though he expected to face personal consequences from the EU for his attendance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised visiting foreign leaders who attended Victory Day celebrations, calling them “leaders not through their office, but through strength of character, convictions, and readiness to defend those convictions.”

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Clashes erupted in the city on Monday night, with no official casualty figures released

Libya’s Defense Ministry under the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) said Tuesday it has “successfully concluded” a military operation in the capital, following a night of clashes triggered by the reported assassination of a senior security commander.

The ministry said in a statement that it had giving instructions “to complete its plan in the region to ensure sustained security and stability,” but provided no details.

Fighting reportedly erupted in several parts of Tripoli on Monday evening after the murder of Abdulghani al-Kikli, also known as Ghaniwa, the head of the UN-backed government’s Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). He was reportedly shot inside the headquarters of the 444th Combat Brigade in the south of the city, following what local media described as failed negotiations.

According to Al Jazeera, gunfire and explosions were heard in the city’s Abu Salim and Mashrou neighborhoods. Witnesses said armed forces from the 111th and 444th brigades stormed the SSA headquarters. Al Arabiya reported the presence of militias from Misrata and other cities approaching the capital.

Graphic images circulating online appeared to show multiple casualties, though the full extent of injuries and deaths remained unclear. Al Jazeera reported that at least six people were wounded.

Fighting has erupted in the Libyan city of Tripoli following the assassination of the head of the Stability Support Apparatus. Multiple key installations appear to have been captured by different groups in the middle of the chaos. The airport has been closed. #Breaking #Libya pic.twitter.com/a6OeXNXS43

— ??? ???? (@tzvai_tracker) May 12, 2025

Libya’s Ministry of Interior had earlier warned civilians to stay indoors for their safety. The government later declared it had regained control over the Abu Salim district, a known stronghold of Ghaniwa’s forces.

READ MORE: Armed groups clash in Libyan capital (VIDEOS)

On Tuesday, the interior ministry announced that the situation in Tripoli was now “safe and stable,” and that security agencies were “doing their duty efficiently in maintaining security and public order.”

Libya has remained fragile since a NATO-backed uprising ousted former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, leading to his execution. Rival factions control different parts of the once-prosperous North African country, with rival governments in Tripoli and the city of Tobruk.

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Tripoli has seen periodic clashes between armed groups, with militia violence killing 55 people in August 2023. In February, Cabinet Affairs Minister Adel Juma survived an assassination attempt.

Late on Monday, the UN mission in Libya said it was concerned about the escalating security situation and called for an immediate end to hostilities, as well as the protection of civilians.

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Kiev intensified its strikes on border regions ahead of the 72-hour pause, a high-ranking Russian official has said

Six Russian civilians were killed and 23 others wounded in Ukrainian attacks during the 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire, top Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral truce from May 7-8 to May 10-11 to mark the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and to encourage unconditional peace talks with Kiev. However, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky declined to support the ceasefire, dismissing it as a Russian ploy and an “attempt at manipulation.”

Miroshnik, who is the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador-at-large tasked with documenting Kiev’s alleged war crimes, told TASS on Monday that ahead of the start of the truce “the Ukrainian Nazis not only failed to reduce the intensity of attacks on civilian targets, but increased the number of such strikes by almost a quarter,” compared to previous days.

During the ceasefire, Ukrainian forces targeted “residential buildings, medical transport, civilian vehicles and commercial facilities,” he said.

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According to the diplomat, the “most flagrant” attacks took place in Kursk Region bordering Ukraine. In one of the incidents, a man lost his life as a result of a strike by a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher on the village of Zvannoye, and in another a woman was killed after an aerial bomb was dropped on the village of Glushkovo, he said.

Overall, during the past week, the Ukrainian military fired at least 2,636 munitions at civilian targets inside Russia, with the border regions of Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk being affected the most, Miroshnik said. The majority of those attacks were carried out with the use of drones, he added.

The strikes killed 21 civilians and left 70 others wounded, the diplomat said.

The intensification of attacks by Kiev over the past seven days was an attempt “to intimidate the civilian population” of Russia, he stressed.

READ MORE: Kremlin issues update on preparations for potential Ukraine talks

Russia’s Defense Ministry said earlier that the Ukrainian military has committed more than 14,000 violations of the Victory Day truce, including making five unsuccessful attempts to cross into Russian territory in Kursk and Belgorod regions. According to the ministry, the Russian military strictly observed the ceasefire regime, only responding to attacks when they happened.

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The Ivy League institution has responded to the US government’s anti-Semitism concerns

Harvard University will not compromise its “core, legally protected principles,” despite a looming grant suspension by the US Department of Education, university president, Alan Garber, has said. Garber cited a “strategy to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry” in a letter published on Monday.

In a letter posted on X last week Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon accused the university of “serious failures” in anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, academic rigor, and viewpoint diversity. “Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system,” the secretary wrote, saying that it “should no longer seek” federal funding “since none will be provided.”

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US President Donald Trump’s administration is reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard amid intensive pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Last month, the White House called for changes to governance, hiring and admissions and the elimination of all DEI programs at Harvard in a letter it later claimed was “unauthorized.”

The elite Ivy League university rejected the demands, accusing the White House of attempting to “control” its campus. The university filed a lawsuit over the suspension of approximately $2.3 billion in funding and reaffirmed its commitment to addressing discrimination internally.

READ MORE: Trump team explains letter to Harvard – NYT

In Monday’s letter, Garber said Harvard’s reform efforts were being “undermined and threatened by the federal government’s overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard’s compliance with the law.” He added that the university was pursuing necessary reforms in line with its values and legal obligations.

“But Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government,” Garber wrote.

Garber also rejected claims of partisanship, adding that he had seen no evidence suggesting international students are “more prone to disruption, violence, or other misconduct” than their peers.

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Steve Witkoff has called efforts to isolate the Russian president counterproductive for resolving the Ukraine conflict

Isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to help resolve the Ukraine conflict, senior US negotiator Steve Witkoff has said, calling the approach lacking in logic.

Western nations have attempted to marginalize Moscow diplomatically since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, but Witkoff, speaking to Breitbart News last week, criticized that approach. He emphasized the necessity of including all major players in the dialogue.

”We need to talk to any stakeholders in this conflict,” Witkoff said in the section of the interview published Monday. “There is no deal without President Putin’s sign-off.” US President Donald Trump’s special envoy added that he found it difficult to “understand the logic” of those who oppose direct engagement with the Russian leader.

The Trump administration’s current stance is that Russian and Ukrainian officials must be brought together physically so that the US can “show them that the alternatives to a peaceful resolution here are bad for everybody.”

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The Trump administration’s current stance is that Russian and Ukrainian officials must be brought together physically so that the United States can “show them that the alternatives to a peaceful resolution here are bad for everybody.”

Putin last week reiterated Moscow’s call to resume negotiations that Kiev abandoned in 2022, proposing that talks be held again in Istanbul. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and several European NATO members have insisted that Russia first agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, warning that failure to do so will result in further sanctions. Russian officials say such a pause would give Kiev an opportunity to regroup militarily and renew hostilities.

Putin has offered to restart negotiations as early as Thursday. Zelensky has said he will go to Istanbul that day and expects Putin to come too.

Witkoff emphasized that the US could step back from its mediating role if progress is not made. “The president has issued an ultimatum to both sides” to begin direct talks, he said.

”I think if the US pulls back from this conflict… that’s a bad result for everybody,” he added. “It’s bad for the Europeans. It’s bad for the Ukrainians. I don’t think it’s good for the Russians. I think the Russians actually do want a peaceful settlement.”

READ MORE: Top Russian MP tells Zelensky to ‘stop the clownery’ (VIDEO)

Moscow has urged a comprehensive agreement that addresses what it sees as the root causes of the conflict, including a promise by NATO to eventually admit Ukraine and discriminatory policies by Kiev toward ethnic Russians.

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President Putin will decide when the lineup of Moscow’s delegation for the negotiations will be announced, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul later this week are still possible, and Moscow is making preparations should they take place, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to find a lasting settlement to the conflict that would address its root causes. He suggested that the talks could take place in Türkiye’s largest city on Thursday.

After Putin’s proposal was supported by US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky also expressed readiness to engage in dialogue with Russia. However, he again insisted that any talks should be preceded by the start of a 30-day ceasefire – a demand that Moscow has repeatedly ruled out.

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When asked by journalists on Tuesday if the talks in Istanbul would actually take place, Peskov replied that “the Russian side continues to prepare for the negotiations that are scheduled to take place on Thursday,” but declined to comment further.

Peskov also refused to reveal the lineup of the Russian delegation for the potential negotiations, saying that “we will announce it as soon as the president [Putin] deems it necessary.”

The Kremlin spokesman appeared to rule out the possibility of Ukraine’s Western European backers taking part in the peace process between Moscow and Kiev in any form.

“[Western] Europe is, after all, entirely on Ukraine’s side. It cannot claim to have an unbiased approach… Its approach is not balanced, it is rather pro-war, aimed at continuing the fighting, which is in sharp contrast to the approach demonstrated, for example, by Moscow or Washington,” Peskov explained.

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New Delhi has approached the WTO to impose retaliatory duties on Washington, in response to tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump

India has approached the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a proposal to impose retaliatory duties against the US over American tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The move comes after the US imposed a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports in March, which was an extension of measures initially introduced in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term as president.

“India hereby notifies the Council for Trade in Goods of its proposed suspension of concessions and other obligations... This notification is made in connection with safeguard measures extended by the United States of America on imports of aluminium, steel and derivative articles, vide Presidential Proclamation... dated 10 February 2025, with the effective date of 12 March 2025,” a WTO communication said.

India requested consultations with the US under the WTO's safeguard agreement after Trump announced the new tariffs this year. However, Washington responded by stating that the decision was made on the grounds of national security, and therefore should not be viewed as a safeguard measure.

The WTO safeguard agreement provides an option for a country to retaliate when another member invokes safeguard measures without proper notification.

India proposes to impose retaliatory duties against the US over American tariffs on steel and aluminium in the WTO. #India #US #Tariffs pic.twitter.com/u394fSfTZh

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 13, 2025

India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, said in the WTO document that the Trump administration’s measures will affect $7.6 billion worth of Indian products exported to the US, according to a Reuters report.

New Delhi is currently putting the finishing touches to a bilateral trade deal with Washington. US Vice President J.D. Vance announced last month that the two countries have agreed on terms for bilateral trade negotiations, calling it a roadmap to a final deal.

The timing of India's WTO action is sensitive and could cast a shadow over talks with the US on a broader free trade agreement, Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative think tank, was quoted by news agencies as saying.

India will inform both the Council for Trade in Goods and the Committee on Safeguards of its next steps, and has also taken up the tariff issue bilaterally with the US, reports added. The South Asian nation is also weighing the possibility of imposing a 12% duty on steel imports from China.

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Angie Motshekga has emphasized the need for global unity, mutual respect, and historical truth

There must be a renewed global commitment to peace, mutual respect, and historical memory, South African Defense Minister Angie Motshekga has said. She stressed that peace must be pursued “consciously and deliberately” in today’s increasingly fractured geopolitical environment.

Speaking to RT during her visit to Moscow for the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Motshekga described the military parade on Red Square as “breathtaking” and emotionally powerful.

She said what moved her most was not only the precision and symbolism of the event itself, but the fact that Russia chose to include and honor “all neighboring countries” who contributed to the victory against fascism in 1945.

For South African defense minister, the military parade underscored the shared responsibility of nations to remember the cost of global conflict and to protect the future of a common world. “There’s only one globe” she noted, “and we have to protect it and protect its people.”

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Reflecting on the current international landscape, the minister remarked that geopolitics had become overly “materialistic.”

Motshekga further emphasized the necessity of cooperation between nations across the Global South, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. “It’s very important to really work for peace consciously and deliberately,” she said.

This year’s Victory Day marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Thousands of troops and dozens of military vehicles paraded through Red Square in the Russian capital on May 9 to commemorate the occasion.

More than two dozen world leaders attended the Victory Day celebrations, including the heads of Burkina Faso, the Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Egypt. Egypt’s military police marched in the parade alongside cadets from other allied nations.

READ MORE: Victory Day and foreign hosts: Putin deepens African ties

‘Immortal Regiment’ memorial marches – honoring the memory of WWII veterans – took place in various African nations in the days leading up to Russia’s Victory Day events.

“The Russian people fought for their freedom and their right to live – and they won! So allow me to congratulate you on Victory Day!” said Ndileka Mandela, granddaughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela, in her address.

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The wife of ousted Ali Bongo had been in detention since the 2023 military coup

Gabon’s government has transferred former First Lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and her son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, to house arrest after detaining them for more than a year on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and money laundering, according to local media reports.

The move comes just one week after the swearing-in of the Central African country’s new leader, Brice Oligui Nguema, the former general who led the August 2023 military coup that ousted long-serving former President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

According to “reliable” sources cited by the Gabon Review news agency, Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo were moved from their cells on Friday to their family residence in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, where former president Ali Bongo has been under house arrest since his ouster. The two remain under judicial supervision, with charges pending and an obligation to cooperate with Gabonese authorities when required, the outlet stated.

Sylvia was first held in the wake of the coup and formally detained in October 2023, following a committal order related to accusations of money laundering and forgery.

At the time, her lawyer, François Zimeray, described the detention as “arbitrary” and “illegal,” while reports suggested she and her son were held either in the Central Prison in Libreville or possibly the basement of the presidential palace.

READ MORE: Ousted African leader goes on hunger strike

The Bongo family has long been at the center of Gabon’s political dynasty. Ali Bongo succeeded his late father, Omar Bongo, president of Gabon from 1967 to 2009, and ruled until the August 2023 coup, which followed a widely disputed election.

Bongo suffered a severe stroke in October 2018, causing him to have difficulty moving his right arm and leg. The coup leaders suspected Sylvia Bongo of manipulating her husband, who they claimed was suffering from the effects of the stroke, and of “massively embezzling public funds” alongside certain government officials.

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Sylvia Bongo denied all of the allegations when she first appeared before judges in October 2023.

On April 30, the African Union adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of Gabon’s former president, his family, and ex-officials, and for their rights, safety, and health to be protected.

Last year, the deposed president launched a hunger strike to protest the alleged torture of himself and his family after lawyers claimed that Sylvia and Noureddin Bongo had been beaten and strangled while in custody.

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The EU may alter its legal framework in order to extend penalties targeting Moscow without unanimous backing

The European Commission intends to employ a bureaucratic redefinition in order to prevent Hungary from blocking the prolongation of anti-Russian sanctions, The Financial Times has reported, citing five unnamed sources.

EU sanctions targeting Russia over its role in the Ukraine conflict require unanimous renewal every six months, with the current term set to expire at the end of July. Hungary claims the measures actually harm the bloc’s interests more than they damage Moscow, and has blocked several key decisions on Kiev. While Budapest has not formally vetoed any sanctions packages, it has repeatedly threatened to do so, in order to obtain concessions.

The European Commission’s proposal would reclassify the sanctions in order to allow qualified majority voting rather than insisting on unanimity, the newspaper said on Tuesday. This could involve framing the restrictions as capital controls and trade measures or possibly as unilateral initiatives. For example, the immobilization of Russian assets under EU jurisdiction could be recast as a Belgian national measure, since Belgium holds most of the funds.

”We are all focused on Plan A,” said one of the officials. “But there are discussions on the legal basis of alternative options.”

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Some officials are reportedly wary that the proposed maneuvering could expose the bloc’s sanctions to legal challenges. One source said that during a meeting last week, some member states expressed a “lack of trust” in the EC’s legal competence, to the Commission’s surprise.

Russia last week called for Ukraine to resume peace talks that Kiev called off in 2022, suggesting they could begin as soon as Thursday.

Ukraine and its supporters have claimed no talks can take place unless Russia agrees to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a condition which Moscow officials have described as likely a ploy to give Kiev time to regroup.

Moscow has rejected the threat of further sanctions should it refuse the truce, stating it will not be spoken to in “the language of ultimatums.”

Hungary, along with Slovakia, has accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of advancing a foreign policy that is detrimental to the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently warned that granting Ukraine EU membership by 2030, as demanded by Brussels, would push the bloc into “a war.”

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It is “sad” that Western European leaders chose such a destination to mark Victory Day, the Venezuelan president has said

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has condemned the leaders of France, Britain, and Germany for marking Victory Day in Kiev, which he described as “the world capital of Nazism and fascism.”

Maduro’s remarks came after he returned from Russia, where he took part in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 and signed a strategic cooperation treaty between Moscow and Caracas.

The parade on Red Square in Moscow and other commemorative events “acquired great significance because today there is a revival of Nazism and fascism,” the Venezuelan president said during his Con Maduro+ television program on Monday.

Kiev has become “the world capital of Nazism and fascism, where a pro-Nazi government rules,” he added.

Vladimir Zelensky’s government is “a protector of the Nazi currents, it exterminates the people of Ukraine and the peoples of the [former] Soviet Union,” Maduro insisted.

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According to the president, it is “sad” that French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who all visited Kiev on Saturday, chose such a destination to mark Victory Day.

“The West, in its civilizational decadence, simply intends to cover up, erase, destroy with missiles of lies, the great truth of the heroic process that led to the victory of the Red Army of the Soviet Union against Nazism and fascism,” he said.

Macron, Starmer, and Merz went to Kiev “to celebrate, calling for war, they went to talk about sanctions,” but ended up being “defeated by history,” Maduro stated.

During their trip to Kiev, the French, British, and German leaders demanded that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine or face more sanctions.

READ MORE: Trump could take part in Russia-Ukraine talks

Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday offered to resume direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to find a settlement to the conflict that would address its root causes. According to the Russian leader, the talks could take place in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15. Putin’s proposal was backed by US President Donald Trump, who said on Monday that the potential talks could deliver “good results.”

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New Delhi has rejected the US president’s assertion that he issued a trade threat in order to bring about a ceasefire

Indian Foreign Ministry sources have dismissed claims that the US threatened to reduce trade as a means of brokering a ceasefire with Pakistan.

Speaking at a White House briefing on Monday, US President Donald Trump said he had intervened at a critical moment in the standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors, and had told both countries: “I was 'gonna do a lot of trade with you, let's stop it'.” He claimed that this approach had helped to ease tensions.

The conflict had escalated after India launched strikes on suspected terrorist facilities in Pakistan-controlled territory under the codename Operation Sindoor on May 7, in response to a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April.

Trump also claimed in the Monday briefing that his administration was instrumental in brokering the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and that he was confident that it would last indefinitely.

“On Saturday, my administration helped broker an immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one between India and Pakistan – the countries having a lot of nuclear weapons. Ending a dangerous conflict between two nations with lots of nuclear weapons. And they were going at it hot and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop,” he said.

READ MORE: India won’t tolerate nuclear blackmail – Modi

Indian Foreign Ministry sources stated that after Operation Sindoor commenced, US Vice President J.D. Vance spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 9. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke to Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on May 8 and May 10. However, there was no reference to trade in any of these discussions, the sources said.

In an address to the nation on Monday evening, Modi said “terrorism and trade cannot exist together.”

??Modi: Terror & Talks Won't Happen Together, Terror & Trade Won't Happen Together, Blood & Water Won't Flow Together #IndiaPakistan #OperationSindoor https://t.co/eN7CThc8FY pic.twitter.com/zvCbL6LoJ6

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 12, 2025

India and Pakistan have both claimed to have achieved their military objectives in the standoff, while accusing each other of targeting civilians.

The Director Generals of Military Operations from the two countries have held discussions, focusing on their commitments to the ceasefire. According to the Indian Army, as reported by the ANI news agency, it was agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to reduce troop presence from the borders and forward areas.

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The UK, Germany, and France have failed to subdue Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Grushko has said

Ukraine’s European backers have failed to defeat or weaken Russia, yet still want to prolong the conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Grushko has said.

The diplomat argued that Britain, France, and Germany were not actually interested in achieving peace between Moscow and Kiev.

“These countries continue aiming to drag out the conflict. Stripping away the diplomatic language that cloaks their political actions, their primary objectives are Russia’s defeat on the battlefield, its international isolation, economic strangulation, and regime change. All of these efforts have ended in a complete fiasco,” Grushko told the news agency TASS on Monday.

Grushko added that the ultimate goal of the EU was to “weaken Russia as much as possible.”

The German government has threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow refuses to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and backed by the EU. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed “the language of ultimatums” as unacceptable.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to hold direct negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions in Türkiye on May 15. Vladimir Zelensky has stated he was ready to meet Putin on Thursday, but only if Moscow first agrees to a truce.

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The previous round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations broke down in the spring of 2022 when both sides accused each other of making unrealistic demands. Putin said at the time that Kiev’s negotiators initially agreed to some of Moscow’s terms before abruptly leaving the talks.

Moscow has opposed Ukraine’s 30-day truce demand on the grounds that it would use the window to rearm and regroup its military. Putin has also insisted that Kiev must halt its mobilization drive and stop receiving weapons from abroad.

Putin has maintained that Ukraine must abandon its plans to join NATO and renounce its claims to Crimea and four other regions that voted in 2022 to join Russia.

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President Donald Trump has accused Pretoria of “genocide”

The first group of white South Africans arrived in the United States on Monday after President Donald Trump offered them a safe haven from what he described as “genocide.”

The government in Pretoria has firmly denied Trump’s claims that it is discriminating against the country’s white minority or condoning attacks on farmers of European descent.

Pretoria has drawn international attention since passing a law in January permitting the expropriation of land without compensation – most of which is currently owned by white farmers

State Department officials welcomed 59 individuals – including small children – at an airport hangar outside Washington, DC. “I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years,” said Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. He added, “Many of these folks have experience with threatening invasions of their homes, their farms, and a real lack of interest or success of the government in doing anything about this situation.”

The US had previously granted asylum to 54 Afrikaners – the descendants of Dutch colonists – who make up about 7% of South Africa’s population.

Today @DeputySecState welcomed the first group of Afrikaner refugees fleeing persecution from their native South Africa. We stand with these refugees, many of them farmers and former business owners, as they build a better future for themselves and their children here in the… pic.twitter.com/W16RJSU3tB

— Department of State (@StateDept) May 12, 2025

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to fast-track naturalization for white South Africans. “Because they’re being killed, and we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump said. “It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about, but it’s a terrible thing that’s taking place.”

He also accused the media of remaining silent about what he called a campaign against white farmers, saying, “If it were the other way around, that would be the only story they’d talk about.”

Trump’s claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa were echoed by his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, who was born in Pretoria.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed Trump’s allegations as “completely false.” Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola stated, “There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans, or white Afrikaners in particular, who are farmers.”

The South African government has framed its land expropriation measures as a means of addressing apartheid-era disparities in land ownership.

Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya stated that the state “may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than... in the public interest.”

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The head of the UN-backed government’s security force has reportedly been killed

Armed clashes erupted in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Monday evening following reports of the assassination of a senior military commander.

According to Al Jazeera, Abdul Ghani al-Kikli, head of the UN-backed government’s Stability Support Apparatus (SSA), was killed in a firefight in southern Tripoli. The incident reportedly took place inside the headquarters of the 444th Combat Brigade after “failed negotiations.”

Local media reported fighting and troop movements in the Abu Salim and Mashrou neighborhoods. Al Jazeera cited witnesses as saying that soldiers from the 111th and 444th brigades stormed the SSA headquarters, with gunfire and explosions heard in various parts of the city.

The extent of the fighting and casualties remains unclear. Graphic images circulating on social media appear to show multiple bodies. Al Jazeera reported that at least six people had been injured.

According to Al Arabiya, militias from Misrata and other cities began moving toward Tripoli last week.

The SSA was established in 2021 by the Government of National Unity to maintain security in the capital and combat organized crime.

Fighting has erupted in the Libyan city of Tripoli following the assassination of the head of the Stability Support Apparatus. Multiple key installations appear to have been captured by different groups in the middle of the chaos. The airport has been closed. #Breaking #Libya pic.twitter.com/a6OeXNXS43

— ??? ???? (@tzvai_tracker) May 12, 2025

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it was “closely monitoring reports of the military build-up and escalating tensions in Tripoli and the broader western region.”

“We urgently call on all parties to immediately de-escalate the situation, refrain from any provocative actions, and resolve disputes through dialogue,” the mission said in a statement.

?? #Libia: tras el asesinato de Ghani al Kikli, alias Ghniwa, jefe del Aparato de Apoyo a la Estabilidad estallan combates en Tripoli. pic.twitter.com/sDW8qNa0K9

— Realidad internacional (@realidad_int) May 12, 2025

Libya descended into civil war in 2011 after a NATO-backed uprising that resulted in the death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The fighting eventually led to a stalemate between rival governments based in Tripoli, in the western part of the country, and Tobruk in the east.

The last major clashes between militia groups in Tripoli occurred in August 2023, leaving 55 people dead and nearly 150 injured. In February 2025, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Adel Juma survived an assassination attempt.

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Maia Sandu has been pushing for her country’s membership despite growing opposition

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu has said her country could join the EU by 2028, despite growing opposition to her pro-Western policymaking.

The former Soviet republic has pursued EU and NATO membership since 2020, when Sandu, a vocal critic of Russia, came to power. Moldova was granted EU candidate status in 2022, alongside Ukraine. She was re-elected last year in a controversial runoff, and has stepped up efforts to speed up the accession process.

When asked during an interview on Monday with local broadcaster TV8 about the timeline, Sandu said she intended to conclude negotiations by the end of 2027.

”By 2028, we expect every EU member state to have ratified our agreements. That way we will complete the process by the end of the current European Commission’s mandate,” Sandu said.

The Commission's mandate, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, runs from December 2024 to December 2029.

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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said last month that Moldova’s accession by 2028 depends on the pace of the country's reforms and unanimous support from the bloc’s 27 members.

Sandu’s policies have sparked mounting criticism at home. This month, thousands of protesters rallied in the capital Chisinau over the country’s economic direction and her government’s treatment of opposition voices.

The demonstration was led by the Party of Socialists and its leader, former President Igor Dodon, and was billed as the start of their parliamentary election campaign ahead of a vote expected in September. Sandu has said the upcoming elections will be decisive for Moldova’s EU ambitions.

The Socialists, who have refused to recognize Sandu’s re-election, accused her government last month of “an unprecedented act of spiritual terror” after a senior Moldovan Orthodox Church bishop was barred from traveling to Jerusalem for Easter.

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The Sandu administration has also been embroiled in a longstanding political standoff with the autonomous region of Gagauzia. Her government reportedly sees it not just as an ideological outlier, but as a strategic challenge.

The region's governor, Yevgenia Gutsul, a fierce critic of Sandu, was arrested in April amid an investigation into alleged irregularities in her 2023 campaign. Gutsul accused Chisinau of targeting Gagauzia in retaliation for its support of opposition figures, including herself.

The opposition described Gutsul’s arrest as “purely political persecution.”

Sandu had claimed she was fighting against “pro-Russian” actors within the country when she launched a crackdown on opposition parties and media outlets, branding them as criminals.

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Companies are struggling to break even and facing difficulties replacing equipment due to falling oil prices and tariffs, according to the outlet

The US oil industry is growing increasingly disenchanted with President Donald Trump’s policies, according to Bloomberg. Falling crude prices and tariffs are making the situation untenable for producers, especially smaller ones, the media outlet has reported.

During his campaign, Trump adopted “drill, baby, drill” as one of his signature slogans, promising to revitalize the industry, which he claimed was being strangled by former President Joe Biden’s environmental policies.

While the US oil industry strongly supported Trump’s candidacy, “some executives are now feeling shortchanged” as crude prices have slid by 20% since he assumed office in January. West Texas Intermediate tumbled to as low as $55 per barrel last month.

The downtrend in oil prices is helping the US president make good on his campaign pledge to lower inflation, but this is coming at a cost for domestic oil producers, according to the outlet.

While industry giants such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron are more resilient to low oil prices, smaller independent producers are already feeling the impact. This is evidenced by a combined $1.8 billion in spending cuts announced by such firms over the past several weeks, according to Bloomberg.

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The news outlet quoted Andy Hendricks, the CEO of Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. as saying that “$50 oil and ‘drill, baby, drill’” are “incompatible.”

The multi-front tariff war that Trump has unleashed against much of the world is also hurting American oil producers, since much of the equipment they use is imported from China, Korea, Brazil, and Mexico. This means that routine repairs have now become a “source of anxiety” for the industry, the article claimed.

The media outlet quoted Kirk Edwards, former chairman of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, expressing incredulity over why the US oil and gas industry is “being picked on as a scapegoat in this whole tariff plan.”

Bloomberg, citing company officials, reported that executives representing a number of private and independent oil companies have met in recent weeks with Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin and congressional representatives to convey their grievances.

Several executives interviewed by Bloomberg reportedly said they want Trump to establish a price floor for oil by persuading OPEC leaders to cut production during his Middle East visit, as well as to provide tariff exemptions for oil field equipment. The president is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to May 16.

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The US president has called the potential negotiations in Istanbul a “very important” event

US President Donald Trump has said he expects a “good result” from possible direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, suggesting he may participate himself.

A resumption of direct negotiations between the two sides, which was proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, could take place in Istanbul, Türkiye on May 15.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the US president called the potential talks a “very important” event.

“I think you may have a good result at the Thursday meeting in Türkiye between Russia and Ukraine. I believe the two leaders are going to be there. I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday, I’ve got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there,” Trump said.

Trump’s suggestion was welcomed by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who described it as the “right idea” and reiterated his claim that he was ready to meet Putin in person. Thus far, Moscow has remained silent on the prospect of the Russian leader traveling to Türkiye for negotiations.

In proposing a return to direct negotiations, the Russian president reiterated Moscow’s commitment to resolving the crisis. The settlement process must start with talks, Putin stressed, and the negotiations could ultimately lead to “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire.”

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“We are set on serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their aim is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to achieve a long-term lasting peace for a historical perspective,” the president said.

The offer has met a mixed reaction from Kiev and its backers, who continue to insist on their demand that any negotiations must be preceded by the establishment of at least a 30-day truce. However, Putin’s proposal was backed by Trump, who urged Kiev to “immediately” accept it. Following Trump’s call, Kiev seemingly shifted its position, and Zelensky proclaimed his readiness to participate in the meeting, while reiterating the truce demand.

Türkiye has welcomed the initiative and expressed a readiness to host the talks. However, the Turkish presidency sent a somewhat ambiguous message on the matter on Monday, simultaneously stating that it was an opportunity that should not be missed but also that a ceasefire would have created the “necessary environment” for the negotiations.

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The US president accused the bloc of unfair trade practices, including barriers to American car exports and shifting pharmaceutical costs

US President Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of the European Union, labeling it “nastier than China” regarding trade practices.

In early April, Washington imposed a sweeping 20% tariff on all EU goods and a 25% tariff on all car imports and metals. While Trump later announced a 90-day reprieve on most trade duties, a baseline 10% tariff and the above-mentioned 25% tariff remain in force until an agreement is reached.

“The European Union is in many ways nastier than China,” Trump stated during a press conference at the White House on Monday.

“They treated us very unfairly. They sell us 13 million cars; we sell them none. They sell us their agricultural products; we sell them virtually none,” the president claimed, adding that Brussels has been “suing all our companies… Apple, Google, Meta.”

The American leader predicted that the EU would “come down a lot,” since the US holds “all the cards.”

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Trump further stated that the bloc is also to blame, at least in part, for the excessively high prices that Americans have to pay for prescription drugs. According to the president, Brussels has been unfairly exerting “brutal” pressure on pharmaceutical companies to keep prices low in Europe, while refusing to shoulder the fair share of the firms’ research and development and other related costs.

However, Washington is now set to “equalize” the situation, Trump promised, concluding that “Europe is gonna have to pay a little bit more…. And America is gonna pay a lot less.”

Trump’s remarks came hours after Washington and Beijing agreed during negotiations in Geneva to scrap or suspend most of the new trade duties introduced since early April, pending further talks.

As a result, overall US tariffs on Chinese goods will stand at 30% and Chinese tariffs on US goods will be 10%, starting May 14. The two nations will also set up a consultation mechanism to work out further trade policy steps.

The EU, for its part, has made several attempts at negotiating trade and tariffs with the US, though none of them have so far yielded a breakthrough.

Last Thursday, the European Commission presented a list of countermeasures which could affect €95 billion worth of US goods should negotiations fail.

Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro warned Brussels that it would be “making a grave mistake” if it went through with the threat, which he described as counterproductive to the talks.

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President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions

Egypt has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold direct talks with Ukraine, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement on Monday. Cairo has maintained a neutral stance on the conflict, advocating for dialogue and a diplomatic resolution.

On Sunday Putin urged Kiev to resume talks that were suspended in 2022, stating that discussions could take place on May 15 in Istanbul, Türkiye, without preconditions.

Egypt welcomes the “constructive diplomatic efforts” aimed at resolving the conflict “peacefully,” the country’s foreign ministry’s statement said.

Ukraine, with the backing of several West European states, has demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire first as a precondition for talks. The Kremlin has rejected what it described as an ultimatum.

Following calls by US President Donald Trump for Kiev to “immediately” accept the Putin’s proposal for direct unconditional talks, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said he would be “personally” waiting for the Russian president in Türkiye on Thursday. However, he insisted that Kiev still expects “a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow [Monday], to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.”

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Moscow has maintained it seeks a permanent solution rather than a temporary one. It has rejected Kiev’s truce demand, claiming that Ukraine would use the pause to rearm and regroup its military. Putin accused Kiev of violating the three previous ceasefires offered by Moscow: the 30-day US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure, which expired last month, the unconditional Easter ceasefire, and the recently-lapsed 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire.

Asked on Monday about the latest developments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remained committed to “resuming direct talks in Istanbul without any preconditions.”

Putin’s peace talks proposal has also been welcomed by several other countries, including China, which called for a “fair, lasting, binding peace agreement” through negotiations.

Vietnam and Venezuela have also voiced their support, with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro saying the sentiment was shared by the “majority of the governments and people of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

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The “language of ultimatums” is unacceptable for Russia, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Russia is determined to find a long-term solution to the Ukraine conflict but will not allow itself to be spoken to in the “language of ultimatums,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to restart direct negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions. Kiev, however, has insisted on establishing a 30-day ceasefire before any talks are held. Ukraine’s European backers have supported this demand. Berlin is threatening to impose additional sanctions on Moscow if it does not agree to a truce by the end of May 12.

Peskov responded to Germany’s threat by stressing that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia.”

“You cannot speak to Russia in such a language,” the spokesman emphasized, noting that similar ultimatums were previously made in Kiev by the so-called “coalition of the willing,” which includes the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland.

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Peskov emphasized that Moscow is committed to searching for ways to achieve a long-term peace settlement that includes resuming direct talks with Kiev in Istanbul without any preconditions.

He noted that this approach is aimed at “finding a genuine diplomatic resolution to the Ukrainian crisis, addressing the root causes of the conflict, and achieving a lasting peace.”

As for the proposed ceasefire, Peskov has stated that while Moscow is open to the idea of a truce “in general,” there are a number of crucial concerns that must first be addressed, including guarantees that the pause would not be used by Ukraine to regroup its battered forces and continue its mobilization campaign.

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Residents of areas along the de facto border between India and Pakistan recalled the horror they experienced as drones and missiles pierced the skies

Shazia Mir, 42, says she, along with her three children and husband, have endured several sleepless nights as intense shelling from Pakistan claimed more than 20 civilian lives across Jammu and Kashmir.

In the main city of Srinagar, where Mir lives, dozens of drones buzzed high overhead, leaving trails of red lights across the sky. There were sirens in the air, followed by a blackout. Locals gripped by fear recorded videos and screamed in panic, convinced that a war had begun.

“When we saw those dots and drones in the sky on Saturday, we thought this was the end, we were screaming and crying at what was happening. I was holding my kids in the corner of the room as there was so much uncertainty,” said Mir, a teacher.

READ MORE: India and Pakistan agree to ceasefire after military standoff: What we know so far

However, a day after the announcement of a ceasefire by US President Donald Trump, following diplomatic efforts involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, a tentative calm has returned, bringing relief to residents who had been confined to their homes under the threat of shelling and air raids.

Many residents have told RT that they had been praying for an end to the hostilities.

“Our children were terrified. We looked death in the face when drones and fighter jets flew overhead. These days have been terrifying,” said Mudassir Ahmad, another resident, who expressed relief at the ceasefire.

The streets of Srinagar, the region’s commercial hub, began to show signs of normalcy on Sunday after days of chaos and uncertainty as the two nuclear-powered nations were exchanging strikes across the border.

‘Bracing for the worst’

On Saturday morning, five civilians, including a senior government official, were killed in Rajouri district during intense artillery fire from Pakistan. People across the region had been bracing for the worst.

“We stocked up on rice, our staple, as well as groceries, medicines, and other essentials. Everything felt so uncertain. It looked like an all-out war was about to begin,” said Fazia Jan, a resident of north Kashmir’s Baramulla.

Schools and colleges were shut, and multiple airports—including both in Jammu and Kashmir—were closed. Life came to a standstill until the announcement of an end to military hostilities.

The military escalation between the two nuclear armed nations began after a terror attack in Pahalgam Valley killed 25 Indian tourists and a local pony rider on April 22. India blamed the assault on the Pakistan-based armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba and in response, launched “Operation Sindoor,” striking nine alleged terror camps inside Pakistan and claiming to have killed dozens of militants. Pakistan, however, said 31 civilians were killed in those strikes.

Pakistan responded by claiming it had also targeted several Indian military installations, which heightened the tensions, and people were caught in the uncertainties. In Jammu and Kashmir, the government issued advisories asking residents not to come out unnecessarily.

As both countries stood on the brink of full-scale war, the ceasefire announced on Saturday brought a measure of relief.

Fleeing for safety

Following last week’s strikes, thousands of residents of border areas such as Rajouri, Kupwara, Poonch, and Uri, packed their belongings – suitcases, school bags, and ration supplies – and fled. Many lost their homes to the shelling.

“We fled on Friday evening as the shelling was very intense. We are living with a relative in Sopore village. We are now thinking to go back as the shelling has finally stopped,” said a resident of Tangdhar village in Kupwara, where many houses were damaged due to the Pakistani shelling.

An official, who didn’t want to be named, told RT that thousands had been displaced across the region due to the cross-border shelling, against which he said India strongly retaliated.

“This is the wisest decision taken. It’s the civilians who always pay the price of war,” said Ghulam Qadir, a farmer from Poonch. “India and Pakistan must sit together and talk. The tension must end.”

Yet, just hours after the ceasefire was announced, fresh explosions were reported in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir, reigniting fear and uncertainty. India accused Pakistan of violating the agreement. India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri described the fresh attacks as a breach of an earlier understanding and stated that the Indian armed forces were responding appropriately. Misri emphasized that the military had been instructed to deal strongly with any further violations along the International Border and the Line of Control.

Since then, however, calm has largely prevailed as both countries said they will uphold the agreement.

Challenges ahead

Zafar Choudhary, a political analyst based in Jammu, told RT that there was a complete hopelessness as the tensions were escalating. “For four days, there was complete hopelessness as cross-border violence escalated. The ceasefire is a huge relief. Historically, India-Pakistan conflicts have seen international intervention, like in 1999 during Kargil, and in 2019 after Balakot. This time, with global powers initially silent, it felt even more alarming.”

He added, “President Trump’s intervention was unexpected—but welcome. Still, both nations now have to explain to their people why things escalated to the brink of war and what strategic outcomes they achieved.”

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Michael Kugelman, another South Asia analyst, echoed the sentiment but warned of complications:

“The ceasefire was cobbled together hastily, and at a moment when tensions were at their highest. India appears to have interpreted the deal differently than did the US and Pakistan, and it’s likely not keen on the broader talks it calls for,” he said. “Upholding it will pose challenges.”

While the guns have fallen silent and some residents return to what remains of their homes, the scars will take time to heal.

“I have lost everything,” said Dilshada Khan, a resident of Gingal village in Uri. “The ceasefire is here, but where will we go now? We want peace that lasts—a peace where we don’t ever have to run again.”

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The Indian PM says New Delhi will act decisively against terrorism and will not differentiate between “terrorists and their state sponsors”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Monday to deliver a “befitting response” to terrorism, stating that New Delhi could also resort to military action if threatened by a nuclear power – in a veiled reference to its neighbor, Pakistan.

In his first public address to the nation days after New Delhi launched Operation Sindoor against targets in Pakistan, which it accused of supporting cross-border terrorism – a claim Islamabad denies – Modi highlighted the change in New Delhi’s security policy.

“Operation Sindoor is India’s policy against terrorism. Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal,” he said, adding that India will not differentiate between “terrorists and their state sponsors.”

“We will give a befitting response on our terms only. We will take strict action at every place from where the roots of terrorism emerge,” he vowed.

Modi went on to say that “no nuclear blackmail will be tolerated anymore.”

??Modi: No Nuclear Blackmail Will Be Accepted

India will strike down any terror hubs that functions under the shadows of this 'nuclear blackmail,' the ??PM noted. #IndiaPakistan #OperationSindoor https://t.co/d3HmKN645g pic.twitter.com/8DxS9fXfNE

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) May 12, 2025

India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed nations, have exchanged a series of strikes in the past five days, following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India’s union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people, mainly tourists, were killed. Following the attack, Modi instructed the military to respond to any “provocations” from Pakistan.

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Weeks later, on May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking nine cites in Pakistan, including locations in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad, which were believed to host terrorist camps. This triggered a response by Islamabad, which launched drone and missile strikes on Indian military sites.

Both nations claimed they achieved their military goals, while accusing each other of targeting civilians, with deaths reported on both sides. On Saturday, the two nations announced a ceasefire.

On Monday, the Director Generals of Military Operations of the two countries held talks and discussed their commitments under the ceasefire. It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reductions from the borders and forward areas, ANI news agency reported, citing the Indian Army.

In his address, Modi claimed that New Delhi destroyed “the terror camps established in the heart of Pakistan.”

“Therefore, when Pakistan appealed and said that it will not indulge in any sort of terror activities or military audacity further, India considered it. And I am repeating again, we have just suspended our retaliatory action against Pakistan’s terror and military camps,” Modi said.

The Indian military earlier stated that it eliminated around 100 terrorists and 40 Pakistani security personnel and destroyed 11 air bases in Pakistan, with significant damage inflicted on the country’s military capabilities.

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The US president mentioned the possibility of taking part in the Moscow-proposed talks himself

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his hopes that direct talks between Moscow and Kiev as proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place and suggested he could even take part in them.

Trump delivered the remarks during a press conference on Monday, describing the proposed meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye, as “very important.” He even floated the possibility that he might participate in the negotiations.

“I think you may have a good result at the Thursday meeting in Türkiye between Russia and Ukraine. I believe the two leaders are going to be there. I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday, I’ve got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there,” Trump stated.

The suggestion was swiftly welcomed by Ukraine’s leader, Vladimir Zelensky, who called it a “right idea” that could “change a lot.”

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Early on Sunday, Putin proposed resuming direct peace negotiations with Kiev without any preconditions, stating that the talks could ultimately yield “some kind of new truce” and a ceasefire. “We are set on serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their aim is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to achieve a long-term lasting peace for a historical perspective,” the president stressed.

The proposal received a mixed reaction from Kiev and its Western backers, all of whom reiterated their demand to establish a 30-day truce before beginning any negotiations. Trump, however, urged Kiev to “immediately” accept the proposal and engage in talks.

It was not immediately clear on what basis Trump concluded that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders would be meeting on Thursday. After Trump urged Ukraine to agree to the proposal, Zelensky claimed he would be waiting for Putin in Türkiye “personally” but reiterated the 30-day ceasefire demand.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s position that Russia remains committed to “resuming direct talks in Istanbul without any preconditions” but did not comment on the prospect of Putin participating in the talks.

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A Moscow court has handed Pyotr Vrublevsky a six-year prison sentence in absentia

A Moscow court has sentenced a former Ukrainian ambassador to Kazakhstan, Pyotr Vrublevsky, to six years in prison in absentia over his call for the mass killing of Russians.

Vrublevsky was found guilty of committing “acts aimed at inciting hatred and enmity” against a group of people “based on nationality…with the threat of violence,” according to the Basmanny District Court's press service.

The charges stem from an August 2022 interview in which Vrublevsky stated that Ukraine was trying to “kill as many Russians as possible.”

“The more Russians we kill now, the fewer our children will have to,” the diplomat told a local blogger in Kazakhstan six months after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

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His remarks sparked outrage both among the Russian community in the Central Asian country and in Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram at the time that “only an ambassador of a terrorist regime can say such things.”

Kazakh officials condemned his words as incitement of ethnic hatred and inappropriate for a diplomat. In September 2022, Astana stated that Vrublevsky had apologized for his remarks and subsequently went on vacation.

READ MORE: Putin proposes unconditional peace talks with Ukraine (FULL SPEECH)

Last year, Russian authorities issued an arrest warrant for Vrublevsky, placing him on both federal and international wanted lists, as well as adding him to the country’s registry of terrorists and extremists.

The ruling on Monday effectively upholds a similar decision made by a Moscow court last August that was subsequently overturned by a higher court due to irregularities. The case was then sent to be reviewed again.

Vrublevsky was fired from his post in Kazakhstan in October 2022. His whereabouts are currently unknown as he has not made any public appearances since his dismissal.

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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mandated that admission be based strictly on merit

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive ordering all military service academies to stop considering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) criteria in admissions decisions.

The memo, signed on Friday, states that MSA admission offices will no longer be able to apply any “considerations of race, ethnicity or sex” when considering applicants and must base their decisions “exclusively on merit.”

Academies have 30 days to adhere to the new standards.

Additionally, merit-based scores may also consider “unique athletic talent” or other experiences such as prior military service and performance at a MSA preparatory school.

“This ensures only the most qualified candidates are admitted, trained and ultimately commissioned to lead,” Hegseth wrote in the order, adding that “selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness and undercuts the culture of excellence in our Armed Forces.”

In a separate memo issued on Friday and seen by the Associated Press, Hegseth also ordered military leaders and commanders at the Pentagon to go through their libraries and remove all books related to DEI issues.

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The document reportedly stated that educational materials at libraries “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Department’s core mission” and that military leaders must “promptly identify” books that are not compatible with that mission and sequester them by May 21.

The reforms follow a broader campaign by the administration of President Donald Trump to remove DEI-related programs and content from the military, including books in military libraries and instruction on gender ideology.

Shortly after assuming office in January, Trump signed an executive order titled ‘Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness’, which prohibited any race- or sex-based preferences in the armed forces. That order similarly called for all military personnel decisions, including recruitment and promotions, to reflect a merit-based framework.

The directive also outright banned transgender individuals from serving in the US military and instructed the Department of Defense to identify and dismiss all service members who have a history of gender dysphoria. Last week, the US Supreme Court upheld the president’s ban.

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Kiev’s potential membership in the bloc would escalate the conflict, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned

Admitting Ukraine into the EU would only prolong the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev and risk dragging the bloc into the conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned.

Ukraine, which has made EU membership a national priority, formally applied to join the bloc in February 2022, days after the escalation of the conflict with Russia. Hungary has repeatedly pushed back against the EU’s goal of admitting Ukraine by 2030 – a target recently reiterated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

On Monday, Orban reiterated Budapest’s opposition to accession, calling it a decision that could shape the bloc’s future for the worse.

“As a country neighboring Ukraine, we believe that if Ukraine is admitted to the European Union, it will mean war,” Orban told the conference of EU parliamentary speakers in Budapest. The EU has never accepted a country at war – and for “good reason,” he added.

The Hungarian leader also expressed regret over the commitment of some EU leaders to continued military aid for Kiev.

“We have a different view. We think the longer the war lasts, the more lives will be lost and the worse the situation will become on the battlefield,” Orban said.

Ukraine still faces major hurdles on its path to joining the bloc, with full membership requiring unanimous EU approval and sweeping reforms, including anti-corruption efforts, improved governance, and legal alignment with EU standards.

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Orban has long opposed Ukraine’s integration into Western institutions, including NATO, arguing that its accession could escalate tensions with Russia. He suggested that the country should instead remain a “buffer” between Russia and the West.

While Russia has consistently rejected the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, its position on EU accession has been more restrained. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Ukraine has the “sovereign right” to join the bloc, provided that it remains a matter of economic integration and not military alignment.

However, Russian officials have warned that the line between civilian and military in the EU is becoming blurred. Peskov has accused the bloc of actively working to prolong the Ukraine conflict by repeatedly expressing its intention to support Kiev in its desire to “continue the war.” He has also criticized Brussels for undermining peace efforts by portraying Russia as the bloc’s primary adversary.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that the EU is “becoming militarized at a record pace,” adding that there is now “very little difference” between the EU and NATO.

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Leonid Slutsky has urged the Ukrainian leadership to rescind a 2022 order banning direct negotiations with Moscow

A senior Russian MP has blasted Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for continuing to block peace negotiations with Moscow, saying Kiev should “stop the clownery” and return to diplomacy.

In an interview with RT on Monday, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky noted that Zelensky “banned negotiations for himself.” He was referring to the Ukrainian leader’s 2022 order banning direct negotiations with Russia as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in office.

“He should recall his first profession less often and stop the clownery,” Slutsky said, in an apparent jab at Zelensky’s past as a comedian.

On Sunday, the Russian president proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions on May 15 in Istanbul. The peace settlement process must start with talks, which could ultimately yield “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire,” according to Putin.

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Slutsky urged the Ukrainian leadership be “rational,” calling negotiations the “only sensible step.”

“We are ready to choose our delegation and fly to Istanbul even this minute,” he said. “Of course, the talks won’t be easy, but I hope we can truly bring the military phase of this conflict to an end. It is in everyone’s interest.”

The lawmaker claimed that worldwide support for Russia’s offer is growing as the global majority has formed around Putin’s ideas of a multipolar world. “We must face reality and start negotiations. I urge everyone to morally support this position,” Slutsky said.

He added that the number of countries supporting the conflict is “approaching zero,” and that “the path toward peace has been laid out by the Russian president, endorsed by US President [Donald Trump] and all reasonable people.”

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The country has commended Moscow’s proposal, backing a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine conflict

Vietnam welcomes the proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume direct peace talks with Ukraine without any preconditions, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang has said.

Vietnam has consistently backed the idea to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through diplomacy, she said, and approves of the latest talks proposal made by the Russian president, the spokeswoman stated during a press conference on Monday.

“We welcome the recent proposal made on May 11 by Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine,” the spokeswoman stated.

Early on Sunday, the Russian president proposed that “the Kiev authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted in 2022” without any preconditions, on May 15 in Istanbul, Türkiye. Putin made the remarks while addressing the media at the conclusion of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, during which Moscow hosted numerous foreign leaders and dignitaries.

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Negotiations could ultimately lead to “some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire,” the president said. “We are set on serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their aim is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to achieve a long-term lasting peace for a historical perspective,” Putin stressed.

The proposal was met with a mixed reaction from Kiev and its Western backers, who insisted that any talks must be preceded by agreeing to a 30-day truce. The Russian proposal came shortly after leaders from France, Germany, Poland, the UK, and the EU reiterated their demand for a “full and unconditional” ceasefire and claimed that this would “create room for diplomacy.”

US President Donald Trump, however, demanded Kiev “immediately” accepts the Russian proposal, suggesting that the talks would at least show whether reaching a peace deal was possible or not. Kiev somewhat shifted its stance following Trump’s remarks, as Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed he was actually ready to meet Putin in person in Istanbul. He however once again reiterated the demand for a ceasefire prior to the talks.

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The British government “will take back control” of the borders, PM Keir Starmer has said

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to reduce immigration as sentiment in the country turns against the influx of foreigners.

The new measures, detailed in a government white paper published on Monday, include extending the residency requirement for citizenship from five to ten years, raising English language proficiency standards, lifting the skilled worker threshold, and ending overseas recruitment for social care roles.

“My government will take back control of our borders,” Starmer wrote on X.

The issue ranks as one of the top concerns for the British public, alongside the state of the national healthcare system (NHS), an Ipsos poll found earlier this year.

Immigration has surged since 2004, when the UK, then part of the EU, opened its labor market to arrivals from the bloc’s Eastern European members such as Poland.

In 2016, widespread frustration over the government’s inability to control the influx of migrants from the EU played a big role in Britain’s vote to leave the bloc.

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Brexit, however, failed to solve the issue as net migration almost quadrupled between 2019 and 2023.

Critics have pointed out that Starmer, previously a staunch anti-Brexit advocate, has now adopted the language of the pro-Brexit campaign.

They argue that Labour’s tough new approach on immigration is an attempt to outflank the Reform UK party. Green Party co-chair Carla Denyer has accused Starmer of impersonating Reform leader Nigel Farage, adding this “won’t save him from wipeout at the hands” of the right-wing party.

Reform has surged in influence in recent years, capitalizing on anti-immigration sentiment and frustration over economic stagnation. It has also positioned itself as a challenger to the traditional two-party system.

In the 2024 general election, Reform secured five parliamentary seats and 14.3% of the national vote. In local elections earlier this month it won 677 council seats out of a total of 1,641, gained control of ten councils, and claimed two mayoralties.

READ MORE: Ukrainians fear losing homes and jobs in UK – survey

Reform’s rise comes amid a wider rise of anti-immigration and Euro-sceptic sentiment in Europe. Right-wing parties are now part of governing coalitions in several EU countries, including Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.

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Kiev should ignore European leaders’ misgivings over Moscow’s offer to resume direct talks, the head of Britain’s Workers Party has told RT

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky should seize the opportunity to restart direct negotiations offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Kiev has “a losing hand” in all areas, the leader of the Workers Party of Britain, George Galloway, has said.

In a televised address early on Sunday, Putin offered Kiev the chance to “resume the negotiations they interrupted in 2022… without any preconditions,” suggesting that talks could be held on Thursday in Istanbul.

Speaking to RT on Monday, Galloway said “it’s a pity that his European friends haven’t told President Zelensky, as [US President] Donald Trump has told him, that this is an opportunity that simply must be grasped.” According to the former British MP, “the alternatives are really quite ghastly… for everyone concerned.”

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Galloway added that Zelensky would be better off ignoring the “train wreck crew that retreated from Kiev in that now famous train journey at the weekend,” referring to the visit to the Ukrainian capital by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“He should not listen to the likes of Starmer and Macron” as “they don’t represent anything practical,” Galloway insisted. He argued that none of the European NATO member states making up the so-called “coalition of the willing” have the military and economic might to be of any significance.

Galloway added that to Russia, the fundamental question in any potential peace talks would be whether an “enduring agreement… can be reached” with the current “illegitimate” Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky’s presidential term expired last May, although he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

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Authorities in Kharkov insist that the civilian – who wasn’t seen resisting – “provoked” the incident

A Ukrainian military recruiter has been filmed punching a man twice in the stomach, according to footage widely shared on social media. The victim appeared to offer no resistance, although local authorities accused him of “provocative actions.”

The incident reportedly took place during an ID check in the northeastern city of Kharkov. The footage, which was undated, was filmed from a nearby building and was shared by the Strana.ua outlet on Sunday.

In the clip, the man is seen being stopped by a military patrol. One recruiter checks the man’s papers, before another approaches and abruptly punches him in the abdomen. The man doubles over in pain and is then pressed against a nearby kiosk by the recruiter.

At no point did the man appear to resist or provoke the officer. Five recruitment officers were present at the scene, while no police were visible in the video. The fate of the man is unclear.

Following the backlash, the Kharkov recruitment center confirmed the incident and launched an investigation, but claimed the altercation “arose due to provocative actions by the civilian.” However, it condemned the actions of the serviceman who assaulted the potential conscript, stressing that “any physical or psychological pressure is unacceptable and prohibited.”

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Ukraine announced general mobilization in 2022 after the escalation of the conflict with Russia, barring most men between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Faced with mounting losses and manpower shortages, Kiev tightened conscription rules last year and lowered the draft age from 27 to 25.

The ongoing draft campaign has been marred by recurring violence, with reluctant recruits often seeking to evade or resist military personnel attempting to detain them in public spaces.

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The EU’s annoyingly fake ‘unity’ is as brain-rotting as any illicit substance

A brief scandal erupted last weekend during a visit to Ukraine by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, when a couple of ‘suspicious’ objects they were handling were speculated to be drugs and drug paraphernalia.

They almost certainly were not, so let’s cut Macron some slack. He did hop on the official Elysee Palace social media account to clarify that, non, he was not doing rails while riding the rails to Ukraine alongside Merz and Starmer. They weren’t on drugs – just on good old-fashioned EU unity. Which, to be fair, seems to induce an equally brain-cell-crushing delirium.

“When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs,” read the post. So, Macron suggests, it wasn’t a party starter on the table, just the world’s most suspiciously placed tissue – alongside what appeared to be an unfortunately shaped spoon. And anyone suggesting otherwise is just spreading fake news. The press walked in, the photo went up, and the internet did what it does.

But the real dodginess started after they disembarked and got to work in Ukraine – presumably with clearer sinuses. But not from any drugs. Perhaps just from the sinus-blasting “industrial amounts” of Dior Eau Sauvage cologne that Macron is known for wearing, as Le Parisien’s Olivier Beaumont recently described it. Or not.

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If they aren’t actually high, they’re sure acting like it. Finally, with Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing direct talks between Moscow and Kiev in Türkiye starting this week, there’s finally a chance on the table to put an end to this conflict, something that the entire world has been demanding – EU leaders included.

As far back as May 2022, Macron and recently-former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spent 80 minutes on the phone with Putin and insisted on “direct, serious negotiations” with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.

But now suddenly the EU is all like, “Well, no, sorry. That doesn’t work for us.” Hey guys, does your unity come in powdered form now?

Okay, so what changed? Well, nothing, really. Other than the fact that a bunch of European leaders just did a big powwow with Zelensky in Kiev – a photo shoot to show them all rallying around their boy. Maybe so he also didn’t get too triggered during Moscow’s big Victory Day parade against the World War 2 Nazis and start tossing toys out of the pram.

They emerged with a big demand: that Russia accept a 30-day ceasefire or else. Or else what? They’ll unleash epic sanctions. And no doubt even more epic grandstanding. Because that’s totally worked so far.

So it looks like they can’t have Ukraine doing direct peace talks now because that would mean that they wouldn’t get to stage their new little script that they just came up with. “There can be no negotiations while weapons are speaking. There can be no dialogue if, at the same time, civilians are being bombed. A ceasefire is needed now, so that talks can begin. For peace,” Macron said.

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So Macron apparently sees himself as the director of this whole charade. If that’s the case, then he might want to start by making sure Zelensky doesn’t have his pants on backwards. It kind of looked like that was the case. Although perhaps he’s just starting a new line of pants with the fly in the back to go with the sweatshirts he wears when he visits world leaders to beg for money.

With Macron directing, it also looks like Germany is doing the filming and the musical score, and posted a cringey video of their bromance show to Merz’s social media account.

So, Director Macron says, first there needs to be the ceasefire – which Moscow said Ukraine couldn’t even respect for the three days that one was in place over the Victory Day holiday, let alone for a whole month. Then after that come the talks, Macron insists. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, also said on French radio that the EU representatives want to be present for any direct peace talks in Istanbul. Because apparently Zelensky is like a college kid who can’t go on a job interview or a date without his helicopter parents hovering around.

Merz was also saying, yes, yes, first the weapons “must be silenced.” Then, he says, they can “create space for talks.” Then maybe comes the “just and lasting peace.” Is Germany doing the choreography for this charade, too? You sure you don’t want an intermission or two in there, as well? Maybe some champagne and snack breaks out in the lobby?

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As for Zelensky, he’s now just parroting the Europeans about the offer to negotiate being a “positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.” But he also said that he needed to know by Monday whether they’re going to do the 30-day ceasefire. Because they have to get their show on the road, I guess – so they can begin the official countdown to more sanctions and grandstanding.

But get this. For once, it seems like the US and Venezuela actually agree on something. That’s huge unto itself – the geopolitical equivalent of pigs flying… first class. And the thing on which they both agree just happens to be the need for these direct peace talks. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that “we must embark on a peaceful path… Russia has the right to peace.” Trump said on Truth Social that Putin’s proposal represented a “potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine! Think of the hundreds and thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end.” Trump also underscored that Putin “doesn’t want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey” and that “Ukraine should agree to this immediately.”

So it looks like peace is finally on the table in a major way, with this new development. But apparently the EU needs some time for its own center-stage sermon and limelight-hogging monologue first. Probably to send as their official entry to the Nobel Peace Prize committee for when peace manages to break out despite their best efforts. Priorities, priorities.

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Moscow is deploying low-cost FPV drones against Ukrainian reconnaissance UAVs, according to the Defense Ministry

Russia’s military is using small first-person-view (FPV) drones to intercept larger Ukrainian reconnaissance aircraft, according to a video released Monday by the Defense Ministry.

Drone warfare has become a defining element of the Ukraine conflict, with both sides adapting rapidly to the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the battlefield.

The footage released on Monday features operations by Rubicon, a Russian drone warfare unit tasked with testing and implementing new tactics. The video shows multiple interceptions of fixed-wing reconnaissance drones, including a Polish-made FlyEye model painted in Ukraine’s “Army of Drones” livery.

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FPV drones, often used as expendable guided weapons, have limited range, altitude and flight time. By contrast, surveillance UAVs are typically larger, reusable and more capable, but they are also significantly more expensive.

READ MORE: WATCH spectacular footage of Victory Day flyby in Moscow

Last week, Rubicon released another video that the ministry said showed an FPV drone successfully targeting a US-designed HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, valued at about $20 million.

Both Russia and Ukraine have scaled up military production during the conflict, with drones becoming a key part of their respective defense strategies. While Russia maintains a largely self-sufficient arms industry, Ukraine depends heavily on Western aid to support its economy and armed forces.

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The leader of the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters says the British government acted against him because he refuses to be bought by “imperialism and colonialism”

Julius Malema has slammed the United Kingdom’s decision to deny him a visa, calling it an “act of cowardice”. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader further accused Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump of attempting to criminalise him for his political views.

Malema was scheduled to speak at a conference hosted by the University of Cambridge last week, but said he was informed by British authorities, just hours before his flight from OR Tambo International Airport, that his visa had been denied.

“I was supposed to get there in London to meet with students, as I was invited by Cambridge University, but the white people denied me entry to London, saying they wouldn’t give me a visa,” Malema said Sunday while addressing supporters in Ward 24 in Freedom Park, Soweto, ahead of Wednesday’s by-election.

”They denied me a visa because I can’t be bought. I can’t be bought by imperialism and colonialism. I don’t beat around the bush; I speak the truth, whether you like it or not,” he added.

Malema condemned the move as an attempt to stifle free speech.

“They are cowards, because when you disagree with someone, you don’t have to ban them. Apartheid banned our leaders,” he said.

”Apartheid banned Elias Motsoaledi, they sent him to prison for a very long time because they did not agree with his ideas.”

“When you don’t agree with people, you must not ban them. That is a sign of cowardice. You must allow them to speak and then disagree with them,” the red berets leader said.

He added that the denial was “unintellectual,” considering he was scheduled to address students at the prestigious university.

Last Wednesday, IOL News reported that Malema expressed frustration over what he described as a last-minute visa rejection, despite being told by officials that the matter would be resolved by 3:30pm.

”It was unacceptable and spineless,” he said, calling the decision a political attack on his views.

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The Cambridge conference is known for hosting discussions on global issues, including politics, economics, and human rights.

Malema said the visa denial was part of a broader pattern aimed at silencing his political views.

”It is Elon Musk, it is Donald Trump who want to criminalise me for speaking truth to power,” he said.

“They want to declare me an international criminal.”

Despite the visa setback, Malema remained defiant.

“Whether they declare me an international criminal or not, whether they deny me a visa or not, Soweto will never deny me a visa. Soweto will always welcome me,” he told supporters.

”I don’t feel ashamed that I was banned by London. It allowed me to spend a day with my people, where I am received, where I’m well loved, where ideas do not scare people.”

Malema has been under fire, particularly for his use of the “Kill the Boer” chant and remarks encouraging land invasions, both of which have drawn criticism from political opponents such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and lobby group, AfriForum.

READ MORE: South Africa could soon get a white president, left-wing party warns

In March, Trump criticised the chant after Musk shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) alleging that the EFF was promoting “white genocide” in South Africa.

Trump reposted the message on Truth Social, receiving support from AfriForum leader Ernst Roets.

That same month, South Africa’s Constitutional Court dismissed AfriForum’s bid to ban the chant, ruling the case had no reasonable prospect of success.

The British High Commission in South Africa has since issued an official apology following the UK Home Office’s failure to process Julius Malema’s visa application.

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Responding to the fallout, British High Commissioner to South Africa Antony Phillipson apologised in a formal letter, attributing the failure to delays caused by “the necessary steps required to consider visa applications and the unfortunate timing of some recent UK Bank Holidays.”

“I have been following the processing of the necessary visa for Mr Malema and am writing to personally apologise,” Phillipson said in the letter.

“I recognise that this will be deeply disappointing, especially as the delegation applied in advance and some paid for priority service.

“I am afraid, though, that I have no means of intervening in the decision-making process itself which is solely a matter for the Home Office.”

“I renew my sincere apologies again to them that the Home Office were unable to process the applications in time on this occasion,“ said Phillipson.

First published by IOL

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The US President is set to accept a $400 million Boeing aircraft as a gift from the Gulf state’s royal family

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Democratic lawmakers who condemned his plans to accept a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar.

In a post on his Truth Social platform Trump stated on Monday that the Defense Department was receiving a 747 aircraft “as a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” to temporarily replace the aging Air Force One, calling it a “very public and transparent transaction.”

He claimed that the arrangement upset what he described as “Crooked Democrats,” who, according to the president, insisted the government pay “TOP DOLLAR” for the plane instead. Trump dismissed the deal’s complexity, saying: “Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!”

The US president is set to receive a super-luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family. ABC News first reported the pending aircraft deal ahead of his upcoming Middle East trip. The gift is expected to be officially announced this week, sources told the outlet. Valued at around $400 million, the plane, popularly known as the “flying palace,” could become the most expensive gift ever given to the US by a foreign government. Trump previously toured a Qatari-owned aircraft of the same model in February at Palm Beach International Airport.

Trump is set to visit Qatar during a trip to the Middle East this week. Qatari officials told The Hill the plane would not be handed over during the upcoming trip.

While the White House declined to confirm details, the president stated that the Defense Department would receive the gifted aircraft, which is expected to be refurbished into the new Air Force One. White House and DOJ lawyers reportedly determined that the gift is legal and does not violate bribery laws or the Constitution’s foreign gift ban.

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However, reports of the gifted plane drew sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who accused Trump of using the presidency for personal gain.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, labeled the deal “a grift.”

“Trump must seek Congress’ consent to take this $300 million gift from Qatar. The Constitution is perfectly clear: no present ‘of any kind whatever’ from a foreign state without Congressional permission. A gift you use for four years and then deposit in your library is still a gift (and a grift),” Raskin wrote in a post on X.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to confirm details of the deal but said: “Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,” according to Reuters.

The White House’s current Boeing 747-200 jets, in service since the early 1990s, have faced ongoing technical issues, prompting a longstanding effort to replace them.

A Boeing contract for two new Air Force One planes based on the 747-8 has been plagued by delays and rising costs, pushing delivery from the original 2024 target to as late as 2027 or 2028.

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Algeria accuses France of bypassing diplomatic protocol, including failing to notify Algiers before appointing personnel

Algeria has ordered the immediate dismissal of a number of French diplomatic personnel whose appointments by Paris did not follow established protocols, the North African state’s press service (APS) reported on Sunday.

According to the outlet, France did not comply with required procedures in the appointments of at least fifteen employees who were assigned to diplomatic or consular positions in Algiers.

On Sunday, Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a senior French embassy official to protest “serious and repeated” breaches of international conventions governing diplomatic appointments.

“These employees, who previously held mission passports, have been granted diplomatic passports to facilitate their entry into Algeria… The same list included two employees from the French Ministry of the Interior, who were intended to perform part of the duties of those recently declared persona non grata,” APS reported, citing sources.

The alleged diplomatic breach comes as relations between the two countries remain strained on several fronts. Algeria has accused France of repeatedly denying entry to holders of Algerian diplomatic passports. The accreditation process for the former French colony’s newly appointed Consuls General in Paris and Marseille, as well as seven other consular officials, has reportedly also been stalled for over five months.

READ MORE: France expels 12 Algerian diplomats

The latest move follows a similar expulsion in April, when Algeria ordered 12 French embassy staff to leave the country over what it described as “hostile acts” and interference in internal affairs. The decision came shortly after the arrest of an Algerian consular official in France, who is one of three Algerians charged with kidnapping government critic Amir Boukhors in 2024.

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The arrest sparked outrage in Algiers, which condemned it as a violation of diplomatic immunity. Tensions have since worsened, fueled by disputes over visa policies, unresolved colonial-era grievances, and France’s support for Morocco’s position on the Western Sahara issue.

Earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in an effort to mend fraying ties, during which both leaders agreed to maintain dialogue.

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The bloc’s leaders pretend to be against fascism while actually following Nazi traditions, Slovak lawmaker Lubos Blaha has claimed

Senior EU officials, such as foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, represent a “tragedy” for the bloc, Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha has told RT. Blaha also accused top officials in Brussels of supporting fascism.

The MEP’s remarks come after Brussels criticized Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s attendance at Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow last week.

Kallas warned EU officials and candidate countries against taking part in the event, urging them to travel to Kiev instead. Other EU officials warned that candidate states such as Serbia would have their status renewed if their leaders attended the celebrations in Russia.

According to Blaha, the criticism directed at Fico and other leaders, such as Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic, wasn’t genuinely about the conflict in Ukraine. “The real truth is different. The real truth is that their anti-fascism is pretended,” he said.

Blaha used the example of this year’s ceremony in the European Parliament commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, describing it as somber.

“It was like a funeral. Everyone was so sad, and in the end, Beethoven was playing,” Blaha said, noting that the same music was used by Germany broadcasts after the Battle of Stalingrad. “This is the same tradition.”

“If the European Union is governed by people like Kaja Kallas, then it’s a tragedy,” he added.

Kallas, who previously served as the prime minister of Estonia, has repeatedly spoken out harshly against Russia and has labeled Moscow as the EU’s primary adversary, while advocating for increased militarization of the European bloc.

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Her warnings to EU member states and candidate countries about attending the Moscow Victory Day celebrations were met with condemnation from Russian officials, who labeled her threats as “blackmail.”

“Euro-Nazism is being reborn before our eyes,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in response to Kallas’ threats. “This is how the fascists 80 years ago forced those they considered ‘second-class people’ to renounce their homeland, ethnicity, and faith,” she wrote on Telegram.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also criticized Kallas as a “rabid Russophobe,” and recently claimed that “manifestations of neo-Nazism in Europe” are “significant,” and called for extensive efforts to combat the trend.

Echoing these sentiments, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently claimed that neo-Nazism is on the rise in Europe. He called for a comprehensive “de-Nazification” effort not just in Ukraine, but across the entire continent.

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Moscow is serious about finding a lasting solution to the conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Russia is ready to resume direct peace talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has reiterated, stressing Moscow’s “serious” commitment to reaching a lasting settlement of the conflict.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine the opportunity to restart direct negotiations without any preconditions in Istanbul, Türkiye, which Kiev unilaterally walked away from in 2022.

However, Ukraine, backed by several European nations, has demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire first as a precondition for talks. After US President Donald Trump urged Kiev to “immediately” agree to the proposal for direct unconditional talks, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said he would be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday “personally.” Nevertheless, he maintained that Kiev awaits “a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow [Monday], to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.”

Asked about the progress in the Ukraine peace process, Peskov told reporters on Monday that Moscow remains committed to “resuming direct talks in Istanbul without any preconditions.”

Moscow’s approach is aimed at “finding a genuine diplomatic resolution to the Ukrainian crisis, addressing the root causes of the conflict, and achieving a lasting peace,” Peskov said. He added that Putin’s proposal had received support from “leaders of many countries,” including those in several former Soviet republics and BRICS members.

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The spokesman also noted that Trump had “called on the Ukrainian side to urgently, and without any conditions, take part in the meeting we proposed,” while pointing to Türkiye’s readiness to facilitate the talks. “In general, we are focused on a serious effort to find a path toward a long-term peaceful resolution.”

Moscow has said it is open to a ceasefire “in general,” but has flagged several crucial concerns. Russian officials argue that any pause in fighting would allow Ukraine to regroup its battered forces and continue its mobilization campaign. Moscow has also demanded that all Western arms deliveries to Ukraine be halted during any ceasefire period.

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Kiev has accused Budapest of operating an intelligence network in Transcarpathia

An escalating spy row between Hungary and Ukraine has derailed a planned intergovernmental meeting to discuss strained bilateral relations.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed on Friday that it uncovered a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in the border Transcarpathia region – home to a significant Hungarian minority. Two Ukrainian nationals accused of spying on behalf of Budapest have been detained.

On Sunday, Levente Magyar, the Hungarian parliamentary state secretary for foreign affairs, announced the cancelation of a scheduled meeting which he and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishina agreed to last month. He explained that “good-faith constructive negotiations” have become impossible following Kiev’s public allegations. Stefanishina urged continued dialogue despite the fallout.

The talks were due to take place in Uzhgorod, a Ukrainian city near the Hungarian border, and were set to focus on the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in the country.

In response to the espionage claims, Budapest has deported an alleged former Ukrainian spy who government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs described as “a serious threat to Hungary’s sovereignty.” He posted a video showing the arrest of the person, mirroring the SBU’s reporting of its crackdown.

!!Yesterday evening, Hungarian counterterrorism forces (TEK) detained a Ukrainian national in downtown Budapest. The man was subject to an entry and residence ban by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing due to espionage.

The middle-aged individual had previously… pic.twitter.com/NmRIud2lbD

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) May 10, 2025

Each side has also expelled two diplomats accused of being intelligence operatives. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto claimed that Kiev initiated the scandal for propaganda purposes.

Hungary, a NATO and EU member, has often been at odds with Kiev and its Western backers regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Budapest has refused to supply weapons to Kiev and has instead called for a ceasefire with Moscow, which has frustrated Ukrainian officials.

READ MORE: No Ukraine in EU without Budapest’s approval – Orban

Budapest also opposes Ukraine’s bids to join the EU and NATO. Among other things, it has cited Kiev’s treatment of ethnic minorities, including laws that restrict education and cultural rights in minority languages.

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An attack using the Western-donated missile launcher injured three civilians in Kursk Region on Sunday, according to officials

The Russian Defense Ministry has reported the destruction of a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) missile launcher used by Ukrainian forces in a recent cross-border attack that injured three people.

The HIMARS strike hit a building housing a car wash and a hostel in the city of Rylsk in Kursk Region on Sunday, the acting governor, Aleksandr Khinshtein, said. A woman and two men were wounded in the incident, he added.

The Russian military announced on Monday that reconnaissance units detected the launcher involved in the attack coming from near the village of Nagornovka in Ukraine’s Sumy Region. The US-made weapon was reportedly destroyed by an Iskander-M tactical missile, guided by drone-assisted targeting.

Footage released by the ministry shows two vehicles traveling along a road before stopping; one of them is then destroyed in a large explosion.

Valued at around $20 million apiece, HIMARS systems are capable of firing rocket barrages from distances of up to 90km and can rapidly relocate to avoid counterstrikes.

Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed the use of a Western-supplied system in the Rylsk attack and has opened a terrorism probe. On Monday, it released a video showing forensic teams examining debris, including what officials said were fragments of HIMARS-compatible munitions.

The incident comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin renewed his offer to resume peace talks, which Ukraine abandoned in 2022 following promises of sustained arms deliveries from Western donors. Moscow has proposed unconditional negotiations in Türkiye to begin as early as Thursday.

Kiev has insisted that any talks must be preceded by a 30-day ceasefire – an idea that Moscow views as a ploy to allow the Ukrainian military to regroup. Putin has said meaningful dialogue can resume if Ukraine lifts its legal ban on negotiations with Russia.

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A viral video has shown the French president seemingly hiding a small object, while posing with the UK’s Starmer and Germany’s Merz

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has denied claims that he had a bag of cocaine with him during his weekend visit to Ukraine after social media users spotted what looked like the substance in a viral video.

In footage circulating on social media, Macron, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer are seen posing for a photo while on a train to Kiev. The first few seconds show Macron subtly removing a crumpled white object from the table where the three are seated, while Merz appears to cover what social media users claimed looked like a cocaine spoon with his hands. Macron is then seen putting the object in his pocket, with multiple users noting he smiles guiltily while doing so.

The video has quickly gone viral and triggered widespread speculation online over whether the three officials were taking drugs during an official trip.

?DEVELOPING: Macron, Starmer, and Merz caught on video on their return from Kiev. A bag of white powder on the table. Macron quickly pockets it, Merz hides the spoon. No explanation given. Zelensky, known cocaine enthusiast, had just hosted them. Connect the dots. pic.twitter.com/aROGuf06Nm

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) May 11, 2025

On its official X account, the Elysee Palace insisted the object in Macron’s hands was a tissue.

“When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs. This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation,” the post reads, alongside a zoomed-in screenshot of the object Macron removed.

No one hides a kleenex this way ! Please…

— Caracalla (@Caracal28442507) May 11, 2025

While many note that the object does appear to be a simple tissue, more skeptical users quickly pointed out that Macron’s office only addressed that specific item, not the broader question of whether drugs were present during the trip. Some claimed the tissue shown in the image posted by Macron’s office appeared computer-generated or digitally altered, fueling further speculation. Many users also noted that Macron was acting strangely during the photoshoot, with some suggesting that he “appeared stoned.”

Macron, Starmer, and Merz caught on camera with cocaine after a secret meeting with Zelensky in Kiev. White powder on the table, a hidden spoon, and erratic behavior. pic.twitter.com/MCF7xobEF7

— Gcobani Ndzongana (@gndzongana) May 11, 2025

There has been no official comment on the object that Merz appeared to conceal. Some media reports suggest it could be a coffee stirrer or a toothpick, while many social media users insist it is a snuff spoon used for inhaling powdered substances.

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Commenting on the incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the video “opened the veil of the stinking Sabbath” of Western politics.

“Having pushed [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky into another hellish intrigue to disrupt the settlement and continue the bloodshed in Europe, a Frenchman, an Englishman and a German boarded the train and... got stoned, just like the joke,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram, referring to the leaders’ visit to Ukraine. Following their talks, Zelensky demanded Russia accept Kiev’s call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire before agreeing to negotiations, which Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to start later this week in Istanbul. Moscow rejected what it described as foreign pressure surrounding the proposed truce.

“The fate of Europe is decided in every sense by drug addict placeholders,” Zakharova added. She also recalled that in 2022, after the Ukraine conflict escalated, she asked a Western ambassador how they could send weapons to Kiev amid reports that Zelensky was using cocaine. The diplomat, she said, told her it was “normal” to take drugs in the EU, and that many Western leaders used cocaine.

Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev also commented on the footage, writing on X that if the objects spotted by social media users are indeed drug-related, “it explains a lot of recent ideas and proposals” coming from Kiev’s Western backers.

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The Kurdistan Workers’ Party has disbanded itself, saying its members will now fight for their rights by political means

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has said it will disband and has ended its armed struggle against Türkiye. Ankara welcomed the move as a milestone towards a “terror-free Türkiye” but said the group must fully implement its decision.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against Türkiye since 1984 to gain autonomy for Kurds, chose to lay down arms at a party congress in early May, but only announced the decision on Monday. In a statement, it said that the PKK has “carried the Kurdish issue to a level where it can be solved by democratic politics, and the PKK has completed its mission in that sense.”

The move came after a public call in February by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been confined in a Turkish jail on separatism charges since 1999, urging the group to dissolve and adopt nonviolent methods. At the time, Ocalan sent a letter to party members saying, “there is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system.” Following the message, the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire.

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Omer Celik, the spokesman for Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party welcomed the decision as “an important stage in terms of the ‘terror-free Türkiye goal”.

“If terrorism is completely ended, the door to a new era will open,” he added, cautioning that “this decision needs to be implemented in practice and realized in all its dimensions.” Celik also insisted that the dissolution should also apply to “all branches and extensions of the PKK and its illegal structures.”

He was apparently referring to the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara deems an extension of the PKK. The group, which enjoys US backing and mainly operates in Syria, has yet to comment on the PKK decision.

Founded in 1978, the PKK launched an armed insurgency against the Turkish state, initially seeking independence and later autonomy and civil rights for Kurds. Ankara sought to suppress the group for decades. The conflict has killed an estimated 40,000 people, many of them civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands in southeastern Türkiye. The group is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU.

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