Starmer says military planning for future Ukraine peace deal moving to 'operational phase'
Summary
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hosted a virtual summit of Ukraine allies to discuss future security guarantees in the event of a peace deal
He says planning for those arrangements is now moving to an "operational phase", with military leaders due to meet in the UK this week
Representatives from 26 countries were in attendance at the meeting, according to Downing Street, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron
The aim of the summit is for Europe to persuade the US to "guarantee Ukraine's security in the future", writes the BBC's diplomatic correspondent
Earlier this week, Putin set out conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine, but Zelensky called his response "manipulative"
'Active pressure is needed, not just talks' - Zelensky
We're hearing now from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who says that "peace must begin unconditionally" and "if Russia doesn't want this, then strong pressure must be applied until they do".
Zelensky attended a virtual summit of Ukraine's allies earlier today, where he reiterated his belief that Russia's silence on the 30-day ceasefire shows that "Putin will keep dragging" the war out.
Protesters march in Belgrade at huge rally against Serbian president
Authorities in capital make apparent attempt to disrupt demonstration by cancelling public transport
Sat 15 Mar 2025 14.10 GMT
Tens of thousands of people from across Serbia have joined an anti-corruption rally in Belgrade, in what is regarded as the culmination of months of protest that have shaken the grip of the country’s autocratic president, Aleksandar Vučić.
The sound of whistles and vuvuzelas echoed throughout the Serbian capital, which has been on high alert since the rally was announced. Some carried banners that read, “He’s Finished!” Others chanted: “Pump it Up,” a slogan adopted during the four months of student-led protests.
The anti-government rally is likely to be the biggest ever held in the Balkan country.
Rights group urges probe into Burkina Faso civilian massacre
Militias allied with Burkina Faso's military junta have been linked to a "gruesome" massacre in a western city that left dozens dead this week, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) late Friday called on Burkina Faso's military rulers to investigate and prosecute those implicated in an apparent massacre of dozens of civilians this week.
Videos surfaced allegedly showing soldiers and militias killing members of a nomadic group, accused of collaborating with an Islamist uprising in the Sahel region, which spans northern central Africa.
'Stateless overnight': Authoritarian crackdown strips 42,000 Kuwaitis of nationality
Nearly 42,000 Kuwaitis have been stripped of their nationality in just six months and in defiance of international law. Launched under the increasingly authoritarian rule of Kuwait's new monarch, Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the policy claims to target foreigners who illegally obtained Kuwaiti citizenship – but naturalised citizens and political opponents are getting caught up in the campaign.
Kuwait has taken a distinctly more authoritarian direction since the accession of the new monarch, 84-year-old Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in December 2023.
Asserting that he would not allow democracy “to be exploited to destroy the state”, the emir suspended parliament on May 10 of last year and announced a revision of the constitution with the aim of ending political gridlock, which he claims has paralysed Kuwait for decades.
Several people who criticised this initiative were arrested, and members of parliament were prosecuted in a wave of repression denounced by Amnesty International.
Court denies request to revoke extension of 2 aging nuclear reactors
A Japanese court rejected Friday a request to revoke the approval given by the country's regulator to extend the operations of three nuclear reactors on the Sea of Japan coast beyond the service period limit of up to 40 years in principle.
The Nagoya District Court ruled in favor of the continued operation of the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Takahama nuclear plant and the No. 3 unit at the Mihama plant, all in Fukui Prefecture and run by Kansai Electric Power Co, in the first judicial decision in lawsuits seeking revocation of approval for extending the operation of reactors.
‘Inch by inch’: Myanmar rebels close in on key military base in Chin State
Under heavy Myanmar air force attacks, Chin rebels pay heavy price for success of ‘Mission Jerusalem’.
In the mountains of western Myanmar, photographs of fallen fighters line a wall of a rebel headquarters – an honour roll of some 80 young men, beginning with 28-year-old Salai Cung Naw Piang, who was killed in May 2021.
The true toll on the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) extends beyond this hall and grows as war against Myanmar’s military grinds on in Chin State – a Christian region of the country bordering India where ethnic Chin fighters have expelled the military from most of their territory.
No comments:
Post a Comment