Zelensky vows to 'do everything' to ensure direct talks with Putin in Turkey
Frank Gardner
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will travel to Turkey's capital Ankara to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and will be available for direct talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Istanbul on Thursday.
"We will do everything to ensure that this meeting takes place," he told reporters in a hastily-arranged briefing in Kyiv.
Russia has not yet said who will fly to Istanbul, only that it would be announced "as soon as [Putin] deems it necessary". Putin and Zelensky have not themselves met since December 2019.
Uganda: Mothers defy anti-gay law to support children
Two years after Uganda passed its controversial Anti-Homosexuality Act, a quiet but determined resistance is rising: mothers standing by their LGBTQ+ children.
In a country where identifying as gay can result in life imprisonment, and "aggravated homosexuality" carries the death penalty, some parents are defying the law and society to stand by their queer children, offering support where the Ugandan state offers only punishment.
Among them is Mama Joseph, a mother from central Uganda, whose son came out as gay at a time when being openly gay could carry life-threatening consequences.
Kurds see ball in Ankara's court after PKK says disbanding
All eyes were on the Turkish government Tuesday with the Kurds and their supporters looking for confidence-building steps a day after the PKK militant group announced its dissolution, ending its four-decade insurgency.
The move sought to draw a line under a bloody chapter which began in 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took up arms to carve out a homeland for Kurds, triggering a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives.
The historic PKK decision -- taken at a leadership congress held in northern Iraq -- was hailed by its jailed founder Abdullah Ocalan, who had in February urged his militants to end their insurgency.
"I respectfully salute the decisions taken at the (PKK's) historic 12th congress," Ocalan said in a message transmitted by the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which played a key role in facilitating contact between him and Turkey's political establishment.
Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s party barred from contesting elections
South Asian country’s interim rulers ban all activities of Awami League and its affiliates
Bangladesh’s election commission has suspended the registration of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, effectively blocking the Awami League from contesting polls.
The move comes days after the interim government of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus banned all activities of the former ruling party, citing national security threats and a war crimes investigation into hundreds of deaths during the agitation that toppled Ms Hasina last year.
Israel expects 50% of Gaza’s people to flee during full-scale assault
- Israel expects half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to leave as its military prepares an all-out assault in the next few days to defeat Hamas once and for all, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns.
- A World Health Organization (WHO) official says that without food, “an entire generation” of Palestinian children will be permanently affected as Israel’s Gaza blockade and mass starvation continue.
- Israeli forces bomb Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing two people, including journalist Hassan Eslaih, and wounding other patients and staff.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,908 Palestinians and wounded 119,721, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
- An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Trump’s biggest win isn’t a trade deal — it’s his distortion of reality
Tracking the trade war in 2025 feels a bit like getting repeatedly punched in the gut.
We suddenly have a 90-day detente in a manufactured crisis: The US has lowered its 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports to 30%, and China has reduced its 125% tariffs to 10%.
In the distorted reality of Trump 2.0, that slightly lighter punch in the gut is what counts as relief.
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