Trump bashes Zelensky, ‘confident’ on Ukraine deal

Trump bashes Zelensky, ‘confident’ on Ukraine deal
US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 20 February 2025
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Trump bashes Zelensky, ‘confident’ on Ukraine deal

Trump bashes Zelensky, ‘confident’ on Ukraine deal
  • Zelensky previously criticized the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be “fair and involve European countries

PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump has effectively blamed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion, as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares for another round of talks with EU and non-European partners on Wednesday.
Zelensky previously criticized the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be “fair and involve European countries.
The Ukrainian leader’s comments appeared to incense Trump, who launched a series of verbal attacks on Zelensky.
“I’m very disappointed, I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday.
“Today I heard, ‘oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Trump also suggested he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month in Saudi Arabia as he overhauls Washington’s stance toward Moscow — a shift that has alarmed European leaders.
Earlier Tuesday, Russia and the United States had agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine after talks that drew a strong rebuke from Kyiv, with Zelensky postponing his own trip to Saudi Arabia.

 

France’s Macron announced another meeting in Paris on Ukraine after the US-Russia talks, adding that Trump “can restart a useful dialogue” with Putin.
Trump also increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections — echoing one of Moscow’s key demands.
Trump wants Ukraine election
Asked whether the United States would support demands that Russia wanted to force Zelensky to hold new elections as part of any deal, Trump began by criticizing what he said were the Ukrainian’s approval ratings.
“They want a seat at the table, but you could say... wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have a say? It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election,” said Trump.
“That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me, from other countries.”
Zelensky was elected in 2019 for a five-year term, but has remained in office as Ukraine is still under martial law.
Trump’s latest remarks are unlikely to allay fears among some European leaders, already worried that Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and re-write the continent’s security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal.
Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table “at some point.”
The US-Russia talks — the first high-level official talks between the two countries since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine — drew a fiery response from Kyiv.
“This will only be feeding Putin’s appetite,” a Ukrainian senior official requesting anonymity told AFP, referring to the launch of talks without Ukraine.
Trump for his part said he was “much more confident” of a deal after the Riyadh talks, telling reporters Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate: “I think I have the power to end this war.”
’Heard each other’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to “appoint respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible,” the State Department said.
Washington added that the sides had also agreed to “establish a consultation mechanism” to address “irritants” to the US-Russia relationship, noting the sides would lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

Riyadh marks a diplomatic coup for Moscow, which had been isolated for three years under the previous US administration of Joe Biden.
Moscow’s economic negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, said Western attempts to isolate Russia had “obviously failed.”
“We did not just listen but heard each other, and I have reason to believe the American side has better understood our position,” Lavrov told reporters.
The veteran diplomat noted that Russia opposed any deployment of NATO-nation troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual ceasefire.
European allies publicly diverged this week over whether they would be open to sending truce peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Macron, in an interview with French regional newspapers, appeared open to the idea of sending troops to Ukraine but only in the most limited fashion and away from conflict zones.
He said new talks would take place “with several European and non-European states,” after an emergency meeting on Monday in Paris which brought together a small number of key European countries.
Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of NATO forces from eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.
The Kremlin on Tuesday said Ukraine had the right to join the European Union, but not the NATO military alliance.
It also said Putin was “ready” to negotiate with Zelensky “if necessary.”


Sudden US aid withdrawal risking millions of lives: UNAIDS chief

Sudden US aid withdrawal risking millions of lives: UNAIDS chief
Updated 4 sec ago
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Sudden US aid withdrawal risking millions of lives: UNAIDS chief

Sudden US aid withdrawal risking millions of lives: UNAIDS chief
GENEVA: The sudden halt to US foreign aid funding has been “devastating,” the UNAIDS chief said Monday, warning that without more funding, millions more will die and the global AIDS pandemic will resurge.
Without more funding, “there will be an additional... 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths” in the next four years, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima told reporters in Geneva, cautioning that “in the longer term, we see the AIDS pandemic resurging, and resurging globally.”

Mob ransacks Indian comedy venue after parody of politician

Mob ransacks Indian comedy venue after parody of politician
Updated 42 min 26 sec ago
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Mob ransacks Indian comedy venue after parody of politician

Mob ransacks Indian comedy venue after parody of politician
  • Kunal Kamra, one of India’s leading comics, is known for his acerbic commentary on Indian politics.
  • Latest performance included parody song referring to Eknath Shinde in the state government as a “traitor.”

MUMBAI, INDIA: A mob ransacked a club in India’s financial capital after a stand-up comedian ridiculed one of the city’s leading politicians from the stage, prompting a police investigation into the performer.
Kunal Kamra, one of India’s leading comics, is known for his acerbic commentary on Indian politics.
His Sunday performance in Mumbai included a parody song referring to Eknath Shinde, the number two figure in the state government, as a “traitor.”
Soon after the show finished, supporters from Shinde’s Shiv Sena party stormed The Habitat comedy venue and began wreaking havoc.
Footage widely shared on social media showed dozens of men throwing chairs, smashing light fittings and breaking apart paintings mounted on the wall.
At least 20 people were being sought in relation to the vandalism at the club, local media reported.
The Habitat said in a Monday social media post that it was shutting its doors until it determined the “best way to provide a platform for free expression” without putting the venue “in jeopardy.”
Police were attempting to locate Kamra after an official complaint was registered against him for making defamatory remarks.
Maharashtra state chief minister — and Shinde’s boss — Devendra Fadnavis said the comedian “should apologize” and that “insult of leaders cannot be tolerated.”
“Everyone has a right to perform stand-up comedy. But freedom should not be unrestrained behavior... Action will be taken against him as per the law,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.
The “traitor” remark was a reference to Shinde’s decision to switch his political allegiance in 2022, precipitating a weeklong political crisis in the state that forced the resignation of the then-chief minister.
Kamra has yet to publicly comment on the incident, but the backlash against him is not the first time that an Indian comic has come under fire from supporters of politicians.
In 2021, Muslim comedian Munawar Faruqui was held in prison for more than a month after being accused of insulting Hindu gods and goddesses.
He later canceled three shows in Mumbai after a Hindu activist group threatened to set the venue on fire.
 


US trade officials to visit India for trade talks from Tuesday

US trade officials to visit India for trade talks from Tuesday
Updated 24 March 2025
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US trade officials to visit India for trade talks from Tuesday

US trade officials to visit India for trade talks from Tuesday
  • Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will lead the group
  • President Trump’s plans to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2 are causing alarm among Indian exporters

NEW DELHI: A delegation of officials from the United States will visit India from March 25 to 29 for trade talks with Indian officials, a US embassy spokesperson said on Monday.

Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch will lead the group. “This visit reflects the United States’ continued commitment to advancing a productive and balanced trade relationship with India,” the spokesperson said.

Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal spent nearly a week in the United States earlier this month where he held trade discussions, and as US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose reciprocal tariffs from April 2 causing alarm among Indian exporters. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month, both nations agreed to work on the first phase of a trade deal by autumn 2025, with a target of reaching $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. India and the US are engaged in discussions to resolve tariff-related issues, and finalize a framework for a bilateral trade pact, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for India’s external affairs ministry, said last week.

“We value our ongoing engagement with the Government of India on trade and investment matters and look forward to continuing these discussions in a constructive, equitable, and forward-looking manner,” the US embassy spokesperson said.


UN seeks nearly $1 billion in aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

UN seeks nearly $1 billion in aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Updated 24 March 2025
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UN seeks nearly $1 billion in aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

UN seeks nearly $1 billion in aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
  • UN and its more than 100 partners launching a 2025-26 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya crisis
  • Around a million members of the persecuted and mostly Muslim minority live in squalid relief camps in Bangladesh

GENEVA: The UN said Monday it and partners were seeking nearly $1 billion to provide life-saving aid this year for some 1.5 million Rohingya refugees and their hosts in Bangladesh.
The United Nations said that it and more than 100 partners were launching a 2025-26 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya crisis, amid “dwindling financial resources and competing global crises.”
The appeal, it said in a statement, “seeks $934.5 million in its first year to reach some 1.48 million people including Rohingya refugees and host communities.”
Around a million members of the persecuted and mostly Muslim minority live in squalid relief camps in Bangladesh, most of whom arrived after fleeing the 2017 military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar.
“In its eighth year, the Rohingya humanitarian crisis remains largely out of the international spotlight, but needs remain urgent,” Monday’s statement said.
It stressed that “any funding shortfalls in critical areas, including reductions to food assistance, cooking fuel or basic shelter, will have dire consequences for this highly vulnerable population.”
It could, it added, “force many to resort to desperate measures, such as embarking on dangerous boat journeys to seek safety.”
The UN said that more than half of the refugee population in the camps are women and girls, “who face a higher risk of gender-based violence and exploitation.”
And it highlighted that a third of the refugees are aged between 10 and 24, warning that “without access to formal education, adequate skills building and self- reliance opportunities, their futures remain on hold.”
“Until the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is peaceful and conducive to returning safely and voluntarily, the international community must continue to fund life-saving assistance to refugees in the camps.”


China says it has not received any asylum application from Philippines’ Duterte

China says it has not received any asylum application from Philippines’ Duterte
Updated 24 March 2025
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China says it has not received any asylum application from Philippines’ Duterte

China says it has not received any asylum application from Philippines’ Duterte
  • Philippines’ former President Rodrigo Duterte’s trip to Hong Kong was for his personal holidays

BEIJING: China has not received any application for asylum from Philippines’ former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
Duterte’s trip to Hong Kong was for his personal holidays, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference.
The former president was arrested on March 11 at Manila’s main airport on his arrival from Hong Kong at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of its probe into a “war on drugs” that defined his presidency.