France, UK propose one-month Ukraine truce; European allies rally around Zelensky amid US row

France, UK propose one-month Ukraine truce; European allies rally around Zelensky amid US row
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet during the European leaders' summit to discuss Ukraine at Lancaster House, London, on March 2, 2025. (Pool via AP)
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Updated 03 March 2025
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France, UK propose one-month Ukraine truce; European allies rally around Zelensky amid US row

France, UK propose one-month Ukraine truce; European allies rally around Zelensky amid US row
  • Urges European countries to raise their defense spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP
  • European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned the continent urgently had to rearm to “prepare for the worst”

PARIS: France and Britain are proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, at sea” after crisis talks in London, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday.
In an interview with France’s Le Figaro newspaper, he also suggested that European countries should raise their defense spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP to respond to Washington’s shifting priorities.
“For three years, the Russians have spent 10 percent of their GDP on defense,” he told the paper. “So we have to prepare for what’s next.”

Macron announced the proposal as he flew back to France from a summit in London on Sunday, during which European leaders closed ranks in support of Kyiv at a London summit, pledging to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce in Ukraine.

Bringing together 18 allies, the talks came just two days after US President Donald Trump berated Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky at a live White House news conference.
And UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain, France “and others” would work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which they would then put to Washington.

 

The London meeting came at a delicate moment for war-battered Ukraine, which faces uncertain backing from Trump and is on the back foot against Russia’s three-year invasion.
And Trump’s row with Zelensky raised fresh questions over the US commitment to Ukraine and NATO.
Starmer said Europe found itself “at a crossroads in history.”
“This is not a moment for more talk — it’s time to act. It’s time to step up and lead and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace,” the premier said.
With no guarantee of US involvement, “Europe must do the heavy lifting,” Starmer said. Several countries were ready to help defend any truce, he added — without naming them.

Zelensky was warmly embraced by many of the summit’s attendees, including Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Outside the UK leader’s home, demonstrators gathered to show their support for Ukraine, some dressed in the country’s blue and yellow national colors.
His reception in London was in stark contrast to his reception at the White House two days earlier.
There, Trump accused Zelensky of not being grateful enough for US aid and not being “ready” for peace with Russia.
Their argument, played out in front of the world’s news cameras, raised fears that Trump wanted to force Kyiv into a peace deal giving Russian President Vladimir Putin what he wants.
Starmer insisted the United States was “not an unreliable ally.” Any deal “must have strong US backing” to succeed, he added.
But after the leaders gathered on Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned the continent urgently had to rearm to “prepare for the worst.”
And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for the United States and Europe to show Putin “that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression.”

 

Starmer and Macron have said they are prepared to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine to help preserve any truce.
But Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — whose hard-right coalition government includes Moscow-friendly politicians — appeared to play down the possibility of Italy contributing soldiers.
“I see this as a solution that risks being very complex and probably less decisive than others,” she said.
Rutte pointed to promises from more European countries to “ramp up defense spending,” while insisting that Washington remained committed to the transatlantic alliance.
In addition to attending the security summit, Zelensky also met King Charles III at his Sandringham estate.

Friday’s row in Washington marked a change from Zelensky’s previous treatment there, where he was hailed as a Churchillian figure by the previous US administration.
Trump and his Vice President JD Vance angrily accused Zelensky of not being “thankful” and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.
On Sunday, top Washington Republicans doubled down on their criticism of the Ukrainian leader, suggesting he may have to step down, underscoring Trump’s stunning shift in approach to the war with Russia.
“We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end this war,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser told CNN.
Republican Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, said: “Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country.”
Trump has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin.
Zelensky, though he did not apologize after the White House clash, indicated that he was still open to signing a deal on Ukraine’s mineral wealth — coveted by Trump.
The US president on Sunday shared a reposting on his Truth Social platform arguing that the mineral agreement itself would give Ukraine the security it was seeking and that “in the end, Zelensky will have no choice but to concede.”
Moscow meanwhile branded the Ukrainian leader’s Washington trip a “complete failure” and said that Trump’s changed stance “aligns” with its vision.
 

 


In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers

In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers
Updated 3 sec ago
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In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers

In Dubai’s Gold Souk, bullion’s record run brings little joy for jewellers
  • Bullion prices have hit record highs above $3,400 an ounce
  • US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold
DUBAI: In the bustling Gold Souk in Dubai, dubbed the “City of Gold,” 22-karat gold jewelry is a traditional favorite for weddings, religious celebrations, and as a family investment.
Yet with bullion prices hitting record highs above $3,400 an ounce, there are signs of change, as buyers look to diamonds and lighter gold jewelry, instead.
While US tariffs and other factors have added fire to already hot demand for gold as an investment, the impact is different for gold jewelry, according to Andrew Naylor, head of Middle East and Public Policy at the World Gold Council (WGC).
“In markets like Dubai, this creates a two-fold effect: on one hand, you see stronger interest in gold as a safe-haven asset, on the other, high prices dampen jewelry demand.”
At Dubai’s Gold Souk, retailers said they are seeing this trend, as current prices prompt shoppers to look for alternatives.
“There are no potential customers nowadays because of the gold prices,” said Fahad Khan, a sales representative at retailer Damas Jewellery.
“It’s a little bit tough to afford gold, so I think it’s better to go with diamonds,” said Lalita Dave, 52, as she browsed around the Gold Souk.
Lab-grown diamonds
Dubai has been a magnet for gold buyers for at least 80 years, starting with Iranian and Indian traders, both cultures sharing a tradition of 22-karat jewelry for adornment and investment.
Yet as gold prices rose 27 percent last year, demand for gold jewelry in the UAE fell by around 13 percent, outpacing an 11 percent drop globally, according to the WGC.
Jewellery demand could face further pressure across key regions in 2025 if gold prices remain elevated or volatile, the WGC said in its gold demand trends report published in February.
Price swings, more than price levels, are increasingly shaping consumer behavior, particularly in India, it noted.
Shifts in Indian purchasing patterns often ripple through Gulf markets such as the UAE, where buyers are a key driver of sales.
Goldman Sachs recently raised its end-2025 gold forecast to $3,700 per ounce and said prices could climb as high as $4,500.
“Higher gold prices are likely to dampen demand for jewelry, in a classic example of how the best cure for high prices is high prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
One sign of economizing has been the rise of lab-grown diamonds.
India exported $171 million worth of lab-grown diamonds to the UAE in 2024, up almost 57 percent from $109 million two years earlier, data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council showed.
India’s exports of cut and polished diamonds to the UAE in the April–November 2024 were up 3.7 percent.
UAE ranked third in global diamond imports in 2023, trade data shows, its primary trade partners including India, South Africa, and Belgium.
While the UAE accounted for just 1.5 percent of the global diamond jewelry market by revenue in 2023, it is projected to grow by 5.9 percent annually to reach nearly $2 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
That outpaces the global growth forecast of 4.5 percent and makes the UAE the fastest growing market in the Middle East and Africa.
Trade tensions
One impact from recent trade tensions with the US has been accelerated talk about finding alternative markets and production hubs, two executives at major Indian diamond exporters said.
If tensions persist, potentially spanning years, one of the sources speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said his company’s contingency plans included shifting some Indian production overseas, including to the UAE.
Shamlal Ahamed, managing director of international operations at retailer Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said the rise in lab-grown diamond jewelry sales in the UAE appeared to be driven more by design preferences than pricing and he remained bullish on gold jewelry demand.
“While price-conscious buyers may wait for a dip, our experience shows that such declines are often short-lived, with buyers quickly adapting to new price levels.”

Australians start voting in general elections as pope’s death overshadows campaigning

Australians start voting in general elections as pope’s death overshadows campaigning
Updated 39 min 22 sec ago
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Australians start voting in general elections as pope’s death overshadows campaigning

Australians start voting in general elections as pope’s death overshadows campaigning
  • Polling stations opened to voters who, for a variety of reasons, will be unable to vote on May 3
  • Around half the votes are expected to be cast before the election date

MELBOURNE: Australians began voting Tuesday at general elections as the death of Pope Francis overshadowed campaigning.
Polling stations opened to voters who, for a variety of reasons, will be unable to vote on May 3. Around half the votes are expected to be cast before the election date.
Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton canceled campaign events planned for Tuesday out of respect for the late pontiff.
Flags were flown at half staff from government buildings across the country, where a 2021 census found 20 percent of the population were Catholics.
Albanese was raised as a Catholic but chose to be sworn in as prime minister when elected in 2022 by making a secular affirmation rather than by taking an oath on a Bible.
Albanese, who has described himself as a “flawed Catholic,” attended a Mass in honor of the pope in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday morning.
“I try not to talk about my faith in public,” Albanese said.
“At times like this, I think what people do is they draw on who they are and certainly my Catholicism is just a part of me,” he added.
Albanese and Dutton, who leads the conservative Liberal Party, will meet in Sydney later Tuesday for the third televised leaders’ debate of the campaign.
A fourth debate is planned Sunday.
Dutton, who was raised by a Catholic father and Protestant mother and attended an Anglican school, attended a Mass on Tuesday afternoon at Sydney’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.
“I don’t think it’s a day for overt politicking at all. I think that the day is best spent reflecting,” Dutton said.
“I don’t think there’s a place for the body blows of politics today. I think it’s a very different day from that,” Dutton added.
Albanese’s center-left Labour Party is seeking a second three-year term.
The government held a narrow majority of 78 seats out of 151 in the House of Representatives, where parties form administrations during their first term.
The lower chamber will shrink to 150 seats after the election due to redistributions.
The major parties are both predicting a close election result.


Taiwan cabinet to ask parliament to unfreeze $4bn amid budget standoff

Taiwan cabinet to ask parliament to unfreeze $4bn amid budget standoff
Updated 56 min 28 sec ago
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Taiwan cabinet to ask parliament to unfreeze $4bn amid budget standoff

Taiwan cabinet to ask parliament to unfreeze $4bn amid budget standoff
  • Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee says the government will ask parliament to unfreeze T$138.1 billion ($4.25 billion) in funds
  • Cabinet will also seek a legal interpretation from the constitutional court on both the constitutionality of the budget as passed by lawmakers

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s cabinet said on Tuesday it will ask the opposition controlled legislature to release more than $4 billion in funds frozen as part of a stand-off over this year’s budget, which the government says could seriously affect their operations.
While the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lai Ching-te won the presidency in last year’s elections, the party lost its majority in parliament.
Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), along with the small Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), control the most seats, and earlier this year voted through sweeping cuts to 2025’s budget, saying they were targeting waste, and froze other funds saying they wanted greater oversight on spending plans.
In a statement, cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee said the government will ask parliament to unfreeze T$138.1 billion ($4.25 billion) in funds.
The cabinet “hopes the Legislative Yuan can unfreeze it all in a short period of time to reduce the difficulties and inconveniences people have in their dealings with the administration,” Lee said, using parliament’s formal name.
The cabinet will also seek a legal interpretation from the constitutional court on both the constitutionality of the budget as passed by lawmakers, and a separate legal amendment granting more money to local governments at the expense of the central government, Lee added.
The defense ministry has warned of a “serious impact” to security from the amended budget, saying it will require a cut in defense spending of some T$80 billion at a time when the island is facing an elevated Chinese military threat.
Taiwan’s opposition has shown little appetite to seek compromise with the government on the budget issue, given they are angered at a campaign led by civic groups and backed by senior DPP officials to recall a swathe of opposition lawmakers.
The KMT and TPP chairmen met earlier on Tuesday vowing to redouble efforts to work together against the “green communists,” referring to the DPP’s party colors, and will hold a joint protest in front of the presidential office on Saturday.
“We don’t just want to take down Lai Ching-te, but the entire corrupt, arrogant and abusive system,” KMT Chairman Eric Chu wrote on his Facebook page after meeting TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang.
Lai and the DPP’s public approval ratings have remained relatively high.
A poll last week by Taiwan television station Mirror TV put the DPP’s approval rating at 45 percent, relatively steady over the past year, with both the KMT and TPP on around 28 percent, both down compared with the year ago period.


Fleeing Pakistan, Afghans rebuild from nothing

Fleeing Pakistan, Afghans rebuild from nothing
Updated 22 April 2025
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Fleeing Pakistan, Afghans rebuild from nothing

Fleeing Pakistan, Afghans rebuild from nothing
  • Pushed out of Pakistan where she was born, Nazmine Khan’s first experience of her country, Afghanistan, was in a sweltering tent at a border camp

TORKHAM: Pushed out of Pakistan where she was born, Nazmine Khan’s first experience of her country, Afghanistan, was in a sweltering tent at a border camp.
“We never thought we would return to Afghanistan,” said the 15-year-old girl, who has little idea of what will become of her or her family, only that she is likely to have fewer freedoms.
“When our parents told us we had to leave, we cried,” added Khan.
Having nowhere to go in Afghanistan, she and six other family members shared a stifling tent in the Omari camp near the Torkham border point.
Islamabad, accusing Afghans of links to narcotics and “supporting terrorism,” announced a new campaign in March to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghans, with or without documents.
Many had lived in Pakistan for decades after fleeing successive wars and crises but did not wait to be arrested by Pakistani forces before leaving, seeing their removal as inevitable.
Since April 1, more than 92,000 Afghans have been sent back to their country of origin, according to Islamabad, out of the some three million the United Nations says are living in Pakistan.
Khan’s family fled Afghanistan in the 1960s. Her four brothers and sister were also born in Pakistan.
“In a few days we’ll look for a place to rent” in the border province of Nangarhar where the family has roots, she told AFP, speaking in Pakistan’s commonly spoken tongue of Urdu, not knowing any Afghan languages.
In the family’s tent there is little more than a cloth to lie on and a few cushions, but no mattress or blanket. Flies buzz under the tarpaulin as countless children in ragged clothes come and go.
When it comes to her own future, Khan feels “completely lost,” she said.
Having dropped out of school in Pakistan, the Taliban authorities’ ban on girls studying beyond primary school will hardly change the course of her life.
But from what little she heard about her country while living in eastern Pakistan’s Punjab, she knows that “here there are not the same freedoms.”
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban authorities have imposed restrictions on women characterised by the UN as “gender apartheid.”
Women have been banned from universities, parks, gyms and beauty salons and squeezed from many jobs.
“It is now a new life... for them, and they are starting this with very little utilities, belongings, cash, support,” said Ibrahim Humadi, program lead for non-governmental group Islamic Relief, which has set up about 200 tents for returnees in the Omari camp.
Some stay longer than the three days offered on arrival, not knowing where to go with their meager savings, he said.
“They also know that even in their area of return, the community will be welcoming them, will be supporting them... but they know also the community are already suffering from the situation in Afghanistan,” he added.
Around 85 percent of the Afghan population lives on less than one dollar a day, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
“We had never seen (Afghanistan) in our lives. We do not know if we can find work, so we are worried,” said Jalil Khan Mohamedin, 28, as he piled belongings — quilts, bed frames and fans — into a truck that will take the 16 members of his family to the capital Kabul, though nothing awaits them there.
The Taliban authorities have said they are preparing towns specifically for returnees.
But at one site near Torkham, there is nothing more than cleared roads on a rocky plain.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) believes “greater clarity” is needed to ensure that the sites intended for returnees are “viable” in terms of basic infrastructure and services such as health and education.
It’s important that “returnees are making informed decisions and that their relocation to the townships is voluntary,” communications officer Avand Azeez Agha told AFP.
Looking dazed, Khan’s brother Dilawar still struggles to accept leaving Pakistan, where he was born 25 years ago.
His Pakistani wife did not want to follow him and asked for a divorce.
“When we crossed the border, we felt like going back, then after a day it felt fine,” said the former truck driver.
“We still don’t understand. We were only working.”


‘A true father to us’ – Filipinos mourn Pope Francis

‘A true father to us’ – Filipinos mourn Pope Francis
Updated 22 April 2025
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‘A true father to us’ – Filipinos mourn Pope Francis

‘A true father to us’ – Filipinos mourn Pope Francis
  • Grief palpable in one of the world’s largest Catholic strongholds
  • Francis known affectionately in the Philippines as ‘Lolo Kiko’

MANILA: Hundreds of Filipinos gathered at a solemn Mass held for Pope Francis on Tuesday, following his passing that has stirred deep sorrow among Catholics around the world, many of whom saw him as a humble and compassionate leader.
In one of the world’s largest Catholic strongholds, the grief was palpable as worshippers filled churches to honor the pontiff, known affectionately in the Philippines as “Lolo Kiko,” or Grandpa Kiko.
One of the chapels inside the Manila Cathedral displayed a framed photo of the Argentine pope surrounded by flowers and candles, as prayers for his eternal repose and solemn hymns sung by the choir echoed through the church.
“Lolo Kiko was a true father to us,” said Cardinal Jose Advincula, the archbishop of Manila, during the morning Mass he led at the cathedral. Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he sought to overhaul an ancient and divided institution. The Philippines, home to more than 80 million Catholics, has long had a special connection with Francis, who visited the country in 2015, drawing a record crowd of up to seven million people at a historic Mass in the capital.
In his homily, the pope urged Filipinos to shun “social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.”
Francis’ journey included a visit to Tacloban, where he met with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, the deadliest storm in Philippine history.
Powerful force
Cardinal Advincula described the 2015 visit of Francis as “a moment of grace forever etched in our memory.” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, a Catholic, described Francis as the “best pope in my lifetime” as he expressed deep sorrow over his passing.
As the Church prepares for a new conclave, attention has turned to what could be a historic shift – one the possible candidates to succeed Pope Francis is Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Tagle, 67 is often called the “Asian Francis” because of his similar commitment to social justice and if elected he would be the first pontiff from Asia, where only the Philippines and East Timor have majority Catholic populations.
On paper, Tagle, who generally prefers to be called by his nickname “Chito,” seems to have all the boxes ticked to qualify him to be a pope.
He has had decades of pastoral experience since his ordination to the priesthood in 1982. He then gained administrative experience, first as bishop of Imus and then as archbishop of Manila.