50 days for Putin: 'Much ado about nothing?', UK Data Breach scandal, Israel bombs Damascus
48:25
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A panel of Praris-based journalists review the week's international news: stories that made the headlines and also those the viewers may have missed. Putin's 50 days deadline: 'Much ado about nothing?', The Afghan leak & the UK super injunction, Why did Israel bomb Damascus?
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Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Ukraine proposes summit between Putin and Zelenskyy
Ukraine's delegation proposed holding a "summit of leaders" by the end of August in the third round of peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on Wednesday, according to the head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov. "We proposed to the Russian side that such a meeting at the leaders' level be held by the end of August. If Russia accepts this proposal, it will clearly show the whole world, including our partners, that it has a constructive approach," Umerov said. Umerov reiterated that Ukraine was ready for an unconditional ceasefire, which he described as a necessary basis for substantive peace negotiations. "It is up to the other side to take steps in this direction. We have emphasised that the ceasefire must be real, it must include a complete cessation of all attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure." He also said the Ukrainian delegation would prioritise the "humanitarian agenda" of prisoner swaps, particularly children. Two previous rounds of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv have resulted in large-scale prisoner swaps, but no concrete steps to end Russia's ongoing, full-scale invasion of Ukraine after more than three years of war. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy had previously challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin in May to meet face-to-face for negotiations, though Putin spurred the offer. US President Donald Trump previously hinted he might go to Istanbul for a high-level meeting between leaders, saying "If I don't go, Putin won't come." Wednesday's Russian delegation was headed by Vladimir Medinski, counsellor to Putin. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chaired the third round of negotiations and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of the National Intelligence Organisation, also took part in the meeting. Zelenskyy had initially announced on Monday that the talks, hosted by Turkey, would be held. Seeking common ground for peace and ceasefire conditions Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the meeting in Istanbul would discuss draft memorandums of understanding between the two countries on peace terms, a ceasefire and prisoner exchanges. "These are opposite to each other. Therefore, great diplomatic work will be done," he said. Russia has published its memorandum detailing its conditions for an end to the conflict since the last round of peace talks. This includes Kyiv's 'complete withdrawal of forces' from four regions of Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – which Moscow claims as its own 'new territories'. Russia also demands international recognition of the territories it has illegally occupied since 2014, including the Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian conditions for peace include a ceasefire to facilitate further negotiations. They also want the reciprocal exchange of prisoners of war, the return of children abducted by Russia and the release of all civilians from Russian captivity. Ukrainian and Russian officials first sat down to negotiate an end to the war on February 28, 2022, four days after Moscow launched it's full-scale invasion. The delegation met on Ukraine's border with key Russian ally Belarus following a telephone conversation between Zelenskyy and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Hamas responds to Israeli ceasefire offer after weeks of stalled talks in Qatar
Hamas confirmed on Thursday that it has responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, after more than two weeks of indirect talks in Qatar have failed to yield a truce. "Hamas has just submitted its response and that of the Palestinian factions to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement on Telegram. The response included proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war, according to a Palestinian source familiar with ongoing talks in Doha. Negotiators from both sides have been holding indirect talks in Doha with mediators in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce deal that would see the release of Israeli hostages. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. But the talks have dragged on for more than two weeks without a breakthrough, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands. For Israel, dismantling Hamas's military and governing capabilities is non-negotiable, while Hamas demands firm guarantees on a lasting truce, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the free flow of aid into Gaza. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer on Wednesday accused Hamas of obstructing talks. "Israel has agreed to the Qatari proposal and the updated (US special envoy Steve) Witkoff proposal, it is Hamas that is refusing," Mencer told reporters, adding that Israel's negotiating team was still in Doha and talks were ongoing. The United States said Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor. More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
North Korea's Kim urges troops to prepare 'for real war'
Kim's remarks follow the North's deployment of troops and weapons to help Russia during its more than three-year long offensive in Ukraine. Video footage aired by state-run Korea Central Television on Thursday showed soldiers from artillery units firing shells towards the sea. Kim is seen looking through binoculars at an observation post, flanked by two military officials, but the location for Wednesday's contest was not disclosed. He urged the soldiers to be ready "for real war" at "anytime" and be capable of "destroying the enemy in every battle", the Korean Central News Agency reported in an English dispatch. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have reported Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region last year, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said. Kim offered Moscow his full support for its war in Ukraine during recent talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, state media reported previously. The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.
