Ursula von der Leyen proposes €800bn ‘rearm Europe' defence fund plan to step up Ukraine support after Donald Trump's US suspension
The chief of the European Union's executive on Tuesday (4 March) said the massive 'REARM Europe' package will be put to 27 EU leaders in Brussels this week during their emergency meeting after Volodymyr Zelensky 's clash with the US president and JD Vance.
A Trump administration official said the US president was focused on reaching a peace deal to end the war, and wanted Mr Zelensky "committed" to that goal. The US was 'pausing and reviewing' its aid, the official added, to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution'.
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The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Where could Putin and Zelensky meet for Ukraine war summit?
Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin could meet for the first time in six years in the hope of ending the Ukraine war - but it remains unclear just where the two leaders will come face-to-face. The White House is in the process of selecting a location for the potential meeting, that has been championed by the US president Donald Trump. A warrant against the Russian president by the International Criminal Court means destinations are limited to countries that are not signees of the Rome Statute. Trump explained to Fox News radio host Mark Levin: "They are in the process of setting it up,' before casting doubt on whether he would even attend such talks. "Now I think it would be better if they met without me. ... If necessary, I'll go.' When asked how he balanced the interests of all the parties involved, Trump said: "Well, it's probably instinct more than process. I have instincts." There has been so far no confirmation from Russia that a potential bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky is being planned. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told state media on Tuesday that any meeting would have to take place 'step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level and then going through all the necessary stages'. Here are the potential destinations where a summit between Putin and Zelensky could take place: Budapest, Hungary The White House has said they are considering Budapest as a potential venue for talks having spoken to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban. This wouldn't be the first time Budapest has been a key destination for talks between Russia and Ukraine. In 1994, then US president Bill Clinton met with Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Ukraine's leader Leonid Kravchuk. At the time, Ukraine was given assurances of territorial integrity from the US, Russia and the UK that meant little when Putin launched an assault 20 years later. 'Maybe I'm superstitious, but this time I would try to find another place,' Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media. Orban, who remains Putin's closest ally in Europe, has long advocated to open up negotiations with the Russian leader. 'It has been confirmed that the isolation-based strategy has failed,' he said on Tuesday after a meeting with the European Union. 'It has been confirmed that there is no solution to the Russia-Ukraine war on the frontline; only diplomatic efforts can bring a solution.' Geneva, Switzerland Switzerland, famous for its neutrality, has said they would be ready to host Putin for any peace talks on Ukraine, despite being a signatory of the ICC. Foreign minister Ignazio Cassis told Swiss national broadcaster SRF that provided Putin was coming for peace purposes, the country could receive him. "This has to do with our diplomatic role, with international Geneva as (the European) headquarters of the United Nations," Cassis told the broadcaster. French president Emmanuel Macron has mooted Geneva as a potential location for Ukraine peace talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a meeting between President Trump, Zelensky and European leaders in Washington. Istanbul, Turkey A senior Trump administration official said that Istanbul had also been mentioned as a potential venue for the two leaders to meet, as Talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have previously taken place in the city. On Wednesday, Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Putin on the phone to discuss Ukraine and the outcome of Putin's summit last week, according to the Kremlin. Moscow, Russia While meeting with Trump, Putin reportedly suggested the rather unlikely location of Moscow for talks with Ukraine. However, both Zelensky and the US were unsurprisingly quick to reject the idea. Minsk, Belarus Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko's spokesperson has said Minsk is ready to mediate a possible meeting between Russia and Ukraine. Bordering Russia and Ukraine, Belarus has maintained close ties with Putin. The country's relationship with Ukraine has deteriorated since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Where did Zelensky and Putin last meet? Ukraine's leader and his Russian counterpart have not met in person since 2019, when they met in Paris to discuss an end to fighting in the Donbas region. The Normandy Format Summit, arranged by French, German, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats, took place in Zelensky's first year in office after he became president earlier that year. Agreements were made to disengage troops from areas of the Donbas region by the end of March 2020 and a roadmap was agreed for elections in occupied regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, with plans to reintegrate the territory back into the rest of Ukraine. But following the talk, the two countries continued to disagree on issues relating to the war-torn region.
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump blares ‘Whiter Shade of Pale' and shows off umbrella flown from Mar-a-Lago in bonkers tour of White House Rose Garden
Donald J. Trump transformed into DJ Trump as he blasted music while reporters were treated to an unusual tour of the White House 's new patio, according to pool reports. The president took control of the aux cord and pumped his fist while he was testing the new speakers in the Rose Garden — where a new patio was just put in — for "what will be the best event in the history of the White House," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday, according to a pool report. The next party is "hopefully soon." Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" blared at one point, fitting background music for Trump's second term that has included attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and an anti-immigration push. Other songs that made the president's playlist included Pavarotti's "Nessun dorma' as well as Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "You Are So Beautiful,' according to the report. Videos captured by journalists and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino capture an unrecognizable Rose Garden. Its notable green grass has been replaced by concrete covered by white tables and chairs underneath white and yellow striped umbrellas. The president suggested that the first White House party on the new patio would be for the press, Leavitt said.
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tension between Fox News stars revealed in court documents
Jeanine Pirro slammed fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity as an 'egomaniac' in text messages made public as part of voting technology company Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit against the network Tuesday. The documents, obtained by The Washington Post , also show Pirro bragging about her role in Donald Trump 's win over Kamala Harris . Smartmatic argues Pirro served as a conduit to Trump associates who claimed the previous election was stolen. She went on to peddle such claims on-air. The company also claims Pirro was committed to supporting Trump despite the network's strict policies barring on-air personalities from doing so. Pirro, an Upstate New York judge prior to joining Fox, left the network in May to become the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. The documents provide a painstaking picture of Pirro's time at the network, including some bad blood behind-the-scenes. '[Hannity stormed] in like he owns the place, throws his papers on the Pres desk and says, you don't mind if I use your private bathroom, and walks into bathroom within Oval and uses it,' she wrote to a friend on October 27, 2020, following one Oval Office meeting with Trump and Hannity. 'Looks at me and says, I got to talk to him … It's all abt him, period. No one else matters.' 'Egomaniac,' she scathed. In one message sent by Pirro to then RNC chair Ronna McDaniel the month before, the then-Fox host boasted, 'I work so hard for the party across the country,' 'I'm the Number 1 watched show on all news cable all weekend. I work so hard for the President and party.' Other conversations included to bolster Smartmatic's claims suggest Pirro and other hosts were motivated to stay on Trump's good side for other reasons as well. In one sent in 2020, she complained to Trump's son Eric Trump how she was 'upset' that Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud in 2010, had received a pardon from Trump and her husband had not. Pirro's spouse, Albert Pirro, was the last to be pardoned by Trump during his first term after committing a series of tax-related crimes. Albert Pirro - a onetime influential GOP businessman who deducted $1.2 million of his personal expenses as business write-offs to buy cars, vacation homes, and paintings, prosecutors said - served 17 months. In months prior, Pirro brushed Kerik off as a 'selfish [expletive]', after being told a pardon for Albert was not assured. In one message that mentioned her husband and Kerik, she complained, 'I DON'T CARE [ABOUT] ANYONE ELSE.' Separately, Smartmatic argued that Pirro served as a conduit to Trump associates who touted the claim the election was stolen, specifically the lawyer Sidney Powell. 'It's Jeanine P.,' she wrote in a November 10, 2020, text message to Powell that mentioned Dominion Voting Systems, the voting machine company Fox settled with in 2023 for $787million over similar claims. 'Got a former CIA chief of station who knows [about] development of Dominion,' Pirro wrote. 'Keep fighting,' she went on to tell Powell. As this was happening, Pirro's producer, Jerry Andrews, was warning Pirro to stay away from claims of election fraud on-air. Pirro consequently complained in all-caps, to Hannity: 'I'M TIRED OF THE CENSORSHIP AND I'M EMBARRASSED BY HOW THEY CALLED THIS ELECTION.' The message was sent just after Joe Biden's win. Pirro went on to tell Hannity - weeks after criticizing him as a narcissist - that she had made several demands to management after an episode of 'Justice with Judge Jeanine,' then set to air on November 7, 2020, was scrapped. 'Fox News promoting u every 5 seconds. It's hilarious,' Hannity quipped back, which the Post reported. The contents of Pirro's post-election show remain unknown, aside from the fact it spurred 'internal concerns'. In a deposition included in Smartmatic's court filing, Pirro conceded that the election was 'fair and free'. 'I believe that there's been no showing that Smartmatic engaged in any problems,' she said of the voting technology company that provided election technology to Los Angeles County. She also answered 'I do' when asked by Smartmatic's lawyers whether she believed Biden was 'legitimately elected,' after alleging on the air that both Smartmatic and its competitor Dominion had conspired to rig the election against Trump. The Dominion suit was settled for $787.5million. Fox never corrected its coverage of Smartmatic or acknowledged particular mistakes, Smartmatic pointed out in the more than 400-page suit. Smartmatic is seeking damages for what it says were falsehoods and conspiracies. Other hosts named in the filing include Maria Bartiromo and Jesse Watters. Fox News slammed the suit in a statement, saying, 'The evidence shows that Smartmatic's business and reputation were badly suffering long before any claims by President Trump's lawyers on FOX News and that Smartmatic grossly inflated its damage claims to generate headlines and chill free speech. 'Now, in the aftermath of Smartmatic's executives getting indicted for bribery charges, we are eager and ready to continue defending our press freedoms.' A Los Angeles Times report Wednesday detailed how federal prosecutors have filed a corruption case against Smartmatic, claiming the company purposely overbilled LA County for extra cash used to bribe government officials. The suit, viewed by Daily Mail, remains ongoing. In it, Fox News lawyers claimed the county is holding back crucial records. It alleges that 'the very Smartmatic executives involved in winning the L.A. County contract used similar methods to bribe officials in other jurisdictions.'
