Trump brings forward deadline for Russia on Ukraine war
Trump has threatened both sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports unless progress is made.
Speaking in Scotland, where he is holding meetings with European leaders and playing golf, Trump said he was disappointed in Putin and shortening a 50-day deadline he had set on the issue earlier this month.
"I'm going to make a new deadline of about ... 10 or 12 days from today," Trump told reporters during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"There's no reason in waiting ... We just don't see any progress being made."
The US president has repeatedly voiced exasperation with Putin for continuing attacks on Ukraine despite US efforts to end the war.
Before returning to the White House in January, Trump, who views himself as a peacemaker, had promised to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict within 24 hours.
"I'm disappointed in President Putin," Trump said on Monday.
"I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer what's going to happen."
There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
But the president, who has also expressed annoyance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has not always followed up on his tough talk about Putin with action, citing what he deems a good relationship that the two men have had previously.
"We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever," Trump said.
"And I say that's not the way to do it."
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Sydney Morning Herald
14 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The fractured football club behind Melbourne's eight seconds of madness
My colleague Michael Gleeson reported this week that the prospect of a million-dollar payout to premiership coach Goodwin would not faze the Melbourne board which has – in effect – been running the club all year in the absence of a permanent chief executive. Off-field morale at Melbourne has been low as a result. Not only did acting CEO David Chippindall move deep into the process to replace Pert with few ever believing he would be appointed, but Chippindall has been left to run the club all season as interim CEO. As the season has continued staff have become increasingly dismayed at the lengthy handover period. Incredibly, with Pert departing last November, his replacement Paul Guerra – also overseas in New York in recent weeks – will not take over until September despite being appointed in April. Not only has this delayed crucial developments in the club's push to finally secure a new home base at Caulfield, but it highlighted the leadership vacuum at the top as the team's performance dived. The reality that Guerra has said he could not extricate himself from the top job at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce has been difficult to swallow. Guerra was contacted for comment. And the interim role has been tough for Chippindall to wear, given he was overlooked not for a candidate with strong football credentials but by one with no club experience. Respected former Port Adelaide boss Keith Thomas was also in the running and had some backing from the AFL. But he was removed from the process after the discovery of an anti-war social media post relating to conflict in Gaza. Loading This was at a time when the club was negotiating with Jewish stakeholders in the bid to secure its new home at Caulfield. One of the options for a Demons base is a parcel of land between Caulfield Racecourse and a planned campus for Jewish school Mt Scopus. Despite denials at the time, the board did not rule out the prospect of approaching the then-uncontracted Luke Beveridge by season's end in the early months of a year that has lurched from bad to worse. This would indicate the Smith-Brad Green led operation remains open to change. But the pressing problem for Melbourne remains the lack of leadership and by consequence the opportunity to correctly review the running of a football operation. Monday's scheduled board meeting saw incoming president Smith zoom in as his long-planned European sojourn nears an end. Green has bristled this season at suggestions he is the interim president but given the pressure placed upon Smith, the former MCC president and Demons 200-gamer, to step into the role despite his travel plans, the strong impression all season is that the club had been treading water on and off the field. Darren Shand, the former All Blacks manager and motivational speaker whom Goodwin and Pert encountered in New Zealand shortly after Pert's controversial defence of the club's culture in late 2023, was also at the board meeting. Shand conducted the post-season review last year which led to little meaningful change. The football department has been marked in recent years by some strange and at times eyebrow-raising job-sharing decisions. This was underlined again in June when the club's chief communications executive Clare Pettyfor was appointed head of the club's AFLW program with a role in list management after the departure of Marcus Wagner. The latter reportedly navigated roles in both the men's and women's program. It seems unfeasible that Pettyfor can balance three such crucial roles. Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams remains probably the highest-paid development coach in the competition – not unjustifiable given his credentials – but he is out of contract. So is high-performance boss Selwyn Griffith. Credited for his key part in the triumph of 2021, Williams has struggled more recently with the demarcation between his AFL and VFL duties. Williams, with his brainchild Sherrin Precision football enterprise, has also performed the role of goalkicking coach this year. The move of highly rated defence coach Troy Chaplin to oversee the forwards – a change which came under scrutiny from this masthead at the aforementioned breakfast – has not reaped the results hoped for this season. An even stranger double-up was the move to use player development manager Reece Conca as a runner on match days, a clear conflict given he was delivering instructions to players at the same time as he was also responsible for their welfare. The club has struggled with behavioural and cultural problems, including allegations of substance abuse among players. The responsibility of minding Clayton Oliver over his troubled summer of 2023-'24 was handed to the club's popular media boss, Matt Goodrope. Goodrope remains a respected figure at the club from the board down, but surely he was not adequately qualified for the daily role with Oliver at a time the player's life seemed in crisis and he was undergoing direct and regular intervention from the AFL's mental health team, league chiefs, AFLPA bosses and Pert. Coach Goodwin and captain Gawn have been forced to carry the public leadership duties all season and did so again this week after the horror final quarter against St Kilda last Sunday. 'We have been able to go through these challenges before with clarity and strength and stability to create success,' said Goodwin on Thursday.
The Age
14 minutes ago
- The Age
The fractured football club behind Melbourne's eight seconds of madness
My colleague Michael Gleeson reported this week that the prospect of a million-dollar payout to premiership coach Goodwin would not faze the Melbourne board which has – in effect – been running the club all year in the absence of a permanent chief executive. Off-field morale at Melbourne has been low as a result. Not only did acting CEO David Chippindall move deep into the process to replace Pert with few ever believing he would be appointed, but Chippindall has been left to run the club all season as interim CEO. As the season has continued staff have become increasingly dismayed at the lengthy handover period. Incredibly, with Pert departing last November, his replacement Paul Guerra – also overseas in New York in recent weeks – will not take over until September despite being appointed in April. Not only has this delayed crucial developments in the club's push to finally secure a new home base at Caulfield, but it highlighted the leadership vacuum at the top as the team's performance dived. The reality that Guerra has said he could not extricate himself from the top job at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce has been difficult to swallow. Guerra was contacted for comment. And the interim role has been tough for Chippindall to wear, given he was overlooked not for a candidate with strong football credentials but by one with no club experience. Respected former Port Adelaide boss Keith Thomas was also in the running and had some backing from the AFL. But he was removed from the process after the discovery of an anti-war social media post relating to conflict in Gaza. Loading This was at a time when the club was negotiating with Jewish stakeholders in the bid to secure its new home at Caulfield. One of the options for a Demons base is a parcel of land between Caulfield Racecourse and a planned campus for Jewish school Mt Scopus. Despite denials at the time, the board did not rule out the prospect of approaching the then-uncontracted Luke Beveridge by season's end in the early months of a year that has lurched from bad to worse. This would indicate the Smith-Brad Green led operation remains open to change. But the pressing problem for Melbourne remains the lack of leadership and by consequence the opportunity to correctly review the running of a football operation. Monday's scheduled board meeting saw incoming president Smith zoom in as his long-planned European sojourn nears an end. Green has bristled this season at suggestions he is the interim president but given the pressure placed upon Smith, the former MCC president and Demons 200-gamer, to step into the role despite his travel plans, the strong impression all season is that the club had been treading water on and off the field. Darren Shand, the former All Blacks manager and motivational speaker whom Goodwin and Pert encountered in New Zealand shortly after Pert's controversial defence of the club's culture in late 2023, was also at the board meeting. Shand conducted the post-season review last year which led to little meaningful change. The football department has been marked in recent years by some strange and at times eyebrow-raising job-sharing decisions. This was underlined again in June when the club's chief communications executive Clare Pettyfor was appointed head of the club's AFLW program with a role in list management after the departure of Marcus Wagner. The latter reportedly navigated roles in both the men's and women's program. It seems unfeasible that Pettyfor can balance three such crucial roles. Port Adelaide premiership coach Mark Williams remains probably the highest-paid development coach in the competition – not unjustifiable given his credentials – but he is out of contract. So is high-performance boss Selwyn Griffith. Credited for his key part in the triumph of 2021, Williams has struggled more recently with the demarcation between his AFL and VFL duties. Williams, with his brainchild Sherrin Precision football enterprise, has also performed the role of goalkicking coach this year. The move of highly rated defence coach Troy Chaplin to oversee the forwards – a change which came under scrutiny from this masthead at the aforementioned breakfast – has not reaped the results hoped for this season. An even stranger double-up was the move to use player development manager Reece Conca as a runner on match days, a clear conflict given he was delivering instructions to players at the same time as he was also responsible for their welfare. The club has struggled with behavioural and cultural problems, including allegations of substance abuse among players. The responsibility of minding Clayton Oliver over his troubled summer of 2023-'24 was handed to the club's popular media boss, Matt Goodrope. Goodrope remains a respected figure at the club from the board down, but surely he was not adequately qualified for the daily role with Oliver at a time the player's life seemed in crisis and he was undergoing direct and regular intervention from the AFL's mental health team, league chiefs, AFLPA bosses and Pert. Coach Goodwin and captain Gawn have been forced to carry the public leadership duties all season and did so again this week after the horror final quarter against St Kilda last Sunday. 'We have been able to go through these challenges before with clarity and strength and stability to create success,' said Goodwin on Thursday.
Sky News AU
14 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
'I know that my mother always wanted me to visit Australia': HRH Prince Leka II of Albania exclusively opens up about royal duties
My interview with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Leka II of Albania has been over a year in the works. It all began about 18 months ago, when the proclamation of Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson as Queen of Denmark revived interest in her fairytale meet-cute with Prince Frederik in that Sydney pub all those years ago. Few journalists bothered to mention that decades earlier, another Aussie girl met a Crown Prince in Sydney. Their love story did not end in a proclamation ceremony or fireworks, but decades of exile and upheaval that saw them perpetually moving around the world. The couple had one son, who today serves as the head of the House of Zogu after finally being allowed to return to Albania. On the evening of our Zoom call, I half expect to hear word from the royal household that the call is off and the Crown Prince would need to reschedule or cancel altogether. But five minutes before the scheduled start of our interview, I receive a notification confirming the Crown Prince has already logged on and is in the virtual waiting room. 'I hope that the hour is not inconvenient for you,' he said. The sandy-haired Crown Prince, 43, is speaking from his bright and well-appointed home office inside the royal residence in Tirana. Our interview coincides with high season for tourism in Albania, which is currently one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Europe. This year alone, thousands of Aussies will visit Albania as part of their European getaways for the first time, most likely unaware of the Crown Prince's family link to Australia. 'Five years ago before the pandemic, we had three million tourists and I think the Ministry of Culture foresees 11 million tourists this year,' Leka II said. 'Albania is a country which is in a transition. 'We're a country which has beautiful beaches - we share the Ionian sea with Greece - and we have the ancient history of all the empires, from the Romans, the Persians, and the Ottomans, to our own dynasties in history.' The history of the monarchy in Albania is a relatively short but tragic tale of a country caught in the crossroads of ideology - first fascism, then communism. Albania was officially proclaimed a monarchy in 1928, at which time Leka II's grandfather acceded to the throne as Zog I, King of the Albanians. In 1939, Zog I and his wife Queen Geraldine were forced into exile with their newborn son Leka I (Leka II's father) after Italy invaded the country and Benito Mussolini barred the King from returning to Albania. After the war, a communist regime was installed and Albania was largely sealed off to the outside world, leaving the royal family effectively stateless. Decades of harsh communist rule under dictator Enver Hoxha followed before the country transitioned to a democracy in 1991. In 2003, the Albanian Parliament passed a law recognising the royal family and granting them a special status, which enabled the family to come home without restoring them in an official capacity. 'It's the first step in giving certain amounts of recognition and allowing us to play a role within a society while being part of the diplomatic life of the society as well,' Leka II said. Today, the southern European country of about 2.7 million people is enjoying a major economic upswing and is eyeing accession into the EU in the coming years. The country now enjoys relative political stability and a building boom is currently transforming the face of Tirana. Of all the non-reigning monarchies in Europe, the Crown Prince has arguably carved out the most compelling role for a hereditary royal living in a modern republic. He enjoys limited recognition within Albania's present political structure and works as an informal roving ambassador for the country abroad. Just weeks ago, Leka II was made an honorary ambassador to the State of Louisiana by Republican Governor Jeff Landry. In 2016, the Albanian government even gave permission for the royal family to use the former Royal Palace – now the president's official residence - for Leka II's wedding to actress Elia Zaharia. The guest list featured a Madame Tussaud's-worthy selection of reigning and non-reigning royals from across Europe, including Queen Sofia of Spain and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. The royal couple divorced last year but continue to co-parent their daughter Princess Geraldine – the presumed heir to the Albanian throne. In recent years, some of the other royal properties have been returned to the family, including the impressive Royal Villa of Durrës in Albania's second largest city. The former summer residence sits atop a hill overlooking the Adriatic Sea but has fallen into ruin after decades of neglect and earthquakes in the area. Restoring the crumbling residences is an 'incredible challenge' for Leka II. So much so that he recently opted to sell the Royal Villa to a businessman who can properly fund the restoration. 'The new owner is a very, very successful businessman, and he's taking up the incredible challenge to rehabilitate, to rebuild the villa, which unfortunately due to the earthquakes and due to mismanagement and being destroyed, really needs that TLC,' he said. While Leka II credits his father Leka I for instilling in him a drive to serve the country, he was equally influenced by his 'very loving' mother Princess Susan. Leka II says he is 'very proud' of his Australian heritage and credits his late mother's Aussie roots for instilling in him both 'openness' and an uncanny ability to 'read the room'. Born Susan Barbara Cullen-Ward in Sydney, Leka II's mother came from a good eastern suburbs family before meeting the exiled Crown Prince of Albania at a dinner party in the mid-1970s. The couple wed in a small civil ceremony in Biarritz in 1975 and lived in exile in Spain, Zimbabwe and finally South Africa, where they welcomed Leka II in 1982. 'My mother was a fourth-generation Australian,' he said. 'I believe - and I'm not certain about this so maybe some verification could be made - that she was a descendent of Banjo Paterson.' Leka II says he hopes to visit Australia soon and reconnect with cousins and relatives from the Cullen and Ward families. 'My cousins are all pushing for me to come and visit hopefully next year,' he said. 'I know that my mother always wanted me to visit Australia.' Leka II was largely raised in exile in South Africa with his parents in what one 1980s feature by The Australian Women's Weekly gently described as 'reduced circumstances'. Growing up, nobody at school knew Leka II's true identity and he only got a sense of his royal lineage when interacting with the Albanian diaspora on holidays to Europe. I ask the Crown Prince whether his relatively normal upbringing was a blessing in some ways. After all, Prince Harry's memoir Spare was a pretty damning account about the pitfalls of growing up as a royal Prince in the media's glare. 'I had a very normal youth as a child, but at the same time, meeting the diaspora I felt the pressures of position,' he said. 'When we finally came back to Albania in 2002, I was really pushed into the deep end.' Sadly, Susan died in 2004 at age 63 from cancer, just two years after the royal family finally returned to Albania. His father Leka I died in 2012 and both are buried in the Mausoleum of the Albanian Royal Family. As Crown Prince, Leka II can be commended for restoring the royal family to prominence in the country through tireless work promoting Albania abroad. It is plausible that this goodwill could lead to a more official role for the family in the future. But Leka II says he is making great effort to ensure his daughter Geraldine, 4, does not grow up fretting over the future of the House of Zogu. 'She's fluent both in English and Albanian and she's a chatterbox in all senses,' he said. 'But it's important that she is given the best education and time will define her role, you can't force someone to become a monarch.'
