Ukrainecast Can Trump persuade Putin to meet Zelensky?
We're joined this week by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Nato Secretary General and ex-prime minister of Denmark, who led a key international working group on security guarantees for Ukraine. Plus Vitaly gives Jamie his assessment of proceedings from DC, and we get the thoughts of Ukrainians experiencing the conflict close up.
Today's episode is presented by Jamie Coomarasamy and Vitaly Shevchenko.
The producers were Laurie Kalus and Polly Hope. The technical producer was James Piper. The social producer was Grace Braddock. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480
You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast's Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
DHS Secretary says entire southern border wall to be painted black to stop people from climbing it
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea. Noem spoke during a visit to a portion of the wall in New Mexico, where she also picked up a roller brush to help out with the painting. She touted the height of the wall as well as the depth as ways to deter people seeking to go over or under the walls. And then Noem said Homeland Security was going to be trying black paint to make the metal hotter. 'That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here when something is painted black it gets even warmer and it will make it even harder for people to climb. So we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally,' Noem said. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks, who attended the event with Noem, said the paint would also help deter rust. During Trump's first term, building the wall was a central focus of his hardline immigration policy. During his second term, his mass deportation agenda with arrests in the interior of the country has been the main focus, but Homeland Security will be getting about $46 billion to complete the wall as part of new funding passed by Congress this summer. Noem said they have been building about a half mile of barrier every day. 'The border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built,' she said. She said that in addition to barriers like the one she visited Tuesday, the department is also working on 'water-borne infrastructure.' Long sections of the roughly 2,000-mile border between the U.S. and Mexico sit along the Rio Grande River in Texas. The Trump administration is pushing forward with completing the wall at the same time that the number of people crossing the border illegally has plummeted.
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump administration revises ‘good moral character' citizenship requirement
The Trump administration is expanding the 'good moral character' test for US citizenship, requiring a 'holistic assessment' of applicants' behavior and contributions. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers will now consider positive attributes like community involvement and education, alongside negative factors such as repeated traffic infractions or harassment, even if lawful. A USCIS spokesperson stated that US citizenship should be reserved for 'the world's best of the best' and that the agency screens for 'anti-American activity' when vetting applications. This policy is part of Trump's broader agenda to crack down on immigration, which includes potential mass deportations and reviewing immigrants' social media for reasons to reject applications. Experts suggest the new guidance aims to restrict legal immigration by broadening grounds for denial, with concerns that its discretionary nature could lead to arbitrary enforcement.
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
White House launches official TikTok account after Trump vowed ban in 2020
The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, as Donald Trump continues to permit the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the US despite a law requiring its sale. 'America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?' read a caption on the account's first post, a 27-second clip, on the popular video sharing app. The account had about 4,500 followers an hour after posting the video. Trump's personal account on TikTok meanwhile has 110.1 million followers, though his last post was on 5 November 2024 – election day. Trump has a soft spot for the popular app, crediting it with helping him gain support among young voters when he defeated Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, in the November 2024 presidential election. 'The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible,' Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said as the account went live. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration on 20 January. But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause. TikTok is a tremendously popular social media app with 170 million users in the US. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, said in April that it had been in discussion with the US government regarding a solution for the app. It added that any agreement 'will be subject to approval under Chinese law'. In mid-June Trump for the third time extended the deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. That extension is due to expire in mid-September. The idea of banning TikTok originated with Trump in 2020, who said the Chinese-owned app posed a danger to national security. It quickly became a bipartisan issue and Congress overwhelmingly voted to ban the app last year, which faced a legal challenge but was ultimately affirmed by the supreme court. The original deadline for the TikTok ban was on 19 January. Trump switched his stance on TikTok after joining the app while campaigning for president last year, amassing nearly 15 million followers and hosting the TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Chew also attended Trump's inauguration. While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform – which boasts almost 2 billion global users – after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election. Trump's official account on X, formerly Twitter, has 108.5 million followers – though his favored social media outlet is Truth Social, which he owns, where he has 10.6 million followers. The official White House accounts on X and Instagram have 2.4 million and 9.3 million followers, respectively. Dara Kerr contributed reporting
