Trump's Middle East week, Kyiv calls Putin's bluff and Cannes' opening week
Then onwards to the UAE to the sound of drums and the swishing of hair, more big money deals announced too. A trip that made headlines for a surprise meeting with Syria's warlord turned President; and questions over why Trump left Israel off the itinerary; and on the ethics of accepting the gift of a winged palace from Doha.
It's been a week where President Zelensky called President Putin's bluff. He was awaiting talks in Turkey, the setting the Russian leader had chosen for negotiations, rather than accepting an unconditional ceasefire. Putin was a no show, stand-in props sent instead said Kyiv. Moscow had barely had the time to call Zelensky 'a clown' in response by the time President Trump intervened..
'Nothing's going to happen', he suddenly declared to reporters, 'until Putin and I get together.' We'll assess when and where the stage is being set for that.
And it's the week where the 78th Cannes film festival kicked off …Juliette Binoche heads up this year's jury. A new dress code too, No nudity or over large gowns. And honorary Palme D'or has already been awarded to Robert De Niro, who used his acceptance speech to criticise President Trump and the big tip for this year's best film AWARD, is the Japanese drama, Renoir..
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France 24
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- France 24
Wagner Group leaves Mali, replaced by Moscow-backed Africa Corps
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner has left Mali and its units there have been taken over by the Moscow-run Africa Corps, diplomatic and security sources told AFP on Sunday. "Officially, Wagner is no longer present in Mali. But the Africa Corps is stepping up," one diplomatic source in the Sahel region said. A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: "Mission accomplished. PMC Wagner is going home." Mali's ruling junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support. Watch more Battle of Tinzawaten: video shows last stand for Russia's Wagner mercenaries in Mali (7/9/2024) Wagner, Russia's best-known mercenary group, was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow. Mali has never officially admitted Wagner's presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors. "The Kremlin remains in control;" the same diplomatic source added. "Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako." The Africa Corps is another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin and seen as the successor to the Wagner Group. Like Wagner, its mercenaries are active supporting several African governments.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Usyk wants Trump to 'live in his house' to witness war
Trump had vowed to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine "in 24 hours" if he was elected president. But there has been no end to Russia's invasion since Trump returned to the White House in 2024. Ukrainian boxer Usyk, who has been a tireless campaigner for peace in his homeland, believes Trump needs to have a clearer view of the dire situation if he is to find a solution to the crisis. The 38-year-old has urged the president to join him at his house in Ukraine to see for himself the damage done by the war. "I advise American President Donald Trump to come to Ukraine and live in my house for one week," Usyk told BBC Sport on Sunday. "Only one week. I will give him my house. Live please in Ukraine and watch what is going on every night. "Every night there are bombs and flights above my house. Bombs, rocket. Every night. It's enough." Trump clashed with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a contentious summit meeting in the Oval Office in February. Trump warned Zelensky to show more gratitude for America's help in peace talks before telling him to leave the White House. Asked if Trump could be convinced to change his opinion, Usyk said: "I don't know. Maybe he'll understand, maybe he won't." Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional bouts, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley. But the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion said the war is never far from his mind. "I worry about what happens in my country. It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died," he said. "It's not just military people, children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too." © 2025 AFP
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
The 100 ways Elon Musk allegedly benefited from Trump's White House
A new report published by a prominent American senator's office this week sheds light on how the first 130 days of US President Donald Trump's second term may have benefited Elon Musk, the world's richest man. Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren's office compiled a 14-page document using a combination of media reports, White House statements, and think tank research to identify over 100 occasions where Musk's companies and his own personal wealth benefited during his time with the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). A statement on Warren's website describes the report as a list of actions where Musk or White House officials "broke ethics norms and precedent or may have violated laws regarding federal employees' participation in matters in which they have a financial interest," while benefiting Musk's business concerns. The report alleges that these actions have increased Musk's personal wealth by "at least" $100 billion (€85.4 billion) and wiped out a potential additional $2.37 billion (€2.07 billion) in business liabilities from Musk's record. Warren's report comes in the wake of a very public fallout this week between Trump and Musk, who left his role at DOGE earlier this month. Warren's report claims that Musk had conflicts with "at least 70 per cent" of the government departments that his new role came after. The report claims that President Trump fired the USAID Inspector General, who was set to inspect Musk's satellite company Starlink for its role in providing services to Russia in its ongoing war against Ukraine. In one of the most controversial moves of his early presidency, the report claims that Trump then tried to shut down USAID in light of this pending investigation. Trump then announced a pause of US foreign development assistance programmes through USAID, creating a $60 billion (€55.3 billion) funding gap. Among the USAID cancellation repercussions is some non-profit funding to Ukraine that the EU told Euronews in February that it will not be able to meet the gap. Warren's report also claims that Starlink either struck deals or is negotiating deals with at least a dozen countries, largely in Asia and Africa, 'amid threats of tariffs'. Regulators "have taken no public action on their investigations" in more than 40 federal agency matters regarding Musk's companies "for several months or more," the report continued. Many of the stalled investigations highlighted in the report were focused on Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company. Citing NPR reports, Warren said that Trump fired the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the first round of DOGE cuts after it received over 300 consumer complaints about Tesla. Pending investigations and audits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance into Tesla were shut down by the Trump administration, the report continued. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in charge of investigating market manipulation, limited staff authority to launch investigations as the body was investigating Tesla's potentially false claims about self-driving vehicles. In a similar vein, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) laid off workers in DOGE cuts while it investigated Tesla crashes caused by the car's 'full self-driving' and remote control features. Trump's administration also administered cuts and slowed down the work of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) after these agencies launched investigations into SpaceX, Tesla and xAI Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company behind chatbot Grok, for environmental violations. During his time at DOGE, Musk was able to put in motion or sign several government contracts worth billions of dollars for SpaceX, his space technology company based in Texas. Trump's announcement of the Golden Dome project to guarantee security for the US, along with an initial $25 billion (€22 billion) investment, had already pegged SpaceX as a frontrunner for the project. The White House is now also reportedly calling for 13 per cent more spending for the Department of Defense, with SpaceX "considered likely to be the top recipient" of this funding, while the report alleges the company has already made over $7 billion (€6.15 billion) in contracts. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to subsidise SpaceX's broadband services in a reversal of a previous decision to give the company $900 million (€790 million). Musk also helped handpick many of the administration's key personnel, including the initial selection of SpaceX investor Jared Isaacman as NASA's top administrator and putting Michael Guetlein, a former SpaceX fellow, at the head of the Golden Dome missile program. These picks also influenced a potential contract with the Pentagon where SpaceX would be paid to "transport military cargo around the globe". The report also alleges that DOGE infiltrated the Treasury Department's Federal Payment System, which could give Musk the financial information of competitor companies that have been awarded contracts.
