Latest news with #RussiaUkraine
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Zelensky announces date of next Russia-Ukraine talks
The next round of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place in Türkiye on Wednesday, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky announced in a video statement on Telegram on Monday. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Daily Telegraph
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Telegraph
‘He didn't fool me': Four words from Donald Trump that say so, so much
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. Comment Three quotes here, all uttered by Donald Trump after he took office in January, and all referring to Vladimir Putin. 'I believe he wants peace. I mean, I know him very well. Yeah, I think he wants peace. I think he would tell me if he didn't.' 'I think he'll keep his word. I've spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now, you know? I don't believe he is going to violate his word.' 'I believe him. I think we're doing very well with Russia, and right now they're bombing the hell out of Ukraine. I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine.' And here is another, from this week, which came as Mr Trump finally lost patience with Putin's doublespeak. 'He's fooled a lot of people. He fooled Bush, he fooled a lot of people. He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He didn't fool me.' Donald Trump. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP A bit shameless, isn't it? This man's capacity to revise history so blatantly, and to expect everyone to accept it, as though we have neither eyes, nor ears, nor functioning brains. Putin did fool George W. Bush, who after meeting the Russian leader, claimed to have gotten 'a sense of his soul' and said he was 'very trustworthy'. He did at least somewhat fool Barack Obama, who got then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton to pose for a stunt with an obnoxious red 'reset button', representing the relationship between America and Russia. That predictably doomed move fell over when Crimea happened. Joe Biden? Hmm. He did agree to attend a summit with Putin during his presidency, which felt naive at the time. But the Biden administration was unequivocal about Russia's intentions in the lead-up to its invasion of Ukraine. So there is plenty to criticise in other US presidents' approaches to the Putin regime. But that last part, the 'he didn't fool me', takes some goddamn cheek. Nothing any of the presidents above said or did comes close to rivalling the credulousness with which Mr Trump has approached Putin, one of the most nakedly malicious leaders on the planet, since he first took power in 2017. Vladimir Putin. Picture: Maxim Shemetov/AFP And this goes right to the heart of the eternal, perhaps unanswerable question about Donald Trump: Does he actually believe his own rhetoric? When he says something brazenly false, as is his habit, is he doing it cynically, with the knowledge that enough people will believe him anyway? Or has he convinced himself it's the truth? Put in context: does Mr Trump genuinely think Putin did not outfox him, did not string him along with fake talk of peace for months? Or is the American President saying such nonsense with full self-awareness, to cover up his own embarrassment? The shift in stance from the Trump administration this week is an improvement. It's a recognition, seven years after Mr Trump met Putin in Helsinki and took his word over that of his own country's intelligence agencies, that the murderous Russian dictator with a record of breaking nearly every pledge he makes might not be trustworthy. So in relative terms, OK. Good, even. If American policy towards Russia is on a spectrum, with exploitable innocence on one end and cynicism on the other, we are at least heading in the right direction. In absolute terms though? Pissweak. A 50-day deadline, after which new sanctions might be imposed unless Putin agrees to a peace deal. Why not impose those sanctions now? The man has lied to you for months, Donald. At no point has he displayed anything resembling good faith. Why give him the leeway of a delay? Do it now. We've already seen Putin bomb Ukraine again since Mr Trump's announcement. He hardly seems worried. And honestly, why should he be? He's dealing with a serial flip-flopper, whose record indicates he'll sooner push back a deadline than enforce it. Genuine shoutout to George Bush though for his naivety. I mean come on, you can judge that guy from his skin alone, never mind his soul. And he's dealing with an American President who seeks to project strength, but even in his own telling comes off as credulous and manipulable. 'I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done,' he said of Putin, and a peace deal, while speaking to reporters after completing the flip-flop. 'And I always hang up and say, 'Well, that was a nice phone call.' And then missiles are launched into Kyiv, or some other (Ukrainian) city. And I say, 'Strange.' 'And after that happens three or four times, you say the talk doesn't mean anything.' No s***. He has retold a version of that anecdote several times, with First Lady Melania Trump usually serving as the unlikely snap back to reality. 'We thought we had a deal. Numerous times. I'd get home, I'd say, 'First Lady, I had the most wonderful talk with Vladimir. I think we're finished.'' As in, finished hammering out a viable path to peace between Russia and Ukraine. 'And then I'll turn on the television. Or she'll say to me one time, 'Wow, that's strange, because they just bombed a nursing home.' I said, 'What?'' What's the fictional equivalent here? Mon Mothma gets off the holo-phone with Emperor Palpatine. 'That was a really wonderful talk I had with Palpatine,' she tells some other rebel bigwig. 'Wow, that's strange, because he just blew up Alderaan,' her colleague replies. To which Mothma, would-be leader of the free worlds, offers an impotent: 'What!?' Before proceeding to publicly insist she was the only rebel leader to never be fooled by Palpatine. (Do watch Andor. Wonderfully written show, regardless of your politics. No I will not stop sneaking TV recommendations into serious rants about serious politics.) Apparently Melania Trump is more abreast of international war news than her husband, who has the entire US national security apparatus at his beck and call. But that's a discussion for another day. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP Look, there are two elements here. One is US policy towards Russia, which has improved a bit. Second is Mr Trump's personality, which at the age of 79 is probably set in carbonite. The man's hatred of his political opponents, or for anyone who dares to criticise him, is one thing. Plenty to dissect there. But the shamelessness with which he can lie through his teeth to his own supporters, and mock the intelligence of the people who gave him the power he now wields? That, more than anything he could ever say or do to the Democrats or the media, speaks to his character. Twice this week, we have seen it in action, once with the Putin backflip, and again with his attitude towards the Jeffrey Epstein case. 'I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,' Mr Trump said today when asked about the backlash against his sudden indifference within MAGA. 'It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring. And I don't understand why it keeps going. I think, really, only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going.' Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department Boring, is it? The years-long, unchecked, unprosecuted sex trafficking of minors to the rich and powerful? You find that boring? Only Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were charged. All their clients are free without consequence. An election campaign last year in which Mr Trump and his associates eagerly fed the conspiracy theories. And now Mr Trump cannot comprehend why people still talk about it. Nor can he understand the dissatisfaction of those who were promised a reckoning by his own confidants – Vice President J.D. Vance, Attorney-General Pam Bondi, head honchos of the FBI Kash Patel and Dan Bongino – only to be told to 'move on' without any result. The blow-up over Epstein, this past fortnight, is of Mr Trump's making. His handpicked officials said they were practically drowning in Epstein-related material never before seen by the public. His officials released what they called 'phase one' of documents to selected right-wing influencers, implying more phases were coming. His Attorney-General said the Epstein 'client list', long sought by the cranks, was on her desk for review. Now they say there never was any client list, and no more material will be released, and no third parties will be pursued, and Mr Trump's contemptuous reaction boils down to: 'Why do you even care?' It's insulting. Donald Trump. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP And so is his rhetoric concerning Putin. Mr Trump told his supporters he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office, if not before. He has since sought to brush that off as a joke, as though we all have the memory of a goldfish, and cannot recall the dozens – no, sorry, hundreds – of times he said it without a hint of humour. It's the Trump playbook now, apparently. Say something ridiculous. Have it blow up in your face. Pretend it never happened. Assume your followers will accept it unquestioningly. 'Look, it's clear from what the President himself has said – although he wouldn't put it this way – that he got played by Putin, and dragged on for months,' the longtime chief political analyst for Fox News, Brit Hume, said this week. 'And he was being jollied along under the impression, that Putin had obviously given him, that Putin wanted to end the war, and was prepared to negotiate from where we are. 'And it's pretty clear now that Putin didn't want to end the war where we are. He had more conquests in mind, and perhaps wanted his whole original purpose of taking Ukraine.' We all bloody knew it, the whole time. Hume knew it, I knew it, you probably knew it. Putin certainly knew it. The only man in the dark, the only man of actual consequence fooled, was the one with genuine power to act. Originally published as 'He didn't fool me': Four words from Donald Trump that say so, so much
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Unhappy' Trump gives Putin new deadline, backpacker's remarkable reveal after 12 days in outback, Albanese set for Xi meeting
Hello and welcome to Yahoo's live news blog this Tuesday. Donald Trump has issued Vladimir Putin a 50-day deadline to agree a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, saying he is "very, very unhappy" with Russia. Australian Test star Mitchell Starc has made history against the West Indies by recording the fastest ever five-wicket haul, helping his side bowl out the Windies for just 27 runs in their second innings. Scott Boland also took a hat-trick as Australia raced to an emphatic victory. Follow along as we bring you regular updates throughout the day. Well this will undoubtedly be welcomed by plenty of Aussies. The Reserve Bank of Australia has proposed to scrap surcharges on most debit and credit card payments for consumers while lowering interchange fees paid by businesses, steps that would save the two groups around $2.4 billion a year. In a consultation paper on the proposals, the RBA said surcharges and fees were no longer in the public interest and invited feedback from interested parties by August 26. The RBA judged that surcharges on debit and credit cards, including Mastercard and Visa, no longer achieved the intended purpose of steering consumers to make more efficient payment choices. The RBA said avoiding surcharges had become harder as cash usage declined and there were challenges with enforcing current rules. The central bank's most recent triennial consumer payments survey found that the share of consumer payments made in cash had fallen from around 70% by number in 2007 to 13% in 2022. "Removing surcharging would make card payments simpler, more transparent and help to increase competition in the card payments system," the RBA said. - Reuters A widow in Adelaide says she believes her late husband was watching over her as she landed a life-changing $1 million in Friday's Weekday Windfall draw. 'My husband passed away a few years ago, and I truly believe he's looking down at us and making sure I'm okay. It's such a blessing, and I feel so grateful," the winner told The Lott. 'It's an amazing amount of money. I've been through a fair bit in the past few years, but it feels like things are really looking up." She now plans on helping her kids out and renovating her kitchen. Anthony Albanese is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping today as he continues to walk a tightrope juggling relationships with both the US and China. The prime minister will discuss a range of topics with Xi, as Albanese looks to solidify economic ties with a key trade partner. But it comes amid a period of increased unpredictability globally as Canberra finds itself with important relationships with defence ally the US and China, seeking greater control in the Indo-Pacific. Albanese has vowed to raise grievances with China but as he has stated previously, such differences will not derail a continued building of trust between the two countries. Read more about the high-profile meeting here. There's been a major shift from US President Donald Trump who says he is "very unhappy" with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. He has given him 50 days to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine, and if that is not achieved, he will implement "very severe" secondary tariffs of 100 per cent. In a White House meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Ruttle, Trump announced he would be supplying 'top-of-the-line" military aid to Ukraine. 'I felt we had a deal about four times but it just kept going on and on," an increasingly-frustrated Trump said. Read more here. A German backpacker who miraculously survived 12 days in the remote and unforgiving Western Australian bush has revealed she lost 12kg during the ordeal. Carolina Wilga issued a statement on Monday thanking the community for their search efforts after she was last seen in a small Wheatbelt town on June 29. Sharing a picture on social media from her hospital bed, the backpacker was surrounded by pastries, chips, tea and food as she posed for the camera. 'When you need to gain the 12 kilograms back,' she captioned the social media image. Dressed in a Billabong shirt and holding a bouquet of flowers, Ms Wilga said 'thanks to the German Consulate' for the gifts she received. In her first statement since the ordeal, the 26-year-old explained she got lost after losing control of her car, suffering a significant hit to her head in the accident leaving her in a state of confusion. 'First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart – a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible supports during the search for me,' Ms Wilga said. Sharing the message from hospital, Ms Wilga said she was 'grateful to have survived', thanking her 'rescuer' and 'angel' Tania Henley who found her walking along the road on July 11. Read more from NewsWire here. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Well this will undoubtedly be welcomed by plenty of Aussies. The Reserve Bank of Australia has proposed to scrap surcharges on most debit and credit card payments for consumers while lowering interchange fees paid by businesses, steps that would save the two groups around $2.4 billion a year. In a consultation paper on the proposals, the RBA said surcharges and fees were no longer in the public interest and invited feedback from interested parties by August 26. The RBA judged that surcharges on debit and credit cards, including Mastercard and Visa, no longer achieved the intended purpose of steering consumers to make more efficient payment choices. The RBA said avoiding surcharges had become harder as cash usage declined and there were challenges with enforcing current rules. The central bank's most recent triennial consumer payments survey found that the share of consumer payments made in cash had fallen from around 70% by number in 2007 to 13% in 2022. "Removing surcharging would make card payments simpler, more transparent and help to increase competition in the card payments system," the RBA said. - Reuters A widow in Adelaide says she believes her late husband was watching over her as she landed a life-changing $1 million in Friday's Weekday Windfall draw. 'My husband passed away a few years ago, and I truly believe he's looking down at us and making sure I'm okay. It's such a blessing, and I feel so grateful," the winner told The Lott. 'It's an amazing amount of money. I've been through a fair bit in the past few years, but it feels like things are really looking up." She now plans on helping her kids out and renovating her kitchen. Anthony Albanese is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping today as he continues to walk a tightrope juggling relationships with both the US and China. The prime minister will discuss a range of topics with Xi, as Albanese looks to solidify economic ties with a key trade partner. But it comes amid a period of increased unpredictability globally as Canberra finds itself with important relationships with defence ally the US and China, seeking greater control in the Indo-Pacific. Albanese has vowed to raise grievances with China but as he has stated previously, such differences will not derail a continued building of trust between the two countries. Read more about the high-profile meeting here. There's been a major shift from US President Donald Trump who says he is "very unhappy" with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. He has given him 50 days to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine, and if that is not achieved, he will implement "very severe" secondary tariffs of 100 per cent. In a White House meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Ruttle, Trump announced he would be supplying 'top-of-the-line" military aid to Ukraine. 'I felt we had a deal about four times but it just kept going on and on," an increasingly-frustrated Trump said. Read more here. A German backpacker who miraculously survived 12 days in the remote and unforgiving Western Australian bush has revealed she lost 12kg during the ordeal. Carolina Wilga issued a statement on Monday thanking the community for their search efforts after she was last seen in a small Wheatbelt town on June 29. Sharing a picture on social media from her hospital bed, the backpacker was surrounded by pastries, chips, tea and food as she posed for the camera. 'When you need to gain the 12 kilograms back,' she captioned the social media image. Dressed in a Billabong shirt and holding a bouquet of flowers, Ms Wilga said 'thanks to the German Consulate' for the gifts she received. In her first statement since the ordeal, the 26-year-old explained she got lost after losing control of her car, suffering a significant hit to her head in the accident leaving her in a state of confusion. 'First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart – a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul! For all the incredible supports during the search for me,' Ms Wilga said. Sharing the message from hospital, Ms Wilga said she was 'grateful to have survived', thanking her 'rescuer' and 'angel' Tania Henley who found her walking along the road on July 11. Read more from NewsWire here.
Forbes
10-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Meet The New Vanguard Of News: How Millennials And Gen Z Are Redefining The Business Of Media On Their Own Terms
In an era where trust in legacy media is waning and digital platforms are shaping political and cultural consciousness, a new generation of citizen journalists is emerging, armed with iPhones, credibility, and conviction. Millennials and Gen Z, digital natives raised on both hashtags and hard truths, are crafting a new kind of media empire, one where authenticity and accessibility overtake broadcast polish. And leading the charge are figures like Aaron Parnas and Lynae Vanee, two breakout voices who've built national followings by meeting audiences exactly where they are: online. According to a June 2025 Nieman Lab report, for the first time, survey participants say they get their news from social media over television. Parnas, a lawyer-turned-commentator, has amassed millions of followers across platforms by translating fast-moving political developments into bite-sized, jargon-free videos. Often dubbed a "TikTok journalist," he resists the label, not because he rejects social media, but because he refuses to be boxed in. Aaron Parnas 'Every journalist, whether they're on TV, radio, or print, is a content creator,' Parnas says. 'We don't call Jake Tapper a TV journalist. He's just a journalist. I'm doing the same work, just on a different platform.' What began as quick updates on geopolitical developments during the Russia-Ukraine war quickly evolved into a trusted pipeline for daily news and policy breakdowns. But with growing skepticism around TikTok's future in the U.S., Parnas diversified his presence early, pivoting much of his energy to Substack. 'I generate 90% of my income from Substack,' he shares. 'It's a more intimate setting, and people actually care about what I'm saying rather than just scrolling past.' That financial independence, fueled by subscribers hungry for accessible analysis, allows Parnas to operate without the editorial gatekeeping of legacy institutions. It also makes him part of a growing cohort of self-employed media entrepreneurs using newsletters, short-form video, and podcasts to bypass traditional publishing paths altogether. Vanee's rise followed a different, though no less intentional, trajectory. A former educator and spoken-word artist, she first found viral success with her series 'Parking Lot Pimpin',' a genre-defying blend of performance, pedagogy, and political commentary. Lynae Vanee 'When I was a teacher, we were taught that nobody cares what you know until they know that you care,' Vanee says. 'So I always try to make people feel seen in the work.' Her poetic delivery, often shot in one take from the front seat of her car, helped her cultivate a dedicated Instagram following and eventually land her own show, The People's Brief, on REVOLT. There, she operates with what she calls the 'best of both worlds,' bringing her digital authenticity into a traditional network setting while retaining creative control. 'I have a producer credit, I write for the show, and the team has really been amenable to my voice,' she explains. 'We're figuring out how to package these ideas for TV without losing the nuance.' Nuance is key. Vanee's content, grounded in Black feminist thought, historical context, and grassroots activism, is rarely optimized for virality. And yet, it resonates. Despite algorithmic hurdles, she's maintained a steady audience drawn to the clarity and candor of her political takes. 'I'm convicted,' she says simply. 'This work isn't just a job. It's a calling.' Both Parnas and Vanee embody what makes this generation's approach to journalism different: transparent, targeted, and rapid. They aim to inform and mobilize, without pretending to be neutral about injustice. Yet neither sees themselves as activists per se. For Parnas, the job is to simplify the news, not shape it. 'Because I'm a lawyer first, or rather I was a lawyer, something that was really instilled is that you have to be able to take very complex subjects and distill them down in quick and easy ways for a jury of your peers," he says, explaining his straightforward style of video-making. When you're in front of a jury of six or twelve, you're not talking to twelve lawyers, you're talking to twelve average Americans, teachers, plumbers, contractors, who don't know anything about the law. You have to teach them the law as if they are." Vanee, on the other hand, views her work as part of a broader cultural and artistic legacy. Her training in African American studies and spoken word infuses every episode with intentionality. 'Being a full human being is an act of resistance,' she says. 'My platform allows me to be more than a commentator. I'm also a poet, a daughter, a friend, and all of that informs what I bring to the screen.' While both creators admit the path isn't always easy, Vanee notes the monetization challenges of 'sensitive' political content, and Parnas has faced skepticism from traditional journalists, the impact is undeniable. Collectively, they reach millions of viewers weekly, offering a counter-narrative to both corporate media and partisan echo chambers. And they're not alone. A growing number of millennial and Gen Z creators are building what amounts to a decentralized news ecosystem. Some host newsletters. Others record explainer videos from their kitchens. All are united by a desire to democratize information and reimagine what journalism can look like in the 21st century. Their tools may be unconventional, but their mission is not. 'Legacy media dismissed TikTok at first,' Parnas says. 'But give it a year, everybody's going to be there. Because this is where the people are.' For millennials and Zillennials forging their own path in media, the lesson is clear: the newsroom is wherever your voice can be heard. And the future of journalism is already streaming.
Russia Today
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine silent about new peace talks
Moscow is waiting for Kiev to confirm a date for the next round of direct peace talks, the Kremlin says. The two sides have held two rounds of negotiations in Türkiye so far, reviving a process that Kiev withdrew from in 2022 to pursue military victory with Western assistance. At their most recent meeting in June, Russian and Ukrainian delegates exchanged draft proposals outlining their visions for a potential peace deal and agreed to carry out further prisoner exchanges. Kiev has recently admitted that it had agreed to resume the peace talks partly to deflect pressure from US President Donald Trump. Asked by reporters on Tuesday whether there had been any progress on setting a date for the third round, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: 'No.' 'As the [Russian] president [Vladimir Putin] said last week, we are waiting for a proposal from the Ukrainian side on possible dates,' he stated, adding that the Kremlin would inform the public immediately if that happened. Putin has repeatedly confirmed Russia's readiness to continue negotiations, including in public statements and a recent call with US President Donald Trump, according to the Kremlin. He said recently that the next round should center on proposed agreements to resolve the conflict. Last week, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhiy told local media that Kiev had returned to diplomacy with Russia 'to prevent anyone from accusing Ukraine of being the side that doesn't want peace.' He claimed such move helps deflect accusations, 'even among allied countries,' that Kiev opposes Trump's efforts to mediate a truce. Since taking office in January, Trump has pushed for a negotiated settlement. Kiev has claimed that Moscow is not acting in good faith due to its refusal to accept an unconditional ceasefire. Russia says any pause would simply allow Ukraine to regroup. Moscow insists it is open to talks 'without preconditions,' but maintains that any lasting deal must reflect current battlefield realities and require neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification for Ukraine. Putin told Trump last week that while Russia is open for dialogue, it will not back down from eliminating 'the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs.' Several POW exchanges have taken place since the June 2 talks. Russia has returned the remains of over 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers and received 57 in return. Moscow said it is ready to transfer the remains of 3,000 more Ukrainian soldiers if Kiev agrees to accept them.
