#russia-ukraine

#russia-ukraine

Twas the fortnight before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Apart from a few exceptions. Labour backbencher Matt Western had managed to secure an urgent question on President Trump's new national security strategy and the Commons itself was remarkable for its absences. A roll-call of dishonour. Take Nigel Farage. You would have thought he would have had a lot to say on the subject.

Trump told reporters in the White House Oval Office on Wednesday that Witkoff and Kushner had "a reasonably good" meeting with Putin, but later said the discussions were "very good". Their impression was that Putin would "like to see the war ended ... their impression was very strongly that he wants to make a deal," Trump said, but stressed he didn't know if a deal was possible.

Other Bundesliga clubs have queried the wisdom of bringing Melnikova in to help Chemnitz's title push. "There were only sporting reasons," club coach Tatjana Bachmayer told DW. "We didn't want to provoke anyone, and above all, we didn't want to make a political statement. We are aware that this could be seen as problematic. But for us, what counts is solidarity in sport and international understanding."

The United Kingdom has a new way for people to share secrets with the country's foreign intelligence agency. It's called Silent Courier, and it's being advertised online. The service can be found on the dark web, and allows potential spies to share classified information with the U.K.'s Secret Intelligence Service better known as MI6 securely. The nation's Foreign Office, which oversees MI6, says the portal is being launched as the U.K. tries to recruit "potential new agents in Russia and around the world."

President Donald Trump was able to chuckle about needing a lot of security after nearly being assassinated multiple times during a round of golf with his granddaughter, Kai Trump, that she posted to her YouTube channel on Saturday. Kai Trump, as the president drove the golf cart they were using between holes, pointed out there were plenty of Secret Service members off-camera.

The U.S. may soon scrap the penal import tariff on Indian goods and also cut the reciprocal tariff to 10-15% from the existing 25%, India's Chief Economist Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Thursday. "My personal confidence is that in the next couple of months, if not earlier, we will see a resolution to at least to the extra penal tariff of 25%," Nageswaran said at an event in Kolkata.

We're ready to go, ready to go right now, but we're only going to do this if our European partners step up with us, the Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying.

Poland scrambled its own and NATO air defences to shoot down drones in its airspace on Wednesday after a Russian air attack on Ukraine, marking the first time that Warsaw has got involved in the war in its neighbouring nation as it called the violation an act of aggression. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said operations were ongoing and that he was in "constant contact" with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

As the tech war moves forward amid fighting in Ukraine, Russia's Black Sea Fleet is testing new jamming-resistant naval drones guided by fiber-optic cables. State media outlet TASS reported that the fleet received uncrewed vessels for trials, with combat testing scheduled for September. Both Russia and Ukraine have been experimenting with naval drones and drones with fiber-optic controls, which are immune to electronic warfare tactics. The two sides are racing to expand their fleets of uncrewed systems and blunt each other's innovations.

"Clearly, Russia is trying to inflict pain on Ukraine with even more brazen attacks. This is a clear sign that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is testing the world -- whether they will accept or tolerate this," Zelenskyy said. "That is why it is important that the statements of leaders, states, and institutions be backed by strong actions -- sanctions against Russia, against individuals associated with Russia, tough tariffs, and other restrictions on trade with Russia," he added.

Now she will take up her post after having left her seat in the Bundestag. A position without much publicity The former Green Party co-leader and chancellor candidate will chair and manage meetings at the UN for the next year. It's a job that doesn't come with much public exposure. Baerbock will hold a lot of closed-door talks on issues to be discussed in the assembly.

A new unease has gripped the German population, making itself felt around kitchen tables, in classrooms and in offices. Many are trying to imagine the unimaginable: a war in Europe, triggered by Russia, involving German soldiers, German sons and daughters, sent to the front to defend democracy.

Coons specifically tied the raid to Bolton's criticism of Trump's attempts to negotiate a peace deal to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In recent days, after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, Bolton has been publicly criticizing President Trump, saying that Putin is playing him and that he doesn't understand the risks of what he's doing in engaging with Putin, and Trump has been firing back.