Headline

European Allies Rally Behind Zelensky After Trump Threw Him Out Of White House

Published

1 year ago

March 1, 2025

Ukraine’s European allies, set to gather in London on Sunday, rallied behind President Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump threw him out of the White House and accused him of not being “ready” for peace with Russia.

Stunned by Friday’s altercation in the Oval Office, which saw Zelensky depart the White House without signing an expected mineral deal, most European leaders rushed to his defence.

“You are not alone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelensky following the clash and vowed “unwavering support” for Kyiv.

Representatives from more than a dozen European countries will convene in London for a summit on Sunday, which according to Downing Street will focus on shoring up support for “securing a just and enduring peace” in Ukraine.

The gathering will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation amid fears over whether the United States will continue to support NATO.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to “open the discussion” on a possible future European nuclear deterrent, following a request from Germany’s next leader Friedrich Merz.

Merz has stressed the need for the continent to move quickly to “achieve independence” from the United States on defence matters.

Trump has spoken dismissively of the transatlantic alliance and stunned many in Europe when he reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a deal on Ukraine, which Moscow invaded three years ago.

– Shouting match –

Trump’s sudden shift on Ukraine, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing reproachment with Putin, has rattled the NATO allies.

Those concerns were only exacerbated Friday by the scene that played out in the White House where the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine collapsed in a shouting match.

During the clash, in front of US and international media, Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being “thankful” and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

“You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty”.

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that “he can come back when he is ready for peace”.

AUS media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

The US president later told journalists that Zelensky was “overplaying his hand” and should agree to end fighting “immediately”.

Zelensky refused to apologise, telling Fox News, “I’m not sure that we did something bad”. He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

Russia, however, was delighted.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received “a proper slap down in the Oval Office.”

Trump’s Republican Party echoed the Russians in blaming Zelensky.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Zelensky to “apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did”.

Top US Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer meanwhile said Trump and Vance were “doing Putin’s dirty work”.

– Compromise with ‘killer’? –

The meltdown came after Trump said Ukraine would have to make “compromises” in a truce with Russia, which has occupied swaths of the country.

Zelensky said there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory”.

After he pointed out that previous Western-backed peace efforts had failed to deter Russian aggression, Vance interrupted and called him “disrespectful”.

The session then boiled over into Trump and Vance loudly berating the Ukrainian leader. He sat in evident discomfort as his hosts talked over him.

Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt U-turn in US policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion.

He said in the Oval Office that he had “spoken on numerous occasions” to Putin — more than has been publicly reported.

Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” last week and has said he trusts Putin to “keep his word” over a ceasefire.

Trump told Zelensky that as a mediator he could not criticise one of the main sides.

When asked by Fox News if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged, Zelensky said “of course”.

But he also said he wished Trump was “really more on our side”.

Meanwhile, Russia’s assault on Ukraine continued.

Russian infantry were storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, near areas that were seized last summer by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv said Friday.

AFP

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.