Headline

Putin Not Serious About Peace, Says UK’s Starmer

Published

3 months ago

March 15, 2025

UK premier Keir Starmer will prod fellow leaders Saturday to sign up to a coalition willing to protect any eventual ceasefire in Ukraine, having said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “not serious about peace”.

The British prime minister is expected to tell some 25 fellow leaders during a virtual summit that “now is the time for concrete commitments”, as Putin mulls a US proposal of a 30-day pause to the conflict.

“We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal,” Starmer said in comments released by Downing Street late Friday, ahead of the call on Saturday morning.

“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.

“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace. If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war,” he added.

Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have been leading efforts to assemble a so-called “coalition of the willing” ever since Trump opened direct negotiations with Moscow last month.

They say the group is necessary — along with US support — to provide Ukraine with security guarantees by deterring Putin from violating any ceasefire.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday also confirmed the call and said he had discussed “technical aspects” of how the ceasefire could be implemented with Macron.

“Our teams continue to work on clear security guarantees, and they will be ready soon,” Zelensky said on social media platform X.

Starmer and Macron, who spoke on the phone on the eve of the virtual gathering, have said they are willing to put British and French troops on the ground in Ukraine but it is not clear if other countries are keen on doing the same.

Starmer wrote in an op-ed for the Ukrainian information website European Pravda that any agreement “must not expose Ukraine to further attack and that therefore peace must be backed by strength”.

– ‘Stop the violence’ –

Macron called on Russia late Friday to accept the proposal for a ceasefire, and stop making statements aimed at “delaying the process”.

The French president also demanded that Moscow stop its “acts of violence” in Ukraine.

Germany on Friday likewise criticised Putin’s response to the US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine as “at best a delaying tactic”.

“One must seriously question whether there is a genuine interest in working toward a lasting ceasefire and a resolution,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer told reporters.

Turkey has indicated it could play a part in peacekeeping efforts, while Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said Irish troops would not be deployed in any “deterrent force”.

Starmer has said he welcomes any offer of support, raising the prospect that some countries could contribute logistics or surveillance.

“The call is expected to delve further into how countries plan to contribute to the coalition of the willing, ahead of a military planning session being held next week,” the UK government said.

It added that Starmer will say that countries “need to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia, to force Putin into negotiations, in the short term”.

“And be prepared to support a just and enduring peace in Ukraine over the long term and continue to ramp up our military support to Ukraine to defend themselves against increasing Russian attacks.”

British Commonwealth partners Canada, Australia and New Zealand have been involved in early talks and are due to dial in to the summit.

NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa are also expected to take part, along with the leaders of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Romania, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, however, was not expected to attend. She has already rejected the idea of sending Italian troops to Ukraine.

AFP

Headline

Most Followed Tiktoker Khaby Lame Deported From US Over Visa Violation

Published

4 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Italian-Senegalese social media sensation, Khaby Lame, known as the world’s most followed TikTok creator, has been deported from the United States after allegedly overstaying his visa, The New York Times reported.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Lame, 25, was detained last Friday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

The agency confirmed the detention in an official statement, stating that Lame entered the country on April 30 but “overstayed the terms of his visa.”

Lame, who rose to international fame for his silent comedic reactions to overcomplicated “life hack” videos, has amassed over 160 million followers on TikTok.

His online popularity led to collaborations with global fashion brands, a role in a Hollywood film, and a reality show on Tubi titled Khaby Is Coming To America.

His deportation has sparked a storm of reactions online.

“Every single illegal alien needs to be DEPORTED. When I found out the biggest TikTok star, Khaby Lame, is an illegal alien evading taxes, I worked with Trump’s ICE to have him removed. He’s since been detained by ICE and removed,” Bo Loudon, a Gen Z Trump supporter and self-styled activist, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Following his deportation, Lame has not issued any formal statement. However, on Monday, he posted an Instagram story tagged in São Paulo, Brazil, marking his first confirmed location since leaving the US

Lame’s former legal representative, Riccardo Lanzo, told The New York Times that the influencer had spent significant time in the US recently but acknowledged uncertainty regarding his visa status.

The case came amid a broader immigration enforcement push under Trump’s renewed administration.
APF

Headline

Trump Unveils Website For $5m US Residency Visa

Published

13 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

President Donald Trump touted a new website for his planned $5 million US residency permit on Wednesday, saying the waiting list for the golden visa has opened on TrumpCard.gov.

“Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Trump unveiled the first such visa aboard Air Force One in April, holding a golden prototype that bore his face and promising the special permit would probably be available “in less than two weeks.”

The visas are not available yet, but the website announced Wednesday allows interested parties to submit their name, desired visa and email address under a header that says “The Trump Card is Coming.”

Trump previously said the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

The announcement comes as deportation raids are being ramped up across the country, prompting protests, and as Trump’s administration faces ongoing lawsuits and accusations of rights violations over its anti-immigration blitz.

Trump has said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship. He said in February that his administration hoped to sell “maybe a million” of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.

AFP

Headline

19-year-old Nigerian Artiste Beaten To Death In Ghana

Published

1 day ago

June 11, 2025

Editor

A 19-year-old upcoming Nigerian artiste identified simply as Destiny has been beaten to death in the Volta Region area of Ghana.

According to The PUNCH, the incident happened on May 28.

It was gathered that a yet-to-be-identified Nigerian based in Ghana accused him of failing to remit funds related to a business venture they introduced him to.

The male adult, who was also said to be among those who facilitated his trip to the country, stormed his apartment alongside two others to question him about the funds.

However, Destiny’s failure to provide answers led to a severe assault meted out to him.

A source privy to the incident told The PUNCH on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because he lacked the authority to speak with the media that the Edo State-born artiste thereafter succumbed to the injuries sustained from the assault.

“Destiny went to Ghana to further his education, and the travel was facilitated by someone he called his street brother. These are the same people who provided an apartment for him over there. Those who broke the news to us from there said the men introduced him to a business, which they later accused him of diverting some funds meant for the business. This angered them, and they went to his apartment and beat him up. The beating was so intense that he felt weak and gave up the ghost in the process,” the source narrated.

It was further learnt that the suspects left the deceased’s body in the room after they discovered that he was motionless.

Another source who spoke to newsmen said the police later discovered the corpse a few days after the incident.

“The police were alerted to the incident, and some officers were deployed to the apartment where Destiny’s remains were found. We were told that no suspects had been arrested since his death. We hope the Ghanaian authorities find his killers and bring them to justice.”

In a video obtained by The PUNCH, Destiny was seen speaking about himself and what his plans were.

He said, “I am Destiny and I am a streamer from Nigeria. I want to apply to Streamers University, and this will be a great joy for me, my mother, and everybody. I am also an artiste and a gamer. I do all sorts of things.”

Recall that in April a 77-year-old Nigerian Uber driver, Olatunji Bolaji, was killed in a shooting outside a hookah lounge in Philadelphia, United States.

Bolaji, who lived in Norristown, Pennsylvania, was on duty around 2 a.m. on Wednesday when he picked up a passenger, a 22-year-old man, outside the Byblos Hookah Bar near Rittenhouse Square in Centre City, CBS reports on Friday.

Police said shortly after Bolaji picked up the young man, another vehicle pulled up behind his SUV, and two men got out.

One of them opened fire, shooting both Bolaji and the passenger.