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Russia-Ukraine War: 12 Latest Updates To Know As Russia Gives Condition For Peace

Published

4 years ago

March 7, 2022

Russia has agreed to halt its military operations within the Ukrainian territory if the Ukrainian government agrees to alter its constitution, by ceding its quest to join “any bloc” and recognise the Crimean referendum and the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

The Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, “They (Ukrainian authorities) should make amendments to their Constitution according to which Ukraine would reject any aims to enter any bloc.

“We have also spoken about how they should recognise that Crimea is a Russian territory and that they need to recognise that Donetsk and Luhansk are independent states.

“And that’s it. Then, Russia’s military operations will stop in a moment.”

Here are the latest developments in Russia-Ukraine war

– Russian evacuation offer rejected –
Ukraine rejects a Kremlin offer to open escape routes for civilians trapped by the fighting in the cities of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mariupol and Sumy because several of the routes lead to Russia or its ally Belarus.

Moscow says the proposal was based on a request from French President Emmanuel Macron, which Macron denies, and accuses Ukraine of blocking civilians from leaving, which it calls a “war crime”.

– Shelled while fleeing –
Russia steps up its shelling of cities, including the town of Gostomel near Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east, Sumy in the northeast, Chernihiv in the north and Mykolayiv in the southwest.

Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky accuses Russian troops of the “deliberate murder” of civilians after a family with two children was killed by shelling in the street while trying to flee the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Tens of thousands are still trapped without water or power in the besieged southern port of Mariupol after two failed evacuation attempts.

“We saw bodies everywhere, Russians and Ukrainians… We saw that people had been buried in their basements,” one family that made it out tells AFP.

– More talks –
A third round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations gets underway on the Belarus-Poland border to discuss humanitarian corridors.

Turkey announces that it will host Russia’s and Ukraine’s foreign ministers for talks on Thursday.

– Oil, gas prices rocket –
Oil prices hit a near 14-year high and European and UK natural gas prices hit record highs after the United States proposes an embargo on Russian oil imports.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warns against a ban, saying it could put Europe’s energy security at risk.

– Debts paid in rubles –
Russia says it will allow Russian companies and individuals to repay debts to creditors in “hostile” nations, including the US, EU, Britain, Canada and Japan in the battered national currency, the ruble.

– Russia snubs international court –
Russia snubs a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague at which Ukraine seeks an immediate order to halt the conflict.

– Russians need clothes: Uniqlo –
Japanese casualwear giant Uniqlo defends a decision to keep Russian stores open even as rivals Zara and H&M suspend operations in the country over the invasion of Ukraine.

“Clothing is a necessity of life,” Tadashi Yanai, president of Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing says.

– Britain visas row –
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends his government from accusations of being unwelcoming to Ukrainian refugees, saying it has granted only about 50 visas so far because of the need to screen all newcomers for security reasons.

– 1.7 million refugees –
The UN says 1.7 million people have fled Ukraine, making it the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.

– Kremlin arrests thousands more – Police detain more than 5,000 people protesting the war in some 60 Russian cities Sunday, bringing the numbers held to well over 11,000 since the invasion began.

– Rock-solid friendship – China’s foreign minister says the friendship between Beijing and Moscow is “rock solid” despite the Russian invasion and offers to help mediate.

– Iodine tablets –France is sending iodine tablets and other medical supplies to Ukraine. They are used to protect against the effects of exposure to radiation.

PUNCH.

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Morocco Jails French Rapper Maes For Kidnapping Bid

Published

20 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the formation of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.

Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates, where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.

He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organisation, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.

Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants”, TelQuel added.

Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.

AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.

In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.

He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.

Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.

AFP

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UK Court Clears Comedy Writer Of Harassing Transgender Woman

Published

20 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A London court on Tuesday cleared Emmy award-winning comedy writer Graham Linehan of harassing a transgender activist online but found him guilty of criminal damage to their mobile phone.

Linehan, who co-created the popular 1990s sitcom “Father Ted” but has more recently become well-known for his gender critical views, had been accused of sending Sophia Brooks “abusive and vindictive” messages on social media.

He was also charged with criminal damage after deliberately knocking a phone out of Brooks’s hand as they filmed him on the sidelines of a London conference.

Ruling on the case, District Judge Briony Clarke said she was not convinced Linehan’s conduct “was oppressive and unacceptable beyond merely unattractive, annoying or irritating”.

Clarke also concluded Brooks was not “as alarmed and distressed as they portrayed themself to be”.

But convicting Linehan of criminal damage, the judge ruled he was “angry and fed up” and did not use “reasonable force” when the phone was taken from Brooks.

Clarke fined him £500 ($655) and ordered him to pay costs of £650 and a statutory surcharge of £200.

The Irish writer, who also co-created the popular sitcoms “Black Books” and “The IT Crowd”, became embroiled in a free speech row in Britain earlier this year over his anti-transgender stance.

It followed his arrest at London’s Heathrow Airport by armed police over accusations of inciting violence with his X posts insulting transgender people.

The arrest sparked a backlash and claims of state overreach, including from US tech billionaire Elon Musk. But in October, UK prosecutors said they would take “no further action” in that case.

AFP

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Prosecutors Seek Jail For Italian Influencer Ferragni In Fraud Case

Published

21 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

Italian prosecutors asked a court on Tuesday to sentence fashion influencer Chiara Ferragni to one year and eight months in prison if found guilty of alleged fraud over charity endorsement deals.

The Instagram star and businesswoman has been on trial since September for aggravated fraud over promotions of a pandoro cake — a Christmas treat similar to a panettone — and Easter eggs, which purported to raise money for charity or social causes.

The 38-year-old, who is based in Milan, told the court during the closed-door hearing on Tuesday that she denied the charges and had always acted “in good faith”, her lawyer Giuseppe Iannaccone said.

Leaving the audience, Ferragni told a throng of journalists that she felt “confident… I can’t say anymore”.

A verdict is expected in January.

Aggravated fraud carries a jail term of between one and five years.

But Ferragni has chosen a fast-track trial, which gives defendants a sentence reduction — meaning she cannot receive more than a maximum penalty of two years and three months, according to a source close to her team.

In Italy, people sentenced to prison for less than two years rarely serve jail time.

Ferragni started out with a fashion blog, The Blonde Salad, in 2009, and in 2017, Forbes magazine named her its top fashion influencer.

Chronicling her glamorous lifestyle and being paid to promote high-end brands, she built the blog into a lucrative business, then used it as a springboard to launch her own eponymous label with stores around the world.

Her trailblazing story even became a Harvard Business School example of how social media fame can be monetised.

But the fraud accusations have hit her reputation and her endorsements.

Outside court for a hearing earlier this month, Ferragni acknowledged to journalists that it was a “difficult phase of my life”.

The allegations relate in part to Ferragni’s 2022 endorsement of a pandoro cake purportedly to raise funds for children undergoing treatment at a Turin hospital.

In December 2023, Italy’s communications watchdog (AGCOM) fined two of Ferragni’s companies one million euros ($1.2 million) for unfair commercial practices for the “Pandoro Pink Christmas” promotion — around the same sum they had made in the deal.

Shoppers were led to believe that buying the special edition cake made by Balocco would benefit the hospital, but it only received a single 50,000-euro donation from the company.

Balocco was fined 420,000 euros at the same time.

AGCOM also investigated Ferragni-branded Easter eggs from 2021 and 2022, linked to a social enterprise initiative.

Ferragni and her husband, rapper and music producer Fedez, who were one of Italy’s most famous celebrity couples, split in 2024.

AFP