Headline

UK Hosts European Ministers For Ukraine Ceasefire Talks

Published

1 year ago

May 12, 2025

The United Kingdom on Monday hosted European ministers for “critical” talks on “repelling Russian aggression” after Ukraine’s allies demanded that Moscow accept a ceasefire.

Ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the EU joined Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London for a meeting of the so-called “Weimar+” group.

The coalition was set up in February in response to shifting US policy towards the war between Ukraine and Russia and European security in general, under President Donald Trump.

The meeting follows Saturday’s visit by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK to Kyiv, where they called for Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to allow for peace talks — a proposal they said was backed by Washington.

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, renewed the calls for a ceasefire on Monday.

“If there is no ceasefire, there cannot be talks under fire,” she said in London, accusing Russia of “playing games.”

“It takes two to want peace. It takes only one to want war. And we see that Russia clearly wants war,” she added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 but did not respond to the European call for a 30-day ceasefire.

Lammy said it was time for “Putin to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire, and to get serious about talks.”

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired more than 100 drones overnight, despite the calls for a ceasefire to start on Monday.

“From 11:00 pm on May 11, the enemy attacked with 108 Shaheds and other types of drones,” the air force said, adding that “as of 08:30 am, 55 drones were confirmed downed”.

– ‘Existential’ challenge –

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to meet Putin personally in Turkey but did not say whether he would still attend if Russia refused the European ceasefire proposal.

Trump said direct talks were needed to determine whether peace was possible.

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders and the U.S. will know where everything stands and can proceed accordingly.”

The London meeting, where Lammy is expected to announce further sanctions targeting those backing Russia’s invasion, will be the sixth gathering of the Weimar+ group and the first hosted by the UK.

The talks would cover “repelling Russian aggression and bolstering European security,” said the UK Foreign Office.

They will focus on “both our joint efforts to strengthen European security and securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” it added.

Lammy was joined by his German, Spanish, and Polish counterparts, while France was represented by its minister for Europe Benjamin Haddad.

European leaders are “facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent,” Lammy said ahead of the talks.

“The challenge we face today is not only about the future of Ukraine -– it is existential for Europe as a whole.”

– Ceasefire plan –

European leaders have reacted with scepticism to Putin’s proposal for direct talks in Istanbul, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning that he was merely trying “to buy time.”

“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition,” he told reporters as he returned to Poland from the meeting in Ukraine.

He reiterated his position later Sunday, insisting on the “necessity for a ceasefire” before talks between Putin and Zelensky.

In a phone call with Lammy on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington’s “top priority remains bringing an end to the fighting and an immediate ceasefire”, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

AFP

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

24 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

27 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

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)