Headline

Zelensky To Meet Vance As Trump-Putin Talks Spark Alarm

Published

1 year ago

February 14, 2025

President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet US Vice President JD Vance in Germany on Friday with a warning against trusting Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as concerns mount in Kyiv and among its European allies that the Ukraine war will be settled over their heads.

The Munich Security Conference starts days after US President Donald Trump and Putin held watershed talks that have shaken Ukraine and America’s NATO allies, almost three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Trump said he had agreed with Putin to soon start Ukraine peace talks and exchange friendly visits. The new US administration also signalled Ukraine would have to give up territory to Russia and that NATO membership for Kyiv was “impractical”.

Vance, ahead of his speech in Munich on Friday, sought to dampen European fears and said “the president is not going to go in this with blinders on,” in comments to the Wall Street Journal.

“He’s going to say, ‘Everything is on the table, let’s make a deal,’” Vance added, stressing that there are economic and even “military tools of leverage.”

Vance said it was too early to say how much of Ukraine’s territory would remain in Russian hands or what security guarantees the United States and other Western allies could offer Kyiv.

“There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence,” he said.

Zelensky on Thursday warned world leaders “against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war” and said he wanted the United States to agree a “plan to stop Putin” before any negotiations.

European concern
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas warned Thursday that “any deal behind our backs will not work” and that “appeasement also always fails”.

Kyiv’s European backers fear Trump could force Ukraine into a bad peace deal that will leave them facing an emboldened Putin on their doorstep — while paying the lion’s share of costs for post-war security.

Among the European leaders, diplomats and generals in Munich, many hold grave concerns over the deepening chasm between the transatlantic allies and even for the post-World War II international order itself.

European allies were stunned to be bluntly informed this week that the future task of helping secure Ukraine would fall to them alone, in line with Trump’s “America First” stance.

The head of the Munich conference, Christoph Heusgen, told German radio on Friday that “I suspect that today the American Vice President will announce that a large part of the American troops will be withdrawn from Europe”.

Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European studies at Oxford, wrote that America’s “message to Europe was pretty stark on Ukraine — it’s your problem. We will help cut a deal with Russia — but policing that is up to you.

“That is surely a green light for Putin to test that defence in Ukraine, meaning that Ukraine and Europe will hardly be secure as a result of a peace agreed by Trump.”

‘Just peace’
Zelensky, despite facing the prospect of having Ukraine’s key demands ignored after years of gruelling war, has pushed back with moderate language.

He said it was “not very pleasant” that Trump had called Putin first before speaking to him, while again insisting he wanted to hammer out a “plan to stop Putin” with the United States before any talks happen.

Zelensky was expected to redouble his efforts for more help from Europe to reach a “just peace”.

Aside from Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also finally headed to Europe on Friday after his plane was forced to turn around due to a mechanical issue.

Trump said Thursday that “high-level people” from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington would meet in Munich on Friday — but the Ukrainian presidency said it did not expect to take part in talks with Russian officials and that “for the moment there is nothing on the table”.

Heusgen told German radio that no high-ranking Russian government officials had been accredited but did not rule out that there may be possible meetings outside the security conference.

Security was tight at the annual meeting in the Bavarian state capital, with police on heightened alert a day after a car-ramming attack injured 30 people, with an Afghan asylum seeker arrested at the scene.

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.