عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Top US and Russian Diplomats Discuss Next Steps on Ukraine

Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
TT
TT

Top US and Russian Diplomats Discuss Next Steps on Ukraine

Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP
Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine. Handout / Russian Defense Ministry/AFP

The top US and Russian diplomats discussed Saturday the "next steps" to end the war in Ukraine, hours after Kyiv's allies agreed to exert pressure on Moscow.
Despite recent tensions between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire -- if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has not, however, agreed to any truce, instead setting conditions that were beyond what was called for in the US agreement with Ukraine.
The ceasefire proposal by Trump's team comes as Russia has momentum in many areas of the front in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a call on Saturday, "discussed next steps", State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has stressed his desire to end the three-year-old conflict, and has made a spectacular rapprochement with Putin.
The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks hosted by Saudi Arabia would begin.
But Rubio and Lavrov also "agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia," Bruce added.
'Moment of truth'
The call came after a virtual summit hosted by London earlier on Saturday.
At those talks, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told some 26 fellow leaders that they should focus on how to strengthen Ukraine, protect any ceasefire and keep up the pressure on Moscow.
Starmer said Putin would eventually have to "come to the table".
"Putin is trying to delay -- saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place," he added.
Military leaders from about 30 countries met in Paris on March 11 to discuss plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, and will meet again Thursday in Britain.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called for unified action to ensure Russia accepts the proposed ceasefire.
"This is a moment of truth because if Russia does not sincerely commit to peace, President Trump will toughen sanctions and retaliation, and so that will completely change the dynamic," Macron told French regional papers in an interview posted late Saturday.
"Russia must respond clearly and the pressure must be clear, in conjunction with the United States, to obtain this ceasefire," he said in a statement to AFP.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Russia had to show "it is willing to support a ceasefire leading to a just and lasting peace."
But Zelensky warned that Russia wanted to achieve a "stronger position" militarily ahead of any ceasefire, more than three years since it invaded Ukraine.
"They want to improve their situation on the battlefield," Zelensky told journalists in Kyiv.
Troops
Starmer and Macron 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.
Russia has rejected the idea of foreign soldiers acting as peacekeepers in Ukraine.
But Macron said Saturday: "If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not."
Starmer has said he welcomes any offer of support for the coalition, raising the prospect that some countries could contribute logistics or surveillance.
Trump on Saturday appointed Keith Kellogg as special envoy to Ukraine.
A former national security advisor during Trump's first term, Kellogg had previously been described as a special envoy for both Ukraine and Russia.
But he was excluded from recent talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war, with NBC News in the United States citing a senior Russian official who said that Putin considered him too pro-Ukraine.
Fighting continues, and Moscow has regained swathes of land this week in the Kursk border region.
In Russia, three civilians were injured on Saturday night when Ukrainian drones struck in the town of Gubkin and the village of Dolgoe in the Belgorod region, officials said on Telegram.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iranian Traders and Shopkeepers Protest as Currency Hits Record Low

People shop at Tajrish Bazaar in the Iranian capital Tehran on December 29, 2025. (AFP)
People shop at Tajrish Bazaar in the Iranian capital Tehran on December 29, 2025. (AFP)
TT
TT

Iranian Traders and Shopkeepers Protest as Currency Hits Record Low

People shop at Tajrish Bazaar in the Iranian capital Tehran on December 29, 2025. (AFP)
People shop at Tajrish Bazaar in the Iranian capital Tehran on December 29, 2025. (AFP)

Iranian traders and shopkeepers staged a second day of protests Monday after the country’s currency plummeted to a new record low against the US dollar.

Videos on social media showed hundreds taking part in rallies in Saadi Street in downtown Tehran, as well as in the Shush neighborhood near Tehran's main Grand Bazaar, which played a crucial role in the 1979 revolution that ousted the monarchy and brought clerics to power.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that traders shut their shops and asked others to do the same. The semiofficial ILNA news agency said many businesses and merchants stopped trading even though some kept their shops open.

There was no reports of police raids though security was tight at the protests, according to witnesses.

On Sunday, protest gatherings were limited to two major mobile market in downtown Tehran, where the demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans.

Iran's rial on Sunday plunged to 1.42 million to the dollar. On Monday, it traded at 1.38 million rials to the dollar.

The rapid depreciation is compounding inflationary pressure, pushing up prices of food and other daily necessities and further straining household budgets, a trend that could worsen by a gasoline price change introduced in recent days.

According to the state statistics center, inflation rate in December rose to 42.2% from the same period last year, and is 1.8% higher than in November. Foodstuff prices rose 72% and health and medical items were up 50% from December last year, according to the statistics center. Many critics see the rate a sign of an approaching hyperinflation.

Reports in official Iranian media said that the government plans to increase taxes in the Iranian new year that begins March 21 have caused more concern.

Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials to the dollar at the time of the 2015 nuclear accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for tight controls on Iran’s nuclear program. That deal unraveled after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from it in 2018.

There is also uncertainty over the risk of renewed conflict following June’s 12-day war involving Iran and Israel. Many Iranians also fear the possibility of a broader confrontation that could draw in the United States, adding to market anxiety.

In September, the United Nations reimposed nuclear-related sanctions on Iran through what diplomats described as the “snapback” mechanism. Those measures once again froze Iranian assets abroad, halted arms transactions with Tehran and imposed penalties tied to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

World

Israel’s Supreme Court Suspends Govt Move to Shut Army Radio

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

Israel’s Supreme Court Suspends Govt Move to Shut Army Radio

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Israel's Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country's decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station.

In a ruling issued late Sunday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said the suspension was partly because the government "did not provide a clear commitment not to take irreversible steps before the court reaches a final decision".

He added that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the suspension.

The cabinet last week approved the closure of Galei Tsahal, with the shutdown scheduled to take effect before March 1, 2026.

Founded in 1950, Galei Tsahal is widely known for its flagship news programs and has long been followed by both domestic and foreign correspondents.

A government audience survey ranks it as Israel's third most listened-to radio station, with a market share of 17.7 percent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged ministers to back the closure, saying there had been repeated proposals over the years to remove the station from the military, abolish it or privatize it.

But Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government's legal adviser and is facing dismissal proceedings initiated by the premier, has warned that closing the station raised "concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting".

She added that it "poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press".

Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that Galei Tsahal broadcasts "political and divisive content" that does not align with military values.

He said soldiers, civilians and bereaved families had complained that the station did not represent them and undermined morale and the war effort.

Katz also argued that a military-run radio station serving the general public is an anomaly in democratic countries.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid had condemned the closure decision, calling it part of the government's effort to suppress freedom of expression ahead of elections.

Israel is due to hold parliamentary elections in 2026, and Netanyahu has said he will seek another term as prime minister.

World

Thai Army Accuses Cambodia of Violating Truce with over 250 Drones

Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
TT
TT

Thai Army Accuses Cambodia of Violating Truce with over 250 Drones

Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)

Thailand's army on Monday accused Cambodia of violating a newly signed ceasefire agreement, reached after weeks of deadly border clashes, by flying more than 250 drones over its territory.

The Thai army said "more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side, intruding into Thailand's sovereign territory" on Sunday night, according to a statement.

"Such actions constitute provocation and a violation of measures aimed at reducing tensions, which are inconsistent with the Joint Statement agreed" during a bilateral border committee meeting on Saturday, it added.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said in remarks aired on state television on Monday that the two sides had discussed the incident and agreed to investigate and "resolve it immediately".

Prak Sokhonn described it as "a small issue related to flying drones seen by both sides along the border line".

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to the "immediate" ceasefire on Saturday, pledging to end renewed border clashes that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.

The reignited fighting spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.

Under the agreement signed on Saturday, the Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime.