Heavy rains in southeastern Brazil leave at least 30 dead
At least 30 people died and hundreds were displaced in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state on Tuesday (24 February) after relentless, record-breaking rainfa...
The Kremlin has confirmed that President Vladimir Putin accepted certain proposals from the United States on ending the war in Ukraine while rejecting others, and indicated that Russia is ready to continue negotiations until an agreement is reached.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said discussions between Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Jared Kushner, ran into the early hours of Wednesday. An aide later noted that “compromises have not yet been found.”
Peskov described the exchange as a standard working process, explaining that “some proposals were accepted, while others were marked as unacceptable,” adding that it was the first direct exchange of views on the draft peace measures. Russia expressed gratitude to the U.S. for its efforts but will not provide running commentary, he said.
Work is continuing at an expert level to refine the proposals, which will later form the basis for high-level negotiations. The contents of the discussions remain undisclosed.
A leaked set of 28-point U.S. draft proposals last month had raised concerns in Ukraine and Europe for largely aligning with Moscow’s demands. European powers subsequently developed a counter-proposal, and recent Geneva talks produced an updated peace framework.
Putin has criticised the European proposals as unacceptable, according to his foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” following President Donald Trump’s new 15% tariffs and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous global tariff programme.
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times has reported. The agreement, signed in December in Moscow, will see Russia deliver 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years.
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before dawn on Monday (23 February), authorities said. A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among those injured.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading to Beijing on for his first official visit as chancellor, aiming to strengthen political and economic dialogue with China before tackling pressing international crises.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should block financial support to Russia rather than Ukraine, as Budapest opposes the European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Moscow.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, describing the conflict as “a stain on our collective conscience”.
Newcastle United secured a 3–2 victory over Qarabağ FK in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs at St James’ Park.
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentary inquiry.
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