Author: Agencies And A News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said he informed US President Donald Trump that Kyiv is prepared to begin peace talks “in any format,” if Russia demonstrates its willingness by implementing a full, unconditional ceasefire. In a statement on X, Zelensky said the conversation with Trump included a review of the battlefield situation and an offer to start a 30-day ceasefire immediately. “We are waiting for Russia to support this proposal,” he said. He emphasized that Ukraine remains committed to diplomacy. “I also reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to engage in talks in any format. But for that, Russia must…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said he informed US President Donald Trump that Kyiv is prepared to begin peace talks “in any format,” if Russia demonstrates its willingness by implementing a full, unconditional ceasefire. In a statement on X, Zelensky said the conversation with Trump included a review of the battlefield situation and an offer to start a 30-day ceasefire immediately. “We are waiting for Russia to support this proposal,” he said. He emphasized that Ukraine remains committed to diplomacy. “I also reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to engage in talks in any format. But for that, Russia must…

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates launched a scathing attack on Elon Musk, accusing the world’s richest man of “killing the world’s poorest children” following cuts to US foreign assistance. “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times (FT) newspaper. Gates pointed to Musk’s decision to cut funding to a hospital in Mozambique’s Gaza Province, which had been helping to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Musk initially claimed the grants were supplying condoms to the Gaza Strip — a claim he later admitted was mistaken. “I’d love for…

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday signed off on a joint statement on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries. The statement was adopted by the two presidents following narrow and expanded talks held in Moscow, where Xi arrived a day earlier on a four-day visit to take part in an annual military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day. Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 in Russia and other countries, including some former Soviet states, to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory against…

Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, of the United States has been elected leader of the Catholic Church and will be called Pope Leo XIV. Prevost has a history of missionary work in Peru but also a keen grasp of the inner workings of the Church. The new Leo XIV, a Chicago native, was entrusted by his predecessor Francis to head the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, charged with advising the pontiff on new bishop appointments. The sign of confidence from Francis speaks to Prevost’s commitment as a missionary in Peru to the “peripheries” — overlooked areas far from Rome prioritised by Francis…

In the state of Montana, USA, researchers have developed a living and self-healing building material using mycelium, the root-like structures that fungi form underground. This material, despite its flexible and spongy texture, hardens to become load-bearing. Research leader Dr. Chelsea Heveran emphasized that this discovery is a significant step towards developing a biological building material that could replace environmentally damaging cement. Cement production is known to exceed 4 billion tons annually and accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions. The researchers added bacteria capable of producing calcium carbonate to the mycelium. In this process, the bacteria transformed the mycelium into…

US President Donald Trump called for an immediate end to all purchases of Iranian oil and petrochemical products on Thursday, and warned that violators would face sweeping secondary sanctions. “All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He indicated that “any country or person” engaging in such transactions would face secondary sanctions and be barred from doing business with the United States “in any way, shape, or form.” The statement followed a State Department announcement Wednesday that imposed sanctions on seven entities involved in Iranian oil trade. The agency said Trump remained…

US President Donald Trump wants to see a permanent ceasefire to bring the war in Ukraine to a complete stop, the White House said Monday in response to Russia’s unilateral three-day pause. “I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. The (US) president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire, first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed, and while he remains optimistic he can strike a deal, he’s also being realistic as well,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “Both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this.…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday that talks with Palestinian resistance group Hamas in recent days had shown the group would be more open to an agreement that goes beyond a ceasefire in Gaza and aims for a lasting solution to the crisis with Israel. On April 19, Fidan and Türkiye’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalın, held talks with Hamas officials in Ankara to discuss the latest efforts for a ceasefire and the situation in Gaza.Speaking in Doha, Fidan said those talks showed Hamas would be more willing to sign a deal that also addresses the issue of occupied…

At least 15 Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza early Saturday. According to medical sources, 10 of the victims were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a home belonging to the al-Khour family in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City. Eyewitnesses reported that the house was bombed while residents were inside. The Civil Defense said in a statement that many individuals remain missing beneath the rubble of the destroyed al-Khour home, with search and rescue operations ongoing. Earlier at dawn, three Palestinians were killed and others wounded when another family home in the…