Author: Anadolu Agency

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday urged Russia to agree to the US-backed ceasefire plan without putting any conditions. Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stubb said a ceasefire was the first step toward peace and praised US President Donald Trump’s leadership and recent negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Yesterday’s phone conversation between President Trump and President Putin was a step in the right direction toward a full, unconditional ceasefire,” he said. “There are only two ways to respond to the proposal of the president of the US: it’s a yes or a no,…

China on Wednesday urged the US to end its restrictions on Cuba and remove Havana from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list. Allegations of “forced labor” have become “an excuse and a tool” for the US to “suppress dissenting voices,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a news conference in Beijing, expressing China’s opposition to “coercive diplomacy.” The US expanded visa restrictions against Cuba on Feb. 25, citing Cuba’s overseas medical services as being suspected of “forced labor linked to the Cuban labor export program.” “Cuba’s labor export programs, which include the medical missions, enrich the Cuban regime,…

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz dismissed reports Wednesday that President Donald Trump waited an hour for a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “completely false garbage, fake news.” Waltz told Fox News that the call started on time and lasted “for a very long time,” covering critical issues such as relations, regional stability and the war in Ukraine. “Donald J. Trump does not sit and wait for an hour for any head of state,” he said, underlining that there might have been some technical difficulties. He described the call as “historic” and detailed discussions on implementing a ceasefire,…

US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday said a full ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine can be achieved within weeks. “We are well on the way to getting a deal on Russia and Ukraine,” Witkoff said in a television program, adding that easing anti-Russian sanctions would follow a ceasefire agreement. He also confirmed upcoming meetings on Ukraine in Saudi Arabia will take place on Monday and Tuesday. Witkoff described the conversation between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as “epic and outcome-oriented,” noting progress toward a deal to end the conflict. He also said a meeting between two leaders is…

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore safely splashed down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday after they spent more than nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Also on board were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who returned to Earth alongside Williams and Wilmore after their prolonged stay in orbit. NASA confirmed the successful splashdown, marking the end of a mission that lasted far beyond its original timeline. The four astronauts began their long-awaited journey home early Tuesday, undocking from the ISS at 1.05 a.m. local time…

Radio Free Europe has filed a lawsuit against the US Agency for Global Media and its officials to prevent the termination of its federal grant, it announced Wednesday. The case, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that cutting funding for Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL)-including Radio Liberty-violates federal law and the US Constitution, which grants Congress exclusive control over federal spending, said a statement. “The complaint makes the case that denying RFE/RL the funds that Congress appropriated for it violates federal laws-including the US Constitution, which vests Congress with exclusive power over federal spending,” it…

US and Russian security advisors discussed efforts Wednesday to end the war in Ukraine, following a call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mike Waltz, US national security advisor, wrote on X that he spoke with his Russian counterpart, Yuri Ushakov. “We agreed our technical teams would meet in (the Saudi Arabian capital of) Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia,” Waltz wrote. The discussions follow a call Tuesday between Trump and Putin, where the two leaders addressed normalizing ties, resolving the war and the Middle East. Trump…

The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt by one in five people worldwide, a new report revealed on Wednesday. The report published by Climate Central, an independent science organization, found that at least 1.8 billion people—22% of the global population—faced temperatures significantly influenced by climate change every day from December 2024 to February 2025. Over the past three months, human-induced climate change, primarily from burning coal, oil, and methane gas, caused widespread extreme heat across most regions. During this period, almost 394 million people faced 30 or more days of “risky heat” intensified by climate change, with 74%…

The annual inflation rate was down to 2.7% in the EU in February, from 2.8% in January, Eurostat announced on Wednesday. The rate was also down to 2.3% in the euro area last month from 2.5% in January, official figures showed. The lowest annual rates were registered in France (0.9%), Ireland (1.4%), and Finland (1.5%), with the highest annual rates recorded in Hungary (5.7%), Romania (5.2%), and Estonia (5.1%). Compared with January 2025, annual inflation fell in fourteen member states, remained stable in six, and rose in seven. In February 2025, the highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation…

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the White House on Tuesday to protest Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza and called for an end to US military aid to Israel. Wearing keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags, they chanted “Arms embargo now!” and “End this occupation now!” as they demanded action from the Trump administration. Some carried banners saying “End all US aid to Israel,” “Free Palestine,” “Release Mahmoud Khalil” and “US bombs are making doctors in Gaza do amputations without anesthesia.” The Israeli army pounded the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing more than 400 people and injuring hundreds of others, breaking a ceasefire…