Author: Reuters
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged the Crimea peninsula, seized by Russia in 2014, would have to be restored to Ukrainian sovereignty through diplomacy. Zelenskiy, interviewed by Fox News on a train in Ukraine and broadcast on Wednesday, said his country could not afford to lose the number of lives that would be required to retake Crimea through military means. He again rejected any notion of ceding any territory already occupied by Moscow’s forces, saying Ukraine “cannot legally acknowledge any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian.” “I was already mentioning that we are ready to bring Crimea back diplomatically,” Zelenskiy told…
Russia’s attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro damaged an industrial enterprise and caused two fires in the city on Thursday, its regional authorities said. Regional governor Serhiy Lysak said the services continued to work to verify the consequences of the attack after Ukraine’s air force warned the residents about a missile threat around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT). Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said the attack damaged a rehabilitation centre, knocking out the windows and destroying a boiler room. Ukraine’s largest private power generator and distributor DTEK reported emergency power cuts in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions…
Russia is ready to consider any “realistic” peace initiative on the conflict in Ukraine which takes into account Russia’s own interests and the situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. Zakharova said Moscow was open to talks and grateful to those countries who were trying to help find a peace settlement.
Bitcoin’s march toward $100,000 made further ground on Thursday as investors bet a friendlier U.S. regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies under President-elect Donald Trump will unleash a boom era for the asset class. Bitcoin prices topped $95,000 for the first time in Asia trade, touching a high just above $95,040. The cryptocurrency’s price has more than doubled this year and is up about 40% in the two weeks since Trump was voted in as the next U.S. president and a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers were elected to Congress. “While it’s now firmly into overbought territory, it is being drawn toward the…
Max Verstappen can clinch his fourth consecutive Formula One World Championship this weekend with a win over Lando Norris in Las Vegas. McLaren’s Norris must outscore Verstappen by three points – requiring at least a top-eight finish even if Verstappen scores nothing – to extend the title race to Qatar. Verstappen holds a 62-point lead with only 60 points remaining after Las Vegas. The Dutch driver can lose two points to Norris and still seal the title based on his superior win count, with eight victories to Norris’ three. The reigning champion dominated on the Las Vegas Strip last season,…
A dazzling 2024 saw Aryna Sabalenka dominate the hardcourt Grand Slams and secure the world’s No. 1 ranking, fueling the powerful Belarusian’s ambitions to dominate the women’s game like Serena Williams once did. Once known for her fiery temper on the court, Sabalenka has evolved into a relentless force, blowing opponents away with a style reminiscent of Serena’s prime. After her breakthrough at the 2023 Australian Open, the 26-year-old successfully defended her Melbourne title in January and claimed the U.S. Open crown in September, surpassing Iga Swiatek in the rankings last month. Sabalenka’s New York run meant she had reached…
Benfica forward Angel Di Maria has revealed he is preparing for life beyond the pitch, studying to become a coach as he looks ahead to a future on the sidelines after concluding his remarkable 20-year playing career. The 36-year-old, who played a pivotal role in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph, retired from international football in July after securing his second Copa América title. A veteran of top clubs including Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain, Di Maria has continued to shine this season. He has scored five goals and provided two assists in 14 appearances for Benfica, including a…
The Kremlin said Tuesday that broadening its rules for the use of nuclear weapons was a “necessary” response to what Moscow sees as Western threats to its security. “It was necessary to bring our principles in line with the current situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, shortly after Putin signed a decree easing the conditions under which Moscow would consider launching a nuclear attack.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on reports that Ukraine may use U.S.-made ATACMS missiles in Russia’s Kursk region, said on Tuesday that the Russian military was monitoring the situation very closely. President Joe Biden’s administration has allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said this weekend, in a significant reversal of Washington’s policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Moein Abu Odeh clambered up a pile of rubble in southern Gaza, searching for clothes, shoes, anything he could sell to raise cash more than a year since Israel started its relentless bombardments. The father-of-four delved under blocks and brushed away piles of concrete dust at the site of one airstrike in the wrecked city of Khan Younis. His plan was to sell what he found to buy flour. “If food and drink were available, believe me, I would give (these clothes) to charity,” he said. “But the struggles we are going through (mean we) have to sell our clothes…