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Karol Nawrocki claims the assurances he got a a meeting in Washington on Wednesday are “unambiguous and strong” Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said his US counterpart Donald Trump has privately offered Warsaw security guarantees while publicly vowing to maintain the American troop presence in the country. Nawrocki made the comments after meeting Trump in Washington on Wednesday, claiming the US president gave him assurances both publicly and behind closed doors. He did not disclose the details of the private commitments, describing them only as “unambiguous and strong.” The Polish leader’s remarks come as Trump has repeatedly …

The next Summer Games are set to begin in the US in July 2028 The Russian Olympic team is preparing for full participation in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov told TASS on Thursday. The country’s athletes have gradually been returning to international competitions after years of Ukraine-related restrictions, following recommendations issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shortly after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. “We are preparing to take part in the 2028 Olympic Games with a full roster,” Degtyaryov told TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivos…

Here’s how a familiar Russian warning morphed into a Western story about targeting peacekeepers When Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Friday, he issued his familiar warning: any foreign troops entering Ukraine during active fighting would be considered “legitimate targets.” Yet Western media ran with a drastically different narrative – suggesting he was threatening peacekeepers, not just combatants. That framing missed a crucial distinction. In the same remarks, Putin separately addressed the idea of postwar peacekeeping forces, saying they would be unnecessary once a settlement was reached. Within hours, Western headlines…

Russia has ruled out a Western military presence in the neighboring country as part of any peace deal Kiev’s European backers want the US to oversee a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, with troops from non-NATO countries such as Bangladesh or Saudi Arabia potentially deployed on the ground, NBC News reported Friday, citing anonymous sources. According to the outlet, Washington’s role would be to use drones, satellites, and other intelligence capabilities to monitor conditions and coordinate with participating nations. Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of a…

Hours earlier president Vladimir Putin proposed joint investment projects with American firms, urging Washington to renew cooperation The US has apparently “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China,” President Donald Trump said Friday in a post on Truth Social. The message included a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walking alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump wished the three a “long and prosperous future together.” The leaders had gathered last Sunday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, China. Putin remained afterward to attend commemorations…

President Putin has previously said that if the Ukrainian leader wants to negotiate, he should come to the Russian capital Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky was not invited to Moscow in order to surrender, but to take part in negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Earlier this week, during his press conference in China, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that he had never refused to negotiate with Kiev or to meet with Zelensky. He cautioned that holding a summit “just for the sake of it” would be a “path to nowhere,” but added that if Zelensky genuinely wanted to talk, he could simply come to Moscow. Kiev has ru…

“Pro-war” European politicians are turning a blind eye to an “open manhunt,” the Hungarian foreign minister has said Ukraine’s forced mobilization, which has gained international attention for its brutality towards conscripts and even reported deaths, is “one of the greatest disgraces” in Europe, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. Kiev’s recruitment drive, overseen by the Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR), has grown increasingly brutal as Ukrainian forces confront setbacks and manpower shortages. Hundreds of incidents have been documented online in which TCR officers assaulted potential …

New Delhi plans to add more than 10,000 miles of access-control roads to enable faster travel India is planning to invest $125 billion to expand its high-speed road network fivefold within a decade, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. In a bid to modernize its infrastructure and reduce logistics costs, India will add about 10,563 miles (17,000km) of access-control roads that enable motorists to travel at speeds of up to 75mph, the news agency said, citing people familiar with the matter. The network would offer safer, quicker, and more efficient connectivity than the South Asian country’s existing highways, according to the report. A…

The bloc’s officials reportedly believe that Berlin could withhold troops for a possible monitoring mission EU officials fear that Germany could “chicken out” and ditch plans to send ground troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev, Der Spiegel reported on Thursday, citing sources. An unnamed EU diplomat cited by the paper warned that if Germany wants to remain a leading nation in Europe, Berlin “cannot participate in the planning for months and then duck out.” Moscow earlier signaled it would not accept NATO troop deployment in the neighboring country under any pretext. The diplomat told the outlet tha…

The Russian president has said the Ukrainian leader would not be in danger if he traveled to Moscow for peace talks Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he would guarantee the safety of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, should he take up an offer to travel to Moscow for peace talks. Putin has proposed the Russian capital as a venue for talks with the Ukrainian leader on several occasions, although Zelensky has dismissed the idea out of hand. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Friday, Putin said Russia would ensure Zelensky would not be in danger during any visit. “We are ready for meetings at the highest lev…

Experts stressed sanctions resilience, the shift to national currencies, and shipping autonomy as key factors for a multipolar economy An expert session of ‘The Future of the World’ Open Dialogue, focusing on “Investments in Connectivity” was held at the Primorye branch of the National Centre RUSSIA on Friday, bringing together specialists from different countries to discuss “Transformation of Trade and Connectivity in the New Reality.” Opening the discussion, Maksim Oreshkin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, stressed that new global trade solutions are now being driven by BRICS and the Global South. According to him,…

Moscow always keeps its diplomatic options open – as long as its sovereignty is respected US President Donald Trump’s recent statement that the US has “lost Russia to China” makes for a good headline or soundbite, but the reality is more nuanced than that. Russia isn’t anyone’s lost cause. It’s doing what it has always done: maneuvering pragmatically, engaging when it sees opportunities, and reminding the world that it plays by its own rules – not by someone else’s bloc mentality. The eagle looks both ways At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin brought this point across in a vivid metaphor of…

More than a dozen people have been killed by the Zaire strain of the virus in DR Congo, according to health authorities At least 16 people, including four health workers, have died in a new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), authorities in the Central African country have announced. So far, 28 suspected cases have been reported in Kasai province, and laboratory tests have confirmed the Zaire strain of the disease, the Congolese health ministry said in a statement on Thursday. “The case fatality rate is estimated at 57%, although investigations and laboratory analyses are continui…

The Russian president has outlined his vision on the national economy and resolving the Ukraine conflict, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered an address to the Eastern Economic Forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok on Friday, which mostly focused on the domestic economy but also covered issues including the Ukraine conflict. Putin highlighted a renewed interest from Western businesses in re-entering the Russian market, commented on the possibility of a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, and dismissed the need for Western troop deployments to support Kiev. Here are the key …

Washington slaps tariffs on allies while Russia and China demonstrate unity, Kaja Kallas has said European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has criticized the United States for weakening its own allies through trade tariffs, warning that such policies give Russia and China the upper hand by underscoring Western disunity. Superpowers “sometimes overestimate their own power and underestimate how much they need others,” Kallas said Wednesday at an event hosted by the EU Institute for Security Studies, the bloc’s in-house defense and security think tank. Kallas pointed to US tariffs targeting nations aligned with Washington, incl…

Russia is not reorienting its foreign policy, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stressed, adding that doing so would be a mistake Russia is not shifting its foreign policy to the East or anywhere else, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said following President Vladimir Putin’s recent four-day visit to China. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peskov was asked if the president’s trip could be interpreted as official “documentation” that Moscow has reoriented eastward. ”You can’t put it that way,” Peskov objected. “Nothing has been formalized, and it is impossible to formally record any kind of turns. Furthermore, Russia is not planning to…

The two countries are intensifying efforts to develop next-generation aircraft and engines, the Russian deputy trade minister has said Russia is looking to partner with India for the manufacturing of civil aircraft, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Aleksey Gruzdev said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Friday. Both Moscow and New Delhi are intensifying efforts to develop next-generation aircraft and engines, Gruzdev said at the Russia-India business dialogue as part of the forum. “We see strong complementarity in our approaches, which opens the door for deeper collaboration in civil aviation,” the deputy minister…

The authorities have confirmed that 34 bodies and 102 body parts were recovered in Kenya Eleven suspects have been arrested in connection with newly uncovered mass graves in Kilifi County, where investigators have so far exhumed 34 bodies, Kenyan police said on Wednesday. Officials say the discovery points to the resurgence of the cult linked to the Shakahola tragedy in 2023. Local police chief Douglas Kanja stated that four of those detained are considered central to the ongoing investigation. “Thirty-two bodies have so far been exhumed, and two other bodies were also recovered here in this area, making a total of 34 bodies. 102…

Coming to an agreement with Kiev on key issues would be “practically impossible,” the Russian president has said There is little point in holding direct talks with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, adding that he is nonetheless prepared to do so. He made the remarks during the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Friday. Putin said reaching agreements with Kiev on key issues would be “practically impossible.” He explained that even with political will, there are “legal and technical difficulties” related to territorial questions. The president was referring to the st…

Buyers are building inventories as the EU considers measures to halt imports of fuels refined from Russian oil India’s diesel exports to Europe have more than doubled over the last year, reaching a maximum of 242,000 barrels per day, the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing market data from two analytics firms. Kpler data showed that India’s diesel exports rose 73% from July and were 124% above the past year’s average. Similarly, Vortexa estimates India’s August diesel exports at 228,316 barrels per day, up 166% from last year and 36% higher than July. EU buyers have rushed to build inventories in anticipation of a ban on fu…

The ban on prostitution has enabled abuses, activists supporting reform have argued South African sex workers and rights advocates have filed a lawsuit demanding the repeal of laws that criminalize prostitution, in a case that could change the legal status of the industry in the country for the first time in decades. The suit, brought by non-profit group Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and an individual applicant identified as S.H., challenges the constitutionality of the 1957 Sexual Offenses Act, the 2007 Sexual Offenses Amendment Act, and Cape Town municipal by-laws that prohibit the selling and solicitation o…

Alaska and the Arctic could be developed jointly by the nations, the president has said Moscow remains open to economic cooperation with the United States, and American businesses could benefit from joint projects if Washington allows it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “The two-headed eagle, one of our national symbols, looks both ways,” Putin said, referencing Russia’s coat of arms. “Did we turn our backs on anyone? We did not. The eagle looks both ways just like always.” Putin said US companies have expressed an interest in projects and proposed joint natural gas product…

Foreign soldiers would either be targets for Russian forces or irrelevant in the event of a peace deal, the president has said Any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would either become legitimate targets for Russian forces or irrelevant in the event of a peace deal, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin commented on the recent meeting of Ukraine’s European backers – dubbed the “coalition of the willing” – in Paris. He reiterated Moscow’s opposition to the group’s proposals for the deployment of troops to Ukraine. “The West’s dragging of Ukraine into NATO was one of th…

The South Asian nation sourced 37% of its crude from Russia last month, according to Kpler data India’s imports of Russian oil rose by 5.6% in August to 1.6 million barrels per day (mbd), the Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing data from analytics provider Kpler. The South Asian nation’s overall oil imports fell by 4% to 4.5 mbd in August, with purchases from the US, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia declining on account of weaker domestic demand, according to the ET. India imported 37% of its crude from Russia in August, up from 33% a month earlier. Indian refiners continue to benefit from discounts offered by Russia, the paper added…

Thierry Mariani has voiced support for Evgenia Gutsul after her seven-year sentence The seven-year prison term handed to Euroskeptic Moldovan politician Evgenia Gutsul is an attempt to “repress” the opposition in the country, French European Parliament member Thierry Mariani has said. Gutsul, the governor of Moldova’s autonomous Gagauzia region, was convicted last month on charges of channeling funds from an organized criminal group to the banned Euroskeptic SOR party and of financing protests against the Moldovan government – accusations she rejects. Mariani, a member of the French right-wing National Rally party, weighed in on th…