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Author: AFP

  • Israel halts Gaza electricity supply ahead of new truce talks

    Israel halts Gaza electricity supply ahead of new truce talks

    Israel ordered an immediate halt to Gaza’s electricity supply Sunday in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages, even as it prepared for fresh talks on the future of its truce with the Hamas.

     

    Israel’s decision comes a week after it blocked all aid supplies to the territory, a move reminiscent of the initial days of the genocide when Israel announced a “siege” on Gaza.

    Hamas described the electricity cut as “blackmail,” a term it had also used after Israel blocked the aid.

    The truce’s initial phase ended on March 1 and both sides have refrained from returning to all-out genocide, despite sporadic violence including an air strike Sunday that Israel said targeted miltants.

    Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase, aiming to end the genocide permanently.

    Israel says it prefers extending phase one until mid-April, and halted aid to Gaza over the impasse.

    On Sunday it ordered a cut in the electricity supply.

    “I have just signed the order to stop supplying electricity immediately to the Gaza Strip,” Energy Minister Eli Cohen said in a video statement.

    “We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after” the war, he said.

    Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, described Israel’s move as “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics”.

    Just days after the genocide, led by Israel, erupted on October 7, 2023 after Hamas’s attack, Israel cut electricity to Gaza, only restoring it in mid-2024.

    The sole power line between Israel and Gaza supplies the main desalination plant, and Gazans mainly rely now on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.

    Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza live in tents, with night-time temperatures now forecast around 12 degrees Celsius (54 Fahrenheit).

    Situation ‘dire’

    Hamas representatives met Egyptian mediators over the weekend, emphasising the urgent need to resume aid deliveries “without restrictions or conditions”, a Hamas statement said.

    “We call on mediators in Egypt and Qatar, as well as the guarantors in the US administration, to ensure that the (Israeli) occupation complies with the agreement… and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms,” spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.

    Hamas’s key demands for the second phase include a hostage-prisoner exchange, Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, border crossings reopening and lifting the blockade, he said.

    Former United States president Joe Biden had also outlined a second phase involving the release of remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces left in Gaza, and establishment of a permanent ceasefire.

    After meeting mediators, another Hamas spokesman, Abdel Latif al-Qanoua, said indicators were so far “positive”.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday.

    The truce largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, where virtually the entire population was displaced by Israel’s relentless military campaign in response to the October 7 attack.

    The six-week first phase led to the exchange of 25 living Israeli hostages and eight bodies for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

    It also allowed in much-needed food, shelter and medical assistance.

    After Israel cut off the aid flow, UN rights experts accused the government of “weaponising starvation”.

    At a UN distribution of flour in Jabalia, northern Gaza, Abu Mahmoud Salman, 56, said that with the territory now closed off from fresh supplies, there are “fears of renewed famine in Gaza, where the situation remains dire”.

    Fears for hostages

    Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages were not released, issuing what he called a “last warning” to Hamas leaders.

    He also said Gazans who “hold Hostages… are DEAD!”

    The threats came after his administration confirmed it had unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, which Washington had previously refused contact with since designating it a terrorist organisation in 1997.

    The official who held the talks with Hamas, US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, told CNN on Sunday that a deal could be reached “within weeks” to “get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans”.

    Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including five Americans of which four have been confirmed dead.

    Trump has floated a widely condemned plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, prompting Arab leaders to offer an alternative that would see reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern the Hamas-ruled territory.

    On Sunday Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that proposal was “taking shape”.

    Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, while Israel’s retaliatory genocide has killed at least 48,458 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from both sides.

  • Mark Carney: Canada’s next PM charts unusual path to power

    Mark Carney: Canada’s next PM charts unusual path to power

    He was born near the Arctic, led the central banks of two major economies, and is about to become Canada’s next prime minister despite never having served in parliament.

    Mark Carney’s path to the top job in Canadian politics has been unusual but, as he said when he launched his campaign to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, so are the circumstances.

    “Our times are anything but ordinary,” Carney told supporters in the Western city of Edmonton in January. 

    Carney has called the threats posed by President Donald Trump “the most serious crisis of our lifetime” and said Sunday that the United States wants “our resources, our water, our land, our country.”

    He says his experience leading the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 financial crisis and then heading the Bank of England after the Brexit vote there has equipped him for the moment.

    Carney won 85.9 percent of the ballots cast in the Liberal Party leadership vote and will become prime minister over the coming days.

    Unique Background

    Carney may not be prime minister for long, with a general election due soon that the opposition Conservatives are slight favorites to win, according to polls. 

    No matter how long he serves, his tenure will be unique.

    Carney will be the first Canadian prime minister with no political experience. He has never held an elected public office or served in a government cabinet. 

    He was born in Fort Smith, a small town in the Northwest Territories, where his parents were teachers, but he was raised in Edmonton, Alberta’s capital. 

    Like many Canadians, he played hockey in his youth. He studied at Harvard in the United States and Oxford in England, and the initial part of his career saw him make a fortune as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, working in New York, London, Tokyo and Toronto. 

    Carney then joined the Canadian civil service, eventually being appointed governor of the Bank of Canada by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2008.

    In 2013, the government of then-British prime minister David Cameron tapped him to lead the Bank of England, making Carney the first non-Briton to lead the bank in its more than 300-year history. 

    ‘Boring’ But ‘Reassuring’

    Daniel Beland, director of the Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University, described Carney as a “technocrat.”

    “He’s a boring guy who in general doesn’t have a lot of charisma,” Beland said. 

    But he noted that with Canada rattled by Trump’s trade chaos and attacks on its sovereignty, rigorous competence with no flash may be appealing. 

    Carney presents “the image of a reassuring guy who knows what he is talking about,” Beland said. 

    Lori Turnbull of Dalhousie University cautioned that Carney’s potential struggles to connect with the public could prove a liability. 

    “He’s not a particularly great communicator when it comes to the public,” she said. 

    “He is unusually well-equipped to deal with economic crises” but “it’s very hard to see how anybody would be successful in politics if you can’t bring people on board with you,” she told AFP.

    The Conservatives are running attack ads branding Carney as “sneaky” — an early look at how they might plan to wage the campaign against him. 

    Carney is personally wealthy, spent significant parts of his career outside of Canada, worked for US-based Goldman Sachs and was chairman at one of Canada’s largest corporations, Brookfield. 

    “The Conservatives are trying to cast him as an elite who doesn’t understand what regular people go through. And I think if he can’t communicate well, then he runs the risk of being typecast in that way,” Turnbull said. 

    Climate change, and Carney’s plans to address it, are also certain to play a key role in the campaign.

    “Carbon Tax Carney” has emerged as a favorite Tory attack line, seeking to tie Carney to a deeply unpopular Trudeau policy that saw some homes face a marginal tax to offset emissions.

    Climate has been central to the latter part of Carney’s career, but he says his focus is on investment-led solutions, like green technology, that create profit and jobs. 

    “Very much we are emphasizing the commercial aspect of it, the competitiveness aspect,” he said recently in an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast. 

    “This is where the world is going.”

  • $1 trillion: Trump says he will visit Saudi Arabia for major business deal

    $1 trillion: Trump says he will visit Saudi Arabia for major business deal

    US President Donald Trump said Thursday he planned to visit Saudi Arabia, suggesting a deal for major investment from the kingdom that has become the key venue for US diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine.

    Trump, asked if he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia, confirmed his intention to visit the oil-rich Gulf nation but suggested that business was the main motive.

    “I’m going to Saudi Arabia,” Trump told reporters, without mentioning a date.

    “I said, I’ll go if you pay a trillion dollars, $1 trillion to American companies, (spreading) the purchase over a four-year period, of a trillion dollars,” he said, referring to the duration of his presidency.

    “They’ve agreed to do that, so I’m going to be going there.”

    Trump, who has yet to travel overseas since returning to the White House, made Saudi Arabia his first foreign destination after he took office in 2017.

    He said recently that he decided to visit Saudi Arabia rather than Britain on his first trip in 2017 because the Arab kingdom promised to buy $450 billion worth of US products.

    Trump has forged close business ties with Saudi Arabia, with the Trump Organization in December announcing a Trump Tower in Jeddah.

    In his last term, Trump boasted of shielding Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from consequences over the killing of US-based Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with the president citing the importance of Saudi purchases of US weapons.

    Former president Joe Biden initially vowed to make the crown prince a “pariah” due to human rights but his administration later courted Saudi Arabia, including with a draft defense agreement, as it sought to encourage it to recognize Israel.

    The Trump administration has vowed to move full-speed with trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to normalize with Israel, in what would be a landmark step as the kingdom is home to Islam’s two holiest sites.

  • South Korea air force jet accidentally drops bombs, injures civilians

    South Korea air force jet accidentally drops bombs, injures civilians

    South Korea’s Air Force said Thursday that one of its fighter jets had accidentally dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise, resulting in civilian injuries.

    “Eight MK-82 general-purpose bombs were abnormally released from an Air Force KF-16 aircraft, landing outside the designated firing range,” the Air Force said.

    The incident occurred around 10:00 am (0100 GMT) in Pocheon, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of the heavily fortified border with the nuclear-armed North.

    “We deeply regret the unintended release of the bombs, which resulted in civilian casualties, and wish those injured a swift recovery,” the Air Force said in a statement.

    It said it had established an accident response committee to investigate the incident, and said it would “take all necessary measures, including compensation for damages.”

    The Air Force said the military jet had been “participating in a joint live-fire exercise involving both the Air Force and Army.”

    South Korea was holding combined live-fire drills with the United States Thursday in Pocheon, the Yonhap news agency reported.

    South Korea’s National Fire Agency said that the bombs were “presumed to have fallen on a village during a South Korea-US joint exercise.”

    This resulted in “casualties and property damage, with many displaced residents,” it said, adding that four people had been seriously injured and three suffered minor injuries.

    One church building and sections of two houses were damaged, according to the statement.

    ‘Like a thunderclap’

    One local resident, who gave only his surname Park, told Yonhap that he had been at home, watching television when the accident happened.

    “I suddenly heard an enormous explosion, like a thunderclap, and the whole house shook. When I went outside, everything was in chaos,” Park said.

    Even at a senior centre about a kilometre away, the accident was felt.

    “A sudden explosion shook the building. The windows shattered, and one of our teachers was injured and taken to the hospital,” the centre’s director, surnamed Yu, told Yonhap.

    “Fortunately, none of the seniors were hurt, but they were so frightened that we sent them all home,” they added.

    Joint South Korea-US “Freedom Shield” military exercises, one of the security allies’ largest annual joint exercises, are set to begin later this month.

    The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

    The United States stations tens of thousands of soldiers in the South, in part to protect Seoul against Pyongyang.

    In 2022, a South Korean Hyunmu-2 short-range ballistic missile accidentally crashed into a military golf course in the South’s eastern Gangwon province, after it was fired in response to a North Korean missile launch.

    The missile did not explode and no one was injured in that incident.

  • FIFA to pay $1 billion prize money for Club World Cup

    FIFA to pay $1 billion prize money for Club World Cup

    FIFA on Wednesday announced it will pay total prize money of one billion dollars to participants in the Club World Cup taking place in the United States this year.

    The figure is significantly more than the prize money offered for either the last men’s or women’s World Cups.

    World football’s governing body has given a few details about the funding for the first edition of the 32-team tournament that will take place every four years, but it has signed up a broadcaster and major sponsors in recent weeks.

    In a statement confirming the prize money on offer, FIFA said it expected to generate $2 billion in revenues from the expanded Club World Cup. It also confirmed that a women’s edition will take place in 2028.

    “The FIFA Club World Cup will not only be the pinnacle of club football but also a vivid demonstration of solidarity that will benefit clubs at large to a scale that no other competition has ever done,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

    “All revenue generated by the tournament will be distributed to the participating clubs and via club solidarity across the world as FIFA will not keep a single dollar.”

    British streaming service DAZN was awarded the exclusive global rights to the June 14-July 13 tournament in December, with a source close to the negotiations saying the contract was worth around one billion euros ($1.05 billion).

    FIFA has also signed sponsorship contracts with Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Chinese electronics brand Hisense and Belgian brewers AB InBev.

    By comparison, the total prize money for the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar was $440 million, while for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, it was $110 million.

    This season’s UEFA Champions League, with a new 36-club format, will pay a total of 2.47 billion euros ($2.66 billion) to the clubs involved.

    Widespread criticism over player welfare 

    FIFA’s expansion of the tournament has been met with widespread criticism, especially in Europe, largely due to concerns over player welfare.

    The global footballers’ union FIFPro and the European Leagues association filed a complaint with the European Commission in October against FIFA, accused of abusing its dominant position by packing the calendar.

    The Champions League was also expanded by UEFA this season, and some players, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, have raised the prospect of a strike.

    “I think we are close to that. I think if you ask any player, he will say the same,” said Rodri when asked in September if there was a possibility of players going on strike shortly before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

    “It is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. I think it’s the general opinion of the players.”

    The tournament will feature 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, and four from Asia, Africa, and North and Central America.

    Auckland City and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami complete the line-up.

    Not all the reactions have been negative, with Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique insisting that “everyone” would want to play.

    “Once every four years, there’s this new, extremely exciting competition. Everyone wants to go to the Club World Cup,” he said last year.

    The tournament will be held at 12 venues across 11 cities in the United States, with the final at the MetLife Stadium, which will also host the 2026 World Cup final in New Jersey.

  • Trump warns Gaza ‘you are dead’ if hostages not freed

    Trump warns Gaza ‘you are dead’ if hostages not freed

    US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages are not released, and issued an ultimatum to Hamas leaders to flee.

    Strongly backing Israel as a ceasefire teeters, Trump said he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job” as his administration expedites billions of dollars in weapons.

    “Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform after meeting freed hostages.

    “This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance.”

    Trump also made clear there would be repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where virtually the entire population has been displaced by Israel’s relentless military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.

    “To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”

    His comments follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning of “consequences that you cannot imagine” if Hamas does not hand over the remaining hostages seized in the October 7 attack.

    The first phase of a ceasefire ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

    While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the genocide.

    Israel has ramped up pressure not just with threats but also by halting the flow of goods and supplies into Gaza.

    “Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished,” Israel’s new military chief Eyal Zamir warned Wednesday.

    Also on Wednesday, France, Britain and Germany jointly called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “catastrophic,” and urged Israel to ensure the “unhindered” delivery of aid.

    South Africa said Israel’s restriction of aid into Gaza amounted to using starvation as a weapon of war.

    Talks with Hamas

    Trump’s hawkish language came after the United States confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, with the US envoy on hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, discussing American hostages.

    “Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what’s in the best interest of the American people is something that the president” believes is right, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

    The United States had refused direct contact with the Palestinian militants since banning them as a terrorist organization in 1997. But Leavitt said that the hostage envoy “has the authority to talk to anyone”.

    Both the White House and Netanyahu’s office confirmed Israel was consulted in advance.

    Five Americans are believed to remain among the hostages — four have been confirmed dead and one, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.

    The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, most of them civilians, while the Israel-led genocide of Palestinians in Gaza has killed at least 48,440 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.

    Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas’s attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

    In an interview on Wednesday night, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Hamas to take seriously Trump’s threats of retaliation.

    “He doesn’t say these things and not mean it, as folks are finding out around the world. If he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it,” Rubio said.

    Doubts on Arab plan

    Trump has floated a proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its people, an idea that has drawn wide condemnation around the world.

    Arab leaders have sought support for an alternative plan that would finance Gaza’s reconstruction through a trust fund.

    A draft seen by AFP outlined a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion — roughly the amount the United Nations estimated for Gaza’s reconstruction — but the figure was not included in the summit’s final statement.

    The summit also called for unified representation under the Palestine Liberation Organization to sideline Islamist Hamas.

    Hugh Lovatt at the European Council on Foreign Relations said the Arab leaders’ plan was “far more realistic than what the Trump administration is proposing.”

    But Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian political analyst and former Palestinian Authority minister, was skeptical.

    “It doesn’t make sense to expect Israel to drop the plan of Trump and to adopt the plan of the Arabs. There’s no chance.”

    Speaking after a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza’s future, French diplomat Jay Dharmadhikari said the final plan should neither allow Hamas to continue governing nor eject Palestinians.

    “We are clear that any plan must have no role for Hamas, must ensure Israel’s security, must not displace Palestinians from Gaza,” he said.

  • Trump, Trudeau discuss tariffs war on 50-minute call

    Trump, Trudeau discuss tariffs war on 50-minute call

    Automakers received temporary reprieve Wednesday from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada and Mexico, as concerns mounted over consumer impacts and talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yielded no immediate breakthrough.

    The two leaders reportedly spoke for 50 minutes on phone, discussing fentanyl smuggling and trade.

    Following discussions with the “Big Three” US automakers — Stellantis, Ford and General Motors — Trump decided to “give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, referring to the North American free trade pact.

    “They made the ask, and the president is happy to do it,” Leavitt told reporters.

    Wall Street stocks rallied after the announcement, with shares of the three automakers each surging about six percent or more.

    The American Automotive Policy Council said it applauded Trump’s move.

    But prospects of wider relief were dampened after Trump’s call with Trudeau. The US leader said he was unconvinced that Ottawa had done enough to address Washington’s concerns over smuggling of the dangerous drug fentanyl.

    Canada contributes less than one percent of fentanyl to the United States’ illicit supply, according to Canadian and US government data. But Trump has shrugged off these figures.

    On social media, Trump accused Trudeau of using the dispute to “stay in power,” but noted their discussion ended in a “somewhat” friendly manner.

    Later on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly, according to a US statement.

    “Secretary Rubio reaffirmed the importance of US-Canadian relations and reiterated that the Trump Administration will continue to put Americans’ safety and national security first,” said US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

    Trump’s sharp 25-percent tariffs on US imports from Canada and Mexico — with a lower rate for Canadian energy — kicked in Tuesday, sending global markets tumbling and straining ties between the neighbors.

    Ottawa swiftly announced retaliatory levies, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum plans to unveil her response at a mass rally on Sunday.

    Trump has cited illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking in imposing tariffs, though he frequently lambasts alleged trade imbalances when discussing levies.

    More exemptions?

    Consumer items appear poised for US price hikes after Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

    These include products like avocados, strawberries, electronics and gasoline.

    Of the agricultural products imported from Mexico to the United States in 2023, more than 72 percent were fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as beer and other alcohol, government figures showed.

    Trump said Tuesday that tariffs would bring “a little disturbance” to the world’s biggest economy.

    Leavitt defended Trump’s remarks Wednesday as “realistic,” saying that standing up to foreign nations “requires a little bit of disruption.”

    But she added of tariffs: “The president is open to hearing about additional exemptions.”

    Earlier Wednesday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump was mulling market segments where he could provide temporary relief.

    Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada are a heavy blow given that the three countries have a trade pact — which the US president renegotiated in his first term.

    ‘Other trading partners’

    Sheinbaum said Wednesday that Mexico has to take key decisions for its future, adding that “if necessary, other trading partners will be sought.”

    Expressing a preference for a negotiated solution, she has said she anticipates speaking to Trump by phone on Thursday about tariffs on Mexican goods.

    She earlier vowed retaliatory action and called for supporters to gather in Mexico City’s main square on Sunday to hear details on her government’s response.

    Lutnick told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday that broader reciprocal levies, tailored to each US trading partner, were still coming on April 2.

    Trump has vowed tariffs targeting friend and foe to remedy practices deemed as unfair, slamming the European Union particularly.

    Some of these duties could come immediately, although Lutnick said others could take a month or longer.

    France’s President Emmanuel Macron called planned US tariffs on European products “incomprehensible,” adding Wednesday that he hoped to “dissuade” Trump from them.

    This week, Trump also inked an order doubling an additional tariff rate on Chinese imports from 10 percent to 20 percent, similarly over the country’s alleged role in illicit fentanyl entering the United States.

    The duties pile atop existing ones on Chinese products.

    Beijing hit back, promising 10-percent and 15-percent tariffs on a range of US agricultural imports.

    Economists warn that tariff hikes stand to bog down economic growth and add to US inflation.

  • Trump pauses aid to Ukraine after Zelensky clash

    Trump pauses aid to Ukraine after Zelensky clash

    US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine on Monday, a White House official said, sharply escalating pressure on Kyiv to agree to peace negotiations with Russia.

    The move comes just days after a stunning public clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, who is seeking a rapid end to the war.

    Trump earlier on Monday had declined to rule out a pause when quizzed by reporters, but any disruption in the flow of US arms to the front line would rapidly weaken Ukraine’s chance of beating back Russia’s invasion.

    “The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” a White House official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” the official added.

    Congressional Democrats immediately condemned the pause as dangerous and illegal.

    “My Republican colleagues who have called Putin a war criminal and promised their continued support to Ukraine must join me in demanding President Trump immediately lift this disastrous and unlawful freeze,” said Gregory Meeks, top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

    Trump also warned he would “not put up” much longer with Zelensky’s defiance, and said Ukraine’s leader should be “more appreciative” of US support.

    Speaking at the White House, Trump said Zelensky “won’t be around very long” without a ceasefire deal with Moscow.

    The pause has gone into effect immediately and impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine, The New York Times reported.

    Zelensky for his part said Monday he was seeking for the war to end “as soon as possible.”

    The comment came after Zelensky accused Russia — which invaded Ukraine in 2014 and greatly expanded the conflict in 2022 — of not being serious about peace.

    He insisted tough security guarantees were the only way to end the war.

    But Trump’s stance has upended US support for Ukraine, and Washington’s allies more broadly, and stoked concern about Washington pivoting to Russia.

    European support

    After weekend crisis talks in London, Britain and France are investigating how to propose a one-month Ukraine-Russia truce “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure” — potentially backstopped by troops on the ground.

    Zelensky said discussions were still focusing on the “first steps,” adding: “An agreement on ending the war is very, very far away” — a comment that angered Trump.

    Zelensky added in a video statement that “real, honest peace” would only come with security guarantees for Ukraine, which agreed to denuclearize in 1994 only in exchange for protection provided by the United States and Britain.

    “It was the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to start with the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, then the lack of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch a full-scale invasion,” Zelensky said.

    Russia dismissed the comments, accusing him of not wanting peace — echoing US criticism after he was shouted down Friday in the Oval Office.

    On the ground, Ukrainian officials reported fatalities from a Russian missile strike on a military training facility some 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the front line.

    A respected military blogger said between 30 and 40 soldiers were killed and 90 more wounded in the attack near Dnipro on Saturday.

    ‘Deliberate’ escalation?

    Trump has previously called Zelensky, president since 2019, a “dictator” for not holding elections, even though martial law precludes any vote because of the war.

    Zelensky dismissed calls for him to resign, repeating his pledge to do so only if Ukraine were given NATO membership, which Russia — and now the United States under Trump — opposes.

    In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Zelensky for Friday’s blow-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, saying he “demonstrated a complete lack of diplomatic abilities.”

    “He doesn’t want peace,” Peskov told reporters.

    On Monday Vance told broadcaster Fox News he was confident Zelensky would “eventually” agree to peace talks with Moscow.

    “I think Zelensky wasn’t yet there, and I think, frankly, now still isn’t there,” Vance said. “But I think he’ll get there eventually. He has to.”

    But Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the astonishing White House clash was a “deliberate escalation” by Trump.

    US and Russian officials have held talks on ending the war, enraging Kyiv and Europe for being sidelined, and prompting fears that any deal could threaten Ukraine’s future.

  • Real Madrid’s ‘fantastic four’ face Atletico test

    Real Madrid’s ‘fantastic four’ face Atletico test

    Real Madrid’s galaxy of attacking stars initially struggled to gel this season, but coach Carlo Ancelotti kept the faith, and now the “fantastic four” are Los Blancos’ greatest strength as they face rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

    They host Diego Simeone’s Atletico side on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu in the last 16 first leg, with the return at the Metropolitano stadium across town on March 12.

    French superstar Kylian Mbappe joined last season’s trident of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes, and both the former Paris Saint-Germain striker and Madrid’s squad needed time to adapt to the change.

    Ancelotti has a reputation for getting the most from his squad. Last season, he replaced forward Karim Benzema with central midfielder Bellingham to great effect.

    Real Madrid claimed a Champions League and La Liga double, but it has taken time to click with Mbappe.

    Madrid’s struggles forced them into the new play-off round, where they faced English champions Manchester City. Finally firing on all cylinders, the holders hit six goals over the two legs.

    Mbappe and Bellingham scored at City, and Vinicius was named man of the match. Mbappe then netted a brilliant hat-trick at home to seal a 6-3 aggregate victory.

    Madrid’s fantastic four have taken flight at just the right time.

    “This is where the season really starts,” said Ancelotti, finally convinced he has found the right set-up despite the early teething problems.

    He was delighted with the attackers’ work-rate after previously criticising a lack of balance when they didn’t work hard enough defensively.

    Ancelotti said that was the key to potential success this season, and it seems essential against an intense and hard-working Atletico.

    “It was a complete performance by the team from an attacking point of view, and we showed that with the right levels of commitment, we can do anything,” explained Ancelotti after beating City in Manchester.

    That same sacrifice was lacking as Madrid lost 2-1 on Saturday against Real Betis in La Liga, with one eye on the Atletico clash and Bellingham serving a suspension.

    Crunching the numbers 


    The 15-time record winners of the top European club competition are favourites to progress against Atletico, whom they beat in the 2014 and 2016 finals, in no small part thanks to Mbappe’s explosion.

    Ancelotti said the French striker had a chance of matching all-time Real Madrid top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy as long as he worked hard.

    Mbappe admitted hitting rock “bottom” after missing key penalties against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao towards the end of 2024, seeming extremely low on confidence.

    He knuckled down to find his form and boasts 28 goals in 40 appearances, with seven in 10 in the Champions League.

    “Kylian has arrived to help us, and we will help him become the top scorer in every tournament,” said Vinicius in January.

    The Brazilian has scored 18 times in 36 games this season despite not hitting his best level.

    It was in the second half of last season that Vinicius excelled, earning the runner-up spot on the Ballon d’Or podium.

    Bellingham will be fresh to face Atletico after he was suspended for Madrid’s last two league games. The team badly missed him against Betis.

    His effort and quality help link the attack and defence, and after firing blanks at the start of the season, Bellingham has been chipping in with goals, notching 11 goals in 36 matches.

    Rodrygo may have less of a star billing than the other three attackers, but he has 13 goals himself in 38 games and leaves opponents for dead with his slick dribbling.

    “So underrated… for me, he’s probably the most talented and most gifted player in the squad,” said Bellingham of the Brazilian winger.

    Between the four of them, Madrid has enough skill and speed to break through any defence, although Ancelotti insists it is the way they contribute defensively that could lead to either glory or defeat.

    “If we play like this, we will not win on Tuesday,” said Ancelotti after the Betis defeat.

    “I hope this game will help us improve.”

    Atletico Madrid’s visit offers the perfect test of that theory and a new chance for Madrid’s quartet of stars to shine.

  • Zelensky says Trump relationship can be repaired after White House row

    Zelensky says Trump relationship can be repaired after White House row

    Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his relations with the United States can still be repaired, after President Donald Trump shouted at him in an angry White House meltdown accusing the Ukrainian leader of refusing to make peace with Russia.

    “Of course,” Zelensky said when asked in a Fox News interview if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged.

    US-Ukrainian ties are about “more than two presidents,” he said, adding that Ukraine badly needs Washington’s help in the fight against Russia’s far bigger and better-armed military.

    “It will be difficult without your support,” Zelensky said on Fox — Trump’s favorite news channel.

    Zelensky’s olive branch came hours after the extraordinary Oval Office scene where the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion collapsed in a shouting match.

    A number of netizens, including prominent personalities, took to social media criticizing Trump’s behavior.

    United States Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Trump berates Zelensky, the leader of a democratic country courageously fighting Russian imperialism, while he allies himself with Putin, a dictator who started the bloodiest European war in 80 years. Sorry, President Trump. We believe in democracy, not authoritarianism.”

    Political strategist and commentator Sawyer Hackett said, “Wow. This is such an embarrassment for the United States. Trump and JV Vance literally switched sides in a war and sided with a murderous dictator. Now they want Zelensky to apologize and kiss their feet.”

    Owen Jones stated, “It was genuinely hideous watching the treatment of Zelensky in the Oval Office. The thing is, the US has systematically bullied entire nations for generations. It’s just done it with a smile. Trump is doing what the US has long done, without the pretences”

    Brian Krassenstein added, “This is utterly repulsive! Trump and Vance just tried to humiliate Zelensky live on American TV, smugly demanding gratitude while openly mocking him like playground bullies counting favors. My respect for Zelensky—and my embarrassment as an American—just surged off the charts. I’m beyond disgusted!”

    The row saw European leaders scramble to voice support for Ukraine after Zelensky was made to leave the White House early and without signing a minerals-sharing deal seen as vital to an eventual US-brokered truce.

    During the clash, played out in front of US and international media, Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being “thankful” and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

    “You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”

    Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that “he can come back when he is ready for peace.”

    “They were asked to leave the room. Then they had to be asked to leave the building,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had been in the Oval Office for the row, told Fox News of the Ukrainians.

    The president told journalists later Friday that Zelensky was “overplaying his hand” and should agree to end fighting “immediately.”

    Zelensky, however, refused to apologize, telling Fox News, “I’m not sure that we did something bad.” He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later on CNN called for Zelensky to “apologize for wasting our time.”

    ‘Not alone’

    US allies in Europe — already worried that Trump will force Ukraine to effectively hand victory to Russian President Vladimir Putin — rushed to back Zelensky.

    “You are not alone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelensky by phone following the clash and vowed “unwavering support” for Kyiv.

    Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a summit “without delay” between the United States, Europe and allies on Ukraine.

    Trump and Vance are “doing Putin’s dirty work,” top US Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer posted.

    But Russia was delighted.

    Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received “a proper slap down in the Oval Office.”

    Trump’s Republican Party echoed the Russians in blaming Zelensky.

    Ukraine appeared united behind Zelensky, with its army chief vowing to stand with him while the foreign minister praised his “bravery.”

    “He did what he must,” 26-year-old Valentyn Burianov told AFP in Kyiv, echoing others in the streets of the Ukrainian capital.

    Compromise with ‘killer’?

    The meltdown came after Trump said Ukraine will have to make “compromises” in a truce with Russia.

    Zelensky said there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory.”

    After he pointed out that previous Western-backed peace efforts had failed to deter Russian aggression, Vance interrupted and called him “disrespectful.”

    The session then boiled over, with the Ukrainian leader sitting in evident discomfort as Trump and Vance berated him.

    Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt U-turn in US policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion.

    He said in the Oval Office that he had “spoken on numerous occasions” to Putin — more than has been publicly reported.

    Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” last week and has said he trusts Putin to “keep his word” over a ceasefire.

    He told Zelensky that as a mediator he could not criticize one of the main sides.

    However, speaking to Fox News, Zelensky said he wished Trump was “really more on our side.”

    Meanwhile, Russia’s assault on Ukraine continued.

    Russian infantry were on Friday storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, Kyiv said.