Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday he backed US President Donald Trump's proposal that the current front line in Ukraine should be the basis for negotiations with Russia.
Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory – much of it ravaged by fighting – while tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mr Trump "proposed 'Stay where we stay and begin conversation'", Mr Zelenskyy said during a brief visit to Oslo. "I think that was a good compromise but I'm not sure that Putin will support it, and I said it to the President."
Mr Trump on Tuesday repeated his desire – rejected by the Kremlin – to see current battlefield lines frozen as part of a ceasefire agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed that idea, signalling that Moscow will stick to its maximalist demands, including Ukraine ceding full control of its Donetsk region.
In its latest overnight barrage on Ukraine, Russia launched a number of drones and missiles. The attacks killed at least seven civilians, including children, with more than a dozen injured across the country in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on X. Ten regions came under attack, including the capital of Kyiv, Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the east, with energy infrastructure and many residential buildings hit, Ukraine's President said.
“Russian words about diplomacy mean nothing as long as the Russian leadership doesn’t feel critical problems,” Mr Zelenskyy said. He called for stronger sanctions on Moscow and delivery of long-range weapons to Ukraine to bring an end to the war closer.
Mr Lavrov said an immediate ceasefire would mean "preserving the Nazi regime" in Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskyy will visit Brussels and London this week after meetings in Norway and Sweden on Wednesday.
Mr Zelenskyy met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in the military part of Oslo's international airport Gardermoen. The leaders were to "discuss energy", a Ukrainian official said before their meeting began.
EU leaders are set to close ranks in support of Ukraine at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, followed a day later by a "coalition of the willing" meeting in London to discuss the next steps to help Kyiv.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has “no plans” to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in person, the White House said.
Mr Trump last week said he would meet Mr Putin “within two weeks” in Budapest for talks aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, although a date had not been set. Hungarian President Viktor Orban was set to host the negotiations. The latest development follows a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mr Lavrov.
“Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov had a productive call” a White House official said. “Therefore, an additional-in-person meeting between the Secretary and Foreign Minister is not necessary. And there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
Mr Trump added he did not want to hold a "wasted" meeting with Mr Putin.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
The%20specs
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Company%C2%A0profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
