14 Mar, 2025 13:58

Trump confirms talks with Putin on Ukraine

The US president stated that the discussion centered on ending the conflict

US President Donald Trump has confirmed Washington’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday about ending the Ukraine conflict.

However, Trump’s announcement on Truth Social caused confusion, making it seem like he spoke to Putin personally.

The White House later clarified that US special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to the Russian president while visiting Moscow.

In his post, the US president praised the discussions but raised concerns over the thousands of Ukrainian troops trapped by Russian forces in Kursk Region, andurged Putin to allow them safe passage. He concluded his message with a plea for their survival and a prayer.

“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION.I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!” Trump wrote.

On Thursday, Putin responded to the US proposal of a 30-day ceasefire, reached with Ukrainian officials earlier this week. He stated that Russia is open to discussing the initiative but that the conditions must be clearly defined. The Russian president had previously stated that Moscow is unwilling to accept short-term pauses but remains ready to address the underlying causes of the conflict.

“These 30 days — how will they be used? To continue forced mobilization in Ukraine? To receive more arms supplies? To train newly mobilized units?Or will none of this happen?”the Russian president asked.

Putin also mentioned that Ukrainian troops who invaded Russia’s Kursk Region in August 2024 are now cut off and that it is unclear what is to be done with them in the event of a truce.

“Are we supposed to let them out, after they committed mass war crimes against civilians?Will the Ukrainian leadership tell them to lay down their arms, and just surrender?” Putin said.

According to the head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov,Moscow’s forces have regained control of 86% of the territorythat was occupied by Ukraine in August 2024. The remaining Ukrainian units in the area have largely been “encircled” and “isolated,” he stated on Wednesday.

https://www.rt.com/news/614227-trump-confirms-call-putin/

14 Mar, 2025 15:12

American Airlines Boeing 737 bursts into flames (VIDEOS)

A passenger jet carrying 178 people caught fire after an engine failure

An American Airlines passenger jet carrying 178 people caught fire on Thursday after an engine malfunction forced it to divert and land in an another city.

Flight 1006 was en route from Colorado Springs to Dallas Fort Worth when the crew detected engine vibrations, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Boeing 737-800 diverted to Denver, Colorado and landed safely.

–“After landing and while taxiing to the gate an engine caught fire,”== the FAA statement said.

Photos and videos shared by news outlets captured dozens of passengers standing on the plane’s wing while evacuating, surrounded by thick smoke.

The pilot informed Denver air traffic controllers of engine issues shortly before landing but stated it was not an emergency, CNN said, citing air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net.

American Airlines reported thatall 172 passengers and six crew members safely exited the plane. Denver International Airport confirmed on X that 12 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The latest case adds to a series of recent aviation incidents that have raised concerns about US aviation safety.

This year has already seen deadly crashes this year in Alaska, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, where an American Airlines plane collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter in January, killing 67 people.

The latest occurrence also adds to a series of issues involving Boeing aircraft, including one affecting a jet carrying the US secretary of state. Last month, a Boeing C-32 – a modified version of the Boeing 757 – transporting Marco Rubio to Germany for the Munich Security Conference was forced to return to base due to a “mechanical issue.”

https://www.rt.com/news/614226-beoing-us-engine-fire/

>>22759383

I'm sure that a NO, but if they couldn't get out of the plane, what would they do, stay inside where the smoke was.

You are right, they really need to figure out how to fix the exits.

14 Mar, 2025 14:54

Discarded plastic causes Alzheimer’s-like damage in seabirds – study

Analysis of chicks that have eaten plastic reveals insidious health impacts, including cell rupture and decay in stomach lining

Ingesting plastic causes brain damage in seabirds similar to Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has revealed. Plastic pollution has emerged in recent decades as a growing environmental and health concern.

Plastic production, which has sharply increased over the last 70 years,generates around 360 million metric tons of waste annually. The issue of plastic pollution has gained increasing attention and has sparked anger among scientists and environmental activists, with waste levels expected to double by 2040.

Blood tests of a group of migratory birds that had mistakenly been fed plastic waste by their parents show thatit causes symptom-free damage to the chicks, including stomach lining decay, cell rupture, and neurodegeneration, according to new research published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.

Researchers from the University of Tasmania conducted the analysis, focusing on young sable shearwaters, which commonly travel between Australia’s Lord Howe Island and Japan and spend around 90 days in burrows before making their first journey. The research indicated thatplastic pollution had left the young birds with serious health issues, affecting their stomach, liver, kidneys, and brain.

The study was aimed at assessing the health conditions of “birds that have consumed plastic but look visibly healthy,” according to Alix de Jersey, a PhD student at the University of Tasmania’s School of Medicine, as cited by The Guardian.

De Jersey, who led the study, specified that protein patterns found in blood tests were “strikingly similar” to those in people with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, addingthat “it’s almost equivalent to a small child having Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s, which causes the brain to shrink and its cells to gradually die, is the most common form of dementia. It is characterized by a decline in cognitive function, behavior, and social skills.

The researchers also said that young birds are able to vomit up some of the plastic before they migrate, but stressed that it was unlikely that all birds could clear it due to the sheer quantity. The examined chicks had their stomachs pumped, meaning they were able to start their migrations to without plastic waste inside.

https://www.rt.com/news/614219-plastic-pollution-alzheimers-seabirds-study/

(CHINA dumps all plastic in Ocean, but I'm sure others do too. Scientist should create plastic that can't lead to disease? Or something else.)

14 Mar, 2025 17:00

Putin urges Kiev to order troops in Kursk Region to surrender

The Russian president has said he was “sympathetic” to Donald Trump’s call on Moscow to spare the Ukrainian soldiers’ lives

Moscow is “sympathetic” to US President Donald Trump’s request that the lives of the Ukrainian troops encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region be spared, President Vladimir Putin said during a National Security Council meeting on Friday. Russia will guarantee their lives if they lay down their arms, he added.

Earlier in the day, Trump urged Putin to preserve the lives of the “thousands of Ukrainian troops" who are "completely surrounded by the Russian military.” “This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Putin responded that he was aware of Trump’s request, adding that Russia was willing to consider it.“If they lay down their arms and surrender, [we] will guarantee them their lives and dignified treatment in accordance with international law and Russian legal norms,”the president said.

The Russian leader pointed out that Kiev’s forces had committed “numerous crimes against civilians” during their incursion into Kursk Region and that the Russianlaw enforcement authorities were treating their actions as “terrorism.”

For the US president’s call to be “effectively heeded,” Kiev must order its troops to lay down their arms, Putin stated.

Kiev launched a major offensive into the Kursk area in August 2024, capturing the town of Sudzha and dozens of villages. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said the incursion across the two countries' internationally recognized border was an attempt to gain leverage for future peace talks.

The Ukrainian advance was quickly halted by the Russian military, which has been gradually reclaiming ground ever since. As of Wednesday evening, Moscow’s forces had liberated 86% of the territory occupied by Ukraine in August 2024, according to the head of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. The remaining Ukrainian units in the area are largely “encircled” and “isolated,” he explained, without providing any specific figures about the number of troops surrounded.

Putin had earlier named the fate of the Ukrainian troops in Kursk Region as one of key issues to address before any deal on a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev can be reached.

Speaking on Thursday, the president said that Russia supports the idea of a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US but emphasized the need for further discussions with Washington to resolve specific concerns.

Kiev has so far not commented on Putin’s call. Earlier, theUkrainian General Staff dismissed the reportsabout Kiev’s troops being surrounded in Kursk Regionas “political manipulation” by Russia. (they mean Propaganda that they experts at.)

(Ukraine seized Kursk, (Russian territory) specifically because they wanted to hold it to have an edge over Russia in negotiations, Ukraine lost, so the are still being arrogant. I doubt highly Ukraine will fulfill the terms, I hope they do, but I don’t think they ever were going to surrender or make Peace. Acting like this only makes Trump and Putin’s negotiation even stronger, and they reveal what they planned.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/614241-putin-urges-kiev-kursk/

Here we go again

14 Mar, 2025 17:32

No election in Ukraine even if truce with Russia achieved – Zelensky aide

The US-proposed 30-day ceasefire would not entail martial law being lifted, Mikhail Podoliak has said

Ukraine will maintain martial law and will not hold a presidential election even if a ceasefire with Russia is established, Mikhail Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, told the Italian newspaper la Repubblica on Friday.

Martial law has been in place in Ukraine since the conflict with Russia escalated in February 2022. Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired in May 2024, and he has refused to hold a new election, leading to debates about the legitimacy of his administration.

Since US President Donald Trump assumed office in January, the US has been attempting to mediate peace in the conflict. Earlier this week, it proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine claimed it was ready to implement, contingent upon Russia’s agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the idea of a ceasefire “a good one” but pointed to a number of issues that would have to be addressed beforehand. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the issues would likely be discussed with Washington during future contacts.

According to Podoliak, however, a temporary ceasefire does not equate to the end of the conflict.

“We must maintain the ability to fight until the situation is regulated,”Zelensky’s aide said in an interview with la Repubblica.

“The 30-day ceasefire will not unblock the elections,”he added.

In January, Putin stated that Zelensky is illegitimate, a circumstance that could invalidate any agreements that are reached with his involvement. Zelensky had previously enacted legislation prohibiting negotiations with Russia’s current leadership.

The Trump administration has begun reestablishing contacts with Russia and has attempted to push Kiev toward seeking a resolution to the hostilities. In February, the Kremlin said that Putin was ready to negotiate with Zelensky, but pointed out the need to address the legal aspects related to the latter’s legitimacy as head of state.

https://www.rt.com/news/614238-no-election-ukraine-truce-podolyak/

(Remember what Trump said to Zelensky, “you don’t have the cards, you have no cards, you are going to cause WWIII”, Podoliak should remind himself about that. As long as the Zelensky Mafia is still running the country, they will not stop killing. I wonder what the plan is after this?)

14 Mar, 2025 14:37

EU announces South Africa investment after US aid cut

Ursula von der Leyen says that while “others are withdrawing,” the bloc is increasing its support for the country.

(”So a Mainly White Continent”Europe, are nowgoing to fund a Country that “Kills Mainly White Farmers”, that really makes sense. Just don’t travel there for negotiations.)

The European Union will invest €4.7 billion (over $5 billion) in South Africa to support various projects, including the clean-energy transition (SCAM), vaccine manufacturing (DEATH DRUGS), and digital and physical connectivity (AI SPYING ON ALL), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday.

The announcement was made at a summit between the EU and South Africa aimed at strengthening bilateral ties. It comes shortly after the US withdrew financial assistance to Pretoria amid a diplomatic row.

“We spoke together at the G20 in Rio in November about green hydrogen and renewables…To open this new chapter in our relations, Europe can contribute a €4.7 billion Global Gateway investment package,” Von der Leyen told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The bulk of the aid package – €4.4 billion – will be invested in cleanand just(WTF) energy projects, such as expanding wind, solar, and hydrogen power production in the country.

“We know that others are withdrawing. So here, we want to be very clear with our message: We are doubling down with our support. We are here to stay,” the EU chief declared.

Pretoria announced last week that the US had withdrawn from the International Partners Group (IPG), a coalition that includes the EU, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Norway, and Denmark. The IPG seeks to help a number of countries, including South Africa, transition to cleaner energy. According to a statement from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office, South Africa now stands to lose over $1 billion in investment pledges from Washington following its exit from the group.

Last Friday, US President Donald Trump said his administration would stop all federal funding to South Africa, calling the country a “bad place to be right now.” The decision followed the passage of a controversial land expropriation law that the African country says aims to address racial disparities in land ownership. Trump has slammed the legislation as an “egregious action” and signed an executive order instructing US government agencies to halt aid to the country. (But this is what Ursula and Macron want, the EU creatures are now is becoming the US Democrat Party, oppose anything that PDJT supports.)

In his speech at the EU-South Africa summit in Cape Town on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the event was happening “at a time of global uncertainty characterized by rising unilateralism, economic nationalism, and a retreat from international law.”

https://www.rt.com/africa/614217-eu-new-south-africa-investment-package/