11 May, 2025 17:15

Zelensky sets conditions for direct talks with Putin in Türkiye

The Ukrainian leader has said he would be “waiting” for the Russian president on Thursday but only if Moscow agrees to a truce first

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has stated he is ready to “personally” meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye on Thursday but only if Moscow first agrees to a truce. His statement came in response to Russia’s proposal to begin peace talks without pre-conditions.

“I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X on Sunday. He still maintained that Kiev awaits “a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.” The Ukrainian leader also stated that he expected Moscow not to look for “excuses” this time.

On Saturday, the Russian president offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations in Istanbul, which it unilaterally walked away from in 2022.Moscow was ready to return to the negotiating table without any preconditions, the Russian leader said at the time.

Moscow has maintained that it was seeking a permanent solution to the conflict rather than a temporary one. It opposed Kiev’s 30-day truce demand on the grounds that Ukraine would use the window to rearm and regroup its military.

Zelensky issued a similar demand on Saturday following a meeting with a group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.They also supported Kiev’s demand that Russia agree to a truce.

US President Donald Trump also expressed his hope that Moscow and Kiev could soon agree to a month-long truce.He also warned that “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions” if an agreement is reached but not respected.

On Sunday, theAmerican president said that Kiev should agree to Moscow’s peace talks proposal “immediately.” According to him,Moscow did not want a mere ceasefire but wanted “to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath.”

The Kremlin has rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce. Putin also noted that Kiev violated the three ceasefires proposed by Moscow: the 30-day US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure, which expired last month, the unconditional Easter ceasefire, and the recently lapsed 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire.

https://www.rt.com/russia/617393-zelensky-putin-direct-talks/

Zelensky knows additional demands will delay all progress and the EU cocaine addicts leaders are doing this on purpose because the delay means more war, that Western news blames Russia and never identifies the cause of delays. Zelensky has no intention for peace because when the war is stopped, he’ll be kicked out and vulnerable to crimes against humanity.

11 May, 2025 23:40

Trump announces gesture of ‘good faith’ by Hamas

The Palestinian militant group will release the last American hostage to facilitate ceasefire talks

Hamas has agreed to release Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier and the last known living US hostage held in Gaza, following negotiations with the US, President Donald Trump has announced.

Alexander was abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the capture of approximately 250 hostages. In a statement on Sunday, Hamas said Alexander would be released “as part of efforts towards a ceasefire” and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, expressing gratitude to “all those involved,” without mentioning Israel.

“This was a step taken in good faith toward the United States and the efforts of the mediators – Qatar and Egypt – to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones,” he added.

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to arrive in Israel to oversee the release.

“We are picking him up probably tomorrow,”Witkoff told NBC News on Sunday. “There was a long negotiation with lots of people to thank,” he said, adding that the gesture of goodwill became possible “in large part” because of Trump.

The latest round of negotiations in Doha, conducted largely without Israel’s involvement, was facilitated through indirect talks between Hamas and the US, mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Both mediators praised the development as “a gesture of goodwill and a positive step toward resuming negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli forces resumed their offensive in Gaza in March following the collapse of a previous ceasefire – which Trump also claimed credit for. Israel accused Hamas of refusing to release the remaining 24 hostages believed to be alive, while Hamas accused West Jerusalem of stalling talks aimed at ending a war that has claimed more than 50,000 Palestinian lives, most of them civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu recently announced that the security cabinet approved a new “forceful” plan to destroy Hamas, adding that Gaza’s population “will be moved, to protect it.” According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces have already restricted access to 70% of Gaza through no-go zones and forced displacement orders.

In February, Trump advocated for the “voluntary”relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to countries such as Jordan and Egypt, arguing that it would enable the enclave’s transformation into a resort destination. Netanyahu called it a “remarkable idea” that should be “pursued.”

https://www.rt.com/news/617400-trump-hamas-american-hostage/

Obviously BiBi and Israel are trying to block peace because they were not involved in the release.

11 May, 2025 18:48

French party leader praises Moscow’s peace talks proposal

Moscow’s peace initiative strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU, Florian Philippot has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to re-start peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions is timely and well thought out, the leader of France’s Patriots party, Florian Philippot, told RIA Novosti on Sunday. The initiative supports the building momentum toward finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and “strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU” who want the hostilities to continue, he added.

On Saturday, Putin proposed restarting direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. Kiev unilaterally abandoned the talks in 2022. Moscow is ready to get back to the negotiating table without any preconditions, the Russian leader said.

“I believe it is a very well thought out [initiative],”Philippot told RIA. “We will never find a solution [to the conflict] if we avoid fundamental issues that affected relationsbetween Russia and Ukraine for many years and even decades before [the start of the Ukraine conflict escalation in] 2022.”

The politician nevertheless warned that Kiev’s Western backers are likely to exert strong pressure on Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to reject Russia’s proposal andmake any talks “impossible.” According to Philippot, Moscow’s offer “strikes a blow” to all the “warmongers” in the EU, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron, as well as Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer,are only “pretending to be the proponents of peace” while seeking to keep relations with Russia tense and “do everything”to rekindle the flames of war.

Philippot also took to X and YouTube on Sunday to express his support for the Russian peace initiative and criticize Macron and other EU leaders.“Let the peace negotiations continue!”he wrote on the social media, calling on Macron, Merz, Starmer and EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen to “be stopped.”

Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to Kiev’s unconditional 30-day ceasefire demand before Ukraine agrees to any talks. He also put forward a similar demand on Saturday, following a meeting with European leaders, including Macron, Merz and Starmer, in Kiev. The Kremlin rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce.

https://www.rt.com/news/617395-french-party-moscow-peace-proposal/

France has been over Macron for a couple of years, for the fact they will kick him out when the war is settled. It’s surprising the country hasn’t removed illegal Macron a year ago. Zelensky and Macron will only stay in power if the war continues. Merz got involved because he’s deeply unpopular in Germany and he had pledged no more wars, and he wants to look like a hero.

11 May, 2025 21:06

Taliban bans chess

The Islamist group is concerned the game could be associated with gambling, which is prohibited under Afghanistan’s morality laws

Afghanistan's Taliban government has banned the game of chess across the country, arguing that it is incompatible with Islamic Sharia laws. The decision was announced on Sunday.

“There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess,” the Taliban government’s sports directorate spokesman, Atal Mashwani, told AFP, adding that the game is “considered a means of gambling,” which was outlawed under the morality laws imposed by the Islamist group.

The game will remain prohibited “until these considerations are addressed,” the spokesman stated. According to Mashwani, the national chess federation has not held any events for around two years anyway.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, capitalizing on the withdrawal of US forces after their two-decade presence in the Central Asian country. Upon taking power, it restricted a number of sports disciplines.Last year, it banned mixed martial arts (MMA) and other free fighting championships, declaring them too “violent” and “problematic with respect to Sharia.”(WTF)

The Taliban does not view all sports negatively, though. In January, a Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi discussed sports cooperation with India during talks in Dubai.Cricket, which is very popular in both countries, featured in the negotiations, according to New Delhi.

In February, the Washington Post reported that Afghanistan’s popular local sport of buzkashi was “thriving” under Taliban rule despite initial fears of a ban.The equestrian sport involving horse-mounted players trying to direct a goat or a calf carcass into a goalhad been prohibited during the Islamist group’s first stint in power in the 1990s. Now, however, the game reportedly regularly draws audiences in the thousands, including Taliban members.

https://www.rt.com/news/617398-taliban-ban-chess-gambling/

11 May, 2025 17:42

UK spy agency to appoint first female boss – Sunday Times

The three remaining candidates to lead MI6 are women, including former envoy to China Barbara Woodward, according to the newspaper

Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) will be led by a woman for the first time since its creation in 1909, the Sunday Times has reported. The current MI6 chief, Richard Moore, will step down this autumn.

The British newspaper reported on Sunday that interviews for the position were held last week,and all three shortlisted candidates are women. According to the publication, the UK’s ambassador to the UN and former envoy to China, Barbara Woodward, is among the contenders.

The identities of the other two are being kept secret as they currently serve as MI6 officers.

In contrast, Woodward lacks a background in intelligence. She taught English in China before joining the Foreign Office in 1994. The Sunday Times noted that critics of ‘Beijing Barbara’ have accused her of being reluctant to criticize the Chinese government while serving as ambassador to the country, and siding with Beijing over the issue of Taiwan independence later on.

The newspaper quoted former Tory leader Duncan Smith, who was sanctioned by the Chinese authorities,suggesting that Woodward’s potential appointment as MI6 chief could “end in disaster for the UK,”as she “was less than robust about Chinese actions” in her previous role.

The final decision on the appointment rests with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, based on recommendations from an expert panel comprising Foreign Secretary David Lammy, National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, and other senior officials.

In February, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, giving her oversight over 18 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI.

The Iraq War veteran lacked prior intelligence experience and has been an outspoken critic of the US intelligence community and the country’s foreign policy, including its support for Ukraine. Her positions led some detractors to question whether she is fit for such a sensitive post.

(Women leaders in EU are more viscous warhawks than men, and now DEI is accelerated. The complete demise of Europe is occurring before our eyes.)

https://www.rt.com/news/617384-sunday-times-woman-to-head-uk-mi6/

12 May, 2025 01:38

Top Ukrainian MP labels Telegram ‘a tool of the enemy’

Kiev has persistently pushed for greater control over the messaging app on the pretext of national security (Nazi gov doesn’t like free speech, and the truth coming out)

A senior Ukrainian lawmaker who oversees a parliamentary committee on information policy has labeled Telegram an “enemy tool” used by Russia to “destroy” Ukrainian statehood.

Around 70% of the Ukrainian population reportedly use the platform, founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, as their primary source of information, according to recent surveys.

Kiev has long been attemptingto force the owners of the encrypted chat app to allow it access to Telegram's data.

“Telegram is a hostile tool, no matter what anyone says. Convenient – yes, perhaps a very convenient messenger. But we must understand that this is one of the main tools of the enemy in destroying the Ukrainian state and nation,”Nikita Poturaev, the head of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, told Strana.ua on Saturday.

In September 2024, the government ordered public employees to limit Telegram use on officials' devices. This March, Ukrainian lawmakers passed a law requiring social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country and grant the authorities the power to block content and users.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kirill Budanov, has repeatedly called Telegram a“threat to national security,” arguing that users should be deanonymized and held accountable for the “not really printable” content they share.

“During wartime, knowing the whole truth is not necessary. Otherwise, people may develop opinions,” Budanov stated in April. He acknowledged, however, that Telegram is a useful tool for Ukrainian intelligence to spread narratives inside Russia.

Kiev’s push to regulate Telegram is part of a broader campaign against dissenting voices. Even before the escalation of hostilities with Russia in 2022, Vladimir Zelensky cracked down on critical media, claiming it was necessary to counteract oligarchic influence aligned with Moscow.

During the conflict, Kiev launched a ‘news marathon’ reportedly controlled by the president’s office –an initiative critics have described as state propaganda. In response to a 2024 European Commission report criticizing media restrictions, Culture Minister Nikolay Tochitsky claimed his department aims to “create a broad space for truth and freedom of speech” – but only after martial law is lifted.

Earlier this year, turmoil swept through Ukraine’s media landscape following US President Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an organization used by Washington to promote its political agenda. Researcher Oksana Romanyuk estimated inJanuary that nearly 90% of Ukrainian media organizations relied on foreign aid, with 80% specifically receiving funds from USAID.

https://www.rt.com/russia/617401-ukraine-telegram-enemy-tool/

Exclusive – Steve Witkoff: Iran Has Agreed It Does Not Want Nuclear Weapon

President Donald Trump's top negotiator Steve Witkoff told Breitbart News that the Iranians have told him that they do not want a nuclear weapon, and Witkoff details several key planks of the negotiations ahead of a fourth meeting with Iranian leadership in Oman coming up soon.

6:57

https://youtu.be/v3qdirnYs8c

>>23024630

2nd Segment

Exclusive — Steve Witkoff Shreds Critics

President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Steve Witkoff shredded critics in a lengthy on-camera exclusive interview with Breitbart News at the White House on Tuesday

(Impressive Witkoff is very careful with his words)

11:18

https://youtu.be/MlLuhHLhI2c

Watch CNBC's full interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the U.S-China trade agreement to suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods, how the deal came about, what comes next for both countries, impact on the administration's goals to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., and more. May 12, 2026

13:43

https://youtu.be/PMk9mpx0FQU

May 12, 2025

LIVE: President Trump and Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. deliver remarks — 5/12/25

President Donald Trump on Monday will revive a controversial policy that aims to slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad, White House officials said.

“For too long, foreign nations have been able to free ride off of the American people, and American patients forced to pay for too much for prescription drugs,” one official told reporters on Monday.

Trump will sign an executive order including several different actions to renew that effort, known as the “most favored nation” policy.

Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deliver remarks to the press on Monday.

Live

https://www.youtu.be/5NRS1g_VBe4