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On May 10, 2025, in a rare display of dugri דוגרי - Israeli straight talk, or 直截了当 in Chinese - PRC Ambassador to Israel Dr. Xiao Junzheng made his first TV appearance since arriving in Israel six months ago. The 45-minute prerecorded interview with Maayan Hoffman for ILTV touched on everything from Hamas to Iran, tariffs to Taiwan, and managed to avoid the usual diplomatic fog. Top headlines: The ambassador finally issued China’s unambiguous, on-the-record condemnation of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. 581 days later. The ambassador even wore the yellow ribbon for the 58 hostages still held in...

After months of speculation about the president's relationship with Ntuli-Zuma, sources said the reason she had been cast out related to suspicion by the president of her involvement in an alleged plan to poison him. She now lives in Durban North with her three children. The president's office has refused to comment on the claim, which has been confirmed to the Sunday Times by three sources. They claim that although the president fell ill and was hospitalised in June last year, it was only during a trip to the US two months later that a still-ailing Zuma was told he...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged allies to impose more sanctions on Moscow should Russia not agree to an unconditional ceasefire at ongoing talks in Istanbul, Turkey. "Our number one priority is a full, unconditional, and honest ceasefire. This must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy," said Zelensky, addressing fellow leaders at the European Political Community summit in Tirana. If the Russian representatives in Istanbul are not to agree to a ceasefire then "the world must respond," he said. "There needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions Russia's energy sector and...

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Live Turkish television pictures showed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators holding discussions together with a Turkish delegation.

A high-level trilateral meeting between delegations from Türkiye, the US, and Ukraine concluded in Istanbul. (12:08) High-level US-Ukraine-Türkiye talks start in Istanbul A high-level trilateral meeting between delegations from Türkiye, the US, and Ukraine started in Istanbul on Friday under the leadership of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The US was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, and Special Representative for Ukraine General Keith Kellogg, News.Az reports, citing Turkish media. Ukraine’s delegation included Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. The trilateral dialogue is focused...

James Comey’s friend, Columbia University professor Daniel Richman, leaked classified information that Comey gave him. During this leaking period, Richman was apartment-building neighbors with a partner at the law firm that strategized with Fusion GPS operative Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian plant who set up Don Jr. in Trump Tower. “Yes, he is my neighbor,” Amy Wenzel, a partner at Cozen O’Connor, confirmed in a phone conversation with Big League Politics, confirming that they spoke. They live near each other in a Brooklyn high-rise.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not attend talks with Russia on Friday and said he does not expect a breakthrough in the negotiations over the war in Ukraine until Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet “face to face”, APA reports citing CNN. “We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow,” Rubio said in a press gaggle in Antalya, Turkey, but said he hoped to be proven wrong. Rubio said he would meet Friday with the Ukrainian foreign minister and a Ukrainian delegation and “someone from our team will be involved in the Russia...

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sacked Russia's chief of land forces, General Oleg Salyukov, the Kremlin said, in the latest removal of a high-profile military establishment figure amid the war in Ukraine. Salyukov, 70, will become a deputy to ex-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was removed last year and made Secretary of the Security Council. The move was announced in a Kremlin decree. Less than a week ago, Salyukov was running the grand Victory Day military parade in Red Square with current Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. Russian law enforcement has charged...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday the only way a breakthrough will happen in the efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine would be through direct talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after Moscow sent a second-tier team to talks in Turkey. Rubio, who spoke to reporters in Antalya, said he would travel to Istanbul for meetings on Friday with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Ukrainian delegation, but said he did not have high expectations for the talks. "I don't think we're going to have a breakthrough here until the president...

Ukraine’s president confirmed on Thursday that he has agreed to send the delegation to Istanbul for lower-level talks with Russia’s representatives, but he will not be present there himself. -snip- "Out of respect for President Trump, the high level of the Turkish delegation, and President Erdogan, and since we want to try to achieve at least the first steps toward de-escalation, an end to the war – namely a ceasefire – I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul," Zelensky said. Kyiv’s delegation will be led by Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Zelenskyy said, despite the fact that Umerov's...

From: john.podesta Subject: Peter Kadzik Willing to help. Fantastic lawyer. Kept me out of jail. I'm sure Christine knows him. Wants to help. Think he would be an excellent vet lead. [Followed by a phone number.]

TALLINN/ANTALYA, Turkey, May 15 (Reuters) - Estonia said on Thursday that Moscow had briefly sent a fighter jet into NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea during an attempt to stop a Russian-bound oil tanker thought to be part of a "shadow fleet" defying Western sanctions on Moscow. Russia, which regards sanctions as a malign attempt to crush its economy, says all its ships have free passage in the Baltic and any attempt to stop them is dangerous. Estonia's navy said the unflagged Jaguar ship, which went onto a UK sanctions list last week, refused to cooperate when asked to stop...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began high-level talks Thursday at Ankara's Presidential Complex, as Türkiye continues its diplomatic efforts to broker peace in the Russia-Ukraine war. Erdogan personally welcomed Zelenskyy at the entrance to the complex before the leaders moved to closed-door discussions, according to Turkish officials. High-level delegations join crucial discussions The meeting, which began after Zelenskyy arrived at Esenboga Airport at 12:14 p.m. local time, comes ahead of anticipated Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, though no date has been confirmed for those talks. Several key Turkish officials joined the bilateral discussions, including National Defense Minister Yasar...

Ignoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to meet for direct high-level talks in Turkey, Russian leader Vladimir Putin dispatched to Istanbul a team of junior officials, making it uncertain that negotiations between the warring nations would occur at all. The Russian team is set to be led by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky and deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin, the same men whom Putin dispatched to negotiate Ukraine’s surrender in the early days of the war. The last session of these talks occurred in Istanbul in March 2022, and the negotiations fell apart as Russia suffered a military defeat and withdrew...

United States President Donald Trump does not plan to attend the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks in Turkey later this week, CNN reported, citing two White House officials. This decision ends speculation that he might meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the negotiating table. Trump had considered adjusting his travel plans to include the talks, but ultimately decided to stick to his original schedule. Trump will visit Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday.

ISTANBUL—Diplomatic brinkmanship over U.S.-brokered efforts to efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine reached dizzying levels on Wednesday, with each side seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating a desire for peace and casting the other as the obstacle to it. Ukraine’s president said he would be waiting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Thursday for Vladimir Putin, but the Russian president is sending a team of negotiators to Istanbul, and the Kremlin won’t say if he will be there. President Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of joining any talks in Turkey, and senior U.S. officials are headed...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will not participate in the negotiations set to take place in Istanbul on May 15, APA reports citing Kommersant.ru. This contradicts an earlier report by The Washington Post, which claimed Lavrov would attend the talks alongside President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov. Meanwhile, U.S. President’s Special Representative Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Istanbul on May 16, accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. President Donald Trump recently stated that Putin’s visit to Türkiye would depend on his own travel plans to the country. It should be noted that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed...

Russia's supply of cheap oil is running out, another major blow for Vladimir Putin as he continues to grapple with a growing economic crisis. Businesses and consumers across the country are reeling under the effects of spiralling inflation and high interest rates. In April, the Central Bank confirmed it would keep the key interest rate at 21% for the foreseeable future, much to the bitter disappointment of the Kremlin and business leaders. Many firms are fighting to stay afloat, as they attempt to pay back bank loans originally secured during more favourable economic times. -snip- Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov...

The three Ukrainian nationals were arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of agreeing to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, German prosecutors said. They were apparently working for people associated with Russian state agencies. The alleged plan was for the men to send packages that would explode while being transported to Ukraine. According to the German news magazine Spiegel, the man had started to run tests for possible attacks by sending parcels with GPS trackers to Ukraine. The men are suspected of acting as secret agents for the purpose of sabotage, as well as...

President Donald Trump said he may travel to Turkey for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would show if he isn’t there. "I don’t know if he’s showing up," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I know he would like me to be there. And that's a possibility." -snip- The president noted that he has a "full day" scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday, and he’d planned on sending Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio. But, he added, "I don't know that [Putin] would be there...