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People watch a broadcast of Putin’s annual end-of-year press conference and phone-in, at an underground passage in Simferopol, Crimea. – Reuters Vladimir Putin said yesterday that the ball was in the court of the West and Kyiv in talks to end the war in Ukraine, while hailing Moscow’s recent battlefield gains and threatening more.“President (Donald) Trump is making serious efforts to end this conflict. He is doing so with complete sincerity,” he said. “The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents, primarily the leaders of the Kyiv regime, and in this case, first and foremost, their European sponsors. We are ready for both negotiations and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.” Putin spoke during his annual end-of-year press conference – a staple of his 25-year rule – in which he told Russians Moscow was intent on pressing on in Ukraine, striking a confident tone.The 73-year-old has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Moscow will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian by force if talks were to fail. Putin was speaking hours after European Union leaders set aside a plan to use frozen Russian assets as backing for a loan to Ukraine, deciding instead to borrow cash to help fund Kyiv’s defence against Russia for the next two years. The EU leaders said they reserved the right to use Russian assets to repay the loan if Moscow fails to pay war reparations to Ukraine.Putin said the bloc had backed away from the original scheme because it would have faced serious repercussions, and it had damaged its status as a safe place to store assets.“Theft is not the appropriate term… It’s daylight robbery. Why can’t this robbery be carried out? Because the consequences could be grave for the robbers,” he said. Putin also said he did not feel personally responsible for the tens of thousands of people killed since Moscow launched its 2022 offensive, which has become Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.“We did not start this war,” he said, repeating a frequent narrative pushed by Moscow throughout the conflict. “We do not consider ourselves responsible for the loss of life.” Putin ordered the all-out assault in Ukraine in February 2022, sending troops and tanks towards Kyiv in a bid to topple Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Listing a string of cities and towns in eastern Ukraine now eyed by the Russian army, the Kremlin chief said he was certain that Moscow will take more settlements before the end of the year. “Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” Putin said. “I’m sure that before the end of this year we will still witness new success.”The Russian army made its biggest advance in Ukraine in a year in November, AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War showed. In a message to the West, Putin said that Russia would not attack other countries – as long as it was treated “with respect” – without clarifying what he meant.The hours-long televised event – a mix of questions from the press and call-ins from Russia’s 12 time zones – is a fixture of the Russian political calendar, garnering frenzied media coverage in the weeks leading up to it. The Kremlin said almost 3mn people had sent questions to Putin and security was heavy in Moscow during the event.Putin mused on everything from geopolitics to regional development issues, pledging to intervene to fix the problems of citizens caught up in local bureaucracy.Speaking on the economy, Putin downplayed the costs of the war for Moscow. Russia has lived under massive Western sanctions for almost four years, while ramped up military spending had strained the public finances and price stability.He admitted that the purchasing power of Russian families have taken a hit, promising to “do everything possible to ensure that the Russian economy, the macroeconomy, is healthy and strong, and that the country’ economy has such a solid foundation”. Russia’s central bank said yesterday that it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to 16% amid slowing growth.Putin also claimed Russians were still lining up in droves to register to fight in Ukraine, with around 400,000 new sign-ups this year. In 2022, hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country as Putin had announced a mobilisation drive to prop up the Ukraine offensive.Criticism of the Ukraine offensive is banned in Russia under wartime censorship, and Moscow has punished thousands of its citizens for speaking out against it – either with fines or prison sentences in a crackdown unseen since Soviet times. However, Putin rejected the argument that voicing an alternative point of view to the Kremlin has become dangerous in Russia.“We have no repression,” he said.All of Putin’s political opponents are in exile, prison or dead. Source link
There is no longer famine in Gaza, a global hunger monitor said yesterday, after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following a fragile Oct 10 ceasefire in the war. The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification comes four months after it reported that 514,000 people — nearly a quarter of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip — were experiencing famine. The IPC warned yesterday that the situation in the enclave remained critical. “Under a worst-case scenario, which would include renewed hostilities and a halt in humanitarian and commercial inflows, the entire Gaza Strip (would be) at risk of famine through mid-April 2026. This underscores the severe and ongoing humanitarian crisis,” the IPC said in the report. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that while famine had been pushed back, the gains were “perilously” fragile. “Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” he told reporters yesterday, but he added: “Needs are growing faster than aid can get in.” Source link
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after the match Action Guardiola dismissed speculation over his future at the club, insisting contract talks are not on the agenda despite rumours he could leave at the end of the season, but added his side were not yet good enough to win the title. While Guardiola’s team, who host lowly West Ham United today, could overtake Arsenal for top spot in the Premier League this weekend, the Spaniard’s job status was the hot topic at his pre-game press conference.“I always get asked this question, so sooner or later I will quit Manchester City,” Guardiola told reporters. “I have 18 months, so I’m so happy with the development of the team. That question is there every single season at some point. Whatever is going to happen will happen. They are not discussions. End of the subject. I will not be here forever. What is going to happen will happen. The club must be prepared but that subject is not on the table right now.” Reports linked Enzo Maresca as a potential successor, although the Chelsea manager dismissed them earlier. When pressed again on whether he will be at City next season, an annoyed Guardiola said: “I answered that question two questions before. I am here. What’s going to happen, who knows? Even if I have 10-year contract or six months, football changes a lot. Now I am focusing on West Ham and then golf after a few days with my dad and that is all.” While second-placed City only trail leaders Arsenal by two points in the table, Guardiola does not believe his team are not yet at the standard needed to win the league title. We have results but a lot of things we have to do better. It helps for the fact that the mentality and commitment are incredible,” he said. “We are not at the level required to win the title.” City are unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions, and the emergence of midfielder Rayan Cherki, who joined the club in June for 34mn pounds ($45.44mn) from Lyon, is one of the reasons why.The 22-year-old rifled home from just outside the box in a 2-0 win over Brentford in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday and had fans roaring with his audacious rabona cross for Phil Foden’s goal against Sunderland earlier this month.Guardiola praised 22-year-old Nico Gonzalez for City’s recent run of form amid injuries to midfielders Rodri and Mateo Kovacic.City’s opponents today West Ham are 18th in the table. Source link
Every journey through Sri Lanka begins with a lesson in slowing down, whether you ask for it or not. The island doesn’t bend itself around your schedule. It waits. And if you’re paying attention, it gently teaches you how to wait back.I arrived carrying a kind of tired that doesn’t announce itself. The quiet kind. The one you only notice when a place finally gives you permission to put it down. The hills of Sri Lanka were where that happened first.High in the Central Highlands, surrounded by endless tea estates, sits Ceylon Tea Trails,one of Relais & Châteaux’s most iconic addresses. Not a hotel you simply arrive at, but a place that teaches you how to slow down before you’re allowed to go any further. Up here, time behaves differently. It stretches. It lingers. It doesn’t care how many emails you haven’t answered. Tea fields roll endlessly across the landscape, green layered on green, hypnotic enough to make you forget what urgency ever felt like. Ceylon Tea Trails is a recalibration. Five restored planter bungalows from another century sit scattered across the hills, each with its own mood, its own pace, its own relationship with silence. As a Relais & Châteaux property, it understands something fundamental: luxury isn’t about more. It’s about less, done properly.Mornings arrive wrapped in mist thick enough to blur certainty. You wake without alarms, without the urgency to be anywhere. Breakfast stretches longer than expected. Conversations happen in half-sentences and shared glances. And for once, no one is asking what’s next. (Which, I realised, is a surprisingly rare luxury.)The bungalows don’t feel restored; they feel remembered. Their charm isn’t in detail but in restraint. Nothing is trying to be new. And somehow, that makes everything feel timeless. Kayaking across Castlereagh Lake feels like floating through a thought you’ve been avoiding. The water is still, reflective, honest. Phones feel unnecessary here, heavy, even. Silence, on the other hand, feels generous.Then there is tea. Quite literally, yes, the one you drink. But also, if you’re here with friends, the other tea flows just as freely. Long lunches turn into confessions. Afternoons stretch into stories. The hills hear everything. They just don’t judge. Or repeat it. (Which already makes them better listeners than most people.) Watching leaves transform into warmth feels strangely familiar. There’s no drama in the process. Just time, care, and patience. It reminded me that some of the most meaningful things don’t announce themselves when they happen. They reveal their importance later, when you realise how differently you feel.Lunches stretch out overlooking valleys that don’t seem to end. Dinners glow softly by candlelight. And somewhere between a tea planter’s lunch and an unhurried evening, a truth lands gently, without ceremony:Rest isn’t laziness.Rest is remembering who you are without an audience.Ceylon Tea Trails doesn’t change you loudly. It changes you quietly, the way all lasting things do. And once you’ve learned how to be still here, Sri Lanka feels ready to show you a wilder side of itself. Source link
Protesters block the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka yesterday following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Protesters rallied across Bangladesh yesterday for a second straight day calling for the arrest of the gunmen who shot and killed a key figure in last year’s pro-democracy uprising.As news spread that 32-year-old student leader Sharif Osman Hadi died in hospital in Singapore on Thursday, crowds took to the streets in an outpouring of mourning and anger.Several buildings were vandalised including the offices of media outlets deemed to favour India – an old ally of Bangladesh’s ousted leadership. Hadi, a staunch critic of India, was shot by masked gunmen while leaving a mosque in the capital Dhaka last week. He was initially wounded and flown to Singapore for treatment, but eventually succumbed to his wounds. UN rights chief Volker Turk yesterday called for a “prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent” investigation.In Dhaka, protester Sajid Al Adeeb said “people have gathered here demanding the swift arrest of those who killed Hadi.” The 20-year-old student said the killers were “currently in India” – a claim which New Delhi has not commented on.“I urge the government to take immediate and appropriate steps to arrest those responsible,” he added. “Above all, I want Hadi’s ideals to live on.” Protests were also held in the cities of Gazipur, Sylhet and Chattogram yesterday.Hadi’s remains were brought to Dhaka yesterday evening ahead of a funeral planned for today. The customary funeral prayer will be performed today in front of the parliament building, the government said.Hadi’s body will then be placed at the central mosque of Dhaka University to allow people to pay their last respects before his burial there. Amir Hossain, Hadi’s brother-in-law, said the family wanted justice. “We don’t need anything except justice. The perpetrators must be punished,” Hossain said.The UN’s Turk said in a statement that “he was deeply troubled” by Hadi’s killing. “Retaliation and revenge will only deepen divisions and undermine the rights of all,” he said.“I urge the authorities to conduct a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the attack that led to Hadi’s death, and to ensure due process and accountability for those responsible.”Ahead of the funeral, security has been beefed up in the capital with strict restriction on flying drones around the parliament building.The US embassy in Dhaka urged its citizens to remain vigilant and “remember that gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence”. Source link
This picture taken in March shows Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway through a window in a door during her visit to the Ulleval Hospital in Oslo.…
Displaced Palestinian child Yasser Arafat, 5, who, according to medics, suffers from severe acute malnutrition with nutritional edema, sits in front of his family’s tent at…
Flamengo’s Leo Pereira has his penalty saved by PSG’s Matvey Safonov during a penalty shootout in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium…
Birla Public School (BPS) celebrated ‘French Fiesta’ with a special assembly by the students of Grade I-II with the theme, ‘Discover French culture and language’.The event highlighted the significance of the French language through a video, and a range of performances designed to reflect France’s rich heritage and culture. The special assembly commenced with the school prayer, the school’s vision, mission, objectives, Arabic word of the day, ‘Discover India’, and a motivational thought. Students showcased their talents through speeches, a short skit, group dance, and group song, all emphasising the beauty of the French language and the richness of French culture. Principal Anand R Nair and headmistress Josephine Fernandes in their addresses emphasised the importance of preserving and promoting culture and language in daily life. The efforts of the students were appreciated and they were motivated to uphold theircultural pride. Source link
Tourists will have to pay a €2 entrance fee to get close to Rome’s Trevi Fountain, which draws crowds daily, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said yesterday. The monument, located in a public square, will still be able to be viewed from a distance for free, but closer access will be only for ticket holders, Gualtieri told a press conference. “From February 1 we are introducing a paid ticket for six sites” in the Italian capital, including the Trevi Fountain, he said.Entrance to the other five sites will cost €5. The backdrop to the most famous scene in Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita, when actress Anita Ekberg takes a dip, the 18th-century fountain is top of the list for many visitors exploring the Eternal City.Making a wish and tossing a coin into the water is such a tradition that authorities collect thousands of euros a week that are then given to the Caritas charity. As a result of the fountain’s fame, the crowds in the square surrounding the Baroque masterpiece are often so deep that it is hard to get a proper look.Between January 1 and December 8 some 9mn tourists have visited the area just in front of the fountain – an average of 30,000 people a day, Gualtieri said.Rome residents will be allowed free access.City hall estimates the ticket for access to the Trevi Fountain could bring in €6.5mn euros a year, he said. Source link