Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, chaired a virtual meeting of European leaders and other allies of Ukraine. Sir Keir accused Russia of “dithering and delay” over Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal and stated that Ukraine must be able to “deter future Russian aggression”. He said that a “coalition of the willing” would send officials from their armed forces to London on Thursday to discuss operational details of how to secure an eventual peace deal.
Earlier, Mr Trump had called talks between Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff, America’s envoy to the Middle East, “good and productive”. Mr Witkoff met Russia’s president in Moscow on Thursday to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine. Mr Putin later issued a long list of conditions for Russia to agree to the 30-day truce.
American and Iraqi forces killed an Islamic State commander in an air strike in western Iraq. Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, known as Abu Khadijah, led the terrorist organisation’s most senior decision-making group, according to America’s Central Command. He was also responsible for much of the organisation’s global finances. Another member of IS was also killed in the strike.
Tens of thousands protested in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital. Clashes broke out between protesters, riot police and supporters of Aleksandar Vucic, the country’s president. Anti-corruption protests began in Serbia last year after the collapse of a railway-station roof in Novi Sad, the country’s second-largest city, killing 15 people. Mr Vucic has defied the protesters, saying: “You will have to kill me if you want to replace me.”
America declared South Africa’s ambassador in Washington to be persona non grata, in effect expelling him. Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state, accused Ebrahim Rasool of “race baiting” and hating Donald Trump and America. Mr Rasool recently attributed MAGA’s popularity to the prospect of whites becoming a minority in America, and criticised Elon Musk’s support for hard-right parties in Europe.
The Al-Khair Foundation, a charity based in Turkey and Britain, said that eight people—its workers and journalists covering their activities—were killed in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza. Israel said it had targeted terrorists posing a threat to its soldiers. Hamas called the incident a “blatant violation” of its ceasefire with Israel. Its talks with America on extending the ceasefire have not reached agreement.
Fitch maintained France’s credit rating as AA- and affirmed a negative outlook for the country’s public finances. The ratings agency also forecast that France’s sovereign debt would grow to more than 120% of GDP by the end of 2028. Fitch lowered France’s credit rating from AA in 2023 when political opposition stymied the government’s efforts to reduce the country’s deficit.
Word of the week: Fulul, a term used by Syrians to refer to the remnants of the Assad regime. Read the full story.
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