Ukraine's European allies say peace talks must include Kyiv
European allies have rallied behind Ukraine in a renewed surge of support, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include Kyiv, BBC reported.
"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," said a joint statement issued by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission.
Their statement came after US President Donald Trump announced he would meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday in a renewed effort to end the war, according to BBC.
Concerned that Ukraine will not be invited to its own peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreements without Kyiv would amount to "dead decisions".
Haiti declares a 3-month state of emergency as gangs ravage country’s central region
Haiti’s government announced Saturday that it is implementing a three-month state of emergency in the country’s central region as gang violence surges, Associated Press reported.
The measure will cover Haiti’s West, Artibonite and Center departments “to continue the fight against insecurity and respond to the agricultural and food crisis,” according to a government statement.
The region — known as Haiti’s rice basket — has been under attack in recent years, with gangs killing farmers or forcing them to abandon their fields as they raze nearby communities, according to Associated Press.
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu’s new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages, Reuters reported.
A day earlier, the prime minister’s office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages.
"This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war, according to Reuters.
Iran threatens planned Trump corridor envisaged by Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal
Iran threatened on Saturday to block a corridor planned in the Caucasus under a regional deal sponsored by U.S. President Donald Trump, Iranian media reported, raising a new question mark over a peace plan hailed as a strategically important shift, Reuters reported.
A top Azerbaijani diplomat said earlier that the plan, announced by Trump on Friday, was just one step from a final peace deal between his country and Armenia, which reiterated its support for the plan.
The proposed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) would run across southern Armenia, giving Azerbaijan a direct route to its exclave of Nakhchivan and in turn to Turkey, according to Reuters.
