Trump says Putin talks 'don't go anywhere' as he imposes new sanctions
The US has announced new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies - Rosneft and Lukoil - in an effort to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine, BBC reported.
"Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere. They just don't go anywhere," President Donald Trump said, after a meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss peace negotiations.
The sanctions announcement came one day after Trump said a meeting planned with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be shelved indefinitely, according to BBC.
Ukraine hits Russian chemical plant with UK-made Storm Shadow missiles
Ukraine has hit a Russian chemical plant with UK-made Storm Shadow missiles, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday, BBC reported.
Calling the strike "a successful hit" that penetrated the Russian air defence system, Ukraine's general staff of the armed forces said they were still assessing the outcome of the "massive combined missile and air strike".
The Kremlin has been warning the West not to give Ukraine weapons capable of long-range attacks, but Kyiv says it's imperative to target Russian facilities that play a key role in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
"The Bryansk Chemical Plant is a key facility of the aggressor state's military-industrial complex", the Ukrainian military said in an X post on Tuesday, according to BBC.
Australian PM defends ambassador to US after Trump run-in
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has strongly defended his ambassador to the US after Donald Trump said he did not like the diplomat during a meeting at the White House, BBC reported.
On Monday, Trump was asked about Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister turned ambassador to the US, who wrote several now-deleted tweets critical of the US president years before his Washington posting.
Rudd owned up to the tweets, prompting the US leader to say "I don't like you either" and causing the room to erupt in laughter.
The high-stakes meeting with Trump was Albanese's first, and the prime minister later dismissed the comments as "banter" amid calls to sack Rudd, according to BBC.
Stolen Louvre jewellery worth €88m, prosecutor says
Jewellery stolen from the Louvre in Paris in a daring daylight robbery has been valued at 88 million euros (£76m; $102m), a French public prosecutor has said, citing the museum's curator, BBC reported.
Laure Beccuau told RTL radio the sum was "extraordinary" but said the greater loss was to France's historical heritage. Crown jewels and pieces gifted by two Napoleons to their wives were among the items taken.
Thieves wielding power tools took less than eight minutes to make off with the loot shortly after the world's most-visited museum opened on Sunday morning, according to BBC.



