International
Trump says he will meet with Putin “very soon” to end the war in Ukraine
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Sunday that he could meet “very soon” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine.
In statements to the press in West Palm Beach (Florida), Trump assured that his government is working “very hard” to achieve “peace” between Russia and Ukraine, and stressed that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the negotiations.
His words come at a time when delegations from Russia and the United States are preparing to hold talks about the end of the conflict in Saudi Arabia, where an eventual summit between Trump and Putin could also be held.
Trump told the press that, although there is no set date for his summit with Putin, it could be “very soon.”
Asked about the possibility of the meeting with Putin taking place this month, Trump replied: “It will be soon. We’ll see what happens” and suggested that the summit will depend on the outcome of the talks in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russian diplomatic teams.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian delegation led by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is already in Saudi Arabia, although it is not clear whether it will participate in the negotiations.
Trump revealed that this Sunday he spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who is part of the US delegation in negotiations with Russia, and assured that the peace process “is progressing” and that his team is “working very hard on it.”
Asked if Zelenski will participate in the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, Trump replied: “Yes, he will be involved.”
In addition, he maintained that both Putin and the Ukrainian president want to end the war.
The president said he has a “good idea” of what Putin is looking for because, as he revealed, the US special envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, one of his closest advisers, met with the Russian leader in Moscow recently for “three hours” as part of negotiations for a prisoner exchange.
“I think he wants to stop fighting. Russia has a large and powerful war machine. We must remember that they defeated Hitler and Napoleon, they have been fighting for a long time, they have done it before, but I think now he would like to stop the war,” Trump said.
On February 12, Trump spoke by phone with Putin in what was the first public contact between the US and Russian leaders since February 2022, when the Russian leader contacted then-President Joe Biden before the invasion of Ukraine.
After that call, Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with Putin to “immediately” start negotiations with the aim of ending the war and said he could meet with the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he was prepared to move British troops to Ukraine with the aim of contributing to security guarantees in the Eastern European country.
“The United Kingdom is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes greater support for the Ukrainian army (…) but it also means being willing to contribute to the guarantees by sending our own troops to the field if necessary,” the Labor leader said in an exclusive article in ‘The Telegraph’.
This is the first time that the British prime minister explicitly says that he is considering sending British peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, in statements that occur before attending the informal meeting with European leaders that will take place this Monday in Paris.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
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Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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