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The Kremlin said Wednesday that its army's recent battlefield successes in Ukraine had bolstered its position in talks to end the fighting, as both Moscow and Kyiv prepared for more negotiations with the United States.US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner negotiated into the early hours with Vladimir Putin but no breakthrough for a peace settlement was announced.The Kremlin said the two sides had failed to find a "compromise" on the crucial issue of territories and that Ukraine's participation in Nato remained a "key" question in the talks.The White House had previously voiced optimism about its plan to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II but that hope appeared to fade Wednesday, with Moscow saying it had found parts of the plan "unacceptable".Witkoff and Kushner brought an updated version of a US plan to end the war.Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine gathered pace last month and Putin has said in recent days that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the rest of the land it claims if Kyiv does not surrender it."The progress and nature of the negotiations were influenced by the successes of the Russian army on the battlefield in recent weeks," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov — who took part in the US-Russia talks — told reporters, including AFP."Our Russian soldiers, through their military exploits, have helped make the assessments of our foreign partners regarding the paths to a peace settlement more appropriate," he added.Moscow insisted it was incorrect to say Putin rejected the plan in its entirety.It also said Russia was still committed to diplomacy, despite Putin's stark warning that Moscow was prepared to fight Europe if it wanted war."We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.The fresh talks come as Nato pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of US arms for Kyiv.Nato chief Mark Rutte said it was positive that peace talks were ongoing but that the alliance should make sure that "Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going".Russian troops have been grinding forward across the front line against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.Earlier this week, Moscow claimed to have captured the important stronghold of Pokrovsk but a Ukraine army unit fighting in the city said urban combat was still ongoing."The enemy is bogged down in urban combat for Pokrovsk and currently cannot seize the city using weapons," the 7th Air Assault Corps said. According to Ukrainian online map project DeepState, most of the city is occupied by the Russians.European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow will reach agreements without them and have spent the last weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.In Moscow, tensions with Europe were palpable, with Putin delivering an exceptionally hawkish statement on Tuesday."We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now," he said.Britain has downplayed Putin's hawkish messaging, calling it "yet more Kremlin claptrap from a president who isn't serious about peace".Moscow went to war in Ukraine in February 2022, saying it wanted to prevent Kyiv joining Nato — a prospect that Ukraine and the Western alliance have called a pretext to start the fighting and that they say was not going to happen.Since the full-scale offensive, Kyiv has said that joining the Western alliance would protect it from future Russian attacks.Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukrainian membership in the bloc.Ushakov said the issue was "key" at the talks.Zelensky's top negotiator Rustem Umerov held a lengthy meeting with European security advisors on Wednesday as the Kyiv team was expected to meet Trump's envoys later."I gave my colleagues a detailed update on the negotiations in Geneva and Florida, and on the next steps in the diplomatic process," Umerov said."It's important that Europe stays an active part of this," he added.Zelensky has said that any peace deal for the conflict should make sure Moscow will not attack again.Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, which has killed thousands, has also been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent at home unseen since the Soviet era. 

This month’s G20 Summit in Johannesburg marked several historic firsts. For starters, it was the group’s first-ever summit in Africa, and the first to include the African Union as a full-fledged member. It also set less encouraging precedents: it was the first meeting boycotted by a key founding member – the United States – on spurious grounds, and the first in which that same country tried to prevent the host from issuing a final declaration. Equally unprecedented was South Africa’s decision to ignore the American threat and issue one anyway.As G20 president, South Africa invited delegations from Africa and other parts of the world to participate as guests, underscoring the continued importance of multilateral dialogue and cooperation. Building on the momentum generated by last year’s summit in Brazil, the group also expanded its agenda to include issues of particular relevance to Africa and the broader developing world.South Africa’s inclusive approach paved the way for another landmark moment: for the first time, G20 leaders formally addressed the issue of global inequality. The impetus was the recent report by the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality. Chaired by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, the committee (of which I was a member) synthesized a large body of research and drew on consultations with 80 prominent scholars to present a comprehensive picture of economic disparities worldwide.The conclusions are hardly reassuring: although global inequality has declined since the early 2000s, this is largely due to rising incomes in China. For the world as a whole, inequality remains stubbornly high and has begun to rise again. While inequality between countries has fallen, the gulf between the richest and poorest countries remains unacceptably wide. Nine out of ten people now live in countries with high inequality – even by the World Bank’s relatively conservative standards.The distribution of income within countries is equally distorted. Wage shares of national income have declined in most economies over the past few decades, while capital income has become increasingly concentrated. Large firms now account for the bulk of corporate profits, with multinational corporations taking the lion’s share.These developments reflect a broader trend: the concentration of income and wealth at the very top. Of the two, wealth is far more unequally distributed, as its explosive growth in recent decades has been overwhelmingly skewed toward those who were already rich. More than 40% of the wealth generated since the start of the century has gone to the wealthiest 1%, while the bottom half of the world’s population received just 1%.Even within the top 1%, the gains have been largely captured by the ultra-wealthy – arguably the most extreme concentration of wealth in human history. The result is a class of global plutocrats whose unprecedented resources enable them to shape laws, institutions, and policies; influence public opinion through their control of media; and tilt judicial systems in their favor.The threat that this oligarchic class poses to democratic governance is compounded by the growing insecurity and frustration among workers whose livelihoods have become increasingly precarious, owing to job insecurity, stagnant wages, and weakened social protections. These pressures have already fueled political polarisation, the scapegoating of migrants and minority groups, and the deepening of gender-based inequalities.Contrary to neoliberal economists’ claims, high inequality does not spur economic growth; it suppresses it. As mass consumption declines, so do the benefits of economies of scale. When inherited wealth is privileged over earned income, incentives to innovate shrink. And since the consumption and investment patterns of the ultra-wealthy are vastly more carbon-intensive and resource-depleting, extreme inequality also undermines environmental sustainability and climate action.As we argue in our report, inequality has become an emergency that must be treated with the same urgency as climate change. Like the climate crisis, the inequality crisis can be partly attributed to the legacy of colonialism, as well as long-standing sociocultural structures. But above all, it reflects the legal, institutional, regulatory, and policy choices that have allowed a few to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.There is no shortage of examples. Financial liberalisation and repeated government bailouts have protected wealth at the top. Stringent intellectual-property regimes have created monopolies over knowledge. The privatisation of essential public goods and services has further entrenched disparities. And outdated tax systems have enabled large multinational firms and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share.Taken together, these policies have dramatically shifted the balance between public and private wealth. As governments privatised assets and accumulated debt – often to subsidise or guarantee private capital – public balance sheets deteriorated while private fortunes soared.The good news is that since these trends are the product of political choices, they can be reversed. But doing so requires a clearer understanding of the problem. Despite the explosion of research and the emergence of promising analytical methods, major blind spots remain, making it harder to design effective policies that curb inequality.That is the central message of our report. While it includes many policy recommendations, its most urgent and practical proposal is the creation of an international panel of experts on inequality. This small, independent body would monitor inequality across multiple areas, consolidate and evaluate data, develop robust metrics, coordinate research, identify underlying causes, and assess the effectiveness of government policies.Loosely modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the proposed panel would rely on voluntary contributions from researchers around the world and serve as an authoritative, accessible source of information for governments and the public. Such knowledge would support policymakers genuinely seeking to reduce inequality. Perhaps more importantly, it would empower citizens to demand the policy changes and reforms needed to build just and equitable societies. — Project Syndicate Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is a member of the Club of Rome’s Transformational Economics Commission and Co-Chair of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation. 

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the outlines of a draft peace plan discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future deals to end the war in Ukraine, but that if not Russia would fight on.Diplomatic efforts to defuse Europe's deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War Two have been stepped up in recent weeks, with various peace plans emerging from different sides, including the United States and Europe."In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements," Putin told a news conference in Kyrgyzstan, adding that the variant of the plan discussed by Washington and Kyiv in Geneva had been passed to Moscow.US and Ukrainian negotiators held talks on the latest US-backed peace plan in Geneva on Sunday.Putin said the United States was taking into account Russia's position, but that some things still needed to be discussed. If Europe wanted a pledge from Russia not to attack it, then Russia was willing to give such a pledge, he said.Russia, Putin noted, was being told that it should cease the fighting but needed Kyiv's forces to pull back before it could do so."Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease. If they don't leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That's it," Putin said.Russian forces were advancing in Ukraine at a faster pace now, he added.With another winter approaching in the nearly four-year war, Russian forces control almost one-fifth of Ukraine — in its east and south — and are pushing forward while bombarding Ukrainian energy infrastructure.Putin said he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Kyiv.It was therefore important, he said, to ensure that any agreement was recognised by the international community — and that the international community recognised Russian gains in Ukraine."Therefore, broadly speaking, of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine. But right now, this is practically impossible. Impossible legally," Putin said.He said that the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine and annexed in 2014, and Ukraine's eastern Donbas region should be a topic for discussions with Washington.Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to visit Moscow next week.Commenting on the leak of a recording of a call between top advisers to Trump and Putin, the Kremlin chief rejected the suggestion that Witkoff had shown himself to be biased towards Moscow in peace talks over Ukraine, describing it as nonsense.Bloomberg News published the transcript of an October 14 telephone call in which Witkoff advised Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov on how to pitch a Ukraine peace plan to Trump. 

The United States will share a draft resolution on President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza with the 10 elected members of the United Nations Security Council, a US official said. Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas agreed a month ago to the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza: a ceasefire in their two-year war and hostage-release deal.The United States has drafted a UN Security Council resolution that would approve a two-year mandate for a Gaza transitional governance body and an international stabilization force in the Palestinian enclave, according to the text seen by Reuters.A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the US, Britain or France to be adopted.It was not immediately clear if the US has yet shared a copy of the draft resolution with Russia and China. The two-page text seen by Reuters would authorize a Board of Peace transitional governance administration to establish a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza that could "use all necessary measures" - code for force - to carry out its mandate.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani affirmed on Tuesday that Iraq’s relationship with the United States must be founded on partnership rather than unilateral decisions.He stated that a small unit of US military advisers will remain at Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq to monitor the Syrian border, noting that the ISIS organization no longer poses a major threat inside Iraq, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).Estimates from the Ministry of Defense indicate that between 400 and 500 ISIS members remain in isolated areas along the Syrian border and in the country’s northeast, he added.The Prime Minister further stressed that the region will remain unstable without a just solution to the Palestinian issue, warning that events will continue to recur. He also expressed his support for US President Donald Trump’s plan regarding Gaza.Al-Sudani highlighted that Iraq has made significant progress in reforming its financial system, in addition to strengthening security cooperation with the new authorities in Damascus in areas of counterterrorism and drug control.

His Excellency Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States inaugurated the new building of the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., in a ceremony attended by a number of members of the US administration and Congress, prominent political, economic, and social figures, policy advisors, think tank representatives, and members of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps.In his address during the ceremony, His Excellency affirmed that the opening of the new embassy building is a clear reflection of the strong and enduring relations between the State of Qatar and the United States of America.He expressed hope that the new mission premises would serve as a new milestone in the ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all fields.His Excellency reiterated Qatar's continued commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, cultural, and educational spheres, noting that the new embassy building serves as a platform for promoting engagement and mutual understanding.He emphasized the importance of the ongoing and steadfast coordination between the State of Qatar and the United States in establishing stability and peace, and in achieving prosperity and well-being for the peoples of the region through cooperation based on the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the sovereignty of states.Held in partnership with Qatar Foundation, the Qatari Ministry of Defense, Qatar Airways, and Formula One, the ceremony featured a musical performance by Qatari composer and artist Dana Al Fardan, whose work skillfully reflected Qatari culture and folk heritage.The new embassy building is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., occupying the historic administrative building of the Carnegie Institution for Science.Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, the building is considered one of the most significant architectural landmarks in the city.The facility includes dedicated spaces for diplomatic engagement, cultural and educational programs, consular services, and community outreach, enhancing the embassy's mission to deepen ties between the peoples of both nations and to promote cooperation in trade, security, education, and cultural exchange.

Max Verstappen maintained the pressure on McLaren and cut another chunk out of Oscar Piastri's lead in this year's world championship on Sunday when he cruised to a commanding triumph at the United States Grand Prix.In sizzling conditions, Red Bull's four-time world champion led from pole position to chequered flag to come home 7.959 seconds clear of title-chasing Lando Norris, of McLaren, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finishing third, 4.041 adrift.Australian championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren finished fifth.It was Verstappen's fourth win in Texas and seventh on American soil, his fifth this year and the 68th of his career.It was also, for Verstappen, the fourth race in succession in which he had out-qualified and out-raced both McLarens.Verstappen has reduced Piastri's 104 point advantage over him to 40 with five races remaining.Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth in the second Ferrari ahead of Piastri and Mercedes's George Russell.Verstappen said: "It's been an unbelievable weekend for us. I knew it wouldn't be straightforward and the pace between us was close. But my first stint did it for me."Now we have a chance to be there (in the title race) and we just have to keep delivering like that in all the weekends to the end of the season and see what happens. It's exciting. We just need to keep up the momentum."Norris was relieved to snatch second place after spending most of the race pushing to overtake Leclerc."It took me long enough! It was a good battle with Charles, he fought hard. It was tough... But I'm happy to take second."Verstappen now has 306 points in the title race in third place leaving Piastri on top with 346 points and Norris on 332. McLaren have already won the constructors' title for the second consecutive year.The 28-year-old Dutchman has now collected 119 points from a possible 135 over the last five Grand Prix weekends.Norris passes Leclerc, twiceOn another day of searing heat in Texas, with temperatures of 30C -- and 44C on the track -- making it a 'heat hazard' race, Verstappen made a clean start to lead up the hill into the opening sequence of turns with Leclerc, the only top ten driver on softs, passing Norris for second.Hamilton and Piastri also advanced to fourth and fifth after a poor start from Russell, all of them on mediums as Norris and Hamilton chased Leclerc in the opening laps. That battle gave Verstappen a clear run and he was three seconds ahead by lap four.Having won Saturday's sprint to trim Piastri's championship advantage to 55 points, the Dutchman was revelling in his form and the role of hunter as McLaren's supremacy evaporated.By lap 10, Verstappen led Leclerc by 3.3 seconds with Norris third, 1.4 adrift and Hamilton fourth, 1.9 behind him. Piastri was fifth, 3.2 seconds back.For McLaren, it was shaping up as a nightmare for team boss Zak Brown who feared "that Max guy getting in the middle of our fun".Leclerc's softs were failing by lap 15 and Norris attacked, but the Monegasque defended and a frustrated Norris collected three warnings for exceeding track limits before he passed him on lap 21.But after a flurry of pit-stops, Verstappen emerged six seconds clear of Leclerc with Norris, back down in third again.What seemed to be a pedestrian contest came to life in the final six laps when Norris attacked Leclerc, who was struggling on his worn mediums, and, after several attempts, dived past him at Turn One on lap 52.That helped Norris trim Piastri's championship lead to just 14 points.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Slovakia's agreement with the United States to build an additional nuclear reactor in Slovakia. Fico revealed the multi-billion dollar deal during a speech at an annual nuclear conference in the Slovak capital. He said that the new reactor will be built at the existing nuclear plant in Jaslovske Bohunice in western Slovakia, which will have an output exceeding 1,000 megawatts and will be fully state-owned. It is not yet clear when the two governments will sign the agreement, as Fico did not disclose further details. However, his government had approved a plan last year to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear reactor at the site, which currently houses two nuclear reactors owned by the Slovak electric utility company (Slovenske Elektrarne). The project is estimated to cost up to 15 billion euros. The government initially planned to find a company to build the new reactor through a public tender, but recently announced it was negotiating a direct deal with the US company Westinghouse. Slovakia relies heavily on nuclear energy and currently generates more than 80% of its electricity from two nuclear plants.

US President Donald Trump said today that ongoing negotiations between the United States and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to end the war in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of prisoners are making rapid progress. In a statement posted on his social media platforms, Trump said the talks have been very successful and proceeding quickly, adding that technical teams are expected to meet again in Egypt later today to finalize the details of the agreement. He noted that the first phase of the agreement is scheduled to begin this week, urging all parties to move swiftly to end the suffering and achieve peace. The US President said the agreement his administration is seeking to conclude between Israel and Hamas represents a great deal for Israel, welcoming Hamas's response, which included its acceptance of several key provisions of the 20-point US proposal. The plan includes a cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Trump stressed that his plan aims to end the conflict and restore stability to the region. However, he warned that he would completely eliminate Hamas if it refuses to relinquish power and hand over control of the Gaza Strip, as stipulated in the agreement. This development comes amid intensified regional and international diplomatic efforts, led by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, to reach a comprehensive agreement that would end the ongoing war in Gaza, pave the way for reconstruction, and establish lasting humanitarian and political stability in the Strip.

Jordanian Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, currently visiting the United States, met with US State Department Under Secretary for Foreign Assistance and Humanitarian Affairs Jeremy Lewin.During the meeting, they discussed efforts to restore comprehensive calm and achieve peace in the region, as well as the importance of supporting Syria and Lebanon's efforts to preserve their stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani met Saturday with Commander of the United States Central Command, Admiral Charles Bradford Cooper, who is visiting the country.During the meeting, they discussed the close strategic relations between Qatar and the United States of America and ways to support and strengthen them, particularly in the areas of military and defence cooperation, in addition to a number of topics of common interest.