(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukraine’s diplomatic situation was upended during the past week, as its main ally, the United States, reversed several positions.
US President Donald Trump announced on February 12 that he was beginning direct talks with Russia to end the war, overturning his predecessor’s promise that there would be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
On the same day, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Russian diplomatic language invoking “realism”, when he told Ukraine Defence Contact Group partners...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump has said he will “probably” meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this month while launching a broadside effectively accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being to blame for Moscow’s invasion.
Addressing reporters after US and Russian officials met for their first round of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump dismissed complaints that Kyiv had been denied a seat at negotiations to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I...
(BBC News) Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both his lungs and his condition remains "complex", the Vatican says.
The 88-year-old has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.
"The follow-up chest CT scan which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy," the Vatican said.
It said lab tests, a chest X-ray and the...
(BBC News) The US State Department has dropped a statement from its website which stated that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence – a move which has sparked anger in China.
China said the revision "sends a wrong... signal to separatist forces advocating for Taiwan independence," and asked the US to "correct its mistakes".
The department's fact sheet on Taiwan-US relations earlier included the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence" – this was removed last week...
(BBC News) Sir Keir Starmer says "there must be a US backstop" for a lasting peace agreement in Ukraine, after European leaders met in Paris for an emergency summit on Ukraine.
The UK prime minister says "this is a once in a generation moment for the collective security of Europe."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Europe and the US must work together on security, and Polish PM Donald Tusk says there should be no decisions about Ukraine...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Hamas released three more Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip in the sixth such exchange following days of tense negotiations that threatened to undo the precarious ceasefire.
In return, Israel began returning 369 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails on Saturday, most without any charges or convictions. It is the largest number of Palestinians to be freed since the beginning of the truce.
Footage showed a busload of Palestinian prisoners from Ofer Prison arriving in Ramallah...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) As United States President Donald Trump barrels forward with tariff threats against key trading partners Canada and Mexico, a renegotiation of the three countries’ trade agreement could be in the offing.
In his first term as president, Trump pushed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement with the current United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
Under Trump’s leadership, the US added a clause, Article 34.7, which requires a joint review of the...
(BBC News) Pope Francis will be admitted to hospital in Rome to undergo treatment and tests for bronchitis, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old will arrive at the Gemelli hospital after his morning audiences on Friday, a short statement said.
The Pope has had bronchitis symptoms for several days and has delegated officials to read his prepared speeches at recent events.
"This morning, after his audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) As the mother of an 18-month-old daughter, Laila Lubis is busy experiencing the challenges and joys of new motherhood.
Though her daughter only recently uttered her first words, Lubis is already thinking about how the internet and social media could shape her development long into the future.
“I will never give a mobile phone to my child,” Lubis, who works as a humanitarian worker in Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra, told Al Jazeera.
“I will not allow...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) US President Donald Trump says Russia’s Vladimir Putin has agreed in a phone call to begin negotiations to bring the war in Ukraine to a “successful conclusion”.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth tells NATO leaders in Brussels that ending the war is a top priority for Trump but adds that a return to Ukraine’s 2014 borders is “an unrealistic objective”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/2/12/donald-trump-live-news-pentagon-chief-hegseth-heads-to-nato
