World
Zelenskiy says he won’t sign weak deal that will only prolong war
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his New Year address to the nation, said late on Wednesday that Ukraine wanted the war to end, but not at any cost, adding he would not sign a “weak” peace agreement that would only prolong the war.
Seated in his office, with a festive tree in the background, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians were exhausted from nearly four years of war — longer than the German World War Two occupation of many Ukrainian cities. But they were not prepared to give up, Reuters reported.
“What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine,” Zelenskiy, wearing a dark green embroidered Ukrainian shirt, said in the 21-minute address issued just before midnight.
“Are we tired? Very. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken.”
Zelenskiy said any signature “placed on weak agreements only fuel the war.”
“My signature will be placed on a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every phone call, every decision is about now,” he said. “To secure a strong peace for everyone, not for a day, a week or two months, but peace for years.”
Zelenskiy said weeks of U.S.-led diplomacy, including his talks last weekend with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, had produced a peace deal that was nearly ready.
“A peace agreement is 90% ready, 10% remains,” he said. “That 10% contains everything, it is the 10% that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe and how people will live.”
The main stumbling block to completing a deal is the issue of who will control what parts of Ukraine’s territory.
Russia holds about 19% of Ukraine’s territory in the south and east, but Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from parts of the eastern Donbas region that Moscow’s forces have failed to capture.
Kyiv wants the map frozen at the current battle lines, and Zelenskiy dismissed as “deception” Russian demands for a complete withdrawal from Donbas.
“Does anyone still believe them? Unfortunately, yes,” he said. “Because too often the truth is avoided and called diplomacy when in fact it is simply lies dressed up in business suits.”
World
Netanyahu says US deal with Iran must dismantle nuclear infrastructure
Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal but it must include enriched material leaving Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told U.S. President Donald Trump last week that any U.S. deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process, Reuters reported.
Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to “complete the job” of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km (93 miles) of an estimated 500 km.
A second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran are slated for this week. Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday.
Netanyahu said he is sceptical of a deal but it must include enriched material leaving Iran. “There shall be no enrichment capability – not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said.
Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation. The U.S. has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.
Netanyahu also said that he aimed to end U.S. military aid to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year deal of receiving $3.8 billion a year – which is largely spent in the United States on equipment – ends in 2028.
Due to a thriving economy, “we can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid that we’re receiving, and I propose a 10-year draw down to zero. Now, in the three years that remain in the present memorandum of understanding and another seven years draw it down to zero,” Netanyahu said.
“We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership,” he said.
World
Courts rule thousands of ICE detentions unlawful under Trump crackdown
Despite the rulings, ICE has continued holding people for prolonged periods, sometimes even after judges ordered their release.
U.S. federal judges have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully detained immigrants under the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement, according to a review of court records by Reuters.
The rulings represent a broad legal rebuke of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Courts have repeatedly found that the administration abandoned a decades-old interpretation of federal law that allowed many immigrants already living in the U.S. to seek release on bond while their cases proceed.
Despite the rulings, ICE has continued holding people for prolonged periods, sometimes even after judges ordered their release.
Detention levels have surged to about 68,000 people, a roughly 75 percent increase from when Trump returned to office. The White House says it is acting within the law to fulfill the president’s mandate on immigration enforcement.
While a conservative federal appeals court in New Orleans recently sided with the administration in one case, most lower courts have rejected its position. In at least 4,421 cases, more than 400 federal judges ruled that ICE violated the law by denying detainees bond hearings or holding them without proper authority.
With limited alternatives, detained immigrants have filed over 20,200 lawsuits since Trump took office, seeking release from what they argue is unlawful detention. Judges in several states have found that the government failed to comply with court orders, leaving people jailed even after judges ruled in their favor.
Legal experts say the flood of cases has strained the Justice Department, forcing prosecutors to divert resources from criminal cases to defend immigration detentions.
While the Reuters analysis does not break down cases by nationality, Afghan immigrants have also been affected.
Advocacy groups and immigration lawyers have reported that some Afghans have been detained during routine ICE check-ins or traffic stops, despite having no criminal records and active immigration cases.
Like other detainees, Afghan nationals may be denied bond hearings under the administration’s stricter interpretation of detention laws, forcing them to file habeas petitions in federal court.
World
Dubai’s DP World boss removed from post after pressure over Epstein
Dubai port giant DP World said on Friday its chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem had resigned, an announcement that followed mounting pressure over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Bin Sulayem, one of the Middle East’s most prominent business figures, is among the highest-profile executives to face scrutiny and be removed from senior roles following the recent release of the Epstein files, Reuters reported.
Dubai’s ruler on Friday also issued a decree appointing a new chairman for Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, one of several roles previously held by Bin Sulayem.
Members of the U.S. Congress said Bin Sulayem’s name appeared in documents published by the U.S. Department of Justice, prompting renewed questions over his past interactions with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Reuters was not able to independently verify the allegations in the files.
MOUNTING PRESSURE
Pressure had been building on the Emirati logistics firm after two organisations, the UK development finance agency and Canada’s second-largest pension fund, said this week they would suspend all new investment with DP World over Bin Sulayem’s alleged Epstein ties.
On Friday the UK agency, British International Investment, welcomed DP World’s decision and said it looked forward to continuing “our partnership to advance the development of key African trading ports”.
Canada’s La Caisse said in a statement that “the company took the appropriate measures”. It said it would “move quickly to work with DP World’s new leadership to continue our partnership on port projects around the world”.
DP World appointed Essa Kazim as chairman of its board of directors and Yuvraj Narayan as group chief executive officer, Dubai Media Office reported earlier.
Kazim currently serves as governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, while Narayan, who joined DP World in 2004 and most recently served as deputy CEO, has held several senior roles in the company.
GLOBAL FALLOUT FROM EPSTEIN FILES
The resignation of Bin Sulayem follows the departure of other prominent figures in business and politics from top jobs across the globe as the fallout from the files expands.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab general counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she will resign this summer over the ties, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, while at least three members of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration stepped down after the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. threw the government into crisis.
The Epstein files, among millions published by the U.S. Department of Justice, suggest a close relationship with Bin Sulayem for more than a decade after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 on prostitution charges involving an underage girl.
The documents include emails and text messages that appear to show discussions between Epstein and Bin Sulayem about business, conversations about sex and plans to visit Epstein’s Caribbean island.
The documents show the late disgraced financier’s web of relationships with prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business. Being named in the files is not evidence of criminal activity.
Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell where he was being held on sex-trafficking charges in August 2019. His death was ruled as suicide by hanging.
PROMINENT FIGURE IN BUSINESS HUB DUBAI
Bin Sulayem, a prominent figure in Dubai and the wider Middle East, was one of the names behind the emirate’s growth into the region’s business and tourism hub.
Some of his ventures included establishing Nakheel, the real estate developer behind Dubai’s famous palm-shaped islands, as well as contributing to the creation of commodities exchange DMCC.
A frequent speaker at the World Economic Forum and other global business gatherings, he most notably oversaw DP World’s transformation into one of the world’s largest port and logistics operators.
The company says it handles around 10% of global container traffic with operations spanning countries including Canada, Peru, India and Angola.
DP World also sponsors a leading professional golf tour in Europe and has been a logistics partner for McLaren’s Formula 1 racing team since 2023.
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