‘Master of the Deal’ Returns: Trump Steps Back Into Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks
In a renewed diplomatic push, Trump plans direct phone talks with Putin and Zelensky in a bid to broker peace.
Moscow launched a major barrage of drone strikes on Ukraine, with the latest assaults hitting near Kyiv and in the Sumy region, even as US President Donald Trump said he will speak with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders in separate calls in hopes of a cease-fire breakthrough. Ukraine's military said Russia fired 273 drones at Ukrainian targets overnight May 18, one of the largest since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. The military claimed it intercepted or downed at least 88 drones and that about 130 failed to reach their targets. A 28-year-old woman was killed and a 4-year-old child was among the injured in a drone strike in a district outside the capital Kyiv, the regional governor said. A day earlier, a Russian drone strike hit a minibus carrying civilians in the Sumy region near the Russian border, killing nine people and wounding several others, Ukrainian authorities said. The attacks came after direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul on May 16 -- the first in nearly three years -- produced no breakthrough, with Ukraine accusing Russia of making "unacceptable" demands. Russia has rejected calls by Ukraine, European countries, and the United States for a 30-day cease-fire in the war, now well into its fourth year. In a post on his Truth Social network on May 17, Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on May 19, as well as Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. "The subjects of the call will be...stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump wrote. "Hopefully it will be a productive day, a cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end," Trump wrote. Trump earlier had said that "nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together."
Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, killing at least 132 Palestinians, including 36 in the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi. The intensified Israeli attacks have killed 464 people in the past week and rendered all the public hospitals in northern Gaza out of service, says the Health Ministry. Sakher Hamad, director of northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, says dozens of injured people are flooding into the hospitals in the region. Daniel Levy, a Middle East analyst and the president of the US Middle East Project, has commented on the reports and images coming out of Gaza today, including attacks on hospitals and the killing of more than 100 Palestinians. “Where is humanity? Where is leadership? Is this a post-shame world, and how do we not slip into anger and rage that cannot be channelled?” he told Al Jazeera.
“Where is humanity? Where is leadership? Is this a post-shame world, and how do we not slip into anger and rage that cannot be channelled?” - Daniel Levy, a Middle East analyst and the president of the US Middle East Project, commenting on the Israeli attacks on Gaza
In what is see as probably the most important vote in Romania’s post-communist history, voters are out to elect their president on Sunday in a cliffhanger election that has transfixed and polarised the country, with both candidates running neck and neck in the latest polls. The first hours of voting showed significant turnout both in the country and in the diaspora, a sign of the huge stakes for the future direction of NATO’s Eastern flank, Euronews Romania reports. The vote in the diaspora has doubled compared to the first round, while in Romania, the urban voters and the youth have already surpassed their first-round participation. As vote participation is now the decisive election factor, at 12 pm CEST, the historic 1 million votes in the diaspora, including the Republic of Moldova, had been cast. Centrist independent candidate Nicușor Dan voted with his wife in his tranquil Transylvanian hometown of Fagaras. He represents the current pro-EU, pro-NATO course, saying he voted for “a pro-European direction and for good cooperation with our European partners, and not for Romania’s isolation.” Hard-right nationalist candidate George Simion went to vote outside Bucharest with his now-choice for future prime minister, ultranationalist Calin Georgescu, the protagonist of the unprecedented annulled elections and the ensuing political crisis in December. In a talk show on Friday, Simion and Georgescu concluded the campaign side by side to outline their potential doctrines ahead. With Georgescu calling Simion “George” and “my protégé”, and Simion addressing him as “Mister Georgescu, from whom I have learned a lot,” the political couple said they will prioritise good relations with the United States - Euronews
Three Iranian men charged with spying offences arrived in the UK by "irregular means", including small boats and a lorry, before claiming asylum. The trio appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday accused of "engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service" between August 2024 and February 2025, following an investigation by counter-terror police. The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran, police said. Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, are alleged to have targeted journalists working for Iran International, an independent media organisation based in London. Sepahvand, of St John's Wood, London, is also charged with "surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research" with the intention of "committing serious violence against a person in the UK", according to a police statement. Meanwhile, Manesh, of Kensal Rise, London, and Noori, of Ealing, London, are charged with "engaging in conduct, namely surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the UK, would be committed by others" - Sky News
China has begun allowing some shipments of rare earths under new export control rules, but the slow pace of approvals threatens disruption to global supply chains, according to industry participants. Beijing in early April placed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements and permanent magnets that are vital for products ranging from electric vehicles to wind turbines, humanoid robots and fighter jets. Exporters, China-based industry groups and supply chain experts said that after weeks of delay, Beijing’s commerce ministry had approved some licences for exports to Europe, but at a pace far too slow to meet demand. “The window to avoid significant damage to production in Europe is rapidly closing,” said Wolfgang Niedermark, an executive board member of the Federation of German Industries, known as BDI. US manufacturers, including Tesla, Ford and Lockheed Martin, have voiced concern over the new Chinese export controls in recent investor briefings. One European industry executive in China, who asked not to be named, said current delays were “untenable” for foreign manufacturers. “What I’m witnessing on the ground is that there is really incompetence; they underestimated what the impact would be and what you would need to prepare at the working level.” China’s widening of its controls on rare earth exports was a response to sweeping tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2 - FT
Greeting over 200,000 pilgrims, leaders from around the world, and representatives of Christian denominations, Pope Leo XIV marked the joyous start to his Petrine Ministry, officially inaugurating it with Mass in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday. Religious delegations included Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Jainists, among the many present for the celebration. “In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war,” said Pope Leo. He recalled that “the surviving children, families, and elderly” in Gaza have been reduced to starvation, as the Israel-Hamas war continues. In Myanmar, noted the Pope, “new hostilities have cut short innocent young lives.” And, he lamented, “martyred Ukraine awaits negotiations for a just and lasting peace.” After the Mass, Pope Leo XIV met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the Inauguration Mass with his wife - Vatican News
Austria has won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest with 24-year-old JJ's (Johannes Pietsch) operatic ballad ‘Wasted Love’. It was a nail biting reveal, with Israel in the top spot until the very last moment — but ultimately coming in second place, followed by Estonia. This is the third time Austria — who were also one of our predicted winners — has won the contest, with previous successes in 1966 and 2014. The country also holds the record for the longest gap — 48 years — between wins. A total of 26 contestants took part in the ceremony, with a record number singing in their native languages — the most diverse representation since 1999 - Euronews
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