Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators are meeting in Abu Dhabi today for the first trilateral talks since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.But there are hurdles to overcome before any peace deal can be agreed, as the BBC's Joe Inwood explains. Source link
A new luxury watch themed on a private zoo run by the family of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani has been unveiled in India - complete with a hand-painted figurine of the tycoon's youngest son, Anant, in the centre.Designed by luxury watchmaker Jacob & Co, the bejewelled timepiece has sculpted figures of a lion and a Bengal tiger placed around Anant's statue seated on a chair. While the watchmaker has not disclosed the price, industry collective Watchopea estimates…
Sarah RainsfordEastern Europe correspondent , KyivGetty ImagesUkraine wants peace more than anyone in this processNegotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the US are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for their first trilateral talks since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Senior officials from all three nations are involved, but it is unclear whether they will be in the same room together at any point. And whilst the talks take a new format, the core differences remain the same.The…
Archie MitchellandDanielle Kaye,Business reportersGetty ImagesDonald Trump has made clear he covets Greenland.Now he claims to have secured the "framework" of a future deal, to address defence on the island - a deal that he says includes rights to rare earth minerals.So what natural resources does Greenland have?Greenland is believed to sit on top of large reserves of oil and natural gas.It is also said to be home to the vast majority of raw materials considered crucial for electronics,…
A 22-year-old Afghan woman who was reportedly running a taekwondo gym for girls has been released after spending 13 days in jail, a spokesman for the Taliban's supreme court confirmed.Khadija Ahmadzada was detained for being in "violation" of rules "regarding women's sports gyms", a spokesman for the Taliban's ministry of vice and virtue told the BBC.Sports clubs have been closed to women since 2021, shortly after the Taliban returned to power.At the time, it was said they would…
Watch: Putin and Zelensky both want peace deal, Trump saysRussian, Ukrainian and US negotiators will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates later, in what officials say will be the first meeting attended by all three countries since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.The Kremlin confirmed Russian officials would attend the talks following a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US envoys in Moscow.Russia described those talks as "useful in every respect", but said a…
A South African court has dismissed an appeal by the country's heritage body to stop the sale and export of various artefacts connected to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.The 70 personal items include a cell key from Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was locked up, a pair of Aviator sunglasses and one of his signature floral shirts. They were due to be exported to the US for auction.The objects belong to…
More than 160 million Americans are expected to face an unusually brutal winter storm from Friday, with heavy snows and freezing rains forecast.The storm is expected to sweep through much of the United States, leaving "extremely dangerous" conditions in its wake as it tracks eastwards from the High Plains and Rockies, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.It warned that the Arctic blast will bring sub-zero temperatures and wind chills, which "pose a life-threatening risk of hypothermia and frostbite…
Crowds gathered in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, known as Valentino, who has died at the age of 93.Valentino's funeral service was held at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs and celebrities including Elizabeth Hurley, Anne Hathaway and Tom Ford were in attendance. Source link
Nawal Al-MaghafiSenior international investigations correspondent, YemenLiam weir / BBCOne of the sites had several shipping containers with little ventilation, where detainees said up to 60 men were heldThe BBC has been given access to detention facilities on former United Arab Emirates military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and forces allied to it in Yemen's decade-long civil war.One former detainee told the BBC he had been beaten and…
The death toll in a fire which engulfed a shopping centre in Pakistan has climbed to 67, police have confirmed.Police say 77 people are currently reported as missing by their families following the fire at Gul Plaza, in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, on Saturday evening.But the scale of the damage following the blaze - which took more than 24 hours to put out - has slowed rescue efforts, as authorities comb the remains of the 6,500sq m (70,000…
Suranjana TewariAsia Business Correspondent, SingaporeGetty ImagesOne in seven people in the world use TikTok. Yet for the company behind such a cultural phenomenon, the last few years have been a rollercoaster.Concerns over the app first surfaced more than five years ago, prompting President Trump, in his first term, to sign an executive order aimed at removing TikTok from US stores.Lawmakers were worried that the Chinese government could access user data of the 200 million Americans who use the…