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Trump says he did not want 'wasted meeting' after plan for Putin talks shelved45 minutes agoShareSaveLaura GozziShareSaveWatch: “I don't want to have a wasted meeting”, says Trump on talks with PutinDonald Trump has said he did not want a “wasted meeting” after a plan to have face-to-face talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine were put on hold.
The US president indicated that a key sticking point remained Moscow's refusal to cease fighting along the current front line, in remarks at the White House on Tuesday.
Earlier, a White House official had said there were “no plans” for a Trump-Putin meeting “in the immediate future”, after Trump said on Thursday that the two would hold talks in Budapest within two weeks.
Key differences between US and Russian proposals for peace became increasingly clear this week, appearing to have dashed chances of a summit.
Trump and Putin last met in Alaska in August, during a hastily organised summit w..

French ex-president Sarkozy begins jail sentence for campaign finance conspiracy11 hours agoShareSavePaul KirbyEurope digital editor andHugh Schofieldin ParisShareSaveWatch: Sarkozy was cheered by supporters as he embraced his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy outside their Paris homeNicolas Sarkozy has become the first French ex-president to go to jail, as he starts a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars.
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he will occupy a small cell in the its isolation wing.
More than 100 people applauded and shouted “Nicolas!” as he left his villa in the exclusive 16th district of Paris, holding his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy by the hand.
His son Louis, 28, had appealed to supporters for a..

Lisbon funicular crash initial report reveals litany of failings59 minutes agoShareSaveMark Lowen andAlison Robertsin LisbonShareSavePeople seen running after funicular derails in LisbonA preliminary report into last month's funicular crash in Lisbon that killed 16 people has detailed a litany of failings.
Portugal's Air and Rail Accident Investigations Bureau said an underground cable – which acted as a counterweight between two carriages and broke, prompting the crash – was defective and had never been certified for passenger transportation.
It said the cable was not technically suitable and was acquired in 2022 by the company that runs Lisbon's public transport, Carris.
The 140-year-old Glória funicular, popular with tourists, derailed and crashed into a building on 3 September.
There were 11 foreigners among those killed, including the three British nationals, while another 20 people were injured.
The preliminary report, released on Monday, said there had been no ov..

Deadly Gaza flare-up tests Israel-Hamas ceasefire10 hours agoShareSaveYolande KnellMiddle East correspondent, JerusalemShareSaveReutersSunday saw the deadliest day of attacks since the ceasefire took effect on 10 OctoberOne week ago, US President Donald Trump was given a hero's welcome in Israel after securing the Gaza ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
But the days since have shown just how precarious the ceasefire is, and Sunday brought its biggest test so far.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of deadly strikes across Gaza, after two soldiers were killed in the southern city of Rafah in an attack it blamed on Hamas. Hamas said it was not responsible because it had not had contact with fighters in the area since communications were cut off in March.
An Israeli security official announced the suspension of aid deliveries as a result of the attack.
It appears US pressure ensured the truce was not derailed and that Israel's cr..