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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he wanted US counterpart Donald Trump to join peace talks with Russia in Turkey, but the Kremlin was silent about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend.The negotiations, planned to take place in Istanbul on Thursday, would be the first direct meeting between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.Putin proposed the talks as a counteroffer to a 30-day ceasefire put forward by Kyiv and its allies, but while Zelensky said he would attend “personally”, the Kremlin declined to say whom Russia would send.Trump told reporters earlier he would go if he “thought it would be helpful”.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the warring sides on Monday to seize the “window of opportunity” to reach a peace settlement.Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, while Moscow’s army now controls around one-fifth of the country — including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.Kyiv’s allies had proposed a 30-day ceasefire starting from Monday, insisting that it be in place for talks to happen, but Moscow effectively ignored this call by launching a barrage of drones at Ukraine overnight.”Russians are completely ignoring the offer of a full and durable ceasefire starting on May 12,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.”They continue to attack Ukrainian positions all along the frontline.”- ‘How long can it last?’ -Raising the stakes after a weekend of intense diplomacy, Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Putin in Turkey “personally”.”I have openly expressed my readiness to meet,” the Ukrainian leader said on Monday.”I hope that the Russians will not evade the meeting.”When asked whom Russia would send to Istanbul, the Kremlin declined to comment.”We are focused on a serious search for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without elaborating.Peskov had earlier criticised European countries for pressuring Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire ahead of the proposed talks.”The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia. It is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a language,” Peskov told journalists.Russia fired more than 100 drones at eastern Ukraine overnight, killing one person and wounding six, as well as damaging railway infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials said.Residents in Bilytske, a small industrial town in east Ukraine, remained sceptical about the prospect of a ceasefire. “We don’t really believe, of course, but we hope,” Alla, who woke up to the sound of explosions, told AFP. Alyona, 39, standing next to her, said Putin and Zelensky needed to start negotiating.”How long can it last? It’s been three years already.”- ‘Root causes’ -Putin has said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the “root causes” of the conflict, and did not “exclude” a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul.Russia’s references to the “root causes” of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion.They include pledges to “de-Nazify” and de-militarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country’s east and push back against NATO expansion.Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia’s invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers’ bodies.EU leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, have welcomed the prospect of direct talks, but pressed Russia to agree to a ceasefire first.Germany warned the “clock is ticking” for Russia to agree by the end of Monday to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face potential new sanctions.Russia’s key ally China on Monday called for a “binding peace agreement” that was “acceptable to all parties”.

US President Donald Trump on Monday left for Saudi Arabia on what he called a “historic” tour of the Middle East that will mix urgent diplomacy on Gaza and Iran with huge business deals.Air Force One took off on a journey that will include visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — and possibly talks in Turkey on the Ukraine war.Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza will hang heavy over the first major tour of Trump’s second term — but in one sign of progress, US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was handed over to the Red Cross just as the president boarded his plane.”It’s big news,” Trump said at the White House shortly before departing. “He’s coming home to his parents, which is really great news. They thought he was dead.”Trump has in recent weeks seemed to cool on his efforts to end the Gaza war — despite boasting before taking office that he would be able to bring the conflict to a swift end.He has also been increasingly at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Gaza, as well as over strikes on Yemen’s Huthi rebels and on how to handle Iran’s nuclear program.Trump said there were “very good things happening” on talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear ambitions — though he added that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon.”- Air Force One ‘gift’ -The US president said that he hoped for more developments on Gaza during his trip to the Gulf, noting that his tour involved “three primary countries” in the region.”I hope that we’re going to have other hostages released too,” he said when asked if he expected further progress towards a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.Hamas asked Trump to “continue efforts” to end the war after freeing hostage Alexander, while Netanyahu said he would send mediators to Qatar on Tuesday for further negotiations.Qatar has played a key role as a middleman in talks on ending the war — but it also took a major role in a new ethics row erupting before Trump’s departure.The oil-rich state plans to donate a new Air Force One plane to Trump after he complained that replacements for the aging current aircraft — including the one he is traveling on Monday — were taking too long.When he asked if the proposed use of a foreign-donated plane would raise ethical and security questions, Trump said Monday it would be “stupid” not to accept such a gift.He also said he could change his plans and fly to Istanbul on Thursday if talks between Russia and Ukraine happen there and make progress.”I don’t know where I’m going to be at that particular point, I’ll be someplace in the Middle East. But I would, if I thought it would be helpful,” Trump told reporters Monday.Trump added that he thought both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin could attend — raising the prospect of a landmark summit.- ‘Happy place’ -Trump’s Middle East tour will start in Saudi Arabia — the same place he began his debut overseas trip in his first term in 2017, and memorably posed over a glowing orb with the leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.But on that occasion he also visited Israel, whereas this time it is not on the itinerary.His decision to once more bypass traditional Western allies to visit the oil-rich Gulf states underscores their pivotal geopolitical role — as well as his own business ties there.”It’s hard for me to escape the idea that President Trump is going to the Gulf because this is his happy place,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi are expected to pull out all the stops for Trump, who is making his first major overseas trip after briefly attending the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome.The wealthy Arab states will mix pomp and ceremony for the 78-year-old billionaire with deals that could span defense, aviation, energy and artificial intelligence.

Republicans in Congress raced Monday to put the final touches on US President Donald Trump’s sprawling domestic policy mega-bill, led by massive cuts to social safety net programs to pay for $5 trillion in tax cuts.Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are aiming to usher into law Trump’s pledges to widen and extend his 2017 tax relief program, while boosting border security and defense and shrinking the government.But independent analysts have warned that the proposals could see millions of low-income Americans losing health insurance, while Democrats say the tax reforms will largely benefit the ultra-wealthy.”This is not trimming fat from around the edges, it’s cutting to the bone,” said Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.”The overwhelming majority of the savings in this bill will come from taking health care away from millions of Americans.”Republicans plan committee votes Tuesday on the much-touted “big, beautiful bill” encompassing most of Trump’s domestic agenda, with final House passage before May 26 and Senate approval by July 4.The process will test Trump’s sway over his party, with lawmakers determined to help the Republican leader cement his legacy but queasy over big cuts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.The Republicans do not need Democratic support to pass the package, but their slim majorities in both chambers of Congress mean they will have to demonstrate almost perfect unity.Already facing fury over sweeping federal cuts led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and blowback over Trump’s tariffs regime, they are deeply divided over how much further to squeeze spending.Democrats released an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Sunday stating that $715 billion would be cut from health spending over a decade — resulting in 8.6 million more Americans being uninsured.- Marathon session -On the conservative flank, more than 30 House Republicans signed a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson warning that the package cannot add to the deficit and must include $2 trillion in savings.”I’m not here to rack up an additional $20 trillion in debt over 10 years or to subsidize healthy, able-bodied adults, corrupt blue states, and monopoly hospital ceos,” fiscal hawk Chip Roy posted on X.The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to release full details of the tax proposals later Monday, on the eve of a marathon session Tuesday to finalize the text.The price tag is expected to swell to $5 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan CBO, exceeding the $4.5 trillion permitted by a budget resolution Republicans adopted earlier this year.Trump has suggested raising taxes to 39.6 percent on individuals earning more than $2.5 million a year, but Republicans are seen as unlikely to be on board with creating new burdens for the ultra-rich.And it remains to be seen whether the legislation will seek to make good on some of the president’s headline election campaign pledges, including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime.The House Agriculture Committee — which is looking for $230 billion in savings — also considers its portion of the package on Tuesday.Moderate Republicans on the panel have been alarmed by proposals to offload more of the costs for the federal food aid program — the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative — onto the states.Although the House faces an intense two weeks of negotiation, the real hard deadline for passing the legislation is August, when the United States is expected to run out of cash to pay its bills.The package includes a hike in the country’s self-imposed borrowing limit.

Opening statements started Monday in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music mogul accused of committing years of chilling abuse.Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty on all counts, which include a racketeering charge alleging the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.”He used his companies to manipulate women, forcing them with male escorts to have sex while he watched. He and his inner circle made sure he got everything he wanted,” said prosecutor Emily Johnson.The panel of 12 jurors — eight men and four women — and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate was finalized Monday.The process was pushed back after Judge Arun Subramanian voiced concern candidates might get “cold feet” over the weekend.Last week potential jurors were vetted including on their ability to fairly hear evidence from hip-hop artists, sex workers and people involved in the use and distribution of drugs.The selected jurors will remain anonymous, but not sequestered — meaning they must individually ensure they stay away from media coverage and social media commentary about the high-profile case.Prosecutors struck seven prospective jurors who were Black, prompting Combs’s defense team to allege bias.”We believe (it) amounts to a pattern,” said Marc Agnifilo, although the judge said it was not purposeful discrimination and allowed the prospectives to be dismissed.Combs, who was for decades one of music’s powerhouse figures, appears aged, his once jet-black hair now gray. Combs was joined at the courthouse by his mother Janice and 17-year-old twin daughters, and wore a white dress shirt under a beige sweatshirt with khaki pants and black-rimmed glasses.He appeared alert and interacted with his lawyers and some of those seated in the public gallery.There was a scrum of journalists and curious members of the public braving tight security, eager to catch a glimpse of the fallen music mogul.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors allege he held sex parties — also known as “freak-offs” — that were coercive and criminal.But his defense lawyers say the events were in fact entirely consensual, and simply part of Combs’s “swinger” lifestyle.- ‘Damning’ video evidence -Core to the case against Combs is his relationship with his former girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who is expected to be a key trial witness.A disturbing surveillance video from 2016 shows Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel.It is unclear how much of the CNN video will be shown to jurors as evidence — the footage quality has been a sticking point between the opposing legal teams — but Subramanian has ruled that at least some of it will be admissible.But it has been widely broadcast both in media reports and across social media channels.Some potentials for the jury told the court they had seen that video. One prospective panelist — who was dismissed — described the video as “damning.”Another was sent home after saying that his wife, a former attorney, had told him about taking depositions related to a deadly crowd crush at an event organized by Combs in 1991.”She found his behavior disturbing, she does not like him,” said the man.But others said they believed they could still assess the evidence fairly despite already having seen the video.The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

US President Donald Trump said Monday he would slash drug prices so that they match costs abroad, accusing the “brutal” European Union in particular of forcing pharmaceutical firms to lower prices on its turf.Trump claimed as he signed the executive order at the White House that drug prices should fall by at least 59 percent — and in some cases as high as 80 or 90 percent.Under the plan, Trump aims to institute a “Most Favored Nation” policy that pins the cost of drugs sold in the United States to the lowest price paid by other countries for the same drug.”Whoever is paying the lowest price, that’s the price that we’re going to get,” Trump said.The US president’s plan will count mainly on the goodwill of pharmaceutical companies to negotiate their prices and could face legal challenges, as did a similar proposal Trump pushed during his first term.Trump said American consumers had been treated like “suckers” and cited in particular the costs of the obesity-reducing drug Ozempic, which he said were vastly higher in Europe.He blasted the European Union nation in particular over drug prices, alleging that the 27-nation bloc forced pharmaceutical firms to lower their costs on their territory.”It was really the countries that forced Big Pharma to do things that, frankly, I’m not sure they really felt comfortable doing, but they’ve gotten away with it,” Trump said.”The European Union has been brutal, brutal. And the drug companies actually told me stories it was just brutal, how they forced them.”- ‘Powerful lobby’ -Trump said he would also order an investigation into countries that “extort” drug companies by “blocking their products” unless they accepted low prices.But Trump added that he was also “doing this against the most powerful lobby in the world — the drug and pharmaceutical lobby.”Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr, who has caused controversy for his skepticism over vaccinations, praised the plan.”There has never been a president more willing to stand up to the oligarchs than Donald Trump,” Kennedy said as he stood next to the  billionaire property developer.Trump had trailed the announcement of the 59 percent cut earlier on Monday.”DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS! Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and all other costs, DOWN. NO INFLATION!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.The reduction in prescription drug costs in the United States would, he added in his post, be counterbalanced by higher costs in other countries.”Most favored nation” status is a World Trade Organization rule that aims to prevent discrimination between a country and its trading partners, levelling the playing field for international trade. This is not the first time that Trump has attempted to lower US drug prices. During his first 2017-2021 term in office, he announced a similar proposal to cut US drug prices but his plans failed in the face of strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Last month, the US president signed an executive order aiming to lower crippling drug prices by giving states more leeway to bargain-hunt abroad and improving the process for price negotiations.

Israel has asked the International Criminal Court to dismiss its arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant while ICC judges reconsider complex jurisdictional questions.In a 14-page document dated May 9 but posted on the ICC website on Monday, Israel argued the warrants issued in November were null and void while judges weigh a previous Israeli challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case.In a ruling that made headlines around the world, the ICC found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.The court also issued a war crimes warrant against top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif over the October 7 attacks that sparked the conflict. The case against Deif was dropped in February after his death.Israel, not one of the ICC’s 125 members, challenged the court’s jurisdiction but judges on the ICC’s “Pre-Trial Chamber” dismissed the bid and issued the arrest warrants.But last month, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber ruled the Pre-Trial Chamber was wrong to dismiss the challenge and ordered it to look again in detail at Israel’s arguments.Israel says now that the arrest warrants should not stay in place while this complex and lengthy process is ongoing.”Unless and until the Pre-Trial Chamber has ruled on the substance of the jurisdiction challenge… the prerequisite jurisdictional finding does not exist,” Israel argued.”It follows that the arrest warrants issued on 21 November 2024 must be withdrawn or vacated pending the Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination of Israel’s jurisdictional challenge.”Israel and its allies reacted furiously to the warrants issued on November 21, Netanyahu describing it as an “anti-Semitic decision” and then US president Joe Biden slamming it as “outrageous.”Technically, any member of the ICC is required to arrest Netanyahu if he travels there, although the court has no independent power to enforce warrants.Israel argued in its submission that Netanyahu could theoretically be arrested while the court was still weighing whether it had jurisdiction in the case.”Depriving persons of their liberty on the basis of an arrest warrant issued in the absence of the necessary legal pre-conditions is an egregious violation of fundamental human rights and of the rule of law,” Israel argued.Allowing the warrants to stay in place during the deliberations “is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of the court,” said Israel.

A-list celebrity Kim Kardashian is to testify in a Paris court on Tuesday, an eagerly awaited appearance nearly a decade after being robbed of millions of dollars of jewellery during the French capital’s fashion week.Ten suspects have been on trial since late April over the armed robbery in 2016, which saw jewellery worth some $10 million stolen from the reality TV star and influencer.The trial has attracted huge media attention, with close to 500 reporters accredited.Kardashian is ready to “confront” her Paris attackers, her lawyers said last week.”She is committed to attending in person,” French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP last week, saying she would do so “with dignity and courage”.She is due to take the stand at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive, discreet hotel in central Paris.She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped.Lawyers have not divulged what exactly Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments at the trial, will say in her court appearance.During what the French press has dubbed the “heist of the century”, masked men walked away with millions of dollars’ worth of jewels.That included a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million).The theft was the most valuable to target a private individual in France in 20 years.Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records.They have underworld nicknames like “Old Omar” and “Blue Eyes” that resemble those of old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s films noirs.”They’re quite a team,” said investigator Michel Malecot. “But they made some mistakes”, he said, notably by leaving DNA that allowed investigators to identify them. – ‘Crying hysterically’ -Sixty-eight-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, has admitted to tying up Kardashian but denies being the mastermind behind the robbery.Another suspect in the dock, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, later wrote a book about the heist.In it he describes how his bag became caught in the wheel of his escape vehicle, a bicycle, causing him to fall off and have to scramble to shove the loot back in the bag.Investigators said a man called Gary Madar, the brother of Kardashian’s driver in Paris, tipped the suspects off that Kardashian was “in French territory”.This allegation has been ridiculed by Madar’s lawyer, who remarked that 350 million online followers were already aware of the star’s whereabouts.The night of the robbery could have gone very differently had Kardashian joined her sister Kourtney and gone clubbing, an idea she entertained before deciding to stay in the hotel, the court heard last week.Her designated driver, Michael Madar — whose company was billing the Kardashian/West couple up to 400,000 euros per year to provide security — had been working non-stop for 21 hours and asked a colleague to replace him for the trip to the night club.The replacement, Mohammed Q., and a Kardashian bodyguard, Pascal D., rushed back to the hotel after Kardashian tried to call them and then failed to pick up her phone when they called back.”I saw that the lift was on the first floor, where Kim was staying,” Pascal D. told the court.When he found her, Kardashian “was in a terrible state. She was crying hysterically”, he told the court. “I asked what had happened, and she said she’d been robbed.”Kardashian, her lawyers said, “is genuinely grateful” for the way the French authorities have handled the investigation, showing her “the utmost respect and consideration”.The US celebrity, sometimes described as being “famous for being famous”, became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in a number of films.She is among the world’s most followed people on Instagram and X. She has been named among the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and among the most powerful women by Fortune magazine.The trial is set to close on May 23.burs/jh/sjw/gil

President Donald Trump said Monday he would slash drug prices by 59 percent, a day after he unveiled a new policy on pharmaceuticals in the United States.”DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS! Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and all other costs, DOWN. NO INFLATION!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.The announcement came after the president said Sunday he planned to sign an executive order that would reduce US prescription drug prices “almost immediately” by between 30 and 80 percent. He added that he would sign the executive order bringing the new policy into effect at 9:00 am (1300 GMT) on Monday. Trump said he planned to institute a “MOST FAVORED NATION’S” policy that pinned the cost of drugs sold in the United States to the lowest price paid by other countries for the same drug. The reduction in prescription drug costs in the United States would, he added, be counterbalanced by higher costs in other countries.”Most favored nation” status is a World Trade Organization rule that aims to prevent discrimination between a country and its trading partners, levelling the playing field for international trade. This is not the first time that Trump has attempted to lower US drug prices. During his first 2017-2021 term in office, he announced a similar proposal to cut US drug prices but his plans failed in the face of strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Last month, the US president signed an executive order aiming to lower crippling drug prices by giving states more leeway to bargain-hunt abroad and improving the process for price negotiations.

Russia fired more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv said Monday as it awaits the Kremlin’s response to Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin this week.Ukraine and its allies urged Moscow to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday, but Putin came back with a counter-proposal for direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Thursday.The Kremlin is yet to respond to Zelensky’s apparent acceptance of the offer, with the Ukrainian leader upping the stakes by saying he would be “waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Personally.”The prospect of direct Russia-Ukraine talks on ending the war — the first since the early months of Russia’s 2022 invasion — has been welcomed by Washington and across Europe.But Moscow appeared to have rejected the call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire — that Zelensky had earlier on Sunday presented as a precondition to the Istanbul talks — with a wave of fresh drone attacks.”From 11:00 pm on May 11, the enemy attacked with 108 Shaheds and other types of drones,” the Ukraine air force said, adding that “as of 08:30 am, 55 drones were confirmed downed.”Overnight attacks in the east killed one person and wounded six, damaging railways infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials said.”Ceasefire proposals are being ignored, and the enemy continues attacks on railway infrastructure,” Ukrainian national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to stop trying to mediate a peace deal if he does not see compromises from both sides, has called for them to sit down immediately.”President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network on Sunday.”Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” he added.- ‘Root causes’ -Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded in February 2022.Russia’s army controls around one-fifth of the country, including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.Putin said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the “root causes” of the conflict, and said he did not “exclude” a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul.Russia’s references to the “root causes” of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion.They include pledges to “de-Nazify” and de-militarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country’s east and push back against NATO expansion.Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia’s invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers’ bodies.EU leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, welcomed the prospect of direct talks, but pressed Russia to agree to a ceasefire first.”First the weapons must be silenced, then the discussions can begin,” Merz said on Sunday.Russia’s key ally China on Monday called for a “binding peace agreement” that was “acceptable to all parties.”Elsewhere on the front lines, Russia’s army said it had captured a small village in the eastern Donetsk region, while Moscow-backed authorities said four people were killed in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region over the last 24 hours.

Opening statements are expected Monday in the federal sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the music mogul accused of committing years of chilling abuse.Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty on all counts, which include a racketeering charge alleging the hip-hop pioneer was the leader of a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate are set to be finalized first thing Monday, a process pushed back after Judge Arun Subramanian voiced concern candidates might get “cold feet” over the weekend.Last week potential jurors were vetted including on their ability to fairly hear evidence from hip-hop artists, sex workers and people involved in the use and distribution of drugs.The selected jurors will remain anonymous, but not sequestered — meaning they must individually ensure they stay away from media coverage and social media commentary about the high-profile case.Combs, who was for decades one of music’s powerhouse figures, now appears aged, his once jet-black hair now gray. He is allowed to wear civilian clothing for the trial.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in ushering hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors allege he held sex parties — also known as “freak-offs” — that were coercive and criminal.But his defense lawyers say the events were in fact entirely consensual, and simply part of Combs’s “swinger” lifestyle.- Familiarity with the case -Core to the case against Combs is his relationship with his former girlfriend, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, who is expected to be a key trial witness.A disturbing surveillance video from 2016 shows Combs physically assaulting Ventura at a hotel.It is unclear how much of the CNN video will be shown to jurors as evidence — the footage’s quality has been a sticking point between the opposing legal teams — but Subramanian has ruled that at least some of it will be admissible.But it has been widely broadcast both in media reports and across social media channels.Some potentials for the jury told the court they had seen that video. One prospective panelist — who was dismissed — described the video as “damning.”Another was sent home after saying that his wife, a former attorney, had told him about taking depositions related to a deadly crowd crush at an event organized by Combs in 1991.”She found his behavior disturbing, she does not like him,” said the man.But others said they believed they could still assess the evidence fairly despite already having seen the video.The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.