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Washington signalled room for negotiation on a US plan to end the Ukraine war that has drawn pushback from Kyiv, its allies and US lawmakers ahead of Sunday talks on the proposal in Switzerland.Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands.Washington insisted Saturday the proposal was official US policy, denying claims by a group of US senators that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the document was a Russian “wish list”.The 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. Trump told reporters Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other”.Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, speaking on Fox News, described the plan as “a work in progress”.Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the proposal, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv’s position.A US official told AFP that Rubio and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff would land in Geneva on Sunday for the talks and that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had already arrived after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.”The peace proposal was authored by the US,” Rubio wrote on social media late Saturday.”It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”- Russian ‘representatives’ expected -Zelensky has issued a decree naming Ukraine’s delegation for the talks, led by his top aide Andriy Yermak.It also says the negotiations would include “representatives of the Russian Federation” but there was no immediate confirmation from Moscow whether it would join the talks.Zelensky said “consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war”.”Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion,” having annexed Crimea in 2014 and mounted a full-scale offensive in 2022, he said.Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the senior officials would meet in Geneva “to take things further forward”, stressing the importance of solid “security guarantees” for Ukraine under any settlement.”The focus very much now is on Geneva tomorrow and whether we can make progress,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.Starmer said his national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, would be in Geneva. Italian diplomatic sources said Rome was sending national security advisor Fabrizio Saggio.Security officials from the EU, France and Germany will also attend, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20.- West says plan needs more ‘work’ -Western leaders at the G20 summit said that the US plan was “a basis which will require additional work”.”We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the leaders of key European countries, Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.Macron said the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine’s NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.”We all want peace and we are agreed. We want the peace to be strong and lasting,” he said, insisting a settlement must “take into account the security of all Europeans”.Zelensky said in an address to the nation on Friday that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose “alternatives” to Trump’s plan.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said, referring to a possible break with Washington.Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.

Washington insisted Saturday that its Ukraine proposal is indeed official US policy, denying claims by a group of senators that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the document under discussion is just a Russian “wish list.”The dispute over the 28-point plan — which cedes Ukrainian territory long sought by Moscow — threw an extraordinary element of confusion into efforts to negotiate an end to the war. US President Donald Trump has pushed the plan, pressuring the Ukrainians to accept it within days. Negotiators will meet in Switzerland on Sunday.However, after a storm of criticism that the proposal is almost entirely favorable to Moscow, several US senators spoke out, holding a press conference at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada on Saturday. The senators — Republican Mike Rounds, independent Angus King, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen — said Rubio told them the current Ukraine proposal is not the official US position, but instead lays out a “Russian wish list.””What he (Rubio) told us was that this was not the American proposal. This was a proposal that was received by someone… representing Russia in this proposal. It was given to Mr Witkoff,” Rounds said, referring to Trump’s diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff.”It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.”King corroborated those comments, saying “the leaked 28-point plan — which according to Secretary Rubio is not the administration’s position — it is essentially the wish list of the Russians that is now being presented to the Europeans and to the Ukrainians.”The plan would require Kyiv to cede territory, cut its military, and pledge never to join NATO.Trump said Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other.” – ‘Authored by the US’ – Rubio asserted the proposal “was authored by the US.””It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine,” he said Saturday. But Shaheen said she and Rounds spoke to the top US diplomat while he was en route to Geneva for the latest negotiations with Ukrainian officials.Rounds said Rubio was “very frank” during their call.”It doesn’t look like normally something that would come out of our government, particularly the way it was written. It looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with,” Rounds said.King noted that the plan should not reward Moscow for its invasion. “Everyone wants this war to end but we want it to end on a fair and just peace that respects the integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine and does not reward aggression and also provides adequate security guarantees,” he said. Earlier Saturday, other US senators including some in Trump’s Republican party criticized Washington’s plan. “We will not achieve that lasting peace by offering (Russian President Vladimir) Putin concession after concession and fatally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself,” the group of senators wrote in a statement.Senator Mitch McConnell, a veteran Republican, said “rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America’s interests.” Writing on X, he said that Putin has “spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool.”Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to keep Kyiv’s territory intact. In a Friday address to the nation, Zelensky said Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose “alternatives” to Trump’s proposal.

President Donald Trump signalled room for negotiation on a US plan to end the Ukraine war that has drawn pushback from Kyiv, its allies and US lawmakers ahead of Sunday talks on the proposal in Switzerland.Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands.Washington insisted on Saturday the proposal was official US policy, denying claims by a group of US senators that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the document was a Russian “wish list”.The 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. Trump told reporters Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other”.Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the proposal, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv’s position.A US official told AFP that Rubio and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff would land in Geneva on Sunday for the talks and that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had already arrived after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.”The peace proposal was authored by the US,” Rubio wrote on social media late Saturday.”It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”- Russian ‘representatives’ expected -Zelensky has issued a decree naming Ukraine’s delegation for the talks, led by his top aide Andriy Yermak.It also says the negotiations would include “representatives of the Russian Federation” but there was no immediate confirmation from Moscow whether it would join the talks.Zelensky said “consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war”.”Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion,” having annexed Crimea in 2014 and mounted a full-scale offensive in 2022, he said.Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the senior officials would meet in Geneva “to take things further forward”, stressing the importance of solid “security guarantees” for Ukraine under any settlement.”The focus very much now is on Geneva tomorrow and whether we can make progress tomorrow morning,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.Starmer said his national security adviser Jonathan Powell would be in Geneva. Italian diplomatic sources said Rome was sending national security advisor Fabrizio Saggio.Security officials from the EU, France and Germany will also attend, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20.- West says plan needs more ‘work’ -Western leaders at the G20 summit said that the US plan was “a basis which will require additional work”.”We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the leaders of key European countries, Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.Macron said the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine’s NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.”We all want peace and we are agreed. We want the peace to be strong and lasting,” he said, insisting a settlement must “take into account the security of all Europeans”.The European delegates in Geneva will aim “to put substance into the discussions and to reconcile all viewpoints”, he added.Zelensky said in an address to the nation on Friday that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose “alternatives” to Trump’s plan.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said, referring to a possible break with Washington.Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.

Nations sealed a modest agreement at the UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday as many countries swallowed weaker terms on a fossil fuel phaseout to preserve unity.Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of exhaustive negotiations on the fringes of the rainforest, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the talks.Applause rang out as the gavel was brought down in steamy Belem, capping a dramatic summit that witnessed raucous protests, a damaging fire and massive street marches.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who staked political capital on the success of COP30, said the pact was proof that a fractured world could still unite in crisis.”The international community faced a choice: to continue or to give up. We chose the first option,” Lula said in South Africa, where he was attending a G20 summit. “Multilateralism won.”There was less euphoria in Belem, where defeated European ministers admitted they only took the watered-down deal to keep the entire process from imploding.”We’re not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more,” said EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra.Later, he added: “I know it’s a bit intangible, but there is huge value in doing stuff together.” The head of China’s delegation at COP30, Li Gao, told AFP that the summit will go down as a success.”We achieved this success in a very difficult situation, so it shows that the international community would like to show solidarity and make joint efforts to address climate change,” Li said. India hailed a “meaningful” deal in a statement read on behalf of major emerging markets Brazil, South Africa, India and China.The Alliance of Small Island States — a bloc of 39 of the world’s most climate-imperiled nations — said the deal was “imperfect, but necessary progress” for a global body that operates by consensus.- Fossil fuels flop -Dozens of countries had threatened to walk away from the talks without an exit strategy from oil, gas and coal — instead, the deal points to a previous pact on fossil fuels, without explicitly using those words. “We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” said COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago, who offered to create a voluntary “roadmap” away from fossil fuels as a consolation. Colombia “does not accept” the deal, said President Gustavo Petro, whose country is hosting a world-first summit on a fossil fuel phaseout in April next year.The roadmap idea picked up pace after an early endorsement from Lula, but ran into predictable opposition from oil giants like Saudi Arabia, coal producer India, and others.”President Lula set the bar high in calling for roadmaps to end fossil fuels and deforestation, but a divided multilateral landscape was unable to hurdle it,” said Carolina Pasquali from Greenpeace Brazil.- Money and trade -Brazil sought to manage expectations of landing a major deal given the state of geopolitics and a hostile United States.Even so, optimism took root that Brazil — a champion of developing nations and home to the world’s biggest rainforest — could pull something out of the bag.In a coup for developing countries, the world agreed to “at least triple” by 2035 money for poorer nations to adapt to climate change.But this was the bare minimum, one negotiator from Bangladesh told AFP, vowing the “fight will continue.”Raju Pandit, a negotiator from Nepal, said the summit “had not met the expectations of climate vulnerable countries.”In what was seen as a win for China, strong language around trade measures was also included for the first time in a COP deal.- COP in the Amazon -Away from the politics, the summit departed sharply in feel compared to COPs of recent years staged in tightly-controlled authoritarian petrostates.Tens of thousands of people marched in a carnival-like atmosphere on the streets while inside the venue, protesters chanted in the corridors.But there were unexpected — and less welcome — moments of drama as well. A large fire erupted inside the venue on the second-to-last day, burning through the fabric ceiling and creating a panicked rush for the exits as smoke filled the halls.Early in the first week, Indigenous protesters stormed the venue and clashed with security in scenes that drew global attention to their plight.The Amazon made itself felt — and heard. The humidity could be stifling and most afternoons, the skies would erupt.Even in the final plenary, an exhausted Correa do Lago spoke of “the wonderful noise of an Amazon rain” as he struggled to be heard above the din.

Ukrainian and US envoys will meet in Switzerland on Sunday along with European security chiefs to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, officials said, after Kyiv pushed back on proposals seen as favourable to Moscow.US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Moscow’s hardline demands.Trump’s 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army, and pledge never to join NATO. He told reporters on Saturday it was not his final offer and he hoped to stop the fighting “one way or the other”.Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to strengthen Kyiv’s positions.A US official told AFP that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff were scheduled to arrive in Geneva on Sunday for the talks, and that US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had already arrived there after meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv.”We will have an informal pre-meeting tonight for dinner” with Ukrainian delegates, the US official said on Saturday.Zelensky’s decree said the negotiations would include “representatives of the Russian Federation” but there was no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks. – Russian ‘representatives’ expected -Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said “consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war,” after issuing a decree naming Ukraine’s delegation for the talks, led by his top aide Andriy Yermak.”Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion”, having annexed Crimea in 2014 and mounted a full-scale offensive in 2022, he said.Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the senior officials would meet in Geneva “to take things further forward”, stressing the importance of solid “security guarantees” for Ukraine under any settlement.”The focus very much now is on Geneva tomorrow and whether we can make progress tomorrow morning,” he told the media on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg.Starmer said his national security adviser Jonathan Powell would be in Geneva on Sunday. Italian diplomatic sources said their country was sending the prime minister’s national security advisor Fabrizio Saggio.Security officials from the EU, France and Germany will also attend, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference at the G20.- West says plan needs more ‘work’ -Western leaders at the G20 summit said Saturday that the US plan was “a basis which will require additional work”.”We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the leaders of key European countries as well as Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.Macron said the plan contained points that had to be more broadly discussed as they concerned European allies, such as Ukraine’s NATO ties and Russian frozen assets held in the EU.”We all want peace and we are agreed. We want the peace to be strong and lasting,” he said, insisting a settlement must “take into account the security of all Europeans”.The European delegates in Geneva would aim “to put substance into the discussions and to reconcile all viewpoints”, he said.Zelensky said Friday in an address to the nation that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose “alternatives” to Trump’s proposal.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said, referring to a possible break with Washington.Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.

The G20’s role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warned Saturday at a summit in South Africa boycotted by the United States.European leaders attending the G20 summit — the first held in Africa — huddled on its sidelines to push back at a unilateral plan by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war in Ukraine on terms favouring Russia.In a joint statement issued with Canada and Japan, they said Trump’s plan needs “additional work” as it would leave Ukraine “vulnerable”. They added that some of its points required “the consent of EU and NATO members”.Speaking at the opening of the summit, one of the statement’s signatories, French President Emmanuel Macron, said: “We are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table.”He warned that, given fissures in international cooperation, “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle”.”There’s no doubt, the road ahead is tough,” agreed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who also signed the statement — adding: “We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.”Chinese Premier Li Qiang said “unilateralism and protectionism are rampant” and “many people are pondering what exactly is happening to global solidarity.”But the summit’s host, President Cyril Ramaphosa, argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.”The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,” Ramaphosa said.- Concern for Ukraine -The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and accounts for 85 percent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.The Johannesburg summit was undermined by the American boycott, and China’s Li stood in for an absent President Xi Jinping, while Russia sent a Kremlin official, Maxim Oreshkin, instead of President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant. The leaders present adopted a summit declaration covering climate, energy, debt sustainability and a critical-minerals pact — along with a joint call for a “just” peace in Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”.Following the opening ceremony, Starmer, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rushed into a meeting to discuss Trump’s plan for Ukraine, joined soon after by other leaders from Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan.Afterwards all of them, except Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, issued a statement saying the “draft” US plan had some “important elements” but “will require additional work”.”Borders must not be changed by force,” they said, adding they were “also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack”.- ‘Progress’ sought -European Council President Antonio Costa said on X the leaders of all 27 EU nations would hold a follow-up meeting on Monday, on the sidelines of a European Union-African Union summit in Angola.Security officials from Britain, France and Germany were to meet US and Ukrainian counterparts on Sunday in Switzerland to seek “progress” on the US plan, both Starmer and Macron said. Macron, speaking to journalists, said a “coalition of the willing” of some 30 nations backing Ukraine would on Tuesday follow up with a video call to coordinate and “to take new initiatives”.Trump has said he wants Kyiv to accept his 28-point proposals — which involve ceding territory to Russia and cutting the size of Ukraine’s military — by Thursday.The United States said it skipped the Johannesburg summit because it viewed its priorities — including on trade and climate — as running counter to its policies.But it said it would send the US charge d’affaires at its embassy in South Africa on Sunday to accept the handover of the next G20 presidency.Trump has said he intends to hold the 2026 summit at a Florida golf club that he owns.

Nations sealed a modest deal at the UN climate summit in the Amazon Saturday, as Europe and others dropped their demands for a plan to phase out fossil fuels after fraught negotiations with oil-producing countries and emerging economies.Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of COP30 talks in the Brazilian city of Belem, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the event.Applause rang out in the plenary session after the head of COP30, Brazilian diplomat Andre Correa do Lago, slammed a gavel signalling its approval following several sleepless nights of negotiations.The EU and other nations had pushed for a deal that would call for a “roadmap” to phase out fossil fuels, but the words do not appear in the text.Instead, the agreement calls on countries to voluntarily “accelerate” their climate action and recalls the consensus reached at COP28 in Dubai. That 2023 deal called for the world to transition away from fossil fuels.The EU, which had warned that the summit could end without a deal if fossil fuels were not addressed, accepted the watered-down language.”We’re not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more, to have more ambition on everything,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters.”It is not perfect, but it is a hugely important step in the right direction,” he said.More than 30 countries including European nations, emerging economies and small island states had signed a letter warning Brazil they would reject any deal without a plan to move away from oil, gas and coal.But a member of an EU delegation told AFP that the 27-nation bloc was “isolated” and cast as the “villains” at the talks.The push to phase out oil, coal and gas — the main drivers of global warming — grew out of frustration over a lack of follow-through on the COP28 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.French ecological transition minister Monique Barbut had accused oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Russia, along with coal producer India and “many” other emerging countries, of refusing language on a fossil-fuel phaseout.Correa do Lago acknowledged the disappointment.”We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he told COP30 delegates.The diplomat said he would launch “roadmaps” to halt deforestation and transition away from fossil fuels, and hold high-level meetings on the issues.The deal caps a chaotic two weeks in Belem, with Indigenous protesters breaching the venue and blocking its entrance last week and a fire erupting inside the compound on Thursday, forcing a mass evacuation.- Money and trade -Finishing without a deal would have been a black eye for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had staked political capital in the success of what he called the “COP of truth.”It was also a major test for international cooperation when Trump decided to skip COP30.”At the COP of truth, science prevailed. Multilateralism won,” Lula said at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, which was also taking place Saturday.The head of China’s delegation at COP30, Li Gao, told AFP that the summit will go down as a success.”I’m happy with the outcome,” Li said. “We achieved this success in a very difficult situation, so it shows that the international community would like to show solidarity and make joint efforts to address climate change.”Developing nations, for their part, had pushed the EU and other developed economies to pledge more money to help them adapt to the impact of climate change, such as floods and droughts, and move toward a low-carbon future.The EU had resisted such appeals but the deal calls for efforts to “at least triple” adaptation finance by 2035.”Intergovernmental negotiations work on a minimum common denominator, but our fight will continue,” a negotiator from Bangladesh told AFP in a muted reception of the terms.Barbut, the French minister, said the EU accepted the Belem deal “because of the accusation against Europeans — that one of the reasons we opposed the text was that we didn’t want to give money to the poorest countries.”The EU had also rejected language on trade in the text, as demanded by China and other emerging countries. The final deal calls for “dialogue” on trade issues.Ani Dasgupta, president of the World Resources Institute think tank, said some of the breakthroughs achieved in Belem show that “even against a challenging geopolitical backdrop, international climate cooperation can still deliver results.””But many will leave Belem disappointed that negotiators couldn’t agree to develop a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels,” Dasgupta said.

Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew failed to respond to a request from US lawmakers to be questioned about his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, members of a US Congressional committed have announced.Sixteen Democratic lawmakers signed a letter asking Andrew to participate in a “transcribed interview” with the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.The letter asked Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor after King Charles III formally stripped his younger brother’s titles over his ties to Epstein, to respond by November 20. The US Congress cannot compel testimony from foreigners, so it was always unlikely that Andrew would consent to do so. Democrats are in the minority in the House.“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s silence in the face of the Oversight Democrats’ demand for testimony speaks volumes,” two members of that committee, Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyan, said in a statement Friday. “The documents we’ve reviewed, along with public records and Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s testimony, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.”Emails recently released by the committee as well as a posthumous memoir written by Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexual assault, reignited anger in the UK over Andrew’s ties to Epstein.Andrew has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was 17.After she launched a lawsuit against him, he paid her a multi-million-pound settlement in 2022 without making any admission of guilt.Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, died by suicide at her home in Australia in April.Garcia and Subramanyan said the committee’s work to understand the extent of Epstein’s network would “move forward with or without” testimony from the 65-year-old Andrew. “We will hold anyone who was involved in these crimes accountable, no matter their wealth, status, or political party. We will get justice for the survivors,” they said. 

Ukrainian and US officials will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, Kyiv said Saturday, as it seeks to fix the draft that heeds to some of Moscow’s hardline demands.US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country cede territory, cut its army, and pledge to never join NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the agreement, said the plan requires “additional work” as they scrambled at the G20 summit in South Africa to come up with a counter-offer to beef up Kyiv’s positions. “In the coming days, consultations will take place with partners regarding the steps needed to end the war,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after he issued a decree stating Ukraine’s team for the talks, which will be led by his top aide, Andriy Yermak.”Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and what is necessary to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion,” Zelensky added. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also join the talks on Sunday morning in Geneva, sources at the G20 summit said. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s security council secretary who’s also on board for the talks, earlier also indicated Switzerland as a location for the deliberations. “This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” added Umerov, formerly a defence minister. He previously led a few rounds of negotiations with Russia in Turkey, which only yielded prisoner exchanges and bodies repatriations. Zelensky’s decree also said the negotiations will include “representatives of the Russian Federation.” There was no immediate confirmation from Russia whether it would join the talks. – More work needed -The unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine “is a basis which will require additional work”, Western leaders gathered in South Africa for a G20 summit said Saturday.”We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack,” the leaders of key European countries as well as Canada and Japan said in a joint statement.France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier sent a sombre message to the gathering, saying “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,” adding that the grouping was struggling to resolve major crises around the world, referring to the unilateral US plan for resolving the Ukraine war. Britain, Germany and France emerged as key Ukraine backers, providing it with crucial military and financial support, especially after the US sponsorship waned after Trump’s return to office.- Difficult choice -Zelensky said Friday in an address to the nation that Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address, referring to a possible break with Washington.Russian President Vladimir Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.Ukrainians are meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, after Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure. This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.    

The G20’s role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warned Saturday at a summit in South Africa boycotted by the United States.European leaders attending the G20 summit — the first held in Africa — huddled on its sidelines to push back at a unilateral plan by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war in Ukraine on terms favouring Russia.In a joint statement issued with Canada and Japan, they said Trump’s plan needs “additional work” and some of its points required “the consent of EU and NATO members”.Speaking at the opening of the summit, one of the statement’s signatories, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table.”He warned that, given fissures in international cooperation, “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle”.”There’s no doubt, the road ahead is tough,” agreed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who also signed the statement — adding: “We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.”Chinese Premier Li Qiang said “unilateralism and protectionism are rampant” and “many people are pondering what exactly is happening to global solidarity”.But the summit’s host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, downplayed Trump’s absence and argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.”The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,” Ramaphosa said.The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and accounts for 85 percent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.- ‘Just’ peace in Ukraine -The Johannesburg summit was undermined by the American boycott, and China’s Li stood in for an absent President Xi Jinping, while Russia sent a Kremlin official, Maxim Oreshkin, instead of President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant. The leaders present adopted a G20 summit declaration early in their meeting that covered climate, energy, debt sustainability and a critical-minerals pact — along with a joint call for a “just” peace in Ukraine,  the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”.Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno — standing in for absent President Javier Milei, a Trump ally — objected to “how certain geopolitical issues are framed in the document”, specifically the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But Ramaphosa said that did not block the declaration’s adoption by the participants, who also included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.As soon as the opening ceremony was over, Starmer, Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rushed into a meeting to discuss Trump’s plan for Ukraine, and were soon joined by other leaders from Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan, an EU official said.After the meeting all of them, except Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, issued a statement calling the US plan a “draft” with some “important elements” but that it “will require additional work”.”Borders must not be changed by force,” they said, adding they were “also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack”.European Council President Antonio Costa said on X the leaders of all 27 EU nations would hold a follow-up meeting on Monday, on the sidelines of a European Union-African Union summit in Angola. Several sources at the G20 summit, speaking on condition of anonymity, said security officials from Britain, France and Germany would meet US counterparts on Sunday in Switzerland, where US-Ukraine talks were to be held.Trump has said he wants Kyiv to accept his 28-point proposals — which involve ceding territory to Russia and cutting the size of Ukraine’s military — by Thursday.- Next G20 summit in US -While the United States skipped the Johannesburg summit because it said it viewed its priorities — including on trade and on climate — as running counter to its policies, it still intended to take up the G20 baton for the next gathering.Trump plans to stage that summit in 2026 at a Florida golf club he owns.Washington has said it will send the US charge d’affaires from its embassy in South Africa only for the handover ceremony on Sunday.