Pope Francis condemned for urging Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia
The Pope has been criticised for urging Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war against Russia, with a leading Ukrainian cleric and a senior Polish politician among those condemning his remarks.
The head of the Catholic Church called on Ukraine to have “the courage of the white flag”, adding “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates.”
In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, he said Kyiv, shouldn’t be ashamed to talk to Vladimir Putin’s regime, “before things get worse”, as “the word negotiate is a courageous word”.
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Ukraine drones appear to hit Russian ship
“When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate. Negotiations are never a surrender,” he added.
Radek Sikorski, foreign minister of Poland, a staunch and vocal Ukraine ally, responded on X: “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations.”
Mr Sikorski drew parallels between those calling for negotiations while “denying [Ukraine] the means to defend itself” and European leaders’ “appeasement” of Adolf Hitler just before the Second World War.
Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, responded, too, saying surrender is not on the minds of Ukrainians.
While meeting some Ukrainians in New York, he said: “Ukraine is wounded, but unconquered! Ukraine is exhausted, but it stands and will endure. Believe me, it never crosses anyone’s mind to surrender.”
Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, in a post on X, appeared to compare the pope’s comments to calls for “talking with Hitler” while raising “a white flag to satisfy him”.
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A Vatican spokesman later clarified that the Pope supported “a stop to hostilities [and] a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations”, rather than an outright Ukrainian surrender.
The term “white flag”, was used by the interviewer, and repeated by the Pope.
Negotiating peace would represent a huge change for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who remains firm on not engaging directly with Moscow on peace talks.
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Visiting NATO’s Russian frontline
With the war in its third year, Russia’s massive advantage in resources has begun to tell through progress on the battlefield, while Ukraine is running low on ammunition and some of its Western allies are starting to discuss sending troops to the conflict.
Throughout the war, the Pope has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine.
In May 2022, three months after the invasion began, he said that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion.
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‘Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine’
During the Angelus prayer on Sunday from the window overlooking St Peter’s Square in Rome, the Pope said he was praying “for peace in the tormented Ukraine and in the Holy Land”.
“Let the hostilities which cause immense suffering among the civilian population cease as soon as possible.”
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
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Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm took second place following his switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old’s estimated total earnings were around $260m (£205m) – an all-time high for a football player.
Jon Rahm came in second. Pic: Jeff Faughender/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
His on-field earnings amounted to $200m (£158m) while off-field he earned $60m (£47m) thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.
Rahm earned $218m (£172m) and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi. Pic: David Kirouac/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Third on the list is record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who switched to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, which helped the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m (£107m).
The 36-year-old earned $65m (£51m) in on-field earnings but $70m (£55m) off it from deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James came in fourth at $128m (£101m), while fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks made fifth with $111m (£88m).
France football captain Kylian Mbappe dropped down to sixth with $110m (£87m).
Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh with $108m (£85m), despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.
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French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth on the list with $106m (£84m), followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with $102m (£80m).
Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list, in 10th place with $101m (£80m), thanks to the signing bonus negotiated into his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.
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