What Sky’s correspondents think about the Trump-Putin phone call
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Tuesday for at least 90 minutes.
Russia has agreed to a partial ceasefire on targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure as a result, for a period of 30 days.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that future talks about Ukraine without Kyiv at the table will not bring any results.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting in 2018. File pic: AP
Here’s what two of Sky’s correspondents make of the Trump-Putin phone call.
Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
I think Vladimir Putin will be very satisfied with the outcome of this call because even if he hasn’t gained a whole lot, he crucially hasn’t lost anything.
By agreeing to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, he has given Donald Trump enough to ensure the wider US-Russia rapprochement remains intact.
There’s been talk in the last month of a reset of relations, of the lifting of sanctions – and Putin certainly doesn’t want to jeopardise that.
Follow live updates on aftermath of call
At the same time, though, Putin didn’t want to dilute any of his red lines. And by the sounds of it, they’re as indelible as ever.
The Kremlin’s readout of the call talks of a need to “eliminate the root causes of the crisis”, which is Kremlin code for “Russia’s security concerns regarding NATO expansion need to be met”.
One thing this call has given him though is the time to press home Russia’s military advantage.
This is particularly important to Putin in Russia’s Kursk region, where his forces are seemingly on the verge of eradicating Ukraine’s foothold, which would be of huge symbolic importance to the Kremlin.
James Matthews, US correspondent
They’re calling it “ceasefire-lite”. In Kyiv, they’ll choke on it.
The respective readouts of the Trump-Putin phone call don’t read well for Ukrainians relying on a US ally to do their bidding.
They had already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire with the Americans who said they were “on the 10th yard line of peace”.
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Moscow, clearly, has different ideas. To extend the American football metaphor, Vladimir Putin still has hands on the ball.
The Russians know Donald Trump. Prisoner exchanges present a trophy achievement.
There was, of all things, talk of US vs Russia ice hockey matches. In Moscow, they know Trump’s comfortable talking sport and that many Americans think hockey before they think Ukraine.
Read more: What are the options for peace in Ukraine?
It was dressing around a deal that is deeply flawed from Kyiv’s perspective.
Russian talk of eliminating “root causes of the crisis” speaks to Moscow’s desire to demilitarise Ukraine and lay claim to its territory.
Then there was Putin’s insistence on a “cessation of foreign military aid and the provision of intelligence information to Kyiv”.
To cut the supply of weapons and intelligence would weaken Ukraine while Russia strengthens. For Kyiv, it’s a line so red, it’s purple.
What Trump does next is pivotal. What he’s done so far boxes Ukraine into a corner, European allies too.
A common thread in the readouts was the positive talk of US-Russian relations to come – “an improved bilateral relationship… has huge upside” was Washington’s take.
It’s clear Trump and Putin share the vision of a geopolitical shift, built on shared priorities. The fate of Ukraine isn’t necessarily top of the list.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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