Connect with us

Published

on

An investigation into underwater noises coming from the area of the search for the missing Titan submersible have come up “negative”, officials have said.

Regular banging sounds were picked up by a Canadian plane with underwater sonar capabilities after it was deployed in the search for the missing vessel.

The banging sounds were detected every 30 minutes on Tuesday – and were picked up again when search teams deployed more radars in the area.

Read more:
Hunt for missing submersible after search teams pick up ‘banging noises’ – latest updates

But the US Coast Guard said on Wednesday an investigation of the noises by specialist underwater equipment had “yielded negative results”.

“Additionally, the data from the aircraft has been shared with our US Navy experts for further analysis, which will be considered in future search plans,” the US Coast Guard added in a post on Twitter.

It comes after a former employee of the missing Titan submersible operator has revealed he had raised “safety concerns” over the vessel but was reportedly “met with hostility” before later being sacked, according to court documents.

OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, David Lochridge, had raised concerns over “safety and quality control issues regarding the Titan to OceanGate executive management”, according to the filings.

In the August 2018 court document, it claims chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions Stockton Rush, asked Mr Lochridge to conduct a “quality inspection” report on the vessel following the “issues of quality control”.

Read more:
‘This is how it is going to end’ – Scientist recounts trapped Titanic submersible experience over 20 years ago
What we know about the search for the vessel and those on board

Mr Lochridge “identified numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns” but he was reportedly “met with hostility and denial of access” to necessary documents.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

How the missing sub saga unfolded.

The court filing claims he was worried about a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan”, and that he “stressed the potential danger to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths”.

Mr Lochridge was later fired from the company, wrongfully he claims.

OceanGate’s icebreaker, Polar Prince, which was supporting Titan, reportedly lost contact with the vessel about an hour and 45 minutes after it submerged.

The five men on board are Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

They had “about 40 hours of breathable air” left, the US Coast Guard said on Tuesday night.

A race-against-time search and rescue operation is taking place some 435 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada.

The wreckage of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, lies at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,810 metres).

The Titan submersible usually takes two hours to descend to the wreck.

Continue Reading

World

Trump-Putin summit: No deal reached to end war in Ukraine

Published

on

By

Trump-Putin summit: No deal reached to end war in Ukraine

No deal has been reached to end the war in Ukraine – but Donald Trump has said there are “many points” he and Vladimir Putin agreed on during their highly anticipated summit.

Following the meeting in Alaska, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours, the two leaders gave a short media conference giving little detail about what had been discussed, and without taking questions.

Mr Trump described the meeting as “very productive” and said there were “many points that we agreed on… I would say a couple of big ones”.

Trump-Putin summit – latest updates

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Key moments from Trump-Putin news conference

But there are a few left, he added. “Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there…

“We haven’t quite got there, we’ve made some headway. There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Mr Putin described the negotiations as “thorough and constructive” and said Russia was “seriously interested in putting an end” to the war in Ukraine. He also warned Europe not to “torpedo nascent progress”.

Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

After much build-up to the summit – with the US president threatening “severe” consequences for Russia should it not go well – it was ultimately not clear whether the talks had produced meaningful steps towards a ceasefire in what has been the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years.

Mr Trump said he intended to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, who were excluded from the discussions, to brief them.

Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, the US leader ended his remarks with a thank you, and said he would probably see Mr Putin again “very soon”.

When the Russian president suggested that “next time” would be Moscow, he responded by saying he might face criticism, but “I could see it possibly happening”.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump applauds Putin and shares ride in ‘The Beast’

The red carpet treatment

The news conference came after a grand arrival at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, where the US president stepped down from Air Force One and later greeted his Russian counterpart with a handshake and smiles on a red carpet.

Mr Putin even travelled alongside Mr Trump in the presidential limousine, nicknamed “The Beast”.

It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war.

Before the talks, the two presidents ignored frantically-shouted questions from journalists – and Mr Putin appeared to frown when asked by one reporter if he would stop “killing civilians” in Ukraine, putting his hand to his ear as though to indicate he could not hear.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

‘Fury, anger and disgust’ in Ukraine

Our US correspondent Martha Kelner, on the ground in Alaska, said he was shouting “let’s go” – apparently in reference to getting the reporters out of the room.

Read more:
The moment Vladimir Putin has craved
What we expected from summit – and what actually happened

Trump-Putin summit in pictures
Mapping the land Ukraine could be told to give up

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What we learned from Trump-Putin news conference

A ’10/10′ meeting

During his first day back in the White House in January, Mr Trump had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

But seven months later, after infamously berating Mr Zelenskyy during a meeting at the Oval Office in February, and then stanching the flow of some US military assistance to Kyiv, he still does not appear to have brought a pause to the conflict.

In an interview with Fox News before leaving Alaska, Mr Trump described the meeting with Mr Putin as “warm” and gave it a “10/10”, but declined to give details about what they discussed.

He also insisted that the onus going forward could be on Mr Zelenskyy “to get it done”, but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump’s body language was ‘disappointed’

What happens next?

Mr Trump is expected to speak to Mr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders about the talks.

A meeting of ambassadors from European countries has been scheduled for 8.30am UK time, EU presidency sources have told Sky News.

European heads of state and Mr Trump are also likely to have a virtual meeting later in the day.

Despite the US president’s efforts to bring about a ceasefire, Russian attacks on Ukraine have only intensified in the past few months.

On 9 July, Russia carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching more than 740 drones and missiles.

Furthermore, Mr Zelenskyy has said Russia is preparing for new offensives.

Ahead of the summit, one of the key commanders of Ukraine’s drone forces told Sky News in a rare interview that there would be no let-up in its own long-range drone attacks on Russia until Moscow agrees to peace.

Continue Reading

World

What we expected from the Trump-Putin summit – and what actually happened

Published

on

By

What we expected from the Trump-Putin summit - and what actually happened

A warm handshake, big smiles, and a red carpet – this was the welcome for Vladimir Putin as he touched down on US soil for critical negotiations on the war in Ukraine.

There had been much build-up to the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, not least from Donald Trump himself – with the US president having threatened “severe” consequences for Russia should it not go well.

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

But more than two-and-a-half hours of talks resulted in just a brief news conference with little detail given away – and ultimately, no talk of a ceasefire and no deal on Ukraine reached yet.

Here is what was expected from the meeting – based on information from the White House, Mr Trump and the Kremlin beforehand – and what happened on the night.

One-on-one turned into three-on-three

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio also attended the talks. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio also attended the talks. Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

It was thought this would be a one-on-one meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

Instead, the US president was joined by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while the Russian leader was supported by his foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The change seemed to indicate the White House was perhaps taking a more guarded approach than during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, where Mr Trump and Mr Putin met privately with interpreters. The US leader then shocked the world by siding with the Russian leader over US intelligence officials on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Rolling out the red carpet

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Mr Putin was given the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies, belying the bloodshed and the suffering in the war he started.

The two men greeted each other with a handshake and a smiling Mr Trump even applauded the Russian president as he approached him on the red carpet.

Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn, in Kyiv, gauged the Ukrainian reaction to the arrival – and said people were furious at the welcome extended by the Trump team.

Images of US soldiers on their knees, unfurling the red carpet at the steps of the Russian leader’s plane, went viral, he said, with social media “lit up with fury, anger, and disgust”.

He added: “There are different ways of welcoming a world leader to this type of event, and Trump has gone all out to give a huge welcome to Putin, which is sticking in the craw of Ukrainians.”

Any questions?

Pic: Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque
Image:
Pic: Reuters/ Kevin Lamarque

Plenty. But no one was really given a chance to ask.

Ahead of the talks, cameras were allowed inside for just a minute – and while this was enough time for a few journalists to shout some questions, these were ignored by the two leaders.

“President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” one shouted. In response, Mr Putin put his hand up to his ear as if he could not hear.

In their brief media conference after the talks, Mr Putin spoke for almost nine minutes, while Trump took just three-and-a-half to say what he wanted to say.

The two men then did not stay to answer questions from reporters.

Before the event, the Kremlin said it could last between six and seven hours, but the whole visit lasted about four-and-a-half hours.

‘Severe consequences’

Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
Pic: AP/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Ever since his inauguration in January, Mr Trump had been threatening serious consequences for Russia should a deal on Ukraine not be reached soon. Just two days after the ceremony, he took to social media to declare there could be “high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions” and called for an end to the “ridiculous” war.

In February, he held what he described as a “productive” call with the Russian leader, and about two weeks later he infamously berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the Oval Office – this one taking place in front of the world’s media.

Read more:
Trump and Putin agree on ‘many points’ – but give little detail away

The moment Vladimir Putin has craved
Trump-Putin summit in pictures
Mapping the land Ukraine could be told to give up

In July, he started to set deadlines for an end to the war – first giving Mr Putin 50 days and later reducing this to “10 or 12 days”, before announcing the summit last week.

Yesterday, Mr Trump insisted his Russian counterpart was “not going to mess around with me”.

However, while both men insisted the talks were “productive”, it is not clear what agreements have been reached, and whether Ukraine is any closer to finding peace. The word ceasefire was not mentioned by either leader. Instead, they praised each other, with Mr Trump describing Mr Putin’s remarks as “very profound” – and there was no mention of sanctions.

A meeting with Mr Zelenskyy?

Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy met at the White House in February. Pic: Reuters/ Brian Snyder
Image:
Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy met at the White House in February. Pic: Reuters/ Brian Snyder

It was expected that after the talks, Mr Trump could set the table for the next meeting with the Ukrainian president.

While he said he would call Mr Zelenskyy, he made no public commitment to a meeting during the media conference.

In an interview with Fox News after the summit, he said Russia and Ukraine would set a date to discuss next steps and a potential ceasefire deal, but did not provide further details on specifics or timings.

“They’re going to set up a meeting now, between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess,” Mr Trump said. He also said that European nations “have to get involved a little bit” but it is “really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done”.

Putin brought his own limo – but travelled in The Beast instead

A US Secret Service agent stands next to 'The Beast'. Pic: AP/ Luis M Alvarez
Image:
A US Secret Service agent stands next to ‘The Beast’. Pic: AP/ Luis M Alvarez

After shaking hands on the red carpet, the two leaders made their way towards their waiting vehicles.

But despite Mr Putin arriving with his “Aurus” limousine, and it being spotted on the tarmac near the planes, he got into the American presidential limousine, known as “The Beast”, to travel to the meeting location.

The Russian president was seen with a wide smile on his face, while Mr Trump appeared to be waving to the crowds.

Continue Reading

World

In pictures: Trump-Putin summit ends without a deal but with plenty of standout moments

Published

on

By

In pictures: Trump-Putin summit ends without a deal but with plenty of standout moments

The presidents of the United States and Russia wrapped up critical talks in Alaska without reaching a deal on ending the war in Ukraine. 

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were on the ground in Anchorage, Alaska, for only about six hours, but the historic yet inconclusive summit still produced some memorable moments.

Both leaders spoke at a news conference, but neither mentioned a ceasefire – something many hoped Mr Trump could persuade Mr Putin to accept during the discussions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who didn’t participate in the talks in Alaska, had said that Ukraine was “counting on America”.

The two leaders meeting each other. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Image:
The two leaders meeting each other. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Image:
Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Mr Trump arriving on Air Force One. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA
Image:
Mr Trump arriving on Air Force One. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA

Mr Putin steps off the Ilyushin Il-96. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Image:
Mr Putin steps off the Ilyushin Il-96. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

A red carpet was laid out for the Russian leader. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Image:
A red carpet was laid out for the Russian leader. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Image:
Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Not far from the military base, several hundred people joined a pro-Ukraine rally. Pic: Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters
Image:
Not far from the military base, several hundred people joined a pro-Ukraine rally. Pic: Nathaniel Wilder/Reuters

They unfurled this huge flag. AP Photo/Jae C Hong
Image:
They unfurled this huge flag. AP Photo/Jae C Hong

The two leaders held a joint news conference after their discussion. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The two leaders held a joint news conference after their discussion. Pic: Reuters

Pic: Sergei Bobylev/ Sputnik/ Kremlin pool via AP
Image:
Pic: Sergei Bobylev/ Sputnik/ Kremlin pool via AP

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Pic: AP
Image:
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US secretary of state Marco Rubio. Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pic: Jae C Hong/PA
Image:
Pic: Jae C Hong/PA

Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reutrs
Image:
Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reutrs

Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Image:
Pic: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Image:
Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

President Trump waves goodbye as he boards Air Force One after the meeting. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA
Image:
President Trump waves goodbye as he boards Air Force One after the meeting. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/PA

Continue Reading

Trending