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European leaders travel to Kyiv in push for 30-day ceasefire

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European leaders travel to Kyiv in push for 30-day ceasefire

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The leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK travelled to Kyiv on Saturday amid renewed international calls for Russia to agree to a lasting ceasefire and engage in peace talks.

The visit aims to show western solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia’s Vladimir Putin hosted the leaders of China and Brazil at Moscow’s Victory Day parade celebrating 80 years since the end of the second world war.

Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz joined French President Emmanuel Macron and British and Polish prime ministers Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk in the Ukrainian capital — the quartet’s first trip since Merz became chancellor earlier this month.

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The leaders with Zelenskyy in Kyiv © via REUTERS

In a joint statement issued ahead of the visit, the leaders called for a 30-day ceasefire to invigorate US-led negotiations aimed at ending the war.

“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion,” they said, adding that they fully support US President Donald Trump’s calls for a peace deal and urged Russia “to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace”.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come.”

Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine remained ready for “a reliable and lasting ceasefire for at least 30 days”.

António Costa, president of the European Council, who represents the bloc’s 27 national leaders, said the participants in Saturday’s meeting agreed to “strongly support the US and Ukraine’s unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposal, which could pave the way for meaningful peace talks”.

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“We are prepared to impose additional sanctions if Russia fails to uphold the ceasefire,” Costa said, adding that Brussels would “continue to leverage EU instruments for future military and security guarantees”.

Trump’s proposed 30-day ceasefire has previously been backed by Kyiv but Putin never agreed to it. The Russian leader has pledged to pause attacks over holidays and on energy infrastructure in Ukraine, but his forces have continued to strike civilian areas in almost every region of the country in recent months.

Ballistic missiles and drones struck Kyiv earlier this week, killing a mother and son. That attack came two weeks after another on Ukraine’s capital that killed 12 and injured more than 80.

The European leaders said they were prepared to support talks between Ukraine and Russia and explore how a ceasefire could be implemented to “prepare for a full peace deal”. 

Xi with Putin in Moscow on Friday’s Victory anniversary
(L-R) Chinese President Xi Jinping with President Putin in Moscow during Friday’s Victory Day anniversary © Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/Shutterstock

People familiar with the leaders’ agenda on Saturday told the Financial Times that the US, Europe and Ukraine are close to finalising a plan for an initial 30-day unconditional ceasefire that would see them impose harsh new sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin refused to go along and continue its full-blown war.

The EU on Friday called for “a full, unconditional ceasefire of at least 30 days” saying that it was up to Russia “to show its willingness to achieve peace”. The statement was issued by the bloc’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas and was backed by all its 27 members, including Hungary and Slovakia who had previously refused to sign off on such statements.

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EU foreign ministers from some 20 nations on Friday travelled to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv where they declared their support for a special tribunal to prosecute senior Russian officials for war crimes carried out by Moscow’s forces during the war. The court will be established under a joint agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body.

Separately on Friday, the UK announced new sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels used to shuttle oil around the world while avoiding restrictions imposed by western nations after Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“Every step that limits the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war brings peace closer. The UK is once again demonstrating a leadership approach,” Zelenskyy said on Friday, thanking Starmer.

“If Russia keeps dragging out the war, we’ll need stronger sanctions,” Zelenskyy said. “Especially if they break the ceasefire when it finally happens.”

During their visit on Saturday, the leaders honoured Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war and paid their respects at Kyiv’s symbolic Independence Square.

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Other European counterparts will later join virtually to discuss plans for a coalition that would support Ukraine’s air, land and maritime defences, and help rebuild its military after any peace agreement and ensure its long-term security.

Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher in London and Henry Foy in Warsaw

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

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Man Charged With Posting Bomb Instructions Used in New Orleans Attack

Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a former Army serviceman they accused of distributing instructions on how to build explosives that were used by a man who conducted a deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day last year.

The former serviceman, Jordan A. Derrick, a 40-year-old from Missouri, was charged with one count of engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license; one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device; and one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday. The three charges together carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

Starting in September 2023, the authorities said, Mr. Derrick was using various social media sites to share videos of himself making explosive materials, including detonators. His videos provided step-by-step instructions, and he often engaged with viewers in comments, sometimes answering their questions about the chemistry behind the explosives.

The authorities said that Mr. Derrick’s videos were downloaded by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, 42, who was accused of ramming a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2025, in a terrorist attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Mr. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with the police. Before the attack, Mr. Jabbar had placed two explosives on Bourbon Street, the authorities said, but they did not detonate.

The authorities later recovered two laptops and a USB drive in a house that Mr. Jabbar had rented. The USB drive contained several videos created by Mr. Derrick that provided instructions on making explosives. The authorities said the explosives they recovered were consistent with the ones Mr. Derrick had posted about.

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Mr. Derrick’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Derrick was a combat engineer in the Army, where he provided personnel and vehicle support, the authorities said. He also helped supervise safety personnel during demolitions and various operations. He was honorably discharged in February 2013.

The authorities did not say whether Mr. Derrick had any communication with Mr. Jabbar, or whether the men had known each other. In some of Mr. Derrick’s videos and comments, he indicated that he was aware that his videos could be misused.

“There are a plethora of uh, moral, you know, entanglements with topics, any topic of teaching explosives, right?” he asked in one video, according to the affidavit. “Of course, the wrong people could get it.”

The authorities also said that an explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Mo., on May 4, and the occupant of the residence told investigators that he had manufactured explosives after watching online tutorials from Mr. Derrick.

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Mr. Derrick’s YouTube account had more than 15,000 subscribers and 20 published videos, the affidavit said. He had also posted content on other platforms, including Odysee and Patreon. Some videos were accessible to the public for free, while others required a paid subscription to view.

“My responsibility to my countrymen is to make sure that I serve the function of the Second Amendment to strengthen it,” Mr. Derrick said in one of his videos, according to the affidavit. “This is how I serve my country for real.”

Outside of the income he received through content creation, Mr. Derrick did not have any known employment. He did receive a monthly disability check from Veterans Affairs, the affidavit stated.

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?” : Embedded
Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. We include an update at the end of the episode. “The Girls” is a 4-part series from the Louisville Public Media’s investigative podcast, Dig.
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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

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Chud the Builder, Known for Racist Confrontations, Charged With Attempted Murder

A streamer known for hurling racist slurs in public settings under the nickname “Chud the Builder” was charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, the authorities said.

The streamer, Dalton Eatherly, 28, was involved in a confrontation with an unidentified man that escalated to gunfire outside the Montgomery County Court in Clarksville, about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and were in stable condition, the office said.

In addition to attempted murder, Mr. Eatherly was charged with employing a firearm during dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Eatherly, who is white, has accumulated an online audience by livestreaming confrontations in which he uses racist language toward Black people in public.

Law enforcement did not provide any details about the second man involved in Wednesday’s shooting. Mr. Eatherly posted an audio recording online of paramedics treating his wounds in which he claims he shot the man in self-defense.

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A video posted by the website Clarksville Now shows Mr. Eatherly on a stretcher with a microphone attached to his lapel.

Mr. Eatherly is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, pending arraignment, the sheriff’s office said.

According to court records, Mr. Eatherly was scheduled to appear for a court hearing on Wednesday morning in an unrelated case brought by Midland Credit Management, a collections agency.

A lawyer listed in court records from a separate harassment case in which Mr. Eatherly was a defendant in November did not respond to a request for comment.

On Sunday, three days before the shooting in Clarksville, Mr. Eatherly was arrested in Nashville. According to a police affidavit, Mr. Eatherly live streamed his meal at a restaurant, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, on Saturday even though the restaurant had asked him ahead of time not to do so.

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When he was confronted, Mr. Eatherly “became disruptive and started making racial statements, yelling, screaming and otherwise creating a scene,” according to the affidavit.

He then refused to pay for his $370 meal. Mr. Eatherly was charged with theft of services, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was released on $5,000 bond.

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