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US envoys press peace plan with Ukraine negotiators

Drones spotted near Zelensky flight path DUBLIN: An Irish navy ship spotted up to five drones operating near the flight path of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aircraft as he arrived for a state visit to Ireland on Monday, local media reported on Thursday. The sighting triggered a major security alert amid fears it was an attempt to interfere with the flight path, the Irish Times reported. It quoted unnamed sources as saying the aircraft was not in any danger. The Ukrainian delegation arrived on Monday and departed the next day as part of a trip to help drum up support in Europe for Kyiv amid its war with Russia. Ukrainian media quoted an adviser to Zelensky, Dmytro Lytvyn, as saying Ukrainian officials were made aware of the drones, but no action was deemed necessary. “The host side is responsible for security. According to their data, there were indeed such drones, but this did not affect the visit and there was no need to force any change to the visit.” Drone flights, the origin of which are mostly unknown, have recently disrupted airspace operations in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the incursions “hybrid warfare”. News portal The Journal , which first reported the spotting of drones at Dublin Airport, said enquiries are being carried out to determine whether the drones took off from land or an undetected ship. Ireland’s Defence Forces said it has no comment on the specifics of any alleged incidents for operational security reasons. “Defence Forces support to the security operation was successfully deployed in multiple means, ultimately leading to a safe and successful visit,“ a spokesperson said. – Reuters JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Thursday said it “firmly opposed” another delay to the Israeli Supreme Court decision on its petition demanding independent access to Gaza. On Nov 24, the court granted the state a further 10 days to respond to the appeal, and on Thursday extended the deadline again to Dec 21, giving Israel time to present a plan on foreign media access to Gaza. – AFP KYIV: Ukraine’s military said on Thursday its forces had struck a large chemical plant in Stavropol region in southern Russia, triggering a fire. Its General Staff said the Nevinnomyssky Azot plant was hit on Thursday, adding that the facility produced components for explosives. There was no immediate reaction from Russian officials and Reuters could not independently verify the report. – Reuters NGO OPPOSES GAZA ACCESS DELAY MOSCOW CHEMICAL PLANT HIT, SAYS KYIV

Ukraine conflict. Trump has previously mused that Russia would inevitably win more land and Ukraine would be better off settling. A first draft of the US plan would see Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battleground in return for security promises that fall short of Ukraine’s aspirations to join Nato. Witkoff and Kushner have been working on modifications since meeting the Ukrainians on Nov 23 in Geneva. The two sides met again the following week in Miami alongside State Secretary Marco Rubio. The talks come at a delicate time for Zelensky, who was hailed as a hero in the West at the start of the war but has had a tumultuous relationship with Trump. Zelensky last week removed his top aide and negotiator Andriy Yermak, who days earlier had negotiated with Witkoff, as he came under investigation in a corruption scandal. – AFP

possible developments. Of course, we will work as constructively as possible with all our partners to ensure peace is achieved, and it is a dignified peace.” However, Putin has showed no public signs of budging as Russia makes slow but steady progress seizing land in eastern Ukraine. “This is a complex task and a challenging mission that Trump took upon himself,” said Putin of the diplomacy in an interview published on Thursday as he visited India. “Achieving consensus among competing parties is no easy task, but Trump, truly, I believe, he sincerely tries to do this,” he said, according to magazine India Today. “I think we should engage with this effort rather than obstruct it.” Putin’s visit to India, a historic partner of Russia, comes as international isolation of him gradually eases. Trump in August welcomed Putin to Alaska where they made no clear progress on ending the

o Economic sanctions against Russia partially suspended until at least April 29 next year

Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands announced that they are boycotting Eurovision, the world’s largest live music competition, over the decision. Iceland said it is considering its position. Widespread opposition to the war in Gaza had led to mounting calls for Israel to be excluded from the annual contest. There were also suspicions about the manipulation of the voting system to favour Israel at last year’s event. But the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said after a meeting in Geneva, there had been “clear support” among members for reforms implemented to “reinforce trust and protect neutrality”. “A large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with additional safeguards in place,“ a statement read. Moments after the release of the statement, public broadcasters in Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands, who had all backed Israel’s exclusion, said their countries would not take part next year. “The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and approval of the peace process, and the use of the contest for political goals by Israel, makes it increasingly difficult to keep Eurovision a neutral cultural event,“ said Spain’s RTVE secretary-general Alfonso Morales. Ireland’s RTE said its participation would be “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the MIAMI: Envoys of US President Donald Trump were to meet on Thursday with Ukrainian negotiators for the third time in two weeks to press his plan to end the war as his administration eased economic pressure on Russia. Two days after the envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US Treasury Department partially suspended measures that Trump had announced in October when he finally vowed to get tough on Moscow. The department suspended until at least April 29, 2026 economic sanctions against Lukoil-branded gas stations outside of Russia. A ban remains in place to prevent the money from flowing back to Russia, which has been under sweeping US and EU sanctions since the start of the war in February 2022.

Trump’s sanctions had been one of the most concrete means to pressure Russia, which European diplomats accuse of trying to avoid pressure by pursuing negotiations. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were set to meet in the Miami area for dinner on Thursday with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov, a US official said. The gathering came two days after the Trump duo met Putin for five hours in Moscow. “Our task now is to obtain complete information about what has been said in Russia and what other reasons Putin has found to prolong the war and to pressure Ukraine, to pressure us (and) our independence,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Ukraine is prepared for any

Eurovision faces backlash after Israel cleared to compete GENEVA: Three countries on Thursday pulled out of the Eurovision Song Contest after organisers opted not to vote on Israel’s future participation, allowing it to take part in next year’s event.

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Palestinians filling containers with water at the Nuseirat camp in Gaza. – AFPPIC

the world”. In the run-up to the meeting, held behind closed doors and under tight security in Geneva, EBU members appeared divided on the issue, with Israel winning support notably from Germany. Newspaper Bild quoted German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer as saying: “Israel is part of Eurovision just as Germany is part of Europe“. German broadcaster SWR and Austria’s ORF hailed Thursday’s decision. – AFP

also said they were considering a boycott over the situation in Gaza. However, on Thursday, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT said it backs the new rule changes and understands that next year’s host country Austria takes the security concerns seriously. “SVT will participate in Eurovision next year.“ Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the EBU decision and said his country “deserves to be represented on every stage around

humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”. The Netherlands’s AVROTROS said a Dutch presence at next year’s event “cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organisation”. A statement from Icelandic broadcaster RUV said: “The board of RUV will discuss whether Iceland will participate in the competition next year, despite Israel’s participation.” Belgium, Finland and Sweden had