Europe

American and Ukrainian officials are engaged in talks aimed at creating “reliable security guarantees” for Ukraine as part of a US-backed peace plan ahead of a critical visit to Moscow by United States special envoy Steve Witkoff.

At the meeting in Florida on Sunday, a Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, sat down with Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said the talks are aimed at “creating a pathway” for a sovereign Ukraine.

“We have clear directives and priorities: safeguarding Ukrainian interests, ensuring substantive dialogue, and advancing on the basis of the progress achieved in Geneva,” Umerov wrote on X.

He added negotiators want to “secure real peace for Ukraine and reliable, long-term security guarantees”.

The talks come a week after Rubio and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva, Switzerland to revise US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which initially was criticised as a Russian wish list. The sit-down sets the stage for Witkoff’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump earlier signalled would take place this week.

Putin said the US draft – which has not yet been published – could serve as a “basis for future agreements”, adding his talks with Witkoff should focus on the Russia-controlled Donbas and Crimea regions.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is participating in the Florida talks, may also be present in Moscow.

“This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism for a way forward that will allow them [Ukraine] to be independent and sovereign and never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people – not just rebuild the country but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress,” said Rubio.

Talks between US and Ukrainian officials got off to a “good start” and are taking place in a “warm atmosphere conducive to potential progressive outcome”, said Ukraine’s first deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya on X.

‘Important days’

The negotiations come at a sensitive moment for Ukraine as it continues to push back against Russian forces that invaded in 2022, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reeling from a corruption scandal that led to the resignation of his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, this week.

It was Yermak who sat down with Rubio in Geneva last week to make amendments to Trump’s original 28-point plan, which initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia, limiting the size of its military, and giving up on joining NATO.

The US pared back the original draft to 19 points following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that the United States is “demonstrating a constructive approach”.

“In the coming days, it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end,” he said.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian president said he spoke with NATO chief Mark Rutte and noted, “These are important days and much can change.”

I spoke with Mark Rutte @SecGenNATO, and we will continue our conversation in the coming days. These are important days, and much can change. We are coordinating closely, and in our efforts – and in the efforts of all our partners – it is our joint measures and shared positions…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 30, 2025

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosts Zelenskyy for talks in Paris, the French presidency announced.

As Russia advances on the front line, its forces have targeted Ukraine’s capital and the region for two nights in a row ahead of the talks in the US.

Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight on Saturday killed six people and wounded dozens of others across the country, and cut power to 400,000 households in Kyiv.

A drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv killed one person and wounded 11, the regional governor said.

Hours earlier, a Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Black Sea that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil.

Alexander Isak scored his maiden goal for Liverpool as the Reds ended their two-game EPL losing streak at West Ham.

Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak scored his first English Premier League goal for the Reds as the under-pressure football champions snapped a woeful run of form with a much-needed 2-0 win at West Ham United on Sunday.

Liverpool had endured their worst spell in over 70 years, losing nine of their previous 12 games, and manager Arne Slot took drastic measures, leaving Mohamed Salah out of his starting lineup for the first time in the Premier League.

Salah’s replacement Florian Wirtz looked sharp, though he squandered Liverpool’s best chance of the first half with his tame effort from close range, allowing goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to save.

Isak, who had looked short of form and fitness, spurned two opportunities before the break, drawing a fine reaction stop from Areola midway through the half.

But the Sweden striker slotted home a Cody Gakpo pullback on the hour mark to give the Reds the lead they marginally deserved and rarely looked like giving up.

Liverpool’s cause was helped by Lucas Paqueta, who was bizarrely booked twice for dissent within 60 seconds with less than 10 minutes to play, before Gakpo added a second goal in the 92nd minute to seal the three points.

Liverpool’s victory, only their second in eight league games, moved them up to eighth place with 21 points from 13 matches, while West Ham are 17th with 11 points, level with 18th-placed Leeds United.

Liverpool’s losing run ended by Isak

West Ham – whose players and fans paid tribute to former captain, coach and manager Billy Bonds, who died aged 79 on Sunday – came into the match after back-to-back home victories and had seemingly turned the corner.

But Liverpool ultimately had too much quality and, crucially for Slot, managed to keep their fifth clean sheet of the season after shipping 10 goals in their last three games.

Isak could have put Liverpool in front inside four minutes, but spooned his effort well over the bar, with his protracted move from Newcastle United still seemingly affecting him.

West Ham looked sharper after the break, with Paqueta sending an audacious half-volley from 30 yards narrowly wide as the home fans believed Liverpool were there for the taking.

In the 60th minute, however, Isak was left unmarked in the box as Liverpool recycled possession from a throw-in and the striker coolly side-footed into the bottom corner.

Paqueta saw red in the 83rd minute to make West Ham’s task all the harder before Gakpo sent the home fans streaming for the exits with a clinical finish.

Mikel Merino rescued Arsenal as the Premier League leaders battled to a 1-1 draw at 10-man Chelsea in a bad-tempered London derby.

Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo was sent off for a crude foul on Merino late in the first half at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Despite Caicedo’s dismissal, Trevoh Chalobah headed Chelsea into a second half lead, but Merino’s second half leveller ensured Arsenal emerged with a point from a bruising encounter between the title rivals.

Arsenal are five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who beat Leeds United on Saturday, and sit six points above third-placed Chelsea.

When the dust had settled on a contest of relentless intensity, Arsenal were left to rue a missed opportunity to extend their lead over Chelsea in the title race, while the Blues were relieved to avoid a damaging defeat.

Arsenal remain the favourites to win their first Premier League crown since 2004, but Chelsea’s combative display suggested they could emerge as the biggest threat to the Gunners’ title aspirations.

Arsenal are unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions, winning 14 of those matches, while Chelsea have gone seven matches without losing in all competitions.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had played down his young side’s title hopes, but they went toe to toe with Arsenal, who were without injured centre-back William Saliba.

A thunderous first half included a rash of bookings as both teams tried to impose themselves.

Gunners midfielder Martin Zubimendi hauled down Reece James, Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella crunched into Bukayo Saka, Mosquera pole-axed Joao Pedro and Riccardo Calafiori cynically tugged James.

Saka almost exacted immediate revenge on Cucurella with a stinging strike that Robert Sanchez saved at his near post.

Teenage sensation Estevao Willian started for Chelsea after his star role in their 3-0 midweek win over Barcelona.

The 18-year-old could not replicate his stunning goal against Barca however as he lashed over from 9 metres (10 yards) to squander Chelsea’s first serious chance.

Enzo Fernandez tested Arsenal keeper David Raya from the edge of the area as Chelsea began to exert pressure on the visitors’ reshuffled defence.

The war of attrition turned ugly in the 38th minute when Caicedo caught Merino on the ankle with a nasty foul that was upgraded from a booking to a dismissal after a VAR review.

It was the Blues’ sixth red card in all competitions this season.

The Ecuador midfielder’s premature exit was followed by a dangerous Hincapie elbow on Chalobah, provoking Chelsea cries for a red card that went unheeded.

Gabriel Martinelli nearly added to Chelsea’s angst on the stroke of half-time with a fierce blast that forced a fine save from Sanchez.

Arsenal arrived as the best set-piece team in the league with 10 goals in 12 matches.

But Chelsea ranked second with eight and Chalobah grabbed their ninth in the 48th minute.

It was a goal straight from the Arsenal playbook as James curled a corner to the near post and Chalobah rose highest inside the six-yard box to glance his header into the far corner.

Arteta responded by sending on Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke, who was jeered and barraged with chants of “Chelsea reject” on his return to his former club.

The Arsenal changes reaped an instant reward as Merino snatched the 59th minute equaliser.

Saka danced past Cucurella with a mesmerising run and cross, picking out Merino for a powerful close-range header that flashed past Sanchez.

It was Merino’s fourth goal this season as Arteta once again used the Spain midfielder as a makeshift striker.

A frantic finale featured Sanchez making superb stops to deny Saka and Merino, but Arsenal could not land the knockout blow.

Chelsea’s captain Reece James told Sky Sports that he was “disappointed” not to come away with the three points but that the sending off limited his side.

“Arsenal have been on the top for the last few years. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Their midfield is tough. We done what we could today to play our game and hurt them off the ball,” he said.

He added: “[Maresca] changed the formation slightly, and he knew they were going to come at us. So we tried to soak up the pressure, and then try to catch them [on the counter].

“I am proud of the boys. It was electric at the Bridge today. We are happy to take the point.”

Merino said Arsenal were also disappointed not to get the win.

When you wear this shirt, you want to win every game.” he told Sky Sports. “This is a really tough stadium to come and take a point. We could have done things better but the team showed good mentality.”

Elsewhere on Sunday, Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for the Reds as the under-pressure football champions earned a much-needed 2-0 win at West Ham United.

Manchester United ended Crystal Palace’s nine-month unbeaten home run with a 2-1 comeback victory, Aston Villa climbed into the top four with a 1-0 victory over lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Brighton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest to go fifth.

Sudan was teetering on the edge of crisis long before open war erupted in April 2023. Decades of authoritarian rule under Omar al-Bashir resulted in a fragile economy, fragmented security forces, and entrenched paramilitary structures.

Following the coup that overthrew al-Bashir in 2019, a fragile civilian-military transitional arrangement failed to unite competing factions. Political instability, localised rebellions, and a simmering rivalry between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – the successor to the Popular Defence Forces, government-backed militia known as the Janjaweed who committed war crimes in Darfur in the early 2000s – escalated into full-blown conflict.

By mid-2023, Sudan was effectively split into contested zones, with major urban centres, such as Khartoum and Omdurman, transformed into battlefields, and millions of civilians displaced internally or forced across borders as refugees.

Although geographically removed, the European Union played a consequential role in these developments. For nearly a decade, it pursued a strategy of “externalising” migration control, directing aid, training, and equipment to African states ostensibly to reduce irregular migration towards Europe.

In Sudan, this approach produced unintended and devastating consequences that the EU is yet to be held accountable for. Funding initially justified under “migration management” and “capacity building” intersected with opaque arms flows, Gulf intermediaries, and weak oversight. European money and materiel, intended to stabilise populations and impose border forces to buffer the migratory ambitions of Africans, may have indirectly reinforced the very actors now perpetrating war crimes in Sudan.

Between 2014 and 2018, the EU channelled more than 200 million euros ($232m at the current exchange rate) into Sudan via the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and the Better Migration Management (BMM) initiative.

These programmes formally aimed to strengthen migration control, border security and anti-trafficking enforcement. In reality, they entrenched cooperation between the EU and Sudan’s security structures, including units that effectively merged into the RSF.

As early as 2017, the Enough Project, an advocacy group focused on conflict, corruption and human rights, published a report titled Border Control from Hell, warning that “the gravest concern about the EU’s new partnership with Sudan is that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the most abusive paramilitary groups in the country, stands to benefit from EU funding” and that “the equipment that enables identification and registration of migrants will also reinforce the surveillance capabilities of a Sudanese government that has violently suppressed Sudanese citizens for the past 28 years”.

Two years later, the EU had to suspend several migration-control activities in Sudan because there was a risk that resources could be “diverted for repressive aims”, according to an EU official document cited by German news outlet Deutsche Welle.

And yet, a factsheet titled What the EU really does in Sudan, published on the bloc’s website in 2018, claimed: “The EU does not provide any financial support to the Government of Sudan … The Rapid Support Forces of the Sudanese military do not benefit directly or indirectly from EU funding.”

All this raises an important question: If the EU knew of the risk of diversion, why did it still invest hundreds of millions into a context where control over the end use of training, equipment and funds was manifestly weak?

What is worse is that the EU’s role was not limited to supplying funds that could be misappropriated. It also provided weapons, albeit indirectly.

As the conflict deepened, investigators started uncovering foreign-manufactured weapons and ammunition circulating widely among the RSF and the SAF. Verified imagery, open-source analysis and serial number tracing have revealed European-manufactured systems on Sudan’s battlefields. In November 2024, Amnesty International released an investigation disclosing that Nimr Ajban armoured personnel carriers (APCs) were equipped with French-made Galix defensive systems. Amnesty’s analysts verified images and videos from multiple Sudanese locations and concluded that, if deployed in Darfur, their use would breach the longstanding United Nations arms embargo on the region.

In April, investigations by France24 and the Reuters news agency traced 81mm mortar shells found in an RSF convoy in North Darfur back to Bulgaria. The markings on this ammunition matched mortar bombs manufactured by a Bulgarian firm and exported legally to the United Arab Emirates in 2019. The Bulgarian government had not authorised the re-export of the shells from the UAE to Sudan.

In October, The Guardian reported that British military equipment, including small-arms target systems and engines for APCs, had been used by the RSF in Sudan, and they may have been supplied by the UAE.

Taken together, these findings illustrate a pattern: European-made arms and weapons systems, legally exported to third countries, have subsequently been diverted into Sudan’s conflict, despite embargoes and supposed safeguards.

Although the UAE denies it plays any role in the conflict, its position as an intermediary hub for re-exported weaponry has been repeatedly documented. Still, European suppliers, bound by end-user agreements and export-control frameworks, share responsibility for ensuring compliance.

Under the United Kingdom and EU regulations, governments must deny or revoke licences when there is a clear risk of diversion to conflict zones or human rights abusers. The use of European-made arms and weapons systems in Sudan, therefore, demands a rigorous reassessment of post-shipment monitoring and enforcement.

Despite this, European and British governments have continued to issue new export licences to potential violators, including the UAE. Recent reporting by Middle East Eye shows that the UK approved roughly $227m in military exports to the UAE between April and June this year, even after being informed that Emirati-supplied equipment had reached the RSF.

European countries are by far not an exception in failing to ensure that their weapons are not diverted to war zones under embargo.

My own country, South Africa, has also faced criticism over the lack of control over its arms shipments. In the mid-2010s, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) faced international and domestic scrutiny after South African-manufactured weapons and ammunition were reportedly used by Saudi and Emirati forces in Yemen.

As a result, in 2019, the NCACC delayed or withheld export approvals, especially for “the most lethal” items, amid disputes over updated inspection clauses and human rights concerns. The South African authorities demanded that they be granted access to facilities in importer countries to ensure compliance with the end-user agreement – something the UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with several other countries, refused to provide. By 2022, previously withheld consignments were eventually cleared under renegotiated terms.

Today, evidence suggests that South African weapons may have been diverted to Sudan as well. Investigators and open-source analysts claim to have identified munitions consistent with South African manufacture in Sudan.

The South African case illustrates that even when there is political will to ensure compliance with the end-user agreements for arms sales, enforcement can be challenging. And yet, it is a necessary and crucial part of peacebuilding efforts.

If democratic governments wish to reclaim credibility, end-use monitoring must be enforceable, not a bureaucratic concession. The NCACC in Pretoria and export control authorities in Brussels, Sofia, Paris and London must publish transparent audits of past licences, investigate credible diversion cases, and suspend new approvals where risk remains unmitigated.

In parallel, the EU must ensure migration management funding cannot be coopted by armed actors.

Without such measures, Europe’s migration policy and South Africa’s defence trade risk complicity in a grim paradox: initiatives justified in the name of security that foster insecurity.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Ukrainian Member of Parliament Lisa Yasko discusses the investigation of President Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak over corruption accusations following his resignation.

Goalscorers Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo help Barcelona fight back against Alaves and return to top of La Liga table.

Barcelona recovered from an early setback to secure a 3-1 victory over Alaves in La Liga on Saturday, with first-half goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo and a late second for the latter sealing the win at the Nou Camp.

The triumph lifts last year’s champions to the top of the standings on 34 points, two ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand at Girona on Sunday.

In their second match back at the partially renovated Nou Camp after two and a half years of redevelopment, Barcelona overcame a shaky start amid uncharacteristic scenes of long pre-match ticketing delays that left the stadium half-empty at kickoff.

According to the club, the problems were caused by technical difficulties that left thousands of fans unable to access their tickets through the club’s mobile app, creating long lines at the fan support office and forcing the match to begin with swaths of empty seats.

Alaves stunned the hosts in the first minute when Pablo Ibanez struck from close range. Barcelona defender Marc Bernal misjudged a corner, allowing Ibanez to pounce on the loose ball inside the six-yard box and neatly slot it into the net with his first touch.

However, Barcelona hit back just seven minutes later. Alejandro Balde darted down the left flank before feeding Raphinha, who delivered a low cross into the box. The 18-year-old Yamal met the ball at the far post with a powerful one-touch finish into the top corner to level the score at 1-1.

Raphinha was instrumental again in the 26th with another assist, this time for Olmo, who expertly curled the ball home first-time from inside the box as the Blaugrana went ahead.

Yamal was inches away from doubling his tally in the 44th minute after receiving a brilliant pass from Robert Lewandowski, but his effort hit the post with the goal gaping.

Alaves nearly found an equaliser just before the break, when Lucas Boye fired narrowly wide following a swift counterattack.

Olmo seals Barca comeback

Barcelona dominated the second half, with Lewandowski denied by a spectacular reflex save from Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera in the 56th minute. Boye squandered another chance for the visitors in the 77th minute, missing wide from inside the box.

Olmo put the result beyond doubt in added time, finishing off a smooth one-two with Yamal, whose through ball left him free inside the box to slot home with composure.

The match also marked the return of 23-year-old midfielder Pedri, who made his first appearance in more than a month following a muscle injury.

He came on in the second half to give Barcelona a much-needed boost before Tuesday’s crucial clash against Atletico Madrid.

Fourth in the La Liga standings with 28 points, Diego Simeone’s side have not lost in the league since their opening fixture in August.

They have a game in hand and will host last-placed Oviedo later on Saturday, aiming to extend a six-game winning run in all competitions.

From deadly floods in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, to antigovernment protests in the Philippines and demonstrations in Italy to show solidarity with Gaza, here is a look at the week in photos.

Ukrainian forces used drones to attack two oil tankers in the Black Sea, alleged to be part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ used to evade sanctions. The Gambia-flagged ships, named Kairos and Virat, were said to be empty and are now out of service.

Tens of thousands of people have marched in cities across Europe, denouncing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and demanding tougher global action against its continued and deadly violations of a United States-brokered ceasefire.

The demonstrations, held to mark the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Saturday, came as the death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza surpassed 70,000 people.

The latest victims include two boys, aged eight and 10, who were killed in an Israeli drone attack on the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

In the French capital, Paris, an estimated 50,000 marched along the city’s major streets, chanting “Gaza, Gaza, Paris is with you” and “From Paris to Gaza, resistance!”.

They also waved Palestinian flags while denouncing “Israeli genocide”.

“This is not acceptable. We are still so far from justice or accountability,” one protester told Al Jazeera.

“We, the people, know that this [Israel’s war] is wrong. But why do the people in power not feel that this is wrong?” asked another protester.

Anne Tuaillon, head of the France Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS), one of about 80 non-government organisations, unions and parties behind the call to protest, said that “nothing has been resolved” seven weeks after a ceasefire took effect on October 10.

“The ceasefire is a smokescreen. Israel violates it every day, blocks humanitarian aid and continues to destroy homes and infrastructure in Gaza. We are calling for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the genocide,” she told the AFP news agency.

Protests were also held in London, Geneva, Rome and Lisbon.

Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego, reporting from Paris, said that for the organisers, the march represents a “sustained pressure” on Israel at a time when negotiations for a more lasting peace in the Palestinian territory remain stalled.

“This worldwide mobilisation is not just maintaining focus on Gaza, but also [on] the broader unresolved issue of Palestinian rights.”

In the British capital, London, organisers said that up to 100,000 joined the march demanding accountability for Israeli “crimes” against Palestinians and pleading for “protection” of those still suffering under siege despite a ceasefire.

In Italy, where mass demonstrations and union-led strikes have repeatedly mobilised against Israel’s war, the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, and climate activist Greta Thunberg, attended the main demonstration in the capital, Rome.

The Wanted In Rome news website, in a report ahead of the rally, said some 100,000 were expected to take part.

In a statement posted on X, Albanese said that Israel is “committing genocide against the Palestinians” not just in Gaza, but in the occupied West Bank, too.

“Look at the totality of conduct/crimes against the totality of the Palestinians in the totality of the land slated for ethnic cleansing. Israel must be stopped, and we will,” she wrote.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Israel has pulled back to a so-called “yellow line” inside the Gaza Strip. But it remains in control of more than half of the besieged territory, and has launched several deadly attacks in breach of the agreement.

Since the ceasefire deal, at least 500 Israeli violations have been recorded, resulting in at least 347 Palestinians being killed and 889 being injured.

Fadi and Jumaa Tamer Abu Assi were aged eight and 10, respectively.

Alaa Abu Assi, an uncle of the two boys, said they were “innocent children who have no rockets and no bombs”.

“They were gathering firewood to help their disabled father, who has platinum plates in his legs. We went and found them in pieces, and we brought them back,” he told the AFP news agency.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “the killing of so many civilians, the repeated displacement of an entire population and the obstruction of humanitarian aid should never be acceptable”.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said that even as Palestinians welcome the international support, most “are simply trying to survive”.

“It’s a daily struggle,” she said. “Palestinians are suffering to get their basic necessities; they’re suffering to find shelter.”

“There are lots of Palestinians still living in tents. They’re saying that they do not have any source of shelter. There’s no medication. Their children are without any education. The Palestinians are still dying slowly, despite the fact that it is ceasefire,” she added.

On Thursday, rights group Amnesty International warned that “Israeli authorities are still committing genocide” in Gaza, waging new attacks and curbing critical aid access, despite the declared ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top aide resigned this week amid a growing corruption scandal.

Andriy Yermak had been due to lead key talks with the US on the war with Russia this weekend.

So, what does this mean for Ukraine?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

Olena Tregub – Secretary-general of Ukraine’s Independent Anti-Corruption Commission

Leonid Ragozin – Independent journalist and political analyst

Donnacha O Beachain – Professor of politics at Dublin City University

The pope is visiting Turkiye until Sunday on his first overseas trip as pontiff, which also includes a visit to Lebanon.

Pope Leo XIV has visited Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque on the third day of his trip to Turkiye, his first known visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship.

The first US pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque early on Saturday and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul.

Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque’s lead muezzin – the official who leads the daily calls to prayer.

“He wanted to see the mosque, he wanted to feel the atmosphere of the mosque, and he was very pleased,” Askin Tunca, the Blue Mosque’s muezzin who calls the faithful to prayer, told reporters.

Tunca said after the mosque visit that he asked Leo during the tour if he wished to pray for a moment, but the pope said he preferred to just visit the mosque.

The Vatican said in a statement immediately after the visit that Leo undertook the tour “in a spirit of reflection and listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer”.

While Leo did not appear to pray during the tour, he did joke with Tunca. As the group was leaving the building, the pope noticed he was being guided out a door that is usually an entryway, where a sign says: “No exit.”

“It says no exit,” Leo said, smiling. Tunca responded: “You don’t have to go out, you can stay here.”

The pope is visiting Turkiye until Sunday on his first overseas trip as pontiff, which also includes a visit to Lebanon.

Leo, a relative unknown on the world stage before becoming pope in May, is being closely watched as he makes his first speeches overseas and interacts for the first time with people outside mainly Catholic Italy.

The Blue Mosque is officially named for Sultan Ahmed I, leader of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617, who oversaw its construction. It is decorated with thousands of blue ceramic tiles, the basis of its popular name.

Unlike his predecessors, Leo did not visit the nearby Hagia Sophia, the legendary sixth-century basilica built during the Byzantine Empire, which was converted into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire, then became a museum under Turkiye’s newly established republic.

But in 2020, the UNESCO World Heritage site was converted back into a mosque in a move that drew international condemnation, including from the late Pope Francis who said he was “very saddened”.

British playwright Tom Stoppard, a playful, probing dramatist who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s Shakespeare In Love, has died. He was 88.

In a statement on Saturday, United Agents said Stoppard died “peacefully” at his home in Dorset in southern England, surrounded by his family.

“He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language,” they said. “It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him.”

When it comes to the world of comic invention and linguistic pyrotechnics, few dramatists of the 20th century could match Stoppard’s scope and sustained success.

From his earliest hit, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, in 1966, through to 1993’s, Arcadia, and, Leopoldstadt, in 2020, Stoppard engaged and amused theatre-goers with a highly individual brand of intellect.

His writing was often philosophical or scientific, but consistently funny, a distinctive style that gave rise to the term Stoppardian. It refers to the use of verbal gymnastics while addressing philosophical concepts.

“I want to demonstrate that I can make serious points by flinging a custard pie around the stage for a couple of hours,” the Czech-born Stoppard said in a 1970s interview.

“Theatre is first and foremost a recreation. But it is not just a children’s playground; it can be recreation for people who like to stretch their minds.”

Early years

Stoppard was born Tomas Straussler on July 3, 1937, in what was then Czechoslovakia, the son of Eugen Straussler, a doctor, and Marta (or Martha), nee Beckova, who had trained as a nurse.

The Jewish family fled the Nazis and moved to Singapore when he was an infant.

But Singapore also became unsafe, and, with his mother and elder brother Peter, he escaped to India. His father stayed behind and died while fleeing after Singapore fell to the Japanese.

In India, Marta Straussler married a British army major, Kenneth Stoppard, and the family moved to England.

Boarding school followed at Pocklington in Yorkshire, northern England, before Stoppard left school at age 17.

He decided not to go to university. Instead, he went straight to work as a reporter on a local newspaper in Bristol, in western England.

While he found reporting daunting, he threw himself into working as a theatre and cinema critic, and his love of drama took hold.

Award-winning career

His breakthrough came with the overnight success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe of, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a tragicomedy centred around two minor characters from Shakespeare’s, Hamlet.

It moved to London’s West End, before winning a Tony Award for best play in the United States.

“What’s it about?” was a frequent response from bemused theatre-goers about the play. Tired of being asked, Stoppard is said to have replied to a woman outside a theatre on Broadway: “It’s about to make me very rich.”

He later questioned whether he had said “very”, Hermione Lee wrote in Stoppard’s authorised biography, but he had undoubtedly managed to transform his previously precarious finances.

Indeed, Stoppard would go on to win numerous awards on both sides of the Atlantic for his work.

He was knighted in 1997, and in 2014, he was crowned “the greatest living playwright” by the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

To non-theatre-goers, he is best remembered for his work in cinema, which included the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises.

In 1999, he won an Oscar for his screenplay for, Shakespeare in Love, which scooped a total of seven Academy Awards that year.

“He has no apparent animus towards anyone or anything,” said film and theatre director Mike Nichols, who directed the Broadway premiere of Stoppard’s tale of marriage and affairs, The Real Thing.

“He’s very funny at no one’s expense. That’s not supposed to be possible.”

Two people were killed in the strikes on the capital, and a woman died in a combined missile and drone attack on the broader Kyiv region, officials said.

Russian drone and missile strikes in and around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have killed at least three people and wounded dozens of others, officials said, as Ukrainian representatives travelled to the United States for talks on a renewed push to end the war.

“Russia shot dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles and over 500 drones at ordinary homes, the energy grid, and critical infrastructure,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Saturday.

“While everyone is discussing points of peace plans, Russia continues to pursue its ‘war plan’ of two points: to kill and destroy,” he added.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said two people were killed in the strikes on the capital in Kyiv. A woman died, and eight people were wounded in a combined missile and drone attack on the broader Kyiv region, according to the regional police.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 29 people were wounded in Kyiv, noting that falling debris from intercepted Russian drones hit residential buildings. He also said the western part of Kyiv had lost power.

Kyiv’s military administration head, Tymur Tkachenko, said in a social media post that a 42-year-old man was killed by a drone, while the man’s 10-year-old son was taken to hospital with “burns and other injuries”.

“The world should know that Russia is targeting entire families,” Tkachenko said, adding that the son was the only child recorded among the injured so far.

Following the attacks on Kyiv, EU Ambassador Katarina Mathernova cast doubt on Russia’s stated interest in a peace deal.

“While the world discusses a possible peace deal. Moscow answers with missiles, not diplomacy,” Mathernova said in a post on X.

Ukraine team heads to US

On the diplomatic front, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his negotiators had left for Washington to seek a “dignified peace” and a rapid end to the war begun by Russia in 2022.

Zelenskyy is under growing pressure from Washington to agree to a US proposal to end the war that critics say heavily favours Moscow.

The Ukrainian team is being led by former defence chief Rustem Umerov, following the resignation on Friday of his chief of staff Andriy Yermak amid a corruption probe.

“The task is clear: to swiftly and substantively work out the steps needed to end the war,” he posted on X.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation Rustem Umerov, together with the team, is already on the way to the United States. Rustem delivered a report today, and the task is clear: to swiftly and substantively work out…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 29, 2025

“Ukraine continues to work with the United States in the most constructive way possible, and we expect that the results of the meetings in Geneva will now be hammered out in the United States.”

At Kyiv’s insistence, US President Donald Trump’s initial 28-point plan to end the war was revised during talks in Geneva with European and US officials. However, many contentious issues remain unresolved.

Black Sea attacks

Separately on Saturday, an official from the SBU security service said that Ukraine had hit two tankers used by Russia to export oil while skirting Western sanctions with marine drones in the Black Sea.

The joint operation to hit the so-called “shadow fleet” vessels was run by the SBU and Ukraine’s navy, the official told the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity.

Turkish authorities have said that blasts rocked two shadow fleet tankers near Turkiye’s Bosphorus Strait on Friday, causing fires on the vessels, and rescue operations were launched for those on board.

The SBU official said both tankers – identified as the Kairos and Virat – were empty and on their way to the port of Novorossiysk, a major Russian oil terminal.

“Video [footage] shows that after being hit, both tankers sustained critical damage and were effectively taken out of service. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation,” the official said. They did not say when the strikes took place.

Ukraine has consistently called for tougher international measures for Russia’s “shadow fleet”, which it says is helping Moscow export vast quantities of oil and fund its war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions.

Authorities also designate Anti-Corruption Foundation as ‘terrorist’ group and consider total ban on WhatsApp.

Russian authorities have outlawed Human Rights Watch as an “undesirable organisation”, a label that, under a 2015 law, makes involvement with it a criminal offence.

Friday’s designation means the international human rights group must stop all work in Russia, and opens those who cooperate with or support the organisation to prosecution.

HRW has repeatedly accused Russia of suppressing dissenters and committing war crimes during its ongoing war against Ukraine.

“For over three decades, Human Rights Watch’s work on post-Soviet Russia has pressed the government to uphold human rights and freedoms,” the executive director at Human Rights Watch, Philippe Bolopion, said in a statement.

“Our work hasn’t changed, but what’s changed, dramatically, is the government’s full-throttled embrace of dictatorial policies, its staggering rise in repression, and the scope of the war crimes its forces are committing in Ukraine.”

The decision by the Russian prosecutor general’s office is the latest move in a crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists, which has intensified since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a separate statement on Friday, the office said it was opening a case against Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot that would designate the group as an “extremist” organisation.

Separately, Russia’s Supreme Court designated on Thursday the Anti-Corruption Foundation set up by the late opposition activist Alexey Navalny as a “terrorist” group.

The ruling targeted the foundation’s United States-registered entity, which became the focal point for the group when the original Anti-Corruption Foundation was designated an “undesirable organisation” by the Russian government in 2021.

Russia’s list of “undesirable organisations” currently covers more than 275 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups.

Among those are prominent news organisations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, think tanks like Chatham House, anticorruption group Transparency International, and environmental advocacy organisation World Wildlife Fund.

Founded in 1978, Human Rights Watch monitors human rights violations in various countries across the world.

WhatsApp might be ‘completely blocked’

Meanwhile, Russia’s state communications watchdog threatened on Friday to block WhatsApp entirely if it fails to comply with Russian law.

In August, Russia began limiting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and “terrorism” cases.

On Friday, the Roskomnadzor watchdog again accused WhatsApp of failing to comply with Russian requirements designed to prevent and combat crime.

“If the messaging service continues to fail to meet the demands of Russian legislation, it will be completely blocked,” Interfax news agency quoted it as saying.

WhatsApp has accused Moscow of trying to block millions of Russians from accessing secure communication.

Russian authorities are pushing a state-backed rival app called MAX, which critics claim could be used to track users. State media have dismissed those accusations as false.

Istanbul, Turkiye – Pope Leo XIV has chosen Turkiye for his first foreign trip as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, a deeply symbolic move that minority community representatives say is taking place at a time of renewed openness in the Muslim-majority country.

During his visit this week, the pontiff held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met religious leaders and visited places of worship in the country where Christianity’s deep roots sit alongside a long and influential Islamic tradition.

Today, Turkiye’s population of more than 80 million people is at least 99 percent Muslim, yet the country remains home to centuries-old Greek, Armenian, Syriac and Latin Christian communities that have long been part of its social fabric.

After decades shaped by political tensions, demographic change and property disputes, representatives of minority foundations say today’s climate offers greater visibility and confidence than they have experienced in decades. They also see the timing of Pope Leo’s visit as reflective of a period in which historic foundations feel more able to restore properties, organise religious life and engage directly with state bodies.

“This is, first of all, a great honour for Turkiye,” Manolis Kostidis, vice president of the Greek Foundations Association, told Al Jazeera of the pope’s visit.

“It’s also extremely important for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and for the Greek community. Istanbul has hosted empires for centuries, and welcoming such a guest shows the value of the patriarchate – especially with the support the Turkish government has given in recent years,” he said.

In the early decades of the Turkish Republic, Turkiye’s Greek, Armenian and Syriac populations numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Their decline over the 20th century was shaped by a series of political ruptures – from the 1942 Wealth Tax, which disproportionately targeted non-Muslims, to the 1955 Istanbul pogrom that devastated Greek, Armenian and Jewish neighbourhoods, and the 1964 deportation of more than 12,000 Greek citizens amid tensions over Cyprus.

Other administrative restrictions and legal rulings followed in subsequent decades, gradually accelerating emigration. Today, the remaining communities are far smaller, yet their representatives stress resilience, continuity and a deep sense of belonging to the country they have lived in for centuries.

“If Turkiye’s population is 85 million, we are about 85,000 – one in a thousand,” Can Ustabası, head of the Minority Foundations Representative Office, told Al Jazeera.

“Communities that were once in the millions are now tiny. We’re citizens of this country, but history brought us to this point.”

While the pressures affecting minority groups through the 20th century are widely documented, community representatives agree that the atmosphere of the past two decades stands in sharp contrast.

From the 2000s onward, minority foundations benefitted from a number of legal changes.

The Foundations Law, first drafted in the Ottoman era and later adapted by the Republic, governs how non-Muslim charitable foundations own, manage and inherit property. A series of European Union-driven harmonisation packages between 2003 and 2008 expanded their ability to register assets, reclaim properties seized under earlier rulings, and receive donations and inheritances again.

This culminated in a 2011 government decree instructing the return – or compensation – of properties that had been taken from foundations under the 1974 Court of Cassation ruling and earlier administrative practices.

“Erdogan’s instruction to ‘return what rightfully belongs to them’ changed the attitude of every state body. Previously, getting permission to paint a church took years. Now, doors open easily,” Ustabasi said.

‘One of most comfortable periods’

Lawyer Kezban Hatemi, who has advised minority foundations for decades, agreed that this has been “a major reform” but noted that more needed to be done. “Some cases are still ongoing – this kind of historical process never ends quickly,” Hatemi told Al Jazeera.

According to Hatemi, the earlier reluctance of state institutions was rooted in a decades-old mentality shaped by security fears and restrictive legal interpretations. She said minority foundations faced layers of bureaucratic obstacles for years, with even basic repairs or property registrations blocked. This only began to shift when EU harmonisation reforms created a new legal framework and political resolve emerged to act on it.

“The EU process gave real momentum – but it also took political will,” she said, noting that “a major blockage was removed” even as old fears loom for some.

“People abroad still say: ‘Don’t buy property in Istanbul, you never know what could happen.’ The memory from the 40s to the 70s is still very strong.”

Ustabasi noted that while the process has not always been straightforward, some 1,250 properties “were returned through EU harmonisation reforms and changes to the Foundations Law” between 2003 and 2018.

Kostidis said the impact of the return of the properties has not only been material. “It makes us feel like full citizens,” he said, noting that “minorities have lived one of their most comfortable periods” since Erdogan came to power in 2003.

One of the clearest signs of renewed confidence is among Syriacs, particularly in Tur Abdin – the historic heartland of Syriac Christianity in southeastern Turkiye that stretches across Midyat and the wider Mardin region. In these villages, return migration has slowly begun to reverse.

“People who emigrated to Europe are building homes again in Midyat and its villages,” Ustabasi said. “The roads are better than Istanbul, security is solid, and some are even preparing to live there long term.”

He linked the shift directly to improved security conditions in the southeast, a region that for decades was affected by clashes between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, making travel and daily life unpredictable. “A Turkiye without terrorism opens many doors. People feel safe travelling, restoring homes, returning to their villages,” he said.

Kostidis said returns to Turkiye’s largest city of Istanbul are also possible – but require practical fixes.

“Large-scale returns are unlikely. But yes, some will come back if residency issues are fixed,” he said, calling for “a special regulation” for Greeks from Istanbul with Greek citizenship.

“All communities – Muslim, Jewish, Armenian, Syriac, Greek – should live in this city. Istanbul’s strength has always been its plurality.”

‘Powerful message’

Despite significant progress, several legal and administrative issues remain unresolved, with the representatives citing foundation board elections, legal ambiguity around autonomy and longstanding cases in some properties’ handover.

Ustabasi called for changes in the legal framework, while Hatemi noted the state “still intervenes in foundation governance in ways it never does with Muslim foundations. This mentality hasn’t fully changed – but I’m hopeful.”

Turkish-Armenian journalist and writer Etyen Mahcupyan said the pace of reform shifted after a failed coup attempt in 2016, when state bureaucracy regained influence over politics and decision-making.

He believes restitution slowed as a result, but said momentum could return if Turkiye “brings EU membership back to the forefront”. Turkiye started talks to join the bloc in 2005, but the accession bid has effectively been frozen.

Mahcupyan views Pope Leo’s visit as carrying political and symbolic resonance, given that the pope is seen not only as a religious figure but also as a political actor.

“Considering Turkiye’s foreign policy ambitions, this visit offers positive contributions. Ankara wants to shape a Turkiye that is accepted in global politics – and the world seems ready for it.”

Mahcupyan noted the pope’s “clear position” on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza “aligns closely with Turkiye’s own line. This kind of convergence is important. It prevents Turkiye from turning inward, helps the world look at Turkiye more gently – and softens attitudes towards non-Muslims.”

He also said the visit helps ensure minority communities “are not forgotten”.

Kostidis agreed.

“A Muslim-majority country hosting the leaders of the Christian world – you can’t give a more powerful message than this,” he said.

‘I am a terrorist’

A UK activist group has released a video of protesters who were arrested by police for supporting Palestine Action, as part of a campaign calling on the government to lift the ‘disproportionate’ ban. A major legal challenge is currently underway on whether the ban was lawful.

Activist Greta Thunberg and the UN’s Francesca Albanese joined hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters in Genoa on Friday, as nationwide strikes took place across Italy over Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s proposed military spending and support for Israel.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff has resigned after investigators searched his home, as a widening corruption scandal engulfs one of Ukraine’s top negotiators in efforts to end the war. Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands reports from Kyiv with what we know.

Here’s where things stand on Saturday, November 29.

Fighting

• Russian drones struck six locations in Kyiv’s city centre and eastern suburbs early on Saturday, injuring four people, as apartment buildings and other dwellings were hit, said the head of Kyiv’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko.
• Ukrainian forces are defending their positions and hunting down sabotage groups in the northeastern city of Kupiansk, despite Moscow’s claims that its troops are fully in control of the area, Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskii, said.
• Russia seized Kupiansk in the first weeks of its 2022 full-scale invasion, but Ukrainian troops recaptured it later that year. Russian President Vladimir Putin then claimed on Thursday that the city was “fully in our hands”. Syrskii swiftly rejected the claims, saying that “the scale of lies from the Russian leadership about the situation in Kupiansk is astonishing”.
• Russian forces cleared Ukrainian troops from 6,585 buildings in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the last week amid fierce fighting, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed.
• Ukraine said its forces have hit Russia’s Saratov oil refinery and the Saky airbase in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. “A series of explosions was recorded, followed by a fire in the target area,” Ukraine’s military said regarding the refinery strike.
• Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 136 Ukrainian drones overnight, Moscow’s Defence Ministry has said.

Ukrainian politics

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, a close ally who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at fraught United States-backed peace talks, has quit, hours after anticorruption agents searched his home. Yermak was leading Ukraine’s effort to push back against peace terms proposed by the US, which would satisfy many of Moscow’s territorial and security demands.
• Zelenskyy said he would consider a replacement for his chief of staff on Saturday. “Russia is eager for Ukraine to make mistakes. We won’t make any,” Zelenskyy said in a video address, calling for unity. “Our work goes on. Our struggle goes on,” he added.
• Investigations into high-level corruption, coming just weeks after Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers resigned amid a wide-reaching probe, have sparked public outrage and thrust government leadership into crisis at a time when the country is fighting for its very survival.

Ceasefire talks

• In a video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said that senior Ukrainian officials representing the military, intelligence and Foreign Ministry would soon participate in talks with Washington officials on how to end the conflict.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia expects to have information on the agreed points of a proposed peace plan by the time a US delegation arrives in Moscow next week. Peskov said that Moscow is working on the assumption that it is negotiating the plan solely with the US.

Sanctions

• A European Union spokesperson said that “intensive discussions” are ongoing, including with Belgium, on using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine stay afloat. Belgium’s support for the plan is crucial as the assets the EU hopes to use are held by Belgium-based financial institution Euroclear.
• The talks come as Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that using the assets could derail a Ukraine peace deal.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he saw the need to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine as “increasingly urgent” and hoped there would soon be an agreement.
• Russia will deliver agreed crude and gas supplies to Hungary according to existing contracts, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
• Blasts have rocked two vessels from Russia’s shadow fleet of sanctioned oil tankers in the Black Sea, near Turkiye’s Bosphorus Strait. The 274-metre-long (898 ft) tanker Kairos suffered an explosion and caught fire in the Black Sea while en route from Egypt to Russia, Turkiye’s Ministry of Transport said. It said emergency response vessels were immediately dispatched to the scene, and the 25 crew members on board were safely rescued.
• The Kairos was heading to Russia’s Novorossiysk port when it reported “an external impact” causing a fire 28 nautical miles (51.8km) off the Turkish shore, Turkiye’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs said.
• A second Russian tanker, Virat, was reportedly struck some 35 nautical miles (64.8km) offshore, further east in the Black Sea. The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear, but there have been incidents of ships hitting mines in the Black Sea in recent years.
• Russia has failed to win enough votes to rejoin the United Nations shipping agency’s governing council despite urging countries to back its nomination for a seat it lost in 2023. The outcome is a blow for Russia, which also failed to secure enough support in September to get elected to the UN aviation agency’s governing council, in another diplomatic rebuke of Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Regional security

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week, the Reuters news agency reports, citing two anonymous US officials, in a highly unusual absence of Washington’s top diplomat from a key transatlantic gathering at a crucial time for peace talks in Ukraine.
• US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will represent Washington instead, said one of the officials. It was unclear why Rubio planned to skip the December 3 meeting. But his likely no-show comes as US and Ukrainian officials have been scrambling to narrow gaps over US President Donald Trump’s plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Poland has detained two Ukrainians and three Belarusians on charges of acting on the orders of foreign intelligence services, as Warsaw warns of Russian attempts to destabilise countries backing Kyiv. Poland says it has been targeted with arson and cyberattacks in what it calls a “hybrid war” waged by Russia to undermine support for Ukraine.
• Germany recorded its highest number of drone sightings over military bases in October, a senior intelligence official said, with a growing focus on naval installations. Previously, drones had often been spotted over army and air force bases, including those training Ukrainian troops.
• Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, has resigned from parliament amid allegations that she lured 17 men to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Zuma-Sambudla was a lawmaker in the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) opposition party led by her father. MK officials said she resigned voluntarily and that her departure from the National Assembly and all other public roles was effective immediately.
• Putin will visit India on December 4-5 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian state news agencies reported.

Alexander Lukashenko’s visit comes shortly before military government holds national polls widely condemned as a sham.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Myanmar on a goodwill visit seen as lending support to the Southeast Asian country’s military government in advance of a widely condemned national election set to be held next month.

Myanmar state media reported on Friday that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s self-installed de facto leader, met Lukashenko at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Naypyidaw.

“This visit demonstrated Belarus’s goodwill and trust towards Myanmar and marked a historic occasion. It is the first time in 26 years of diplomatic relations that a Belarusian Head of State has visited Myanmar,” military run outlet The Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

Lukashenko’s arrival at a military airport in Naypyidaw on Thursday night saw him welcomed by senior figures from Myanmar’s military government, including Prime Minister Nyo Saw, with full state honours and cultural performers.

After former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lukashenko is only the second foreign leader to visit Myanmar since its military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a coup on February 1, 2021.

The Belarusian leader’s visit also comes just a month before the military is set to host national elections that many domestic and international observers have condemned as a sham. His visit is widely viewed as lending support to the polls, due to be held in late December, and which the military government has touted as a return to normalcy.

Following Lukashenko’s meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on Friday, The Global New Light also confirmed that Belarus plans to “send an observation team to Myanmar” to monitor the polls.

The leaders also agreed that “collaboration will also be strengthened in military technologies and trade”, a day after the Myanmar-Belarus Development Cooperation Roadmap 2026–2028 was signed in Yangon.

Belarus state media quoted Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov as saying that Myanmar has “significant potential in various industrial sectors”, while Belarus has “expertise and modern technologies in mechanical engineering”.

“Myanmar plans to mechanise its agriculture, and we in Belarus produce a complete lineup of machinery and equipment. As our president says, no topics are off limits for our cooperation,” Ryzhenkov said.

Belarus’s government is widely regarded as authoritarian, with Lukashenko serving as the former Soviet state’s first and only president since the office was established in 1994.

Along with major backers China and Russia, Belarus is one of the very few countries that have continued to engage with Myanmar’s military leaders since the coup.

A popular protest movement in the immediate aftermath of the coup has since morphed into a years-long civil war, further weakening the Myanmar military’s control over the fractured country, where ethnic armed groups have fought decades-long wars for independence.

Preparing for the polls, military government census takers in late 2024 were only able to count populations in 145 of Myanmar’s 330 townships – indicating the military now controls less than half the country.

Other recent estimates place the military’s control as low as 21 percent of the country’s territory. Ethnic armed groups and the anti-regime People’s Defence Force – which have pledged to boycott and violently disrupt the upcoming polls – control approximately double that amount of territory.

Amid geographic limitations and raging violence, as well as the Myanmar military’s March 2023 dissolution of Aung San Suu Kyi’s hugely popular NLD, critics have pointed to the absurdity of holding elections in such circumstances.

Preparing for the polls, military leaders carried out a mass amnesty on Thursday, pardoning or dropping charges against 8,665 people imprisoned for opposing army governance.