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Hello I'm Gurvinder Gill with the BBC news.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he's willing to try to get his country's law changed so that a presidential election could take place within three months. He said this could only happen if the U.S. and Europe guarantee the security of the elections. Mr. Zelenskyy has remained in power beyond his five-year term due to martial law. Our correspondent [Bill] Will Vernon says the logistics of holding an election in wartime remain a challenge. How do you conduct elections in a country at war? How do you ensure the security of people going to vote, especially in the frontline areas? It's difficult enough in Kyiv but on the frontline, you know, very, very tricky indeed. And also what do you do about people in areas that are currently occupied by Russia? Because you can't really hold elections there if that means that those people there cannot vote, then it means that they're disenfranchised. America's European allies have rejected comments by President Trump who said their continent was comprised of "decaying" nations led by weak people. The office of the British Prime Minister criticized Mr. Trump's suggestion that Europe was doing nothing concrete to end the Ukraine war. Nomi Iqbal explains. Some critics would say he's floating the great replacement theory. For example, he talked about changes happening in big European cities like London and Paris, saying they're coming from all parts of the world, not just the Middle East, they're coming in from the Congo. On Ukraine, he said Russia had the upper hand and Zelenskyy had to accept that he's losing the war. He also criticized President Zelenskyy for not reading the latest draft. That would be alarming to a lot of European leaders who are really worried, especially at such a precarious time where there are attempts to try and end the war, that Donald Trump is leaning towards what Russia wants. The latest reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo suggest Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have entered Uvira in South Kivu province. Thousands of people are reported to be fleeing into Burundi. David Bamford has more information. Eyewitnesses say the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have reached the northern gates of Uvira, the last government-held city in South Kivu province. Soldiers and pro-government Wazalendo fighters are reported to have joined the flow of civilians fleeing into Burundi. The M23's new offensive comes nearly a year after the group seized the cities of Goma and Bukavu on the Rwandan border. It undermines a ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump that was signed just a week ago in Washington by the leaders of Congo and Rwanda. The U.S. Treasury Department's imposed sanctions on a transnational network it says has been recruiting Colombians to fight in Sudan's civil war. It said four individuals and four entities largely comprised of Colombian nationals were enrolling former military personnel to train fighters. BBC News. The outgoing president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, has condemned what she called tampering with the results of the elections held in late November and accused Donald Trump of interfering in the vote. The final result of the presidential vote is still not in, but Ms. Castro said it would be flawed and she intended to denounce the whole process before the United Nations. Parliament in Brazil is expected to vote on a bill that could reduce former President Jair Bolsonaro's 27-year sentence for a coup plot to just over two years. It seeks to significantly reduce his jail terms for several crimes including attempting an insurrection. If passed by the lower house, the bill needs to be approved by the Senate. Britain's top art award, the Turner Prize, has been won by Nnena Kalu. The Scottish-born artist is known for her work on abstract forms involving large-scale hanging sculptures and drawings. Nnena Kalu is the first artist with a learning disability to win the prize. Katie Razzall has more. A historic win for a learning disabled artist who has limited verbal communication. The prize, say the judges, was awarded on merit for what the jury chairman said were really compelling sculptures and drawings that could only be made by Nnena. The 59-year-old looked a little bewildered as the audience stood and chanted her name. Beside her was Charlotte Hollinshead from Action Space, the charity that champions artists with learning disabilities and has worked with Kalu for more than 25 years. Canada has announced a $1.2 billion program to attract leading researchers as it seeks to capitalize on concerns about the Trump administration's policies on immigration, higher education and science. The industry minister said her country was doubling down on science as other countries constrain academic freedom and undermine cutting-edge research. That's the latest BBC News. |