Comment on Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

LONDON — Britain’s Prince William has described the past year as “brutal” following cancer diagnoses for his wife and father. “Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he said. Speaking to reporters on Thursday as he closed out a four-day trip to South Africa, the Prince of Wales described 2024 as being probably “the hardest year in my life.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] He added: “So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult. “But I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done.

Donald Trump’s comeback is now certain, after he decisively won re-election to the White House, but there is growing uncertainty over how his second-term administration will deal with the Asia-Pacific—a region of increasing strategic relevance and home to a number of international economic and security concerns for the U. S. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Experts tell TIME that Trump’s first term, as well as his promises on the campaign trail, can offer clues about his potential approach to Asia.

AMSTERDAM — Leaders of Israel and the Netherlands on Friday condemned what they called antisemitic attacks on fans of soccer club Maccabi Tel Aviv before and after a Europa League soccer match between their team and Ajax, and Israel said it was sending planes to fly home supporters from the Dutch capital. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The violence erupted Thursday despite a ban on a pro-Palestinian demonstration near the soccer stadium imposed by Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who had feared that clashes would break out between protesters and supporters of the Israeli soccer club. Amsterdam police had no immediate comment on the violence or numbers of arrests and injuries.

BUENOS AIRES — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of “abandonment of a person followed by death” and “supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Vladimir Putin did not come running. He let his spokesman react on Wednesday to the outcome of the U. S. presidential race, proclaiming that the Kremlin has no plans to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory. If the U. S. wants the peace deal Trump promised during his campaign, the Russians signaled that he would need to earn it, and the price for Ukraine would be particularly high. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “The message is, if you want a deal, you’re going to crawl on your knees for it,” says Nina Khrushcheva, an authority on Russian politics and foreign affairs at the New School.

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Around 50 European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, will be reassessing their trans-Atlantic relations in the hope that Donald Trump’s second U. S. presidency will avoid the strife and political pitfalls of his first administration. Further compounding an already complicated situation, Germany — Europe’s troubled economic juggernaut — sank into political crisis after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister.