NoneUS President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he was nominating staunch loyalist and retired general Keith Kellogg as his Ukraine envoy, charged with ending the two-and-a-half-year Russian invasion. Trump campaigned on a platform of ushering a swift end to the Ukraine war, boasting that he would quickly mediate a ceasefire deal between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. But his critics have warned that the incoming Republican will likely leverage US military aid to pressure Kyiv into an agreement that left it ceding occupied territory permanently or agreeing not to join NATO. “I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia,” Trump said in a statement on social media. “Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration.” A fixture on the cable news circuit, the 80-year-old national security veteran co-wrote an academic paper earlier this year calling for Washington to leverage military aid as a means of pushing for peace talks. Ukraine has received almost $60 billion from Washington for its armed forces since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, but with the more isolationist Trump taking over the White House, supporters fear the spigot will run dry. “The United States would continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen its defenses to ensure Russia will make no further advances and will not attack again after a cease-fire or peace agreement,” Kellogg’s research paper for the Trumpist America First Policy Institute think tank said. “Future American military aid, however, will require Ukraine to participate in peace talks with Russia.” Kellogg served in several positions during Trump’s first term, including as chief of staff on the White House national security council and national security advisor to then-vice president Mike Pence. – Troop shortages – Kellogg told Voice of America at the Republican convention in July that Ukraine’s options were “quite clear.” “If Ukraine doesn’t want to negotiate, fine, but then accept the fact that you can have enormous losses in your cities and accept the fact that you will have your children killed, accept the fact that you don’t have 130,000 dead, you will have 230,000–250,000,” he said. Trump’s announcement came as the outgoing administration of Democrat Joe Biden was hosting a news conference to urge Ukraine to enlist more recruits by reducing the minimum age of conscription to 18. Facing a much larger enemy with more advanced weapons and with stocks of volunteers dwindling, Ukraine is facing an “existential” recruitment crunch, a senior administration official told reporters. “The simple truth is that Ukraine is not currently mobilizing or training enough soldiers to replace their battlefield losses while keeping pace with Russia’s growing military,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. He was pressed on what Washington considers an appropriate minimum age and he replied that “we think there’s real value in them considering lowering the recruiting age to 18” — in line with the US benchmark. He added that an additional 160,000 troops would be “on the low end” to fill out Ukraine’s ranks — but “a good start.” The former Soviet republic’s population has fallen by more than a quarter since its mid-1990s peak of 52 million, and authorities are desperate to shield the younger generation — but a US congressional report in June estimated the average Ukrainian soldier is 40. Zelensky signed a decree in April lowering the draft age from 27 to 25 but the move did not alleviate the chronic troop shortages, according to US officials. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
House rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics reportMaxHome emerges from stealth mode with $2 million in pre-seed funding and partnerships with powerhouse real estate brokeragesGHATKOPAR HOARDING COLLAPSE MUMBAI: Bhavesh Bhinde, the main accused in the May 13 Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case, which killed 17 persons and injured 74, has sought discharge from the charges levelled against him on the grounds that the collapse was “an act of God”. Bhinde cited an IMD weather bulletin of May 12 while stating that “the wind force of 96 kmph as stated by IMD is unusual, severe, unexpected, never experienced before”. “... It was an unfortunate accident for which no fault can be attributed to the applicant (Bhinde) or the said company, Ego Media Pvt Ltd,” says his discharge plea filed through advocate Sana Rais Khan. Khan said that Bhinde had obtained the necessary permissions for the hoarding from the railways, since it was constructed on railway land, and his failure to obtain a certificate from the BMC should thus not be considered. He was arrested by the Mumbai police from a hotel in Udaipur on May 17. Bhinde’s discharge plea states that the allegations made in the FIR are false and baseless, and he was made a scapegoat due to political pressure mounted on account of the approaching Lok Sabha elections. The plea also claims that he was not associated with Ego Media when the hoarding was set up, and became a director from December 21, 2023. Janhavi Marathe was the director at the relevant time, says the plea. Bhinde, 51, was granted bail by the sessions court in October. Janhavi Marathe granted bail The sessions court has granted bail to Marathe, the former director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd on the furnishing of a personal bond of ₹ 1 lakh and one or two sureties of the same amount. The court directed her to not leave India without taking permission from the court.
After a thrilling double-overtime win over Fresno State, California Baptist makes the nearly 2,500-mile trip to Orlando to face Central Florida on Sunday. The Lancers (5-3) capped their time at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational in Palm Springs, Calif., with an 86-81 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday. That followed a last-second, 79-77 loss to SMU the day before. Dominique Daniels Jr. played 45 minutes against Fresno State and led California Baptist with 29 points. He paces the Lancers with 20.3 points per game, while Kendal Coleman averages 15.1 points and is shooting 59.7 percent form the floor. However, coach Rick Croy's team has struggled from 3-point range, shooting just 30.7 percent entering its first true road game this season. UCF (5-2) is coming off of an 84-76 win over Milwaukee last Wednesday despite being outrebounded 41-31. The Knights were helped by the heroics of senior guard Darius Johnson, who had 28 points as he shot a career-best 8-for-10 from beyond the arc. "Darius was terrific," UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. "He's so comfortable in his leadership role now, he's leading our team and running the show, and our new players are becoming more comfortable playing with him. He's been a rock for us this season, and you love to see it out of a senior point guard." "I had an extraordinary night shooting the ball from three," Johnson said. "I rarely think that would happen again, but it's great. I know my teammates are going to have nights like that as well." Johnson is among the nation's leaders in minutes per game (36.6) and is shooting a team-high 50 percent from 3-point range (23 of 46). He, along with his fellow guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, are each averaging 16.9 points to lead UCF. The Knights opened the season with an impressive win over Texas A&M, now No. 20 in the AP poll, but lost both games at last weekend's Greenbrier Tip-Off, including a triple-overtime defeat against LSU on Sunday. UCF has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2018-19. This will be the first meeting between the Knights and the Lancers, who will each have time off afterwards. UCF won't play until Dec. 8 against Tarleton State, while California Baptist is idle until its Dec. 11 game at San Diego State. --Field Level Media