US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made the journey to Europe amid mounting fears that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Ukraine ahead of high-stakes talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, before meeting with his British, French and German counterparts in Berlin.
Blinken’s agenda on Friday will consist of a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva.
Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to launch an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, as tensions between the two nations rise.
Invasion “at any point”
On Tuesday senior US officials revealed that the Putin lead nation could launch an invasion at “any point”.
The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Russia’s build up of tens of thousands of troops near its border with Ukraine had created an “extremely dangerous situation”.
Psaki stated that “no option is off the table” to avoid conflict breaking out on the border, adding that “what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward” as a way to resolving tensions.
According to AFP news agency, a senior state department official, speaking on condition of anonymity said that Mr Blinken will seek to offer Mr Lavrov a “diplomatic off-ramp” from the crisis during talks on Friday.
The diplomatic tour follows inconclusive talks between Moscow and Western nations last week
The top US diplomat is also expected to seek to shore up support among Western allies to impose what officials called “massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia” should an invasion occur.
But Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov urged Western governments to impose immediate sanctions on Moscow.
TikTok users could soon find that the popular social media service is either under new ownership or could be outright banned in the United States.
President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that requires TikTok to find a new owner—or face a ban in the United States.
Over the past several months, Washington D.C. has been under pressure to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app.
Lawmakers and security experts have long raised concerns that the Chinese government could tap TikTok’s trove of personal data about millions of U.S. users.
TikTok’s CEO said the bill is disappointing and reiterated that the company has committed to challenge it.
David Zhang from China Insider. joins Veronica Dudo to discuss
Threads, the social media platform owned by Meta, is gaining traction with a surge in daily active users, outpacing X in the U.S.
With Threads averaging 28 million daily active users compared to X’s 22 million, Meta’s ambitions to reach a billion users seem within reach despite a slowdown in growth. While X still boasts 550 million monthly active users globally, Threads’ focus on user experience and avoidance of real-time and political content could position it as a formidable competitor moving forward.
This weekend’s entertainment lineup has something for everyone.
Apple TV+ brings “Sugar,” a drama set in New York City, while “Civil War” offers historical intensity.
“Challengers” with Zendaya brings a saucy sport drama to life, and superhero buffs can catch the trailer for “Deadpool and Wolverine” for action-packed fun.
With options spanning drama, history, reality, and superheroes, there’s excitement in store for all this weekend.