One Minor, One Young Adult Killed in French School Bus Accident
A minor and a young adult were killed and 16 others injured when a bus veered off the road in eastern France on Friday, officials said.
The bus, which was travelling between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, was carrying 43 passengers, including 15 minors, said prosecutors.
One Minor, One Young Adult Killed in French School Bus Accident
A minor and a young adult were killed and 16 others injured when a bus veered off the road in eastern France on Friday, officials said.
The bus, which was travelling between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, was carrying 43 passengers, including 15 minors, said prosecutors.
NATO Seeks ‘Just’ End to Ukraine War as Trump Touts Deal Involving Europe
Ukraine's allies are working for a "just and sustainable" end to the war ahead of US-mediated talks next week in Abu Dhabi, NATO said Friday, after US President Donald Trump touted a deal with Russia involving "all of Europe".
Talks in Brussels on Thursday involving NATO, US, Ukrainian and European officials "built on productive discussions in Miami and Oslo and sought to advance a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine", an alliance spokeswoman said.
Trump on Thursday predicted a "very big" deal with Russia involving not only the Ukraine war but "all of Europe," in remarks that will fuel fears on the continent of a pivot towards the Kremlin.
Jared Kushner, the president's envoy and son-in-law, said the United States was working on "a broader European security architecture that can help establish the conditions for lasting peace".
Kushner, who participated in the Brussels talks via videolink, said that Washington's "objective is to develop practical arrangements that address the security concerns of all sides".
"We are exploring five principal goals: permanent security consultations, reliable crisis communications, greater military transparency, reciprocal measures to reduce escalation risks, and an enduring framework for long-term European security and stability," he posted online.
He insisted that "any arrangements must fully respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independent decision-making of every nation" and said NATO would "remain central to European collective defense".
The US push will rattle Washington's European allies, who have long rejected Moscow's desire to rewrite the European security architecture.
Before launching the war in Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin delivered an ultimatum to NATO which included a demand that the alliance's troops be withdrawn from eastern Europe.
That was rejected by the Western military alliance.
Europe has meanwhile been seeking to play a bigger role in the US-led push to end the fighting.
Kushner said that Washington will "consult closely with our European partners on the sidelines" of the Abu Dhabi talks and "if progress is made, aim to move toward a broader multilateral format with their direct participation".
Italy's Meloni Blasts Europe's 'Disarray' on Ukraine Talks
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has slammed Europe's "disorderly" approach to Ukraine negotiations and demanded the EU decide who speaks on its behalf, in a letter seen by AFP Thursday.
In the message to European Council chief Antonio Costa, who chairs summits of EU leaders, Meloni complained about the recent proliferation of meetings in different formats for talks on Russia's war on Ukraine.
"All this is making us look utterly lacking in credibility in handling one of the most complicated dossiers our nations are facing," the Italian leader wrote.
"I am convinced that we all realize how, by giving the image of a Europe that is proceeding in disarray, we are doing nothing but serving the interests of those who want this war to continue."
As examples she cited recent talks in Miami and Oslo as well as meetings this week in Brussels between representatives of Ukraine, the United States, several European countries, NATO and the EU.
She also mentioned a call between the leaders of Norway and Finland and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I want it on record that I will not go along with this dynamic, nor do I intend to stand by and watch it unfold," Meloni wrote.
"Proceeding in disarray, with initiatives that chase and overlap one another, will not help us, neither with our partners nor with those we must convince to stop a senseless aggression."
The Italian leader said that she wanted EU leaders to decide "once and for all who sits at the negotiating table on behalf of the European Union, and with what mandate."
Meloni said she was not requesting a role for herself or Italy.
She asked that the issue be discussed at a summit of EU leaders in Dublin this month, and for a formal decision to be taken at a second meeting in December.
"Otherwise, I fear we risk condemning Europe to irrelevance in the negotiating process," she said.
In response, Costa wrote back to Meloni that he agreed "that Europe needs to act with coherence, unity and determination."
"The European Union's participation must be organized in a manner that enables it to convey a clear and unified message, to defend its interests and to support Ukraine," he said in a letter shared by his office.
The European Council president said that in accordance with the bloc's treaties the EU's "interests need to be represented by its institutions".
He said he would include the issue at the next meeting of EU leaders.
Meloni initially called for the EU to name a single envoy to deal with talks on the Ukraine war at the start of this year, but the push fizzled out.
Europe has long been seeking to play a bigger role in US-led efforts to stop the fighting in Ukraine.
After they largely stalled, Washington has revived its push in recent weeks and will meet with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi next week.
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