Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain

Warren Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father. (Supplied)
Warren Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father. (Supplied)
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Updated 03 December 2024
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Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain

Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain
  • Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the US ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is required to confirm the choice.
“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the USA. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post.
Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father.
Trump has already named many of his nominees for his Cabinet and high-profile diplomatic posts, assembling a roster of staunch loyalists. Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France.
During his first term, Trump selected Robert “Woody” Johnson, a contributor to his campaign and the owner of the New York Jets football team, as his representative to the United Kingdom.

 


Pentagon chief orders review of US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Updated 1 min 2 sec ago
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Pentagon chief orders review of US withdrawal from Afghanistan

Pentagon chief orders review of US withdrawal from Afghanistan
A special review panel will “thoroughly examine previous investigations,” Hegseth said in a memo
“This team will ensure ACCOUNTABILITY to the American people”

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday ordered a Pentagon review of the chaotic 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has long been a target of Republican criticism.

“I have concluded that we need to conduct a comprehensive review to ensure that accountability for this event is met and that the complete picture is provided to the American people,” Hegseth wrote in a memo.

A special review panel will “thoroughly examine previous investigations, to include but not limited to, findings of fact, sources, witnesses, and analyze the decision making that led to one of America’s darkest and deadliest international moments,” the memo said.

“This team will ensure ACCOUNTABILITY to the American people and the warfighters of our great Nation,” it added.

The US withdrawal saw Taliban fighters sweep aside Afghan forces, forcing the last American troops to mount an evacuation from Kabul’s airport that got more than 120,000 people out of the country in a matter of days.

On August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber targeted crowds of people on the perimeter of Kabul airport who were desperate to get on a flight out of the country, killing more than 170 people, among them 13 American troops.

Joe Biden, who was US president during the withdrawal, defended the decision to leave Afghanistan, which critics have said helped cause the catastrophic collapse of Afghan forces.

That paved the way for the Taliban to return to power two decades after their first government was toppled by American forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

Muslim Brotherhood ‘threat to national cohesion’: French report

Muslim Brotherhood ‘threat to national cohesion’: French report
Updated 8 min 52 sec ago
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Muslim Brotherhood ‘threat to national cohesion’: French report

Muslim Brotherhood ‘threat to national cohesion’: French report
  • The report pointed to the spread of Islamism “from the bottom up” and at the municipal level
  • It highlighted the “subversive nature of the project,” saying it aims “to gradually bring about changes to local or national rules“

PARIS: The Muslim Brotherhood movement is a “threat to national cohesion” in France and action must be taken to stop the spread of “political Islamism,” according to a report to be presented to President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.

“The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and does not involve violent action, poses a risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions... and, more broadly, to national cohesion,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Tuesday.

The report, prepared by two senior civil servants, is to be examined by the Defense Council on Wednesday.

France and Germany have the biggest Muslim populations among European Union countries.

The report pointed to the spread of Islamism “from the bottom up” and at the municipal level, adding the phenomenon constituted “a threat in the short to medium term.”

In France, the movement is “based on a solid structure, but political Islamism is spreading primarily at the local level,” the authors stressed.

“Resolute and long-term action on the ground seems necessary to stem the rise of political Islamism,” they said.

The report highlighted the “subversive nature of the project,” saying it aims “to gradually bring about changes to local or national rules,” particularly those concerning secularism and gender equality.

Such “municipal Islamism” risks affecting the public sphere and local politics, the report said, pointing to “the creation of increasingly numerous Islamist ecosystems.”

France’s tough-talking Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau expressed concern on Tuesday about “a low-level Islamism” whose “ultimate goal is to turn the entire French society to Sharia law.”

But the report authors said that “no recent document demonstrates the desire of Muslims in France to establish an Islamic state in France or to enforce Sharia law there.”

Muslims in France (Musulmans de France), formerly the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, is identified as “the national branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in France.”

“We are not dealing with aggressive separatism” but a “subtle (...) yet no less subversive aim for the institutions,” the authors said.

The report estimates that there are 139 places of worship affiliated with Muslims of France, with an additional 68 considered close to the federation.

This represents seven percent of the 2,800 Muslim places of worship listed in France, the report said.

The Islamist movement is losing its influence in the Arab world and “focusing its efforts on Europe,” it added.

A public awareness campaign must be combined with renewed efforts to promote a “secular discourse” as well as “strong and positive signals to the Muslim community” including the teaching of Arabic, the report said.


Ukraine launches probe into French-trained brigade

Ukraine launches probe into French-trained brigade
Updated 20 May 2025
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Ukraine launches probe into French-trained brigade

Ukraine launches probe into French-trained brigade
  • The 155th Mechanized Brigade was supposed to be a flagship fighting force for Ukraine’s army
  • A spokesperson for Ukraine’s land forces confirmed that a fresh investigation had been launched

KYIV: Ukraine’s military has launched another investigation into the scandal-hit “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, trained in France, after a media report alleged financial misconduct among commanders, a military spokesperson said Tuesday.

The 155th Mechanized Brigade was supposed to be a flagship fighting force for Ukraine’s army, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron as a symbol of cooperation between Kyiv and Paris.

But it has been plagued by scandals, including reports of equipment shortages, low morale and soldiers abandoning the unit while undergoing training in France.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s land forces confirmed that a fresh investigation had been launched but declined to elaborate.

The Ukrainska Pravda media outlet recently alleged that brigade commander Col. Taras Maksimov had been possibly involved “in fictitious combat payments and extortion.”

It also said the brigade had seen over 1,200 cases of soldiers going absent without leave.

“After the publication of the article in the media, where new details and circumstances were revealed, an additional check was ordered to clarify all the facts set out in the article,” land forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty told AFP in a written statement.

He said a law enforcement investigation had started and that the land forces were taking “all necessary measures to facilitate the investigation and establish the truth.”

Macron announced the creation of the Anne of Kyiv brigade — named after a Medieval Kyiv princess who married into the French royal family — in June last year.

Paris hailed it as a “unique” initiative and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to form a dozen other NATO-trained and equipped units.

Ukraine’s military has been beset with corruption scandals — ranging from weapons procurement to the falsification of draft exemption certificates — since Russia invaded in February 2022.


Georgia court rejects jailed ex-president Saakashvili’s appeal

Georgia court rejects jailed ex-president Saakashvili’s appeal
Updated 20 May 2025
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Georgia court rejects jailed ex-president Saakashvili’s appeal

Georgia court rejects jailed ex-president Saakashvili’s appeal
  • Saakashvili, 57, was sentenced in multiple cases to a combined 12 years and six months
  • “The Tbilisi court of appeals upheld the verdict,” his lawyer Beka Basilaia told journalists

TBILISI: A Georgian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili against a prison sentence that he and his backers see as political retribution by his opponents.

The pro-Western reformist politician, who ruled the Caucasus country from 2004 to 2013, was arrested in 2021 after returning to Georgia from exile in Ukraine in the back of a dairy truck.

Saakashvili, 57, was sentenced in multiple cases to a combined 12 years and six months earlier this year, charged with misuse of public funds and illegally crossing Georgia’s border.

“The Tbilisi court of appeals upheld the verdict,” his lawyer Beka Basilaia told journalists on Tuesday.

The sole appeal had been against a four-and-a-half-year sentence for the illegal border crossing.

Basilaia criticized what he called an “unprecedented” move by the court not to conduct an oral hearing as part of the appeal.

Saakashvili and rights groups have denounced his prosecution as a political move by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has been accused of democratic backsliding and growing rapprochement with Moscow.

Saakashvili has been held in a civilian hospital since 2022, when he staged a 50-day hunger strike in protest at his detention.

The European Parliament has called for his immediate release.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “killing” Saakashvili “at the hands of the Georgian authorities.”

Zelensky granted Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship and named him one of his top advisers in 2019.

Georgia and Russia fought a short war in 2008 — while Saakashvili was president — for control of breakaway Georgian territories.

The European Union and the United States have urged Georgia to ensure Saakashvili is provided medical treatment and that his rights are protected.

The Council of Europe rights watchdog has branded him a “political prisoner,” while Amnesty International has called his treatment “apparent political revenge.”

Georgian authorities have also jailed several former Saakashvili officials, in what rights groups have described as a political witch-hunt.


‘Kyiv should be ours’: Russians boosted after Putin-Trump call

‘Kyiv should be ours’: Russians boosted after Putin-Trump call
Updated 20 May 2025
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‘Kyiv should be ours’: Russians boosted after Putin-Trump call

‘Kyiv should be ours’: Russians boosted after Putin-Trump call
  • “I am rooting for our country, I love it very much and I just want Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) to just, after all, get justice done,” Anastasia told AFP
  • Asked what her main feeling was following the talks, pensioner Sofiya said: “Uncertainty“

MOSCOW: A day after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke by phone on Ukraine, showering each other with compliments, Russian home-maker Anastasia had one wish: for Moscow to finish what it started in 2022.

In the fourth spring of Moscow’s devastating offensive, which has killed tens of thousands, diplomatic movement in recent days has given Russians a boost in confidence that victory — in some shape or another — is approaching.

In the call with Trump on Monday, the Russian leader once again brushed off calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, as demanded by the West and Kyiv.

Despite that, the US president said the “tone” of the conversation was “excellent.”

Russia controls a fifth of Ukraine and holds an upper hand on the battlefield.

“I am rooting for our country, I love it very much and I just want Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) to just, after all, get justice done,” Anastasia told AFP in the Moscow suburbs, echoing official language calling for the defeat of Ukraine.

Not knowing how or when it would happen, the 40-year-old mother, who declined to give her surname, said she was getting impatient.

“I don’t want my children to have to solve this issue. Let’s decide it here and now.”

But she had no trust in Trump — who she said is “just a businessman” who “wants money and nothing else” — and worried the “Anglo-Saxons” will trick Russia.

Putin has shown no sign of scaling down his maximalist demands for ending the Ukraine conflict, seeking little short of capitulation from Kyiv.

At talks in Istanbul last week, Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine abandon territory it still controls in the east and south.

Russia also wants Ukraine barred from NATO and for Western military support to end.

Putin has repeatedly called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be removed from office.

Confidence was tinged with uncertainty in Moscow after the Putin-Trump call, in which the Russian leader floated a vague “memorandum” that would outline demands for a peace deal and Trump said Kyiv and Moscow would begin talks swiftly.

Many in Moscow did not know what Trump or Putin meant.

Asked what her main feeling was following the talks, pensioner Sofiya said: “Uncertainty.”

“It’s interesting what will happen to us, not only to our families, but our country,” said the 72-year-old, who declined to give her surname.

Like many, Sofiya saw no real progress from last week’s talks — the first direct negotiations on the conflict in more than three years.

“I don’t know how to express this, but I would like calm and peace,” she said.

Moscow has ramped up military censorship amid its Ukraine offensive, threatening years in prison for those who criticize or question the campaign.

Zelensky said Russia was not serious about talks and is trying to “buy time” to continue its offensive.

Putin was indeed hoping to advance more on the ground and will not “miss the opportunity” for a summer offensive, said Russian analyst Konstantin Kalachev.

He called the Trump call a “tactical victory” for the Russian leader.

“Russia is hoping to push them (Ukrainian forces) this summer,” Kalachev said.

“There will be no peace, while Russia has not yet used the option of a final offensive,” he said, highlighting the prospect of a summer ground campaign.

Though Putin said both sides should be ready to make “compromises,” few were forthcoming from the Kremlin or on the streets of Moscow.

“I believe that Odesa, Kharkiv, Nikolayev (Mykolaiv), Kyiv should be ours,” said another pensioner, 70-year-old Marina, who also declined to give her surname, reeling off a string of Ukrainian cities that Russia has not formally claimed.

Russian state TV said Moscow’s negotiators threatened in Istanbul to seize more land if Ukraine does not pull its troops out of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that Moscow claims to have annexed.

“If the four regions will not be recognized in the nearest future, the next time there will be six regions,” said state TV presenter Yevgeny Popov.

Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky later evoked Russia’s 21-year war with Sweden in the 18th century, hinting Moscow was ready for a long fight.

Marina, too, said she would support Russia to fight on, even as thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed.

“Of course, it is a big shame that our people are also dying,” she told AFP. “But there is no other way.”