Manila [Phillipines], April 27 (ANI): China has “implemented maritime governance and asserted its sovereign authority” over an uninhabited reef in the contested South China Sea, as it raised the national flag on the small sandbank located just a few kilometers from a major Philippine military base, according to a report by The Japan Times.

Six months after Kemi Badenoch was elected leader of the UK Conservative Party, internal discussions have already shifted toward the possibility of replacing her.

With local elections in England approaching, many Conservative MPs and officials are increasingly dissatisfied with Badenoch’s leadership and have expressed concerns that she is not the right person to lead the party into the next general election, scheduled for 2029.

According to more than two dozen sources who spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, there is growing support within the party to replace Badenoch with Robert Jenrick, the right-wing shadow justice secretary.

The discontent comes amid low polling numbers for the Tories and the perception that Badenoch, who became leader on November 2, 2024,has failed to address key issues, leaving the party vulnerable to challenges from Nigel Farage’s Reform Party. Badenoch’s spokesperson declined to comment on the situation, while Jenrick’s spokesperson pointed to an interview in which he expressed support for Badenoch’s leadership, suggesting people should give her time.

The situation is expected to worsen with the upcoming local elections, where the Conservatives are predicted to lose a significant number of seats. The Tories’ performance in these elections is crucial, as they are seen as an early indicator of the party’s standing ahead of the general election. In the last local election in 2021, the Conservatives won nearly half the races, bolstered by then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s successful COVID-19 vaccine rollout. However, since then, the party’s popularity has plummeted, and they are now facing their worst-ever performance.

Political analysts predict a “total wipe-out” for the Conservatives in the upcoming elections, with Rob Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, calling it a “total and unmitigated disaster.” After briefly overtaking Labour in polls late last year, the Conservatives have fallen more than five percentage points behind both Labour and Reform, with the latter now emerging as a strong challenger on the right.

Washington, DC [US], April 27 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has questioned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin’s willingness to stop the war and criticised recent missile strikes in Ukraine, CNN reported.

Trump said after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral, on Saturday.

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since their meeting in the White House, when Zelenskyy faced criticism from Trump and Vice President JD Vance over what they saw as a lack of gratitude for American support.

In a post shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, as he was heading back to the US from Rome, Trump hinted at imposing sanctions against Moscow after Russia’s latest missile attack on Ukraine and questioned whether Putin wants to stop the war.

Donald Trump even criticised former US President Barack Obama and suggested that he “made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired.”

In a post shared on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump shared, “No matter what deal I make with respect to Russia/Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it’s the greatest deal ever made, The Failing New York Times will speak BADLY of it. Liddle’ Peter Baker, the very biased and untalented writer for The Times, followed his Editor’s demands and wrote that Ukraine should get back territory, including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests, in order to stop the killing that is worse than anything since World War II. Why doesn’t this lightweight reporter say that it was Obama who made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired. It was also Liddle’ Peter who wrote an absolutely fawning, yet terribly written Biography, on Obama. It was a JOKE! Did Baker ever criticize the Obama Crimea Giveaway? NO, not once, only TRUMP, and I’ve had nothing to do with this stupid war, other than early on, when I gave Ukraine Javelins, and Obama gave them sheets.”

“This is Sleepy Joe Biden’s War, not mine. It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?” Too many people are dying,” he added.

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis. Describing his meeting with Trump as “good,” Zelenskyy said that talks focused on “full and unconditional ceasefire.” He expressed hope to see results on everything they discussed.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, “Good meeting. We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you POTUS.”

Trump and Zelenskyy had a “very productive” meeting in Rome, a White House official said – their first meeting since a tense meeting in the White House in February this year, Al Jazeera stated.

On Saturday, White House communications director Steven Cheung said, “President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow,” Al Jazeera reported.

In a post on X, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha stated, “No words are needed to describe the importance of this historic meeting. Two leaders working for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica.”