US President Donald Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accept Russia’s terms for ending the war between Russia and Ukraine in a White House meeting on Friday, warning that President Vladimir Putin threatened to “destroy” Ukraine if it didn’t comply, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

During the meeting, Trump insisted Zelenskiy surrender the entire eastern Donbas region to Russia, repeatedly echoing talking points the Russian president had made in their call a day earlier, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ukraine ultimately managed to swing Trump back to endorsing a freeze of the current front lines, the FT said. Trump said after the meeting that the two sides should stop the war at the battle line; Zelenskiy said that was an important point.

The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report.

Zelenskiy arrived at the White House on Friday looking for weapons to keep fighting his country’s war, but met an American president who appeared more intent on brokering a peace deal.

In Thursday’s call with Trump, Putin had offered some small areas of the two southern frontline regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in exchange for the much larger parts of the Donbas now under Ukrainian control, the FT report added.

That is less than his original 2024 demand for Kyiv to cede the entirety of Donbas plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, an area of nearly 20,000 square km.

Zelenskiy’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours on whether Trump had pressured Zelenskiy to accept peace on Russia’s terms.

Trump and Putin agreed on Thursday to hold a second summit on the war in Ukraine within the next two weeks, provisionally in Budapest, following an August 15 meeting in Alaska that failed to produce a breakthrough.

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is offering a 10-year Golden Visa to donors contributing at least AED 2 million to Islamic Waqf endowments, making charitable giving a pathway to long-term residency.

The programme has been launched in collaboration with GDRFA Dubai and Dubai Islamic Awqaf. It allows both UAE residents and international donors to apply under the “Financial Supporters of Humanitarian Work” category.

To qualify, applicants must make a minimum donation of AED 2 million (Rs156 million) to a certified Waqf or humanitarian project, and they must also hold at least a university degree.

The nominees must come from Awqaf Dubai or an authorised humanitarian institution.

Proof of donation, identity documents, and academic credentials are mandatory, according to the official.

Applications can be submitted through the GDRFA Smart Services portal or at Amer Centres across Dubai.

A joint GDRFA-Awqaf committee reviews submissions before approval.

Once granted, the visa remains valid even if the holder stays outside the UAE for more than six months.

Waqf, in Islamic tradition, refers to a permanent charitable endowment. It can include land, buildings, cash, or other assets dedicated to public welfare, such as education, healthcare, or religious institutions. Once donated, the assets cannot be sold or inherited.

Awqaf Dubai ensures that all endowments are Sharia-compliant, transparent, and channelled into sustainable community development.

Officials emphasise that the Golden Visa is not only a reward for philanthropists but also a strategic move to attract global supporters of sustainable humanitarian work, reinforcing Dubai’s image as a centre of generosity and social impact.

PARIS: Thieves broke into Paris’ Louvre museum by using a crane and smashing an upstairs window on Sunday, stealing priceless jewellery from an area that houses the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes, the French government said.

The robbery is likely to raise awkward questions about security at the museum, where officials had already sounded the alarm about a lack of investment at a world-famous site that welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024.

The thieves struck at about 9:30am (0730 GMT) when the museum had already opened its doors to the public, and entered the Galerie d’Apollon building, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The robbery took around four minutes, Culture Minister Rachida Dati told TF1, and it was carried out by professionals.

“We saw some footage: they don’t target people, they enter calmly in four minutes, smash display cases, take their loot, and leave. No violence, very professional,” she said on TF1.

She said one piece of jewellery had been recovered outside the museum, apparently dropped as they made their escape.

Dati declined to say what the item was, but newspaper Le Parisien said it was believed to be the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie. The jewel was broken, the newspaper said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter that three or four thieves got into the museum from outside using a crane that was positioned on a truck.

“They broke a window, headed to several display cases and stole jewels… which have a real historical, priceless value,” Nunez said.

Probe underway

A video posted on X by a museum guide showed visitors filing towards exits in the middle of their tour, initially unaware of the reason for the disruption.

Nunez said a probe had been opened, with a specialised police unit that has a high success rate in cracking high-profile robberies such as this one, tasked with running it.

No injuries were reported, Dati said.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, said on X it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons”.

In one of the most daring art thefts in history, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the museum in 1911 in a heist involving a former employee. He was eventually caught and the painting was returned to the museum two years later.

Questions on security

Earlier this year, officials at the Louvre requested urgent help from the French government to restore and renovate the museum’s ageing exhibition halls and better protect its countless works of art.

Dati said the issue of museum security was not new.

“For 40 years, there was little focus on securing these major museums, and two years ago, the president of the Louvre requested a security audit from the police prefect. Why? Because museums must adapt to new forms of crime,” she said. “Today, it’s organised crime — professionals.”