The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

After talks with Ukraine’s allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would “establish military hubs across Ukraine” to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.

Allies also largely agreed robust security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territory is still being discussed.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target”.

Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

(BBC)

At least 14 members of the press were detained in Venezuela on Monday as they were covering the aftermath of the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by US forces.

The union representing media workers in Venezuela said all but one of those detained were employed by foreign news organisations and were released later on Monday, with one reporter deported.

Foreign news media have long faced restrictions in Venezuela, with very few being granted visas to work in the country.

Their detention came as Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as the interim president and shortly after she said that she was willing to co-operate with the Trump administration, which has said it would “run” Venezuela.

The union said the media workers were detained by Venezuelan security forces at the National Assembly and its environs, and in the neighbourhood of Altamira – all in the capital, Caracas.

At least two of them were seized by agents working for Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, while others were detained by Venezuela’s intelligence service.

They said they had their equipment searched, their phones checked and their social media posts and messages read, the union statement added.

A Colombian and a Spanish reporter were also detained at Venezuela’s border with Colombia near Cúcuta.

The two reporters were held for hours incommunicado before being released back into Colombia, the statement said.

The union called the incidents “alarming” and called for the release of 23 media workers who remain in detention in the country.

(BBC)