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Europe scrambles for counter-proposal to US-Russian plan for Ukraine
The fast-moving developments on Trump's Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.

European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.

Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright - it relies on US military support to continue this war - but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.

Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a "just and lasting peace".

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland

The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.

One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.

Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.

Read more:
Trump's 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn't guarantee Ukraine's security

"There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians," he said on Friday evening.

"Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words."

On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday "to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump's push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations".

Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine's position and make it tougher on Russia.

"Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all," said the prime minister.

"We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.

"We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin's finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won't be easy, but it's the right thing to do."

Europeans hadn't even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations - for now at least.

Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.

There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.

But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.


Starmer addresses G20 summit in South Africa - as Trump boycotts talks
The first G20 summit to be held in Africa has opened - without US president Donald Trump.

Leaders and senior government officials from around the world have gathered in South Africa for the two-day summit, which aims to make progress on solving some of the problems which are afflicting the world's poorest nations.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is in Johannesburg for the summit - and he spoke about the bloc's "critical" importance on its first day.

"The role of the G20 is critical at this moment," said Sir Keir, who has defended his decision to fly to the G20 days before a difficult budget.

"Growth must be a mission for us all to embrace as the means to improve lives, fund public services and to keep our people secure.

"The G20 has worked together before to fix fundamental problems in the global economy. We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.

"I'd like to see us come together around a five-point plan for growth that leaves no one behind."

The US, however, is boycotting the talks. The Trump administration made its opposition to South Africa's G20 agenda clear earlier this year when the country started holding meetings ahead of the summit.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, skipped a foreign ministers meeting in February, and said that he would not waste American taxpayers money on an agenda which was focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change.

South Africa gets to set the agenda as the country holding the rotating G20 presidency.

G20 leaders broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit - despite opposition from the US.

Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders' declaration was adopted unanimously in Johannesburg.

Read more on Sky News:
Analysis: Europe scrambles at G20 over Ukraine peace plane
G20 lands in South Africa: But who feels forgotten?

Mr Magwenya said: "Normally the adoption of the declaration happens right at the end. But ... there was a sense that we should actually move to have the summit declaration adopted first as the first order of the day."

There were no details of what was in the declaration, but South Africa has promoted it as a victory for the summit.

The G20 bloc was formed in 1999 as a bridge between rich and poor nations to confront global financial crises.

While it often operates in the shadow of the powerful Group of Seven nations, G20 members represent around 85% of the world's economy, 75% of international trade and more than half the global population.


Countries agree compromise climate deal at COP30 - but omit mention of fossil fuels
Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed to a compromise deal setting out steps to help speed up climate action.

The deal would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but it omits any mention of the fossil fuels driving it.

In securing the accord in Brazil, countries attempted to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts even after the US, the world's biggest historic emitter, declined to send an official delegation.

"It's a weak outcome," said former Philippine negotiator Jasper Inventor, now at Greenpeace International.

In the text of the draft deal, instead of a transition plan away from fossil fuels, the agreement "acknowledges that the global transition toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development is irreversible and the trend of the future," and says "the (2015) Paris Agreement is working and resolves to go further and faster."

Despite no transition plan being included in the deal, the summit's president Andre Correa do Lago said "roadmaps" on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.

The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in the Amazon city was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.

The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.

The impasse was resolved following all-night talks led by Brazil, negotiators said.

The European Union's climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.

"We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction," he said.

The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 80 countries, including the UK and coal-rich Colombia, had been pushing for a plan on how to "transition away from fossil fuels".

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This is a pledge all countries agreed to two years ago at COP28 - then did very little about since.

But scores of countries - including major oil and gas producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia - see this push as too prescriptive or a threat to their economies.

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News on Friday that while the UN climate talks are a "nightmare", they are the "best process we've got".

The annual COP talks are "so hard" because they see more than 190 countries negotiating over the future of their economies, oceans and forests, he said.

But he pointed to achievements from the three decades of talks, including lowering expected global warming by a substantial margin, and the fact that around 80% of global GDP is now covered by a net-zero climate target.

Mr Miliband said: "So it's painful, it's painstaking, it makes you tear your hair out, but it does represent progress.

"This is a global problem; we've got to have global cooperation to tackle it."


Israel launches strikes on Gaza in further test of fragile ceasefire
Israel says it has begun striking Hamas targets in Gaza, reportedly killing at least 24 people, after what it called a "blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement".

Local health authorities in Gaza said there had been four separate airstrikes.

One hit a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, killing 11 people and wounding several others.

At least 13 people died in strikes on houses near Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza, Deir al Balah and Nuseirat camp, according to health officials in Gaza.

At least 54 people, including children, have been injured in the four Israeli airstrikes.

The Israeli military said there had been a "blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement" after what it called an "armed terrorist" crossed into Israeli-held territory and shot at troops in southern Gaza. It said no soldiers were hurt.

In a statement, it said the gunman had exploited "the humanitarian road in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza".

A Hamas official rejected the Israeli military's allegations as baseless, calling them an "excuse to kill", adding the Palestinian group was committed to the ceasefire agreement.

In a separate statement, Israel's military said its soldiers killed what it called five "terrorists" in two other incidents.

It said three were shot dead in the Rafah area, while two others were killed when they crossed into Israeli-held areas in northern Gaza and advanced toward soldiers.

The Israeli airstrikes are a further test of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas, which has held since 10 October following the two-year Gaza war.

Read more from Sky News:
COP30: Countries agree compromise climate deal
Starmer addresses G20 summit - but Trump boycotts talks

Israel pulled back its troops, and the flow of aid into the territory has increased. But violence has not completely halted.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 316 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce.

Meanwhile, Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began and it has attacked scores of militants.


Girl, 13, arrested on suspicion of murdering woman in Swindon
A 13-year-old girl has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a woman in Swindon.

Police said the teenager was detained following an incident in Baydon Close, Moredon, in the Wiltshire town on Friday evening.

Officers responded to reports of disorder inside a house. When they arrived, a woman in her 50s living at the address was found to be not breathing. She was declared dead at the scene.

There were no other reported injuries.

Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, from Wiltshire Police's major crime investigation team, said: "This is a serious incident in which a woman has sadly died.

"We have set up a cordon at the address while an investigation is carried out.

"I can confirm that we have arrested a teenage girl in connection with this incident and we are not looking for anyone else."

Police have asked people not to speculate about the incident online.

A police statement read: "Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while we continue carrying out our enquiries into the woman's death.

"The suspect remains in custody at this time.

"As this is a live investigation, please refrain from speculating online as this could prejudice the ongoing case.

"We'd encourage anyone with concerns to speak with their local neighbourhood policing team, either by emailing or approaching our officers in person."


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