​Plans to turn a garage into a hair salon have been approved at Sandpiper Close in Crossgates, Scarborough, despite numerous objections from residents.

​It follows the retrospective conversion of a garage into a hair salon which was approved last month at another address at Crossgates, a five-minute walk away.

​According to plans, the hair salon will operate from 9am – 5pm on weekdays, and 9am to midday on Saturdays.

​No objections were made by Seamer Parish Council or the Highway Authority.

​However, three objections were made by members of the public.

Sandpiper Close, Crossgates. Courtesy Of Applicant.

​Concerns were raised about an increase in traffic movements, potential parking problems, and safety concerns as “pedestrians walk on the road”.

​The Highway Authority said it did not expect the development to lead to a significant increase in vehicle movements.

​There are currently two parking spaces serving the house and two additional parking spaces will be created with the proposal to accommodate clients.

​The applicant said: “I will operate a one-seat salon with controlled client appointments that will be made so that there is no overlap of appointment times, which will prevent parking overlap.

​“An appropriate parking space is available on the existing driveway for these appointments. All products used in the salon will be disposed of safely to comply with any environmental health regulations.”

​Planning officers noted that the salon would operate during daytime hours, and “it is therefore considered to not significantly increase the existing level of activity within the area whilst not compromising the surrounding amenities”.

​They added that the hours of operation were appropriate for the scale of business and residential setting and would be secured by condition.

​A planning report concluded: “With appropriate conditions in place limiting the intensity of use, and by reason of the character and nature of the use proposed, Officers consider that the development can be accommodated in a residential setting.”

​The application was approved by North Yorkshire Council, subject to conditions, on Thursday, June 4.

​

British actor Anthony Head, who was best known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has died at the age of 72

Actor Anthony Head, widely celebrated for his iconic parts in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Ted Lasso, has passed away aged 72, according to a statement released by his daughters.

The beloved British star was most recognised for portraying librarian Rupert Giles in the cult American supernatural drama featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which aired from 1997 to 2003.

His daughters, fellow actresses Emily and Daisy Head, issued the following statement to the Press Association: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our extraordinary father, Anthony Head.

“He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family. It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.

“We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in – he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.

“Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind, but we know his legacy will live on, in the shows he was a part of, and in the audiences that love them. How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.

“We kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this difficult time.” Most recently, Head portrayed former Richmond FC proprietor Rupert Mannion, the ex-spouse of Hannah Waddingham’s character Rebecca, in the football-themed comedy Ted Lasso.

Among his other prominent performances were the Prime Minister in Little Britain and Uther Pendragon in Merlin, father to Prince Arthur.

Recognised for his distinctive baritone tones, Head initially achieved prominence in Britain during the 1980s through the Nescafe Gold Blend television commercials.

He starred as one half of the Gold Blend duo, opposite Sharon Maughan, embarking on a gradual romance over coffee.

These advertisements, broadcast between 1987 and 1993, remain amongst the most memorable instances of serialised marketing campaigns.

Head’s performance in Buffy propelled him to stardom across the Atlantic, though he departed the main ensemble during the programme’s sixth series, subsequently appearing as a guest until its finale.

His acting credits also encompassed Motherland, Manchild, Silent Witness, Spooks, Doctor Who and My Family, alongside the film Repo! The Genetic Opera.

In July 2018, he joined BBC Radio 4’s enduring drama The Archers, taking on the role of Robin Fairbrother.

He was additionally a vocalist, gracing West End stages and recording music, including tracks from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode, as well as independent projects.

Head’s longstanding partner, animal welfare advocate Sarah Fisher, passed away in December 2025 at 61.

Fisher served as an ambassador for Battersea Dogs And Cats Home and patron of Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary.

Both their daughters, Emily and Daisy, pursue acting careers. Emily gained prominence for portraying Carli D’Amato in E4’s sitcom The Inbetweeners, while Daisy has featured in television programmes such as Harlots, Shadow And Bone and The Gray House.

His sibling, Murray Head, is likewise an actor recognised for his performance in the Oscar-nominated 1971 picture Sunday Bloody Sunday, and for performing the 1984 hit One Night In Bangkok from the stage production Chess.

A new Colorado law passed this week prohibits speed camera tickets for drivers going 5 mph or less over the speed limit.

Set to take effect August 12, the legislation, signed by Governor Jared Polis, also requires municipalities to mail physical warning notices during the first 30 days after a new camera is installed. In addition, the law sets a maximum fine of $120 for drivers going 25 mph or more over the speed limit, and limits how private vendors can profit from enforcement programs.

The changes were partly driven by a six-month 9News Steve On Your Side investigation led by consumer investigator Steve Staeger, which helped lead to the voiding of $2.3 million in traffic tickets in two Weld County towns.

The investigation began after drivers in Kersey reported steep fines, including $340 tickets issued near a stretch of road where the speed limit drops from 65 to 45 mph.

At the time, Kersey officials were working under a state statute that did not clearly spell out how to handle violations 25 mph or more over the limit, leaving enforcement open to interpretation, 9News reported.

The town issued $340 fines for weeks until investigators found its own ordinance actually capped photo radar tickets at $40. After that discovery, officials paused the higher penalties, issued more than $500,000 in refunds and ultimately voided over $1.1 million in tickets.

The investigation also uncovered problems with the 30-day warning period for new cameras. While state law called for a warning phase, it said cities “may” issue warnings, which some towns treated as optional. In practice, that meant some jurisdictions skipped mailed notices and simply delayed ticketing, so drivers were not formally alerted that they were being monitored, according to the outlet.

In Kersey, data showed about 1,200 tickets per day during the first month of enforcement before numbers dropped as drivers became aware of the cameras, 9News reported. In nearby Hudson, a separate camera issued more than 31,000 tickets in a matter of weeks before officials later voided $1.2 million in fines.

Those findings helped drive statewide reforms, including a $120 penalty for drivers going 25 mph or more over the limit, which is three times the fine cap for lower speeds.

It also enforces stricter requirements for mailed warning notices and signage before enforcement begins and new rules requiring vendors to be paid flat hourly or monthly fees rather than being tied to ticket volume.

We have 3 to giveaway!

Prepare to be transported back millions of years as Emerald Park has just launched its new re-themed land, ‘Lost Valley: Land of Dinosaurs’. Building on the popularity of the much-loved Dino Dash coaster, this immersive experience will combine exciting attractions with dramatic theming and more!

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At the centre of the new land is SwingoSaurus, Emerald Park’s brand-new dinosaur-themed swing attraction that promises high flying fun for the whole family. Standing 12 metres high, the exciting new family ride features 16 seats across a unique double-sided gondola, giving guests the chance to soar, swing and glide through a world ruled by dinosaurs. Launching just in time for the summer holidays, visitors can also enjoy daily Dino Meet & Greet experiences later this summer, creating unforgettable up-close encounters and magical memories for dinosaur fans of all ages.

Located just 90 minutes outside of Belfast in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, Emerald Park offers something for everyone! Younger adventurers can enjoy the Junior Zone with over 10 attractions to choose from along with multiple playgrounds, and not forgetting the Emerald Park Zoo, which is home to more than 250 animals, including big cats, birds of prey and zoo experiences such as the Petting Farm and Lemur Woods. Thrill-seekers can head to the immersive land of Tír na nÓg, where epic adventures await on rides like Na Fianna Force and The Quest.

To celebrate the launch of Lost Valley: Land of Dinosaurs at Emerald Park, we have 3 family passes to give away!

For your chance to win, simply fill in your details on the form below.

If you can’t see the form above click HERE

Terms and conditions: Competition open to NI & ROI residents only, entrants must be over 18, Competition closes at 23:45pm on Sunday, June 21, 2026. See entry form for full details.

Earlier, Robert Brovdi, Ukraine’s drone commander, announced that five “illegally loitering vessels” had been struck overnight in the ports of Mariupol, Berdyansk and in the coastal waters of what Ukraine calls the “temporarily occupied territories” – parts of the country that Russia currently controls.

“Avoid screens before bed” is one of the most common pieces of sleep advice. But what if the real problem isn’t screen time − it’s the way we use social media at night?

Sleep deprivation is one of the most widespread yet overlooked public health issues, especially among young adults and adolescents.

Despite needing eight to 10 hours of sleep, most adolescents fall short, while nearly two-thirds of young adults regularly get less than the recommended seven to nine hours.

Poor sleep isn’t just about feeling tired − it’s linked to worsened mental health, emotion regulation, memory, academic performance and even increased risk for chronic illness and early mortality.

At the same time, social media is nearly universal among young adults, with 84% using at least one platform daily. While research has long focused on screen time as the culprit for poor sleep, growing evidence suggests that how often people check social media − and how emotionally engaged they are − matters even more than how long they spend online.

As a social psychologist and sleep researcher, I study how social behaviors, including social media habits, affect sleep and well-being. Sleep isn’t just an individual behavior; it’s shaped by our social environments and relationships.

And one of the most common yet underestimated factors shaping modern sleep? How we engage with social media before bed.

Emotional investment in social media

Beyond simply measuring time spent on social media, researchers have started looking at how emotionally connected people feel to their social media use.

Some studies suggest that the way people emotionally engage with social media may have a greater impact on sleep quality than the total time they spend online.

In a 2024 study of 830 young adults, my colleagues and I examined how different types of social media engagement predicted sleep problems. We found that frequent social media visits and emotional investment were stronger predictors of poor sleep than total screen time. Additionally, presleep cognitive arousal and social comparison played a key role in linking social media engagement to sleep disruption, suggesting that social media’s effects on sleep extend beyond simple screen exposure.

I believe these findings suggest that cutting screen time alone may not be enough − reducing how often people check social media and how emotionally connected they feel to it may be more effective in promoting healthier sleep habits.

How social media disrupts sleep

If you’ve ever struggled to fall asleep after scrolling through social media, it’s not just the screen keeping you awake. While blue light can delay melatonin production, my team’s research and that of others suggests that the way people interact with social media may play an even bigger role in sleep disruption.

Here are some of the biggest ways social media interferes with your sleep:

Taken together, these factors make social media more than just a passive distraction − it becomes an active barrier to restful sleep. In other words, that late-night scroll isn’t harmless − it’s quietly rewiring your sleep and well-being.

How to use social media without sleep disruption

You don’t need to quit social media, but restructuring how you engage with it at night could help. Research suggests that small behavioral changes to your bedtime routine can make a significant difference in sleep quality. I suggest trying these practical, evidence-backed strategies for improving your sleep:

A brief moment of awareness can help break the habit loop.

Sally, who works as a restaurant manager in Clifton in BRistol, was taking her first trip on a rental e-scooter in two years when she hit a pothole and was thrown from the vehicle

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A woman from Bristol spent five days in hospital recovering from injuries sustained after the e-scooter she was riding struck a pothole.

Sally*, who works as a restaurant manager in Clifton, had been using one of the vehicles to travel home following a shift last week.

However, as she turned onto the dimly-lit Redland Road, she collided with a pothole. The unfortunate woman, who described herself as naturally cautious and was taking her first ride on a rental scooter in two years, was thrown from the vehicle and sustained a deep laceration to her head.

Following an agonising seven-hour wait in A&E, it was confirmed she had also fractured five ribs and her collarbone. Sally attributes the poor condition of Bristol’s roads, rather than the e-scooter itself, for her accident.

“There are potholes everywhere, and I really did not see this one that I hit,” she said, reports Bristol Live.

“Obviously, Redland Road is not extremely illuminated. There’s not a lot of light, and I did not see that porthole whatsoever.

“I wasn’t speeding much either, because I’m always quite careful, and I was coming out from one of the minor roads as well, so the only acceleration that I had was to accelerate to restart the e-scooter.”

Sally now faces eight weeks away from work and will only be entitled to statutory sick pay during that period, considerably less than her usual earnings. She has stated her intention to pursue a compensation claim against Bristol City Council.

Councillor Ed Plowden, chair of the transport and connectivity committee, said: “Making roads safe and reliable for all users is a priority. Repairing potholes is an important part of maintaining the road network, and we continue to seek the much-needed additional funding required to more effectively meet this challenge.

“Roads are inspected regularly to check their condition. Every road is checked at least once a year, with busy roads inspected once a month. We aim to repair potholes within 28 days, in line with national guidelines and we are working closely with our contractors to make sure repairs are completed on time.”

Sally owes a debt of gratitude to a mystery good Samaritan for preventing the situation from deteriorating further following the incident.

A gentleman she knows only as Matthew halted his vehicle upon discovering her lying injured on the carriageway. He contacted emergency services, but upon learning an ambulance wouldn’t arrive promptly he took the initiative and transported Sally to hospital himself.

The injured woman is now eager to locate Matthew to express her gratitude personally. Yet, due to her condition when he assisted her she cannot recall any distinguishing information about him.

“He put me in his car without even thinking about it, even though I was bleeding everywhere,” she said.

“He tried to talk to me while I was in complete shock and hurt, to keep me awake I suppose. He dropped me off at the emergency ward at Southmead hospital and ensured I was taken care of.”

The extent of injuries sustained by e-scooter riders or resulting from incidents involving these vehicles remains challenging to determine. Based on data from police forces across Great Britain, 1,312 collisions involving e-scooters occurred in 2024, rising from 1,292 in 2023.

Six fatalities resulted from those incidents, with 444 individuals sustaining serious injuries.

The actual number of collisions involving e-scooters is likely considerably higher because, as the Department of Transport – which releases the crash statistics – acknowledges, “It should be noted that a considerable percentage of non-fatal casualties are not reported to the police. Non-fatal casualties for e-scooter users are amongst the most likely to be under-reported in road casualty data since they have no obligation to inform the police of collisions.”

Sally stated she was fortunate she was travelling at approximately 11.45pm on a Tuesday evening. During a busier period, she could easily have been propelled into the path of an approaching vehicle, or struck by one travelling behind her.

The likelihood of accidents increases on roads in poor condition. Research from the 2021 Dott London trial, conducted alongside cycling safety technology company See.Sense, discovered ‘strong correlations between high levels of braking and swerving, and poor road surface conditions. This could occur in areas with potholes or poor infrastructure, causing riders to swerve or brake to avoid crashes, as well in roads with rough surfaces – such as cobbled streets – resulting in reduced control of the e-scooter’.

Bristol City Council repaired 4,398 potholes during 2024/25. The local authority has received an ‘amber’ classification for road maintenance from the Department of Transport which indicates “room for improvement”.

*not her real name

The Fifa men’s football World Cup is one of the most powerful brands in sport, attracting global attention with a simple formula of rarity, intensity and consequence.

Every four years, this high-stakes tournament feels distinct from everything else in the football calendar. So changing the format is a gamble.

But the 2026 World Cup, held in the US, Canada and Mexico, will be the biggest yet, featuring lots more teams – 48, up from 32 in 2022 (and just 24 back in 1994). And this means a lot more matches – a jump from 64 at Qatar 2022 to 104 in this year’s event.

This level of expansion reflects a broader shift across elite football. Several big tournaments (the Champions League, the Euros, the Club World Cup) are all played with more teams than they used to be.

And there are clear benefits. A larger World Cup for example, allows more nations to participate, extending the tournament’s reach and audience. For smaller football nations, it increases the likelihood of qualification and the opportunity to appear on the sport’s biggest stage for the first time.

More matches and more countries participating also means the potential for even greater revenue generation in new markets.

But aside from making Fifa more money, or football more inclusive, expansion could also damage the World Cup’s strength as an event.

This strength has traditionally come from the rarity and jeopardy of the occasion.

Qualification has always mattered because it was a difficult thing to achieve. Reaching the tournament at all was a show of footballing prowess, and once a team was there, the structure of the competition ensured that early matches carried real consequence.

In terms of successful branding, this intensity concentrates fans’ collective competitive and emotional investment in the event.

But dramatically expanding that event risks damaging this setup. More teams means that qualification becomes less selective, while staging more matches reduces the importance of individual games (and demands a level of viewing time that could test even the most committed football fan).

In marketing terms, this weakens what’s known as “perceived consequence”, the extent to which individual matches are seen to meaningfully shape outcomes and command fans’ attention. As the tournament grows (and there are some who want 66 teams to qualify for 2030), it can lose intensity.

There is more football, but less at stake with every kick.

Different goals

Expansion is often justified on economic and political grounds. The cost pressures on host counties has pushed governing bodies towards larger and more widely dispersed formats (hence this tournament being held across three countries).

But recent research I carried out with a colleague suggests that staging a tournament across multiple countries can be a complicated business too. Different places operate in different ways, with different resources and goals, so alignment can prove tricky.

That said, co-hosted events can work, but only when spectators manage to perceive the tournament as one coherent event, rather than a fragmented set of parts. As scale and complexity increase, sustaining that perception becomes more difficult.

With more teams, more matches and football stadiums in three large countries, the 2026 World Cup brings these challenges into sharper focus. It also has to deal with a broader shift which has seen elite football become an almost constant, never-ending series
of tournaments and fixtures throughout the year.

Competitions seem to exist as part of an ongoing, always-available media flow rather than isolated events.

In this context, the World Cup risks becoming just another part of high-value extended media property designed to maximise engagement across time rather than concentrate it. But dilution can lead to the weakening of a brand as its defining elements become less clear or less exclusive.

The qualities that once made the World Cup brand so distinctive risk becoming less sharply defined.

As more teams qualify, entry may feel less exclusive, and as more matches are played, individual fixtures become less decisive. As tournaments grow longer and more complex, the sense of a single, shared global moment becomes more diffused.

The World Cup will almost certainly remain football’s most valuable commodity for the foreseeable future. But its long-term health depends on maintaining the qualities that make it feel exceptional rather than routine.

If expansion continues to prioritise availability over intensity, the risk is not that the World Cup will fail – but that it will gradually lose its value as a global event that transcends the sport itself.

Few would have predicted Morocco’s success at the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Heading into the tournament, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16.

Yet they beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal – countries that both then and now rank inside the world’s top ten – on their way to becoming the first African nation ever to reach the semi-final.

Morocco’s run was not only remarkable (and thoroughly deserved). It also sparked debate beyond football because 14 of the players in their 26-man squad were foreign-born, more than any other nation in the tournament.

The 2026 World Cup will feature more foreign-born players than any previous edition. Nearly a quarter of the 1,248 players selected for national teams were born in a different country from the one they will represent.

In some squads, the proportions are far higher than this – 96% of Curaçao’s players were born abroad, as were 85% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s and 73% of Morocco’s. Overall, foreign-born players make up the majority of footballers in eight of the tournament’s 48 squads.

Migration has been part of the World Cup story since its inception. At the tournament’s third edition in 1938, for example, 12% of players represented a country other than the one in which they were born.

This was in part because Fifa didn’t introduce regulations governing football players’ eligibility for national teams until 1962, meaning it was not uncommon for players to represent multiple countries throughout their careers.

Some players represent countries other than those in which they were born because they are eligible through a parent or grandparent. These players often emerge from diaspora communities created by earlier waves of migration.

One example is 2018 World Cup finalist Ivan Rakitić, who was born and raised in Switzerland but chose to represent Croatia. In a 2025 interview, Rakitić explained that when he had to choose between the two countries, his heart told him he should play for Croatia.

Other players qualify through residency requirements. Pepe, for example, was born in Brazil but played in four World Cups for Portugal between 2010 and 2022 after becoming a Portuguese citizen at the age of 24.

Yet foreign-born players are only part of the story. World Cup squads also contain many second-generation migrants. France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad is perhaps the best-known example: 12 of their 23 players had African parents.

Such patterns are not random. France’s squad reflected the country’s colonial and postcolonial links with north and west Africa. Similarly, since the mid-2000s, Switzerland’s national team has increasingly been shaped by migration from the former Yugoslavia following the conflicts and displacement that accompanied its breakup in the 1990s.

England’s 2026 squad also tells a story about the country’s migration history. Alongside Marc Guéhi, who was born in Ivory Coast, at least nine players had a parent born overseas. Most have family roots in former British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, reflecting patterns of post-second world war migration to the UK.

At the same time, 24 players born in England have been selected by other World Cup teams. This includes five representing Scotland and 19 playing for countries beyond the British Isles (including the US, New Zealand and Ghana).

Does this matter on the pitch?

Relatively little research has examined whether national teams with more migrant players perform better on the pitch. But the available evidence suggests they do.

One study from 2022 analysed every World Cup between 1970 and 2018 and found that teams with more foreign-born players generally progressed further in the tournament. On average, each additional foreign-born player was associated with roughly 0.15 additional matches played.

The relationship remained even after accounting for broader differences between countries, suggesting that migration may provide advantages beyond those associated with wealth or footballing tradition alone.

Another study from 2023 examined European national teams competing in World Cups and European Championships between 1970 and 2018. Using players’ surnames to estimate their ancestral origins, it measured the diversity of backgrounds within each squad and found that more diverse teams tended to perform better on average.

Specifically, the research found that a one standard deviation increase in diversity led to an increase in goal difference (the number of goals a team scores minus the number of goals they concede) of around 1.3 per match on average.

There are at least two factors that might explain these results. First, migration can expand the pool of players available to a national team. Ghana’s squad for the 2026 tournament draws heavily on diaspora communities in western Europe. This allows it to recruit players developed in some of the world’s strongest football systems.

Second, migration may increase the diversity of skills available within a squad. Football players need specific physical traits and technical skills to succeed on the pitch. Central defenders, for example, are usually tall and physically strong. More attacking players, on the other hand, often require speed.

A more diverse population will probably provide a larger pool of potential players for each position, resulting in better complementarity at the team level.

This does not mean that migration wins World Cups. Argentina won the 2022 World Cup without a single foreign-born player in their squad. Success also depends on population size, economic wealth and coaching. Lionel Messi playing for your team helps, too.

Nonetheless, the limited evidence available indicates that migration may influence international football beyond simply changing the make-up of the teams competing.

If Morocco’s 2022 squad had been limited to players born and raised in Morocco, would they still have reached the semi-finals? We’ll never know for sure. But if Curaçao do so this time around, the role of migration in footballing success may become harder to ignore.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk.

In a speech to the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin accused the West of undermining the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions.

By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, he said.

“The sanctions and blocking of Russia’s sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,” he said. “Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems.”

He alleged that high state debt had helped undermine global trust in Western institutions.

“The roots of the current global turbulence lie in the transition from a vertical, hierarchical model, which served the interests of a small number of states, to a more complex, distributed and multipolar one,” Putin said. “Russia views global changes not only as a threat but also as immense opportunities. And to capitalize on them, we aim to act swiftly and pragmatically.”

The Russian leader said the world needed a “modern, flexible and responsible financial architecture — free from risks, bans and barriers.”

Putin played down Russia’s economic slowdown and sought to emphasize its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia’s state debt is a fraction of that in Western countries and its budget deficit is considerably smaller, compared with the West.

The forum comes at a time when Russia’s economic outlook has clouded amid the conflict in Ukraine. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.

On Thursday, Putin told heads of international media at a question-and-answer session that it was an exaggeration to say Russia’s economy was struggling. He noted that his government had taken deliberate steps to cool the economy to keep inflation under control.

Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country’s economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a “multipolar world.”

Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also are present. A U.S. official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is attending for the first time in years.

Also on Thursday, he acknowledged damaging Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia and pledged to bolster its defenses.

“To our regret, some of them break through,” Putin told the media session in talking about the drone strikes. “Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”

Hours before the forum opened on Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and also hit a nearby naval base.

Putin said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with understandings reached at his last year’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to end the conflict, now in its fifth year.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed face-to-face negotiations in a public letter addressed directly to Putin. Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to wait for the U.S. to return its attention to Ukraine while it remains heavily focused on the Iran war.

In Washington, Trump said it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin hadn’t seen the letter yet and repeated his statement that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow if he wants talks, an offer that Zelenskyy pointedly rejected. Putin said last month he doesn’t exclude a meeting in a third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.

Speaking Thursday, Putin again rejected Zelenskyy’s push for an immediate ceasefire, arguing that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.

“Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops,” he said. “But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.”