3 h. ago Badenoch to advocate putting British interests first in foreign policy speech

The Tory leader will also advocate a ‘need to disengage’ from international bodies if they are ‘taken over by activists or by autocratic regimes’.

Events

4 h. ago Trump says Putin will accept EU peacekeeping troops in Ukraine as he meets Macron

Sir Keir Starmer has said he would be willing to put British troops on the ground as part of security guarantees

Politics

5 h. ago Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Trump suggests

Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that he would be willing to put British troops on the ground as part of security guarantees.

Politics

11 h. ago 2,000 year old book about Roman emperors enters bestseller charts

The Lives of the Caesars, translated from Latin by The Rest Is History podcast co-host Tom Holland, details everything from ancient policy failures to sex scandalsA gossipy account of the lives of Roman emperors has entered the bestseller charts – 2,000 years after it was written. Sex scandals and foreign policy failures don’t only beleaguer the modern politician, it turns out: in the early second century, the scholar Suetonius chronicled the dramas of the first set of Roman emperors, and now, their indiscretions and eccentricities have been dug up in a new translation which is proving popular in bookshops.The Lives of the Caesars, translated from Latin by The Rest Is History podcast co-host Tom Holland, made the Sunday Times hardback nonfiction chart this week. Publisher Penguin Classics said that the book is the first of their hardback nonfiction classics to appear on the list. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago ‘No more excuses’: Europe under pressure on defence spending three years after Russian invasion

Continent is being told to take more responsibility for its own defence in light of US president’s overtures to PutinA few days after Vladimir Putin sent Russia’s invading forces into Ukraine in February 2022, the EU’s then foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, asked his staff for an urgent military aid plan. They came up with €50m (£41.4m) to help Ukraine.“And I said: ‘Are you crazy? We are talking about a war,’” Borrell recounted in late 2024, shortly before standing down. “Do you know what does it mean, a war? Put three zeros behind! And then we started taking things seriously.” Continue reading...

Events

39 h. ago New York City’s Ukrainian community ‘disappointed’ after Trump’s ‘betrayal’

As the US upends decades of foreign policy, those watching the war unfold from miles away resolve to stand strongMembers of New York’s large Ukrainian community expressed a mix of disillusionment, betrayal, defiance and acute uncertainty about what the future holds for Ukraine after tensions escalated this week between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Geopolitical events in the last week have shocked Ukrainians at home and overseas as well as US lawmakers and allies, as the US president appeared to heavily favor the Russian president Vladimir Putin to dictate peace terms on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Federal workers brace for more firings after judge lifts block on Trump administration job cuts – US politics live

Trump administration expected to continue its mass downsizing of the federal workforce amid warnings of unlawful terminations and a ‘monumental’ billMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsWe expect Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer to soon visit Donald Trump, at a moment when the American president is upending much of America’s foreign policy with his embrace of Russia’s position in the war in Ukraine. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour looks at whether Starmer’s visit might reassure a rattled Europe:In November 1940, Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt expressing relief both at the US president’s re-election and the victory of his anti-appeasement policy. “Things are afoot which will be remembered as long as the English language is spoken in any quarter of the globe, and in expressing the comfort I feel that the people of the United States have once again cast these great burdens upon you, I must now avow my sure faith that the lights by which we...

Politics

4 d. ago Britain is 'massively vulnerable' and 'not equipped to deter Putin's aggression', former Army boss says

Sir Nick Carter's revelation will be an embarrassment to the premier who had said he is prepared to put British servicemen and women in 'harm's way' to help guarantee Ukraine's security.

Politics

4 d. ago Trump brings Russia in from the cold, but at what cost to Ukraine? – podcast

In a matter of days, Donald Trump completed the most radical shift in US foreign policy in decades, bringing Putin back into the fold while sidelining Europe. He claims to have brought the end of the war in Ukraine in sight, but with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the rest of Europe excluded from the US-Russia talks, are we really any closer to peace? And, at what price?Jonathan Freedland speaks to veteran US diplomat Kurt Volker, who served as Trump’s special representative for Ukraine during his first term, and the Guardian’s US live news editor Chris MichaelSend your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago People in the US: share your views on President Trump’s approach towards Russia and Ukraine

We’d like to hear from people in the US about how they view Trump’s approach to Russia and Ukraine – as well as his stance towards EuropeWe would like to hear from US voters across the political spectrum about how you view president Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach to Russia and Ukraine.This week has brought an unprecedented escalation of tensions between Kyiv and Washington after senior US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine, as well as economic and political cooperation. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Even Trump can be cajoled into advancing human rights – you just have to know which buttons to press | Kenneth Roth

The signs aren’t good so far, but playing on Trump’s desperation to be seen as a great dealmaker would pay dividendsKenneth Roth is a former executive director of Human Rights Watch. His book, Righting Wrongs, is published on 25 FebruaryThe common wisdom is that Donald Trump’s foreign policy will be a disaster for human rights. Certainly his penchant for embracing autocrats and breaching norms bodes poorly, such as his outrageous proposal to force two million Palestinians out of Gaza – which would be a blatant war crime – or his suggestion that Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion. But Trump also likes to cut a deal, as shown by his paradoxically positive role in securing the current (precarious) Gaza ceasefire. If Trump the dealmaker can be nudged in the right direction, he might, against all odds, be brought to play a productive role for human rights.As executive director of Human Rights Watch, I spent more than three decades devising strategies to pressure or cajole leaders ...

Politics

5 d. ago Even Trump can be cajoled into doing the right thing – you just have to know which buttons to press | Kenneth Roth

In decades spent convincing world leaders to protect human rights, I’ve learned a thing or two about working with his typeKenneth Roth is a former executive director of Human Rights Watch and author of Righting WrongsThe common wisdom is that Donald Trump’s foreign policy will be a disaster for human rights. Certainly his penchant for embracing autocrats and breaching norms bodes poorly, such as his outrageous proposal to force two million Palestinians out of Gaza – which would be a blatant war crime – or his suggestion that Ukraine is to blame for Russia’s invasion. But Trump also likes to cut a deal, as shown by his paradoxically positive role in securing the current (precarious) Gaza ceasefire. If Trump the dealmaker can be nudged in the right direction, he might, against all odds, be brought to play a productive role for human rights.As executive director of Human Rights Watch, I spent more than three decades devising strategies to pressure or cajole leaders to better respect ri...

Politics

5 d. ago Voices: Can Starmer build a bridge between the US and Europe strong enough to withstand a Trump kicking?

The prime minister is convinced he can charm the unpredictable US president when the pair meet next week in Washington – but Westminster is less sure of his chances, with some insiders suggesting the pledge to put British peacekeeping forces in Ukraine has now turned European allies again him, says Andrew Grice

Politics

6 d. ago Growing fears that Ukraine may be forced to hold early election that could deliver a 'Putin puppet' under Trump's plan

A return to the polls this year is expected to be a key condition of the peace agreement being negotiated in Saudi Arabia between Donald Trump's top foreign policy advisers and Russia.

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s diplomacy: when the US knows the price and ignores values | Editorial

US talks with Russia over Ukraine’s future, like the president’s prescription for Gaza, highlights how business and foreign policy mergeThe Trump administration did not take red lines on Ukraine to its talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday: it cares about the bottom line. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, underscored that when he said the two sides would create a team, not only to support Ukraine peace talks but also to explore the “incredible opportunities” to partner with Moscow geopolitically “and, frankly, economically” that might result.Kyiv and other European capitals are still reeling at the full extent of Donald Trump’s cynicism when it comes to world affairs, and callous disregard for the people caught up in them. But it should be no surprise that business dealings were high on the agenda. Vladimir Putin would dearly love to end his country’s economic isolation. Russia is making the case that American energy firms and others could profit handsomely by doing busine...

Politics

6 d. ago MPs 'likely to get a vote' on sending British troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers to deter future Putin attacks

Sir Keir Starmer takes lead in pledging to deploy UK forces to Ukraine

Politics

6 d. ago This is Farage’s moment of reckoning: he can choose British voters – or Putin and Trump | Gaby Hinsliff

The Reform leader and Kemi Badenoch have struck the wrong alliances at the wrong time. Ukrainian sovereignty is a cause close to rightwing heartsTiming is everything in politics. So when the leader of the opposition realised she was due to be making a speech heaping praise on Donald Trump, just as the president plunged her own country into a national security crisis, you might think even she would have hesitated.But seemingly nothing can keep Kemi Badenoch from a culture war, not even the threat of an actual war. So, at a rightwing conference in London on Monday morning, she duly ripped into corporate diversity policies, climate activism, Keir Starmer taking the knee four and a half years ago, and various other imagined threats to western civilisation that are not forcing Britain to consider deploying troops against them, before concluding triumphantly that when people ask her what difference a change of leader makes, her answer is, “Take a look at President Trump.”Gaby Hinsliff is ...

Politics

6 d. ago One misstep away from World War III: Keir Starmer's 'peacekeeping' operation in Ukraine would be fraught with danger and has potential to trigger wider conflict, military experts warn

British spymaster Colonel Philip Ingram fears tyrant Vladimir Putin would never stick to any peace deal and could open fire on British troops acting as part of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Events

7 d. ago DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Britain cannot defend Europe on the cheap

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Sir Keir Starmer's apparent readiness to put British 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine will have sent a shiver down many spines.

Politics

7 d. ago European defence stocks rise by €18bn to record high ahead of Ukraine peace talks – business live

Shares in BAE Systems, Rheinmetall and Saab soar, as Keir Starmer offers to put British ‘boots on the ground’ in UkraineUK firms mull biggest layoffs in a decade as business confidence slumpsHere’s Bloomberg on the jump in Rheinmetall’s share price this morning:Rheinmetall AG’s shares surged the most in more than two years as European officials contemplate a major new package to increase defense spending and support for Ukraine.The German manufacturer’s stock rose as much as 11% in Frankfurt. The shares have more than doubled over the past year as military orders increased, especially from Germany. If Europe moves to increase spending further, it could push Rheinmetall to accelerate plans to increase its production capacity. Continue reading...

Politics