5 h. ago Trump is the world’s greatest showman – and the weakest strongman it has ever seen | Jonathan Freedland

His capitulation to Putin over Ukraine reveals a pattern. He’s the patsy: giving everything away, getting little in returnHe parades as a strongman, but in fact he’s weak, weak, weak. In the face of America’s adversaries Donald Trump is, as he might put it, a patsy, a sucker, a pushover. He folds like a pack of cards. He’s a human doormat. A loser.Just consider the gifts he has handed Vladimir Putin this week. He has brought Russia in from the diplomatic cold after three years of ostracism following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, whose anniversary is nearly upon us. Sergei Lavrov, Putin’s foreign minister, was meant to be persona non grata; he remains under international sanctions. Nevertheless, this week in Riyadh he met Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in so-called peace talks.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago ‘Like a cruel auction’: what Ukrainians think of Trump’s peace talks with Putin

Ukrainians inside the country and abroad express their hopelessness, anger and defiance at negotiations between Washington and MoscowEurope live – latest updates“I don’t think that this ‘peace process’ is for Ukrainians’ sake. It is laughable that they pretend it is,” said Iryna, 26, a lawyer from Kyiv.Iryna was among thousands of Ukrainians who got in touch with the Guardian to share how they felt about the Trump administration-led peace talks with Russia, which exclude Ukraine. Continue reading...

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24 h. ago EastEnders fans spot hilarious live blunder as Sonia gives birth inside Queen Vic

EastEnders cast and crew took on a live episode on BBC One on Thursday night, and one moment in particular got viewers talking as the 40th anniversary continued

Politics

24 h. ago EastEnders fans all spot the same thing as Sonia gives birth inside Queen Vic

EastEnders cast and crew took on a live episode on BBC One on Thursday night, and one moment in particular got viewers talking as the 40th anniversary continued

Politics

37 h. ago Briton running Ukraine drone factory says fight continues regardless of talks

Richard Woodruff has been volunteering in Lviv in Ukraine since June 2022.

Events

52 h. ago Hamas offers handover of all hostages to Israel if next phase of ceasefire agreed

Benjamin Netanyahu signals readiness for talks on second phase by appointing adviser Ron Dermer to lead delegationHamas has said it is ready to release all its remaining hostages in a single exchange if the ceasefire agreement with Israel moves forward to a second phase next month.The offer came as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, signalled his readiness to talk about a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire after an extended delay, by appointing one of his closest advisers, Ron Dermer, a US-born cabinet minister and former ambassador to Washington, to lead the Israeli delegation to the talks. Continue reading...

Events

54 h. ago Ineos 'enter talks over Tottenham agreement' as Manchester United plan continues

Manchester United news as Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes action regarding another one of his sporting ventures in the Premier League

Politics

55 h. ago Developing world urges rich nations to defy Trump’s ‘climate nihilism’

Poorer countries want rapid emission cuts and more financial help in face of US leader’s stance on global heatingDeveloping countries are calling on the rich world to defy the US president, Donald Trump, and bridge the global chasm over climate action, before the goal of limiting global temperatures to safe levels is irretrievably lost.Diplomats from the poor world are rallying to the support of Brazil, which will host a crucial climate summit in November, after last year’s talks in Azerbaijan ended in disappointment and acrimony. Continue reading...

Politics

63 h. ago Trump blames Ukraine over war with Russia, saying it could have made a deal

President hits back at Ukraine’s complaint that it has been left out of US-Russia talks, saying it had years to make a deal ‘without the loss of much land’See all our Ukraine war coveragePresident Donald Trump has criticised Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was “disappointed” that the Ukrainian leader complained about being left out of talks between the US and Russia over ending the Ukraine war.Trump also seemed to blame Kyiv for Moscow’s invasion – even as he said he was more confident of a deal to end the war after US-Russia talks – claiming Ukraine could have “made a deal” to avert war. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago US and Russia to explore closer relations after Ukraine talks in Riyadh

Marco Rubio says talks ‘first step of a long and difficult journey’ while Putin adviser says meeting ‘went well’Europe live: latest on Ukraine talksTop US and Russian officials have met in Saudi Arabia for the most extensive negotiations between the two countries in three years, agreeing to continue planning an end to the Ukraine war amid concerns in Kyiv and across Europe that Donald Trump could push for a settlement favouring Vladimir Putin.After the talks at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, which lasted almost five hours, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the two sides had agreed to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago 'Why should we invite them?': Lavrov ridicules European presence at Ukraine peace talks – video

Russia's foreign minister has dismissed the prospect of a place for Europe at talks between the US and Russia to end the fighting in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference alongside his Serbian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov said: 'If they are going to weasel out some cunning ideas about freezing the conflict, while actually intending – as is their custom, nature and habit – to continue the war, then why should we invite them at all?'European leaders have been unnerved by the willingness of Donald Trump, the US president, to engage the Kremlin directly over Ukraine and have been attempting to find a place for themselves in the talksEurope live – latest updates Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘It’s Trump’s world’: European leaders divided on how to navigate ‘cacophony’

Many feel JD Vance’s speech in Munich shows Trump 2.0 is a far more disruptive and chaotic force than their worst fearsAs European leaders meet in Paris to prepare an answer to their apparent exclusion from the talks about Ukraine’s future, the existential and all encompassing question of how to influence an unchained US president occupies every European leader.The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, offered some Nordic advice. “We Finns in these situations are cool, calm and collected so what we do first is have an ice bath and after that we go to the sauna and then we reflect.” Faced by what he described as a “cacophony” of het-up and shocked diplomacy, he suggested: “We need to talk less and do more.” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Zelenskyy’s week from hell: shock in Ukraine as Trump abandons Kyiv

As Donald Trump and his officials rip up three years of US rhetoric on supporting Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is walking an unenviable diplomatic tightropeVolodymyr Zelenskyy has had some tough weeks in the past three years, but this past one may be up there with the worst of them.Back on Monday, in an hour-long interview with the Guardian at his Kyiv offices, the Ukrainian president was in a cautiously optimistic frame of mind. He said he had received “positive signals from the Americans” over upcoming negotiations. His team was working to fix a date for a meeting with Donald Trump, he said, and he was sure that the US president understood the importance of coordinating his position with Kyiv before talking to Russia. Continue reading...

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