3 h. ago California Democrat believes Trump and his allies are creating a ‘civil war’

Waters said Trump’s recent changes to the government are an attempt to consolidate power and rile up Democrats

Politics

8 h. ago Will Putin derail Trump’s peace plan? – Today in Focus Extra

Donald Trump has shown that he can get Ukraine to back a deal, but what about Russia? Patrick Wintour and Pjotr Sauer reportAfter weeks of diplomatic tension, on Tuesday the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced that Ukraine had signed up to a 30-day ceasefire agreement. As the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, explains to Michael Safi, this deal would cover the whole of Ukraine and by accepting it, Ukraine will again receive military aid and intelligence sharing from the US. However, issues such as borders, elections and Ukrainian membership of Nato or the EU are not a part of this deal and will need to be finalised at a later stage.Having followed Russian negotiations during the Syrian civil war, Wintour describes the Russians as ‘masters at delay’ and on Thursday night at a press conference in Moscow, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made it clear that while he supported the US attempt at a deal he could not sign up to it as is. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago No10 'shocked' by scale of Labour fury at plans for £5bn benefits cut and 'adding safeguards for disabled' as Rachel Reeves desperately tries to avoid civil war while balancing books

An announcement on the measures had been expected yesterday, but has been delayed until next week amid a major operation to win over backbench sceptics.

Events

38 h. ago Ethiopia's Tigray regional government appeals for help after factional fighters seize key towns

The interim government of Ethiopia’s Tigray region has appealed for the Ethiopian federal government to intervene after a faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front seized control of two major towns, leaving several people wounded and raising fears of a return to civil war

Politics

42 h. ago The reluctant collaborator: surviving Syria’s brutal civil war – and its aftermath

At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killedMustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations across the Middle East. In Syria, a sense of anxious anticipation hung in the air, and the government was responding with propaganda films and TV shows designed to fire up nationalist sentiment. A friend of Mustafa’s hired him to play an extra in one of these shows. The job didn’t pay much, but it was more fun than the long hours Mustafa spent working in a restaurant kitchen. Tall and handsome, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, Mustafa dreamed that maybe one day he could join the long list of Syrians who starred on Arab TV dramas.The youngest of three brothers and a sister, Mustafa had grown up in a crowded working-class district in the eastern ...

Events

42 h. ago Beatings, bribery, boredom: one man’s struggle to survive Syria’s brutal civil war

At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killedMustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations across the Middle East. In Syria, a sense of anxious anticipation hung in the air, and the government was responding with propaganda films and TV shows designed to fire up nationalist sentiment. A friend of Mustafa’s hired him to play an extra in one of these shows. The job didn’t pay much, but it was more fun than the long hours Mustafa spent working in a restaurant kitchen. Tall and handsome, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, Mustafa dreamed that maybe one day he could join the long list of Syrians who starred on Arab TV dramas.The youngest of three brothers and a sister, Mustafa had grown up in a crowded working-class district in the eastern ...

Events

59 h. ago Is Netflix on brink of civil war over Meghan's series? Katherine Ryan becomes the latest star at streaming giant to deliver scathing review of Duchess' 'beige' cookery show

Comedian Katherine Ryan has become the latest Netflix star to criticise the Duchess of Sussex - accusing her of lying and putting on an act of 'oh, I'm just so humble' in her new lifestyle show.

Society

59 h. ago Farage warns there is ‘no way back’ for Rupert Lowe as Reform UK civil war deepens

The civil war dominating Reform UK has deepened, with leader Nigel Farage warning there is ‘no way back’ for Rupert Lowe

Events

3 d. ago The Beguiled: Clint Eastwood’s 1971 version is a sweaty, southern hothouse

Before Coppola’s 2017 film, there was Eastwood’s portrayal of the Union soldier taken in by an all-girls school. It’s an all-timer scumbag performanceGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOn paper, Don Siegel’s 1971 southern Gothic melodrama The Beguiled appears the perfect candidate for a remake: a critical and commercial failure in its own time, its infamous reputation helped it linger in the margins of popular consciousness. Sofia Coppola would have thought as much when she directed her own take on Thomas P. Cullinan’s source novel in 2017. While Coppola’s version is full of distinct beauty, Siegel’s original stands alone in its unyielding thorniness – that may have seemed like a career misstep for star Clint Eastwood upon its initial release, but now stands clearly as one of the most potent subversions of the masculine archetype he helped popularise.Eastwood plays John McBurney, an unscrupulous corporal fighting for the Union during the waning days of the American civil war...

Politics

3 d. ago A Syrian man barely escaped a wave of sectarian killings. His brothers did not

This past weekend’s sectarian violence was possibly among the bloodiest 72 hours in the modern history of Syria after 14 years of civil war — and it threatens to open an endless cycle of vengeance

Events

4 d. ago How did deadly Syria clashes start and who is responsible for civilian killings?

More than 1,000 people are believed to have died so far in fighting between security services and Assad loyalistsClashes between Syrian security services and fighters loyal to the ousted Assad regime erupted on Wednesday, kicking off five days of still-ongoing fighting which has killed more than 1,000 people, including 745 civilians, according to a war monitor.The clashes, some of the deadliest in the country since the beginning of its civil war in 2011, were the biggest challenge Syria’s new authorities faced since taking power in December. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Reform civil war deepens amid claims bullying allegations ‘had nothing to do with Rupert Lowe’

Great Yarmouth MP says he is the victim of ‘total lies’ by party leadership, but the KC investigating him has disputed some of his claims

Events

4 d. ago Nigel Farage accused of ‘witch hunt’ by Rupert Lowe as Reform civil war escalates

Reform leader Nigel Farage and MP Rupert Lowe have continued to exchange blows as former Brexit Party MEPs who served with both men come to the Great Yarmouth MP’s aid

Events

5 d. ago Syria's worst violence in months reopens wounds of the civil war

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days

Events

5 d. ago Reform civil war escalates as Rupert Lowe hits back at Nigel Farage ‘witch hunt’

Reform Leader Nigel Farage and MP Rupert Lowe have continued to exchange blows in an escalating civil war

Events

5 d. ago Rangers crowned imaginary champions as Hotline civil war erupts after 'embarrassing' coefficient claim

Andy Newport takes your calls and it's a fiery one this afternoon with both sides of Glasgow swinging for the fences

Events

5 d. ago Derbyshire people fight to save ruined manor that held Mary, Queen of Scots

Wingfield Manor is part-managed by English Heritage, but has fallen into a state of disrepairAt various points in history it has been a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots, a battleground in the English civil war, and the site of one the country’s first flushing toilets.But despite its storied past, Wingfield Manor in Derbyshire has fallen into disrepair, and members of the public can no longer visit the magnificent ruins on a hilltop in Amber Valley. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Reform civil war deepens with Rupert Lowe accusing Nigel Farage of trying to silence his demand for mass immigrant deportations

The Great Yarmouth MP accused the party leadership of 'watering down' its position on illegal migration in a bid to attract new voters, amid an astonishingly civil war in the right-wing party.

Events

6 d. ago The Rupert Lowe row has exposed Reform UK’s dysfunction under Nigel Farage

News analysis: Hidden behind the facade of positive opinion polls, behind the scenes Reform UK is being described as being embroiled in an ego-driven civil war, writes political editor David Maddox

Politics

6 d. ago Rupert Lowe blasts Lee Anderson as a 'pathetic, vindictive' LIAR after chief whip said 'no man is bigger than our party' as Reform UK's civil war explodes

Reform UK's chief whip Lee Anderson has been branded a 'pathetic, vindictive' liar after wading into a spat with Rupert Lowe who claims he was 'knifed' after questioning Nigel Farage's leadership.

Events