4 h. ago Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico coming on Tuesday but may not be 25%, says commerce secretary – US politics live

Tariffs will come in but exact levels will be ‘for president and his team to negotiate’, says commerce secretary Howard LutnickWith less than two weeks to go before a 14 March deadline, Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress appear to be nowhere close to a deal to avert a government shutdown that would throw Washington into deeper turmoil, Reuters reported.The talks have been complicated by president Donald Trump, who has ignored spending laws passed by Congress, suspended foreign aid and fired tens of thousands of federal workers. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago As the postwar liberal order unravels, new arrangements will be necessary | Moustafa Bayoumi

What Trump has been signaling loudly and clearly is that he gladly accepts and even encourages the acquisition of territory by forceBy now, most of the world will have seen the exchange that has heralded the end of the postwar liberal order. But who would have thought that the whole thing would come crashing down with Trump saying these words: “All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television. I will say that.”I’m referring, of course, to the debacle at the Oval Office between two showmen-turned-statesmen, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting began cordially. the Ukrainian president was challenged for not wearing a suit, he US president said: “I think he’s dressed beautifully.” Trump praised a reporter from One American News for asking an obsequious question (“What gave you the moral courage and conviction to step forward and lead?”) and then, several minutes later, claimed that “I’ve stopped wars. I’ve stopped many wars. My ...

Events

6 h. ago Markets climb as defence stocks, euro and pound rally on Europe’s Ukraine peace push – business live

German stock market records biggest gains after Starmer announces ‘coalition of the willing,’ as investors expect big splurge in defence spending Eurozone inflation has dipped, moving closer to the European Central Bank’s 2% target, ahead of a widely expected drop in interest rates at the central bank’s meeting on Thursday.Headline inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.4% in January, while core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food costs, dropped from 2.7 to 2.6%, Eurostat said this morning.After quite a strong January reading, February eurozone inflation came in soft. Core inflation ticked down after having been stable at 2.7% since September.The weak economic environment seems to trump an increase in reported input costs for the moment. For the European Central Bank, this is a dovish sign as the governing council mulls over how low it should bring rates. Continue reading...

Economics

10 h. ago China likely to target US agriculture, state media reports, as Trump tariff deadline nears

Global Times signals Beijing’s likely countermeasure after US president threatened a further 10% duty to come into force on TuesdayChina is preparing countermeasures against fresh US import tariffs that are set to take effect on Tuesday, China’s state-backed Global Times reported, with American agricultural exports likely to be targeted.Donald Trump last week threatened China with an extra 10% duty, resulting in a cumulative 20% tariff, while accusing Beijing of not having done enough to halt the flow of fentanyl into America, something China said was tantamount to “blackmail”. Continue reading...

Events

28 h. ago US Postal Service faces murky future as Trump mulls dismantling institution

Resistance to any proposals remains speculative until administration lays out its plan for the federal agencyAfter the postmaster general, Louis Dejoy, a former Trump fundraiser and logistics executive appointed during the president’s first term, announced last month that he was stepping down, defenders of the US Postal Service (USPS) concerned that the 249-year-old institution could soon experience the slice and slash of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” scimitar have expressed alarm.Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to dissolve USPS’s bipartisan board of governors and place the agency under the control of the commerce department secretary, Howard Lutnick, the Washington Post recently reported. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago ‘They worship death’: Trump ‘border czar’ reveals extremist views in interview

The ‘great replacement’ theory, human sacrifice and torture videos: Tom Homan’s talk with Tucker Carlson offered a grab bag of far-right talking pointsDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.Donald Trump’s “border czar”, Tom Homan, and far-right media personality Tucker Carlson talked about a bizarre range of extremist and racist conspiracy theories in an interview just weeks before Homan took office and was trusted with implementing a wide-ranging crackdown on migrants.The conversation included Carlson’s claim that Mexican cartels come “from cultures that have practiced human sacrifice for thousands of years”, connected the racist “great replacement” theory to Biden’s immigration policy, and advocated the arrest of elected US leaders who opposed Donald Trump’s policies on migrants. Continue reading...

Politics

29 h. ago All or Nothing review: Michael Wolff details Trump’s bilious re

The president’s least favorite biographer again exposes the grotesque pettiness of Trump as he willed his way back to powerDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.Michael Wolff has earned the ire of Donald Trump – again. The new Trump book by the author of three other bestsellers “is a total FAKE JOB, just like the other JUNK he wrote”, the 47th president posted after the first revelations from Wolff’s work broke. “I assume he was able to speak to a small number of people, but not meaningfully.”Once again, Wolff has poured a samovar of scalding tea on Trump’s lap. Continue reading...

Politics

31 h. ago Melania and Ivanka's bitter war laid bare and brutal nickname whispered in White House

First Lady Melania Trump is reportedly at war with eldest stepdaughter Ivanka Trump, with tensions continuing to simmer even as the First Daughter takes a step back from politics

Events

39 h. ago Does Trump's wink to Marjorie Taylor Green's reporter boyfriend Brian Glenn prove the White House bust

Friday, just before midday in the Oval Office. President Trump and President Zelensky sit on high-backed damask chairs angled cosily for a routine exchange of pleasantries.

Politics

64 h. ago Trump makes his stance with 'big shot' Zelensky very clear after ferocious showdown

President Donald Trump told reporters Ukraine would be consigned to 'keep fighting' to 'see what happens if it refuses his call for an immediate cease fire.

Politics

68 h. ago Bullying, berating Trump shows his worst self in Zelenskyy ambush

The president said his horrific blowup would make ‘great television’ – the White House has rarely seen anything like thisDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting“This is going to be great television,” Donald Trump remarked at the end. Sure. And the captain of the Titanic probably assured his passengers that this would make a great movie some day.Trump has just presided over one of the greatest diplomatic disasters in modern history. Tempers flared, voices were raised and protocol was shredded in the once hallowed in the Oval Office. As Trump got into a shouting match Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a horrified Europe watched the post-second world war order crumble before its eyes. Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago Diplomacy dies on live TV as Trump and Vance gang up to bully Ukraine leader

US president said his horrific blow-up would make ‘great television’ – the White House has never seen anything like itDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting“This is going to be great television,” Donald Trump remarked at the end. Sure. And as they slipped into the icy depths, the captain of the Titanic probably assured his passengers that this would make a great movie some day.Trump on Friday presided over one of the greatest diplomatic disasters in modern history. Tempers flared, voices were raised and protocol was shredded in the once-hallowed Oval Office. As Trump got into a shouting match with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a horrified Europe watched the post-second world war order crumble before its eyes. Continue reading...

Events

2 d. ago Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats

Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’Don’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe Russia represents a cyber threat against US national security or critical infrastructure, marking a radical departure from longstanding intelligence assessments.The shift in policy could make the US vulnerable to hacking attacks by Russia, experts warned, and appeared to reflect the warming of relations between Donald Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump reportedly wants to shrink size and focus of state department; climate agency braces for more cuts – live

President wants radical overhaul of state department, including fewer diplomats and embassies, Politico reports; Noaa expects more cuts after hundreds firedUS aid cuts have forced the UN children’s agency Unicef to suspend or scale back many programmes in Lebanon, with more than half of children under the age of two experiencing severe food poverty in the country’s east, a Unicef official said on Friday.“We have been forced to suspend or cut back or drastically reduce many of our programmes and that includes nutrition programmes,” Unicef’s deputy representative in Lebanon, Ettie Higgins, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Beirut, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘What does that mean?’ Australia unperturbed by Trump’s response to reporter’s Aukus question

Australian officials, including prime minister Anthony Albanese, downplay Trump’s response

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Cruel and thoughtless’: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency Noaa

Employees informed by email that their jobs would be cut off at end of day in move a worker called ‘wrong all around’Don’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian has learned.On Thursday afternoon, the commerce department sent emails to employees saying their jobs would be cut off at the end of the day, in a move that one worker called “wrong all around”. Other government agencies have also seen massive staffing cuts in recent days. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump shuts down Independent reporter pressing Starmer on annexing Canada

Donald Trump cut off The Independent's White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg as he pressed Sir Keir Starmer about the US president’s desire to make Canada the 51st state.

Politics

3 d. ago Trump administration quietly shutters online form for student debt repayment

Removal comes after court decision pausing Joe Biden’s Save program, leaving millions of Americans in the lurchDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Donald Trump administration has taken down the online application form for several popular student debt repayment plans, causing confusion among borrowers and likely creating complications for millions of Americans with outstanding loans.Those seeking payment plans are unable to access the applications for income-driven repayment plans (IDR), which cap what borrowers must pay each month at a percent of their earnings, as well as the online application to consolidate their loans on the US Department of Education website. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Hot mic catches Trump urging Fox News reporter to say Cabinet meeting was ‘unbelievable’

‘Lawrence, say we did a great job, please. Okay? Say it was unbelievable,’ the president asked Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones at the end of the meeting.

Politics

4 d. ago Why is Andrew Tate flying to Florida – and does Trump have anything to do with it?

The Trump administration reportedly requested both Andrew and Tristan Tate have their travel restrictions lifted earlier this month

Politics