3 h. ago Of course it's bonkers to say Ukraine started the war. But here's what I think Donald Trump's trying to achieve: BORIS JOHNSON

Well, folks, it has been a bad few days for the truth. But we have reached clinical levels of insanity. Apparently we can no longer ascribe the tragedy to 'Russian aggression'. Oh really?

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3 h. ago Trump refuses to admit Putin started Ukraine war as adviser tells CPAC he will win Nobel Peace Prize: Live

President invited to row back on criticism of Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky but instead doubles down, declaring: ‘He makes it very hard to make deals’

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8 h. ago No matter how distasteful we find Trump and Vance over Europe, they speak a blunt truth | Simon Jenkins

The US has chosen the worst possible moment and the worst possible way to say it, but it is right to call for a realignmentIt’s tough being rightwing these days. You have to find something nice to say about Donald Trump. That is hard. He thinks Kyiv started the Ukraine war and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a “dictator”. But what about JD Vance? The US vice-president thinks that Europe’s “threat from within”, which is putting “free speech in retreat”, is worse than any threat from Russia or China. These men are deranged. What more is there to say?The answer is quite a lot. John Stuart Mill warned that “he who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that”. We must try to understand the case they are making, whether we agree with it or not. Continue reading...

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13 h. ago Watch: White House briefing after Donald Trump calls Volodymyr Zelensky ‘dictator’

Watch as Karoline Leavitt delivered a White House press briefing on Thursday, 20 February, after Donald Trump accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator.”

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20 h. ago Trump calls US team ahead of hockey final against Canada. Fans say they aren't there for politics

President Donald Trump has called the U.S. hockey team to wish players good luck ahead of their 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada

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21 h. ago Musk echoes Kremlin talking points on Ukraine as he vows changes to X’s Community Notes after Trump

Threatened changes to Community Notes come as Trump administration has sought to falsely portray Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as a ‘dictator’

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24 h. ago Trump ‘very frustrated’ with Zelenskyy for allegedly failing to ‘take opportunity’ of US

US national security adviser claims Ukrainian president has failed to ‘come to the table’ despite not being invited to Russia-US talks this weekVance poses immigrants as ‘greatest threat’ to US and EuropePeople in the US: share your views on Trump’s Russia-Ukraine approachFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the N...

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25 h. ago Trump ‘very frustrated’ with Zelenskyy for failing to ‘take opportunity’ of US

US national security adviser claims Ukrainian president has failed to ‘come to the table’ despite not being invited to Russia-US talks this weekVance poses immigrants as ‘greatest threat’ to US and EuropePeople in the US: share your views on Trump’s Russia-Ukraine approachFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the N...

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25 h. ago Boris Johnson says Trump only aims to shock Europe over claims Ukraine started war with Putin

The former PM said Trump’s claims were designed to ‘shock Europeans into action’

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26 h. ago Watch live: White House briefing after Donald Trump calls Volodymyr Zelensky ‘dictator’

Watch live as Karoline Leavitt delivers a White House press briefing on Thursday, 20 February, after Donald Trump accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator.”

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27 h. ago Donald Trump calls PGA Tour and LIV Golf bosses to White House for peace talks

Donald Trump has summoned PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to the White House for peace talks on Thursday, with player-directors Tiger Woods and Adam Scott also in attendance

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28 h. ago We are on cusp of peace in Europe thanks to Trump, claims JD Vance – Europe live

US vide-president says president is determined to ‘bring peace to this endless war’ as US envoy cancels press conference with ZelenskyyFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the Nazis. Well, come on, folks. I mean, that lie has been proved. There’s so many lies.And why do I say that? Because I think all of the parti...

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29 h. ago Trump aide tells Zelenskyy to ‘tone it down’ as US envoy cancels Kyiv press conference – Europe live

Keith Kellog cancels joint appearance with Zelenskyy, while Trump aide said Ukraine should ‘tone it down and sign that deal’ on minerals with USFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the Nazis. Well, come on, folks. I mean, that lie has been proved. There’s so many lies.And why do I say that? Because I think all of ...

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29 h. ago Nigel Farage finally admits Donald Trump was wrong to call president Zelensky a dictator

Mr Farage was the last leader of a major Westminster party to weigh in on the astonishing tirade by Trump, his close friend and ally, after the others did so last night.

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30 h. ago Trump aide tells Zelenskyy to ‘tone it down’ ahead of press conference with US envoy – Europe live

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said Ukraine should ‘tone it down, take a hard look and sign that deal’ on minerals with the USFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the Nazis. Well, come on, folks. I mean, that lie has been proved. There’s so many lies.And why do I say that? Because I think all of ...

Politics

32 h. ago Donald Trump's barbed attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky 'to boost' Ukrainian president's popularity

The US president has sparked outrage by blaming Ukraine for starting Putin’s war and branding Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’

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32 h. ago Putin pal astonished at Donald Trump's WW3 hero claim and brutal Zelenskyy

Donald Trump been praised for averting World War 3 by, er, Donald Trump – and Russia, of course – after launching a scathing attack on Zelenskyy and bizarrely claiming Ukraine started the war

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32 h. ago 'Even Donald Trump's Republican sycophants can’t stomach his spineless Ukraine betrayal'

Prominent Republicans have called out their leader Donald Trump after he labelled Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator' yet again

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32 h. ago ‘He’s taking a sledgehammer to it’: how do Trump voters view his whirlwind start?

In Georgia, those who backed the president remain supportive – but they want prices to come down quickly Estefany Frost still gets calls from people who heard her talk to Donald Trump at a campaign stop in Georgia last year about how difficult running her restaurant had become in an era of inflation.One month into the new administration, she and other conservatives here are still absorbing the whirlwind pace of change. While she remains supportive of Donald Trump’s agenda, she said she’s wrestling with some of the implications. Continue reading...

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33 h. ago Civil servants are leading the American resistance – with GameStop as a guide | Virginia Heffernan

As Elon Musk tries to drive them out, federal workers are initiating a short squeeze on the broligarchyThe most ferocious response to Elon Musk’s coup in the US is also the most disciplined. It’s a sustained act of civil disobedience by the civil service. Amid the malignant lies of the current regime, federal workers are steadily telling the truth.This strategy is more methodical than it at first seems. Yes, the distress and anger among federal workers is palpable. But the more anarchy Donald Trump’s executive orders and Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) operation loose upon the world, the firmer the federal employees are standing. Their protest might even be seen as a political short squeeze. Continue reading...

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