62 m. ago Starmer warns against Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv ahead of Trump meeting

The Prime Minister said first-hand experience of visiting Ukraine had made him ‘more determined’ to ‘stand up’ for the country.

Events

84 m. ago Trump compared to mobster Tony Soprano by former envoy to Panama

John Feeley launches stinging critique of US president’s bully-boy approach to Latin AmericaThe former US ambassador to Panama has launched a stinging critique of Donald Trump’s approach towards Latin America, comparing his conduct to that of the ruthless and egotistical fictional mob boss Tony Soprano.In the first month of his presidency, the US president has shocked some observers with his aggressive focus on a region many expected him to largely ignore. Early steps have included threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal, accusing Mexico’s government of being in cahoots with narco-traffickers, sending an envoy to meet the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and clashing with Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, over deportation flights. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago It’s the Kemi delusion: the more the Tories run towards Reform, the more their voters will run to the Lib Dems | John Harris

The genius of UK Conservatism used to be how it responded to chaos using the balm of tradition. Secondhand Trumpism will only alienate its voters furtherWhat times these are. As Donald Trump’s sellout of Ukraine gains pace, there are reports that Keir Starmer will flatter the president by inviting him to address parliament. Meanwhile, Trump’s British admirers continue to offer flimsy excuses and undimmed admiration. Before Trump paid tribute to Nigel Farage – a “great guy” – in his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathering in Washington, the MP for Clacton used his time at the same event to “hail” Trump’s “progress” with Vladimir Putin, and salute him as “simply the bravest man that I know”. By way of bathos, the dependably ridiculous Liz Truss had by then told a much smaller crowd that the country she ran for a month and a half is “failing”, and needs its own Trumpian insurgency.At the top of the party Truss so briefly led, Kemi Badenoch cannot resolv...

Politics

1 hour ago Tump’s leadership will keep the West united, says Italy’s Meloni

Donald Trump will not "move away" from Europe, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia MeloniItaly has said.

Politics

2 h. ago Trump was ‘right’ to approach Putin over Ukraine, UK minister insists

The education secretary has defended Donald Trump’s decision to phone Vladimir Putin but said ‘there can be no settlement’ without Ukraine

Politics

3 h. ago Spending 2.5% of GDP on defence ‘ambitious,’ Cabinet minister says

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sought to manage expectations ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the US.

Politics

4 h. ago Trump’s bullshit blitz has Europe on its knees | Stewart Lee

For the US president’s cheerleaders, the whitewashing of the deaths of ten of thousands of Ukrainians is a small price to pay for sticking it to the wokeratiWas it really only a month ago that the pole-dancer patron, fridge explorer, Brexit get-doer, model bus maker, sofa-strainer, wall-spaffer, current Daily Mail columnist and former British prime minister Boris Johnson eulogised the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Mail, recounting how, as the “invisible pulse of power surged” from the battered bible into the hand of Trump: “I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked so hard to prevent.”I hope Johnson is pleased with the way things have worked out. Because now the foolish wokerati have been schooled beyond Johnson’s wettest dreams. It’s the Trump-Putin-bin Salman party! An adjudicated sex offender and convicted fraudster, and a man who sanctioned a chemical warfare hit, killing a British citizen on British soil, have met at the luxury Saudia Arabian hotel of another man, ...

Events

4 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

4 h. ago Musk tells US federal workers to explain what they achieved last week or be fired

‘Cruel and disrespectful’ request to employees sparks confusion across key government agenciesHundreds of thousands of federal workers have been given little more than 48 hours to explain what they accomplished over the past week, sparking confusion across key agencies as the tech billionaire Elon Musk expands his crusade to slash the size of government.Musk, who serves as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting chief, telegraphed the extraordinary request on his social media network on Saturday. Continue reading...

Events

5 h. ago Keir Starmer warns Donald Trump against 'disastrous' Ukraine peace deal that doesn't stop Russia attacking again

The Prime Minister called on Western allies to be 'firm and fair now' in order to prevent the 'disaster' of Russia launching another invasion.

Events

5 h. ago Trump set to address parliament for the first time after first

This is expected to involve Mr Trump formally addressing MPs and Lords - ahead of his first state visit he had been controversially blocked by former speaker John Bercow .

Politics

5 h. ago Donald Trump could make UK the 51st US state and King Charles 'would not be safe'

EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump wants all and sundry to be either a part of the United States or to bow down to it, and it's possible the UK could do either one of those

Politics

6 h. ago What can Keir Starmer say at the White House that Donald Trump might listen to? | Andrew Rawnsley

The stakes couldn’t be higher and the risks couldn’t be greater when the prime minister visits Washington this weekFor British prime ministers, with their ideas about the world shaped by the histories of Churchill and Roosevelt, Maggie and Ronnie, and the rest of the folklore about the transatlantic alliance, the prospect of a visit to the White House usually causes tingles of excitement. One of our senior diplomats once offered me an explanation of the allure: “The red carpet is laid out, the national anthems are played, all that stuff is very seductive.” This will be customarily accompanied by ritualistic words about the importance and invincibility of the “special relationship”.Number 10 lobbied hard to get Sir Keir Starmer across the Atlantic early in the second term of Donald Trump and, until recently, Downing Street people were telling themselves that an encounter between the two men needn’t be a disaster and might even turn out to be a success. In the weeks since Trump’s re-e...

Politics

7 h. ago 'I visited war torn city on Ukraine's frontline – Donald Trump cannot ignore this nation's courage'

The Mirror has heard story after story of tragedy this week on a visit to Zaporizhzhia, a war-torn region partly occupied by Russia – but people here are standing strong.

Politics

8 h. ago Why world needs Keir Starmer to play role of 'Trump whisperer', however distasteful it is

The challenge for Keir Starmer and other democratic world leaders is to keep the US within the global family of liberal democracies until Donald Trump leaves office

Politics

8 h. ago Voices: Why I support The Independent’s campaign to oppose Donald Trump’s assault on democracy and liberty

Keir Starmer must stand up on behalf of Britain in the face of Trump’s attempt to dismantle the post-Second World War security architecture of our continent, writes Sir Ed Davey

Politics

9 h. ago States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump's immigration crackdown

Republican lawmakers in some states are threatening local officials with lawsuits, fines and jail time if they resist President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration

Politics

9 h. ago Ohio bathroom law targeting transgender students has brought internal strife to some campuses

An Ohio law designating school bathrooms for use by people based on their sex at birth kicks in soon

Society

9 h. ago German voters head to polls facing world of change as far right waits in the wings

Europe holds its breath as world’s third largest economic power and most populous EU country faces crossroadsGerman voters go to the polls today but it is a different world from when the campaign began only a few weeks ago.Nearly 60 million ­people are choosing a government that will have to grapple with the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance under Donald Trump and new threats to European security just as the country’s vaunted economic model is hitting the skids. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Scottish Labour MP flew to Donald Trump inauguration and held secret talks with Texan investor

SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: Central Ayrshire MP Alan Gemmell claims he was invited out to the US capital by an mystery Texan company.

Politics