5 h. ago EU spends more on Russian oil and gas than financial aid to Ukraine – report

Europe estimated to have bought €22bn of fossil fuels from Russia in 2024 but gave €19bn to support KyivThe EU is spending more money on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, a report marking the third anniversary of the invasion has found.The EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea), despite the efforts under way to kick the continent’s addiction to the fuels that fund Vladimir Putin’s war chest. Continue reading...

Economics

6 h. ago ‘No more excuses’: Europe under pressure on defence spending three years after Russian invasion

Continent is being told to take more responsibility for its own defence in light of US president’s overtures to PutinA few days after Vladimir Putin sent Russia’s invading forces into Ukraine in February 2022, the EU’s then foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, asked his staff for an urgent military aid plan. They came up with €50m (£41.4m) to help Ukraine.“And I said: ‘Are you crazy? We are talking about a war,’” Borrell recounted in late 2024, shortly before standing down. “Do you know what does it mean, a war? Put three zeros behind! And then we started taking things seriously.” Continue reading...

Events

12 h. ago Ukraine war in numbers: Full toll of Russia’s invasion, three years on

Monday marks three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. Alicja Hagopian and Tom Watling report on the many costs of Putin’s war

Events

30 h. ago PIP overhaul could strip financial aid from thousands with chronic conditions

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) review is reportedly underway for 87 conditions, including chronic pain, mobility issues, and musculoskeletal disorders, sparking widespread concern

Politics

42 h. ago U.S. threatened to cut off Musk’s Starlink to Ukraine in mineral negotiations, says report

Billionaire’s Starlink system has proved a crucial internet communications service for the war-torn country

Events

3 d. ago Founder of student aid startup Frank faces criminal trial over whether she defrauded JPMorgan Chase

A woman backed by wealthy advisers who built a company to make it easier for college students to apply for financial aid has gone on trial on criminal charges that she defrauded JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a $175 million buyout

Events

3 d. ago Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv

National security adviser says Ukraine is wrong to push back against Trump’s approach to peace talks with RussiaWhite House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.The US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should “tone down” his criticism of the US and take a “hard look” at the deal. It proposes giving Washington $500bn worth of natural resources, including oil and gas. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Fossil fuel firm’s $300m trial against Greenpeace to begin: ‘Weaponizing the judicial system’

Experts warn victory for Energy Transfer, whose CEO is a Trump donor, could have a ‘chilling’ effect on free speechA fossil fuel company’s $300m lawsuit against Greenpeace opens in rural North Dakota on Monday, in a case that has been widely condemned by constitutional rights experts as baseless, bad faith litigation that threatens free speech.Energy Transfer Partners, a Dallas-based oil and gas company worth almost $70bn, accuses Greenpeace of defamation and orchestrating criminal behavior by protesters at the Dakota Access pipeline (Dapl). Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Let’s be clear – the US never had moral supremacy. With Trump, it’s not even pretending any more | Owen Jones

The president has replaced the ‘good guys’ myth with unapologetic brute force and greed – it could be a major mistakeDonald Trump’s attempt to seize Ukraine’s natural resources is another morbid symptom of the decline of US power. This may seem counterintuitive. Demanding half of all the revenues – not simply profit – flowing from Ukraine’s minerals, oil, gas and infrastructure, worth a staggering £400bn, sounds like the behaviour of a bully defined by swagger and brawn. It has rightly been described as reducing Ukraine to the status of an economic colony of the US.But it epitomises the total discarding of one of the three central pillars of US hegemony. The first was military supremacy. This was shattered by the calamities of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, which associated the US military with atrocities, violent chaos and humiliating strategic defeat. The proxy war of Ukraine can now be added to that list. The second was economic supremacy, which remains, but which was severely weak...

Politics

4 d. ago Denmark to spend billions on defence, citing fears over Russian rearmament

Mette Frederiksen says situation is ‘most dangerous’ in many years as she increases defence budget to 3% of GDPMette Frederiksen admitted that Denmark and other countries made a mistake by cutting their defence spending as she announced a 50bn Danish kroner (£5.5bn) package, saying: “It must never happen again.”The Danish prime minister increased defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next two years – up from 2.4% in 2024 – as she said Denmark needed a “massive rearmament” to avoid war. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago Nigel Farage calls for reindustrialisation of Britain and higher birthrates

Reform leader tells ARC conference the UK needs ‘some sense of optimism’ and praises ‘Judeo-Christian culture’UK politics live – latest updatesNigel Farage has called for the “reindustrialisation” of Britain and “180-degree shift” to reverse the declining birthrate, as he praised the “Judeo-Christian culture” that he claimed underpinned western civilisation.Addressing a global gathering of rightwing activists in London, the Reform leader said the UK should rebuild its heavy industry, including through the domestic production of steel, oil and gas. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Fossil fuel industry accused of seeking special treatment over oilfield emissions

Lobbyists argued it was unfair for their industry to be treated the same as others as end product – oil and gas – inevitably produced emissionsExperts have accused the fossil fuel industry of seeking special treatment after lobbyists argued greenhouse gas emissions from oilfields should be treated differently to those from other industries.The government is embroiled in a row over whether to allow a massive new oilfield, Rosebank, to go ahead, with some cabinet members arguing it could boost growth and others concerned it could make the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 impossible to reach. Labour made a manifesto commitment to halt new North Sea licensing, but Rosebank and some other projects had already been licensed and were awaiting final approval when the party won the general election. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Trump 'could withdraw US troops from Baltics and leave Europe vulnerable to Russia, European officials fear'

European officials believe US president Donald Trump is likely to withdraw troops from the Baltics, as a report claims his peace plan would see Ukraine forced into paying extraordinary reparations. 

Politics