87 m. ago ‘It would be a terrible loss’: Ukrainian frontline troops sceptical of ceding land

Near Dobropillia new trenches are visible, drone attacks continue and there is no sign of the fighting easingOver dinner on Monday, a simple barbecue of meat and roasted vegetables, the soldiers of Ukraine’s 150th reconnaissance and strike battalion have other things on their mind. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the White House and Donald Trump has just promised to give Ukraine “very good protection”.When this development is passed on to the group around, one of the soldiers pipes up “From who?” and laughs, such is the uncertainty about who the US really supports. But in reality the troops are not following the news closely. After three and half years, the war has its own momentum, technology and schedule. Continue reading...

Events

87 m. ago Donald Trump is becoming the greatest unifier of Europe since the end of the cold war | Fabrizio Tassinari

The US president may be helping Putin to destroy the west, but his vanity is causing Europeans to speak with one voice on UkraineSeven is a biblical number, a number dear to ancient Rome, and the number of Cristiano Ronaldo’s lucky jersey. Perhaps it is also now going to be the answer to Henry Kissinger’s (probably apocryphal) question: what number do I call when I want to talk to Europe? Maybe the answer is seven, like the number of leaders sitting at the table in Washington on Monday alongside Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.It’s difficult to say at this stage whether anything good will come from the impromptu White House summit, but European leaders showing up as a group in support of Ukraine was a first. This seven-member format – Nato, the European Commission, France, Germany, the UK, Italy and Finland – truly spoke with one voice. They did so on a crisis, Ukraine, over which they have sometimes been bitterly divided throughout the past three and a half years (remember Emm...

Politics

3 h. ago Trump’s tariffs replace diplomacy as other US tools of statecraft are discarded

Measures meant to rebalance America’s economy are wielded instead against the likes of Canada, India and Brazil ‘to compel loyalty to the president’On the campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to use tariffs to revitalise American industry, bringing jobs home and helping to make America great again. But more than six months into his administration, experts say the president’s trade war is increasingly being wielded as a political cudgel, in lieu of more traditional forms of diplomacy.The president’s current target, India, has been unable to reach a trade agreement and Trump appears ready to follow through with his threat to impose a further 25% tariff on Delhi – bringing the total to 50% – the joint highest levy on any country, along with Brazil. Continue reading...

Politics

3 h. ago Abrego Garcia's lawyers want smuggling charges dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution

Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia asked a federal judge to dismiss a human smuggling case against him

Politics

4 h. ago Ranger fired for hanging transgender flag in Yosemite and park visitors may face prosecution

A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan, and some visitors to the California park face potential prosecution for participating in a demonstration

Events

4 h. ago Trump plans to PAINT Southern border wall to make it hotter and harder to climb

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revealed the project was a specific request from President Donald Trump.

Politics

6 h. ago Recap: Putin suggests hosting Zelensky peace meeting in Moscow during Trump phone call but offer is swiftly rejected

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet, Donald Trump has said after a White House summit with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the Ukraine war.

Politics

7 h. ago Nebraska’s governor announces plan for immigrant detention center in state's rural southwest corner

Nebraska Republican Gov_ Jim Pillen has announced plans for an immigration detention center in the state’s rural southwest corner, to be known as the “Cornhusker Clink.”

Events

7 h. ago Alaska man gifted $22,000 motorcycle by Russian government after viral interview

An Alaska man might have walked away as the biggest winner of last week’s high stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage

Politics

7 h. ago Trump's new White House portrait slammed as many point out disturbing detail

A new portrait of Donald Trump was unveiled by a senior official, but critics were quick to point out a number of obvious issues with the painting

Politics

8 h. ago Federal prosecutors launch inquiry into Washington DC police over allegedly fudged crime statistics

Move comes after Donald Trump posted on social media about US capital’s ‘fake crime numbers’Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Washington DC police systematically manipulated crime statistics to make the city appear safer than it actually is.The probe, anonymous sources tell the Washington Post, NBC News and Fox News, being conducted by the US attorney’s office for the District of Columbia under Jeanine Pirro, is the latest escalation between the Trump administration and DC officials over federal control of local policing. Continue reading...

Events

8 h. ago Donald Trump rules out putting US troops on ground in Ukraine as part of security guarantees

US President Trump hinted American jets could help provide air support

Politics

9 h. ago Minnesota sues TikTok, alleging it preys on young people with addictive algorithms

Minnesota has joined a wave of states suing TikTok, claiming the app uses addictive algorithms that harm young people's mental health

Technology

10 h. ago Humanitarian aid cuts leave victims of sexual violence in global conflicts without help, UN says

Major cuts in humanitarian aid have left victims of sexual violence in conflicts around the world without lifesaving help as clinics and shelters close

Events

11 h. ago DC unemployment rate is the highest in the US for the third straight month

Washington, D

Politics

11 h. ago Trump weaponization czar urged New York Attorney General James to resign over mortgage probe

The Justice Department official tapped by President Donald Trump’s administration to investigate New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter urging the Democrat to resign from office “as an act of good faith” four days into his probe

Politics

11 h. ago Former US Attorney Catherine Hanaway appointed as Missouri's next attorney general

Former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway has been appointed as Missouri's next attorney general

Politics

11 h. ago Vladimir Putin AGREES to Volodymyr Zelensky meeting, says Trump administration

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the Donald Trump administration

Politics

11 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Zelenskyy: Ukraine deserves better than 'better than we feared' | Editorial

In Washington, European leaders helped steer the US president away from his embrace of Vladimir Putin’s talking points. But for how long?The verdict on Donald Trump’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders on Monday depends entirely upon the metric used. The great fear was that this might prove a disaster along the lines of the US president’s dressing down of the Ukrainian leader in February – a scenario so plausible that Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and other key European leaders dropped everything to dash to the White House themselves in support.Following his red carpet welcome for Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump reportedly backed the idea that Ukraine should hand over the Donbas to achieve a peace deal. Even if one were naive enough to think that the Kremlin would see that as an end to conflict, rather than a staging post for a later offensive, it would not be a “land swap” but a land grab that Ukraine – for go...

Politics

12 h. ago FTSE posts new closing high as falls in defence stocks are offset by retail gains

In London, defence stocks fell sharply amid hopes of peace in Ukraine with Babcock International, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce all down.

Politics