38 h. ago Trump is the world’s greatest showman – and the weakest strongman it has ever seen | Jonathan Freedland

His capitulation to Putin over Ukraine reveals a pattern. He’s the patsy: giving everything away, getting little in returnHe parades as a strongman, but in fact he’s weak, weak, weak. In the face of America’s adversaries Donald Trump is, as he might put it, a patsy, a sucker, a pushover. He folds like a pack of cards. He’s a human doormat. A loser.Just consider the gifts he has handed Vladimir Putin this week. He has brought Russia in from the diplomatic cold after three years of ostracism following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, whose anniversary is nearly upon us. Sergei Lavrov, Putin’s foreign minister, was meant to be persona non grata; he remains under international sanctions. Nevertheless, this week in Riyadh he met Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in so-called peace talks.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

42 h. ago Lara Trump reveals why she chose Fox News over filling Marco Rubio’s Senate seat

Trump campaign advisor and CEO of X Strategies, Alex Bruesewitz, called her new slot: ‘a smart move and certainly a step in the right direction’

Politics

59 h. ago In the Trump administration, nearly every major department is an immigration agency

As the Trump administration works on pledges to crack down on illegal immigration, the flurry of activity has stretched across the federal government

Politics

3 d. ago The Latest: Tensions rise between Trump and Zelenskyy over the Russia

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” lashing out after the Ukrainian president said Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation as he moves to end the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow

Politics

3 d. ago Trump's foreign aid freeze halted a crucial program fighting HIV in Africa. Here's what's at stake

The freeze on U.S. foreign aid ordered by President Donald Trump has effectively halted one of the world's most successful responses to a disease

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s diplomacy: when the US knows the price and ignores values | Editorial

US talks with Russia over Ukraine’s future, like the president’s prescription for Gaza, highlights how business and foreign policy mergeThe Trump administration did not take red lines on Ukraine to its talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday: it cares about the bottom line. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, underscored that when he said the two sides would create a team, not only to support Ukraine peace talks but also to explore the “incredible opportunities” to partner with Moscow geopolitically “and, frankly, economically” that might result.Kyiv and other European capitals are still reeling at the full extent of Donald Trump’s cynicism when it comes to world affairs, and callous disregard for the people caught up in them. But it should be no surprise that business dealings were high on the agenda. Vladimir Putin would dearly love to end his country’s economic isolation. Russia is making the case that American energy firms and others could profit handsomely by doing busine...

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine war: Zelensky postpones Saudi Arabia visit after being sidelined by US and Russia

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries were invited

Events

4 d. ago US sets scene for seismic shift in Russian relations with first talks on Ukraine war

US secretary of state Marco Rubio led the US delegation meeting with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia - but so far Europe and Ukraine have been frozen out

Events

4 d. ago Ukraine war LIVE: Zelensky postpones Saudi Arabia visit after being sidelined by US and Russia

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries were invited

Events

4 d. ago US and Russia to explore closer relations after Ukraine talks in Riyadh

Marco Rubio says talks ‘first step of a long and difficult journey’ while Putin adviser says meeting ‘went well’Europe live: latest on Ukraine talksTop US and Russian officials have met in Saudi Arabia for the most extensive negotiations between the two countries in three years, agreeing to continue planning an end to the Ukraine war amid concerns in Kyiv and across Europe that Donald Trump could push for a settlement favouring Vladimir Putin.After the talks at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, which lasted almost five hours, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the two sides had agreed to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine war LIVE: US Secretary of State says Europe will be part of Ukraine peace negotiations and insists 'all sides must make concessions'

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries were invited

Society

4 d. ago Ukraine war LIVE: No Putin and Trump meeting agreed as US and Russian officials finish first round of talks

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries are invited

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine war LIVE: Putin 'ready' to talk to Zelensky 'if necessary' as first Russia and US peace talks end

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries are invited

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine war LIVE: Russia and US peace talks under way as Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio meet in Saudi Arabia

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, but neither Ukraine or any European countries are invited

Events

5 d. ago Trump administration begins firings of FAA air traffic control staff just weeks after fatal Washington DC plane crash

Staff at the Federal Aviation Administration receive emails saying they have been fired, upending rotas during period of busy air travel A US judge has scheduled a rare holiday court hearing on Monday, in a case brought by Democratic state attorneys general seeking to protect major federal agencies from Elon Musk’s Doge team.US district judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington DC on Sunday called the hearing for Monday, the Presidents Day holiday when federal courts are closed. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Zelensky slams peace talks between Trump and Putin top diplomats as 'having no results' as Ukraine excluded

European leaders are holding a crisis meeting in Paris after being sidelined from the Trump-Putin peace plan

Politics

5 d. ago Middle East crisis live: Lebanon concerned Israel will not withdraw troops by deadline as IDF says Hamas leader killed in south

Israeli military said it killed a Hamas commander in an airstrike in southern Lebanon’s Sidon areaReuters has seen a document that sets out the EU’s plan to tell Israel next week in talks in Brussels that Palestinian people displaced from Gaza should be “ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in the territory.The bloc is to outline its position to Israeli officials in talks on 24 February as part of the EU-Israel Association Council, the first such session since 2022. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Elon Musk’s efficiency department pushes to access taxpayer data from IRS, says report

The Washington Post reports ‘Doge’ is requesting access to the system that contains the personal financial records of millions of AmericansWe have a little more on next week’s meeting between UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Donald Trump.PA reports that when asked about comments made by US vice-president JD Vance on free speech in the UK, the prime minister’s spokesman said:There’s going to be a wide range of issues that we’ll be working with the new US administration on.The prime minister looks forward to meeting president Trump shortly to discuss how we can deepen the special relationship across trade, investment and security. Continue reading...

Economics

5 d. ago Trump top diplomat Rubio to meet Russia's Lavrov in Saudi Arabia for talks without Ukraine to end Putin war

European leaders are holding a crisis meeting in Paris after being sidelined from the Trump-Putin peace plan

Politics

5 d. ago JD Vance blasts 'crazy exchange' after CBS' Margaret Brennan tells Marco Rubio that Nazis weaponized free speech

Vice President JD Vance slammed CBS News' Margaret Brennan for what he called a 'crazy exchange' she had with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday morning.

Events