66 h. ago MARK ALMOND: The question is can Trump now get concessions out of Russia?

If Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky is the sort of person who sees a half-empty glass as half-full, he will take some consolation from the fact that the deal...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump starts talking about Harlem when asked about Harvard funding freeze

Donald Trump began answering a question about Harvard University by speaking about Harlem, a neighbourhood in New York City, as he joined a NewsNation town hall via phone on Wednesday night (30 April).

Politics

4 d. ago Russia has offered a short ceasefire in Ukraine – but here’s what Putin really wants | Andriy Yermak

As part of the price for peace, Moscow would like sanctions on Russian airlines lifted. That’s no surprise: they’re vital to the Kremlin’s war machineOn Monday, the Kremlin offered a three-day pause in hostilities against Ukraine in May, to coincide with Moscow’s celebrations of the end of the second world war. In a context where Ukraine is calling for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, and the US a permanent one, Russia wants concessions before a lasting pause or permanent peace can even be discussed. Central to the Kremlin’s demands is the removal of sanctions – especially those restricting its aviation sector.We must be cautious not to make concessions prematurely, under the guise of quick progress. The short pause offered would not make a meaningful difference to the war, and accepting it would enable a regime that has repeatedly shown intent to prolong its war of aggression and undermine this chance for a just, fair and lasting peace.Andriy Yermak is head of the Ukrainian presi...

Politics

6 d. ago Daily Star Question of the Week: Have Donald Trump's first 100 days been a success?

Massive rows, massive wars, massive bombs, massive tarriffs, massive trade wars, massive stock market losses, there's no doubt Donald Trumps first 100 days have been big, but have they been good?

Politics

6 d. ago Trump says he thinks Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea despite previous comments

US president says face-to-face meeting at Vatican improved relations with Ukrainian president and demurs on trust in Vladimir PutinUS President Donald Trump has said he thinks Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, despite his Ukrainian counterpart’s previous assertions on the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014.Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey on Sunday a day after meeting with Zelenskyy at the Vatican, Trump said “Oh, I think so,” in response to a question on whether he thought Zelenskyy was ready to “give up” the territory. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says Russia has made ‘pretty big concession’ to peace by not seizing whole of Ukraine

President tells reporters he has his ‘own deadline’ for reaching a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow – but insists he is putting ‘a lot of pressure’ on Russia

Politics

1 week ago Donald Trump condemns Russia attacks on Kyiv as MPs warn no concessions on territory

It follows comments made by the US President on social media

Events

1 week ago A battle looms over rule of law as some courts start to flex their muscles against Trump

Whether federal courts can force Trump to comply with their orders is an essential question for US democracyThe US supreme court and other federal courts have begun flexing their muscles to push back on Donald Trump’s efforts to defy judicial orders, escalating a hugely consequential battle over the rule of law.The US issued a significant order early Saturday morning blocking the federal government from removing people who had been detained in northern Texas from the United States. Separately, US district judge James Boasberg has found probable cause to hold the government in contempt for defying his orders to halt deportations. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Even Trump must know that firing the chair of the Fed would be self

Jerome Powell is a soft target for the president amid economic instability. But getting rid of him would only invite more chaosUS stock markets, Treasury bonds and the dollar itself are sliding amid the tariff turmoil and Donald Trump needs a soft target. It was probably only a matter of time before he intensified his attacks on Jerome Powell, chair of the US Federal Reserve. It is an easy narrative to blame the dull central banker with orthodox worries about anchoring inflation expectations. Nor is Powell able to engage in tit-for-tat soundbites. Unlike Trump, he must measure the impact on markets of his every word.The open question is how far Trump intends to push things. Monday’s reaction in financial markets was strong because it seemed for the first time that the president could be serious about removal. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” declared Trump, which was several notches beyond his usual whine about urging the Fed to hurry up with cuts in interest rates. C...

Politics

2 w. ago What is a ‘criminal’ immigrant? The word is an American rhetorical trap | Jonathan Ben

Allegations of criminality have always been deployed to justify state violence but even ‘imperfect’ victims deserve basic rightsUS politics live – latest updatesLast month, the Trump administration flew 238 Venezuelan immigrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador. Federal officials alleged that the detainees were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, calling them “heinous monsters” ,“criminal aliens”, “the worst of the worst”. The federal government has also revoked visas for a thousand international students over their alleged participation in protests against Israel’s genocide in Palestine. Some were abducted, like Mahmoud Khalil, who has spent more than a month incarcerated in one of the worst jails in the US. Officials alleged that Mahmoud “sided with terrorists who have killed innocent men, women, and children”.Media reports quickly revealed that the Trump administration is lying about “innocent” people to justify abducting them. But this raises a more important question: if Trump...

Events

2 w. ago MIKEY SMITH: 6 authoritarian things Donald Trump's team did in 24 hours as he faces contempt charge

With Donald Trump's administration facing a contempt of court ruling from a federal judge, it raises an unprecedented question: Are there any consequences for Donald Trump ignoring a court ruling? And if not...what happens next?

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Who is going to face Mr Trump’: Canada leaders’ debate dominated by US crisis

Mark Carney’s Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau eraPrime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada’s upcoming election is who is best to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in a French-language leaders’ debate on Wednesday.Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during the debate Canada needs change after a decade of Liberal party rule and Carney is just like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: “Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Attorney general dodges question on Trump proposal to jail US citizens in El Salvador

Trump proposed that ‘homegrown criminals’ should be deported, an idea that experts say is clearly illegalThe US attorney general declined on Tuesday to say whether Donald Trump’s suggestion of removing US citizens to El Salvador was legal, in alarming remarks about what experts think is an obviously illegal idea.Trump proposed the idea on Monday in the Oval Office during a visit with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who has been accepting people deported from the US and imprisoning them in a gigantic facility notorious for human rights abuses. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Corporate America won’t stop Trump’s tariffs. Here’s why | Alex Bronzini

Whether among executives, lobbyists or university trustees, an elite backlash to the Trump administration won’t work. It’s up to working people to resistFew historical analogies exist for Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs. The investment bank Evercore estimates that the so-called “liberation day” announcement has raised the weighted average US tariff to 29% – its highest rate since 1900. To call it a generational action would be an understatement; my grandmother was born in 1939.These tariffs, if they remain in place, will raise prices, eliminate jobs and shrink retirements. No one will pay for them more dearly than American workers. Yet a shock to capitalism inevitably raises the question of whether, and how, capitalists will respond. Faced with Trump’s tariffs, what will the US’s business class do? Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Minister responds to fears of global recession as Trump tariffs cause market chaos

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander responded to a question on whether there would be a global 'bloodbath' with Donald Trump's tariffs causing a worldwide recession

Politics

4 w. ago What does Australian sovereignty look like? It’s a question we now must answer thanks to Donald Trump | Julianne Schultz

Confidence in American reliability is tumbling in every poll. As tariffs kick in, how can we adjust to not having a great superpower as our protector?Prof Hugh White, the esteemed yet critical analyst of Australian defence policy, took a deep breath, surveyed the men he had spent a lifetime debating, and said: “Donald Trump is doing us a favour.” He is proving that our old assumptions are “all wrong”.White knew this was a provocation, but maybe one whose time had come. Malcolm Turnbull agreed that this was a debate we needed to have. As the shopping list election campaign sidesteps the changed world order, the 29th prime minister used his convening power to host a forum at the press club about the bigger underlying issues.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Politics