3 h. ago Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin for calls with European leaders and Trump ahead of US

Ukrainian president will join calls with Trump and Vance in last chance to shape US position before Alaska meetingUkraine will not cede land that could be Russian springboard for new warWe are now getting reports via agencies that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now arrived in Berlin ahead of the series of calls later today.Separately, Estonia has moved to expel a Russian diplomat over alleged “direct and active” involvement in “undermining the constitutional order and legal system of Estonia.” Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago European leaders lobby Donald Trump on Ukraine in phone call ahead of Putin meeting

There are growing concerns in Ukraine that the US President will attempt to force through a peace deal that sells their country out when he meets Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday

Politics

8 h. ago Putin calls North Korea’s Kim to promise ‘closer contact’ ahead of Trump summit

Russian president Vladimir Putin held a phone call with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to reaffirm their “friendship” ahead of his summit with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Politics

27 h. ago EU leaders defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide future ahead of Trump

Statement on Ukrainian sovereignty signed by all EU leaders except for Viktor Orbán before call with TrumpEurope live – latest updatesRead all our coverage of the Ukraine warEuropean Union leaders made a rallying call to defend Ukraine’s freedom to decide its own future in advance of their virtual summit with Donald Trump – convened to discuss US strategy before the president’s talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday.With the exception of Hungary, all EU leaders signed a joint statement, with Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, also calling for the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to attend the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago Why we’re all obsessed with Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson’s love story

‘The Naked Gun’ director appears to have confirmed the rumoured romance between his two leads, calling them ‘little dirty flirts’. In a world full of pain and darkness, this is one piece of delightful celebrity gossip we could all use right now, says Helen Coffey

Politics

47 h. ago Merz invites Trump to emergency call with EU leaders before Putin summit

Proposal, which would also include Volodymyr Zelenskyy, comes as European calls grow for red lines in Ukraine talksThe German chancellor has invited Donald Trump to join emergency virtual talks with EU leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, as European demands grow that the US president agree red lines before Friday’s summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin.Neither Zelenskyy nor European leaders have been invited to Trump’s meeting with the Russian president. Continue reading...

Politics

48 h. ago UK party leaders urged to end ‘pernicious currents’ of hatred fuelling anti

More than 200 refugee groups, charities and unions sign letter calling for action after weeks of protests outside asylum hotelsMore than 200 refugee organisations, charities and trade unions have signed an open letter calling on Britain’s political leaders to end “pernicious and insidious currents” of racism and hatred that underpin a slew of anti-migrant protests.The letter, coordinated by the campaign coalition Together With Refugees, has been signed by organisations including Amnesty International UK, City of Sanctuary UK, Care for Calais, Doctors of the World, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Freedom from Torture, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, the Public and Commercial Services Union, Refugee Action and Safe Passage. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump claims to have reached ‘historic’ peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The two sworn enemies went to war twice over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan eventually captured in 2023US president Donald Trump announced he will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday for what he called a “Historic Peace Summit” aimed at ending decades of hostilities between the two former Soviet republics.Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony,” Trump posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘We’ve got a lot less competitive’: Stanley Donwood on creating Radiohead’s iconic artwork

The artist has been collaborating with the rock group’s frontman Thom Yorke on their distinctive visuals since the mid-90s. As a retrospective opens in Oxford, he looks back on three decades with the bandIn the early 90s, Stanley Donwood was “at a loose end after university”, hitching around Britain and making a little money as a busking fire-breather. Fetching up in Oxford, he spotted a poster for a gig by a band called On a Friday. He recognised the name: a friend he’d met while studying at Exeter University’s fine art department called Thom Yorke was the lead singer.So he called Yorke up. An initial plan for Donwood to do his fire-breathing routine as the band’s support act was scuppered by the venue’s nervous manager, but the pair kept in touch. Some time later, after On a Friday had changed their name to Radiohead, Yorke called with a proposition. “They’d done really well with Creep, which I hadn’t heard, it wasn’t my thing at all; I liked bleepy-bleepy, thumpy-thump ...

Politics

6 d. ago Texas Democrats receive bomb threat in escalating standoff over redistricting

Lawmakers had been sheltering in Illinois after denying Texas Republicans quorum for gerrymandering schemeTexas Democrats who left the state say they experienced a bomb threat at their Illinois hotel on Wednesday morning amid an ongoing clash with Republicans over their effort to block a new congressional map from going into place.John Bucy III, a Democrat who represents Austin in the state legislature, confirmed the threat on X on Wednesday and said the lawmakers were evacuated. “This is what happens when Republican state leaders publicly call for us to be ‘hunted down’. Texas Democrats won’t be intimidated,” he said. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Nationwide leads new calls for change to protect domestic abuse survivors

Building society partners with Refuge to demand scrapping of fees for service that can give survivors anonymity

Events

8 d. ago Home Secretary calls for more information to be released about suspects accused of serious crime

Her comments come after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for police forces to release the immigration status of people who are charged with crimes

Society

9 d. ago Rylan Clark's 'mugging' by surprise assailant leads to awkward call to police

Rylan Clark has detailed the hilarious moment he was "mugged" by an unusual thief while walking back to a friend's house in Romford, forcing him to make an awkward phone call to the police

Events

9 d. ago Swiss president under fire after Trump call leads to US tariffs shock

Karin Keller-Sutter accused of mishandling talks as shares dive after Switzerland hit with 39% tariffEurope live – latest updatesUS live – latest updatesThe Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has been holding emergency talks and President Karin Keller-Sutter has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations warned tens of thousands of jobs were at risk. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Now Rachel Reeves is urged to slap VAT on private healthcare as ex

Lord Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, has called on the Chancellor to remove the VAT exemption on private healthcare at her autumn Budget .

Politics

3 w. ago NHS Fife bosses should step down over Sandie Peggie tribunal, says Russell Findlay

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has called for the NHS Fife board to be removed over their handling of the Sandie Peggie tribunal.

Events

3 w. ago Tory leader calls for resignations at NHS Fife over Sandie Peggie tribunal

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has urged NHS Fife’s boss and board to quit.

Politics

3 w. ago Dua Lipa's boyfriend Callum Turner 'in the lead' to take on James Bond role

A huge British actor, who starred in Masters of the Air, is a fan-favourite option to take on the role of James Bond in the upcoming instalment

Politics

3 w. ago Trump officials tour Alcatraz in bid to reopen prison amid outcry from California leaders

Doug Burgum, interior secretary, and Pam Bondi, attorney general, visited island jail as Nancy Pelosi calls idea ‘lunacy’A delegation of US officials toured Alcatraz on Thursday as part of Donald Trump’s pledge to reopen the shuttered federal prison and tourist attraction in the San Francisco Bay, amid an outcry from California leaders who have called the plan “lunacy”.Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, who visited the island prison with attorney general Pam Bondi, said the federal government was beginning “the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Constance Marten's 'life was ruined' by joining a Nigerian religious cult that beat women with horsewhips and whose leader required followers to call him 'daddy'

Constance's mother Virginia believed cult leader TB Joshua, who styled himself in internet videos as a miracle healer, could rid her daughter of her 'rebellious spirits'.

Politics