5 h. ago Russia says it's 'no threat to UK' in bizarre X rant that lists Putin's non

The Russian Embassy shared a message via their social media intended for Brits ahead of talks taking place today between US president Donald Trump and Keir Starmer

Politics

11 h. ago The question no one dares ask: what if Britain has to defend itself from the US? | George Monbiot

So much of our intelligence and military systems are shared or reliant on the US – if it becomes the enemy, it is already inside the gatesAll the talk now is of how we might defend ourselves without the US. But almost everyone with a voice in public life appears to be avoiding a much bigger and more troubling question: how we might defend ourselves against the US.As Keir Starmer visits the orange emperor’s court in Washington, let’s first consider the possibilities. I can’t comment on their likelihood, and I fervently hope that people with more knowledge and power than me are gaming them. One is that Donald Trump will not only clear the path for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, but will actively assist him. We know that Trump can brook no challenge to his hegemony. Russia is no threat to US dominance, but Europe, with a combined economy similar to that of the US, and a powerful diplomatic and global political presence, could be. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago The US is right that Europe must work more closely together on defence, due to Russia threat

Ian Murray writes on defence spending after the UK government’s commitment was outlined by Sir Keir Starmer

Events

48 h. ago This is a hard choice. We believe in foreign aid – but we have to make cuts. We must keep the UK safe | David Lammy

Putin’s Russia is a threat to all Europe, including the UK. Vital aid work will be hit as we spend more on defence, but we must deal with the world as it isThere are moments in history when everything turns, but the extent of change is not perceived until later when the fog has cleared. These are hinge points that require clear leadership and bold action. In the late 1940s, my Labour predecessor and hero Ernie Bevin, alongside Clement Attlee, saw through the fog when they led Britain into Nato and the UN, and secured the development of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. In the 1960s, Harold Wilson saw through the paranoia of the cold war, refusing Lyndon Johnson’s request to send British troops to Vietnam. In the 1990s, Tony Blair understood that unless we stopped the president of Serbia, Slobodan Milošević, there would be no peace in the Balkans.Three years into Vladimir Putin’s brutal war, this is again a hinge point for Britain. Keir Starmer’s commitment to dramatically raise defence s...

Politics

49 h. ago German parliament in race against time to sign off on new defence fund

Friedrich Merz, expected to be next chancellor, has spoken of urgent need for ramped-up defence, but ‘blocking minority’ could form in future BundestagGermany’s outgoing parliament could be asked to sign off on a new defence fund in its final weeks as the conservative winners of Sunday’s election seek to balance geopolitical demands with the looming pressures of a new Bundestag hostile to military spending.Since the victory of his CDU/CSU alliance, Friedrich Merz has spoken of the urgent need for Europe to ramp up its own defence capabilities, saying it needs “independence from the USA” amid an unpredictable Trump administration and a looming threat from Russia. Continue reading...

Politics

53 h. ago Musk says failure to respond to achievements email will result in sacking – US politics live

US office for personal management, which manages federal workforce, says that responding to Musk is not mandatoryThe Kremlin appeared to contradict Donald Trump’s assertion that Russia was open to European peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine, and referred reporters to an earlier statement that such a move would be unacceptable to Moscow.Russia has repeatedly said it opposes having Nato troops on the ground in Ukraine, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov saying last week that Moscow would view that as a “direct threat” to Russia’s sovereignty, even if the troops operated there under a different flag, Reuters reports.There is a position on this matter that was expressed by the Russian foreign minister, Lavrov. I have nothing to add to this and nothing to comment on. I leave this without comment. Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago Putin's hit list revealed by Zelenskyy as he fears for five countries if Ukraine falls

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed the next five countries that could be on Vladimir Putin's hit list if his invasion of Ukraine is not stopped in its tracks

Politics

4 d. ago Starmer must be ‘as tough as Churchill’ in talks with Trump, says top political biographer

Exclusive: Sir Keir Starmer must stand up to Donald Trump and show Europe is strong enough to be ‘challenge and threat’ to US and Russia, says Britain’s leading political biographer Sir Anthony Seldon

Politics

6 d. ago UK ‘massively vulnerable’ to threat of Russia after decades of military cuts, ex

With Sir Keir Starmer under mounting pressure to boost the UK’s defence budget, General Sir Nick Carter said the UK’s ‘remarkably hollow’ Army would be unable to fend off Russia if it needed

Events

6 d. ago No matter how distasteful we find Trump and Vance over Europe, they speak a blunt truth | Simon Jenkins

The US has chosen the worst possible moment and the worst possible way to say it, but it is right to call for a realignmentIt’s tough being rightwing these days. You have to find something nice to say about Donald Trump. That is hard. He thinks Kyiv started the Ukraine war and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a “dictator”. But what about JD Vance? The US vice-president thinks that Europe’s “threat from within”, which is putting “free speech in retreat”, is worse than any threat from Russia or China. These men are deranged. What more is there to say?The answer is quite a lot. John Stuart Mill warned that “he who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that”. We must try to understand the case they are making, whether we agree with it or not. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Elon Musk goes on bizarre rant accusing Zelensky of 'feeding off dead Ukrainian bodies'

Elon Musk has increasingly used his social media platform X/Twitter to share outrage at figures who have made negative comments about himself and President Donald Trump

Events

6 d. ago Trump ‘very frustrated’ with Zelenskyy for allegedly failing to ‘take opportunity’ of US

US national security adviser claims Ukrainian president has failed to ‘come to the table’ despite not being invited to Russia-US talks this weekVance poses immigrants as ‘greatest threat’ to US and EuropePeople in the US: share your views on Trump’s Russia-Ukraine approachFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the N...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump ‘very frustrated’ with Zelenskyy for failing to ‘take opportunity’ of US

US national security adviser claims Ukrainian president has failed to ‘come to the table’ despite not being invited to Russia-US talks this weekVance poses immigrants as ‘greatest threat’ to US and EuropePeople in the US: share your views on Trump’s Russia-Ukraine approachFormer US state secretary John Kerry said “the basic playing field for making peace in Ukraine is there,” as he rejected Donald Trump’s suggestions that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war with Russia and dismissed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s logic for invasion as “lies.”Speaking at a London conference organised by the consultancy Brand Finance, Kerry, who served as the US state secretary in Barack Obama’s Democratic administration, said this:Putin individually decided, contrary to what Donald Trump said yesterday or day before, to invade Ukraine. He wants it back. He said different motives expressed at different times, that it was Nazis taking over the country, and he had to go in to root out the N...

Politics

8 d. ago Donald Trump loses plot with 'dictator' Volodymyr Zelensky in mad Ukraine 'gravy train' rant

Donald Trump has bizarrely launched a mad rant on his own Truth social platform about Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming the Ukraine war hero was a "dictator", after he entered peace talks with Russian war criminal Vladimir Putin

Politics

9 d. ago UK facing 'new era of threat', as US and Russia negotiate Ukraine deal in crunch talks

Russia and the US have agreed to seek closer ties

Economics