4 h. ago Zelenskyy joins EU leaders’ meeting over €800bn defence plan after Macron’s stark Russia warning – Europe live

Leaders gather to discuss €800bn plan to boost military capacity and help Ukraine as French president says Europe has to be ready to defend itself without US helpSee all our Ukraine war coverageFrance is offering intelligence to Ukraine, French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday, with Paris stepping in to help and fill the void left after the US suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv.Speaking to France Inter radio, he also said that president Macron asked him to accelerate the French aid packages “to compensate” for the suspended US aid.In a famously cautious political culture, Mr Merz’s bid to bypass legal restrictions on government debt represents a seismic shift. It would permit a step-change in defence spending for years to come, putting Germany in a leadership position as Europe seeks strategic autonomy from the United States.Mr Merz, a former investment banker, has been a deficit hawk and economic liberal throughout his career. It is an irony of fate tha...

Events

6 h. ago The US embrace of Russia is an existential threat to the EU. Germany must step up to save it | Catherine De Vries

To counter the crisis caused by Trump, Friedrich Merz has little choice but to abandon decades of military and economic cautionIn February 1945, three world leaders – Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt and Josef Stalin – met in Crimea for the Yalta conference, to discuss the new world order they would implement after the soon-to-end second world war.Smaller nations were given no say in deciding their fate. The Soviet sphere of influence would infest eastern Europe for decades and US foreign policy dominated the second half of the 20th century. Churchill resisted the end of the UK’s global empire and independence for Britain’s colonies came piecemeal; they were let go with bitterness.Catherine De Vries is professor of political science at Bocconi University in Milan Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago With Nato adrift and Brussels snubbed, is the UK key to Europe’s response to Trump?| Simon Tisdall

In a fast-moving crisis, the EU hasn’t been nimble enough. The onus must fall on ‘coalitions of the willing’ to stop a US-Putin carve-upAt moments of great crisis, national leaders and governments generally put their countries’ (and their own) interests first. Transnational geopolitical, economic and security alliances are all very well. But if such organisations do not or cannot rise to the urgent challenges of the day, they risk being bypassed, ignored or shunted aside. This is the predicament now facing the European Union.After Donald Trump’s appalling treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in full view of the watching world on Friday night, all agree that the US president’s betrayal of Ukraine, sickening embrace of Russia and his blunt demand that Europe henceforth defend itself represent just such an extraordinary challenge, and one that must be swiftly addressed. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago UK’s AI plans pose ‘existential threat’ to film studios, warns Bridget Jones producer

Working Title among British groups to criticise proposals to weaken copyright laws

Events

9 d. ago Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts says creators must present a united front against the 'existential threat' of AI

Justine Roberts said media companies have been slow to recognise the danger posed by tech giants like OpenAI , the maker of ChatGPT , which 'scrape' websites for their content.

Events

1 week ago The ‘major existential threat’ facing Scotland's universities hit by 'huge' 22% cut

The plea on behalf of Scottish universities comes with Cardiff confirmed plans to cut 400 jobs last month

Events

1 week ago Federal workers brace for more firings after judge lifts block on Trump administration job cuts – US politics live

Trump administration expected to continue its mass downsizing of the federal workforce amid warnings of unlawful terminations and a ‘monumental’ billMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsWe expect Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer to soon visit Donald Trump, at a moment when the American president is upending much of America’s foreign policy with his embrace of Russia’s position in the war in Ukraine. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour looks at whether Starmer’s visit might reassure a rattled Europe:In November 1940, Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt expressing relief both at the US president’s re-election and the victory of his anti-appeasement policy. “Things are afoot which will be remembered as long as the English language is spoken in any quarter of the globe, and in expressing the comfort I feel that the people of the United States have once again cast these great burdens upon you, I must now avow my sure faith that the lights by which we...

Politics

1 week ago Trump is tearing up the transatlantic alliance. Can Starmer’s US visit change the weather?

As the US president turns on allies and embraces Russia, can the UK prime minister persuade Trump to listen to Europe’s concernsEurope live – latest updatesIn November 1940, Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt expressing relief both at the US president’s re-election and the victory of his anti-appeasement policy. “Things are afoot which will be remembered as long as the English language is spoken in any quarter of the globe, and in expressing the comfort I feel that the people of the United States have once again cast these great burdens upon you, I must now avow my sure faith that the lights by which we steer will bring us safely to anchor,” he wrote.As Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron prepare to meet a very different US president, things are once again afoot that will live long in the memory – but this time the lights seem to be going out on a ship adrift in a sea of chaos. Continue reading...

Politics