6 h. ago 'Trump wants to push Austria into Auxit': Europe up in arms over 'leaked US plan to pull countries away from EU'

The file, reported by Defense One, supposedly claims Trump intends to pull Austria, Italy , Hungary and Poland away from the EU and closer in to Washington's circle of influence.

Politics

18 h. ago 'Leaked document shows US wants to pull four countries "away from the EU" as part of Make Europe Great Again strategy'

The secret file, reported by Defense One, supposedly claims Washington intends to withdraw Austria, Italy , Hungary and Poland from the EU altogether.

Culture

19 h. ago 'Leaked document shows US wants to pull four countries out of the EU as part of Make Europe Great Again strategy'

The secret file, reported by Defense One, supposedly claims Washington intends to withdraw Austria, Italy , Hungary and Poland from the EU altogether.

Culture

50 h. ago Trump's crackdown on immigration is taking a toll on child care workers

President Donald Trump’s push for the largest mass deportation in history has had an outsized impact on the child care field, which is heavily reliant on immigrants and already strained by a worker shortage

Politics

56 h. ago Trump to push affordability message at Pennsylvania rally amid mounting economic gloom: Live

President Donald Trump graded his economy ‘A plus-plus-plus-plus-plus’ as concerns over cost of living grow

Politics

62 h. ago Democrats push to ban Trump’s plan to put himself on a new $1 coin

“Trump’s self-celebrating maneuvers are authoritarian actions worthy of dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, not the United States of America,” one Senate Democrat said

Politics

5 d. ago National guard member wounded in DC attack is ‘slowly healing’, says West Virginia governor

Andrew Wolfe was shot in the head on 26 November, while Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuriesThe West Virginia national guard soldier who was wounded in the 26 November shooting that killed a colleague of his in Washington DC is “slowly healing”, according to West Virginia’s governor.Andrew Wolfe, 24, was shot alongside fellow West Virginia national guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, 20, while they patrolled the US capital as part of the Trump administration’s push to deploy military members on to the city’s streets. Beckstrom died of her injuries the day after she was shot while Wolfe was hospitalized in critical condition. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago Only Europe can save Ukraine from Putin and Trump – but will it? | Timothy Garton Ash

Whether using frozen Russian assets, ramping up defence production or deepening the relationship with the EU, it is up to us to secure Ukraine’s future – and our ownEurope, you have been warned. President Vladimir Putin has waged a full-scale war against Ukraine for nearly four years and this week threatened that Russia was “ready right now” for war with Europe if need be. President Donald Trump has demonstrated that the US is ready to sell out Ukraine for the sake of a dirty deal with Putin’s Russia. His new US National Security Strategy prescribes “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations”. How much more clarity do you need?Now it’s up to us Europeans to enable Ukraine to survive armed assault from Moscow and diplomatic betrayal from Washington. In doing so, we also defend ourselves. For a year now, people have been telling me that Trump will eventually get tough on Russia. It’s been the geopolitical version of Waiting for Godot. Then his perso...

Politics

6 d. ago Eurovision has faced political boycotts before – how does the latest compare?

Decision by four countries to pull out over Israel’s inclusion is significant for the contest but crisis may not be existentialThe decision by four European broadcasters to boycott next year’s Eurovision over Israel’s inclusion is undoubtedly a watershed moment in the 70-year history of the song contest.One of the few genuinely popular, non-elitist and pan-European cultural events will be without Spain, one of the “big five” nations in terms of financial contributions; Ireland, which has won the contest more times than any other country bar Sweden; the Netherlands, a 1956 founding member; and Slovenia, symbolic of the EU’s eastward enlargement. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Four countries pull out of Eurovision 2026 after Israel is allowed to compete

Multiple countries, including Ireland, have chosen to boycott Eurovision 2026 after the European Broadcasting Union decided to allow Israel to compete in the competition

Politics

8 d. ago Europe is holding the line against Trump’s and Putin’s plans for Ukraine. But it won’t be able to for ever | Martin Kettle

In the 21st-century imbalance of power, Europe and Nato have neither the arms nor the wealth to impel Russia or the US to take its peace settlement seriouslyThe failure of this week’s peace talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff fits into a now well-established pattern of standoffs on Ukraine during Trump’s second term. But the dynamic that produced these talks may be becoming more entrenched. The US and Russian interests driving the process have not changed, while the conflict on the ground is intensifying. The lack of progress this week means there will be another attempt to end the war soon, and perhaps another after that, until, one day, there is some kind of US-backed deal to halt the conflict on terms broadly favouring Russia.The geopolitical algorithm driving this effort is too consistent to ignore. It has been repeated ever since Trump re-entered the White House in January. On the campaign trail, Trump had claimed he could stop the war in a day. ...

Politics

8 d. ago Gavin Newsom launches portal for California residents to snitch on federal agents who ‘abuse their authority’

Golden State officials said the tool would help push back against a ‘campaign of terror’ by Trump administration

Events

8 d. ago Trump is using a tragic shooting to demonize millions | Mohamad Bazzi

The administration is heightening its anti-immigrant crackdown – and punishing people from a country the US helped destroyAfter two national guard members were ambushed in Washington DC last week, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, Donald Trump went on a hate-filled social media rant and vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries.”Trump’s late night Thanksgiving posts devolved into a fury, evidently because the suspected gunman is an Afghan national. He had worked with the US government, including the CIA, and was evacuated to the US in 2021 after the American military withdrew from Afghanistan.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago NHS medicines budget set to increase by 25% in push to avoid Trump tariffs

UK move aims to make it easier for drugs to be approved for use in order to secure carve-out from import levies

Politics

1 week ago Trump aid cuts could push next Ebola outbreak to spiral out of control, former US official warns

A countdown is on to declaring the end of a current Ebola outbreak, but former Biden official Jeremy Konyndyk warns that we might not be so lucky again if US cuts to aid continue to bite

Events

2 w. ago Germany raised its citizens to hate war. Now it wants us to enlist in the army – but we say no | Mithu Sanyal

The war in Ukraine is a crime. But European leaders should be working for peace, not preparing young people to fight and dieWhen I was growing up, the most German sentence imaginable was: “We’ve lost two world wars and we’re proud of it.” We were so anti-military, we even gave our policemen green uniforms, to make them look more like foresters than soldiers. Now, the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wants our army to become the strongest in Europe. I mean, what could go wrong?After we lost the second world war – or, as we prefer to say, after we were liberated by the allies – we swore “never again”: never again to war, and never again to Auschwitz. Admittedly, Germany rearmed in 1955, but just as “citizens in uniform”, not as soldiers following orders. Mind you, that didn’t mean that you could say “no” to an order; it just meant that we had conscription for most young men until 2011. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago US deal must punish Russia war crimes, says Ukraine’s Nobel peace prize winner

Oleksandra Matviichuk warns any amnesty could encourage authoritarian leaders to attack their neighbours Any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine that includes an amnesty for war crimes could encourage other authoritarian leaders to attack their neighbours, Ukraine’s only Nobel peace prize winner has warned.Oleksandra Matviichuk said the leaked 28-point US-Russia plan did not account for “the human dimension” and she supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s efforts to rewrite it in dialogue with White House. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago As France prepares military expansion, how is Europe beefing up its armies?

European nations are rushing to bolster their defences amid Russia threat and uncertainty of US supportFrance will this week become the latest EU country to set out plans to expand its army, with Emmanuel Macron expected to announce on Thursday that military service will be restored – albeit on a voluntary basis – nearly 30 years after the end of conscription.In the face of Russia’s military threat and uncertainty over the US’s commitment to defending its transatlantic allies, Europe is rushing to bolster its defence industry and its deployment capability after radically cutting them back since the cold war. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Budget 2025 live: Rachel Reeves announces £26bn plan for income tax, pensions and ISA cuts after OBR leak

Chancellor unveils series of tax hikes to fill black hole in public finances in addition to ditching two-child benefit cap and changes to ISAs

Economics

2 w. ago Budget 2025 live: Rachel Reeves delivers £26bn tax rises after OBR leaks plan early

Chancellor unveils series of tax hikes to fill black hole in public finances in addition to ditching two-child benefit cap and changes to ISAs

Economics