46 m. ago US Army secretary takes unlikely role as key negotiator in push to end Russia

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has become a key negotiator in the Trump administration’s push to end the Russia-Ukraine war

Politics

6 h. ago US to send envoy to Moscow to discuss proposals to end Ukraine war

Despite recent efforts and White House optimism, recent negotiations have failed to secure a breakthrough on key issuesDonald Trump said he would send special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss developing proposals to end the Ukraine war, but despite White House optimism there was little sign of progress on core sticking points.The US president said negotiations had left “only a few remaining points of disagreement” but there was no breakthrough on the issues of territorial control and security guarantees and he dampened expectations of immediate peace summits. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago US optimistic over Ukraine peace deal talks but ‘a few delicate details’ remain

Ukrainian official cites ‘common understanding’, but no sign territorial concessions or security guarantees are agreedEurope live – latest updatesDiscussions involving US, Russian and Ukrainian officials are taking place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the latest step in the Trump administration’s attempts to push through a peace deal to end the conflict in Ukraine.The White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, put an optimistic spin on the talks, claiming the US had made “tremendous progress” on finding a resolution. There were “a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details” that needed to be ironed out which would require further talks, she said in a post on X. Continue reading...

Economics

41 h. ago Trump hints at ‘something good’ after Ukraine peace talks as EU says ‘work remains’ – Europe live

EU leaders hail progress but emphasise remaining issues to be solved as Merz says peace ‘won’t happen overnight’US and Ukraine promise ‘updated’ peace framework after criticism of pro-Russian points in original planRussian air defences downed a Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow on Monday, the city’s mayor said as reported by Reuters, forcing three airports that serve the capital to temporarily restrict all incoming and outgoing flights.Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement that emergency services were working at the scene of the downed drone. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago As Trump bends to Putin’s will again on Ukraine, it is time for Europe to go it alone

A new deal cooked up by the Trump administration will benefit only Moscow and Washington. Sam Kiley, world affairs editor, says it is time for Europe and other allies to establish military and intelligence independence from the US

Politics

42 h. ago The ‘war on terror’ has killed millions. Trump is reviving it in Venezuela | Daniel Mendiola

After decades of terrorizing civilians in the name of fighting terror, the White House is trying to do it with even less oversightFor the last two months, US forces have amassed outside Venezuela and carried out a series of lethal strikes on civilian boats. The Trump White House has ordered these actions in the name of fighting “narco-terrorists” – a label apparently applicable to anyone suspected of participating in drug trafficking near Latin American coastlines. More than 80 people have already been killed in these pre-emptive strikes, and war hawks are calling for expanded military action to depose the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.Watching this play out, I am reminded of a passage from the geographer Stuart Elden’s award-winning 2009 book, Terror and Territory. In discussing how to study the “war on terror”, Elden observed that it did not make sense to study terrorism as something unique to non-state actors.Daniel Mendiola is a professor of Latin American history and mig...

Events

57 h. ago Majority of Americans say Trump needs to show evidence that boats US is blowing up are really carrying drugs

A majority of Americans oppose war with Venezuela and believe President Donald Trump needs to provide evidence to justify military action against the nation

Politics

62 h. ago Donald Trump blasts Ukraine for having ‘zero gratitude’ as officials meet over peace plan

Trump said his proposal is not a ‘final offer’ but the war must end now

Politics

62 h. ago Trump slams 'ungrateful' Zelenskyy as 'proper Ukraine leadership' would've prevented war

This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated by our reporters as the breaking news story develops

Politics

63 h. ago The University of Virginia and Cornell deals with Trump set a dangerous precedent | Serena Mayeri and Amanda Shanor

The bespoke agreements are full of peril for the universities, allowing the federal government to quietly exert controlIn October, President Trump proposed a compact for higher education, a federal takeover of state and private institutions thinly disguised as an offer of preferential funding consideration. Most of the initially targeted universities rightfully have rejected Trump’s unlawful and unconstitutional compact, but some schools, including the University of Virginia and Cornell, have since signed separate agreements with the federal government. Initial media coverage largely portrayed the deals as compromises that allowed the universities to preserve institutional autonomy and resolve outstanding federal investigations. But subsequent revelations about the coercive ouster of UVA’s former president underscore how, in fact, “deals” like these represent a dangerous new front in the Trump administration’s war on higher education.UVA’s settlement, announced on 22 October, appear...

Politics

67 h. ago Trump, war, absent media: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place inCop30 in Belém wrapped up on Saturday night more than 24 hours later than planned, and with an Amazonian rainstorm thundering down on the conference centre. The United Nations structure just about held, as it has done these past three weeks despite fire, savage tropical heat and blistering political attacks on the multilateral system of global environmental governance.Dozens of agreements were gavelled through on the final day, as the most collective form of humanity worked to resolve the most complex and dangerous challenge that our species has ever faced. It was chaotic. The process very nearly collapsed and had to be rescued by last-ditch talks that lasted into the early morning. Veteran observers told me the Paris agreement was on life-support. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Starmer and other Ukraine allies express ‘concern’ over US peace plan

Donald Trump said his proposal is not a ‘final offer’ but the war must end now

Politics

3 d. ago Keir Starmer rejects parts of Donald Trump's Ukraine plan ahead of crunch talks

Leaders held urgent crunch talks on Ukraine at the G20 summit in South Africa, where they rejected parts of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for the war-torn country

Politics

3 d. ago Trump to end temporary protected status for Somali immigrants in Minnesota

Move could affect hundreds of Somalis who fled civil war in their home countryDonald Trump said on Friday night that he’s “immediately” terminating temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, further targeting a program seeking to limit deportations that his administration has already repeatedly sought to weaken.Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community. Many fled the long civil war in the east African country and were drawn to the state’s welcoming social programs. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Trump’s ‘peace’ ultimatum leaves Europe and Ukraine with just one choice

Trump’s America is falling into autocracy and advocates for Russian victory in Ukraine – it’s time the West saw this and dealt with it. Sam Kiley, world affairs editor, explains how

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: defeating Russia an ‘illusion’, says Putin, as he welcomes Trump deal

Russia’s president says US-led plan ‘could form the basis of a final peace settlement’, bolstering concerns in Europe about one-sided nature of US-brokered deal. What we know on day 1,368See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageVladimir Putin says Ukraine is being unrealistic if it does not accept the US plan to end the war, declaring: “Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield”. The positive response from the Russian president adds weight to the views of European and Ukrainian officials that the deal amounts to a “capitulation”. Addressing Russia’s national security council, Putin called the 28-point plan “a new version” and “a modernised plan” of what was discussed with the US ahead of his Alaska summit with Donald Trump in August, and said Moscow has received it. Putin said the plan “could form the basis of a final peace settlement”.Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reac...

Politics

4 d. ago Extinction Rebellion protester climbs Christmas tree destined for Trafalgar Square

A climate activist threatened to bring a decades-long tradition to a halt - after scaling the annual Christmas tree gifted by Norway to the UK right at the moment it was being felled.

Events

4 d. ago Putin backs Trump’s controversial peace plan to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump has warned Ukraine to agree to his widely-criticised peace proposal

Politics

4 d. ago Zelenskyy says Ukraine has impossible choice as Trump pushes plan to end war

US president demands that Kyiv accepts plan that would mean giving up territory to RussiaVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history, after Donald Trump demanded Kyiv accepts within days a US-backed “peace plan” that would force it to give up territory to Russia and make other painful concessions.Trump confirmed on Friday morning that next Thursday – Thanksgiving in the US – would be an “acceptable” deadline for Zelenskyy to sign the deal, which European and Ukrainian officials have said amounts to a “capitulation”. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Zelensky's impossible dilemma as he issues warning over Trump's Ukraine peace plan

US President Donald Trump's plan for ending the war in Ukraine would hand masses of land to Russia and limit the size of Kyiv's military, a draft has revealed

Events