20 h. ago US envoys head to Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks as Trump says ‘we are very close’ to deal

US president says he will push to finalize agreement in the coming days even as scores of Palestinians killed in latest Israeli attacksDonald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior envoy are heading to Egypt to begin ceasefire negotiations, the White House has said, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hoped to bring all remaining hostages home in the coming days.A White House official said the US president was sending his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, to Egypt on Saturday to finalise the technical details of a hostage release and discuss a lasting ceasefire deal a day after Hamas said it was ready to free hostages under Trump’s plan to end the two-year-old war. In an interview, Trump said “we are very close” to reaching an agreement. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago “‘I’m leaving,’ Trump said. ‘There’s no reason to be here any more’”: inside the meeting that brought Nato to the brink

Former secretary general Jens Stoltenberg recalls the rollercoaster ride of dealing with Donald Trump – and how close the US president brought the alliance to the point of collapseNo other nation means more for what Nato is than the United States. It holds a unique position among member states due to its political, economic and military weight. Which is why the forces that dominate American politics – and who is in the White House – are such decisive factors. The presidential election in November 2016 was therefore not only important to the US, but also to all of Nato.For the first six months of 2016, Hillary Clinton was ahead in every poll. By autumn, election experts were predicting her victory. I, too, had a gut feeling this would be the outcome. On election night, my wife Ingrid and I arranged a party with friends and colleagues at the residence in Brussels. We rigged up a large television in the living room, and hamburgers were served. A long day lay ahead, so I turned in befor...

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44 h. ago Government shutdown to continue into next week as Senate vote fails to break bitter partisan deadlock: Live updates

Trump threatens mass layoffs as Republicans and Democrats appear nowhere close on a deal

Events

51 h. ago Closed for the weekend — Senate vote fails to break bitter partisan deadlock on government shutdown: Live updates

Trump threatens mass layoffs as Republicans and Democrats appear nowhere close on a deal

Events

3 d. ago Hamas likely to accept Trump Gaza plan with key revisions, experts say

Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm a sticking pointMiddle East crisis – live updatesHamas is likely to provisionally accept Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal in the coming days – but only on condition there are significant revisions of some of its key elements, analysts and sources close to the group say.Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory, or “pay in hell”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Hamas to demand key revisions to Trump Gaza plan before accepting, sources say

Turkey and Qatar putting pressure on group to make concessions – but condition it disarm is a sticking pointHamas will demand key revisions to Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire proposal but is likely to accept the plan in coming days as a basis for renewed negotiations, analysts and sources close to the group say.Trump imposed a deadline of “three or four days” from Tuesday for Hamas to give its response to his 20-point plan, which aims to bring the two-year war in Gaza to a close and allow an apparently indefinite international administration of the devastated territory, or “pay in hell”. Continue reading...

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5 d. ago UFC boss Dana White lifts lid on surprising talk with Barack Obama at Donald Trump inauguration

White is a close friend of US president Donald Trump and is planning a UFC event at the White House in 2026

Politics

6 d. ago Donald Trump says deal to end Gaza war is close for 'the first time ever' as he meets Netanyahu today to push peace plan over the line

Trump believes the agreement is close after talks with Arab leaders last week, insisting it would free hostages, secure a ceasefire and force Hamas to disarm.

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7 d. ago Israel presses on with Gaza assault as Trump again claims ceasefire is close

IDF launches 140 airstrikes in last 24 hours as tanks advance in Gaza City and death toll for same period is put at 77Israel has pressed on with its offensive in Gaza as Donald Trump claimed again to be on the brink of a breakthrough in negotiations for a ceasefire in the devastated territory.Witnesses and medics said Israeli tanks were advancing through central and western neighbourhoods of Gaza City towards crowded coastal areas where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Former national park superintendents urge Trump administration to close parks in case of shutdown

A group of former national park superintendents is calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in case of a government shutdown

Politics

9 d. ago Trump claims Gaza deal is ‘very close’ despite Netanyahu’s vow to fight on

The US president expressed optimism that a deal is 'very close' despite the Israeli prime minister vowing to keep fighting

Politics

1 week ago Murdoch’s TikTok? Trump offers allies another lever of media control

Under the known terms of the deal with China, TikTok would get a new board, including Murdochs and EllisonsDonald Trump revealed last week the US and China are close to inking a deal to let TikTok continue operating in the US. Details are not final, but should the agreement go through as has been reported, the owners of the US’s most powerful cable TV channels may soon also steer the nation’s most influential social network. The arrangement would gift Trump’s billionaire allies a degree of control over US media that would be vast and unprecedented.Here’s what we know. Under the known terms of the deal, which Trump declared has the tentative buy-in of Chinese president Xi Jinping, TikTok in the US would get a new group of US investors, led by the US software giant Oracle, which would license TikTok’s vaunted recommendation algorithm and take over its security. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says Nato countries should shoot down Russian aircraft entering their airspace – US politics live

US president’s comments come after series of drone incursions by Russian fighter jets; Trump also scolds European countries over migration Trump calls for nations to close borders and expel foreigners in UN speech: ‘Your countries are being ruined’Fact-check: Trump’s false and misleading claims during his UN addressWhile the Secret Service hasn’t confirmed that the telecommunications threat was targeting the United Nations general assembly, the agency said that the devices were “concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting” and the investigation is ongoing.The Secret Service added that early forensic analysis of the deviced indicates “cellular communications between nation-state threat actors and individuals that are known to federal law enforcement”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago The US right claimed free speech was sacred – until the Charlie Kirk killing

Rightwingers had long complained of a censorious leftwing ‘cancel culture’ but seem happy to now reframe that as ‘consequence culture’In the emotionally and politically charged days since the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth activist who was a close ally of Donald Trump, one statement has loomed large. On Monday, the US attorney general – the official in charge of the rule of law in America – said that the Trump administration would “absolutely target” those who espouse “hate speech” about Kirk.Unlike in many other countries, hate speech is protected by US law unless it incites imminent violence or constitutes a true threat. But that did not deter the nation’s top law enforcement officer, who also suggested that – for example – a print shop employee who refused to print flyers memorializing Kirk could be “prosecuted”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Charlie Kirk’s funeral and memorial service expected to draw nearly 100,000 people to Arizona: Live updates

The public memorial service and funeral for Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, who was killed last week, will be held in Arizona on Sunday morning amid tight security.

Politics

2 w. ago Zelenskyy accuses allies of ‘wasting time’ as he prepares for Trump meeting

Ukrainian president will urge his US counterpart to impose more sanctions on Russia when they meet next weekEurope live – latest newsVolodymyr Zelenskyy will urge Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia when they meet next week at the United Nations in New York, and has called on Ukraine’s allies to “stop wasting time”.Zelenskyy said he expected further sanctions to be imposed if Vladimir Putin refuses to meet him for face-to-face talks or to agree to a ceasefire. “If the war continues and there are no moves towards peace we expect sanctions,” he said. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration to close Miami organ donation group it calls 'failing'

The Trump administration is moving to shut down a Miami nonprofit that recovers organs from deceased donors

Politics

2 w. ago On Way To London, Trump's Air Force One Has Close Encounter With Another Plane: Report

On Way To London, Trump's Air Force One Has Close Encounter With Another Plane: Report  NDTV

Politics

2 w. ago Pilots are told to 'get off the iPad' and steer away from Trump's Air Force One jet 'immediately' in 'close encounter' on flight to UK

An air traffic controller was forced to intervene when he saw the path of a Spirit Airlines jumbo converging with the president's over Long Island.

Politics

2 w. ago Air Force One jumbo carrying Donald Trump to Britain 'is involved in "close encounter" mid

An air traffic controller was forced to intervene when he saw the path of a Spirit Airlines jumbo converging with the president's over Long Island.

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