49 m. ago Trump was ‘right’ to approach Putin over Ukraine, UK minister insists

The education secretary has defended Donald Trump’s decision to phone Vladimir Putin but said ‘there can be no settlement’ without Ukraine

Politics

56 m. ago Keir Starmer issues grim 'danger' warning over Nigel Farage's Reform UK in major speech

Keir Starmer argued Nigel Farage's Reform UK party is 'not the answer for Britain' and promised to point out their 'bluster' in major speech to the Scottish Labour conference

Events

63 m. ago Keir Starmer goes to war with Nigel Farage to accuse 'dangerous' Reform UK of 'fawning over Putin' and holding policies 'alien' to Brits following party's poll surge

The Prime Minister used a speech at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow to launch an full-throated attack on Reform's 'dangerous right-wing politics'.

Events

2 h. ago 'We are tired of being scared': Women of Ukraine share their hopes and fears three years into Russia's war

Vladimir Putin’s aggression has led to the death of thousands of civilians and laid waste to a country. On the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion, Ukrainians tell the Standard they are bruised but not beaten.

Events

2 h. ago Chain, chain, chain: political theatre confirms Elon Musk’s Maga hero status at jubilant CPAC

Emboldened and exultant, speakers put less emphasis on baiting liberals and more on spreading the Maga gospelWhat do you give the man who has everything? A ballroom full of cheering conservative activists found out this week when Elon Musk was presented with a chainsaw by Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, who has used the power tool as a symbol of his push to impose fiscal discipline.Wearing sunglasses, a black Maga baseball cap and a gold necklace, Musk giddily wielded the chainsaw up and down the stage. “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy!” he declared. Members of the audience shouted: “We love you!” Musk replied: “I love you guys, too!” And he quipped: “I am become meme.” Continue reading...

Politics

2 h. ago Pope's doctor fears one major threat to Catholic leader after critical condition scare

Pope Francis is understood to have had a 'tranquil' night after major concerns were raised over his health – and doctors in the Vatican still have one significant concern

Politics

3 h. ago Trump’s bullshit blitz has Europe on its knees | Stewart Lee

For the US president’s cheerleaders, the whitewashing of the deaths of ten of thousands of Ukrainians is a small price to pay for sticking it to the wokeratiWas it really only a month ago that the pole-dancer patron, fridge explorer, Brexit get-doer, model bus maker, sofa-strainer, wall-spaffer, current Daily Mail columnist and former British prime minister Boris Johnson eulogised the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Mail, recounting how, as the “invisible pulse of power surged” from the battered bible into the hand of Trump: “I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked so hard to prevent.”I hope Johnson is pleased with the way things have worked out. Because now the foolish wokerati have been schooled beyond Johnson’s wettest dreams. It’s the Trump-Putin-bin Salman party! An adjudicated sex offender and convicted fraudster, and a man who sanctioned a chemical warfare hit, killing a British citizen on British soil, have met at the luxury Saudia Arabian hotel of another man, ...

Events

3 h. ago New York City’s Ukrainian community ‘disappointed’ after Trump’s ‘betrayal’

As the US upends decades of foreign policy, those watching the war unfold from miles away resolve to stand strongMembers of New York’s large Ukrainian community expressed a mix of disillusionment, betrayal, defiance and acute uncertainty about what the future holds for Ukraine after tensions escalated this week between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Geopolitical events in the last week have shocked Ukrainians at home and overseas as well as US lawmakers and allies, as the US president appeared to heavily favor the Russian president Vladimir Putin to dictate peace terms on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago German election: Voting begins after campaign dominated by economy and security fears

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz, 69, leads the race to become chancellor

Politics

5 h. ago Conservative influencer sues Elon Musk for paternity test after claiming he is the father of her baby son

Ashley St. Clair says Elon Musk has shown no interest in custody and has only seen the baby on three occasions

Technology

7 h. ago Why Conservatives must revive Thatcherism in face of threats from Putin and Reform

The UK needs to create a strong economy – a task way beyond the quick-fix charlatans of the policy-less Reform UK party – in order to increase defence spending

Politics

7 h. ago States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump's immigration crackdown

Republican lawmakers in some states are threatening local officials with lawsuits, fines and jail time if they resist President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration

Politics

8 h. ago German voters head to polls facing world of change as far right waits in the wings

Europe holds its breath as world’s third largest economic power and most populous EU country faces crossroadsGerman voters go to the polls today but it is a different world from when the campaign began only a few weeks ago.Nearly 60 million ­people are choosing a government that will have to grapple with the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance under Donald Trump and new threats to European security just as the country’s vaunted economic model is hitting the skids. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Can Moldova – population 2.4m – show the world how to stand up to Putin?

The tiny former Soviet republic’s determination not to be cowed by the Kremlin could provide a template for the west on how to hold back the tide of subversion and corruptionHow can a democracy defend itself from an attacker who does not respect any democratic rules?When your assailant uses corruption, blackmail, economic war, cyber attacks, covert campaigns and street violence – while all you have are inefficient courts and even slower international institutions. Can you lose your sovereignty by being too soft? If you respond with censorship or even cancelling elections, don’t you lose your values? Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Europe’s big carnivores are on the rise – but can we live with bears next door?

Numbers of animals once hunted as vermin are rising across the continent. But scientists worry about how we are going to get along with these predatorsEurope’s carnivores have had a remarkable change in fortune. After tens of thousands of years of persecution that wiped out sabretooth tigers, hyenas and cave lions, there has been a recent rebound in the continent’s surviving predators.Across mainland Europe, bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine numbers have risen dramatically as conservation measures introduced several decades ago have begun to make an impact. There are now about 20,500 brown bears in Europe, a rise of 17% since 2016, while there are 9,400 Eurasian lynx, a 12% increase. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Council chiefs making fire and rehire threats should be sacked, union suggests

GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour has spoken out after two local authorities allegedly made threat in pay negotiations.

Events

10 h. ago Foreign Office ‘be aware’ warning issued to Brits at holiday paradise destinations following high terrorist threat

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has issued a warning to Brits travelling to the Canary Islands, which includes Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote

Events

10 h. ago Syrian refugee who stepped in to stop Islamist killer who stabbed teen to death in Austria fears for his life after being sent death threats amidst spate of horror attacks across Europe

Allaaeddin Alhalabi, a food delivery driver, had been driving through the Austrian city when he witnessed the horrific scene, quickly and bravely driving his car into the attacker.

Events

11 h. ago Thousands at risk of losing their homes in the Amazon rainforest as terrifying sinkholes threaten to swallow their homes

The city of Buriticupu, in the northeastern tip of the Brazilian Amazon, is being slowly swallowed by the earth.

Events

12 h. ago Britain will 'turn the screws' on Putin with new sanctions on Russia, No10 assures Zelensky as Trump demands return on Ukraine aid money

Sir Keir Starmer is set to fly out for meeting with Donald Trump, while Washington and Kyiv haggle over demands President Zelensky hand over mineral reserves for US military support.

Politics