US president contradicts reports Putin meeting Zelenskyy was a precondition of a US-Russia summit
Donald Trump has said he was ready to meet Vladimir Putin despite the Russian leader’s refusal to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy – dispelling speculation that direct talks between the two warring presidents were a precondition to a high-level US-Russia summit.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that Putin did not have to meet with Zelenskyy first before the US and Russian presidents could meet.
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Clock ticking to secondary sanctions on Friday; majority still trust Zelenskyy but rating down after anti-corruption debacle. What we know on day 1,261
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia seemed “more inclined to a ceasefire” after a visit to Moscow on Wednesday by a US envoy. “The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the US,” Ukraine’s president said in his nightly address.
Despite the engagement, sanctions targeting Russian oil “are still expected to be implemented on Friday”, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Separately, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said he did not want to exaggerate the progress made during Steve Witkoff’s talks with Putin. Many “impediments” remained, especially Russia’s territorial claims, and there was no concrete proposal for a ceasefire. There have been unconfirmed reports that the Kremlin could propose a halt to long-range strikes by both ..

State department condemns judge’s decision to place former Brazil president under house arrest as trial proceeds
The US has intensified its campaign to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup, with the state department denouncing the decision to place Brazil’s former president under house arrest.
“Let Bolsonaro speak!” the department’s bureau of western hemisphere affairs tweeted on Monday night after the far-right populist was confined to his mansion in the capital, Brasília, and police seized his mobile phone.
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Hundreds of people gathered in New York to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza and demand that the Trump administration put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The protest, organised by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, began at Columbus Circle and ended outside the Trump International hotel, where several people were arrested for blocking the road. Palestinian officials have said 175 people have died from hunger in Gaza since the beginning of the war, 93 of them children
More than 40 arrested at protest against Gaza war at Trump hotel in New York
House Democrats sign letter urging Trump to recognise Palestinian statehood
Israeli forces kill at least 27 at food site while minister’s al-Aqsa visit causes outrage
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Draft backed by over a dozen Democrats says Palestinian rights ‘as a people and nation’ must be urgently upheld
More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress have signed on to a letter that urges the Trump administration to recognise Palestinian statehood, in a draft copy shared with the Guardian.
Congressman Ro Khanna of California is leading the letter addressed to the president and secretary of state Marco Rubio, and is joined by several House progressives, including Greg Casar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Maxwell Frost of Florida.
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Palestinian foreign ministry condemns Republican visit for ‘undermining efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence’
Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza.
The excursion followed Johnson’s arrival in Israel on Sunday on an unannounced visit with other Republican lawmakers, and his meeting with Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and foreign minister Gideon Saar.
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Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow before US president’s Friday deadline after which new sanctions could be imposed
Donald Trump’s special envoy is expected in Moscow days before the US president’s deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine or face increased US sanctions.
Trump said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin could do to avoid new sanctions, the US president answered: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
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Prime minister faces a choice between high tariffs or giving up cheap oil, putting New Delhi’s non-alignment policy under severe strain
The relationship between India and the US is facing one of its most significant challenges in decades, as the Trump administration doubles down on its demands that India stop buying Russian oil or face punitive tariffs.
The US president, Donald Trump, has refused to cut tariffs on Indian exports to the US, as he has for other countries, and on Monday said he would significantly raise them over its purchases of cheap Russian oil, which now account for one-third of its imported oil.
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Open letter calls on US president to pressure Israel to end conflict as Netanyahu mulls expanding offensive
About 600 former Israeli security officials, including previous heads of the Mossad and the military, have urged Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza as the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, considers expanding the conflict.
In an open letter, the former officials said an end to the war was the only way to save hostages still held by Hamas.
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Karin Keller-Sutter accused of mishandling talks as shares dive after Switzerland hit with 39% tariff
US live – latest updates
The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has held crisis talks and the country’s president, Karin Keller-Sutter, has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.
Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations said tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.
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Family of Evyatar David condemn video as protesters in Tel Aviv call for a deal to be made to return hostages
Starvation takes hold in Gaza after a week of appalling milestones
Hamas has reaffirmed that it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established, as the group released its second video in two days of an Israeli hostage.
Responding to one of the key Israeli demands to end the war in Gaza, Hamas – which has dominated the territory since 2007 – said it could not yield its right to “armed resistance” unless an “independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” is established.
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Declassified document contains deflating conclusion for DNI director that Russian spies were behind key 2016 emails
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US national intelligence, hoped to uncover evidence that Barack Obama and his national security team conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup.
But if her crusade was aimed at proving that Obama embarked on a “treasonous conspiracy” to falsely show that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump, Gabbard made a mistake. A previously classified annexe to a report by another special counsel, John Durham – appointed towards the end of Trump’s first presidency – has further undermined Gabbard’s case.
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Prominent groups, including traditional defenders of Israel, urge action on aid as Gaza humanitarian crisis worsens
‘We are dying slowly, save us’: starvation takes hold in Gaza after a week of appalling milestones
As global outrage intensifies over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a growing number of prominent Jewish American organizations, including some traditional defenders of Israel, are speaking out and imploring the country to ensure that humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.
This week, a UN-backed food security group warned that a “worst-case scenario of famine” is unfolding in Gaza and health authorities there report dozens of deaths from starvation.
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Witkoff says he is helping ‘craft a plan’ to deliver aid as UN reports that Israeli forces have killed 1,353 Palestinians who were waiting for food
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has visited Gaza and been shown one of the controversial food distribution sites around which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy for the Middle East, had earlier met the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, amid mounting international horror over conditions of starvation in Gaza occurring after months of Israeli-imposed aid restrictions.
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Russian president’s remarks come as Kyiv rescuers find more than a dozen dead in apartment block after strikes
Vladimir Putin has said he wants a “lasting and stable peace” in Ukraine but given no indication that he is willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Donald Trump for hostilities to cease.
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Joe Biden has said ‘these are dark days’ in the US, and accused the Trump administration of ‘doing its best to dismantle the constitution’ with the help of the Republican-controlled Congress and the supreme court.
‘We see the apparent glee of some of our politicians while watching immigrants who are in this country legally torn from the arms of their family, dragged away in handcuffs from the only home they’ve ever known,’ the former president said
Joe Biden says US is facing ‘existential’ fight with marginalized groups ‘dramatically under attack’
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The two sworn enemies went to war twice over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan eventually captured in 2023
US president Donald Trump announced he will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday for what he called a “Historic Peace Summit” aimed at ending decades of hostilities between the two former Soviet republics.
Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony,” Trump posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform.
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Nicolás Maduro was indicted in 2020 on federal charges of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine
The Trump administration is doubling to $50m a reward for the arrest of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narcotraffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,” Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said on Thursday in a video statement announcing the reward.
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US president contradicts reports Putin meeting Zelenskyy was a precondition of a US-Russia summit
Donald Trump has said he was ready to meet Vladimir Putin despite the Russian leader’s refusal to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy – dispelling speculation that direct talks between the two warring presidents were a precondition to a high-level US-Russia summit.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said that Putin did not have to meet with Zelenskyy first before the US and Russian presidents could meet.
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Summit with Russian leader would follow ‘great progress’ made by special envoy Steve Witkoff during Moscow visit
Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin as soon as next week to discuss the war in Ukraine, White House officials have said, although senior aides warned that serious “impediments” remain to achieving a ceasefire.
Late on Wednesday, the US president told reporters at the White House, when asked when he would meet the leaders of Ukraine and Russia: “There’s a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.” Trump said there had been no specific breakthrough leading to talk of a meeting but that US officials had been working on it for “a long time”.
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Clock ticking to secondary sanctions on Friday; majority still trust Zelenskyy but rating down after anti-corruption debacle. What we know on day 1,261
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia seemed “more inclined to a ceasefire” after a visit to Moscow on Wednesday by a US envoy. “The pressure on them works. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details – neither us nor the US,” Ukraine’s president said in his nightly address.
Despite the engagement, sanctions targeting Russian oil “are still expected to be implemented on Friday”, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Separately, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said he did not want to exaggerate the progress made during Steve Witkoff’s talks with Putin. Many “impediments” remained, especially Russia’s territorial claims, and there was no concrete proposal for a ceasefire. There have been unconfirmed reports that the Kremlin could propose a halt to long-range strikes by both ..

State department condemns judge’s decision to place former Brazil president under house arrest as trial proceeds
The US has intensified its campaign to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup, with the state department denouncing the decision to place Brazil’s former president under house arrest.
“Let Bolsonaro speak!” the department’s bureau of western hemisphere affairs tweeted on Monday night after the far-right populist was confined to his mansion in the capital, Brasília, and police seized his mobile phone.
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Hundreds of people gathered in New York to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza and demand that the Trump administration put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The protest, organised by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, began at Columbus Circle and ended outside the Trump International hotel, where several people were arrested for blocking the road. Palestinian officials have said 175 people have died from hunger in Gaza since the beginning of the war, 93 of them children
More than 40 arrested at protest against Gaza war at Trump hotel in New York
House Democrats sign letter urging Trump to recognise Palestinian statehood
Israeli forces kill at least 27 at food site while minister’s al-Aqsa visit causes outrage
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Draft backed by over a dozen Democrats says Palestinian rights ‘as a people and nation’ must be urgently upheld
More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress have signed on to a letter that urges the Trump administration to recognise Palestinian statehood, in a draft copy shared with the Guardian.
Congressman Ro Khanna of California is leading the letter addressed to the president and secretary of state Marco Rubio, and is joined by several House progressives, including Greg Casar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Maxwell Frost of Florida.
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Palestinian foreign ministry condemns Republican visit for ‘undermining efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence’
Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza.
The excursion followed Johnson’s arrival in Israel on Sunday on an unannounced visit with other Republican lawmakers, and his meeting with Israeli defense minister Israel Katz and foreign minister Gideon Saar.
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Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow before US president’s Friday deadline after which new sanctions could be imposed
Donald Trump’s special envoy is expected in Moscow days before the US president’s deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine or face increased US sanctions.
Trump said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin could do to avoid new sanctions, the US president answered: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
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Prime minister faces a choice between high tariffs or giving up cheap oil, putting New Delhi’s non-alignment policy under severe strain
The relationship between India and the US is facing one of its most significant challenges in decades, as the Trump administration doubles down on its demands that India stop buying Russian oil or face punitive tariffs.
The US president, Donald Trump, has refused to cut tariffs on Indian exports to the US, as he has for other countries, and on Monday said he would significantly raise them over its purchases of cheap Russian oil, which now account for one-third of its imported oil.
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Open letter calls on US president to pressure Israel to end conflict as Netanyahu mulls expanding offensive
About 600 former Israeli security officials, including previous heads of the Mossad and the military, have urged Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza as the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, considers expanding the conflict.
In an open letter, the former officials said an end to the war was the only way to save hostages still held by Hamas.
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Karin Keller-Sutter accused of mishandling talks as shares dive after Switzerland hit with 39% tariff
US live – latest updates
The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has held crisis talks and the country’s president, Karin Keller-Sutter, has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff.
Switzerland, home to some of the world’s best-known luxury brands, was left stunned after the US president on Friday imposed one of the highest tariff rates in his global trade reset. Industry associations said tens of thousands of jobs were at risk.
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Family of Evyatar David condemn video as protesters in Tel Aviv call for a deal to be made to return hostages
Starvation takes hold in Gaza after a week of appalling milestones
Hamas has reaffirmed that it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established, as the group released its second video in two days of an Israeli hostage.
Responding to one of the key Israeli demands to end the war in Gaza, Hamas – which has dominated the territory since 2007 – said it could not yield its right to “armed resistance” unless an “independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital” is established.
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Russian president’s remarks come as Kyiv rescuers find more than a dozen dead in apartment block after strikes
Vladimir Putin has said he wants a “lasting and stable peace” in Ukraine but given no indication that he is willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Donald Trump for hostilities to cease.
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Joe Biden has said ‘these are dark days’ in the US, and accused the Trump administration of ‘doing its best to dismantle the constitution’ with the help of the Republican-controlled Congress and the supreme court.
‘We see the apparent glee of some of our politicians while watching immigrants who are in this country legally torn from the arms of their family, dragged away in handcuffs from the only home they’ve ever known,’ the former president said
Joe Biden says US is facing ‘existential’ fight with marginalized groups ‘dramatically under attack’
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‘Ukraine is not afraid of meetings; we expect the same brave approach from Russia.’ What we know on day 1,262
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Europe must participate in the peace process between his country and Russia after a call with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Thursday. The Ukrainian president embarked on a lightning round of calls with European leaders ahead of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin expected soon. As the Kremlin refused a three-way meeting with Zelenskyy and Trump, Zelenskyy said: “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side.”
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she had spoken with Zelenskyy about the developments of the past days and “next steps on the way towards a negotiated peace agreement and Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union as well as its reconstruction”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, reaffirmed France’s full support for a ceasefire in Ukraine..

Rights activists say Tehran’s crackdown must be on agenda in any talks on future relations between Europe and Iran
Iranian human rights groups are urging MEPs and European governments to escalate the issue of Tehran’s mistreatment of political prisoners, arguing that the crackdown on internal dissent must be on the agenda in any talks about future relations between Europe and Iran.
The Iranian foreign ministry appears to be in no rush to stage further talks with the west without clear US assurances that it will not be attacked again.
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US president says he will send Ukraine Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles paid for by EU allies
Trump does deal with Nato allies to arm Ukraine and warns Russia of severe sanctions
Politicians in Kyiv have welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement that billions of dollars worth of US military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, while officials in Moscow dismissed his threat of sanctions against Russia as hot air.
In a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said the US would send Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles, paid for by European allies.
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US president says he will supply Kyiv with billions of dollars of military equipment paid for by European allies
Kyiv hails US weapons deal as Moscow dismisses Trump’s sanctions threat
Donald Trump said he has sealed an agreement with Nato allies that will lead to large-scale arms deliveries to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles, and warned Russia that it will face severe sanctions if Moscow does not make peace within 50 days.
After a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, Trump said they had agreed “a very big deal”, in which “billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to Nato … And that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”
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EU will buy some US weapons for Kyiv as president credits Melania Trump for his disenchantment with Putin
Kyiv hails US weapons deal as Moscow dismisses Trump’s sanctions threat
For those looking for details, Donald Trump’s rambling half-hour press conference in the Oval Office with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, offered only a handful of clues. The US will sell weapons to Ukraine, the president said, with other Nato countries paying the bill – but otherwise specifics were scant.
No sums of money were mentioned – making it hard to calibrate how much of a difference the proposed weapon supply would make to Kyiv. Details were light on what munitions would be supplied though Trump mentioned complete Patriot missile systems and Rutte added there would be “missiles and ammunition” too.
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Donald Trump announces that the US will send Patriot missiles and other weapons to Kyiv, and will impose ‘very severe tariffs’ on Russia if there is no deal to stop the war in Ukraine in 50 days
Europe live – latest updates
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President says US will send Kyiv ‘sophisticated’ equipment ahead of announcement as frustration with Russia grows
Europe live – latest updates
Donald Trump has indicated that the US will announce a plan to sell Patriot air defence systems and other weapons to Ukraine later on Monday, amid growing White House exasperation with Russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire.
The president told reporters on Sunday as he returned from the Club World Cup final that the US would “send them various pieces of very sophisticated military and they’re going to pay us 100% for them”.
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Career diplomats and other staff begin receiving notices amid Trump administration cull of about 15% of workforce
The US state department has begun issuing the first of more than 1,350 termination notices as part of a huge reorganisation of America’s diplomatic corps under the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, according to internal documents and US diplomats at the state department on Friday.
Career diplomats and other staff began to receive the notices on Friday morning, days after the supreme court lifted a ban on the Trump administration moving forward with mass firings of government employees that will affect hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
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Israeli PM manages to avoid breach with US president through high-profile assurances he is seeking end to war
Benjamin Netanyahu arrived back in Israel on Friday without a ceasefire in the Gaza war despite heady predictions from US and Israeli officials that this week could provide a breakthrough in negotiations. But he did not come home completely empty-handed.
The Israeli PM’s visit was his third since Donald Trump’s inauguration, with several high-profile meetings at the White House, a nomination for Trump to receive the Nobel peace prize, and suggestions from Trump and the special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, that peace could be achieved in a week.
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As the US president’s 9 July deadline came and went, the White House launched a range of new trade ultimatums at countries across the world
Donald Trump ramped up his trade rhetoric this week, firing off more than 20 letters to governments outlining new tariff rates if agreements aren’t reached by 1 August.
In April, Trump announced a 10% base tariff rate and additional duties ranging up to 50% for many other countries, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10% duties until 9 July after market panic.
Trump informed powerhouse suppliers Japan, South Korea and a number of other nations at the start of this week that they will face tariffs of at least 25% starting from August unless they can quickly negotiate deals.
On Wednesday he announced more tariffs on countries like the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Algeria, as well as a 50% tariff on products from Brazil, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Trump crit..

Ukrainian president wants allies to speed up action against Putin after two killed in second night of major strikes
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukraine’s allies to speed up imposing new sanctions on Russia after another huge wave of strikes on his country’s capital killed two people, including a police officer, and left 23 wounded.
“Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror,” the Ukrainian president said on social media. He accused Moscow of “an obvious escalation”, with “constant strikes” and hundreds of Shahed drones launched every night.
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Trump administration targets special rapporteur for Palestinian territories, in latest action against critics of Israel’s war
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday it was issuing sanctions against an independent official tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
The state department’s decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, is the latest effort by the US to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza and comes after a recent US pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post failed.
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Somalia, DR Congo and Yemen among states forced to sign deals and barter their minerals for aid or military support
Some of the world’s poorest countries have started paying millions to lobbyists linked to Donald Trump to try to offset US cuts to foreign aid, an investigation reveals.
Somalia, Haiti and Yemen are among 11 countries to sign significant lobbying deals with figures tied directly to the US president after he slashed US foreign humanitarian assistance.
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Long-rumoured trip to open course could take place this month after proposed meeting with King Charles shelved
Police in Scotland are gearing up for a possible visit by Donald Trump later this month that is expected to take in his golf resort in Aberdeenshire.
The long-rumoured visit is not expected to include a meeting with King Charles, despite earlier suggestions the US president could meet the monarch at either Balmoral or Dumfries House in Ayrshire.
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US president appears to have run out of patience with his Russian counterpart – but how that transmits into practical support for Kyiv remains to be seen
Europe live – latest updates
“I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now,” Trump said, expressing his frustration with the Russian leader over the war in Ukraine. “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin … He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
It may not have been Churchillian in oratorical flourish, and with Trump everything is capable of being reversed in hours, but possibly, just possibly, the rupture between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has happened. If so it is a transformatory moment, and a vindication for both Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives in Rome for the annual Ukraine reconstruction conference and for those others, notably the British and the French governments, who have patiently helped the scales to fall from Trump’s eyes about Putin’s true intentions. At long last..

Exclusive: Low stockpiles for the crucial Patriot missile interceptors led to Trump administration pausing transfers to Ukraine
The United States only has about 25% of the Patriot missile interceptors it needs for all of the Pentagon’s military plans after burning through stockpiles in the Middle East in recent months, an alarming depletion that led to the Trump administration freezing the latest transfer of munitions to Ukraine.
The stockpile of the Patriot missiles has fallen so low that it raised concern inside the Pentagon that it could jeopardize potential US military operations, and deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, authorized the transfer to be halted while they reviewed where weapons were being sent.
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US leader upbeat on Gaza ceasefire prospects but does not share any additional details on preparations
Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump that he would nominate him for the Nobel peace prize on Monday, as the two leaders met for the first time since the US launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear program as part of a short-lived war between Israel and Iran.
Trump was expected to press Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Israel’s 21-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza amid an outcry over the humanitarian cost of an offensive that has led to nearly 60,000 deaths, most of them Palestinian.
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US president will host Israeli prime minister following joint strikes against Iran
A US envoy met Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday to discuss a proposed plan to disarm Hezbollah, hours after Israel launched new air strikes and a cross-border ground assault.
The Israeli escalation was seen by Lebanese officials and diplomats as an attempt to ratchet up pressure on Hezbollah, whose leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Sunday that the group still needed arms to defend Lebanon from Israel.
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Joint attack on Iran puts Israeli PM in powerful position as he dangles prospect of Trump-brokered ceasefire deal
Donald Trump will host Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on Monday as the US president seeks again to broker a peace deal in Gaza and the Israeli prime minister takes a victory lap through the Oval Office after a joint military campaign against Iran and a series of successful strikes against Tehran and its proxies in the Middle East.
Netanyahu and Trump have a complex personal relationship – and Trump openly vented frustration at him last month during efforts to negotiate a truce with Iran – but the two have appeared in lockstep since the US launched a bombing run against Iran’s nuclear programme, fulfilling a key goal for Israeli war planners.
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US exports account for third of Vietnam’s GDP and 40% tariff on so-called transshipments – products with Chinese input – means uncertainty for manufacturers
As news spread that Vietnam would become just the second nation to reach an initial tariff agreement with Washington, shares in the clothing companies and manufacturers that have a large footprint in the country rose with optimism.
Just hours later though, they declined sharply, as it became clear that the devil would be in the detail, and the most striking part of the deal might in fact be aimed at Vietnam’s powerful neighbour China.
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The 32-year-old was instrumental in high-profile national security firings, and has cheerled the attacks on Iran
After years of claiming to be the vanguard of a new “America First” isolationist movement rebelling against the neoconservative policies of the George W Bush administration that led to the bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Maga’s online influencers are cheering for another war in the Middle East.
And not just any war: they are applauding Donald Trump’s high-risk decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that was considered a war too far even by the Bush administration.
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Trump claims the assault ‘totally obliterated’ the key facilities, but what do we know about its impact?
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Donald Trump was quick to claim that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had “completely and totally obliterated” them. Still, it remains unclear how much physical damage has been done or what the longer-term impact might be on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steve Bannon lead voices on right seeing airstrikes as break with ‘America first’ doctrine
Middle East war –live updates
Saturday’s US strikes on Iran provoked conflicting reactions from isolationist Republicans who support Donald Trump’s Make America great again (Maga) movement, catching them – like many Democrats – between supporting efforts against nuclear proliferation and opposing American intervention in foreign conflicts.
The far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene – a loyalist to the president – reacted to the strikes by urging those in the US to pray that terrorists do not attack “our homeland” in retaliation.
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Defence secretary denies US is pursuing policy of regime change after strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
Middle East crisis – latest updates
The surprise overnight US attack on Iran inflicted major damage and destruction on three of its key nuclear sites, senior Pentagon officials said, as the US defence secretary denied that the Trump administration was pursuing a policy of regime change in the Middle East.
In a press conference in Washington, Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, detailed Operation Midnight Hammer, in which seven B-2 Spirit bombers flew 18 hours from the US to sites in Iran to drop 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators in strikes that were said to have caused “extremely severe damage” to Iranian uranium enrichment facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
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Leading figures on Senate and House intelligence committees not briefed in advance in break with custom
Middle East war – live updates
Senior Democrats have claimed they were left in the dark about operation Midnight Hammer, the US’s highly coordinated strike on Saturday on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
Neither Mark Warner, a US senator of Virginia, nor Jim Himes, a representative of Connecticut, both top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence panels, were briefed before the attack, according to reports.
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Blasts were heard in Isfahan after the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities. Explosions from the direction of the Isfahan nuclear site could be heard in a video posted on social media, and at least one fiery ball illuminated the night sky
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Donald Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites and ‘totally obliterated’ them
Keir Starmer backs US strike on Iran and calls for Tehran to return to talks
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Pete Hegseth said overnight airstrikes targeting the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan facilities ‘devastated’ Iran’s nuclear programme. At a press conference at the Pentagon, he said the strikes, which followed a ‘focused, powerful and clear’ order from the US president, Donald Trump, did not target Iranian troops or civilians
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Donald Trump says US strikes ‘totally obliterated’ three Iranian nuclear sites
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Strikes hit uranium enrichment sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan; Iran says US has ‘blown up diplomacy’
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Explainer: What is Iran’s Fordow nuclear site and why was a US strike needed?
Donald Trump has announced that the US has bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort to destroy the country’s nuclear programme, in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” Trump said in a speech from the White House.
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Politicians express ‘grave concern’ and urge all parties to de-escalate and return to talks on Iran’s nuclear programme
Middle East crisis – latest updates
Nations in the Middle East and beyond responded with alarm after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday night as the EU and the UN called for immediate diplomacy, amid mounting fears that the war could trigger a wider escalation that could spiral out of control.
Qatar, which hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East, said on Sunday that it feared there could be serious repercussions regionally and internationally.
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Trump has fallen slap bang into the trap laid for him by Netanyahu. His reckless gamble makes a nuclear weapon for Iran more, not less, likely
Bombing will not make Iran go away. US bombs will not destroy the knowhow needed to build a nuclear weapon or the will do so, if that is what Tehran wants. The huge attack ordered by Donald Trump will not halt ongoing open warfare between Israel and Iran. It will not bring lasting peace to the Middle East, end the slaughter in Gaza, deliver justice to the Palestinians, or end more than half a century of bitter enmity between Tehran and Washington.
More likely, Trump’s rash, reckless gamble will inflame and exacerbate all these problems. Depending on how Iran and its allies and supporters react, the region could plunge into an uncontrolled conflagration. US bases in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the region, home to about 40,000 American troops, must now be considered potential targets for retaliation – and possibly British and allied forces, ..

People were starting to laud the US president for his resistance to the Israeli PM’s pull, but what now?
Middle East crisis – live updates
When he was elected, Donald Trump suggested he could hammer out a new relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who was used to getting his way with the White House. But after just over 150 days in office, it appears Trump has fallen into the same trap as his predecessors – and launched the most consequential strike on Iran in generations.
From early suggestions that the Trump administration would rein in Netanyahu’s military ambitions, it now appears that the Israeli PM has manoeuvred the US into striking Iranian uranium enrichment sites directly after a series of military attacks that Washington was unable to deter the Israeli PM from. And the US is now bracing for a retaliation that could easily bring it into a full-scale war.
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Trump has warned of broader US involvement in Israel’s war if Iran attempts to strike back against US military sites in the region
Full report: Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites
Live coverage: Iran strikes Israel after US attack
Iran had sought to deter Donald Trump from joining Israel’s bombing campaign with dire threats of retaliation, but its options now are limited and fraught with risk.
Iranian officials have said specifically that US ships and military bases would be targeted, but much of the capacity it had relied on as a deterrent has been stripped away over the past few days by Israeli strikes. Those strikes however, have focused on long-range ballistic missile launchers. Iran still has a formidable arsenal of shorter-range missiles and drones.
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President warned that Tehran must start peace negotiations with Israel and stop enriching uranium
US strikes Iran – follow it live
Explainer: What is Iran’s Fordow nuclear site and why was a US strike needed?
Fresh from ordering military strikes on Iran, Donald Trump on Saturday raised the specter of further attacks against the country if its leadership did not engage in peace talks in a sweeping and at times ominous televised late night address delivered from the White House.
The remarks suggested that the president, who has repeatedly said he wanted to bring peace to global conflicts, at least partly viewed the strikes against Iran’s enrichment facilities as a tactic to force negotiations – just days after he had suggested he would give Iran two weeks before deciding on an attack.
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US president Donald Trump has said the US has successfully struck three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran. This is what we know so far
US strikes Iran: follow it live
Full story: Trump announces strikes on three sites in Iran
Donald Trump announced on Saturday the US had successfully completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, and claimed that key enrichment facilities there had been “totally and completely obliterated”. The sites struck were Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.
Iranian officials said there was no danger to the residents living near the nuclear facilities hit by US strikes, according to Iranian state media. Quoting the Crisis Management Headquarters in the province of Qom, where the Fordow facility is located, the IRNA news service said “there is no danger to the people of Qom and the surrounding area”. Al Jazeera reported earlier that another official said Fordow has “long been evacuated and has not suffered any irreversible damage”. Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear and Radiologic..

Senior military figures targeted overnight as talks between Iran and Europe in Geneva end with no breakthrough
Israel’s military has said it killed two top Iranian military officials in overnight strikes as European diplomatic efforts to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table stalled.
An Israeli military official said on Saturday that Saeed Izadi, the head of the Palestine Corps of al-Quds, the foreign branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), had been killed in a strike on a flat in the city of Qom, central Iran.
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Officials tell Reuters bombers moving to Pacific Island but unclear whether deployment tied to Middle East tensions
The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
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‘Profound concern’ as administration says Afghanistan safe to return to despite dangers posed by Taliban regime
Thousands of Afghans who fled to the US as the Taliban grabbed power again in Afghanistan are in mortal dread of being deported back to danger in the coming weeks amid the Trump administration’s anti-immigration crackdown.
Many, including some who assisted US forces in Afghanistan before the botched withdrawal by the military in 2021, are contending with threats to their legal status in the US on several fronts.
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Islamabad says US president helped resolve India conflict but critic says ‘Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza’ not candidate for any prize
Pakistan has said it will recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.
The move, announced on Saturday, came as the US president mulls joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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You don’t have to be a fan of Tucker Carlson to enjoy the spectacle of a Republican civil war
You have to admit that there’s something delicious about watching Ted Cruz get served his just deserts by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In a nearly two-hour long interview on Carlson’s own channel and in Cruz’s Washington office, Carlson repeatedly grilled, roasted, and fried the Texas senator, exposing a deepening rift within the Maga movement and showing us the hollowness of our so-called leaders along the way.
You don’t have to be a fan of Carlson to enjoy the spectacle of a Republican civil war. Carlson, who once hosted a show on CNN, established his reputation on Fox News and then became “a racist demagogue and promoter of far-right disinformation and dangerous conspiracy theories”, as a 2023 profile in Mother Jones described him. While at Fox, he was for a time the highest rated personality on cable TV and was deeply influential in setting the conservative agenda. On air at Fox – ..

US defense secretary Pete Hegseth says attacks have devastated Iran’s nuclear programme
Hegseth claims US ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear sites
We’re also still awaiting reactions from the Democratic leadership in the US.
Trump’s closest supporters have posted their support for the attack on social media.
South Carolina senator Lindsay Graham says:
Good. This was the right call. The regime deserves it. Well done, President @realDonaldTrump
To my fellow citizens: We have the best Air Force in the world. It makes me so proud. Fly, Fight, Win.
The prospect of an Iranian regime acquiring nuclear weapons represents the most acute immediate threat to America and our allies.
President Trump has persistently and unequivocally stated that those threats cannot be countered without dismantling the Iranian regime’s enrichment capacity.
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