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1 hour ago
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Ukraine war briefing: Allies give nod for Kyiv to reproduce their air-defence missiles
Proposal comes amid critical shortages of air defence ammunition; leaders at France summit hail renewed focus on pressuring Russia. What we know on day 1,576 Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 hour ago
UK officials expect Russia to retaliate for seizure of shadow fleet oil tanker
No formal warning issued to captains or ship owners, but industry body says they are exercising greater vigilanceBritish officials believe Russia will try to retaliate for the Royal Marines’ seizure of the oil tanker Smyrtos, prompting UK ship owners to exercise greater vigilance until tensions with Moscow ease.Military sources said the UK had considered possible responses to the seizure of the vessel carrying Russian crude worth $40m (£30m) to India, and anticipate that the Kremlin will want to hit back. Continue reading...
The Guardian
8 hours ago
French police authorised to use water cannon on asylum seekers in £660m deal with UK
Refugee charity says decision to let riot police use water cannon, which are banned in Great Britain, is ‘sickening’French riot police deployed in northern France under a £660m deal with the UK are authorised to use water cannon against asylum seekers, the Guardian has been told.Two specialist policing units, including a 50-officer riot squad, have begun working to prevent asylum seekers and people smugglers from launching small boats under the UK-France deal in time for the summer months. Continue reading...
The Guardian
8 hours ago
Golden ticket: why Versailles invite is the ‘real deal’ for Trump
The US president’s opulent tastes will be well served in a palace that has hosted Putin, King Charles and JFKFor a US president who has likened himself to a king and redecorated the Oval Office with golden paint and gold ornaments, it feels like the perfect dinner venue.Donald Trump said one of the deciding factors in accepting an invitation to dine with Emmanuel Macron at the spectacular, 2,300-room Palace of Versailles was that it was “not gold leaf” but the “real deal”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
9 hours ago
Macron hails US alignment with G7’s ‘shared commitment’ on Ukraine
French president welcomes group’s unity after ‘very deep change’ in Washington’s approach Emmanuel Macron has said the whole of the G7, including the US, recognises “the territorial integrity of Ukraine” as he hailed a “re-synchronisation” of positions on the issue.The French president welcomed a “very deep change in the US approach”, saying Donald Trump and all the leaders present at the G7 summit at Évian-les-Bains understood that Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace. Continue reading...
The Guardian
9 hours ago
Trump tells G7 summit he hopes Europe ‘finds its way’ on immigration and energy – as it happened
This blog has now closed – see all our coverage of the G7 summit hereRutte says the adjustment in the US pledge to the Nato Force Model is “not primarily about where forces and assets are currently, but about who would do what if our defence plans were activated.”He says historically the model was “overly reliant” on the US.“You will likely have seen news adjusting its contributions to the Nato force model. In some cases, this has been cast as a problem, as the US pulling away from its allies, but that is not the reality. The US has made clear that it is committed to Nato.That commitment comes with an expectation that allies will more fairly share the responsibility for our security here in Europe.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
9 hours ago
Burnham says he wants to ensure Makerfield byelection ‘changes British politics’, in eve-of-poll speech – as it happened
This blog has now closed. See all our UK politics coverage hereAndy Burnham may have trouble getting through to Keir Starmer if he tries ringing him after the Makerfield byelection to urge him to set a timetable for his departure. Burnham reportedly wants to call Starmer this weekend. (See 9.47am.) But, in his interview with Sky News, Starmer said: “I’m sure I’ll talk to Andy after the weekend.”If Starmer declines to take Burnham’s call, he may be following Ed Miliband’s example. In a Times story today, Patrick Maguire and Steven Swinford report:Sir Keir Starmer’s relationship with Ed Miliband has broken down to such an extent that the energy secretary has been accused of “ghosting” the prime minister in recent weeks.Senior government sources claimed that Miliband declined to take calls from the prime minister during a tense stand-off over defence spending. Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 hours ago
Why did Russian warship fire warning shots in the Channel? – The Latest
Keir Starmer has called the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship at a British yacht sailing across the Channel on Tuesday ‘deeply concerning and reckless’.Russia’s defence ministry said the yacht was on a ‘dangerous course’ and several attempts were made to contact it – a claim disputed by the retired couple onboard the 40ft yacht.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 hours ago
Russia warship fires warning shot at British couple – The Latest
Keir Starmer has called the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship at a British yacht sailing across the Channel on Tuesday ‘deeply concerning and reckless’.Russia’s defence ministry said the yacht was on a ‘dangerous course’ and several attempts were made to contact it – a claim disputed by the retired couple onboard the 40ft yacht.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
The Guardian
10 hours ago
Starmer warns against ‘looking backwards’ to Brexit after rivals back UK’s return to EU
Speaking at the G7 summit, prime minister says he stands by Labour’s manifesto pledge not to rejoin blocThe UK and the European Union should not waste time “looking backwards” to Brexit, Keir Starmer said on Wednesday, as he comes under pressure to reconsider rejoining the EU.The prime minister reaffirmed his government’s manifesto commitment to not re-enter the bloc, but said there had been “real progress” with the relationship, which was “slowly but surely building”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
11 hours ago
Ancient DNA provides evidence of earliest known plague outbreak
Discovery in Siberia suggests bacterium from raw marmots devastated hunter-gatherer tribes about 5,500 years agoThe earliest evidence for an outbreak of plague has been uncovered at late stone age cemeteries in south-eastern Siberia where dozens of hunter-gatherers and their children were buried.Ancient DNA collected from the remains suggests the disease tore through the sparse communities in devastating waves that began about 5,500 years ago, at least two centuries after the bacterium responsible, Yersinia pestis, first emerged. Continue reading...
The Guardian
12 hours ago
Labour came to power with no big idea for relations with EU, says former top diplomat
Ivan Rogers, Britain’s EU ambassador from 2013 to 2017, says party’s ideas did not ‘remotely measure up’ to challengeLabour arrived in power with no big idea on the UK’s future relationship with the EU, a former British ambassador to Brussels has said.Ivan Rogers, Britain’s EU ambassador from 2013 to 2017, said Labour presented “a ragbag of issues” on the EU in its manifesto, which did not “remotely measure up to the challenge of the times” and would “make no measurable difference to the UK macroeconomy”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
17 hours ago
Lib Dems to urge Labour to drop ‘torpor and timidity’ on EU and rejoin single market
Exclusive: Ed Davey to make call ahead of 10th anniversary of Brexit vote, in strengthening of party’s position on EUThe Lib Dems will urge Andy Burnham to end Labour’s “torpor and timidity” towards the EU as they call for the UK to rejoin the single market, in a notable strengthening of their own position.Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote next week, Ed Davey will challenge Burnham to scrap Labour’s red lines on the customs union and single market if he becomes prime minister and immediately begin talks on a more ambitious deal with the EU. Continue reading...
The Guardian
22 hours ago
The Guardian view on defending Europe in a new era: collaboration is the key | Editorial
The recent abandonment of plans for a Franco-German fighter jet sent a disastrous signal. Strategic autonomy will be jointly achieved or not at allIt has become a truism to assert that Europe needs to fast-track its own strategic independence in a volatile world. A recent paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations describes the continent’s leaders as grappling with “a ‘Schrödinger’s NATO’ moment, in which America remains formally inside the alliance while behaving as though it were not, just as the Russian threat looms larger”. Donald Trump’s United States has become at best an unreliable and at times reluctant ally, as Vladimir Putin’s revanchist ambitions have exposed the need to strengthen Europe’s defences.But if the goal of greater autonomy is to be achieved, far better coordination of resources and cooperation between national defence industries will be required. Neither has been much in evidence this month, with France and Germany abandoning a joint £100bn project to build a new fighter jet as part of an updated Future Combat Air System. Originally launched by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel in 2017, plans for the jet were pulled as a result of irresolvable disagreements between Dassault, the French aviation company involved, and Airbus, the European aerospace company whose defence unit is based in Germany.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Starmer’s waning influence is apparent at awkward G7 summit
British prime minister was left making small talk unsure if a meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy was going aheadThe wait for Keir Starmer’s first session of the G7 gathering in Évian-les-Bains was undoubtedly awkward. A meeting about the future of Ukraine had been due to start at 9am but more than half an hour later, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron were nowhere to be seen.On a live Reuters feed, Starmer could be seen standing next to the leaders of Canada and Japan as they milled about making small talk. “Are they, are they having a meeting?” the British prime minister could be heard asking. If he was referring to the missing attenders, and they were indeed having a meeting, it was clear he hadn’t been invited. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Zelenskyy’s clever play to win over Trump at G7 - The Latest
Donald Trump has urged Russia to ‘make a deal’ with Ukraine as the leaders of G7 countries meet on Tuesday and try to put the conflict back at the top of the agenda. European leaders are hoping to capture Trump’s attention for long enough to speak to him about Ukraine, with the US president’s focus more on the US-Israeli war against Iran. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Starmer carries on regardless as G7 leaders ponder question of leaving gift | John Crace
‘I am going to fight on,’ said the PM. Perhaps his delusion was more deep-rooted than the others had fearedShortly before he arrived in Évian at the beginning of the week, Emmanuel Macron set up a new WhatsApp group for world leaders. Keir Starmer wasn’t included. Call it the G6, if you like. The idea was to have a safe space to discuss how best to deal with the UK prime minister. Should they confront head-on that this was going to be his last G7? That next year’s outing would be an athleisure occasion with Andy Burnham (T-shirts just a tad on the small size)? Should they club together to buy him a leaving present? A French World Cup football shirt signed by all of them?Or was it best not to mention it at all? Just proceed on the basis that this was a perfectly normal occasion and they would all soon be meeting again at another global get-together. Nothing to see here. A quick competition for a photo opportunity with President Zelenskyy, a few jokes, promises to make the world a better place and then everyone goes home without acknowledging that Keir is about to get booted out of their select club. At least Starmer was bringing his wife, Victoria. Maybe she would get to say a few goodbyes. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
German chancellor Merz gives Trump football shirt gift at G7 – video
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, gave Donald Trump a German national team football shirt as the leaders of the G7 gathered on Tuesday to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine. The shirt was printed with Trump’s name and the number 47 on the back, a reference to him being the 47th US president. Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich, was born in Kallstadt, Germany in 1869. The German national team kicked off their World Cup campaign in Houston, US, with a 7-1 win against CuraçaoEurope live Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
I’ve found a way to get free ferries to France – and I can’t believe my luck | Zoe Williams
While taking the boat to Dunkirk, I stumbled upon a remarkable deal. I’ve barely been on dry land sinceIn February, my sister and I took the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk. On the way back, I noticed there was a deal: spend €150 (£130) in duty free and get a free day-trip ticket. If you love Toblerone and know anyone who smokes, you can spend that without even blinking – and so it came to pass that I was back on the ferry within a month.This was when I started to perfect the art of the day trip, even though I didn’t yet realise this would be the beginning of a beautiful loop. You arrive and go to the coast, which looks like Saint-Tropez when the sun is out, because even though Dunkirk is not a famous holiday destination, it is still France. Then you go to Carrefour and spend ages saying: “How is this fizzy wine €4.68? I wonder if it’ll be nice. Only one way to find out – buy 24 bottles of it.” You get back on the boat to return to Britain, which is where things get weird, because the offer is still on. Well, I still love Toblerone and I still know someone who smokes. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
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