Art of a deal: how UK and France led dogged effort to repair US-Ukraine ties – for now

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Over 11 days of breakneck diplomacy, Kyiv was convinced of need to pacify Trump, but reconciliation may be all too brief

The 11 days of whiplash-inducing talks British and French officials endured to repair shattered relations between Washington and Kyiv, and for the first time put Donald Trump’s trust in Vladimir Putin to the test, could go down as one of the great feats of diplomatic escapology.

The dogged fence-mending may yet unravel as hurdles remain, principally the outstanding question of Ukraine’s security guarantees, but for the first time, in the words of Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, the ball is in Russia’s court. Putin, by instinct cautious, has preferred watching from the sidelines, suppressing his delight as Trump denounced Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his face in the White House and wreaked subsequent vengeance by stopping all military aid and then pulling some US intelligence.

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Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda could keep the world hooked on oil and gas

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The US president is making energy deals with Japan and Ukraine, and in Africa has even touted resurrecting coal

Donald Trump’s repeated mantra of “drill, baby, drill” demands that more oil and gas be extracted in the United States, but the president has set his sights on an even broader goal: keeping the world hooked on planet-heating fossil fuels for as long as possible.

In deals being formulated with countries such as Japan and Ukraine, Trump is using US leverage in tariffs and military aid to bolster the flow of oil and gas around the world. In Africa, his administration has even touted the resurrection of coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, to bring energy to the continent.

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Pope rests well overnight, follows Spiritual Exercises amid improvement – Vatican News – English

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  1. Pope rests well overnight, follows Spiritual Exercises amid improvement  Vatican News - English
  2. Pope Francis notching important milestones this week as he recovers from pneumonia in Rome hospital  NBC News
  3. Pope begins 27th day in hospital after resting peacefully overnight  ABC News
  4. Pope Francis No Longer in Immediate Danger From Pneumonia, Vatican Says  The New York Times
  5. Papal anniversary: For 12 years he's said, 'Don't forget to pray for me'  USCCB
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China, Russia, Iran to hold nuclear talks in Beijing on Friday – Reuters

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  1. China, Russia, Iran to hold nuclear talks in Beijing on Friday  Reuters
  2. Iran’s nuclear programme in focus in China, Russia and US  Al Jazeera English
  3. Iran, China and Russia huddle for nuclear talks while UN meets behind closed doors on possible sanctions  Fox News
  4. Iran, Russia, China set to discuss Iran’s nuclear program in meeting  The Jerusalem Post
  5. China to hold Beijing meeting between China, Russia, Iran on Iranian nuclear issue  Global Times
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Online Influencer Is Killed While Livestreaming in Tokyo – The New York Times

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  1. Online Influencer Is Killed While Livestreaming in Tokyo  The New York Times
  2. Japanese Influencer Murdered While Livestreaming on the Street  Gizmodo
  3. Woman fatally stabbed in Tokyo while livestreaming  Kyodo News Plus
  4. Woman hacked to death during live stream is not Japanese voice actress Ai Mogami  Hong Kong Standard
  5. Suspect 'traveled to Tokyo' upon seeing heads-up video before fatally stabbing livestreamer  The Mainichi
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Biased laws and poverty driving huge rise in female prisoners – report

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First such study finds laws on abortion, debt and dress help increase rate of women being jailed twice as fast as for men

Poverty, abuse and discriminatory laws are driving a huge rise in the number of women in prison globally, according to a new report.

With the rise of the far right and an international backlash against women’s rights, the research said there was a risk that laws would increasingly be used to target women, forcing more behind bars.

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Tracking Trump: Ukraine aid to resume; House passes bill to keep government open; new tariff threats; and more – The Washington Post

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  1. Tracking Trump: Ukraine aid to resume; House passes bill to keep government open; new tariff threats; and more  The Washington Post
  2. March 11, 2025: Donald Trump presidency news  CNN
  3. Morning Report — Senate takes up spending bill; Trump backs off on Canada tariffs  The Hill
  4. Daily Audio Newscast - March 12, 2025  Kiowa County Press
  5. PRIME TIME POLITICS: House passes funding bill, trade war escalating, Trump meets with CEOs - clipped version  Local News Live
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‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading

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Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items

The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet have cancelled a summer tour of the US.

“There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on,” Tetzlaff said, describing his horror at the authoritarian polices of Donald Trump and the response of US elites to the country’s growing democratic crisis.

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Yemen’s Houthi rebels say ‘any Israeli vessel’ in nearby Mideast waterways again a target – The Associated Press

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  1. Yemen’s Houthi rebels say ‘any Israeli vessel’ in nearby Mideast waterways again a target  The Associated Press
  2. Houthi rebels in Yemen say they're resuming attacks on Israeli ships  CBS News
  3. 'The Houthis, like Iran and Hamas, use us Palestinians as slogans'  Haaretz
  4. Yemen’s Houthis to resume shipping attacks over Gaza aid cutoff  Al Jazeera English
  5. Houthis Vow to Resume Attacks on Israeli Ships Over Gaza Aid  Bloomberg
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Australia news live: Dutton criticises PM’s ‘shocker’ after Trump tariff decision; suspicious packages wash up on Queensland beaches

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The prime minister has ruled out imposing reciprocal tariffs on the US. Follow today’s news live

Trump tariff decision bad for Australia-US ties – Butler

Mark Butler said the US tariff decision was “bad for our relationship” when asked whether it had a damaging effect on international relations on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.

This is a disappointing decision. It’s a bad economic decision. It’s bad for our relationship. It’s bad for the US, ultimately, because we think that the exports we send to them - which are significantly less than the exports they send to us - are good for the US economy. They’re good for US industry. They’re particularly good for defence, which is an important area of cooperation.

We think this is a bad decision that’s disappointing, and we’ll continue to press the case for it.

We’ve only been going at this for almost seven weeks that President Trump has been back in office. We intend to continue to press the case at the highest level – particularly ambassador Rudd has been relentless in this, meeting with officials almost constantly to press the American case. We’ve had a lot of senior ministerial engagement.

Obviously the prime minister has spoken directly with the president. We’ll continue to do that. It’s not only in Australia’s interest – which for us, is the most important thing – we’re confident, we’re very sure it’s in both of our interests’ interest to continue the open trade that has characterised particularly the last 20 years under the US FTA.

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Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers demand he is returned to the Philippines after ICC arrest

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Daughter accuses government of ‘kidnapping’ the former president as victims of his ‘war on drugs’ express jubilation over his arrest

Lawyers for the former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte have demanded that he be returned to Manila in a petition filed to the supreme court, as victims of the former leaders’ bloody “war on drugs” expressed jubilation.

Duterte, who was flown to The Hague on Tuesday night to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to anti-drugs crackdowns is the first former Asian leader to be served an arrest warrant filed by the ICC. Activists say as many as 30,000 people were killed in the “war on drugs”.

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