Pope suffers ‘acute’ breathing crises as he battles pneumonia: Vatican
Medics at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital administer ‘mechanical ventilation’ after pontiff’s latest health setback.
Britain is back: did Ukraine crisis talks create a post-Brexit turning point?
Keir Starmer won praise for taking the UK ‘back to the heart of Europe’ at the weekend, but will it be a long-term move?
Britain is back. That was the concise verdict of Eléonore Caroit, the vice-chair of the French national assembly’s foreign affairs committee. And the optics of Sunday’s crisis talks on Ukraine bore this out, with Keir Starmer at the very centre of the leaders’ joint photo.
“You are back on the scene, of the leadership in Europe,” Caroit told the BBC on Monday morning. James MacClearly, the Liberal Democrat MP who speaks for the party on Europe, was equally adamant, praising the prime minister for taking this chance “to bring us back to the heart of Europe where we belong”.
Continue reading...Slim majority of Americans support Ukraine, poll finds
Poll conducted before meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy says 52% of respondents ‘personally support’ Ukraine
A US poll taken before the diplomatic meltdown in the Oval Office on Friday between Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, found that only 4% of surveyed Americans are backing Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine – but a large minority of 44% said they do not support the invaded country either.
The CBS News/YouGov poll, conducted over three days beginning on 26 February, also found that a relatively slim majority – 52% – said they “personally support” Ukraine.
Continue reading...Donald Trump is picking fights with leaders around the world. What exactly is his foreign policy approach? – The Conversation
- Donald Trump is picking fights with leaders around the world. What exactly is his foreign policy approach? The Conversation
- Trump has utterly changed the rules of engagement. World leaders must learn this – and quickly | Simon Tisdall The Guardian
- Donald Trump has begun a mafia-like struggle for global power The Economist
- Opinion | The Dark Heart of Trump’s Foreign Policy The New York Times
- Column | Trump’s new world order is taking shape The Washington Post
Sirens blared in German city after car ramming
Ambulances sounded in the streets of Mannheim after a car rammed into a crowd, killing two and injuring several.
Netanyahu’s murdered Bibas children lie unravels after it was championed by Trump and world’s media – WSWS
- Netanyahu’s murdered Bibas children lie unravels after it was championed by Trump and world’s media WSWS
- 'I Don't Know What It Does for Them. I Know What It Does for Me': At the Bibas' Shiva Haaretz
- 'Could have been saved': MK reads Yarden Bibas letter to Netanyahu in Knesset The Jerusalem Post
- What Israel’s leaders, Donald Trump, and the rest of the free world owe Yarden Bibas The Times of Israel
- At Funeral for Shiri Bibas and Children, an Israeli Outpouring of Grief The New York Times
IAF attacked Assad regime military site in Syria – The Jerusalem Post
- IAF attacked Assad regime military site in Syria The Jerusalem Post
- Israel Strikes Syria Again as Tensions Rise The New York Times
- Israel says it targeted weapons depots in Syria's Qardaha with airstrikes Reuters
- Israel launches air attacks near Syria’s Tartous Al Jazeera English
- Israel carrying out mine-clearing operation near Syria border The Times of Israel
Trump’s Embrace of Russia Rocks NATO Alliance – The Wall Street Journal
- Trump’s Embrace of Russia Rocks NATO Alliance The Wall Street Journal
- Europe Is Getting Ready for the End of NATO Bloomberg
- Europe’s Moment of Truth: The Transatlantic Alliance Is Under Grave Threat—but Not Yet Doomed Foreign Affairs Magazine
- NATO prepares for a post-America alliance Axios
- Will The US Leave NATO? Officials Push Back Against Rising Doubts Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
What hurdles does Europe’s peace plan for Ukraine face?
Whatever words are used to frame the plan, enormous challenges lie ahead, the BBC's Frank Gardner writes.
Trump slams Zelenskyy for saying end of Ukraine war could be ‘far away’
US president reignites criticism of Ukrainian leader, days after berating him in the Oval Office.
Israeli anger at ceasefire delay focused on captives, not Gaza’s aid crisis
Protesters gathered outside Netanyahu's residence on Sunday, focused on plight of Israeli captives left in Gaza.
Trump threatens to lose patience as Europeans float proposals for Ukraine ceasefire – Reuters
- Trump threatens to lose patience as Europeans float proposals for Ukraine ceasefire Reuters
- France suggests partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine The Guardian
- Who's in, who's out? The 'coalition of the willing' that could secure peace in Ukraine Sky News
- UK distances itself from Emmanuel Macron’s Ukraine ceasefire proposal Financial Times
- Amid US rift with Ukraine, UK proposes peace plan with 'coalition of the willing' boots on the ground Breaking Defense
Arianespace scrubs Ariane 6’s first commercial launch due to ground systems issue – Spaceflight Now
- Arianespace scrubs Ariane 6’s first commercial launch due to ground systems issue Spaceflight Now
- Arianespace calls off 2nd-ever launch of Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket Space.com
- Watch live: Ariane 6 second flight European Space Agency
- Europe back in space with new satellite launcher EURACTIV
- Satellite launcher Ariane 6 set for blastoff in boost for Europe's space ambitions FRANCE 24 English
Spain’s rewilding of Iberian lynx at risk after lobbying by hunters and farmers
Regional governments bow to pressure from agricultural industry, often amplified by far-right Vox party
Only last year it was hailed as a conservation success story: the Iberian lynx, which had been close to extinction, had sprung back to life thanks to a two-decade-long effort to expand the population.
Now, however, that progress is at risk after several regional governments in Spain acceded to pressure from farmers and hunters to block the reintroduction of the species into the wild.
Continue reading...Trump commitment to peace in Ukraine sincere, Starmer says, but minerals deal not enough to provide US security guarantee – live
Prime minister says UK must strengthen relationship with US for security
As Jakub Krupa and Martin Belam report on our Europe live blog, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is floating proposals for a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine covering air, sea and attacks on critical infrastructure.
In interviews this morning, Luke Pollard, the defence minister, played down reports that this is a plan that Britain is formally backing. Asked about French government claims to this effect, he replied:
No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like, and so I don’t recognise the precise part you mentioned there. But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how … we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine.
You wouldn’t expect me to get into the details of what that plan looks like, because at the moment, the only person that would benefit from those details being put in the public domain before any plan is agreed would be President Putin.
Continue reading...UK rail passengers may lose patience as problems take years to fix, says minister
Lord Hendy says important changes are happening but they follow ‘six years of torpor’
Passengers may lose patience with the government before it can make the changes needed to fix the railway, the rail minister, Lord Hendy, admitted, as he promised that action was coming after “years of torpor”.
The government is midway through a consultation on plans for a reformed, integrated Great British Railways (GBR), with legislation to enact it coming later in 2025, Hendy said.
Continue reading...Trump says 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico will begin Tuesday
US president says measures will go ahead despite efforts by Mexican and Canadian officials to find a way around.
Adrien Brody breaks record for longest ever Oscar acceptance speech
The actor, who won for The Brutalist, spoke for five minutes and forty seconds, beating Greer Garson in 1943
Adrien Brody has broken the record for the longest ever Oscars acceptance speech.
The 51-year-old, who picked up his second best actor Oscar on Sunday, spoke for five minutes and 40 seconds, beating Greer Garson, who spoke for five minutes and 30 seconds when she accepted for Mrs Miniver in 1943.
Continue reading...Jubilant Brazilians hail I’m Still Here’s Oscar as landmark in fight for justice
Walter Salles’s dictatorship-era movie turns focus on dark time in country’s history and more recent coup attempt
Ahead of the Oscars ceremony, Brazil’s Fernanda Torres – star of Walter Salles’s dictatorship-era movie I’m Still Here – had warned her compatriots not to get into a “World Cup fever” over the Academy Awards.
Her plea went in vain on Sunday night, however, as crowds across the country – already gathered to celebrate carnival – erupted in joy over Brazil’s first-ever Oscar win, for best international feature.
Continue reading...Basic supplies difficult to find amid Gaza aid restrictions
Accessing food, water, and medicine became nearly impossible due to Israel’s decision to block aid deliveries to Gaza.