Cherry blossoms, steak and Paul Simon: the Bidens put on a show for Japan’s PM

Fumio and Yuko Kishida honoured with state dinner to recognise ‘flourishing’ relationship between US and Japan, says Jill Biden

Dry-aged rib eye steak, cherry blossoms and Paul Simon playing a selection of his songs will be the centerpieces of a state dinner the White House is hosting for Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, and his wife, Yuko. More than 200 guests are expected to attend.

A lavish state dinner is a tool of US diplomacy, and a high honour that is used sparingly and only to America’s closest allies. In the case of Japan, Joe Biden has chosen to celebrate an ally that he sees as a cornerstone of his policy toward the Indo-Pacific region.

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Netanyahu making a ‘mistake’ on Gaza, says Biden, as he urges Israel to push for ceasefire

US president gives some of his strongest criticism of Israeli PM yet, saying he needs to ‘empower’ Israel’s negotiators to call for a truce

US president Joe Biden has said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach on Gaza was a “mistake” and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire, in an interview that aired on Tuesday.

Biden’s comments were some of his strongest criticism yet of Netanyahu amid growing tensions over the civilian death toll from Israel’s war on Hamas and dire conditions inside Gaza.

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Woman sentenced to prison for stealing and selling Biden’s daughter’s diary

Aimee Harris of Florida sold Ashley Biden’s diary to conservative group Project Veritas in actions judge called ‘despicable’

A Florida woman was sentenced Tuesday to a month in prison and three months of home confinement for stealing and selling Joe Biden’s daughter’s diary four years ago to the conservative group Project Veritas.

Aimee Harris was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Laura Taylor Swain, the judge who called the Palm Beach, Florida, woman’s actions “despicable”.

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Trump to seek federal investigations of Biden if re-elected, report says

‘Trump ally’ tells Axios federal charges all were precedent ex-president would need to prosecute Biden in turn

Donald Trump will seek to mount federal investigations and prosecutions of Joe Biden and his family if Trump wins re-election this year, the news site Axios reported.

“Everything you have seen from the Biden Department of Justice you can expect to see from the Trump DoJ,” a source “close to the Trump campaign” was quoted as saying.

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‘I will not dance’: Olaf Scholz joins TikTok with a promise

German chancellor follows in the footsteps of Joe Biden and other leaders on social media platform

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has opened a TikTok account, promising he will not be seen dancing on the social media platform popular with young people.

The newest official government channel “increases the information offer to citizens, who increasingly inform themselves and discuss politics on TikTok”, Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said in a statement.

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TSMC to make state-of-the-art chips in US after multibillion subsidy pledge

World’s most valuable chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor to set up third facility in Arizona using funding from Biden policy

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is to build its most advanced chips in Arizona after receiving a pledge of as much as $11.6bn in US government subsidy as part of Joe Biden’s efforts to attract computer chip production.

TSMC, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, says it aims to start producing the two-nanometre chips at a new factory in Phoenix, Arizona, by 2028.

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David Cameron warns of Gaza famine as UK sends Royal Navy ship to boost aid effort

Move to join US-led maritime corridor follows international fury at last week’s killing of seven aid workers

The Royal Navy was ordered into action on Saturday to help supply desperately needed aid to Gaza, as the foreign secretary, David Cameron, warned that the Palestinian people trapped there were on the brink of famine.

With the UK and US governments under intense pressure to halt arms sales to Israel, Downing Street said on Saturday that ministers would instead boost support for a planned new maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, to channel “life-saving aid” by sea to a population in urgent need of basic food supplies.

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‘He can help Trump win’: US groups take on RFK Jr after No Labels stands down

Advocacy groups raise alarm over threat of third-party candidate: ‘anyone who divides the anti-Trump coalition is dangerous’

Celebrating the demise of No Labels as a third-party presidential election threat, two advocacy groups who mobilised against it have said they would now turn their sights on Robert F Kennedy Jr’s independent run for the White House.

Though it is hard to make solid predictions, a high-profile third-party run in 2024 unnerves both Republicans and Democrats who fear it might siphon off their votes. But the nervousness is especially pronounced among supporters of Joe Biden, who worry such a campaign could split the center and left and allow Donald Trump and his highly motivated rightwing base to win a return to the Oval Office.

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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson says he will not repeat Joe Biden endorsement

Wrestler and actor endorsed president and Kamala Harris in 2020 but tells Fox News that for 2024 he will ‘keep my politics to myself’

The wrestler turned action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson dealt a blow to Joe Biden, saying he would not repeat his endorsement of the president in his looming rematch with Donald Trump.

Johnson endorsed Biden in his first contest with Trump four years ago, saluting the former vice-president and senator for his “compassion, heart, drive and soul”.

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No Labels national director says he will vote for Joe Biden

Joe Cunningham says ‘I would vote for Biden over Trump’ after third-party group dropped effort to run own candidate

The national director of No Labels, the third-party group which on Thursday said it would not run a candidate in the US presidential election, will now vote for Joe Biden, not Donald Trump.

“Me, as a person?” Joe Cunningham told Fox News. “I would vote for Biden over Trump.”

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UN body calls for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes

Human rights council adopts resolution as Israel opens new routes into Gaza after Biden-Netanyahu phone call

The UN human rights council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution came as Israel finally succumbed to unprecedented US pressure and opened new food corridors into Gaza.

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Biden tells Netanyahu Gaza aid strikes ‘unacceptable’ and Israel must end civilian suffering to keep US support – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:

Jill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.

At a meeting with Muslim community members on Tuesday, a guest told Biden that his wife had disapproved of him attending the event because of the president’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza, the New York Times reported yesterday. The report states:

Mr Biden replied that he understood. The first lady, he said, had been urging him to ‘Stop it, stop it now,’ according to an attendee who heard his remarks.

Just like the president, the first lady is heartbroken over the attacks on aid workers and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza. They both want Israel to do more to protect civilians.

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Biden and Trump sweep four primaries including battleground state Wisconsin

Both candidates have clinched nominations, but Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin turnout may hint at 2024 results

Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump won primary elections in four states, including the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.

Hundreds of delegates were up for grabs in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin on Tuesday, and Biden and Trump have already amassed enough delegates to win their respective nominations. But the turnout could provide more clues about the general election in November.

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Biden says Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and calls for inquiry

US president ‘outraged and heartbroken’ after IDF drone attack killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen in Gaza

Joe Biden has said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.

“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” the US president said, in comments that were highly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

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Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut primaries: follow live results

Voters cast ballots in four states including key battleground for Trump and Biden. Get up to speed with the results as they come in

Voters in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin cast ballots in the presidential primaries on Tuesday. Much attention will be paid to Wisconsin, where voters will signal strength and weaknesses in the critical swing state for Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

There are also options in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Wisconsin for voters to choose “uncommitted” in a show of protest against Biden’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.

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Biden and Xi seek to manage tensions in phone call as US officials head to China

Presidents clashed over Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology in first direct interaction since November

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping have clashed in a telephone call about Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology, but sought to manage their tensions as two top US officials prepare to visit Beijing.

The nearly two-hour telephone conversation on Tuesday was the two leaders’ first direct interaction since a summit in November in California that saw a marked thaw in tone, if not the long-term rivalry, between the world’s two largest economies.

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Biden faces test in Wisconsin as Gaza supporters call for ‘uninstructed’ vote

Voters will also potentially enshrine two state amendments that some say could have a negative impact on elections administration

Voters in Wisconsin cast their ballots today in an election that will test voter enthusiasm for Joe Biden and Donald Trump – and potentially enshrine two amendments in the state constitution impacting election administration across the state.

The president and former president are already the presumptive nominees and will almost certainly face off in the general election in November, and it seems that the threat of prosecution, general unpopularity and advanced age can’t stop them.

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Trump rebuked for sharing video showing Biden hog-tied on pickup truck

Biden campaign communications director says image could be construed as suggesting physical harm towards president

Donald Trump drew an angry response from the Joe Biden White House as well as other opponents after he posted a video containing the image of the president hog-tied on the tailgate of a passing pickup truck.

The Biden campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, said the provocative image of the truck festooned with Trump 2024 insignia on Friday night could be construed as suggesting physical harm toward the former president’s political rival.

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Senate Democrats demand end to rightwing ‘judge shopping’ but move draws immediate attack from Republicans – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. You can read all our politics news here

Why did Russia arrest Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and what might they want in return for his release? The Guardian’s Julian Borger looks into the question, one year into the American journalist’s detention:

Friday marks the grim first anniversary of the day when masked Russian officers grabbed Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist, at a steakhouse in Yekaterinburg where he was waiting to eat on a reporting trip.

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‘Join us’: Biden campaign urges Haley supporters to turn against Trump

Campaign ad shows clips of Trump disparaging Republican rival as president courts ‘broad and diverse coalition of voters’

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign released an ad targeting Republicans who supported Nikki Haley in her losing primary against Donald Trump.

“If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote,” the president’s campaign ad says. “Save America. Join us.”

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