Trump dismisses Signal security failure as ‘the only glitch in two months’

President says national security adviser Mike Waltz, suspected of adding journalist to chat, ‘has learned a lesson’

Donald Trump defended his embattled national security adviser on Tuesday and said the leak of highly classified military plans was “the only glitch in two months”, as scrutiny intensified into how top US officials shared operational details for bombing Yemen in a group chat.

In an interview with NBC, the president said, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” as Democrats called for an investigation into the sharing of the plans for this month’s major airstrikes in Yemen on the Signal app. Later on Tuesday, during a meeting with ambassadors, Trump said his administration would investigate the incident but claimed “there was no classified information” shared on Signal.

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Danish PM accuses US of ‘unacceptable pressure’ as JD Vance says he will join Greenland visit

US vice-president says he will join unsolicited visit to Arctic island, which Mette Frederiksen says is ‘not what Greenland needs or wants’

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, has accused the US of putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland – which she has vowed to resist – before an unsolicited visit to the Arctic island by members of the Trump administration.

Later, just hours after her comments, the White House sprang a fresh surprise, as the US vice-president, JD Vance, announced he would join his wife on a trip to the territory this week.

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Tuesday briefing: Why every candidate in Canada’s snap election is running against Donald Trump

In today’s newsletter: With elbows up on both sides, two very different political operators – Mark Carney and the Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre – attempt to fend off threats from the south

Good morning. When Justin Trudeau announced he would be resigning as Canada’s prime minister in January, he did so amid surging support for the Conservative opposition and a sense that its Trump-adjacent leader, Pierre Poilievre, might be the right candidate for a new political era. The Liberals’ near-decade in power appeared to be close to an end.

Now, Trudeau’s successor, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, has called a snap general election against a dramatically different political backdrop. With Donald Trump’s tariff war and musings about Canada’s future as a 51st state the inescapable mood music, many voters who had given up on the Liberals appear ready to give them another hearing – and Poilievre is trying to distance himself from the president whose methods he was once so happy to adopt.

Trump administration | A catastrophic security leak triggered outrage in US politics after senior Trump administration officials accidentally broadcast highly sensitive military plans through a Signal group chat with a journalist reading along. The stunning breach implicates key figures in the Trump administration including the vice-president, JD Vance.

Domestic violence | Domestic abusers are driving their victims to suicide, police have warned, as they admitted to past mistakes and pledged to investigate more “hidden” cases of violence against women. The concession came as deaths by suicide among victims of domestic abuse surpassed the number of people killed by an intimate partner for a second year in a row.

UK economy | Rachel Reeves will put £2bn into affordable housing in a bid to “sweeten the pill” of the spending cuts being announced at this week’s spring statement. The chancellor will set out one of the tightest budget buffers on record, with the Office for Budget Responsibility expected to put the government about £5bn in the red.

Turkey | Turkish authorities have arrested more than 1,100 people including journalists, while bombarding the social media platform X with requests to block hundreds of accounts after tens of thousands took to the streets in the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Archaeology | One of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK has been revealed, potentially altering our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. More than 800 objects were unearthed in a field near the village of Melsonby, North Yorkshire dating back to the first century.

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Australia’s science agency sent questions from Trump administration asking if it aligns with US government interests

Questions include whether science organisation receives funding from China, and whether it is a climate or ‘environmental justice’ project

The Australian government’s scientific agency joins more than a dozen universities that have been sent a questionnaire from the Trump administration asking to confirm if they align with US government interests.

On Tuesday, the CSIRO revealed it had received the correspondence from the US. A spokesperson at the CSIRO said it was aware of a “small number” of researchers who had received the questionnaire in recent weeks and was “determining an appropriate response”.

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Ukraine accuses Moscow of ‘hollow statements about peace’ after latest attack

Ukrainian officials say 88 injured in missile strike as US and Russian officials start talks on ceasefire deal

Ukraine has accused Moscow of making “hollow statements about peace” after 88 people were injured in a Russian missile attack as US and Russian officials began talks that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace.

Seventeen children were among the casualties after the missile hit schools and residential buildings in the city of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said late on Monday, as Moscow appeared to be exploiting the window before any ceasefire to launch attacks on Ukraine.

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US and Russia begin talks in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine ceasefire

Uncertainty remains over how and when 30-day halt on energy strikes would take effect amid a gulf on expectations

US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump pushes to broker a limited ceasefire that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a one-month halt on strikes on energy infrastructure after Trump spoke with the countries’ leaders last week. But uncertainty remains over how and when the partial ceasefire would take effect – and whether its scope would extend beyond energy infrastructure to include other critical sites, such as hospitals, bridges, and vital utilities.

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Mark Carney laments Canada’s lost friendship with US in visit to 9/11 town

Canadian PM makes remarks on visit to Newfoundland town that sheltered US airline passengers after attacks

Mark Carney has lamented Canada’s lost friendship with the United States as he visited the town that sheltered thousands of stranded American airline passengers after the 9/11 attacks.

The Canadian prime minister’s visit to Gander, Newfoundland, on the second day of a national election campaign comes against the backdrop of a trade war and sovereignty threats from Donald Trump.

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Ukraine war live: US and Russia start ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia as Zelenskyy says Putin must give ‘real order’ to stop attacks

Washington expresses optimism with latest round of negotiations beginning in Riyadh a day after Kyiv said it had ‘constructive’ US talks

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) say they have destroyed four Russian military helicopters in Russian border region of Belgorod using US-made Himars missiles with cluster munitions.

The SSO said, in a post on X, that two Ka-52 strike helicopters and two Mi-8 transport helicopters were concealed in a “hidden position” used for “rapid redeployment or attacks against Ukraine”.

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Anger in Greenland over visits this week by Usha Vance and Mike Waltz

Greenland’s prime minister says trip is ‘demonstration of power’ and accuses US of interfering in its political affairs

Greenland’s prime minister has accused Washington of interfering in its political affairs with the visit of an American delegation this week to the Arctic island coveted by the US president, Donald Trump.

“It should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,” Múte Egede said on Monday, adding that the planned visit by the second lady, Usha Vance, along with the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, “cannot be seen as just a private visit”.

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Tiger Woods confirms relationship with Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law

  • Golfer announces relationship on social media
  • Vanessa Trump was married to Donald Trump Jr

Tiger Woods has confirmed he is in a relationship with Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump.

Woods announced the news on Sunday. “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together,” Woods wrote on X to his 6.4 millions followers … At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”

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Gulf in US and Russian expectations marks start of latest ceasefire talks

As Washington signals hope for ‘real progress’, Moscow warns ‘difficult negotiations’ lie ahead

US and Ukrainian officials have met for further talks aimed at hammering out a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Washington signalling its hope for “real progress” even as Moscow warned that “difficult negotiations” lie ahead.

The gulf in expectations marked the start of the latest round of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, which was set to follow with a meeting between American officials and Russia on Monday. The US is pushing for a broad ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine by 20 April, according to Bloomberg, though sources said the timeline may slip given the wide gap that exists between Kyiv and Moscow’s positions.

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South African ambassador expelled from US welcomed home by supporters

Ebrahim Rasool, declared persona non grata by Washington, was surrounded by crowds at Cape Town airport

The South African ambassador who was expelled from the US and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration was welcomed home on Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him.

Crowds at Cape Town International airport surrounded Ebrahim Rasool and his wife Rosieda as they emerged in the arrivals terminal in their home town, and they needed a police escort to help them navigate their way through the building.

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Starmer is warned against ‘appeasing’ Trump with tax cut for US tech firms

Labour MP and Lib Dem leader express concern social media companies could be let off hook just as benefits are cut

Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs.

His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon.

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Canada to head to polls as Mark Carney calls snap election for 28 April

Prime minister launches contest expected to focus on US relations, as Liberals enjoy lead over Conservatives

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has called a snap election on 28 April, firing the starting gun on a contest that is widely expected to focus on the strained relationship with the US amid threats to Canada’s economic and political future.

“We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetime because of President [Donald] Trump’s unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty,” he said. “He wants to break us, so America can own us. We will not let this happen. We’re over the shock the shock of the betrayal, but we can never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. We have to look out for each other.”

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Trump’s expansionism threatens the rules-based order in place since second world war

UN charter says members ‘shall refrain from the threat or use of force’ against a country’s territory or independence

The post-second world war taboo on acquiring territory through force or by the threat of force is being unravelled by a generation of political leaders, led by expansionist threats from Donald Trump that are unprecedented for a US president.

Experts are warning that a combination of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and Trump’s comments explicitly pushing for the US to acquire Greenland, Canada, the Panama canal and Gaza is fuelling a permissive environment that threatens long-recognised borders and the international rules-based order that has existed since the end of the war.

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‘I’m not stepping down’: Chuck Schumer defies Democrats’ calls over funding bill

Party leader faces backlash over his decision to support Republican-led bill to avoid government shutdown

Chuck Schumer defied calls to give up the top Democratic position in the Senate after he voted for Republicans’ funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, saying on Sunday: “I’m not stepping down.”

Schumer has faced a wave of backlash from Democrats over his decision to support the Republican-led bill, with many Democrats alleging that the party leader isn’t doing enough to stand up to Donald Trump’s agenda.

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Keir Starmer says he ‘likes and respects’ Donald Trump

PM agrees with US president that Europe must bear greater burden for its collective self-defence

Keir Starmer has spoken of how he personally “likes and respects” the US president, Donald Trump, and understands what he is trying to achieve.

The prime minister made the comments in an interview with the New York Times, saying: “President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe.”

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Chinese premier meets pro-Trump senator and calls for ‘dialogue over confrontation’

Meeting comes as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington

Republican senator Steve Daines, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday, as China hopes to reach a deal to avert further tariff pressure from Washington.

The meeting marks the first time a US politician has visited China since Trump took office in January. Earlier this month, China’s ministry of foreign affairs promised that China will “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”.

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Turkey’s protests over Istanbul mayor grow into ‘fight about democracy’

Anger over detention of Ekrem Imamoğlu becomes a touchstone for opposing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

When demonstrators gathered ­at Istanbul’s city hall last week in outrage at the arrest of mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, 26-year-old Azra said she was initially too scared to defy a ban on gatherings. As protests grew on university campuses and in cities and towns across Turkey, she could no longer resist joining.

“I saw the spark in people’s eyes and the excitement on their faces, and I decided I had to come down here,” she said with a grin, standing among tens of thousands that defied a ban on assembly to fill the streets around city hall on Friday night. Despite the crowds, Azra feared reprisals and declined to give her full name. Many demonstrators were masked in a bid to defy facial recognition ­technology and fearing the teargas or pepper spray sometimes deployed by the police. Others smiled and took ­selfies to celebrate as fireworks illuminated the night sky.

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Gaza’s ceasfire brought hope, but it was the calm before a brutal storm

New strikes are ‘just a beginning’ said Netanyahu, after Trump inspires Israel to seize territory with massive military onslaught

In Gaza this weekend, the mood is darker than it has been at perhaps any time in this long, appalling war. Last Tuesday Israeli warplanes, tanks, artillery, drones and ships launched a wave of strikes, shattering the increasingly fragile pause in hostilities that had brought respite to the devastated territory for nearly two months. The ceasefire had also brought hope which, Palestinians in Gaza said, made the return to violence that much more unbearable.

In a video statement last Wednesday, Israel Katz, Israel’s defence minister, called on 2.3 million people in Gaza to “banish Hamas”, saying “the alternative is complete destruction and ruin”.

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