Conservative alliance and Social Democrats to propose exempting spending of more than 1% of GDP on defence
The prospective partners in Germany’s next government have said they will seek to loosen rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending.
They said they will also seek to set up a huge €500bn ($533bn ) fund to finance spending on Germany’s infrastructure over the next 10 years.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s decision to halt military aid is, however, likely to mean Ukraine will suffer more casualties at a faster rate
Ukraine has been stockpiling arms and ammunition since before Donald Trump’s election victory last November, but over time the US president’s halting of military aid will be felt in air defence and other high-value weapons systems the US is uniquely placed to supply.
“They got a lot of kit in before the inauguration,” said a senior western official, adding that it would be enough to keep Ukraine in the fight “well beyond” what they described as the period during which ceasefire negotiations were expected to last.
Continue reading...Benjamin Haddad, French junior minister, says decision to suspend arms to Ukraine ‘strengthens the hand of the aggressor’
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has been making a statement about European defence spending in Brussels, in which she has signalled that Europe is ready to massively increase defence spending.
More details soon …
Continue reading...Moscow trying to improve its claim to entire Kherson region in time for peace negotiations, says governor
Russian forces are repeatedly trying to seize a foothold across Ukraine’s Dnipro River, dispatching troops on high-casualty missions to gain territory for future peace negotiations, according to the Ukrainian governor of Kherson region.
Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian forces were trying to cross in four locations to justify their claim to the whole oblast, one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow says it wants to incorporate.
Continue reading...Decision affects ammunition, vehicles and other equipment including weapons in transit
The Trump administration has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, blocking billions in crucial shipments as the White House piles pressure on Ukraine to sue for peace with Vladimir Putin.
The decision affects deliveries of ammunition, vehicles, and other equipment including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president.
Continue reading...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...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...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...Woman, 83, and man, 54, killed and several injured after attack by SUV driver during carnival celebrations
A car has rammed into crowds in the centre of the German city of Mannheim, killing two people and injuring several others, in what police described as a deliberate attack.
Police said they had arrested a man, the driver of a black Ford Fiesta, who was reportedly being treated for his injuries in hospital under tight police protection. Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Württemberg state, said the suspect was a 40-year-old German man from the south-western state of Rhineland-Palatinate who was believed to have acted alone.
Continue reading...Busiest urban motorway in Europe restricted mainly to vehicles carrying at least two people during rush-hour
Authorities in Paris have created a dedicated car-sharing lane during rush-hour on its notorious ring road as part of efforts to reduce congestion and pollution on one of Europe’s busiest motorways.
Paris city hall began the trial scheme on Monday, restricting the outside lane of the périphérique to passenger vehicles carrying at least two people from 7am to 10.30am and 4pm to 8pm. The lane will also be available to public transport, taxis, the emergency services and vehicles used by disabled people.
Continue reading...UN-commissioned study in UK, US, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand finds satisfaction rises with age
For more than half a century, the midlife crisis has been a feature of western society. Fast cars, impulsive decisions, and peak misery between the age of 40 and 50. But all that is changing, according to experts.
In a new paper commissioned by the UN, the leading academics Jean Twenge and David Blanchflower warn that a burgeoning youth mental health crisis in six English-speaking countries worldwide is upending the traditional pattern of happiness across our lifetimes.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: After Friday’s clash meeting in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelenskyy, Keir Starmer and his European allies will try to broker the peace Ukraine desperately needs
Good morning. After the shocking treatment he received at the White House on Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on friendlier turf yesterday – but whether a bear hug from Keir Starmer and an audience with King Charles will ultimately prove consequential for the war in Ukraine is still anyone’s guess.
The Ukrainian president was in the UK to attend a European summit, convened by Starmer, to take steps towards new proposals that might be able to find support in Kyiv and Washington alike. And while there were some signs of European unity, the White House and its surrogates were still suggesting that Zelenskyy was guilty of some sort of insult to the United States that might be enough to make a durable peace impossible. Last night, Zelenskyy refused to say whether he believed he had been ambushed – but said that he was ready to talk to Trump again.
Gaza | Israel has cut off humanitarian supplies to Gaza in an effort to pressure Hamas into accepting a change in the ceasefire agreement to allow for the release of hostages without an Israeli troop withdrawal.
UK news | At least 25 undercover police officers formed sexual relationships with members of the public and deceived them about their true identity, the Guardian can disclose. The total equates to nearly a fifth of all the police spies who were sent to infiltrate political movements.
Religion | Pope Francis has thanked well-wishers for their support after missing his Sunday Angelus for the third week in a row as he remains in hospital with pneumonia. The pontiff, 88, was in a stable condition after a breathing crisis on Friday.
Sick pay | More than 1 million of the lowest-paid UK workers are to be guaranteed sick pay worth up to 80% of their weekly salary from the first day of sickness. The government says that 1.3 million of the UK’s lowest earners will be up to £100 a week better off.
Oscars 2025 | Low-budget comedy Anora has triumphed at this year’s Oscars winning five awards, including best picture and best actress, while Adrien Brody took home best actor for his role in The Brutalist. Scroll down for more of the Guardian’s coverage of the ceremony.
Continue reading...Kyriakos Mitsotakis says protests over train disaster emphasise the need for ‘safe and modern’ transport system
The Greek prime minister has vowed to upgrade the country’s railways as his embattled government braces for a vote of no confidence after huge protests over a 2023 train crash that killed 57 people.
Two days after hundreds of thousands took to the streets in fury over the response to the disaster on its second anniversary, Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that not enough had been done to build a “safe and modern” transport system, saying the largest protests in recent history had emphasised the demand for action.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s president says after Oval Office meltdown best ‘left to history’, adding minerals deal is ready to sign
A defiant but tactful Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to apologise to Donald Trump after Friday’s spat in the White House, and declared that the row in the Oval Office “did not bring anything positive” to peace for Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists only in Ukrainian at the end of a two-day visit to the UK, the Ukrainian president said that when such delicate negotiations are held in public “foes can take advantage of them” though he said he hoped the row would eventually pass.
Continue reading...The continent’s role in any ceasefire will be limited unless countries commit more to Kiev and the Zelenskyy-Trump relationship is repaired
Europe and the UK are hoping they are on the brink of assembling a credible military coalition that Donald Trump can only refuse to support at risk of appearing openly to ally with Vladimir Putin – an alliance many grassroots Republicans reject.
The plan is a long shot since it requires enough countries inside Nato to offer practical support to such a coalition of the willing, and also needs Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, to patch up his relations with Donald Trump following Friday’s Oval Office meeting.
Continue reading...Russia’s foreign minister also praises Donald Trump for his ‘commonsense’ aim to end the war in Ukraine
The Kremlin said on Sunday that the dramatic pivot in the foreign policy of the US “largely” coincides with its own vision, with Donald Trump described as having “common sense”.
The US president, who has often said he respects his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, has worked to build ties with Moscow since taking office in January, including twice siding with Russia in UN votes.
Continue reading...Tommy Cash says he did not expect Espresso Macchiato to cause such offence with references to the mafia and coffee
Estonia’s entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest has said he never intended to offend Italy with his song that pokes fun at Italian stereotypes of coffee-drinking, spaghetti-eating mafiosi – and said he submitted the song after his grandmother cried over it.
There have been calls in Italy for Tommy Cash’s catchy song, Espresso Macchiato, to be banned from the competition, which takes place in Basel, Switzerland, in May.
Continue reading...PM says he and Macron have agreed to begin talks as Europe scrambles to respond to White House disaster
Britain and France will work on their own peace plan for Ukraine, Keir Starmer has said, as European leaders scrambled to respond to Friday’s disastrous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The prime minister told the BBC on Sunday that he and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had agreed to begin negotiations separate to those between the US and Russia, after a series of hurried phone calls on Saturday evening.
Continue reading...Ukraine leader embraced in No 10 and given £2.26bn defence loan one day after his White House dressing down
Keir Starmer has described his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “meaningful and warm”, according to Downing Street.
The British prime minister met the Ukrainian president on Saturday evening, just 24 hours after Zelenskyy’s meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, and vice-president, JD Vance, in Washington.
Continue reading...Pontiff, 88, spends long periods off noninvasive ventilation, showing improving lung function as he battles pneumonia
Pope Francis remains in stable condition a day after a respiratory crisis, and has spent long periods off the noninvasive ventilation he initially needed in a sign that his lung function was improving as he battles double pneumonia.
Francis had no further episodes of bronchial spasms, the Vatican said in its late update on Saturday. He had no fever and no signs of new infection, was feeding himself and continued his respiratory physiotherapy, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pope had a good response in his blood gas levels even during the “long periods” he was off the ventilator mask and only using high-flow supplemental oxygen. But his prognosis remained guarded, meaning he wasn’t out of danger.
“The Holy Father is always vigilant” and aware of what’s going on around him, the statement said, adding that he received the Eucharist and spent time in prayer.
The comparatively positive update came after Francis suffered a setback Friday in his two-week battle against pneumonia.
Francis had a coughing fit in which he also inhaled vomit. Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, a mask that pumps oxygen into his lungs. Doctors said episode resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.”
The pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the manoeuvres to help him recover.
The fact that Francis on Saturday was able to use just high-flow oxygen for long periods, without any significant effect on the levels of oxygen in his blood, was a sign his respiratory function was improving.
The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into pneumonia in both lungs.
The Vatican said the episode was different from the prolonged respiratory crisis on 22 February, that was said to have caused Francis discomfort. Doctors not involved in Francis’ care said it was particularly alarming given his existing lung disease and fragility.
Types of noninvasive ventilation include a BiPAP machine, which helps people breathe by pushing air into their lungs. Doctors will often try such a machine for a while to see if the patient’s blood gas levels improve so they can eventually go back to using oxygen alone. Friday’s statement said Francis showed a “good response” to the gas exchange using the mechanical ventilation.
Doctors did not resume referring to Francis being in “critical condition”, which has been absent from their statements for four days now. But they say he isn’t out of danger, given the complexity of his case.