Global celebrations and protests mark International Women’s Day

From Istanbul and Warsaw to Athens and Madrid, activists demand equality and the end of gender-based violence

Women took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa and elsewhere to mark International Women’s Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.

On the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadiköy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.

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Revealed: second Kremlin spy ring targeting Russian dissidents discovered in UK

After the spying convictions of six Bulgarians, police have warned of further Russian operations against opponents

A second Kremlin spy operation has been discovered targeting Russian dissidents in Britain, it can be revealed.

Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist in the sights of the six Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia, said he had been informed of fresh attempts to surveil his family.

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Russia launches devastating attack on Ukraine after Trump’s defence of Putin

Latest attacks came hours after Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was ‘doing what anybody would do’

Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more, hours after Donald Trump defended Vladimir Putin and said the Kremlin leader was “doing what anybody would do”.

Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region. Fire engulfed a five-storey apartment building. As emergency services arrived, Russia launched another strike on the same area. Eleven civilians were killed, with five children among the 30 injured.

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Trump suspending US intelligence sharing is ‘suffocating’ Ukraine’s hope, says Ben Wallace

Former UK defence secretary suggests Ukraine can still win the war if it continues holding off Russian forces

Ben Wallace, the former UK defence secretary, has said Donald Trump’s decision to suspend US intelligence sharing with Kyiv is “suffocating” Ukrainian hope of holding out against Russian aggression.

Last Friday, the US president, along with the vice-president, JD Vance, berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in full view of the media, telling the Ukrainian president that he was “gambling with world war three” and to come back to the White House “when he is ready for peace”.

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Three UK-based Bulgarians found guilty of spying for Russia

Jury convicts Katrin Ivanova, Vanya Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev over alleged plots around Europe

Three Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia have been found guilty of espionage charges in a trial that heard how they were involved in a string of plots around Europe directed by a fugitive based in Moscow.

After more than 32 hours of deliberations, a jury at the Old Bailey reached unanimous verdicts on Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab technician, Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator, all of whom were living in London before their arrest.

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Trump says he wrote to Iran and wants to negotiate nuclear weapons deal

First step by president to open discussions comes as Iranian government locked in dispute over negotiating with US

Donald Trump has said he wants to negotiate a new deal with Iran to prevent its development of nuclear weapons and sent a letter to its leaders saying he hoped they would open talks.

It is the first practical step taken by the US president to see if new negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme are possible.

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Saudi Arabia is hosting more Ukraine talks – but how neutral is it?

The US and Ukraine will meet in Jeddah next week, but the Saudi crown prince’s closeness to Putin is a concern

On the surface, the announcement that Saudi Arabia will host talks between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah next week appears promising news.

After the disastrous meeting between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump in the White House last week, a more neutral location for this meeting of lower-level figures makes sense in terms of trying to dial down the temperature.

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Ukraine opposition leaders confirm talks with US but deny plotting to oust Zelenskyy

Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko denied they were part of a reported White House plot to remove Ukraine leader from power

Ukraine’s opposition leaders have confirmed they have held discussions with members of Donald Trump’s entourage, but denied on Thursday they were part of a reported White House plot to remove Volodymyr Zelenskyy from power.

The former president Petro Poroshenko said he had held talks with US representatives but added that he opposed Trump’s demands for wartime elections. Poroshenko, who lost to Zelenskyy in the 2019 presidential vote, said a poll should only be held once martial law ends.

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Wednesday briefing: The view from ​Russia as ​Trump upends the world order

In today’s newsletter: Pjotr Sauer explains Russia’s response to the new Trump administration following a fraught week in global relations

Good morning. In his address to Congress last night, Donald Trump recited a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering to return to the negotiating table – and warmly welcomed the tone of discussions his administration has held with Russia. “We’ve received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” he said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

That was not the first sign of Trump’s faith in Vladimir Putin’s promises – but it served to underline what is surely the most radical US foreign policy shift in a generation. Whether parroting Kremlin talking points on Zelenskyy’s democratic credentials, making false claims that Ukraine started the war or cutting off vital military aid to Kyiv, the US president has created a dynamic that would have scarcely been believable six months ago.

Killed women count | Nearly one in 10 of all women who died at the hands of men in the UK over the past 15 years were mothers killed by their sons, a report reveals. The statistics have led to calls for the government to take specific action to tackle matricide.

Tariffs | Justin Trudeau has claimed the aim of a “dumb” trade war launched by Donald Trump is to usher in the “complete collapse” of the Canadian economy and make it easier for the US to annex Canada. Leading stock market indices fell sharply, with the US benchmark S&P 500 losing all its post-election gains, as the US slapped 25% taxes on Canadian and Mexican goods and hiked tariffs on China.

Scams | An organised network operating from the former Soviet state of Georgia has scammed thousands of savers from the UK, Europe and Canada out of $35m (£27m) after they fell for fake celebrity adverts on Facebook and Google. The scheme was revealed in a leak of call centre data covering more than 1m recordings.

Gaza | Arab leaders have endorsed a $53bn (£42bn) plan to rebuild Gaza under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in a rushed attempt to present an alternative to Donald Trump’s idea for a property development-style plan. The Arab League presented the plans at a summit in Cairo.

Media | Failings in the making of a documentary on Gaza are a “dagger to the heart” of the BBC’s claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation’s chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film.

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Ukraine has firepower to fight on without US support – for now

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.

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Starmer welcomes Zelenskyy’s offer to work with Trump on Ukraine peace deal – as it happened

PM says any deal must be ‘lasting and secure’ following fiery Trump-Zelenskyy meeting last week and UK weekend summit. This live blog is closed

Lisa O’Carroll is the Guardian’s acting Ireland correspondent.

Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister, has described a decision to build thousands of lightweight missiles for Ukraine in a Belfast factory as “incredulous”.

I find it really incredulous that at a time when public services are being cut left, right and centre.

At a time when we have endured 14 years of austerity ... I think at a time like that, rather than buying weapons of war, I would rather see the money invested in public services.

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Pause in US military aid makes peace for Ukraine ‘more distant’, says France – Europe live

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 …

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Russia sending ‘suicidal missions’ to win foothold over Dnipro River, says Ukraine

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.

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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.

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Tories compare Nigel Farage to Jeremy Corbyn over Ukraine war

Reform leader accused of ‘equivocating over Russia’s illegal war’ after criticising Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The Conservatives have compared Nigel Farage to Jeremy Corbyn after the Reform UK leader said Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been “rude” to Donald Trump, as well as criticising the Ukrainian president for not wearing a suit to the Oval Office.

The Liberal Democrats accused Farage of parroting White House talking points after Farage denied that Elon Musk and Steve Bannon had given Nazi salutes, saying their gestures were “out to the side and not in front”.

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Schumer says cyber operations pause against Russia gives Putin ‘free pass’

Top Democrat calls Trump’s move to retreat from fight against Russian cyber threats ‘a critical strategic mistake’

A senior US Democrat has hit out at Donald Trump’s attempt to reset relations with Russia following revelations that the president’s administration is retreating from the fight against Russian cyber threats, calling the reported move “a critical strategic mistake”.

In a statement on Sunday making reference to the Russian leader, New York’s Chuck Schumer – the US Senate’s Democratic minority leader – said Trump was “so desperate to earn the affection of a thug like Vladimir Putin he appears to be giving him a free pass as Russia continues to launch cyber operations and ransomware attacks against critical American infrastructure, threatening our economic and national security”.

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The Oscars were silent on Trump, diverging from protests of past years

No one uttered the US president’s name, and speeches bore few references to Gaza or Ukraine, focusing on the LA fires

The 97th Academy Awards had one of the longest run times for the annual show in recent history, yet the least mentions of the current political climate – with not a single person uttering the name “Donald Trump”.

While few people watch awards shows – least of all the Oscars – for political discussion, comments on world events have long been an expected part of the broadcasts. Trump himself has even weighed in on a show – at least once while it aired: last year, while campaigning for re-election, he posted on Truth Social and asked rhetorically whether there was ever a “worse host” than Jimmy Kimmel at the 2024 Oscars and criticized his opening monologue.

Anora takes home best picture Oscar

Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes

Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards

Anora’s Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay

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Defiant but tactful Zelenskyy seeks to move on from White House fiasco

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.

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Europe has a lot to do before it can exert real influence on a Ukraine peace deal

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.

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Kremlin says US foreign policy pivot ‘largely coincides with our vision’

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.

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