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Daniel Noboa, who is seeking re-election, announced the partnership with Erik Prince, a supporter of Donald TrumpEcuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has announced a strategic alliance" with the Donald Trump-supporting founder of the private military firm Blackwater to supposedly reinforce his controversial war" on crime.Noboa, the rightwing heir to a South American banana empire, announced the partnership with Erik Prince on social media on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

Zahra Tabatabai's Back Home Beer features select Middle Eastern flavors, and she's looking to expand its reach nationallyBusiness heats up for Zahra Tabatabai in March, the month of Nowruz, the 13-day Persian new year festival, which begins this year on 20 March. The Iranian American Brooklynite's craft beers are infused with Middle Eastern flavors such as sumac and sour cherry, and packaged in design-forward cans featuring poetry in intricate Farsi lettering.Tabatabai's grandfather used to make his own beer with ingredients from his garden in Shiraz, before the Iranian government instituted a ban on alcohol consumption in 1979. More recently, her grandmother longed to taste her husband's beer again, so Tabatabai set out to satisfy her yen. During the Covid-19 pandemic, while working as a freelance writer and overseeing the home schooling of her son, who is now 11, she started looking at recipes and enrolled in a home-brewing class, and began watching YouTube videos about the art of making beer. Continue reading...

Max Miller of Ohio, appointed by Trump to a Holocaust committee, was privately infuriated' by repeated racist liesA Jewish Republican congressman whom Donald Trump appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council compared Trump and his running mate JD Vance's extremist attacks on Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, during last year's presidential campaign to the target[ing]' of Jews", a new book reports.After Trump endured a difficult debate against Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on 10 September - attracting widespread ridicule for his claim that Haitian migrants were eating people's pets - the former president was determined to campaign in Springfield", the Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt writes. Continue reading...

Europe has said it will impose counter-tariffs on US goods. Plus, Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire, placing onus on Russia to reciprocate

The VCU guard's thoughts are often on the conflict back in his home country but he has been cheered by the support he has received from his team and fansThousands of blue and yellow Ukrainian flags waved proudly inside the Stuart C Siegel Center during Virginia Commonwealth University's final home game of the regular season, all in honor of Max Shulga.The gesture on senior night meant a great deal to Shulga, making him feel at home in Richmond, Virginia despite being far from his native Ukraine, as the country continues to experience unrest three years following Russia's invasion. Continue reading...

Joey from Friends' has gone viral for his lack of drive. This is what the world needs - someone who's happy with nothing rather than everythingNothing will come of nothing," King Lear said. He was totally wrong, I'm afraid. The truth is, a lot can come from nothing. More specifically: great life satisfaction can come from doing very little.You know who is well aware of that? Matt LeBlanc (AKA Joey from Friends), the king of 90s primetime TV. A TikTok featuring resurfaced interviews in which LeBlanc extols the joys of sloth is generating enormous enthusiasm online. The TikTok pulls from a 2018 interview in which LeBlanc gushed about how much he enjoyed taking time off after Friends and then cuts to a 2017 interview in which he said: Ishould be a professional nothing." Speaking to Conan O'Brien, LeBlanc explained: Because I think I would like to do not a fucking thing. That's what Iwould like to do. Just nothing. Nothing. Zero." (Same, Matt, same.)Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The Trump administration is not interested in combating antisemitism. It just wants to silence its opponents insteadOn Saturday night, agents of the Department of Homeland Security arrested and detained the Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil. He is still in Ice custody in a remote Louisiana lockup known for extreme human rights violations, from denial of food and water to medical care" verging on torture.Khalil, a Palestinian Syrian, emerged as a leader in Columbia's Gaza solidarity encampment last year and a level-headed negotiator with university officials on behalf of the student protesters. Married to a US citizen, he holds a green card. Neither his American wife, who is eight months pregnant, nor his lawyers were warned of the arrest or told where he would be held. Continue reading...

By turning his back on US allies and global institutions, Trump will help Xi Jinping advance his plan for a China-centric worldIs Donald Trump China's worst nightmare or a dream come true? He is both, but not in equal measure. In the near-term, his tariff-led approach to trade will cause problems for Beijing. However, in just a few weeks he has done more damage to the liberal international order, the cohesion of the democratic west, and the US's global standing, than all the combined efforts to undermine them in the entirety of the cold war. This goes beyond the wildest dreams China's leaders could have had.The tariffs already levied are serious enough, and Beijing cannot but see them as a harbinger of more to come. Unlike during his first term, this time Trump seems prepared to deliver the threats he makes. With China's economy already misfiring, an intensified trade war is the last thing Beijing needs, despite the bravado of its diplomats.Steve Tsang is director of the China Institute at Soas University of London and co-author of The Political Thought of Xi Jinping Continue reading...

Greenland has voted for a complete overhaul of the its government in a shock result in which the centre-right Democrat party more than tripled its seats after a dramatic election campaign fought against the backdrop of Donald Trump's threats to acquire the Arctic island. Tuesday's election, in which the Democrats replaced Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), the party of the outgoing prime minister, Mute B Egede, as the biggest party in Inatsisartut, the Greenlandic parliament, also led to a doubling of seats for Naleraq - the party most open to US collaboration and which supports a snap vote on independence - making them the second-biggest party. Both the Democrats and Naleraq favour independence from Denmark, but they differ on the pace of change

Von der Leyen hits back at unjustified trade restrictions' after US metals levies come into force

In today's newsletter: After Ukraine and the United States agree to a 30-day ceasefire plan, Moscow faces key decision on how to respondGood morning. Just 11 days after Donald Trump kicked Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the White House for being insufficiently grateful, negotiations over a ceasefire in Ukraine have taken on a new complexion again.After day-long talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, officials from Kyiv and Washington declared that they had agreed on an immediate 30-day ceasefire plan and called on Russia to do the same. The United States will now lift restrictions on military aid and intelligence sharing. And the deal to give the United States a 50% stake in revenues from Ukrainian minerals is back on the table.Trump tariffs | Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect on Wednesday with no exceptions or exemptions", as his campaign to reorder global trade norms in favour of the US stepped up. In chaotic developments on Wednesday, the US threatened to double tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium but then reversed course.UK news | A BBC presenter whose family were murdered by a misogynist with a crossbow has said he hopes women can be inspired by how his daughter ended her relationship with her killer. On the day that Kyle Clifford was sentenced to a whole-life order for the triple murder last year, John Hunt described the former soldier as a psychopath disguised as an ordinary human being.North Sea collision | A 59-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the shipping collision in the North Sea. Humberside police said they had opened a criminal investigation into the collision, in which one seaman is believed to have died.Phillipines | The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has left Manila on a plane headed to The Hague, hours after he was served with an arrest warrant from the international criminal court over the killings resulting from his war on drugs".Climate crisis | Climate whiplash is already hitting major cities around the world, bringing deadly swings between extreme wet and dry weather as the climate crisis intensifies, a report has revealed. Dozens more cities, including Lucknow, Madrid and Riyadh, have suffered a climate flip" in the last 20 years. Continue reading...

European Commission announces countermeasures after sweeping US levies of 25% come into force without any exemptions

The EU has its Trojan horses and Nato's cornerstone has crumbled. But European allies, including the UK, are bound by an urgent shared purposeMoscow's immense military mobilisation is clearly not aimed just at Ukraine. Unless Vladimir Putin accepts a ceasefire with meaningful security guarantees there will be no end in sight to the war. If anything, we could see the extension of Russia's aggression beyond Ukraine. The bleak reality is that Europe still faces an unprecedented threat and notwithstanding signs of progress for Ukraine at talks in Jeddah, we face it alone.Worse, we now have to confront it with the US working against us. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump appear to share a plan: a Vichy-like regime in Ukraine and a European continent split into spheres of influence, which Russia, the US (and perhaps China) can colonise and prey upon. Most European publics sense this. A critical mass of European leaders gets it too. They are beginning to act.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

US betrayal of Ukraine is the rehearsal for a grander bargain with Moscow and an assault on continental solidarityA prime time current affairs programme; a discussion about Donald Trump's handling of the war in Ukraine. He's doing excellent things," says a firebrand politician on the panel, before listing White House actions that have belittled Volodymyr Zelenskyy and weakened his battlefield position - military aid suspended; satellite communications obstructed; intelligence withheld. Do we support this?" It is a rhetorical question.We support it all. Absolutely," the celebrity host responds. We are thrilled by everything Trump is doing."Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US itemsThe renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet have cancelled a summer tour of the US.There seems to be a quietness or denial about what's going on," Tetzlaff said, describing his horror at the authoritarian polices of Donald Trump and the response of US elites to the country's growing democratic crisis. Continue reading...

Global 25% levy regime on steel and aluminium imports due to come into effect at midnight US time

Education secretary Linda McMahon describes layoffs as significant step towards restoring greatness' - key US politics stories from Tuesday at a glanceThe US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce, the department has announced. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system".In a post on X, McMahon said: Today's [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers." Continue reading...

Education secretary Linda McMahon announced hundreds of staff were subject to the reduction in workforce'. This blog is now closed.Polls have opened in Greenland for early parliamentary elections Tuesday as US President Donald Trump seeks control of the strategic Arctic island.The self-governing region of Denmark is home to 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, and occupies a strategic North Atlantic location. It also contains rare earth minerals key to driving the global economy, AP reported. Continue reading...

Firings announced Tuesday as administration decried as detached from how Americans live'The US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce. The layoffs of 1,300 people were announced by the department on Tuesday and described by the education secretary, Linda McMahon, as a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system".In a post on X, McMahon said: Today's [reduction in force] reflects our commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers." Continue reading...

Eight states had requested a temporary restraining order, which judge granted saying programs ... will be gutted'A federal judge in Boston on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, finding that cuts were already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage.The US district judge Myong Joun sided with the eight states that had requested a temporary restraining order. The states argued the cuts were likely driven by efforts by Trump's administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Continue reading...

Protests continued in New York and Los Angeles in support of Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was taken into custody by agents from the US Department of Homeland Security over the weekend. Trump administration officials have accused Khalil of supporting the Palestinian group Hamas, while Khalil's lawyers say his protest activity was protected by the first amendment to the US constitution. Khalil, a Palestinian raised in Syria, arrived in the United States on a student visa and became a lawful permanent resident last year

Donald Trump said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships domestic terrorism as he appeared with Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, to show support amid recent anti-Tesla protests and the slump in the company's stock price. Several Tesla vehicles were parked in the driveway of the White House for the US president to pick from, accompanied by Musk and his young son.

Trump administration has axed $400m in federal funding to Columbia and detained student activist Mahmoud KhalilThe Trump administration said on Tuesday that Columbia University was refusing to help" the Department of Homeland Security identify people for arrest on campus, after immigration authorities detained a prominent Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate over the weekend.The Trump White House's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday the administration had given the university names of multiple individuals it accused of pro-Hamas activity", reiterating the administration's intention to deport activists associated with pro-Palestinian protests. Continue reading...

High-stakes vote fell along party lines, with just one Republican opposing it and one Democrat supporting itHouse Republicans pulled off a near party-line vote on Tuesday to pass their controversial funding bill to curb the looming government shutdown, shipping it off to the Senate, where it still will face an uphill battle to pass.The Trump-backed bill passed 217 to 213, with the Kentucky representative Thomas Massie casting the sole Republican no" vote, joining all almost all House Democrats who had come out hard against it for slashing social programs and granting the Trump administration broader federal powers. The Democrat Jared Golden of Maine joined Republicans in backing the measure. Continue reading...

Turtle was detected after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty airportA Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA).The turtle was detected on Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty international airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants. Continue reading...

Case is not related to three ongoing outbreaks in US and authorities say there is a low risk to publicThe first case of measles in Vermont in 2025 has been confirmed in a school-aged child in Lamoille county, the Vermontdepartment of health reported on Tuesday.The child became sick in recent days after returning with their family from traveling internationally and has been isolated from most community settings while they have been contagious, according to the department. There is believed to be a low risk to the public. Continue reading...

The US president, Donald Trump, has again suggested that Canada become the 51st state of the US during a press conference outside the White House with Elon Musk. Appearing to pitch the perks of joining the US, Trump claimed that Canada was highly taxed and that the US had comparatively low tax. He argued that such an arrangement would also solve the 'tariff problem'. 'Canada would be our cherished 51st state,' he said

Announcement comes after fatal collision between military helicopter and American Airlines jet on 29 JanuaryFederal investigators looking for the cause of the collision between a passenger jet and a US army helicopter that killed 67 people near Washington DC in late January recommended a ban on some helicopter flights on Tuesday to improve safety.The recommendation came after a military helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet as it approached Ronald Reagan National airport over the Potomac River on 29 January. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure-skating community. Continue reading...

Officials have begun large-scale destruction of classified documents, including using shredders and burn bags'

The extradition of the former president of the Philippines on an ICC warrant is an affirmation of the principles of international justiceAfter his arrest on an international criminal court (ICC) warrant on Tuesday, the former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, demonstrated an uncharacteristic concern for due legal process. A petition was unsuccessfully filed to his country's supreme court to stay his extradition, as lawyers challenged the ICC's jurisdiction, and pleas were madefor any trial to take place in a Philippine court.The relatives of those butchered during Mr Duterte's brutal and lawless war on drugs" will struggle to sympathise. Notoriously, many of its victims never gotnear a courtroom of any description. In 2016, months into a presidency in which thousands of Filipinos suffered summary executions, Mr Duterte readily acknowledged an indiscriminate dimension tothe lawless carnage he had unleashed. The deaths ofinnocents and children, he told reporters, amountedtoinevitable collateral damage" in his mission to clean up the streets.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Three people in custody after Southern University student Caleb Wilson was allegedly punched repeatedly in chestAuthorities have arrested two more suspects in the recent fraternity hazing death of a 20-year-old student at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.Kyle Thurman was captured on Monday at a home in Port Allen, Louisiana, which is adjacent to Baton Rouge, local police said. Meanwhile, Isiah Smith, whose father reportedly owns a warehouse where Wilson was mortally injured while undergoing the pledging process to join Southern's Omega Psi Phi fraternity, turned himself over to the custody of police on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Democratic senator and former combat pilot dismisses billionaire who wrote You are a traitor' after Ukraine tripElon Musk is not a serious guy", said Mark Kelly, the US fighter pilot and astronaut turned Arizona Democratic senator, after the Tesla owner and close Donald Trump ally called him a traitor" for visiting Ukraine in support of its fight against Russia's invading troops.On Sunday, Kelly posted to social media photos of his visit and a lengthy statement. Continue reading...

Resident made marshmallow treats outside around when New York fires ignited, prompting closures and evacuationsAuthorities suspect the wildfires that broke out over the weekend in New York's Long Island were ignited by a local resident toasting the marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker treats known as s'mores.According to what the Suffolk county police commissioner, Kevin Catalina, said on Monday, investigators' operating theory" is that the fires were sparked by a resident making s'mores over a fire in a back yard in the hamlet of Manorville. The person used cardboard to light up the fire on Saturday, which he was having trouble starting because of strong winds. Continue reading...

Porter, a former consumer protection attorney, enters a crowded field in which Kamala Harris may eventually enterThe former Democratic House member Katie Porter announced on Tuesday that she is entering California's 2026 gubernatorial contest, joining a crowded field of candidates that could be upended if former vice-president Kamala Harris joins the race.Porter, who became a social media celebrity by brandishing a whiteboard at congressional hearings while grilling CEOs, promised in a campaign launch video to be an aggressive counterweight to Donald Trump's administration at a time when the heavily Democratic state has clashed with the White House over issues from water management to immigrant rights. Continue reading...

President shares more than 100 Truth Social posts as stock markets react shakily to his refusal to rule out recessionDonald Trump posted to social media more than 100 times on Monday in a frenzy of self-aggrandizing messages even as the global stock market fell sharply amid fears that his economic policies could produce a US recession.Far from rushing to calm troubled waters after markets reacted shakily to his refusal to rule out a recession, the US president instead shared a blizzard of links on Truth Social, the platform he owns, starting at 11.44am ET with a link to a Fox News article about Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, raising defense spending before visiting Washington last month. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Oyer claims justice department senior bullied' her due to Trump's relationship with actor sentenced for domestic violence in 2011The pardon attorney of the US justice department was recently fired after refusing to recommend that Mel Gibson be allowed to own guns again, a right denied since the actor, director and prominent ally of Donald Trump was sentenced to probation for domestic violence in 2011, the New York Times reported.The pardon attorney is a non-political role, supervising matters of clemency and recommendations for presidential pardons. Elizabeth Oyer was appointed under Joe Biden's presidency in 2022. She told the Times she had been working on a project to restore gun ownership rights to some people convicted of crimes and misdemeanors, a power held by the justice department but not often used. Continue reading...

The Guardian can reveal comments by Ed Martin advancing false and racist claims. Plus, just seven countries meet WHO dirty air guidelines

Russian officials said two people were killed after Ukraine launched 337 drones at Russia on Monday night, with 91 of them targeting the Moscow region. Air and train travel were suspended as a result of the attack, with all four of Moscow airports closing for several hours. The attack came as Ukrainian and US officials prepared to meet in Saudi Arabia for the first time since Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with Donald Trump in Washington last month, after which the US president cut off crucial military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine

The movement unites family values' conservatives and tech bro rightwingers. Will this incoherent coalition hold?In his first address to the United States after becoming vice-president, JD Vance stood on stage and proclaimed: I want more babies in the United States of America." Weeks later, Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging support for in vitro fertilization, recognizing the importance of family formation and that our nation's public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children".In late January, a Department of Transportation memo directed the agency to prioritize projects that give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average". And last week, it was reported that Elon Musk, the unelected head of the government-demolishing department of governmental efficiency" and a man who has said that the collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far", had become a father of 14. Continue reading...

Our refusal to reckon with the dark side of Purim reflects a refusal to reckon with the dark side of ourselvesLater this month, on the holiday of Purim, Jewish people will dress in silly costumes, eat triangular pastries, and listen to an ancient story about attempted genocide. What we notice, and don't notice, about that story says a lot about what we notice, and don't notice, in Israel and Palestine.The tale comes from the book of Esther. It begins with a dissolute Persian king. He hosts a banquet, gets drunk, orders his queen to display her beauty" to the revelers, and, when she refuses, banishes her from the throne. As her replacement he chooses Esther, a beautiful young maiden who, unbeknownst to him, is a Jew. Then he makes a calamitous personnel decision: he selects Haman, a pathological Jew-hater, to be his right-hand man. The stage is now set for an epic clash. Continue reading...

Revealed: rhetoric by interim US attorney for DC includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris self-identified' as BlackTrump's appointee as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to hold the position permanently, Ed Martin, has repeatedly made derogatory and racist comments in past social media posts and columns.Martin's rhetoric includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris is self-identified" as Black and calling her the new Rachel Dolezal, claiming Planned Parenthood targets Black communities for abortions, claiming that the supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor made racist comments to white males about her own identity and invoking false claims about Dr Martin Luther King Jr to affirm support for the Republican party and the Tea Party movement. Continue reading...

Today's Jeddah summit will be crucial. But so too is the need for European unity to counter Russian aggression now, and deter it in the future