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Macron and Trump disagree over aid and securing a lasting peace after US president says Russian counterpart has no problem' with European forces in UkraineEmmanuel Macron, the French president, has warned Donald Trump against a surrender" of Ukraine as the US president said Russia's leader Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal" that could include European peacekeepers.The transatlantic rift over the war was apparent on Monday as Trump and Macron - the first European leader to visit the White House since Trump regained power - disagreed over aid and efforts to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine. Continue reading...

From the latest in Musk's fight to fire federal workers to concern over appointment of Dan Bongino - key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceConfusion continued on Monday over the demands made by Elon Musk of federal workers. Just hours after the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had directed agencies that responses to its email were optional, Musk again threatened federal workers.

Coast Guard ends search for Vernon Glasford, 52, missing after boat capsized off Queens on Sunday, killing threeThree people died, two others were hospitalized and one was presumed dead after a boat sank in New York City on Sunday, according to the US Coast Guard.One of the hospitalized people was in critical condition on Monday morning, police said, a day after the speedboat took on water 5 miles (8km) south-east of Breezy Point, a neighborhood at the tip of Queens' Rockaway peninsula. Continue reading...

Networks' shakeup continues after Joy Reid departure as host Rachel Maddow criticizes indefensible' changesNBC's Lester Holt is stepping down as anchor of its Nightly News show, while MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin is losing his weekend evening show as the networks' owners continue a major programming shakeup.MSNBC has announced significant changes to its lineup in recent days. A day after news broke that MSNBC had canceled the longstanding anchor Joy Reid's show, The ReidOut, the liberal network revealed further changes to its schedule. Continue reading...

OPM says failure to respond to email will not be considered resignation but Trump ally digs in and threatens job lossesThe US government's human resources office has walked back an ultimatum issued by Elon Musk that would have forced its workers to resign if they did not submit a bullet-point list of their recent accomplishments, in one of the first signs of internal pushback to the Tesla billionaire's campaign to downsize the federal workforce.The demand, made in an email sent to millions of government employees over the weekend and quickly sued over by a coalition of labor and advocacy groups, represented the latest salvo by the department of government efficiency" (Doge), the Trump-sanctioned cost-cutting initiative Musk chairs. Continue reading...

During a day of talks between the two leaders,TrumpandMacronshowed a friendly rapport based on years of good ties. ButMacronmade clear he disagreed withTrumpon some key issues as they marked three years since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022

This blog is now closed. Here's our latest politics storyHere's a little more on Dan Bongino, the Maga podcaster Donald Trump has named as deputy director of the FBI and who will oversee the bureau alongside newly appointed director Kash Patel.The president announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as a man of incredible love and passion for our country". He called the announcement great news for law enforcement and American justice".Kash Patel should have been a redline. Bongino is what you get when R Senators fail to do their jobs and say no to Patel. The Trump Admin is turning federal law enforcement over to unqualified, unprincipled, partisan henchmen. It's unacceptable and conservatives need to say so. Continue reading...

Ed Martin condemned for X post that directly contradicts federal oath of office he swore to support constitutionThe interim US attorney for Washington DC Ed Martin has explicitly declared himself and other federal attorneys to be the president's lawyers rather than an independent, law-abiding officer sworn to uphold the constitution.As President Trumps' [sic] lawyers, we are proud to fight to protect his leadership as our President and we are vigilant in standing against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first," the US attorney's office posted in a image on X, signed by Martin. Continue reading...

US-based nonprofit Dawn also accuses ex-secretary of state Antony Blinken and ex-Pentagon chief Lloyd AustinA US-based nonprofit organization has urged the international criminal court to investigate former president Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.The request, submitted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) last month but made public by the group on Monday, urges the ICC to investigate Biden, as well as former secretary of state Antony Blinken and former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, for their accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza". Continue reading...

Hill received awards and was promoted for actions that day but for decades blamed himself for then president's deathClint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leapt on to the back of John F Kennedy's limousine after the then president was shot, then was forced to retire early because he remained haunted by memories of the assassination, died on Friday. He was 93.Hill died at home in Belvedere, California, according to his publisher, Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. A cause of death was not given. Continue reading...

City officials at flag raising ceremony gave speeches in support of Ukraine and Zelenskyy after his spat with TrumpNew York City officials, foreign dignitaries and members of the city's Ukrainian community gathered in New York on Monday to raise the Ukrainian flag above lower Manhattan, marking three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.The anniversary this year follows escalating tensions between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Last week, the US president falsely claimed that Ukraine started the war and labeled Zelenskyy as a dictator", while the Ukrainian president expressed frustration over being excluded from US-Russia negotiations to end the war and accused Trump of living in a Kremlin disinformation bubble". Continue reading...

The victorious CDU leader is likely to be more proactive on the European stage. He will also need to forge broad alliances at home to see off the far rightFriedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's centre-right Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), has a reputation for being blunt. On Sunday evening, as it became clear that the CDU had won the snap election triggered by the outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, Olaf Scholz, he did not disappoint. For me," said MrMerz in a post-election television debate, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA."As recently as a fortnight ago, such a statement from a German chancellor-elect would have been inconceivable. But these are new and extraordinary times. A convinced transatlanticist, Mr Merz has previously played down the dangers to western unity posed by Donald Trump. But crude electioneering on behalf of the extreme right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) by the US president's outriders, and the sidelining of Europe and Kyiv from negotiations over the future of Ukraine, have forced a handbrake turn. Continue reading...

The government's consultation was weighted towards big tech. Now is the time for a rethinkIt's a seductive promise: let our computers scrape the internet for ideas, images, forms of words, stories, music, jokes ... and our industry will make your country rich. For a UK government desperate for economic growth, the demands of tech companies for copyright laws to be relaxed - in order that their artificial intelligence (AI) systems can access as muchonline content as possible without having to payor seek permission - have been hard to resist. The US and China are the global leaders of this new tech race. But the UK has a chance to compete that ministersare desperate nottomiss.To AI businesses, copyright is an irritant. Three years ago, it appeared that their lobbyists were on the verge of getting their way when a government agency, the Intellectual Property Office, recommended an exemption for data mining. This would grant bots free rein and - so the argument went - provide an incentive for tech companies to invest in the UK. Continue reading...

Wyoming woman still in hospital while Ohio man released after facing respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms'Two people, in Wyoming and Ohio, have been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a routine flu update on Friday.The person from Wyoming is still in hospital, while the Ohio patient has been released, according to the report. Both patients experienced respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms", the report said, without detailing those symptoms. Continue reading...

Dan Bongino's installation in high-ranking law enforcement role sparks concern in both Republicans and DemocratsFears over the future direction of the FBI have intensified after Donald Trump announced that a far-right podcaster, Dan Bongino, who has never served in the bureau, would become its next deputy director.Bongino, a former New York police officer and Secret Service agent who provided security to Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, is best known as a conservative commentator who has vocally supported Trump's false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Continue reading...

Education department and OPM prevented from sharing sensitive information in widest-ranging judicial check yet

Mikel Arteta's team have suffered unfortunate injuries but they also have far less self-belief than a Liverpool side who look destined to win the Premier League

In all similar democracies, left and right are having versions of the same argument: does electable' mean centrist or radical?As the German election results land, a lot of people are looking on the bright side: nearly 80% of Germans won't entertain voting for Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). A nanosecond ago, however - as recently as Saturday - the idea that voters might go this far-right, in these kinds of numbers, for the first time since the second world war was terrifying. Some are calling this a victory over Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who vocally supported the AfD; others are calling it a victory for them.Nobody is puzzling much over the decline in support for Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic party - down 9%, almost equal to the AfD's gains, although the numbers on switchers have yet to be crunched - because it was so long expected. The CDU/CSU alliance has won, with 28.5%, pretty much as the polls predicted. It's an incredibly German story in its labyrinthine and laborious coalition possibilities, but it's also a common story these days. The two main parties hand power to one another in a kind of disillusionment relay; the populist right gets a dispiritingly good show; the populist or eco left is less populist, less popular, and can pick a fight with itself in a paper bag, so it looks even smaller than it is. Continue reading...

Layoffs are largest in company history, though warehouse, roasting and store employees are not part of cutsStarbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees and close several hundred open of vacant job positions, the company announced on Monday. The layoffs are the largest in the company's history.Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration," CEO Brian Niccol wrote in a letter to staff. Continue reading...

An extract from Omar El Akkad's new book argues that Gaza put to bed the fantasy of the USA as freedom fighter

Gordon Cordeiro now adjusting to life with phones after judge overturned his conviction in 1994 Maui shootingOne of the first places Gordon Cordeiro visited when a judge ordered him released after spending 30 years in prison for a killing he always maintained he had nothing to do with was his mother's Hawaii gravesite.In a videoconference interview on Saturday with the Associated Press, Cordeiro reflected on his first day of freedom after new DNA evidence led to the overturning of his conviction in the 1994 shooting of Timothy Blaisdell on the island of Maui. Continue reading...

Situation on American Airlines flight originally bound for New Delhi reportedly involved bomb threat sent by emailAn American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern, which later proved to be non-credible", the airline said.While the airline did not elaborate, NBC reported that the situation involved a bomb threat sent by email. The network cited a source familiar with the situation. Continue reading...

Warning comes as FCC, chaired by Trump ally and Project 2025 author, orders investigations into US media groupsThe Trump administration is waging a disturbing" attack on the freedom of the press that amounts to a true free-speech emergency", media experts have warned, as the Federal Communications Commission recently launched an investigation into a series of media organizations, including the owner of NBC News.The FCC, led by Donald Trump appointee and Project 2025 author Brendan Carr, has ordered investigations into NPR and PBS in the first month since Trump took office, while also scrutinizing a CBS News interview and a San Francisco radio station. Continue reading...

It follows Russia's biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine. Plus, far-right AfD doubles support in German electionGood morning.The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hailed three years of resistance ... three years of absolute heroism of Ukrainians", as foreign leaders arrived in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.What's the latest war news? Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine, using 267 drones and killing at least four people.What did Zelenskyy say about US demands? He claimed the Trump administration was asking Ukraine to pay back $2 for every $1 of military aid the US provides going forward.What do we know about the death toll after three years of war? Zelenskyy said in December that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, with 370,000 injured. US officials estimated last October that 600,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded. In November, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights verified 12,162 civilians killed, including 659 children, though the total is likely much higher. Continue reading...

Whenever you see a horror of anti-democratic rule, remember Mitch McConnell. You have him to thankYou would think that this is exactly what Mitch McConnell wanted. McConnell, the 83-year-old Kentucky senator - who announced last week that he will retire in 2026 and not seek an eighth term - is one of the most influential Republicans in the history of the party. But he has in recent weeks expressed dissent and discontent with the direction of the Republican party. He voted against some of Donald Trump's cabinet appointees, refusing, for example, to cast a vote for the confirmation of the anti-diversity campaigner and alleged rapist and drunk Pete Hegseth.He has also voiced some tepid and belated opposition to Republicans' extremist agenda, citing his own experience as a survivor of childhood polio as a reason for his opposition to Republican attacks on vaccines. But the Republican party that McConnell is now shaking his head at is the one that he created. He has no one but himself to blame.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

The death of one of the sea's uglier creatures has led to an outpouring online. What is it about this unfortunate creature that has evoked such big feelings?Here's an unexpected addition to our 2025 bingo card: young women across the internet have been devastated by the demise of a nightmarish fanged fish. A black seadevil anglerfish (unflatteringly described by one marine biologist as pretty much evolved to be a giant head"), usually a deep-sea dweller, was recently caught on camera swimming close to the surface by a shark research group near Tenerife. Sadly, apparently sick or injured, it died.This, however, was only the start of the anglerfish's journey in the hearts and TikToks of young women. The fish's story has triggered an outpouring of emotion. The narrative they have adopted is that the tiny anglerfish, who lived her life in darkness, wanted to feel the sun on her face", so swam alone through the vast ocean to do that before expiring. There have been tattoos, poetry and oceans of tears. If you have a girlfriend right now, do yourself a favour and go ask her how she's feeling about the anglerfish," wrote one TikTok user. There is a 98% chance she has already bawled her eyes out about it." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Terrorist group the Base appears defiant as new administration aims to deprioritize threat from far rightAn international neo-Nazi terrorist group with origins in the US appears to be quickly rebuilding its global and stateside ranks, according to information obtained by the Guardian from its digital accounts.Founded in 2018, the Base has been the intense focus of a years-long FBI counter-terrorism investigation that has resulted in more than a dozen of its members arrested. It has plotted an assassination, mass shootings and other actions in Europe, which made it a proscribed terrorist organization in several countries. Continue reading...

After bouncing back remarkably from a major knee injury, the Fighting Irish point guard could overtake UConn's Paige Bueckers in AprilThere aren't a lot of people who can tell you what it feels like to enter college knowing professional teams already see you as a potential No 1 draft pick four years down the road. There are even fewer who can share how they prepared to hit a college court as an early enrollee, starting on a team with players three to four years older than them.There are fewer still who had all that under their belts and then suffered a season-ending (and potentially career-ending) injury a year later - and who bounced back in such a tremendous way. Continue reading...

Millie had fantastic recall, unlike mine. Now there are parts of my past - and myself - that I'll never be able to rememberI was midway through Kathryn Mannix's With the End in Mind when it happened. It's a comforting book - the author is a palliative care consultant - that describes the basics of a good death: a diminuendo. The mind fades. The breath slows. Inevitably, gently, life stops.And then I got the call: my sister Millie had died. Her death, at the age of 47, was sudden and unexpected. She was my only sibling - four years younger than me. I put the book down. I'll probably never finish it.Jason Hazeley is a comedy writer who is partly responsible for TV untellectual Philomena CunkDo 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...

Like a judo master, the Russian aggressor wears down his opponents until they break. Then he comes back for moreI have a friend, an American author, who writes about war. Over the past decades, he has been to South Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza and other conflict zones. In the case of Ukraine, he said one thing stood out: here it was obvious who was the aggressor and who was the victim. Alongside Bosnia, Ukraine's resistance to Russia remains, in his opinion, one of two truly just wars.After three years of fighting a just war against Putin's aggression, we are now facing, with Donald Trump, an unjust peace. Ukraine will lose lands and will not receive compensation for its losses. War crimes will go unpunished and Ukrainians will not be provided with the security guarantees needed to protect them from future Russian attack.Yaroslav Hrytsak is a historian and professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv Continue reading...

The sooner the US's former friends realise the old global order is over, the sooner they can organise to regain power and agency - the only language Trump understandsA resonant phrase during Donald Trump's first administration was the advice to take him seriously, but not literally". It was a singularly detrimental expression, widely quoted by politicians and the media. Its adoption fit with the position many felt most comfortable taking: Trump was bad, but he wasn't smart. He wasn't intentional. He wasn't calculated and deliberate. He sounded off, but rarely followed up with action. He was in essence a misfiring weapon that could do serious damage, but mostly by accident.The residue of that approach still persists, even in analysis that describes Trump's first executive orders as a campaign of shock and awe", as if it were just a matter of signalling rather than executing. Or that his plan for Gaza is to be taken - you guessed it - seriously, not literally. When that was suggested to Democratic senator Andy Kim, he lost it. I understand people are bending over backwards to try to mitigate some of the fallout from these statements that are made," he told Politico. But Trump is the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the world ... if I can't take the words of the president of the United States to actually mean something, rather than needing some type of oracle to be able to explain, I just don't know what to think about when it comes to our national security."Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

It's Donald Trump's world now we are just living in it (derogatory)

Selection of former Secret Service agent and author means two staunch Trump allies lead the principal federal law enforcement agencyDan Bongino, a former US Secret Service agent who has written bestselling books, run unsuccessfully for office and gained fame as a conservative pundit with TV shows and a popular podcast, has been chosen to serve as the FBI's deputy director.President Donald Trump announced the appointment on Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as a man of incredible love and passion for our country". He called the announcement great news for law enforcement and American justice". Continue reading...

On a fairly subdued red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild awards, the cast of Wicked stood out in full fantasy regalia. Here's a look at what the stars wore - including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Timothee Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Jeremy Allen White and Demi Moore

From a fight over a $500bn minerals deal to Trump surrendering to the Russians' - here are the key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceAs Ukraine prepared to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would be willing to step down if it meant peace or membership of Nato, something the US and some other Nato member states oppose. Zelenskyy insisted he wanted good, friendly" relations with America - a strategic partner" - and shrugged off Trump's bruising description of him as a dictator" for not holding elections during wartime.But he also said that he would not sign a $500bn minerals deal proposed by the US. He said the figure was far higher than the US's actual military contribution of $100bn. Continue reading...

All but handful of agency's personnel around world to be placed on paid leave, according to notice sent to workersThe Trump administration on Sunday said it was placing all but a handful of USAid personnel around the world on paid administrative leave and eliminating about 2,000 of those positions in the US, according to a notice sent to agency workers and posted online.As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAid direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," the notice said. Continue reading...

Oklahoma's Markwayne Mullin says he would not change constitution unless the American people chose to do that'A conservative lawmaker poured cold water on extremist Republican fantasies that Donald Trump could find a way to run for an unconstitutional third presidential term, saying he would not support that barring an amendment to the US constitution that would legalize it.Asked Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press about Trump's boasts that he might just stay in the Oval Office after his second presidency ends in 2028, the Republican US senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said: No, I'm not changing the constitution, first of all, unless the American people chose to do that." Continue reading...

Enrique Tarrio denies involvement despite organizers attributing threat to someone claiming to be Enrique T'Attendees of a center-right political conference in Washington DC were forced to evacuate on Sunday, after someone claiming to be Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was convicted and then pardoned for his role in the January 6 insurrection, allegedly emailed in a bomb threat against the event. Tarrio denied any involvement in the incident.Organizers of the Principles First summit, which is considered a center-right alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), confirmed the bomb threat after they abruptly asked attendees to clear the room hosting the conference. Continue reading...

Agency reportedly seeking guidance from DoJ as Musk's demand sparks confusion across key government agenciesThe new FBI director, Kash Patel, has told his agency employees to hold off on responding to an email from the Donald Trump administration asking them to list their accomplishments in the last week as tech billionaire Elon Musk expands his crusade to slash the federal government's size.Hundreds of thousands of federal workers had been given little more than 48 hours to explain what they achieved to the office of personnel management (OPM), sparking confusion across key agencies that included the US's top law enforcement agency. Continue reading...

Senator Jack Reed hits out at Trump's verbal attacks on Ukrainian president and increased alignment with RussiaA senior Democratic lawmaker accused Donald Trump of surrendering to the Russians" on Sunday, as Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff said talks between the US and Russia over Ukraine was the only way to end the carnage".In an interview on ABC News' This Week, Democratic senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, hit out at Trump's recent verbal attacks on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and increased alignment with Russia. Continue reading...

The slash-and-burn approach of Trump and his Doge' head Musk has reinvigorated resistance to the administrationOn a bright winter's day this week, a group of protesters fanned out along a palm tree-lined thoroughfare in the picturesque city of Palm Desert to demand that their Republican congressman stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk's slash-and-burn effort to reshape the American government. You work for us, not Musk!" read one sign. Remember your oath," another warned, as a mobile billboard circled nearby, featuring the president and the billionaire tech mogul, with the message: When he's snooping through your bank accounts, you dump him."The group, dozens strong, cheered wildly when the driver of a white Tesla turned the corner and laid on his horn. A smaller contingent of constituents had attempted to secure a meeting with the congressman, Ken Calvert, but found the door of his regional office locked and the blinds drawn. Continue reading...

The eclectic neighborhood was devastated by the wildfire last month; galleries and artists are now working to protect its legacyA charred baby Slinky, a handful of book ash, blackened cowrie shells from a necklace made in Ghana. These are some of the remnants of precious things the artist Kenturah Davis has salvaged from what is left of her Altadena home.Nearby, there is virtually nothing left of her parents' home of 40 years. Gone are her mother's intricately stitched quilts and a trove of paintings and sketches Davis's father made of Hollywood backlots during his decades of working on television and movie sets. Continue reading...

ReidOut is being cancelled as part of a lineup shuffle being helmed by the network's new president, Rebecca KutlerMSNBC has reportedly canceled longtime anchor Joy Reid's show in what is evidently a major programming restructure at the liberal network.Speaking to the New York Times, two people familiar with the reshuffling told the outlet that Reid's 7pm show, The ReidOut, is being cancelled as part of a lineup shuffle being helmed by the network's new president, Rebecca Kutler. Continue reading...

A doctor, a nurse and a custodian at UPMC Memorial, and two other officers were shot and wounded in attackA man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties entered a Pennsylvania hospital's intensive care unit Saturday and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead, authorities said.Three workers at UPMC Memorial hospital, including a doctor, a nurse and a custodian, and two other officers were shot and wounded in the attack, York county district attorney Tim Barker said. A fourth staffer was injured in a fall.Guardian staff contributed reporting Continue reading...

John Feeley launches stinging critique of US president's bully-boy approach to Latin AmericaThe former US ambassador to Panama has launched a stinging critique of Donald Trump's approach towards Latin America, comparing his conduct to that of the ruthless and egotistical fictional mob boss Tony Soprano.In the first month of his presidency, the US president has shocked some observers with his aggressive focus on a region many expected him to largely ignore. Early steps have included threatening to take back" the Panama Canal, accusing Mexico's government of being in cahoots with narco-traffickers, sending an envoy to meet the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and clashing with Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, over deportation flights. Continue reading...

Scrim the tramp terrier, known for his many getaways, now has a home and an extended family to look over himCalling King Solomon.The wiry terrier named Scrim who had virtually all of New Orleans looking for him while he spent most of the previous year on the run - enduring a hurricane, a historic snowfall and other perils - landed in the middle of an adoption controversy among those who recently brought him to heel again and then wanted to keep him. Continue reading...