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Senator hails most effective president in modern history' and says Biden is strongest bet to beat demagogue' TrumpBernie Sanders has offered his backing to Joe Biden, dismissing calls for the man he described as the most effective president in the modern history of our country" to stand down in the upcoming US presidential election.Sanders, the totemic progressive US senator, used an opinion piece in the New York Times to endorse Biden, who has come under increasing fire from fellow Democrats over his ability to beat Donald Trump following a disastrous televised debate between the two. Continue reading...

Longlegs, released last week, is a beautiful and complex film that highlights how far the genre has evolvedThere's nothing I find so cheering, these days, as the rise of the horror movie. Take its intrusion into this year's summer blockbusters. We have the usual soulless franchises and deadly repeats - Despicable Me 4, Deadpool3, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Bad Boys: Ride or Die - and then we have a flicker of light in the dark. Turns out that audiences do want new stories, they do want new characters, and they do want inventive film-making after all. Because a genuinely imaginative - arthouse, even - movie is predicted to draw in big audiences and make a great deal of money. It has come in the form of a horror film: Longlegs.Just released on Friday and starring Nicolas Cage as a serial killer, Longlegs has been reviewed, variously, as the scariest film of the decade", and a film in which every frame is a nightmare". But it is also starkly beautiful - starting from the opening shot, as we follow a small girl's progress through a snowy landscape. We move through claustrophobic basements and misty woods, our eyes flicking to layers of shadow in the background, to wherever the characters have last omitted to look. The film is thick with references for film buffs; flashbacks are indicated through texture and ratio changes; there are arty bursts of absurdity. Continue reading...

The 75-year alliance is at a perilous crux after a summit that failed to deliver for Kyiv or confront the threat Putin poses to Europe's eastWas this the week Ukraine lost the war? Or to put it another way, the week the west lost Ukraine? Heroic battlefield resistance continued, Ukrainian citizens struggled on in the teeth of pitiless atrocities such as the missile strike on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt children's hospital - butin Washington, risk-averse Natoleaders stuck stubbornly to aroute map to defeat.Ultra-cautious US president JoeBiden, whose political weakness grows by the day, says the 32-country alliance is the strongest the world has ever seen. But what use is an alliance that is afraid of a fight? Rarely has the gap between the rhetoric of solidarity and a dismaying political refusal to directlyconfront Russian brutality yawned so wide. Continue reading...

There is much to do to restore trust in politicians but branding Labour as supporters of genocide won't help understandingLabour's thumping majority has transformed the end-of-days atmosphere in the House of Commons under the clapped-out Conservatives into one of buzzy optimism.It's a much more diverse parliament, with the highest number of Muslim MPs ever. As one such MP, back for a fourth term, I was sufficiently emboldened to swear my oath of allegiance on the Qur'an, having previously chosen the atheist affirmation. Continue reading...

With 50,000 visitors estimated to visit the city, most restaurants are hoping for a boost, but some are shunning the event entirelyFor Ricky Ramirez, posting stupid shit" on the Facebook page of his bar, the Mothership, is one way he draws in customers to taste the clever cocktails he crafts in Milwaukee's trendy Bay View neighborhood.Yet a March post that Ramirez wrote in his typically profanity-laced, punctuation-free style declaring that the bar would close over the period of the Republican national convention, which begins in Wisconsin's most populous city next week, brought him the sort of attention he never wanted. Continue reading...

On the surface the US conservative obsession with porn doesn't seem overly problematic - but the word has been weaponized to attack LGBTQ+ rightsThe lines between art and obscenity aren't always clear; pornography can be hard to define. I know it when I see it," the late US supreme court judge Potter Stewart said in his famous non-definition of the term. Continue reading...

Strength of criticism suggests Trump and allies see vice-president as powerful electoral asset for DemocratsWith the state of Joe Biden's re-election campaign in turmoil, Donald Trump and his Republican allies are stepping up attacks on a familiar and, some say, possibly more threatening, political foe: his vice-president, Kamala Harris.In the weeks since Biden's stumbling debate performance, Republicans have intensified what many call racist and misogynistic criticism. They have questioned Harris's competency, mocked her demeanor, and accused her of concealing concerns about the president's health. Trump unveiled a new, derisive nickname for the vice-president, Laffin' Kamala", which he tested at a campaign rally in Florida this week. Continue reading...

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian and professor, on the contemporary threat of authoritarianism in the USDonald Trump has glibly remarked that he would be a dictator on day one" if elected to a second term, and experts on authoritarianism say we should take him seriously.The supreme court's ruling earlier this month giving presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution heightened the risk that Trump could follow through with that plan. Continue reading...

If Trump is re-elected, and a Republican Congress hands him a federal abortion ban, does anyone think he'd veto it?The press has pointed to the near erasure of the word abortion from the new Republican platform as evidence that the mind and soul of the Republican party now reside in the body of Donald J Trump. The document omits the right's top-priority goal of a federal abortion ban and replaces it with Trump's preference to let the states do the dirty work. Missing too is the holy grail of the antiabortion movement: a human life amendment," which would extend to fetuses and embryos the constitutional protections that were seized from pregnant people when the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022.The consensus is that the changes from the 2016 platform, which was used in the 2020 elections, to the 2024 version subordinate the Republican party's long-held principles and strategies - not just on abortion but also on trade, entitlement cuts, and same-sex marriage - to the transient political needs and desires of its leader.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books Continue reading...

Press briefings become flashpoint as journalists criticise culture of denial and non-disclosure around the presidentIt was the moment when long-simmering media resentment at a seemingly opaque White House broke through the surface with startling intensity.With Joe Biden's candidacy teetering in the wake of last month's alarming debate showing, journalists who had covered his presidency full-time for years suddenly asserted that it lacked that most basic political element: credibility. Continue reading...

From the prices to the endless album rereleases, I feel like a conscript in a campaign for cultural and economic dominanceYou don't have to have attended Taylor Swift's Eras tour yourself to be aware of it. After 18 months, it has become an inescapable international juggernaut, with documented effects on economies, infrastructure and policy. Perhaps the closest historical parallel is the Great Exhibition of 1851 - except, while that promised the works of industry of all nations", this spectacle showcases only those of Taylor Alison Swift.That this phenomenon boils down to just one woman is staggering, a reflection of both Swift's once-in-a-generation talent and the direct relationship she has forged with her fans. I started listening to her in 2011, sucked in by the girlish fantasy of Love Story, and never looked back. Many of my closest friendships were built on a shared appreciation: proof of the virtuous cycle started by Swift's honest expression and vulnerability.Elle Hunt is a freelance journalistDo 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 Spanish teenager has lit up Euro 2024 and given a reality check to ageing dreamers of what might have been'Watching the 16-year-old Spanish forward Lamine Yamal waltz across the pitch on Tuesday with the grace and composure of a 20-year veteran, shimmying one way to go the other before expertly placing the ball from well outside the box into the back of the net, completely broke my world.This was an equalising goal against France, who have Kylian Mbappe (who not long ago was football's newest wonderkid) as their talisman and won the World Cup in 2018. It was perhaps the most stunning moment so far in this year's European Championship. And it was produced by a boy - yes, a boy, all of 16 years and 362 days old when he did it (he turns 17 today). After scoring, Lamine Yamal ran to the sidelines to celebrate, only then betraying his age as he flashed a pimple-faced grin, his braces fully on show.Ben Makuch is a freelance journalist Continue reading...

The high-stakes case, which saw the actor charged in the death of Halyna Hutchins, fell apart in a matter of hours. How it happened - and what comes nextWhen Alec Baldwin set out to make the western Rust in 2021, it was a passion project for the veteran actor. He co-created the story, served as a producer and starred as the film's lead Harland Rust, an outlaw with a bounty on his head.Nearly three years on, the 66-year-old had assumed the role of criminal defendant, standing trial in New Mexico for involuntary manslaughter in the death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film's set. Continue reading...

Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial came to a dramatic end on Friday, after a New Mexico judge dismissed the case against the actor and found that the state had improperly withheld evidence related to how live rounds of ammunition ended up on the film set where the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot Continue reading...

Hakeem Jeffries reveals candid' talks with president about 2024 future as another top Democrat urges Biden to pull outJoe Biden delivered a defiant speech on Friday evening in the battleground state of Michigan, firmly dismissing the doubt swirling around his survival as the Democratic presidential nominee.Biden held a rally at a high school gymnasium in Detroit as part of his visit to the critical swing state that chose Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. He walked on stage to audience chants of don't you quit" and addressed the speculation head on: I am running, and we're gonna win," he said. I'm not going anywhere." Continue reading...

New Mexico judge agrees charges should be dropped after lawyers said state buried' evidence about live ammunitionAlec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial came to a dramatic end on Friday, after a New Mexico judge dismissed the case against the actor and found that the state had improperly withheld evidence related to how live rounds of ammunition ended up on the film set where the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot.Just days after courtroom proceedings had begun, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled in favor of the defense and agreed that the charges against Baldwin should be dropped, finding that the state had concealed evidence that would have been favorable to the actor. The dismissal, made with prejudice, puts an end to the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin. Continue reading...

Actor's defense team at Rust film set shooting trial accuses state of concealing ammunition turned over to policeThe judge in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial is considering a motion from the defense to dismiss the case after the actor's lawyers argued that the state improperly withheld evidence.Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the Rust armorer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year, was initially expected take the stand at Baldwin's trial on Friday. But the proceedings took a dramatic turn as Baldwin's defense team accused the state of concealing evidence that would have been favorable to the actor and asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to throw out the case. Continue reading...

Moderate conservative from Maine says she wanted Nikki Haley to win and will write her name on November ballotUS senator Susan Collins didn't vote for her fellow Republican Donald Trump for president in 2016 or 2020 - and the third time will not be the charm.The longtime moderate conservative from Maine told reporters on Friday that she intended to write in former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley's name on the ballot in November. The move recalls 2016, when Collins said she wrote in then-US House speaker Paul Ryan for president over Trump, who won the White House before losing to Democratic rival Joe Biden in 2020. Continue reading...

Ruling clears way for two Georgia election workers to try to recover nearly $150m Giuliani was ordered to pay themA New York judge dismissed Rudy Giuliani's bankruptcy case on Friday, clearing the way for two Georgia election workers to try to recover nearly $150m Giuliani was ordered to pay them for defaming them after the 2020 election.The court finds that cause exists to convert or dismiss the case. The record in this case reflects Mr Giuliani's continued failure to meet his reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor in possession," US bankruptcy judge Sean Lane wrote in his ruling. Lane also barred Giuliani from filing for bankruptcy again within one year. Continue reading...

War veteran CL Daniel was in his 20s when he was killed in 1921, in one of deadliest acts of racist violence in US historyA veteran of the first world war has become the first person identified from graves filled with more than a hundred victims of the 1921 Tulsa massacre of the Oklahoma city's Black community, the mayor said on Friday.Using DNA from descendants of his brothers, the remains of CL Daniel - from Georgia - were identified by Intermountain Forensics, said Mayor GT Bynum and lab officials. Daniel was in his 20s when he was killed. Continue reading...

Butker in May railed against working women, Pride month and abortion in speech that won him support from US conservativesSerena Williams has taken a swing at the Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, saying women don't need" him after he controversially railed against Pride month, working women and abortion rights during a May graduation speech.The 23-time tennis grand slam winner took aim at Butker while she was speaking on stage at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (Espy) awards ceremony on Thursday alongside her sister, Venus Williams - the seven-time tennis grand slam winner - and the Abbott Elementary actor Quinta Brunson. Continue reading...

Top House Democrat shared caucus's heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward' with Biden but did not endorse president's campaign

Coroners in Mendocino county in northern California working to identify remains as state's wildfires intensifyOfficials have found human remains in a burned-out home in Mendocino county, California, marking the first death in the state's 2024 wildfire season.The local coroner's office is working to identify the body, but it may be that of a 66-year-old woman whose family reported her missing. The California department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire, confirmed the discovery of the remains on Friday.California wildfires have burned five times the average area this year, officials sayLike an oven': death at US women's prison amid heatwave sparks cries for helpUS wildfire season has arrived. Here's why it could be an explosive summer Continue reading...

With just one month left before the Democrats convene for their convention, the party has limited time to determine who will be on the top of the ticketAs he addressed reporters at the conclusion of the Nato conference on Thursday, Joe Biden sent a defiant message to his critics: I'm not going anywhere. Despite demands from dozens of Democratic lawmakers that he withdraw from the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance, Biden argued he was the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump in November.I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again," Biden said. There's a long way to go in this campaign, and so I - I'm just going to keep moving." Continue reading...

In text, Kennedy said he had no memory' of alleged late-1990s assault on nanny who lived in Kennedy family homeRobert F Kennedy Jr, the independent presidential candidate, sent a text apologizing to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault in a Vanity Fair article, it was reported on Friday, just days after the increasingly isolated member of the famous political dynasty tried to brush off the scandal.Kennedy said in the text that he had no memory" of the incident but nevertheless apologized in a message his accuser called arrogant" and an attempt at damage control", according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Mike Howell makes comment at Heritage Foundation event where implausible post-election scenarios were sharedA major conservative thinktank previewed rightwing efforts to overturn the 2024 election on Thursday, with a top official saying there was a 0% chance of a free and fair election".Mike Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation, made the comments at an event in Washington sharing the results of a hypothetical exercise mapping out several implausible scenarios that could take place after the election. The outlandish scenarios involved Barbara Streisand being kidnapped by Hamas, antifa-BLM protesters taking over a detention facility and the FBI arresting Donald Trump after winning the election. Continue reading...

The England football manager was once derided as woke' and soft'. But he has succeeded where his predecessors failedIt's just a game, right? Wrong. You don't have to be on nodding terms with, let alone a fan of, the beautiful game to see that Sunday's final of the European Championship - and the fact that England are in it - has a significance that goes beyond sport. It has implications for all the things that usually preoccupy us on these pages: politics, culture wars, race, masculinity, identity and our national story - and, unusually, most of those implications are good.We can dispense swiftly with the most obvious. Keir Starmer likes to say his favourite Labour leader is Harold Wilson, the man who was in Downing Street the last (and only) time England's men won a major international football tournament. Wilson milked that 1966 success the same way he capitalised on Beatlemania, and who could blame him? Success in Berlin on Sunday would give a feelgood boost to the country and be one more bit of luck for a new prime minister who, in recent weeks at least, seems to have been gifted with a crateload of magic lamps and a full squad of genies. Continue reading...

Co-founder of British chipmaker Graphcore, which has been bought by Japan's SoftBank, issues warning

After the disastrous debate with Trump, the president is trying hard to redeem himself, but the gaffes keep comingIn the two weeks since that disastrous debate performance, Joe Biden has been busy.He spent the first few days visiting donors, trying to reassure his financiers that he was up to the job. Then - more than a week later - he kicked off his public reconciliation tour, holding a series of interviews as he seeks to convince Americans that his halting 27 June debate appearance was just a bad night. Continue reading...

Activists plan counter-programming at the Republican convention to warn voters of the dire election stakesFour years ago, progressives in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin were energized about the presidential race, feeling ready and eager to elect Joe Biden and end four years of Donald Trump's chaotic leadership.This year, the nominees for president remain the same, but much has changed. Before Biden's damaging debate performance, leaders of progressive groups were already combating disillusionment and disengagement among many of their supporters, who sharply criticized the president's response to the war in Gaza. Now, with days left before Republicans arrive in Milwaukee to nominate Trump for the third time, the groups' leaders are confronting a fractured Democratic party wrestling with the question of whether to replace their presumptive nominee. Continue reading...

Gareth Southgate's side have made the hardest possible work of this - such is the only script our national psychodrama permitsLight the touchpaper on your flares, because England stands on the threshold of two days of giddy possibility. There is, quite simply, no greater weekend available to an England football supporter than the one leading up to the climax of a major tournament in which the national side has made the final. Truth be told, there is not a whole lot more English than trying to sound insouciantly au fait with that type of weekend. Let's face it, we barely know what we're talking about on this front (also very English). The reality is that England have previously made precisely two of those finals in the entire history of the game, and one of those was on a Saturday, not a Sunday. But listen: three of anything makes a trend.Just as the long buildup to Christmas can be infinitely more joyful and infinitely less stressful than the day itself, so this is a weekend to be intensely savoured before the inevitable tip over into mindless something-or-other when the whistle blows for the end of play on Sunday night. To be clear: I am hoping for mindless euphoria but also preparing for one of the other mindless options available. Expect anything and everything other than mindfulness. With a dedicated breathing coach and movement therapist, there is a definite holistic approach to Gareth Southgate's team bubble - but it's fair to say English fandom remains wholly untouched by wellness. Unless you count sticking a flare up your arse - arguably the England fan's equivalent of Gwyneth Paltrow sticking a jade egg up her vagina.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistDo 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...

Scotland face Eagles at Audi Field but Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, is also focusing on the women's game and moreAlan Gilpin, chief executive of World Rugby, arrived in Washington at a busy time in the US capital.I don't think we knew about the Nato summit when we organised this trip," he says, from a couch on the top floor at the National Association of Realtors, the Capitol dome looming outside. Continue reading...

The influential Democratic podcast has become skeptical of the president's ability to winOn 15 June, Joe Biden flew to Los Angeles for a star-studded campaign fundraiser with Barack Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, Julia Roberts and George Clooney.Three of the hosts of the influential Democratic podcast Pod Save America were among the guests and later said the event left them disturbed. The former Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor said they and other guests had found it chilling". Continue reading...

Republican secretary of state sends vaguely worded letter to voters weeks before primaryTennessee's top election official asked more than 14,000 registered voters to prove their citizenship in a vaguely worded letter last month in what voting and immigrant groups say is an attempt to intimidate voters.The office of the Tennessee secretary of state, Tre Hargett, a Republican, sent the letter to 14,375 voters on 13 June, weeks before early voting was to begin for the state's August primary. Our office has received information that appears to indicate that your voter information matches with an individual who may not have been a United States citizen at the time of obtaining a Tennessee license or ID card," the letter says. Continue reading...

The most talented US men's basketball team since the London Olympics is a Marvel-esque crossover event. Their run for a fifth straight gold in Paris will be can't-miss theaterIn the final scene of Spike Lee's beloved, sports-movie-pantheon-occupying He Got Game, an incarcerated Denzel Washington rockets a basketball over the prison yard wall. The ball magically transcends space and time, landing on the court of Big State and in the hands of his son, played by Ray Allen. The mysticism of the ending remains polarizing, but it beautifully expressed a passing of the torch, a transfer of energy, in a way that few filmmakers have done before or since. Twenty-five years later, in an electric T-Mobile Center on Wednesday evening, I was reminded of this moment as Team USA's LeBron James collected a defensive rebound, spotted Anthony Edwards running back in transition, and propelled a full-court, quarterback-style pass to him, which Edwards converted with a dunk at the other end: basketball's present, and soon-to-be past, throwing the ball to its clear future. Two timelines overlapping. It was poetry.It was crazy," Edwards told the Guardian when asked about the transcendent moment. It's crazy, man, playing on the court with LeBron and Steph. It's a dream come true. I remember watching them going against each other in the finals. So being in the room with them, on the bus with them, all of it. I'm just soaking everything up." Continue reading...

US president introduced Volodymyr Zelenskiy as President Putin' at a Nato summit, but later showed command of thorny foreign policy issues. Plus, the subversive screen presence of Shelley Duvall

Sean O'Brien accused of bolstering most anti-union party and president' by senior members of his own unionTeamsters International president Sean O'Brien has been accused by senior members of the union of disgracing it by agreeing to an unprecedented appearance at next week's Republican national convention.O'Brien's decision was branded unconscionable" by John Palmer, vice-president at large at Teamsters, who accused him of lending support to the most anti-union party and President" in a generation. Continue reading...

Billboards will go up in seven swing states as campaign seeks to publicize manifesto and tie it to ex-presidentDemocrats will put up billboards in swing states that show Donald Trump and tie him to Project 2025, a conservative manifesto that could become reality if he wins in November.The Democratic National Committee's paid media campaign escalates liberal efforts to publicize Project 2025 and tie it to the former president after he sought to distance himself from the plan. The blueprint for a second Trump administration is led by the rightwing thinktank the Heritage Foundation and counts support from more than 100 other conservative groups. Continue reading...

Knockout rounds in the South American championship advance straight to penalties after full-time to help ease the burden on playersFans enjoying the feast of football served up this month by Copa America and Euro 2024, running concurrently on either side of the Atlantic, will have noticed one key difference between the two tournaments: there is no extra time at the end of tied games in the knockout stage of the South American championship.Conmebol, South American soccer's governing body, decided that there would be no extra time played if scores were level at full-time in the quarter- and semi-finals. Instead, as was the case in three of the four quarter-final fixtures, the teams skipped straight to a penalty shootout. Only if all is square between Argentina and Colombia at the end of 90 minutes in the final will there be the conventional extra period of 30 minutes. Continue reading...

The tennis legend couldn't be more famous, but seems puzzled that adoration eludes him. Likeability is complexThere is a truth, not quite universally acknowledged, but worth knowing by anyone who achieves public prominence. Being famous and successful doesn't necessarily equate to being liked. Just ask Novak Djokovic.One of the most recognisable people in the world for almost two decades, on the tennis court Djokovic often carries the aura of an invincible demigod. But in the court of public opinion, he has often shown himself to be a mere mortal.Mark Borkowski is a crisis PR consultant and author Continue reading...

PM says UK is back playing leading role on world stage at conclusion of Nato's 75th anniversary summit Continue reading...

Julio Cervantes Suarez tells NBC he is haunted by the final moments he had with his nephew, who died in the collapse: I relive it all the time'The only construction worker to survive March's deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore has said he is haunted by the fact that he told his nephew to go rest in his car - shortly before the relative fell, along with the vehicle, to his death and became one of six men killed in the disaster.If I had told him to come with me, maybe it would have been different," Julio Cervantes Suarez told NBC News in an interview that the network exclusively aired late on Wednesday. Maybe he would be here with us.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can read out main story here.Keir Starmer is now holding a press conference as he prepares to leave the Nato summit in Washington.The UK prime minister said he had brought a message of enduring and unwavering commitment" to Nato. Starmer said:Every policy we have in pursuit of our missions, everything we're doing to improve people's lives, all that we hold dear, depends on our security.That is our first priority. It is always our first priority. I made that crystal clear to the British people in our campaign and so I also came to this summit with a clear message.The US announced a new security package for Ukraine worth $225m, which includes a Patriot missile battery, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems and missiles. oe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, we will stay with you, period" ahead of a bilateral meeting on Thursday.Zelenskiy urged Nato allies to lift restrictions on its use of long-range weapons against targets in Russia. He said doing so would be a gamechanger" in its war with Moscow, adding: If we want to win, if we want to prevail, to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations."Hungary does not want, and will not support, Nato becoming an anti-China" bloc, foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said. Speaking on the sidelines of a Nato summit, Szijjarto also said Ukraine's admission to the alliance would weaken unity within the group.Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, said that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato was worrying". He added: Any steps that could lead to this outcome should be consciously avoided."Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, will fly to Mar-a-Lago on Thursday to meet with Donald Trump, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting. Orban has enraged his Nato allies by meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping en route to the alliance's summit in Washington DC. He has also met with Zelenskiy in Kyiv, and is said to be quietly negotiating his own ceasefire plan without consulting either the Biden administration or other EU countries.France, Germany, Italy and Poland signed a letter of intent to develop ground-launched cruise missiles with a range beyond 500km (310 miles), aiming to fill what they say is a gap in European arsenals exposed by Russia's war in Ukraine. French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said the new missile was meant to serve as a deterrent.Norway will donate 1bn Norwegian kroner ($92.69m) in support to Ukraine for its air defence, prime minister Jonas Gahr Store said. The donation comes a day after Norway announced it would give six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help it in defence efforts against Russian air attacks.Germany's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that France remained a key partner on the international stage as Emmanuel Macron struggles to build a coalition government after elections. France will be on the international agenda a big partner, a strong partner of all of us, and especially a partner for Germany," Scholz said at the Nato summit on Thursday.Romania, Bulgaria and Greece signed a deal to enable swift cross-border movement of troops and weapons to Nato's eastern flank, Romania's defence ministry said. The planned harmonised military mobility corridor between the three Nato and EU states was one of two such mobility corridors agreed on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Washington DC. Continue reading...

Joe Biden began by shattering his metaphorical vase, and spent the rest of the press conference putting it back togetherThe British politician Roy Jenkins once famously observed that Tony Blair's challenge in getting Labour elected in 1997 was like a man carrying a priceless Ming vase across a highly polished floor".Joe Biden dropped the vase, shattering it into a thousand crazy pieces, before his rare press conference even got started on Thursday. Continue reading...