
PM’s effort to take heat out of Greenland situation is yet another humiliation in his relationship with The Donald
Toady, or not toady? That is the question. When even Piers Morgan has taken his head out of Donald Trump’s bum far enough to see a glimmer of daylight, then it’s fair to say the US president has probably overstepped the mark.
Not content with threatening tariffs against the UK and seven EU countries for sending troops to Greenland – having previously demanded Nato allies get stuck in to protect the country from Russia and China – The Donald has now sent a letter to the Norwegian prime minister to complain about not winning the Nobel peace prize and to say he was so pissed off he was thinking of starting a war instead.
Continue reading...Memo on how ex-Tory should act after Reform defection seems to channel Ricky Gervais character from The Office
The fallout from Robert Jenrick’s abrupt and chaotic defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK on Thursday continued over the weekend, with the leaking of a memo prepared by his aides for how he should face the press after the event.
The six-page document coaches Jenrick on how to answer some potentially tricky questions. While it reflects the character of the man himself, it also somehow manages to channel the spirit of David Brent, the character created by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais, and played by Gervais in the original UK version of The Office, which aired from 2001 to 2003.
Continue reading...Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate
Munch, Bourgeois, Gormley and Baselitz go shoulder to shoulder with up-and-coming artists in an exhibition that revels in its stygian gloom
Tracey Emin catches me looking from her self-portrait to her as I try to assess the closeness of the resemblance. Not that close. This inky screenprint is bigger than she is, its face wider and taller. But it’s not a picture of the outer person but an inner vision. As we stand in front of it I seem to fall into radiating pools of blackness – to cross into darkness.
Emin has curated an exhibition for the depths of winter. It’s a generous, unexpected show with an eclectic yet profound openness to kinds of creativity many might think incompatible: paintings, installations, performance art all face the night here. She sets artists she nurtures at the Emin Studios alongside her heroes Edvard Munch, Louise Bourgeois and other luminaries of modern art – if luminary is the right word in this stygian setting. For, by a stroke of lighting genius, the Carl Freedman Gallery has been plunged into nocturnal shadow that still lets you see the art.
Continue reading...Fear, abuse and eroding rights for trans people have created a hostile environment in the US – can they claim asylum in the Netherlands?
Ter Apel, a small, unassuming Dutch town near the German border, is a place tourists rarely have on their itinerary. There are no lovely old windmills, no cannabis-filled coffee shops and on a recent visit it was far too early for tulip season.
When foreigners end up there, it is for one reason: to claim asylum at the Netherlands’ biggest refugee camp, home to 2,000 desperate people from all around the world.
Continue reading...Experts call for tighter regulation as GPS tracking reveals how people’s behaviour affects the lives of some of the world’s largest birds
Many people look up to admire the silhouette of raptors, some of the planet’s largest birds, soaring through seemingly empty skies. But increasingly, research shows us that this fascination runs both ways. From high above, these birds are watching us too.
Thanks to the development of tiny GPS tracking devices attached to their bodies, researchers are getting millions of data points on the day-to-day lives of these apex predators of the skies, giving us greater insight into where they hunt and rest, and how they die.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer has held an emergency press conference in response to Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland. Pippa and Kiran discuss what the UK prime minister said and how it may be received
Continue reading...PM says US tariffs are in no one’s interests – and Greenland row should be resolved through ‘calm discussion’
Keir Starmer has played down the prospect of retaliatory tariffs on the US, saying they would be the “wrong thing to do”, after Donald Trump threatened them against Nato allies to try to secure Greenland.
The prime minister said US tariffs would damage the British economy and were “in no one’s interests”. The UK would instead prefer to address the issue through “calm discussion” between allies, he added.
Continue reading...Reuters obtains letter from union last year raising worries over potholes and power lines amid investigations into cause of devastating crash
King Felipe of Spain has expressed his “concern about the terrible accident” in which at least 39 people have been killed.
Speaking from Greece, the monarch was quoted as having told the media:
We have been in contact with Sánchez and Juanma Moreno to learn the details. As soon as we finish, we will return as soon as possible. I understand the anguish of the families of the victims and the injured.
We know that many residents of Adamuz assisted the victims immediately, and we express our gratitude to them for that.
Continue reading...Putin shows no signs of ending Ukraine war and claim adds weight to accusation Trump favours Russian president
The Kremlin has announced that Vladimir Putin has been invited to join Donald Trump’s “board of peace”, set up last week with the intention that it would oversee a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Monday that Russia was seeking to “clarify all the nuances” of the offer with Washington, before giving its response.
Continue reading...Trust had $254m invested in companies such as Chevron, BP and Shell in 2024, a nine-year record, analysis shows
The Gates Foundation Trust holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fossil fuel extractors despite Bill Gates’ claims of divestment made in 2019.
End-of-year filings reveal that in 2024 the trust invested $254m in companies that extract fossil fuels such as Chevron, BP and Shell. This was a nine-year record and up 21% from 2016, Guardian analysis found. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest amount since 2019.
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