The acting attorney general went to Capitol Hill to allay Republicans’ concerns over a fund to pay people who claim government mistreatment. It did not go well.
The discussions suggest that the U.S. and the Iranian government may not be close to reaching a deal to end a war that has badly damaged the global economy
After a week like Keir Starmer just had, what could one possibly do to cheer up the beleaguered UK prime minister? (Aside from his beloved Arsenal winning the Premier League title, that is.)
Perhaps remind him he’s not Friedrich Merz or Emmanuel Macron. Starmer may not be flavour of the month with UK voters or his own Labour MPs right now, but both the German and French leaders have barrel-scraping approval ratings that make the British PM look popular in comparison.
Even among the less-disliked European leaders, Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Pedro Sánchez of Spain are only marginally more liked than Donald Trump is in the US – and neither of them have started a war in Iran.
What’s behind this widespread disaffection for Europe’s leaders? Are they a generationally bad crop of politicians or have they been dealt an impossible hand of social and economic circumstances – or is it a mixture of both?
For our cover story this week, Daniel Boffey asks what Europe’s embattled leaders can do to reverse that sinking feeling. Then, from our UK political team, Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker look back on a week when Starmer was left looking increasingly like an interim PM.
Spotlight | Xi rolled out the red carpet for Trump, but that was all There was no swift end to the Iran war, uncertainty over Taiwan and only vague outlines of commercial deals – but the US president at least got to bask in the company of his Chinese counterpart, reports David Smith
Technology | Despite rise of AI, is there still hope for Europe’s translators? A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yet, writes Philip Oltermann
Feature | The sinister spread of France’s killer seaweed After a series of deaths on the beaches of Brittany, one bereaved family set out to prove the foul-smelling bloom was to blame. Marta Zaraska investigates
Opinion | Normalising Reform UK’s ideas turns neighbour against neighbour “Concern” about immigration has now morphed into policing how ethnic minorities exist in our communities, argues Nesrine Malik
Culture | How Backrooms upended the horror movie It started off just as a creepy picture on the internet. Now it’s the year’s freakiest film. Steve Rose meets its auteur, Kane Parsons, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve
What else we’ve been reading
The Guardian’s new list of the 100 best novels of all time provoked extensive discussion in my household. How many have you read? I won’t embarrass myself by divulging my own total, except to admit there is considerable catching up to be done. Graham Snowdon, editor
Politidex is a Pokémon-like mobile phone game where players can build their own political party by “catching” local councillors and MPs. Having started life as an April Fools’ Day joke, the game’s mission is now to humanise both politics and politicians, says its creator in this interesting piece. Bowie Qiu, Marketing manager
Once seen by some as the most conventional of President Trump’s political appointees, Todd Blanche has been uncompromising in his role as acting attorney general.
The fund that could offer payouts to Trump allies seems to contradict a policy instituted under former Attorney General Pam Bondi last year, legal experts said.
The indictment against Raúl Castro was an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Cuba’s Communist government.
The possibility that people who ransacked the Capitol could get money from the government they attacked is the latest twist in the president’s effort to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.
An Israeli strike designed to free Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from house arrest was part of an effort to bring about regime change and put him in power, U.S. officials said.
The warning was issued as President Trump and Vice President JD Vance say progress is being made toward a deal, while keeping open the threat of renewed strikes.
China’s leader Xi Jinping called for a halt to fighting in the Middle East, ignored Russia’s war in Ukraine and took a veiled swipe at the United States.
Parts of the MAGA movement are unhappy with President Trump’s migration strategy. The administration has softened its policy on deportations following a public uproar over the ICE killings in January, it is said. The focus has been on removing only the most violent offenders. “The truth is the first year was not a year of mass deportation,” says Mike Howell of the Mass Deportation Coalition. “A conscious
Donald Trump has had a career-long love-hate relationship with the press. On one hand, he popularized the phrase “fake news” and branded the press “the enemy of the people.” On the other, the President takes phone calls from virtually every reporter with his personal cell and is fixated on cable news and his print media coverage. Trump views journalists as friends, foes…
Donald Trump flew to Beijing this week and wants three things when he sits down with China’s President Xi Jinping: a tariff truce that survives his own courts, Chinese pressure on Iran to end the war that never seems to end and a photograph that makes him look victorious. Xi has problems of his own. But he has watched four American presidencies from Zhongnanhai, the walled compound beside the Forbidden City where the Communist party leadership rules, and he knows the value of silence when his counterpart is talking himself into trouble. Trump’s approval rating is the lowest of his second term. What Xi wants from this meeting with Trump is recognition: two great powers, two systems, meeting as equals Trump has obliged Xi noisily.
Justices Hint at Strains as Supreme Court Comes Under Scrutiny
In appearances across the U.S., the justices have defended the role of the court, even as what appear to be strained relations among them have emerged.
A New York Times/Siena poll found that while President Trump is very popular within the Republican coalition, a sizable share wants change from the next nominee.
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, answered questions about President Trump’s new $1.8 billion fund for those claiming mistreatment by Democrats.
President Trump’s open willingness to hold up a $14 billion Taiwan arms package is a win for Beijing. Now China could be weighing how to keep the weapons on ice for as long as it can.
More than a quarter-million people commute on the nation’s busiest passenger rail service. Workers, who have not received a raise since 2022, went on strike on Saturday.
The defeat of Senator Bill Cassidy showed President Trump’s party dominance, but Republicans are bracing for a potential backlash to his presidency in November.
Terakeet, a reputation management firm, attempted to downplay the friendship of the Goldman Sachs general counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, with Jeffrey Epstein.
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