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Starmer’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ strategy on Trump seeks to protect UK-US ties but divides opinion at home

Prime minister hopes for ‘pragmatic’ solutions, while US president drops one diplomatic bomb after another

In his account of Tony Blair’s years in power, The New Machiavelli, Jonathan Powell sets out two opposing strategies for any British prime minister in dealing with their counterpart in the White House.

The first, he says, is “cutting a bella figura” – parading for show – by openly criticising the US president, for which he gives the example of the French. The other, and the approach preferred by Powell, is to do diplomacy in private and build a close relationship, in the hope of having greater influence.

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© Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

© Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

© Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock

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Lawyers say 18-year-old will plead guilty to North Carolina shooting that left five dead

Authorities believe that in 2022 Austin Thompson, then 15, went on killing rampage, beginning with his older brother

An 18-year-old plans to plead guilty to a 2022 mass shooting in North Carolina that left five people dead – including his older brother – avoiding a trial in February, his attorneys have said.

A written notice filed in Wake county court by the lawyers for Austin Thompson said their client intends to plead guilty to all charges against him.

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© Photograph: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

© Photograph: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

© Photograph: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

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US justice department subpoenas Minnesota Democrats accused of impeding ICE efforts

Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey among officials who received subpoenas

The justice department subpoenaed several top officials in Minnesota on Tuesday as part of its investigation into whether Minneapolis officials have conspired to impede federal immigration efforts there.

A copy of a subpoena to the office of the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, obtained by the Guardian, requests guidance and policies related to immigration enforcement in Minnesota since last year. It also requests communication regarding those policies with other state agencies, as well as documents related to “hindering, doxxing, identifying, or surveilling immigration officers”.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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The transatlantic order is crumbling. Greenland is a moment of great rupture | Christopher S Chivvis

Trump’s demand for Greenland is a throwback to the 1884 Berlin conference: a transaction of land and people driven by a might makes right worldview

The announcement on 17 January that Washington will impose punitive tariffs of 10% to 25% on eight European allies – unless they facilitate the “complete and total purchase” of Greenland – is likely to be the death knell of the post-1945 transatlantic order. By linking the territorial sovereignty of a Nato ally to trade access, the US has transitioned from Europe’s security guarantor to a 19th-century imperial rent-seeker.

This is a moment of profound rupture. For decades, the western world believed that raw imperialism had been relegated to the past among advanced industrial powers. Even China, for all its assertiveness, largely couches its ambitions in the language of revanchism – the “reclaiming” of lost territory. Washington’s current demand for Greenland, by contrast, is a throwback to the age of the 1884 Berlin conference: a transaction of land and people driven by a might makes right worldview.

Christopher S Chivvis is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former US national intelligence officer for Europe

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© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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Bodø/Glimt give Manchester City one hell of a Champions League beating

To channel Bjørge Lillelien and his famous commentary on Norway’s win against England in 1981: Pep Guardiola, your Manchester City boys took a heck of a beating here on the shores of the Norwegian Sea, below the skies of the aurora borealis, and on the Aspmyra Stadion’s artificial pitch graced by this immortal Bodø/Glimt victory which downed a continental superpower.

Jonas Gahr Støre was present to witness a win that came courtesy of Kasper Høgh’s two first-half goals plus Jens Petter Hauge’s curled peach after the interval, as Norway’s prime minister escaped Donald Trump’s curious obsession with the Nobel peace prize: another measure of how this result will never be forgotten.

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© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

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Ring a Republican: Payphones linking San Francisco and Texas aim to bridge US political divides

A Matter Neuroscience project lets callers in liberal San Francisco and conservative Abilene speak across party lines

Two experimental payphones – one placed in San Francisco and the other in Abilene, Texas – are connecting strangers across party lines, allowing callers to speak directly with Democrats and Republicans in two of the US’s most ideologically opposed cities.

The project is the work of Matter Neuroscience, a Boulder, Colorado-based biotech company and is fashioned out of old payphones bought off Facebook. One phone sits outside Black Serum Tattoo parlor in San Francisco’s Mission District – and the other is in downtown Abilene by the bookstore Seven and One Books. Each phone is marked with a sign explaining that callers will be connected to someone from the opposite end of the political spectrum.

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© Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Getty Images

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UK to hand Chagos Islands to Mauritius despite Trump’s taunts, No 10 says

PM’s spokesperson insists government’s position is unchanged and that the US still supports the deal

The UK will press ahead with plans to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius despite Donald Trump calling it an “act of great stupidity” and suggesting it was among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.

The US president said ceding sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Diego Garcia military base, was a sign of “total weakness” by the UK.

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© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

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Concerned European football chiefs discuss response to Trump over Greenland

  • Annex attempt could bring about Uefa-led boycott

  • Implications for World Cup alarming heads of FAs

European football leaders are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s wish to annex Greenland, and they have held initial discussions about how the sport could respond.

The Guardian understands the implications for the World Cup this summer were among the topics raised among about 20 football association heads in Budapest on Monday. Talks about the Greenland crisis were held informally on the sidelines of an event organised to celebrate the Hungarian football federation’s 150th anniversary, in the knowledge that a unified European response may be required should Trump seek to escalate the situation.

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© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn

Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt

The global attack on nature is threatening the UK’s national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages and price rises, and global disorder.

Food supplies are particularly at risk since “without significant increases” the UK would be unable to compete with other nations for scarce resources, a report to ministers says.

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© Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

© Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

© Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

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Palestinian refugees’ West Bank football pitch saved after Uefa president lobbies Israel

  • Ceferin, as well as Fifa, intervened with the Israeli FA

  • Aida facility was set to be removed by security forces

A football pitch used by refugees in the occupied West Bank has been saved from demolition after an intervention by the president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin.

A decision to stop plans to remove the pitch in the Aida refugee camp outside Bethlehem was taken by Israeli security forces on Tuesday after an international campaign for its preservation.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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Nervous rex: the Davos elite brace for Trump and his dinosaur diplomacy

Leaders of EU, France and Canada stake out positions on Greenland ahead of US president’s speech to World Economic Forum

“There’s no diplomacy with Donald Trump: he’s a T rex. You mate with him or he devours you.” Debate at the World Economic Forum annual meetings high in the Swiss Alps is usually scrupulously polite, but as this year’s gathering got under way in Davos on Tuesday, California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, had this blunt advice for handling the week’s star speaker.

The US president was yet to arrive but throughout the blond wood congress centre the hottest topic among the global elite of business and politics – on and off conference stages – was Trump’s intemperate attack on European allies, threatening punitive tariffs if they fail to let him annex Greenland.

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© Photograph: Michael Buholzer/EPA

© Photograph: Michael Buholzer/EPA

© Photograph: Michael Buholzer/EPA

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Julia Letlow launches Trump-backed Senate primary bid against Bill Cassidy

Louisiana congresswoman is challenging Cassidy, who voted to convict the US president after 2021 Capitol attack

Louisiana congresswoman Julia Letlow officially announced her bid for Senate on Tuesday after receiving a “complete and total” social media endorsement from Donald Trump over the weekend.

Letlow, a Republican, is issuing a primary challenge to two-term GOP incumbent Bill Cassidy, a former physician who once voted to convict the president of inciting an insurrection during his second impeachment trial after the 2021 Capitol riots.

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© Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Europe condemns Trump’s ‘new colonialism’ as Greenland crisis grows

US president says there is ‘no going back’ on goal of controlling Arctic territory as Emmanuel Macron leads European resistance

European leaders have lined up to condemn Donald Trump’s “new colonialism” and warn that the continent was facing a crossroads as the US president said there was no going back on his goal of controlling Greenland.

After weeks of aggressive threats by Trump to seize the vast Arctic island, which is a largely autonomous part of Denmark, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said on Tuesday he preferred “respect to bullies” and the “rule of law to brutality”.

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© Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/Sipa/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/Sipa/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini/Sipa/Shutterstock

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Why the Trump administration’s demand for a list of Jews at Penn is so dangerous | Sigal Ben-Porath, Serena Mayeri and Amanda Shanor

If history teaches us anything, it is that making lists of Jews, no matter the ostensible purpose, is often a prelude to their and others’ persecution

This month, a judge ordered the University of Pennsylvania to justify its refusal to collect and disclose the names and personal contact information of Jewish faculty, staff and students to the federal government. Late last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Penn to force compliance with this chilling demand, made in the name of fighting antisemitism. Jewish and non-Jewish community members at Penn and beyond have united to support the university’s resistance to compiling and releasing data about members of campus Jewish organizations, the Jewish studies department, and individuals who participated in confidential listening sessions and surveys about antisemitism.

That such a diverse array of organizations, including Penn’s Hillel and Meor chapters, AAUP-Penn, the Association for Jewish Studies, the American Council on Education and Pen America, as well as local chapters of the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federation and the American Jewish Committee, have all spoken against the EEOC’s lawsuit reflects how deeply disturbing it is to think of the government demanding such a list. The Trump administration claims to act in the name of Jewish safety and against antisemitism, but this common reaction from groups with often divergent views may reflect a growing concern that its actions belie those laudable aims.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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‘Children make mistakes,’ David Beckham says after Brooklyn post

Comments come day after son publicly aired grievances and said he had no interest in reconciling with family

David Beckham has said parents must let their children “make mistakes” just a day after his son Brooklyn publicly aired his grievances with his family in an Instagram post that drew global media attention.

Brooklyn, 26, made a host of claims regarding the former England footballer and his wife, the singer and fashion designer Victoria Beckham.

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© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

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Bodø/Glimt v Manchester City: Champions League – live

⚽ Champions League updates; kick-off 5.45pm GMT
Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Barry

Erling Haaland: Having grown up in Bryne, a mere 1,948 kilometres south of Bodo, this represents something of a homecoming for the Manchester City striker. The 25-year-old has scored five goals in the Champions League this season and will be hoping to add to his tally following an extremely fallow period in which he has scored just one goal, a penalty against Brighton, in his last seven games in all competitions.

Marc Guehi: The England defender completed a £20m move to Manchester City from Crystal Palace yesterday, with Pep Guardiola describing him as a high-class defender who is the “perfect age” and will provide an immediate boost owing to injuries. Sadly, the boost won’t be as immediate as Pep would like because his new recruit is ineligible to play against Bodo/Glimt. Jamie Jackson reports from just north of the Arctic Circle …

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© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images

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Tottenham 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Champions League – live reaction

⚽ Champions League updates | Clockwatch live
Live scores | Table | Follow us over on Bluesky

The only player on a yellow card is the Spurs substitute Randal Kolo Muani.

The players emerge from the tunnel. It’s hard to make out the atmosphere because the Champions League music is blaring out around the ground.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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Six-year-old girl is only member of family to survive Spanish rail disaster

Child was on way home from a musical with parents, brother and cousin when trains collided, killing 42 people

A six-year-old girl who had travelled to Madrid to see a musical was the only member of her family to survive Sunday’s rail disaster in southern Spain, which killed 42 people, among them her parents, her brother and her cousin.

The girl, who has not been named, was found walking along the tracks after two trains collided near the town of Adamuz in the Córdoba province of Andalucía. She had emerged from the accident with only a minor head wound.

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© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

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Inter 1-3 Arsenal, Real Madrid 6-1 Monaco, Sporting 2-1 PSG: Champions League – live

⚽ Champions League updates | Follow Spurs v Dortmund
Live scores | Table | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Will

In case you were wondering, Club Brugge won 4-1 away at Kairat earlier today.

Mikel Arteta does not look concerned.

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© Photograph: Fabrizio Carabelli/PA

© Photograph: Fabrizio Carabelli/PA

© Photograph: Fabrizio Carabelli/PA

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The Guardian view on the French far right: mainstream parties are running out of time | Editorial

A Paris appeals court will decide if Marine Le Pen can stand in next year’s presidential election. But legal troubles have not damaged the fortunes of her party

In a Paris courtroom, the first act of the 2027 French presidential election is already under way. On Tuesday Marine Le Pen began to answer judges’ questions in her appeal against a conviction relating to the embezzlement of European parliament funds. If she wins, the far-right leader will be free to run for the presidency for a fourth time. If the sentence is upheld, her 30-year-old protege, Jordan Bardella, is almost certain to take her place in the race.

Having presented the original verdict as an assault on democracy by judges bent on thwarting her political ambitions, Ms Le Pen has softened her stance. If the appeals court is swayed by arguments that offences committed by her National Rally party were inadvertent, a five-year ban on running for public office may be reduced or overturned. Even if she loses, however, her political opponents may not be inclined to celebrate too enthusiastically.

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.

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© Photograph: Cyril PECQUENARD/SIPA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Cyril PECQUENARD/SIPA/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Cyril PECQUENARD/SIPA/Shutterstock

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Trump’s board of peace is an imperial court completely unlike what was proposed

The US president’s global club was endorsed by the security council on a false prospectus and seems aimed at displacing the United Nations

Like many punters who have tried to do business with Donald Trump in the past, the UN has found itself a victim of a classic bait-and-switch, thinking it was buying one thing, but getting quite another.

When they voted to endorse the board of peace in November, other members of the UN security council hoped they were binding Trump into a Gaza peace process, but it now appears they were hoodwinked into backing a Trump-dominated pay-to-play club: a global version of his Mar-a-Lago court aimed at supplanting the UN itself.

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© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

© Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

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Rosenior adamant PSG and Real Madrid target Fernández’s long-term future is at Chelsea

  • Fernández linked with Champions League winners

  • Chelsea have no intention of selling Argentina midfielder

Liam Rosenior has dealt a blow to Paris Saint-Germain’s and Real Madrid’s hopes of signing Enzo Fernández by insisting the midfielder’s long-term future lies at Chelsea.

There has been plenty of noise around Fernández over the past week, with reports in France claiming PSG are targeting him as part of their plans to rebuild their midfield this summer. Madrid are also being talked up as a potential destination for the Argentina international, particularly as they are short of a player capable of dictating play, but Rosenior has no doubts about the 25-year-old’s commitment to Chelsea.

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© Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters

© Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters

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Era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ is here, UN report says

Overuse and pollution must end urgently as no one knows when whole system might collapse, says expert

The world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy” that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared.

The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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