Piers Morgan suffers broken leg after tripping at London restaurant







Next few weeks will show if Trump has finally pushed too far with Greenland levies, as calls grow for bloc to take tougher action
As the sun set over the port of Limassol in Cyprus, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, last Thursday used a tried and tested formula to describe the US – calling it one of “our allies, our partners”. Only 24 hours earlier, Denmark, an EU and Nato member state, had warned that Donald Trump was intent on “conquering” Greenland, but the reflex at the top of the EU executive to describe the US as a friend runs deep.
Trump’s weekend announcement that eight countries that have supported Greenland would face tariffs unless there was a deal to sell the territory to the US was another hammer to the transatlantic alliance, mocking the notion that the US is Europe’s ally. The eight countries include six EU member states, as well as Norway and the UK, the latter unprotected by the much vaunted “special relationship”. It suggests that Europe’s strategy of flattering and appeasing the US president has failed.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Thierry Charlier/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Thierry Charlier/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Thierry Charlier/AFP/Getty Images

© Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for AFI

© Kayla Wolf/Getty Images
Tariff threats over the Arctic island expose the limits of coercive diplomacy. Europe’s united response and pushback shows fear is fading
For all Donald Trump’s bluster about restoring American strength, his attempt to bully European allies over Greenland reveals a deeper weakness: coercive diplomacy only works if people are afraid to resist. Increasingly, they aren’t. And that is a good thing. Bullies often back down when confronted – their power relies on fear. Mr Trump’s threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Europeans unless they acquiesce to his demand to “purchase” Greenland has stripped his trade policy bare. This is not about economic security, unfair trade or protecting American workers. It is about using tariffs as a weapon to force nations to submit.
The response from Europe has been united and swift. That in itself should send a message. France’s Emmanuel Macron says plainly “no amount of intimidation” will alter Europe’s position. Denmark has anchored the issue firmly inside Nato’s collective security. EU leaders have warned that tariff threats risk a dangerous downward spiral. Even Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, seen as ideologically close to Mr Trump, publicly called the tariff threat a “mistake” – adding that she has told him so.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images
Errors in measuring microplastic pollution can be corrected. Public trust in science also needs to be shored up
It is true that science is self-correcting. Over the long term this means that we can generally trust its results – but up close, correction can be a messy process. The Guardian reported last week that 20 recent studies measuring the amount of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body have been criticised in the scientific literature for methodological issues, calling their results into question. In one sense this is the usual process playing out as it should. However, the scale of the potential error – one scientist estimates that half the high-impact papers in the field are affected – suggests a systemic problem that should have been prevented.
The risk is that in a febrile political atmosphere in which trust in science is being actively eroded on issues from climate change to vaccinations, even minor scientific conflicts can be used to sow further doubt. Given that there is immense public and media interest in plastic pollution, it is unfortunate that scientists working in this area did not show more caution.
Continue reading...
© Illustration: Guardian Design

© Illustration: Guardian Design

© Illustration: Guardian Design


© Illustration: Nicola Jennings/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nicola Jennings/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nicola Jennings/The Guardian

© Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
Karoline Leavitt was recorded warning network to put out new interview with president in full and without edits
Donald Trump’s White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, was recently recorded warning CBS News to broadcast a new interview with the president in full and without edits – or “we’ll sue your ass off”.
Trump “said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,’” Leavitt told CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil after he had interviewed the president, according to an audio exchange first reported on by the New York Times. The 13-minute exclusive segment aired on Tuesday, months after CBS’s parent company Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16m over its editing of an unrelated interview ahead of the 2024 election that vaulted him to a second presidency.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Hilary Swift for The New York Times




© Saher Alghorra for The New York Times