Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha responds to claims by Moscow of a strike on home in Russia’s Novgorod region
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has echoed Donald Tusk’s optimistic tone regarding talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
He posted to X to confirm there had been “another round of consultations” with “European and Canadian partners”. It is not clear who was in the meeting.
Peace is on the horizon, there is no doubt that things have happened that give grounds for hope that this war can end, and quite quickly, but it is still a hope, far from 100% certain.
We enter 2026 with radical uncertainty about the fate of the US – but also with the clarity that people have the power to determine what it will be
When we talk about opposition in politics, sometimes it’s just a policy disagreement – but in the current political crisis in the US, the opposition has become the opposite of the Trump administration in meaningful ways. It had to because this is not only a policy conflict.
Between the administration and the opposition are actual opposites of principle: among those committed to inclusion and those to exclusion; truth and lies; kindness and cruelty; the protection and destruction of systems that in turn protect the climate or public health.
If the DNC isn’t open and transparent about why they lost, then how can we be sure they will learn their lesson this time?
The Democratic National Committee’s decision to block the release of its own autopsy report on the 2024 election is stunning but not surprising. Averse to unpleasant candor, the Democrats’ governing body functions more like a PR firm than a political organization devoted to grassroots capacities for winning elections. The party’s leaders pose as immune from critique, even if they have led the party to disaster.
Unwilling to depart from the party establishment’s culture of conformity, the DNC has remained under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout 2025. Release of an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders actually want to encourage public discourse about the missteps that enabled Donald Trump to become president again. But the DNC is proceeding as if there’s nothing to be learned from the tragic debacle of 2024 that its leaders don’t already know – and they don’t need to share their purported wisdom with anyone else.
Voter disenchantment: Losing 6.8 million voters who supported Joe Biden in 2020 proved pivotal in the close 2024 election. Harris’s inability to mobilize those pro-Biden voters was a massive failure.
Biden’s betrayal: Biden’s stubborn decision to seek re-election, and his refusal to step aside until very late in the process, robbed Democratic voters of open primaries and undermined Democrats’ chances.
Abandoning the working-class base: With millions of Americans feeling desperate because of rising costs, the Harris campaign lost this Democratic base by bowing to corporate donors’ interests and failing to challenge the impact of corporate greed in escalating inflation.
The Gaza effect: Harris lost many voters – especially young people, Arab-Americans and Muslim Americans, with sizable consequences in Michigan and other swing states – due to her refusal to indicate any openness to shifting her policy position on Israel and Palestine.
Losing young voters: Extensive evidence shows a huge drop-off in Democratic support among young voters aged 18-29.
America must make 2026 the year antisemitism becomes unacceptable again, argues this compelling analysis of rising hatred since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Katherine Maher, the chief executive of NPR, has dealt with plenty of criticism this year. Did she consider quitting? “I really don’t like bullies,” she said.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams accused the Biden administration's DOJ of "lawfare" against political opponents, citing cases against himself and President Donald Trump.
The attack last week, on a dock purportedly used for shipping narcotics, did not kill anyone, people briefed on the operation said. But it was the first known U.S. operation inside Venezuela.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, President Trump had declined to say how the attack had been carried out or by whom but confirmed the United States was responsible.
Donald Trump has said he is not worried by China’s live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan and that he has a great relationship with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, who “hasn’t told me anything about it”.
The American and Israeli leaders showed few signs of disagreement after meeting in Florida, giving no public indication of their growing strains over Gaza, Syria and other issues.
Two men killed in Hegseth-led attack on boat suspected of carrying drugs in international waters, Pentagon says
The US military announced the killing of another two men in “a lethal kinetic strike”on a boat suspected of carrying drugs in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday.
The Pentagon released video of the strike, which brings the total number of known naval attacks on suspected drug smugglers to 30 since September, and raises the death toll to at least 107 people, according to US military figures.
Five Hamas military commanders confirmed dead by terrorist group's armed wing, marking significant blow to Palestinian militant organization's leadership structure in Gaza conflict.
On the fifth anniversary of the attack, which falls next Tuesday, Democrats plan to hold an informal hearing to review President Trump’s clemency for the rioters and G.O.P. attempts to sanitize the event.
Trump supporters heading toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The ensuing riot caused millions of dollars in damage, injured more than 140 police officers and interrupted the certification of the presidential election.
The attack was the 30th announced by the U.S. military since early September. It came days after President Trump said the U.S. had struck a coastal site related to drugs and Venezuela.
The strike, conducted at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, had targeted a boat sailing along a “known narco-trafficking route” in the eastern Pacific.
The U.S.-led negotiations have made some progress, but still face fundamental challenges, including over security guarantees to counter future Russian aggression.
The announcement will likely keep the United States as the biggest international aid donor next year, even as the Trump administration slashes funding for foreign assistance programs.
Trump administration announces $2 billion U.N. humanitarian funding that officials say will save taxpayers $1.9 billion through consolidated operations.
Israeli prime minister said he will award Trump with Israel prize, highest civilian honor, while visiting Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump has warned that Hamas will have “hell to pay” if it fails to disarm while offering full-throated support to Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with the Israeli prime minister in Florida.
In a bravura display of mutual admiration, Netanyahu announced that the US president would be awarded the Israel prize, the country’s highest civilian honour, which since its inception in the 1950s has never before been given to a non-Israeli person.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to end the war in Ukraine faced new complications on Monday when Vladimir Putin said he would revise his country’s negotiating position after the Russian leader claimed Ukrainian drones targeted his residence. Read More
Ukraine's largest private energy company reports 90% of generation capacity damaged by Russian attacks, leaving over 1 million without power during freezing temperatures.
The head of Doug Varone and Dancers called the decision to cancel two performances at the Kennedy Center “financially devastating but morally exhilarating.”
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