José Raúl Mulino rules out talks on waterway with secretary of state: ‘That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama’
Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, has ruled out discussing control over the Panama Canal in a meeting with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country in his first official trip abroad this weekend.
Mulino’s comments during a weekly press conference come after Donald Trump threatened to take control of the canal, claiming it is being operated by China. The Panamanian government strongly denies the accusation.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Aris Martinez/Reuters
© Photograph: Aris Martinez/Reuters
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s family reveal letters showing his despair after initial hopes David Lammy could get him freed from Cairo jail
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian political dissident held in a Cairo jail for more than five years, has reached such a state of despair over the UK’s inability to secure his release that he has contemplated renouncing both his British and Egyptian citizenship, his letters reveal.
His family have given permission for some of his private letters to be published to show his situation and his concern for his 68-year-old mother, Laila Soueif, on hunger strike seeking his release.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
© Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters
In her big plan to get the economy growing again the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has prioritised growth over almost everything else. But at what cost? John Harris speaks to the Labour MP Clive Lewis about concerns that climate action is taking a back seat. Plus, the columnist Gaby Hinsliff talks us through whether the party’s quest for growth will work
© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
© Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
What do Greenlanders make of Donald Trump’s interest in their island? Miranda Bryant reports
In 2019, when Donald Trump first raised the prospect of the US acquiring Greenland, few people took it seriously. But today, at the start of his second term as president, when Trump says “I think we’re going to have it”, his words ring alarm bells.
To find out why the world’s largest island is of such enduring interest to Trump, Miranda Bryant, the Guardian’s Nordic correspondent, recently travelled to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. There, she tells Helen Pidd, Greenlanders are well aware of the minerals and strategic value that their island holds, especially as the changing climate is accelerating superpower competition in the Arctic.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Emil Stach/Reuters
© Photograph: Emil Stach/Reuters
USAid pause affects projects such as veteran rehabilitation, independent media and humanitarian assistance
Ukraine is reeling from the shock decision by the Trump administration to pause all US foreign aid programmes immediately, as a variety of projects in the country – from military veteran rehabilitation programmes to independent media and anti-corruption initiatives – have effectively been stopped overnight.
It was seen as inevitable that the incoming administration would overhaul USAid, the US development agency, but there was an expectation that spending on Ukraine, or at least some of the most critical programmes, would be subject to a waiver – or there would at least be a winding-down period.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Alina Smutko/Reuters
© Photograph: Alina Smutko/Reuters
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