Polish PM Donald Tusk cautioned against a political conflict with Ukraine, calling it a strategic mistake. This follows Poland revoking Zelenskyy's top honor after he supported renaming a unit after nationalists who massacred Poles in WWII. Meanwhile, Ukraine's attacks on Russian fuel supplies in Crimea have led to civilian gas sales suspension.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy gave Belarus one week to remove Russian military equipment used in attacks on Ukraine, threatening to do so himself. He also highlighted Belarus's role in supplying Russia's oil refining industry and the Russian army. Meanwhile, EU leaders discussed diplomatic channels with Russia, and Poland's president threatened to revoke an honor for Zelenskyy over renaming a military unit.
Israeli nationalists, including politician Moshe Feiglin and Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, are openly flouting the Status Quo at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound, which allows non-Muslim visits but prohibits prayer. Reports suggest a new Israeli body may declare it a "multi-faith centre," raising alarms among Jordan, Gulf countries, Egypt, and the UK, with fears of renewed tensions.
Donald Trump's ambitions are characterized as small and ego-driven, contrasting with grander civilizational projects. His 80th birthday was marked by a UFC cage fight hosted at the White House, a spectacle of violence and taxpayer expense.
Poland is angered by Ukrainian President Zelensky's recent honors for Nazi-backed nationalist figures, potentially leading to the revocation of his Order of the White Eagle. The OUN and UPA's wartime atrocities against Poles and Jews have strained relations, despite shared opposition to Russia.
Poland has blocked a €6.6 billion EU weapons fund for Ukraine due to President Zelensky's recent honors for nationalist figures linked to Nazi collaboration and ethnic cleansing during WWII, straining bilateral relations and risking Zelensky's Polish state distinction.
Thousands of Israeli nationalists, including young boys, join crowds chanting death threats towards Palestinians while marching through Jerusalem Old City.
The nationalists secured 58 seats in their fifth consecutive election win, but that is short of an overall majority.
Welsh nationalist party able to form minority government in Wales, blocking momentum of Reform UKElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesPlaid Cymru have won 42 seats in Wales’s Senedd election, putting the Welsh nationalists in position to form a minority government and ending more than 100 years of Labour hegemony.Polls consistently suggested Plaid Cymru and Reform UK were neck and neck in the race to become the biggest party under Wales’s new more proportional voting system. As in last year’s closely watched Caerphilly Senedd byelection, however, the contest was not as close as predicted. Reform has come in second, with 34 seats – up from 1% of the vote share in 2021’s election. Continue reading...
Pippa Crerar is joined by the election analyst Prof Rob Ford to look at the upcoming local and devolved elections. Will Reform dominate across England? Can the Greens remove Labour’s longstanding hold over London? And will the nationalists win in Scotland and Wales? Continue reading...
Voters in England face five main party contenders next week (six in Scotland and Wales), reflecting deep discontent with Labour and Conservatives. Both Greens and Reform UK benefit from voter desperation that radical parties are worth trying. However, the article argues the real power lies with bond markets, which have pushed UK government bond yields above 5% – levels not seen since 2008 and higher than any other G7 country. The markets are making clear they don't want any successor to Starmer who wants to borrow more, potentially saving Starmer's position. Tax rises have already reached post-WWII highs, yet growth remains sluggish and the economy faces new pressures from the Iran war inflation.
