‘I have to be back': Trump on early G7 exit
President Donald Trump has left the G7 summit early to return to Washington, saying 'I have to be back.'
Trump warned residents of Tehran to "immediately evacuate," reiterating that Iran"CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON."
His early departure allows him to avoid participating in discussions on Russia 's war against Ukraine and the Israeli wars against Hamas and Iran.
Trump claimed he believes he could still broker a diplomatic agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions despite Israel's military efforts.
A G7 statement calling for de-escalation between Israel and Iran, which Trump was unwilling to sign, is now uncertain due to his departure.
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The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
First Thing: Iran and Israel trade more attacks as Trump leaves G7 summit early
Good morning. Donald Trump dramatically left the G7 summit in Canada a day early to rush back to Washington, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, claiming the US leader was considering the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. 'There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kickstart broader discussions,' Macron told reporters at the G7. 'We have to see now whether the sides will follow.' Trump told reporters he had to leave early for 'obvious reasons', but later posted that his early exit had 'nothing to do with' working on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump described his reasons as 'much bigger than that' in a post on his Truth Social platform. What is the latest in the Israel-Iran conflict? Attacks continued on both sides. On Tuesday, the Israeli military claimed to have assassinated Ali Shadmani, who it identified as Iran's wartime chief of staff, Reuters reported. On Monday, Trump told Iranians to 'immediately evacuate' Tehran, not long after Israel told people to evacuate a large part of the city ahead of a bombing campaign. One airstrike hit the building of Iran's state-run television while on air. This is a developing story. Follow our live updates here. At least 51 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Tuesday morning while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory with desperately needed food, according to Gaza's health ministry and a local hospital. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis on Tuesday morning. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Did this involve the new Israel- and US-supported aid delivery network? The killings did not appear to be related to the program, which was introduced last month and has been marred by controversy and violence. What is happening with that network? Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on crowds trying to reach food distribution points run by the US and Israel-backed aid group, local health officials say, with scores killed and hundreds wounded. Russia launched a sustained missile and drone attack on Kyiv in the early hours of Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 55 in what was one of the deadliest nights in the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale war began in spring 2022. The toll seemed likely to rise as several sites across the capital were hit. At a nine-storey Soviet-era apartment block in the west of Kyiv, an apparent direct missile hit led to part of the building collapsing, leaving a gaping hole and a pile of rubble in the middle of the block. What damage have the attacks inflicted? Thirty apartments were destroyed in the strike, said the Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko. 'There could be people under the rubble, and we can't exclude that the number of dead may rise,' he said. What's the latest on peace-deal negotiations? US-led attempts to start a peace process have largely failed, with Russia ignoring Donald Trump's demands to agree to a full ceasefire before talks begin. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had been due to meet Trump at the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday. A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends star's overdose death has agreed to plead guilty, authorities said Monday. The MyPillow CEO, Mike Lindell, has been ordered to pay $2.3m after being sued for defamation by a former employee of a voting machine company. The UK government has been accused of a 'disjointed, inadequate and painfully slow' response to the Air India plane crash by the grieving family members of three deceased British citizens. From 5 January, drivers entering lower Manhattan began paying a $9 congestion toll, which it is hoped will raise $500m annually for infrastructure upgrades. The policy has produced impressive early results: buses are moving up to 20% faster, 70,000 fewer vehicles are entering the area each day, and noise complaints on busy streets dropped 70%. Donald Trump, however, has pushed to revoke its federal approval (granted in 2023 under Joe Biden). 'CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,' he wrote back in February. 'Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!' The reports of its death may have been greatly exaggerated, but can congestion pricing survive the president? As Donald Trump considers a direct intervention in Israel's conflict with Iran, another kind of war has broken out in Washington between conservative hawks, calling for immediate US strikes on uranium enrichment facilities, and Maga isolationists, who are demanding Trump stick to his campaign pledge not to involve the US in new overseas wars. Around the world, scientists are reporting catastrophic declines in insect numbers, even in nature reserves that are largely protected from humans. We are also beginning to see huge drops in the populations of other animals – such as birds – that depend on insects as food. Here are 25 small science-backed actions to help protect them. It's an eccentric and work-intensive way to sell your house, but people are now raffling off even the most modest properties. Is it a good idea? One family, when asked if they'd do it again, said: 'Never. Never in a million years.' First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already signed up, subscribe now. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump is choosing weakness over strength with Israel and Iran
So, this is what the world looks like when America is weak. And, make no mistake – Donald Trump is choosing weakness over asserting America's considerable strength. Overnight, Iran and Israel continued to fire rockets at one another. Meanwhile, Russia launched a huge air assault on civilian targets in Kyiv, killing 14 and injuring 44. What, exactly, is the world's greatest dealmaker and self-proclaimed peace lover doing about it? Well, he left the G7 meeting in Canada early, but made absolutely clear that it had nothing to do with the crisis in the Middle East – it was something 'far greater'. Maybe he's launching a new Bitcoin. Back in January, Trump said he would be 'a peacemaker and unifier'; that his administration would leverage US power to 'stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable '. Five months into his second presidency and the world is, if anything, angrier, more violent and far less predictable. Let's start with Iran and Israel. It's plausible that the last five days of fighting wouldn't have broken out if Iran hadn't been pushed to the brink in negotiations over its nuclear programme with the US. Of course, Iran having a nuclear weapon would be extremely dangerous and would make the region considerably less stable. But, as others have pointed out, the need for negotiations wouldn't even exist had Trump not pulled out of the nuclear deal agreed under Barack Obama. Having effectively torn up Obama's perfectly good deal that was backed by other countries – including Russia – Trump then set an arbitrary deadline on negotiations with Iran, which expired the same day as Israel's aerial campaign on Iran started, hitting key strategic sites and taking out military leaders. It's worth noting that Trump actually discouraged Israel from launching attacks on Iran back in October after Iran launched over 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, instead encouraging negotiations. The unfolding horror in the Middle East has pushed Russia's invasion of Ukraine down the agenda – much to the delight of Vladimir Putin, one would imagine. Since Trump took office, Russia has continued its assault on Ukraine while dodging peace talks and giving Trump the runaround.T he distraction in the Middle East, Ukrainian sources fear, will give Putin cover to carry out even more brutal attacks in his attempts to steal more land ahead of future negotiations. On a recent visit to the country, a Ukrainian security official told me Trump's 'peace talks' have actually given Moscow greater incentives to intensify its attacks, because Putin knows there will be little blowback from America, providing Russia keeps turning up to these farcical negotiations. This is what I mean when I say Trump is choosing weakness. America has the power to bring people to the negotiating table, but offers no real sticks or carrots. Sure, he's moving military assets to the Middle East, but both Iran and Israel know that the MAGA movement is split on US involvement in an overseas war. And of course, he could tell Putin that if he doesn't stop his rampage on Ukraine, it's gloves off. But all evidence suggests he won't. All the while, the violence and instability get worse. America is still the West's sole great power. It is certainly the only nation that can individually force its will on the rest of the world. Whether or not that's a good thing is for another time – as is the conversation about how the rest of the West allowed America to wield such unilateral power. Right now, the only thing that matters is that America could assert its influence on two conflicts that risk escalating and possibly interacting in a way that makes the world a considerably more dangerous place. If only the man in the White House could find the courage to use his power for good.
Sky News
12 minutes ago
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Israel 'attacking Tehran' after Iran claims hit on Mossad; Trump denies working on ceasefire deal
Israel and Iran are exchanging attacks for a fifth day, with both Iranian and Israeli media reporting that Israel is targeting western Tehran. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has cut short his G7 visit over the crisis. Follow the latest.
