Xi Jinping flies to Moscow for Victory Day parade
Russia is preparing for a Victory Day parade which will showcase a new alliance with China.
President Putin has said his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will be the 'main guest' at the parade on Friday, which will showcase those world leaders who have resisted western pressure to shun Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Xi flew on Wednesday from Beijing for an extended, four-day visit which both sides said would cement the growing ties between the two nations, which are even more reliant on each other as a result of President Trump's volatile, America-first international policies.
Trump has seemingly backed away from trying to enforce a peace deal on to Ukraine that is favourable to Putin's demands. Meanwhile, he is still attempting to put pressure
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
43 minutes ago
- Sky News
Israel considering military action against Iran in days without US support
Israel is considering taking military action against Iran in the coming days - without American support, sources have told US media. The reports comes as US President Donald Trump is said to be in advanced discussions with Iran about a diplomatic deal to curtail the Middle Eastern country's nuclear programme. Israel is said to have become more serious about a unilateral strike on Iran as the negotiations between Washington and Tehran appear closer to a preliminary or framework agreement that includes provisions about uranium enrichment. Israel views those provisions as unacceptable. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is therefore considering a strike on Iran, a Capitol Hill aide and other sources familiar with the matter have told Sky News' US partner network NBC News. An Israeli strike on Iran would be a dramatic break with the Trump administration which has argued against such a move. The prospect of a new front in the conflict in the Middle East has prompted the Trump administration to order all embassies within striking distance of Iranian missiles, aircraft and other assets, to send cables with assessments about the potential threat to Americans and US infrastructure, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The White House has not yet briefed senior politicians on the situation, according to a US official. The reports have emerged after the US State Department said it had ordered the evacuation of all non-essential personnel from its embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, due to the potential for regional unrest. It did not mention any possible attack by Israel on Iran when it announced the move. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: "The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad, and this decision was made as a result of a recent review." It comes as the US is also authorising the departure of non-essential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait - giving the staff a choice as to whether to leave those countries. An Iraqi government source told the country's state news agency that Baghdad has not recorded any security indication that calls for the evacuation. There was already limited staffing in the US embassy in Baghdad and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. Meanwhile, the military dependents in Bahrain and Kuwait will have the option of leaving those countries at government expense and with government assistance. Asked why the US personnel are being moved out of the Middle East, Mr Trump said on Wednesday evening: "They are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place and we'll see what happens." When asked if there is anything that can be done to reduce tensions in the region, the US president said: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple, they can't have a nuclear weapon, we're not going to allow that." US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the Oman capital Muscat on Sunday to discuss the Iranian response to a recent US proposal, according to American news site Axios, which cited a US official. The US and Iran have been engaged in talks aimed at limiting Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions America has imposed on the country. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. Tehran and Washington tensions Mr Trump, who has previously said Israel or America could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed, has given a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran. He told the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast that he was "getting more and more less confident about" a deal. "They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them," he said in the interview released on Wednesday. Iran's mission to the UN posted on the X social media platform that "threats of 'overwhelming force' won't change facts".
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Has Gavin Newsom just made his bid for the presidency?
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 On day 143 of Donald Trump's presidency, Martha Kelner and James Matthews discuss California Governor Gavin Newsom's 'presidential' televised address to the nation, and his case that Donald Trump's extraordinary decision to send troops to LA against his wishes has put the country on the brink of authoritarianism. Plus, billionaire Elon Musk has apologised to Trump over his explosive social media posts following his departure from the administration. But is it enough for the pair to make up? If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@ You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Court hearing set on Trump's use of National Guard and Marines to help with immigration raids in LA
A federal court hearing is scheduled for Thursday on whether the Trump administration can use the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles. California Gov. Newsom has depicted the federal military intervention in the nation's second largest city as the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation's democracy. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has echoed that, saying the deployment of troops was unnecessary and meant to undermine local jurisdictions and intimidate the city's large immigrant population. Newsom filed an emergency motion requesting the court's intervention after President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles following protests over his stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. The Trump administration called the lawsuit a 'crass political stunt endangering American lives' in its official response on Wednesday. The Democratic governor argued the troops were originally deployed to protect federal buildings and said sending troops to help support immigration raids would only promote civil unrest. The protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles intensified after Trump called up the National Guard and have since spread to other cities, including Boston, Chicago and Seattle. Federal immigration agents have been arresting people at Home Depot parking lots and other businesses, sparking fear in immigrant communities, after the Trump administration said it wanted to dramatically increase arrests under its immigration crackdown. Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. Most demonstrations have been peaceful but this weekend some turned raucous with protesters setting cars on fire in downtown Los Angeles. The city has imposed a nightly curfew covering a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section where protests have occurred in the sprawling metropolis of 4 million people. The Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. Newsom filed the motion Tuesday, the same day the military announced some members of the National Guard were now standing in protection around federal agents. The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as part of his administration's immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers but any arrests ultimately would be made by law enforcement. Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer chose not to rule immediately but set the hearing for Thursday in federal court in San Francisco. Dozens of mayors from across the Los Angeles region banded together Wednesday to demand the raids stop and the troops leave.
