Huge Donald Trump protest appears near Turnberry hotel and golf course
It shows a giant portrait of Mr Trump alongside the message: 'Time to resist – fight the billionaire takeover'.
The first 100 days of his second administration has seen the US leave the Paris Climate agreement and he has offered the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling.
Other environmental complaints include opening up the Pacific to industrial fishing and he wants to launch deep sea mining in US and international waters.
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He has also ended investment in clean energy and boosted coal, oil and fossil gas by weakening regulations and removing obstacles for the fossil fuel industry.
Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: 'During his first 100 days President Trump has been actively working to dismantle and weaken environmental protections and attack those who fight to protect nature and our shared climate, putting the corporate profits of his billionaire friends ahead of people and the planet. It's time to resist the billionaire takeover of our rights and freedoms.
'Trump's biggest allies are a group of unelected billionaires, including the fossil fuel company CEOs who are knowingly burning the planet, polluting our waters, and hurting communities around the world. No one voted for these corporate bullies to end free speech, but they will stop at nothing to keep their oil and gas empire alive – even weaponising the legal system to crush dissent and silence environmental activism.'
'For the billionaires and big oil companies this is not just another source of money. They want to silence all critics and any protests against the core issue with their business: fossil fuels that are causing the climate crisis and environmental destruction.'
Greenpeace UK activists have also been subvertising bus stops around the US embassy in Nine Elms, London, with posters carrying the same messaging.
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The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
First Thing: Trump pushes for Zelenskyy-Putin meeting
Good morning. Vladimir Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal in Ukraine, according to Donald Trump and European leaders, although Moscow has not confirmed the meeting. The potential breakthrough came after a day of tense diplomacy at the White House in which Trump ruled out a ceasefire while Zelenskyy and his allies pushed for US-backed security guarantees as part of any long-term agreement. The Ukrainian president said that security guarantees for Kyiv would be 'formalized' within 10 days. What was the mood of the talks? Trump's initial conversation with Zelenskyy went more smoothly than their first encounter in the Oval Office six months ago, when the Ukrainian leader was berated by Trump and vice-president JD Vance. This time, doubtless to the relief of European leaders, Zelenskyy gave Trump effusive thanks for the invitation and the pair shared good-humored banter. What was discussed? After meeting the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato, Trump wrote on Truth Social that there had been discussion of security guarantees and 'which guarantees would be provided by the European countries'. French president Emmanuel Macron said the talks did not include Kyiv surrendering territory to Russia. Hamas officials say they have accepted a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would include the release of half of the approximately 20 remaining living Israeli hostages as part of a phased resolution to the war, as Gaza health officials said 62,000 Palestinians had now been killed in the 22 months of war. The proposed deal follows negotiations between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari officials that have been taking place in Cairo in recent days, and comes after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was confronted on Sunday by Israel's biggest protests of the war, which called for a deal to secure the release of the hostages. What are the details of the potential ceasefire? The latest Gaza ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas includes a suspension of military operations for 60 days and could be seen as a path to reaching a comprehensive deal to end the nearly two-year-long war, according to Egyptian sources. During the period of suspension, Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged in return for half of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. What is the situation with evacuating sick Gazan children? An aid group that coordinates medical care in the United States for badly injured children from Gaza has said it is 'distressed' by the US state department's decision to stop issuing visitor visas for Palestinians after far-right influencer Laura Loomer complained directly to the secretary of state about their work. Texas Democrats returned to their state on Monday as California lawmakers kicked off a rapid push for voters to approve a new congressional map that could add as many as five Democratic seats in the House of Representatives. The Texas Democrats' return ends a two-week walkout that stalled the Republican effort to redraw the state's congressional districts to satisfy Donald Trump's demands to reshape the House map in his favor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The California plan was drafted in response to Texas's push to redraw the congressional map there. What's the context? The protest began on 3 August, when dozens of Texas Democrats left the state for Illinois and other blue states in a high-stakes bid to deny their Republican colleagues the quorum needed to approve the redrawn maps. Although the Democrats' return allows Republicans to advance their redistricting plan, the quorum-breakers have declared their two-week walkout a strategic success that set off a 'redistricting arms race'. Jasveen Sangha became the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of Matthew Perry to strike a plea deal on Monday, as she agreed to plead guilty to selling the Friends star the drug that killed him. Donald Trump announced yesterday that lawyers are drafting an executive order to eliminate mail-in voting, days after Vladimir Putin told him US elections were rigged because of postal ballots. Bolivia's presidential election will go to a runoff for the first time with two rightwing candidates competing, marking the end of nearly 20 years of leftist dominance. The conservative outlet Newsmax has agreed to pay $67m to Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation lawsuit over lies about voting in the 2020 election. Lies about the security of Dominion voting machines became central to Donald Trump's false claim that the election was stolen from him. The actor's directing debut has been acclaimed for reimagining the 'trauma plot'. Eva Victor talks to the Guardian about standup, bootcamp with Barry Jenkins – and what you can learn from working in a bridal shop. In recent weeks, tens of thousands of people in Canada have been evacuated from their homes due to the wildfires. But this time the worst fires have been concentrated in the prairie provinces and the Atlantic region. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been the worst hit, covering more than 60% of the area burned in Canada. When Merrilee Kick invented BuzzBallz in 2009, she was a 47-year-old teacher from Texas who needed money. Since then, BuzzBallz has grown to become the US's biggest-selling single-serve premixed cocktail. Emma Russell explores how it became the essential alcopop at this summer's picnics, parties and festivals. 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@
New Statesman
17 minutes ago
- New Statesman
What Trump really thinks of Ukraine
(Photo byPerhaps the most consequential meeting of the Ukrainian war took place last night at the White House. Volodymyr Zelensky was with Donald Trump in the Oval Office before both leaders met with the top flight of European leadership. Since January, President Trump's Oval Office has been a sort of proverbial torture chamber, where he courts flattery and humiliates those who refuse to bend to his will. Sometimes these meetings can feel like a hazing ritual at a frat house, an initiation ceremony into the new world order. When Zelensky visited in February, JD Vance and Trump chastised him for not being grateful enough and a pro-Trump journalist mocked him for not wearing a suit and tie. This time, however, Trump played host. Zelensky didn't lose his temper. Sporting a black jacket, he made sure to thank Trump straight away and offered him a letter thanking Melania for her support – a wily move given Trump's Slovene first lady has become a White House critic of the Russian president, often pointing out to her husband that Putin reneges on his promises to stop bombing Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, JD Vance stayed shtum on the sofa and later glad-handed Keir Starmer in the East Room. The atmosphere was congenial, poised and anxious. That Zelensky was escorted by European leaders has been spun as a show of unity. Which is true with regards to Europe. But remember that this extraordinary move to cancel their summer plans in order to fly to Washington DC was only necessary because Trump had been so chummy with Putin in Alaska. European leaders addressed him as 'dear Donald' in the hope that obsequiousness would sweeten their demands. The two key European requests were that the US provide a security guarantee for Ukraine, and that a ceasefire be agreed before a full-blown peace deal is thrashed out. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the credibility of their meeting in front of the world's press depended on a ceasefire being in place before the next one. He didn't want to march up the hill only to let an opportunity to end the war slip by. Emmanuel Macron, sitting next to Trump, reiterated the point. Starmer stuck to the British strategy: meekness in public affords strength in private. He stuck to calls for unity. Trump had once promised 'severe consequences' if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, but after Alaska he now thinks a ceasefire is unnecessary – evidence, yet again, of Putin's influence over the US president. One Washington insider told me recently that the administration wants to pivot away from Europe in order to deal with the Chinese. Europe should police its own continent, in other words, because the US has bigger threats to handle. There are two problems with that. First, European military capacity is weak. The UK, for instance, would probably have to move troops from the Baltic in order to guard Ukraine's eastern flank. Also note this morning's Financial Times, which reports that Trump might get another $100bn from the Europeans in exchange for American weapons for Ukraine. The opportunity cost is investment in Europe's own military industrial base. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Second, what happens if European troops get into a shooting match with the Russians across the ceasefire line? Would the Americans back them up? Trump has said he will support a European-led security guarantee, but the details are hazy and the promises untrustworthy. His Truth Social post last night spoke only about American 'coordination' of the security guarantee. The reset in tone is significant, at least. There is growing momentum behind a peace deal. Any breakthrough now looks likely to take place at a mooted summit between Zelensky and Putin. At one point, Trump was caught on a hot mic saying: 'I think [Putin] wants to make a deal for me – do you understand? As crazy as it sounds.' This either means Putin is genuinely ready to end the war, or Trump has yet again been duped by the manipulator-in-chief. In any case, yesterday showed that Trump sees himself merely as a mediator between Europe and Russia, as the Putin-whisperer with a hotline to the Kremlin, not as Ukraine's ally in the face of Russian aggression. This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here [See also: Trump reverses course on Ukraine, again] Related
Times
17 minutes ago
- Times
UK ‘caves to Trump' and drops demand for Apple user data
The government has withdrawn its demand that Apple provide the British authorities with a 'back door' into its systems for foreign users after pressure from President Trump's administration. The UK ordered the tech giant in January to allow it blanket access to encrypted files uploaded by any user worldwide. Trump raised the issue with Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year and has compared the move to Chinese surveillance. JD Vance, his vice-president, who was on holiday in the Cotswolds this month, is said to have personally pushed for the order to be withdrawn in discussions with senior British officials. Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, said: 'Over the past few months, I've been working closely with our partners in the UK, alongside [Trump and Vance] to ensure Americans' private data remains private and our constitutional rights and civil liberties are protected. 'As a result, the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a 'back door' that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties.' Since December 2022 Apple has offered an optional extra layer of encryption called Advanced Data Protection (ADP), which protects photos or documents from being accessed by anyone other than the account holder. The Home Office issued the order to Apple demanding access under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which enables the authorities to compel assistance from companies when it needs to collect evidence. Apple launched a legal complaint and withdrew the ADP tool from British customers, adding: 'As we have said many times before, we have never built a back door or master key to any of our products or services and we never will.' The Times understands that the order will still apply to British users, and therefore the ADP is unlikely to be reintroduced in the UK. The Financial Times reported that the order, which the Home Office has never confirmed or denied, had not yet been formally withdrawn. But one official said the UK had 'caved' to US pressure on the issue. A British government spokesman said: 'We do not comment on operational matters, including confirming or denying the existence of such notices.' He added that Britain had long had joint security and intelligence arrangements with the US to tackle 'the most serious threats, such as terrorism and child sexual abuse, including the role played by fast-moving technology in enabling those threats … Those arrangements have long contained safeguards to protect privacy and sovereignty: for example the Data Access Agreement includes critical safeguards to prevent the UK and US from targeting the data of each other's citizens. 'We will continue to build on those arrangements and we will also continue to maintain a strong security framework to ensure that we can continue to pursue terrorists and serious criminals operating in the UK. We will always take all actions necessary at the domestic level to keep UK citizens safe.'
