
Lines of control: inside the 22 August Guardian Weekly
Have their efforts done enough to give Volodymr Zelenskyy a meaningful role in negotiations? Washington correspondent David Smith reports on the hectic diplomatic efforts.
Trump's talk of 'land swaps' between Ukraine and Russia, as a simple transactional path to a peace deal, belies the grim reality of what it would mean for people in Zaporizhzhia. Shaun Walker reports from the Ukrainian frontline city where emotions are running high.
Trump's meeting with Putin in Anchorage – where the US president rolled out the red carpet for his Russian counterpart – was widely viewed as a diplomatic triumph for Moscow. International affairs expert Rajan Menon explains why Putin is likely to be delighted with the way events are unfolding.
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Spotlight | Wildfires leave their mark across Spain and CanadaA near-disaster has highlighted Spain's vulnerability to the climate emergency, while wildfires in Canada are now burning where they never used to. From opposite sides of the Atlantic, Sam Jones, Stephen Burgen and Leyland Cecco report on a rising crisis
Technology | Fascination and fear over the rise of the AI deathbotOzzy Osbourne appeared as an AI-generated image at a recent Rod Stewart concert, prompting questions about how the ghoulish phenomenon will affect grieving. Harriet Sherwood reports
Feature | Tuvalu dreams of dry landWith sea levels rising, much of the Pacific nation's population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go? Atul Dev visited the islands to find out
Opinion | Remember when having women in power was supposed to change everything?The careers of Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern show how foolish it is to idealise leaders just for being women, says Gaby Hinsliff
Culture | Novelist Douglas Stuart meets painter Jenny SavilleThe Booker prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain sits down with the record-breaking artist to talk early success, bad reviews and the joys of making art
British pop star Jade Thirlwall became famous at a young and vulnerable age via reality TV, when tabloid intrusion was rife and social media commentary was cruel. Here, Jade the solo artist talks about how her beginnings in the industry provided material for her maximalist, witty and very catchy debut single and why she'll never shy away from protest. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor
As a parent living in London, this piece on why the capital's schools outperform the rest of the UK was really interesting to me. I worry that we've made the right choice to bring up our children in central London, and the existence of such inequality across the country is shocking. Dave Kirwan, production director
Audio | Ghosting, breadcrumbing, one-night stands: are we done with dating apps?
Video | It's complicated: How to solve the global housing crisis
Gallery | Pipe dreams: a pipe band's 'world' tour in Northumberland
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email weekly.letters@theguardian.com. For anything else, it's editorial.feedback@theguardian.com
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Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump slams Biden for not letting Ukraine 'fight back'
Donald Trump has suggested it would be 'very hard, if not impossible' for Ukraine to prevail without attacking Russia. The US President posted his thoughts on the continuing conflict on his Truth Social account on Thursday, adding he did not agree with his predecessor, Joe Biden, to refuse Kyiv the right to 'fight back' against Putin's forces. 'It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. 'Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?' He proceeded to share a picture of himself poking Vladimir Putin in the chest, in a playful echo of former president Richard Nixon doing the same to Nikita Khrushchev, former prime minister of the Soviet Union, during a tense debate in 1959. More recently, President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces launched Operation Spiderweb in June. The audacious assault saw more than 100 first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones smuggled into Russia in wooden containers disguised as modular homes. They were loaded onto civilian trucks and driven behind enemy lines by Russian lorry drivers seemingly unaware of what they were carrying. The vehicles were parked within range of five airfields stretching from northern Russia down to Siberia, at which point the hidden roofs of the wooden cabins were opened remotely and the FPV drones took to the skies. Over the next few minutes, 41 nuclear bombers were systematically targeted and decimated in a crushing military blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However despite these military successes, Trump has questioned whether Ukraine has the ability to strike deeper into Russia. He reportedly asked Zelensky whether his forces could strike Moscow during a candid telephone call with the Ukrainian leader in July, according to The Telegraph . Trump's comments on the continuing conflict came as Russia staged its biggest hypersonic missile barrage on Ukraine since Putin met Trump last Friday . Poland was forced to scramble warplanes today to protect its airspace as the heavy assault began. The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said on X: 'In connection with the activity of long-range aviation of the Russian Federation, conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory ... aircraft of the Polish Air Force and allied aviation are operating in Polish airspace.' Russian attacks on western Ukraine killed one person and wounded multiple others , officials in the country reported as diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war grind on. Moscow and Kyiv have kept up their aerial attacks on each other as world leaders including US President Donald Trump continue to push for a ceasefire. Russian fire also wounded 12 people in the city of Mukachevo, near the border with Hungary and Slovakia, the city council said.


North Wales Chronicle
15 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Russian attack hits American factory in Ukraine during US-led push for peace
The aerial assault on a part of Ukraine that has largely avoided such attacks was one of Russia's biggest this year and came amid Moscow's objections to key aspects of proposals that could end the fighting after Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour. US President Donald Trump discussed the war with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week before hosting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Monday. Mr Trump last month questioned Mr Putin's commitment to ending the war, saying the Russian leader 'talks nice and then he bombs everybody'. In a social media post on Thursday, the US president criticised his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not providing Ukraine with the weaponry it needs to 'fight back'. 'It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country,' Trump wrote. 'It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.' Russia has fired nearly 1,000 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since Monday's White House talks, according to Ukrainian tallies. European countries are discussing how they can deploy military assets to deter any post-war Russian assault on Ukraine, but the Kremlin will not accept the deployment of any troops from Nato countries, and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that making security arrangements for Ukraine without Moscow's involvement was pointless. Mr Putin is ready to meet with Mr Zelensky to discuss peace terms, Mr Lavrov said on Thursday, but only after key issues have been worked out by senior officials in what could be a protracted negotiating process because the two sides remain far apart. Ukrainian and European leaders have accused Mr Putin of stalling in the peace efforts in the hopes that his bigger army, which has been making slow advances, can capture more Ukrainian land. US secretary of state Marco Rubio plans to host a conference call on Thursday with the national security advisers of European countries expected to play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, a senior US official said. Military leaders from Ukraine, the US, the UK, Finland, France, Germany and Italy met on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington to work out military options, said Joseph Holstead, a spokesman for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. A source said 'everything is being considered and nothing is being ruled out' regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, apart from US boots on the ground. Military chiefs and their staffs are looking at options including 'how big' the security guarantee is and what happens if it is implemented with or without a ceasefire, the official said, noting that European defence chiefs acknowledged it is their 'responsibility to secure Europe'. Russia launched 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. The attack mostly targeted western regions of the country where much of the military aid provided by Ukraine's western allies is believed to be stored. The strikes killed at least one person and injured 15 others, according to officials. Mr Zelensky condemned the attack amid the push for peace, saying it was carried out 'as if nothing were changing at all'. A US electronics plant near the Hungarian border was struck, according to Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. The Flex factory is one of the biggest American investments in Ukraine, he told the Associated Press. At the moment of impact, 600 night shift workers were on the premises, and six were injured, Mr Hunder added. Russian attacks on Ukraine since it launched its invasion have damaged property belonging to more than half of the chamber's roughly 600 members, he said. 'The message is clear: Russia is not looking for peace. Russia is attacking American business in Ukraine, humiliating American business,' Mr Hunder said. Russia's Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted 'enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex'. It claimed the attack hit drone factories, storage depots and missile launch sites, as well as areas where Ukrainian troops were gathered. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian areas of Ukraine. In the western city of Lviv, one person was killed and three were injured as the attack damaged 26 residential buildings, a nursery school and administrative buildings, regional head Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram. The regional prosecutor's office said three Russian cruise missiles with cluster munitions struck the city. Moscow has shown no signs of pursuing meaningful negotiations to end the war, Mr Zelensky said. He urged the international community to respond with stronger pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and tariffs. On Wednedsay he said plans for security guarantees will become clearer by the end of next week, and he then expects to be ready to hold direct talks with Mr Putin for the first time since the full-scale invasion. The talks could also be conducted in a trilateral format alongside Mr Trump, the Ukrainian president said.


Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Karoline Leavitt delivers BRUTAL workplace reality check and how to avoid tears in resurfaced training video
Before 27-year-old Karoline Leavitt became the youngest ever White House press secretary, she was already doling out brutal advice on how to survive an executive branch job. 'Your boss is not your friend,' Leavitt dished in a newly resurfaced training video. 'You are not your boss' top priority,' she also warned. Leavitt was tapped by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation to appear in one of its Project 2025 videos, intended to train political appointees going into a second Trump administration. The video appears to have been filmed before Leavitt joined Trump's presidential campaign in January 2024 and after she unsuccessfully ran for Congress. She was interviewed by the conservative Leadership Institute's Chris Hayes - not the MSNBC host - on the topic of 'The Art of Professionalism.' The Daily Beast resurfaced the video this week, labeling it a 'Secret MAGA Training Video.' Leavitt had served in the first Trump administration as an assistant press secretary under press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, before working on Capitol Hill for Trump ally, GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, and then launching an unsuccessful bid for a New Hampshire House seat. 'There will be many a times where you are working in an administration and there are very high pressure situations in my experience,' she recounted. Leavitt recalled how she and the White House press team would spend 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. briefing McEnany ahead of her taking the podium - only for those preparations to be derailed by breaking news or a statement from Trump. 'Those were some of the most high pressure moments of my life, knowing that the White House press corps was out there going to berate my boss on something that we had not covered throughout the day,' Leavitt said. 'And rather than get stressed out, cry or have a negative emotional response, you have to pull yourself up from your bootstraps. You have to be prepared. You have to execute in that moment,' she continued. 'And you have to be there to support the people that are counting on you to do your job.' Leavitt pressed that nothing prepares an aide for a White House job more than preparation itself. 'And if you fail to prepare for those moments, prepare to fail,' she warned. Leavitt also had frank advice on how to deal with bosses. 'First of all, your boss is not your friend,' she said. 'OK, so don't try to be friends with your boss. You work for your boss, and that's very important to remember too, especially in an administration.' 'And also don't pester your boss with things that are unnecessary to bring to your attention,' she added. Leavitt impressed upon future political appointees to look for answers themselves first, before asking their bosses a question. 'I can tell you there is nothing more annoying than having people come to you with things that are completely unnecessary,' she said. 'You are not your boss' top priority,' Leavitt warned. The future press secretary, who President Donald Trump refers to as a 'star,' was also clear that colleagues should be treated with respect. 'You remember the colleagues that helped you fondly and you remember the colleagues that weren't so helpful not so fondly,' she said. 'Your colleague today could be your boss tomorrow,' Leavitt also reminded the audience. She also told future Trump 2.0 employees that they should be grateful for the opportunity. 'It is really an honor to work for our federal government,' she said. 'Don't forget that your salary comes from the good, hard-working taxpayers across the country. Don't ever take a day for granted and continue to move up the ladder.' 'And remember everyone you meet in the workplace will help you get to another place someday. So nurture your relationships, cherish the people you meet on this journey,' she advised. 'It won't last forever. 'No administration does, of course, this is a democracy,' she said. 'So enjoy it while you have it.' The training video was originally leaked to and published in full by ProPublica last August, ahead of the 2024 election, when 'Project 2025' was a controversial campaign topic.