Nicola Sturgeon's supportive lesbian circle as she says her sexuality isn't 'binary'... from TV presenter she shared warm embrace with to ally whose flat she used: GAVIN MADELEY
Nevertheless, the ex-First Minister's comments on her sexuality elsewhere in her book have aroused considerable interest.
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The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
The stakes are high as Zelenskyy and European leaders head to Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss how to end Russia 's three-year war in Ukraine. Months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting haven't made headway, but the stakes have risen since Trump met with with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. After that summit, Trump abandoned the requirement of reaching a ceasefire in order to hold further talks and aligned with Putin's position that negotiations should focus on a long-term settlement instead. The presence of several European leaders at the talks in Washington shows how central the conflict — and any settlement — is to wider security questions on the continent. They are looking to safeguard Ukraine and Europe more broadly from any further aggression from Moscow — but also are providing a show of support for Zelenskyy after his last visit to the White House led to an angry confrontation. The American and Ukrainian leaders are scheduled to first meet privately, without the Europeans. Here's what to know about the Washington meeting. The talks could be a pivotal moment in the war After meeting Putin in Alaska, Trump is making a big push for a breakthrough. A lot of issues need to be resolved, however, and the two sides have previously established red lines that are incompatible, including questions of whether Ukraine will cede any land to Russia, the future of Ukraine's army and whether the country will have any guarantee against further Russian aggression. In a post on social media Sunday night, Trump appeared to shift the burden for ending the war to Zelenskyy, whose country was invaded in February 2022. 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,' he wrote. A comprehensive peace deal could still be a long way off. Putin wants Donbas As a condition for peace, the Russian leader wants Kyiv to give up Donbas, the industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting but that Russian forces have failed to capture completely. In his Sunday night post, Trump wrote that Zelenskyy should also accept Russia's illegal 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. As part of a deal, Putin has said the United States and its European allies can provide Ukraine with a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense pledge, according to a senior U.S. official. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff called that Russian concession 'game-changing' though he offered few details on how it would work. Ukraine has long pressed for some kind of guarantee that would prevent Russia from invading again. Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia Zelenskyy has rejected Putin's demand that Ukraine surrender the Donbas region, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, since the Ukrainian Constitution forbids giving up territory or trading land. That also means he can't cede Crimea either. Instead, freezing the front line — which snakes roughly 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from northeastern to southeastern Ukraine — seems to be the most the Ukrainian people might accept. Russia currently holds about 20% of Ukrainian territory. Europe's security is also at stake in the talks European leaders see Ukraine's fight as a bulwark against any Kremlin ambitions to threaten other countries in eastern Europe and beyond. French President Emmanuel Macron described Ukraine as an 'outpost of our collective defense if Russia wanted to advance again.' 'If we are weak with Russia today, we'll be preparing the conflicts of tomorrow and they will impact the Ukrainians and — make no mistake — they can impact us, too.' Macron said Sunday. The European political heavyweights expected in Washington are Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Civilians are killed as the fighting continues Ukraine has in recent months been losing more territory against Russia's bigger army, and Moscow's forces breached Ukrainian lines in a series of minor infiltrations in the Donetsk region ahead of the Alaska summit. But there is no sign of a looming, major Russian breakthrough on the front line. Both sides have also kept up their daily long-range strikes behind the front line. A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killed six people late Sunday, including an 18-month-old and a 16-year-old, according to regional head Oleh Syniehubov. The attack on the northeastern city injured 20 others, including six children, he said. Russia's Defense Ministry on Monday reported intercepting 23 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the annexed Crimean peninsula overnight. ___
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Beckham boys lark around as Romeo, David and grandad Ted pose together while Cruz kisses girlfriend Jackie Apostel in new slew of defiant holiday snaps - as Brooklyn feud rumbles on
The Beckham clan continued to ignore the simmering feud in their clan with their latest adoring holiday snaps, having continued their summer holiday in Italy. David and Victoria are currently away with three of their four children, Romeo, 22, Cruz, 20, and Harper, 13, and Cruz's girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 29 - while their son Brooklyn, 26, remains away amid their ongoing feud. It was Cruz's turn to showcase the strength of the group, with the youngest son taking to Instagram to document the latest leg of their holiday. Cruz shared snaps giving a nod to his passions - showing him sitting with his father and brother, as well as David's dad Ted while playing guitar, while he kissed Jackie in another shot and played football in a duo of videos. The Beckhams have been snubbed by Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz, 30, after they said 'I do' for a second time on August 2 in Westchester County in front of her family, with the Beckham clan notably absent, having not been informed of the event. When he reached for his guitar, followers were tickled by an image showing Romeo giving him 'side eye' while he performed for three generations of Beckhams as well as their pal Ahmed Alsibai Further heartache has come in the form of a leak of Brooklyn's speech, in which he reportedly opened up on his love for the Peltz family, as well as speaking 'movingly' of his wife, as he gave his speech in front of the 200 guests. A source told The Mirror: 'He spoke from the heart - and at the centre of his heart is Nicola who he loves very dearly, but also the Peltz family who have really stuck by his side. He wanted to recognise them all, and was determined to do them all justice.' News of the 'heartfelt tribute' to billionaire Nelson Peltz, 83, and wife Claudia, 70, will no doubt add to the pain of the Beckham family amid their estrangement from Brooklyn, with it said that no such tribute was given for his own parents. While Brooklyn enjoyed his lovefest overseas, the Beckhams enjoyed a prolonged stint in the South Of France before heading to Italy. Both Cruz and Jackie have been uploading snaps from the Italian leg of their trip, however the gap between the siblings remains. Cruz was seen in front of an idyllic pool while kissing Jackie before taking some time to perform football tricks. When he reached for his guitar, followers were tickled by an image showing Romeo giving him 'side eye' while he performed for three generations of Beckhams. In addition to his immediate family, Brooklyn's grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles were also absent and only found out about the wedding vow renewal by reading online. It comes as Brooklyn is reportedly 'heartbroken' over the way his wife Nicola is being 'painted as a viper' within their ongoing family feud. Billionaire heiress Nicola has previously been accused of 'isolating' Brooklyn from not only his family, but his friends too. New sources allege Brooklyn is not being held from making his own decisions and is 'devastated' over the way his wife is being portrayed. A source told The Mirror: 'It's so rooted in misogyny that all of the heat for his parents not being invited is on Nicola. 'Everyone seems to forget that Brooklyn is an adult man and fully capable of speaking out. Nicola would have respected all that he chose. It breaks Brooklyn's heart to see his wife being painted as this vixen and viper.'
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cambridge Dictionary adds 'skibidi' and 'tradwife' among 6,000 new words
What the skibidi is happening to the English language? 'Skibidi' is one of the slang terms popularized by social media that are among more than 6,000 additions this year to the Cambridge Dictionary. 'Internet culture is changing the English language and the effect is fascinating to observe and capture in the dictionary,' said Colin McIntosh, lexical program manager at Cambridge Dictionary, the world's largest online dictionary. 'Skibidi' is a gibberish term coined by the creator of an animated YouTube series and can mean 'cool' or 'bad' or be used with no real meaning as a joke. Other planned additions including 'tradwife," a contraction of 'traditional wife' referring to a married mother who cooks, cleans and posts on social media, and "delulu,' a shortening of the word delusional that means 'believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to'. An increase in remote working since the pandemic has created the new dictionary entry 'mouse jiggler,' a device or piece of software used to make it seem like you are working when you are not. Concerns over climate change are behind the addition of 'forever chemical,' a harmful chemical that remains in the environment for a long time. Cambridge Dictionary uses the Cambridge English Corpus, a database of more than 2 billion words of written and spoken English, to monitor how new words are used by different people, how often and in what contexts they are used, the company said. 'We only add words where we think they'll have staying power," McIntosh said.
