MarkDenholm

Two Labour-run councils say they are weighing up legal action to prevent hotels in their areas being used to house migrants. It comes after Epping Forest District Council secured a temporary injunction against the use of The Bell Hotel. Wirral and Tamworth councils say they are considering similar steps, arguing the practice risks bypassing planning rules and undermining local communities. Wirral’s Labour leader, Paula Basnett, said all options were being […]

US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has faced questions about a shift in Donald Trump’s position on Ukraine talks. Before his latest call with Vladimir Putin, the US president said the next step towards peace would be a trilateral meeting. But afterwards, he suggested Russia and Ukraine should meet first, followed by talks involving himself, Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Some have speculated Trump was swayed by the Russian leader, but Leavitt […]

Donald Trump has confirmed he has spoken to Vladimir Putin as part of fresh efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. The US President says he is arranging a meeting between the Russian leader and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also wants to follow that with a trilateral meeting involving all three men. That is a shift from what had been suggested earlier this evening, when a three-way summit […]

Donald Trump’s special envoy has revealed that Russia has agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine “robust” security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal. Steve Witkoff told CNN that the Alaska summit produced agreement that the West could offer “Article 5-like” protection, mirroring Nato’s principle that an attack on one is an attack on all. Russia has long opposed Ukraine’s membership of Nato, and Witkoff […]

In Gaza City, the desperate toll of hunger is written on the body of nine-year-old Maryam Dawas. She is so severely malnourished she can no longer eat. Her ribcage juts through her chest and her arms are thinner than her wrists. Family friends who filmed her say even blinking looks like a struggle. Asked what her dream is, Maryam whispered that she wants to go back to the way she […]

The Metropolitan Police say a further 60 people will be prosecuted for showing support for the banned terrorist group Palestine Action. It follows the arrest of more than 700 people since the group was proscribed on 7 July, including over 500 during a protest in central London last weekend. Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said these are the first significant prosecutions from recent protests, and many more are […]

Donald Trump has been asked whether Vladimir Putin has a “strong hand” ahead of their meeting tomorrow. The US president replied, “Well, he came to our country,” adding that he believes Putin would like to see a deal. Trump also told reporters that if he were not president, Putin would have taken over all of Ukraine by now, calling it a war that should never have happened. Three men have […]

Police have released an image of a car they want to trace after a man was shot dead near a petrol station in West Yorkshire. Officers say they received a report just before 9:45 on Tuesday night that a man had been seriously injured after a shot was fired from a car on Doncaster Road, close to the BP petrol station in Wakefield. The victim, understood to be a 50-year-old […]

Human rights in the UK worsened in 2024 according to a new report from the US State Department. The report highlights what it calls significant human rights issues, including credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression and violence or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism. While it notes that UK law generally protects free speech, the report raises concerns over restrictions on political speech considered hateful or offensive. […]