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In the past 48 hours, US President Donald Trump has perhaps said his most forcefully direct words yet on arming Ukraine. And in the same period, the Kremlin have given their blankest indication to this White House that they are not interested in a realistic, negotiated settlement to the war. Let us start with Trump’s comments on arming Ukraine, a reversion to a basic bedrock of US foreign policy for decades – opposing Russian aggression. “We’re going to send some more weapons,” the president said Monday of Ukraine. “We have to – they have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard.” Behind him, his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth nodded, despite this contradiction of the administration’s announcement days earlier of military shipments being stopped. What did Trump actually mean? He was short on detail. A Pentagon spokesman later said that “at President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.” Let us start with Trump’s comments on arming Ukraine, a reversion to a basic bedrock of US foreign policy for decades – opposing Russian aggression. “We’re going to send some more weapons,” the president said Monday of Ukraine. “We have to – they have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard.” Behind him, his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth nodded, despite this contradiction of the administration’s announcement days earlier of military shipments being stopped. What did Trump actually mean? He was short on detail. A Pentagon spokesman later said that “at President Trump’s direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.” The about-face came days after Volodymyr Zelensky’s call with Trump on Friday, in which the Ukrainian leader said the two men spoke of joint weapons production, and air defense. Trump’s failure to provide details may be strategic, or a by-product of his occasional disdain for them. But while he may sound briefly a little more like his predecessor, Joe Biden, in terms of arming Ukraine, herein lies one stark difference. Biden publicly announced in agonizing detail every capability he gave Kyiv, perhaps hoping the transparency would avoid a sudden unexpected escalation with Moscow. Instead, Biden ended up with an excruciating public debate with Kyiv about every new system, and arms shipment, during which every seemingly impossible demand – from HIMARS rockets, to tanks, to F-16 fighter jets, to strikes inside Russia by ATACMs – was eventually acceded to. The plain, open ladder of American escalation was laid bare to the Kremlin. Trump perhaps seeks to avoid that by saying less. Source: here

It is understandable to be worried about your finances. The world seems to be lurching from one political crisis to the next, and each one has an impact on stock markets and prices. A recent survey found UK consumers are worried about a slowing economy, possible tax increases in the next budget and rising food costs. We asked experts how you should manage your money in an uncertain world. Investments Stock markets around the world, especially in the US, were in flux earlier this year over Donald Trump’s tariff plans. Things have settled down now but it is impossible to predict what shocks may be around the corner. If you hold stocks and shares – in an Isa or pension, perhaps – you may have been nervously checking their value. UK fund managers have been increasing their holdings in US companies over recent years, largely fuelled by the boom in tech stocks, so big moves over there have an impact here. However, experts say the most important thing to do is to not sell up out of panic. The analyst Dan Coatsworth of the financial advisers AJ Bell says: “The worst thing people can do is to see troubling things in the news and then suddenly try to shift around their portfolio.” Markets have recovered in the past, he says, so patience is key. Mortgages Interest rates in the UK can be affected by what goes on globally. The Bank of England is tasked with keeping inflation down. Before the war in Ukraine started, it had begun to put up rates, and as prices increased, it continued, raising them from 0.25% at the start of 2022 to 5.25% by August 2023, before holding them there for another year. The Bank has been reducing rates and is expected to make more cuts later this year, but the question is when. If you are planning to take out a new mortgage – either to buy a home or as a remortgage – you face a decision about whether to fix for the short or long term, choose a tracker or even to go on a bank’s standard variable rate (SVR). source: here

While the U.S. military’s strikes on Iran on June 21, 2025, are believed to have damaged the country’s critical nuclear infrastructure, no evidence has yet emerged showing the program to have been completely destroyed. In fact, an early U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment surmised that the attack merely delayed Iran’s possible path to a nuclear weapon by less than six months. Further, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that Iran may have moved its supply of enriched uranium ahead of the strikes, and assessed that Tehran could resume uranium enrichment “in a matter of months.” Others have warned that the strikes may intensify the Islamic Republic’s nuclear drive, convincing the government of the need to acquire a bomb in order to safeguard its survival. As a scholar of nuclear nonproliferation, my research indicates that military strikes, such as the U.S. one against Iran, tend not to work. Diplomacy — involving broad and resolute international efforts — offers a more strategically effective way to preempt a country from obtaining a nuclear arsenal. It was only after President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement in 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Iran, that Tehran resumed its alarming enrichment activities. Trump signaled quickly after the recent attack on Iran a willingness to engage in direct talks with Tehran. However, Iran may rebuff any agreement that effectively contains its nuclear program, opting instead for the intensified underground approach Iraq took after the 1981 Osirak attack. Indeed, my research shows that combining military threats with diplomacy reduces the prospects of successfully reaching a disarmament agreement. Nations will be more reluctant to disarm when their negotiating counterpart adopts a threatening and combative posture, as it heightens their fear that disarmament will make it more vulnerable to future aggression from the opposing country.

Australia's Cruz Hewitt was victorious on his first appearance at Wimbledon - 23 years after his father, Lleyton, claimed the men's singles title. Wearing the type of back-to-front cap that was his dad's trademark, the 16-year-old beat Russian Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2 in the first round of the boys' competition. Lleyton, who beat David Nalbandian in the 2002 Wimbledon final, was courtside for his son's victory. Former world number one Lleyton also won the 2001 US Open and reached the final of the 2005 Australian Open. Cruz made his senior Grand Slam debut at the 2025 Australian Open after being given a wildcard into qualifying. He lost in the first round and went on to reach the second round of the juniors competition. Cruz, who is playing alongside Britain's Mark Ceban in the boys' doubles at SW19, will face Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius next. source: here

The Hyundai Inster is the brand's smallest and most affordable electric car, slotting in below the Kona Electric. While the small city car segment has suffered a lot in recent years, the Inster promises to revive the minivan class. However, this is not the first time we've seen the Inster, as it already exists in its home market of South Korea alongside petrol and electric engines under the name Casper', but the locally arrived version comes bearing the new name with electric propulsion only. As a rule, good things come in small packages. Such is the case with the Hyundai Inster, which promises big things. It is only 3.8 meters long, but its interesting stature is given by its practically identical width and height, of approximately 1.6 meters. Its starting price is also quite low, placing it among the cheapest electric cars on sale in Romania today, in full competition with models such as the Citroën ë-C3, Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03. its design bears visual elements found in SUV models. Moreover, the SUV style combines with the futuristic air on the outside, containing a vintage breath on the inside. There is an attractive LED pixel graphic for the signals (in front), while the side brings to the fore the wheel arches covered in black plastic. The LED theme continues at the back with the Parametric Pixel lights, this time associated with the positions and braking. The four-spoke wheels with a rectangular design (17 inches for the Luxury equipment) complete the theme of this car. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not choose to introduce 16-inch diameter wheels in the configurator, the basic models always orienting themselves towards 15-inch ones. However, something much more important is in all cars, even from the standard equipment: the entire Hyundai Inster range has a heat pump, which means that the battery can be maintained at optimal temperatures in cold weather, contributing to preserving autonomy. source: here

Arsenal are advancing on personal terms with Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, according to Fabrizio Romano. It is claimed that England international is open to a move to the Gunners, but nothing has been agreed or is close between the two clubs yet over a deal. The 23-year-old has reportedly not asked to leave Chelsea at this stage and is focused on their Club World Cup campaign. Madueke came on as a second-half substitute to help the Blues past Palmeiras to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals. Source: https://www.skysports.com/football/live-blog/31771/12476234/transfer-centre-live-football-transfer-news-updates-and-rumours mixcollage-28-mar-2025-10-42-am-2775.avif

Tunisia:

On 13 December 1931, Winston Churchill was struck by a car while crossing Fifth Ave in New York City. He had looked the wrong way before crossing the street and was dragged for several yards, sustaining bruises, sprains and cuts. In the same year, a 19-year-old British aristocrat named John Scott-Ellis was driving a red Fiat in Munich and almost hit the future Führer, Adolf Hitler. Scott-Ellis jumped out of his car and apologised, and Hitler only suffered minor bruises. They shook hands, and Scott- Ellis later remarked, ‘For a few seconds, perhaps, I held the history of Europe in my rather clumsy hands. . . [Hitler] was only shaken up, but had I killed him, it would have changed the history of the world.’

Hamas says it is consulting other Palestinian groups before giving a formal response to the latest proposal for a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal put forward by the US. President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that he expected to know within 24 hours whether Hamas has agreed to the plan. He said earlier this week that Israel had accepted the conditions necessary for a 60-day ceasefire, during which the parties would work to end the 20-month war. Meanwhile, the Israeli military is continuing to bomb targets across the Gaza Strip. Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in the southern Khan Younis area, the local Nasser hospital said. Thirteen-year-old Mayar al-Farr's brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed. "The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother," she told Reuters news agency at his funeral. Adlar Mouamar, whose nephew Ashraf was also killed, said: "Our hearts are broken... We want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war." The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities". In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt. Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially. The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross. It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza. Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire. The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one. Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas. The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week. Source: here