Raphael Stevens

Russian president Vladimir Putin hailed US President-elect Donald Trump “clever and experienced”, voicing confidence that he would be able to find a solution to Ukraine’s “challenges”.In a speech on Thursday (28 November), Putin also voiced dismay about what he described as “uncivilised means, including assassination attempts” against Trump.“In my view, even now he’s not safe, the US history has seen various developments,” Putin said. “But he is a clever and cautious man, he realizes all that.”Putin said he had been shocked to see Trump facing “humiliating and unfounded judicial procedures and accusations,” along with his family members. More

Elon Musk’s father has accused England of “going back 400 years to the Tudor times” as he called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign.Errol Musk also criticsed Labour cabinet members for previous comments about President-elect Donald Trump.Appearing on Andrew Marr’s LBC show on Wednesday (20 November), Mr Musk said: “England has gone back to theTudor times, you’ve gone back 400 years with this government.”When asked about his thoughts on Sir Keir, Mr Musk added: “He needs to reign before four years, he needs to resign in the next three months.” More

This is the moment New Zealand Maori MPs disrupt parliament with a haka to protest against a treaty bill.New Zealand’s parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday (14 November), after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that could reinterpret an 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.As parliamentarians gathered for a preliminary vote on the bill, Te Pati Maori MPs stood and began a haka, a traditional Maori dance made famous by New Zealand’s rugby team.Parliament was briefly suspended as people in the gallery joined in, and shouting drowned out others in the chamber. More

Sir Keir Starmer appeared to dodge questions over President-elect Donald Trump’s climate fears at the Cop29 summit.The prime minister was asked how he plans to work with the new US president on climate change, when he previously described the crisis as a “hoax”.Sir Keir appeared to dodge the question during an interview on Tuesday (12 November), instead insisting that the UK will show leadership to tackle the climate crisis.Trump has threatened to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement once more to curb global warming.When pressed again on Trump’s views on climate change, Sir Keir said: “I look forward to working with President Trump.” More

The UK could be spared from Donald Trump’s tariffs raise because of Brexit, a US governor has said.Trump has said he wants to raise tariffs on goods from around the world by 10 percent, rising to 60 percent on goods from China, as part of his plan to protect US industries.Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy believes the UK could be exempt because of Brexit.Speaking to Sky News on Saturday (9 November), he said: “I have a gut feeling that he looks at the UK’s move out of the European Union, which by the way I have to say was a huge mistake from my perspective, but from his perspective I think its’ ‘These guys have the courage to pull out of this big bureaucratic blob and I Donald Trump have some sympathy with the renegade who does that’ and I think that’s a card that can be played.” More

Russian leader Vladimir Putin described Donald Trump in one word as he spoke publically for the first time about the Republican’s election victory.Putin said he had been “impressed” by Trump, before describing him as “courageous” concerning the assassination attempt on the president-elect at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.On Thursday (7 November), Putin said: “In his first term as president he was dubbed mostly a businessman, but his behavior when there was an attempt on his life, I was impressed, he is a courageous person.Trump’s win has raised tensions, especially in Ukraine, where Moscow’s forces have made swift advances, supported by North Korean troops stationed in Russia’s Kursk region. More

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed his country has had “good conversations” with Donald Trump, following the latter’s election victory in the US.Mr Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory over Kamala Harris in a new video address on Wednesday evening (6 November).The Ukrainian president said: “I congratulate him on this victory. In general, it was extremely important for us in Ukraine and for all of Europe to consistently hear the words of the then-45th President of the United States about “peace through strength.” And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th President of the United States, America and the whole world will undoubtedly benefit from it.”During his election campaign, Trump has threatened both a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. More