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      in US Politics

      The Guardian view on Labour and Brexit: a subtle but important strategic pivot | Editorial

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      For most of the period since the decision was taken to leave the EU, British politicians have overestimated how much thought the continent gives to Brexit. Once shock at the referendum result receded, relations with the UK came to be seen as a technical problem to be solved by hard-headed negotiation.At critical moments, when deadlines neared, Brexit leapt up the agenda. After the treaties were signed, they dropped right down, overtaken by the other issues facing a large bloc with many borders and problems. That represents a perverse kind of victory for Boris Johnson and his chief negotiator, David Frost. The deal they signed was so skewed against British interests that Brussels has little incentive to reopen the settlement.This is a problem for those who think Brexit has gone badly – comfortably a majority opinion, according to polls. The road out was hard, but it was also a unilateral choice. The way back, even to a much looser association, means persuading EU governments and institutions that Britain has something unique to offer and, crucially, that it can be relied on to stay the course.The difficulty with that process is as much a limitation on Labour’s policy as the more commonly recognised domestic electoral taboos against upsetting leave voters. David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, understands this, which is why he and Sir Keir Starmer are proposing a new UK-EU security pact as the main instrument for improving the cross-Channel relationship. This is a field where Britain, as one of Europe’s top two military powers (alongside France), has capabilities and expertise that open doors in Brussels. A security partnership could be wide-ranging, covering energy and climate cooperation, without relitigating the terms of trade and regulatory alignment that inhibit discussions of enhanced economic intimacy.The economic cost of Brexit will still one day need to be addressed. On that front, the options are limited for as long as Labour refuses to countenance talk of a customs union or meaningful reintegration into the single market. This may be overcautious, but general public negativity about the way Brexit has worked out isn’t the same as eagerness to go through the whole gruelling exit process in reverse. And the old terms – the opt-outs and budget rebate – would no longer be available. Mr Johnson’s unpalatable cake cannot simply be unbaked.Even the keenest pro-Europeans – and Sir Keir was once counted in their ranks – must see the many complex practical implications of recognising that Brexit is a fait accompli, for Brussels no less than Britain. The starting point for a new and mutually beneficial relationship is an acknowledgment of geopolitical forces compelling the two sides to work together. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine makes that point compellingly. The prospect that Donald Trump could return to the White House next year doubles the urgency. The former US president, if restored to the Oval Office, would be an unreliable ally to Europe’s democracies and a wilful saboteur of international institutions.The Eurosceptic vision of Britain thriving without its home continent was always a delusion. In the current international context it is unsustainably perilous. The Conservative party’s choice to ignore these facts is as predictable as it is dangerous. Labour’s Brexit policy is still marked by caution, but on the need for a strategic pivot back to Europe, thankfully the silence is breaking. More

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      in US Politics

      Kharkiv at risk of becoming ‘second Aleppo’ without US aid, mayor says

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      Kharkiv is at risk of becoming “a second Aleppo” unless US politicians vote for fresh military aid to help Ukraine obtain the air defences needed to prevent long-range Russian attacks, the city’s mayor has warned.Ihor Terekhov said Russia had switched tactics to try to destroy the city’s power supply and terrorise its 1.3 million residents by firing into residential areas, with people experiencing unscheduled power cuts for hours at a time.The mayor of Ukraine’s second city said the $60bn US military aid package, currently stalled in Congress, was of “critical importance for us” and urged the west to refocus on the two-year-old war.“We need that support to prevent Kharkiv being a second Aleppo,” Terekhov said, referring to the Syrian city heavily bombed by Russian and Syrian government forces at the height of the country’s civil war a decade ago.View image in fullscreenOn 22 March, Russian attacks destroyed a power station on the eastern edge of the city as well all its substations; a week later officials acknowledged a second plant, 30 miles south-east of the city, had been eliminated in the same attack.Power in the city, about 30 miles from the Russian border, was interrupted after another bombing raid this week, causing the metro to be halted briefly. Residents said there was usually a few hours’ supply a day in the city centre, although in the outskirts the situation was said to be better.Children are educated either online or in underground schools, for their own safety. The water supply remains on, but Terekhov said there were concerns the Russian military may switch to targeting gas distribution, after storage facilities in the west were attacked last week.Ukrainian leaders have begun asking western nations to donate Patriot air defence systems, requests for help that were thrown into sharper relief by the US and UK military support for Israel over the weekend when it neutralised an air attack from Iran.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the allies’ defensive action “demonstrated how truly effective unity in defending against terror can be when it is based on sufficient political will” – before making a comparison to Ukraine.Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia “sound identical to those over the Middle East”, he said. “The impact of ballistic missiles, if they are not intercepted, is the same everywhere.”The Ukrainian leader concluded: “European skies could have received the same level of protection long ago if Ukraine had received similar full support from its partners in intercepting drones and missiles.”Seven people were killed in Kharkiv when two rockets struck near an unused shopping mall on the ring road north of the city shortly after midnight on 6 April, leaving behind 4-metre-deep craters and military debris near a residential area.Nina Mykhailivna, 72, who lives nearby, said the shock from the strike “lifted her bed in the air” and was followed by about 90 minutes of secondary explosions, the most serious she had experienced during the war.Few residents have left the city since Russia increased its bombing campaign around the turn of the year, and Kharkiv remains a lively metropolis with busy restaurants and cafes, and some businesses thriving despite the threat.View image in fullscreenOleksii Yevsiukov, 39, and Viktoriia Varenikova, 30, run the Avex clothing factory in a residential district and have installed $20,000 worth of solar panels on the roof since the start of the conflict. The additions provide enough electricity to power the sewing machines for the 10 employees working below in the Soviet-era building, which is undergoing a total refurbishment.“We anticipated there might be power cuts from energy infrastructure attacks this winter,” Yevsiukov said. “We looked at solutions and decided a diesel generator was not suitable, expensive and not very eco friendly, so we ordered the solar panels last year.”A newly installed power bank stores enough electricity for two days’ use if the panels are unable to generate it, and a geothermal pump keeps the building warm, avoiding the need for gas. As such, the factory is self-sufficient, which could become necessary as the owners anticipate at least two more years of war.View image in fullscreenTheir company makes women’s swim and fitness wear for branded companies in Ukraine, and, the couple say, sales have grown even though the goods might be considered luxuries during wartime. With the factory refurbishment nearly complete, Yevsiukov said they planned to roughly double the workforce.Soon after the war began, Varenikova found out she was pregnant. Their son Max is now one, and she expresses the hope that war might be over by the time he is ready for school. “I want him to go to a normal school, not an underground school, not a school in the metro, not an online school.”However, not everybody is so optimistic. One of the firm’s employees, Liubov, said she was planning to leave her home in Kharkiv and move to central Ukraine for at least a month to provide a calmer environment for her two daughters, who can continue to take classes remotely.Russian bombing had become “much more frequent, much more often”, Liubov said. The comprehensive attack on 22 March was “very, very scary and loud” and “attacks could come at daytime or night-time, in any part of the city”.Liubov did not want to be photographed or give a surname, reflecting perhaps a concern about not wanting to be identified as someone leaving the city. “We’ve had to get used to everything, I wish we didn’t have to. We have power banks, we have storage of food, but we want this to be over soon. We simply want to live.” More

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      in UK Politics

      Police order closure of right-wing conference attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman

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      For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsPolice in Brussels have stormed a right-wing conference attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman after orders for the event to be shut down. Local authorities ordered the controversial National Conservatism (NatCon) Conference to be closed to “guarantee public safety”.Ms Braverman, the former home secretary, and Mr Farage, the former Ukip leader, were among the political names advertised to speak at the event on Tuesday alongside right-wing Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban. Officers arrived after the event began at the Claridge venue in central Brussels to tell organisers the event would be shut down. According to a report on social media, police arrived while Mr Farage was addressing the event, giving attendees 15 minutes to leave the venue. However, officers did not appear to force the event to shut down and speeches continued.Police have now said they will not let anyone else into the venue and people can leave and not re-enter. The conference has already had to move location twice after mayors within the Brussels region refused the meeting’s chosen venues. Police officers at the venue after the National Conservatism Conference was ordered to be shut down More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Mike Johnson unveils complex plan for Israel and Ukraine aid as pressure rises

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      Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, has unveiled a complicated proposal for passing wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, rejecting pressure to approve a package sent over by the Senate and leaving its path to passage deeply uncertain.The Republican speaker huddled with fellow GOP lawmakers on Monday evening to lay out his strategy to gain House approval for the funding package. Facing an outright rebellion from conservatives who fiercely oppose aiding Ukraine, Johnson said he would push to get the package to the House floor under a single debate rule, then hold separate votes on aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and several foreign policy proposals, according to Republican lawmakers.However, the package would deviate from the $95bn aid package passed by the Senate in February, clouding its prospects for final passage in Congress.Johnson has faced mounting pressure to act on Joe Biden’s long-delayed request for billions of dollars in security assistance. It’s been more than two months since the Senate passed the $95bn aid package, which includes $14bn for Israel and $60bn for Ukraine.The issue gained new urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel. Congress, however, remains deeply divided.Johnson has declined to allow the Republican-controlled House to vote on the measure. The senate passed it with 70% bipartisan support and backers insist it would receive similar support in the House, but Johnson has given a variety of reasons not to allow a vote, among them the need to focus taxpayer dollars on domestic issues and reluctance to take up a Senate measure without more information.As the House has struggled to act, conflicts around the globe have escalated. Israel’s military chief said on Monday that his country will respond to Iran’s missile strike. And Ukraine’s military head over the weekend warned that the battlefield situation in the country’s east has “significantly worsened in recent days”, as warming weather has allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh offensive.Meanwhile, Joe Biden, who is hosting Petr Fiala, the Czech prime minister, at the White House, called on the House to take up the Senate funding package immediately. “They have to do it now,” he said.Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, also put pressure on Johnson and pledged in a letter to lawmakers to do “everything in our legislative power to confront aggression” around the globe, and he cast the situation as similar to the lead-up to the second world war.“The gravely serious events of this past weekend in the Middle East and eastern Europe underscore the need for Congress to act immediately,” Jeffries said. “We must take up the bipartisan and comprehensive national security bill passed by the Senate forthwith. This is a Churchill or Chamberlain moment.”In the Capitol, Johnson’s approach could further incite the populist conservatives who are already angry at his direction as speaker.Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, is threatening to oust him as speaker. As she entered the closed-door Republican meeting on Monday, she said her message to the speaker was: “Don’t fund Ukraine.”The GOP meeting was filled with lawmakers at odds in their approach to Ukraine: Republican defense hawks, including the top lawmakers on national security committees, who want Johnson to finally take up the national security supplemental package as a bundle, are pitted against populist conservatives who are fiercely opposed to continued support for Kyiv’s fight.On the right, the House Freedom Caucus said Monday that it opposed “using the emergency situation in Israel as a bogus justification to ram through Ukraine aid with no offset and no security for our own wide-open borders”.The Associated Press contributed reporting More

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      in US Politics

      US repeatedly warned Russia ahead of Moscow attack, White House says

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      The US repeatedly alerted Russia that extremists were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow ahead of last week’s concert hall attack that claimed more than 140 lives, the White House has said.The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that US officials passed on warnings – including one in writing – and dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine was involved as “nonsense”.“It is abundantly clear that Isis [Islamic State] was solely responsible for the horrific attack in Moscow last week,” he said. “In fact, the United States tried to help prevent this terrorist attack and the Kremlin knows this.”Kirby spoke shortly after Russia’s investigative committee said it had uncovered evidence that the four gunmen who carried out last Friday’s attack were linked to “Ukrainian nationalists” and had received cash and cryptocurrency from Ukraine.“As a result of work with the detained terrorists, examination of the technical devices seized from them and analysis of information on financial transactions, evidence of their links with Ukrainian nationalists has been obtained,” Russia’s investigative committee said on Thursday.It alleged the suspects had received “significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine” and said another man “involved in financing the terrorists” had been identified and detained.“Investigators will ask the court to remand him in custody,” it said.Kirby described the Russian allegations of Ukrainian involvement as “nonsense and propaganda”.Kirby said that the US provided several advance warnings to Russian authorities of extremist attacks on concerts and large gatherings in Moscow, including in writing on 7 March at 11.15am.The United States passed “following normal procedures and through established channels that have been employed many times previously … a warning in writing to Russian security services”, Kirby said.The four suspected assailants appeared in a Moscow courtroom on Sunday with bruises and cuts on their swollen faces. All four are from Tajikistan.Russia’s FSB security service said it arrested the gunmen while they were trying to flee to Ukraine, a claim seemingly disputed by the Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who said they were headed for his country first.Islamic State jihadists have said several times since Friday that they were responsible, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.Vladimir Putin has not visited the scene of the massacre or publicly met any victims.“If any contacts are necessary, we will inform you accordingly,” the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Thursday, when asked if Putin planned to meet family members of the dead.He also said Putin did not plan to visit Crocus City Hall, where rescuers had for the past week been searching the rubble for bodies.“In these days it would be completely inappropriate to carry out any fact-finding trips, because this would simply interfere with the work,” he said. More

    • 225 Shares199 Views

      in UK Politics

      How to avoid post-Brexit passport chaos: Simon Calder answers your questions on new rules for travelling to EU

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      Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discountsGet Simon Calder’s Travel emailBritish visitors to the EU are facing stricter passport validity rules post-Brexit –and it could ruin your holiday if you’re caught out.Long gone are the days when you could travel to the EU at any point before your travel document expired; the UK is now a “third country”, with rules to match.EU countries and the wider Schengen Area, which includes Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, do not accept passports issued more than 10 years ago from such travellers. Before Brexit, the Passport Office issued British passports valid for up to 10 years and nine months, considering the remaining time from the previous passport. While this wasn’t an issue previously, it’s now affecting some British holidaymakers heading to the EU.Recent data from the Home Office suggests up to 32 million Brits could be caught out by the rule change.Many readers are naturally concerned about their travel plans being sullied by an unexpected stop at the check in desk.To avoid this, you simply need to pass two tests. On the day of entry to the Schengen Area, your passport must have been issued in the past 10 years; and on your proposed day of exit it should have at least three months to run before the expiry date printed in the passport.During an “Ask Me Anything” session for The Independent, I tackled a wide range of questions from readers worried about their holiday plans and how they would be impacted.Q: My wife’s passport was issued 19 June 2014 and expires 19 January 2025. We are due to travel to France on the 5 April 2024. Now, her passport is within the 10 year rule but will only have two months left on it if the EU considers the expiry date to be 19th June 2024. Does she need to get a new passport urgently or is the three month rule applied to the actual expiry date of Jan 2025?GibberingOwlerA: Thanks very much for raising a really important point so early. Forgive me while I go on to caps lock. THE EXPIRY DATE OF YOUR PASSPORT IS THE DATE PRINTED BENEATH “DATE OF EXPIRY”. That is the expiry date as recognised by the European Union and everyone else on the planet.To their enduring shame, HM Government, some airlines, some travel firms and some journalists maintained for many months that this was not the case. But it is and always has been.So your wife’s passport is valid for travel out to France or anywhere else in the UK until 18 June 2024 for a stay of up to 90 days, ie until 15 September 2024 (subject to previous visits not eating into the post-Brexit allowance). Bon voyage.Q: My passport was issued in March 2015 and expires September 2025. I am due to travel at the end of April. Can you confirm please that my current passport is ok to use as it will be less than 10 years old when I travel? I just want to check I am understanding the rules correctly. EmmaA: There are just two tests for the European Union:Is it younger than 10 years? In your case, of course. It’s only nine years old.Will it have at least three months remaining on the day you plan to return from the EU? Yes. Enjoy the journey.Q: I am confused because I thought you needed to have a passport to travel to Dublin now as we are out of the EU.LornaWA: The Republic of Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – along with the four nations of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.There are no routine passport controls in operation for citizens travelling from one part of the CTA area to another. As long as you were born in the UK or Ireland, you are legally able to travel from the UK to Ireland without a passport.If you plan to travel on Ryanair, the airline insists that you have a valid passport (no restrictions on validity, so long as it has not exceeded its expiry date). On arrival at Dublin airport, you will go through passport control.But British Airways says: “If you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence.”Aer Lingus, BA’s sister airline, adds that a bus pass or work ID card with your photo on is quite sufficient. The ferries are similarly relaxed.Q: My understanding was that you must look at the date of issue of your passport and add 10 years. This date should be treated as your expiry date for the purposes of travel to EU. The ‘issued within 10 years and still have three months left after travel return date would then be applied. Is this correct?GrannyAnnieA: Sorry, caps lock again. NO, THE UK GOVERNMENT PRETENDED THAT WAS THE CASE FOR A WHILE until I persuaded them to actually apply the rules that the European Union applies. Your passport expires on the day printed in your passport under “Date of Expiry”.Q: The BBC has confused me with their article. How can a passport issued up until September 2018 be affected now, or do they mean ‘be aware you will be affected in the future’ i.e. next year for ones issued in 2015?SharronA: Sorry for any confusion the BBC has caused. The September 2018 date is relevant because that is when the long-established tradition of allowing extra time was abolished overnight. Passports issued since then cannot fall foul of the rule that the UK asked to be applied to itself.Q: Is the start date issue only valid for the EU? I’m travelling to Asia and my passport will have more than six months left on it when we travel but the passport will be 10 years old on the travel dates.MuttzMuttzA: The European Union is the only part of the world that cares tuppence about the issue date of your passport. So no problem for Asia so long as your passport expiry date meets the requirements for the individual countries.Q: Yet another Brexit bonus, eh? Is this what they meant by ‘taking back control?…haynemanA: I have written as much as I possibly could on the benefits of Brexit for travellers here.After all, we know: “Brexit has given the UK a world of future opportunities”. It must be true because the government says so.The main rail unions, which campaigned enthusiastically for Brexit, must also be celebrating.And then there’s “blue” passports. The government says: “As this document demonstrates – this is a government that possesses the ambition and determination the UK needs to succeed now and for many years to come.”Hurrah! And please don’t point out that as members of the EU we could have made our passports any colour we like.Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article.If you have more questions you can sign up to my weekly Ask Me Anything email, exclusively for Independent Premium subscribers.All you need to do to sign up is subscribe to Independent Premium, which you can do here.When you subscribe you will be asked to select the newsletters you would like to receive – make sure you pick Ask Me Anything to receive my weekly email.If you’re already subscribed to Independent Premium and want to check out our full offering of Premium and free newsletters click here. More

    • 213 Shares99 Views

      in UK Politics

      How can I avoid passport chaos sparked by post-Brexit rule change? Ask travel expert Simon Calder anything

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      Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discountsGet Simon Calder’s Travel emailThe rules on passport validity for British visitors to the European Union have tightened since Brexit.And now, Home Office figures obtained by the BBC suggest as many as 32 million could be caught out.When the UK left the European Union, British travellers become “third-country nationals”, in line with citizens from dozens of other countries including Venezuela and Samoa.EU nations do not allow such travellers to enter on a passport issued over 10 years ago. The same applies in the wider Schengen Area, including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. UK visitors to Ireland are not subject to the restriction.The Passport Office’s pre-Brexit policy was to issue British travel documents valid for up to 10 years and nine months, taking account of the unspent time on a previous passport. While this previously posed no problems, it is starting to affect some British holidaymakers travelling to the EU.On a typical day, I calculate 200 outbound travellers are prevented from departing because of EU rules on issue and expiry dates.So, how can you make sure you’re not stopped at check in? Do you need to renew now? And when is the best time to submit your application?I will be on hand from 4pm GMT, on Wednesday 27 March to answer all your passport questions in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ event. I will be answering live in the comments section below.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 4pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.If you have more questions you can sign up to my weekly Ask Me Anything email, exclusively for Independent Premium subscribers.All you need to do to sign up is subscribe to Independent Premium, which you can do here.When you subscribe you will be asked to select the newsletters you would like to receive – make sure you pick Ask Me Anything to receive my weekly email.If you’re already subscribed to Independent Premium and want to check out our full offering of Premium and free newsletters click here. More

    • 88 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Tesla’s Troubles Raise Questions About Its Invincibility

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      As the share price plunges, investors wonder whether the company, led by Elon Musk, can withstand intensifying competition.Elon Musk appeared to be in a defiant mood Wednesday when he stood before employees at Tesla’s factory near Berlin a week after an arsonist set fire to a high-voltage power pylon and brought production to a standstill.“They can’t stop us,” Mr. Musk, the company’s chief executive, told workers in a giant tent beside the plant.But there are proliferating signs that Tesla may not be as unstoppable as it once seemed. The company’s car sales are no longer growing at a torrid pace. Chinese automakers and established brands like BMW and Volkswagen are flooding the market with electric cars. And Tesla has been slow to respond with new models.Mr. Musk’s many outside ventures, and his penchant for making polarizing political statements and attacking people he disagrees with, have raised questions about how focused he remains on managing Tesla. Wall Street is increasingly concerned about the company: Tesla’s share price has lost one-third of its value this year even as major stock indexes have hit record highs.“A bet on Tesla has always been a bet on Mr. Musk,” said Eric Talley, a professor at Columbia Law School who focuses on corporate law, governance and finance.In an interview with the former television anchor Don Lemon that streamed online on Monday, Mr. Musk brushed off the drop in the company’s share price as part of the cycle.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More