Washington/Moscow, – U.S. President Donald Trump characterized his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “productive,” while acknowledging that the two leaders failed to bridge differences on a number of key issues. Speaking after the talks, Trump said that the dialogue had been “constructive” and “necessary,” stressing that direct engagement between Washington and Moscow was…
Laura Kuenssberg Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg•@bbclaurak BBC On a normal weekend, MPs might try to snatch a bit of downtime, or squeeze in a game of pin the tail on the donkey at a constituency summer fete. Ministers might be ploughing through documents in their red box, or rehearsing the next round of “lines…
Henry Zeffman Chief Political Correspondent Leela Padmanabhan BBC News BBC By the time polls closed at 10pm on 4 July 2024, the Labour Party knew they were likely to return to government – even if they could not quite bring themselves to believe it. For Sir Keir Starmer, reminiscing 10 months later in an interview…
Laura Kuenssberg Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg•@bbclaurak BBC “There’s only one relationship that really matters,” a senior figure in government told me in the middle of Labour’s dreadful week, where ministers lost control of their backbenchers. “It’s the one with the voters.” Well, quite. And that relationship has soured since Labour has been in power….
Berlin, August 15, 2025 — Two prominent German human rights groups, Pro Asyl and Patenschaftsnetzwerk Ortskräfte, have filed a criminal complaint against Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, accusing them of failing to protect Afghan nationals in Pakistan who have already been approved for resettlement in Germany. The complaint, submitted to Berlin…
Senior government figures believe they are on the cusp of achieving a breakthrough with Emmanuel Macron on a deal that would see France take back at least some of those who have crossed the English Channel on small boats. In return, the UK would take asylum claimants from France who wish to come to the…
Watching the president of France and the prime minister close up was to see two men under the cosh, behind in the opinion polls and fighting for what they see as the essence of their political creed. It boils down to this – how do Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron make the case for…
House of Commons This July, just like last July, the prime minister has decided to kick some of his MPs out of the Parliamentary Labour Party. A year ago, just weeks after winning the general election, seven Labour MPs had the whip removed, to use the Westminster jargon, having voted against the two-child benefit cap….
Political parties, like the rest of us, are forever confronting choices. But, also like the rest of us, sometimes those choices are rather limited if maintaining consistency is seen to be important. It is this that lies at the heart of the latest chapter in the long running saga of Diane Abbott and the Labour…
Laura Kuenssberg Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg•@bbclaurak BBC Who is in charge? You might think the answer should be obvious. “This government should be walking on water, there should be nothing it can’t do,” a Whitehall insider suggests, given the rows and rows and rows – and yes, rows – of Labour MPs who line…
