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JD Vance criticized European nations for “doing a lot of things to sabotage themselves”, in a Fox News interview on Tuesday (17 February).
When Donald Trump signed a $51.4 billon (£37.8bn) foreign aid package earlier this month, including nearly $6bn for the global HIV response, the announcement was framed as a restoration of the key programmes that the US president had slashed when he came back into office at the start of 2025. Congress had rejected proposed cuts and compelled the White House to release funding for programmes that underpin treatment for millions of people.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has spoken of the “real bright lights we are starting to see” given the change. The figures looked familiar, with around $9.4bn for global health overall, covering HIV treatment and prevention; tuberculosis and malaria programmes; maternal and child health services and vaccine support – alongside humanitarian assistance.
Any increase in funding for such health projects is a good thing, but it is not a full restoration. Analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows that the global health budget now pl..
CloseUkraine neutralises North Korean 'Koksan' artillery after detecting heat signatureUkrainian soldiers have made battlefield gains on the eastern frontlines after Russian troops lost access to Starlink satellite internet, a US-based think tank said.
Ukrainian forces managed to recapture 78 sq miles from Russia between Wednesday and Sunday, equivalent to the Russian gains for the entire month of December, data from the Institute for the Study of War showed.
It marks the most land retaken by Kyiv’s forces in such a short period since a June 2023 counteroffensive, undoing weeks of Russian advances to the east of Zaporizhzhia city at a crucial time ahead of talks with Russia today.
Delegations will meet in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday for a fresh round of US-mediated peace talks that the Kremlin says are likely to focus on land, the main sticking point.
Russia is still asserting hardline demands that Ukraine cede the remaining 20% of the eastern region of Donetsk that Mosco..
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accused the Trump administration of carrying out a “cover-up” in its handling of the Epstein files, while the president claims the files “totally exonerated” him and “pulled in” the Clintons.
“Get the files out,” Clinton told the BBC on Monday from Berlin, where she attended the World Forum. “They are slow-walking it.”
Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, is mentioned and pictured numerous times in the Epstein files. Both Clintons have denied any contemporaneous knowledge of Epstein’s crimes, and survivors and authorities have not accused them of wrongdoing.
Over the weekend, Clinton echoed her calls for transparency while speaking at the Munich Security Conference.
She called the contents of the Epstein files “horrifying” and demanded their full release.
open image in galleryHillary Clinton has accused the Trump administration of slowing down the release of the Epstein files, while Trump says the files ‘totally exonerated’ him whi..
A train carrying around 80 passengers has derailed in Switzerland following an avalanche this morning, authorities said as rescuers scrambled to reach survivors.
Several carriages were forced off the line near the village of Goppenstein, in the southwestern canton of Valais, around 7am this morning, police said.
Emergency responders raced to the scene as police warned injuries were “likely”. More information would follow, they said.
The train left Spiez at 6.12am and was heading for Brig when it was struck by the avalanche. Police reported just after 10am local time that 30 people had been rescued so far.
Were you affected? Contact james.reynolds@independent.co.uk
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Former NFL offensive lineman Tre' Johnson, an All-Pro during his distinguished career with Washington, has died suddenly at the age of 54.
His wife confirmed his passing on social media, revealing he died on Sunday during a family trip.
Irene Johnson shared the devastating news on Facebook, stating: “It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that my husband, Tre' Johnson, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday … during a brief family trip. His four children, Chloe, EJ, EZ and Eden, extended family, friends, and I are devastated and in shock.”
Johnson was a prominent figure for the Washington franchise, playing from 1994 to 2000 and returning for a final season in 2002 after a year with the Cleveland Browns.
Primarily a guard, he started 72 of his 93 regular-season games and both playoff contests. His stellar performance in 1999 earned him a Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro second team nod from the Associated Press.
open image in galleryTre’ Johnson had a stella..
CloseZelensky says 'Putin is a slave to war'Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Vladimir Putin as a “slave to war” while seeking security guarantees for Ukraine.
“He may see himself as a tsar but in reality he is a slave to war,” the Ukrainian president told the Munich Security Conference, referring to the Russian leader.
Zelensky acknowledged he was feeling “a little bit” of pressure from Donald Trump after the US president told Ukraine’s leader not to miss the opportunity to make peace and urged him “to get moving”.
He complained that the US too often asked Kyiv rather than Russia for concessions while renewing his call for 20-year security guarantees.
“The Americans often return to the topic of concessions and too often those concessions are discussed only in the context of Ukraine, not Russia,” Zelensky said.
He confirmed the US had proposed 15-year security guarantees, although Ukraine wanted at least 20 years.
Earlier at the conference, Britain accused Russia of killing oppo..
Sir Keir Starmer told Europe it has to be ready to “fight” Russian aggression as he announced that the UK would deploy warships and fighter jets to the Arctic later this year.
The move, announced at the Munich Security Conference, will be seen as a bid to appease Donald Trump after he threatened to annex Greenland, citing security concerns in the region.
But even as the PM hailed what he said would be a demonstration of the transatlantic relationship, US secretary of state Marco Rubio warned the continent’s leaders over their ”malaise of hopelessness” and said that the US needed a partner with the “will to survive”.
It came as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hit out at the United States, saying his country was being asked to make concessions to Russia “too often” in US-brokered peace talks and that Europe was being sidelined.
open image in galleryKeir Starmer announced that British warships are set to patrol the Arctic (AP)During an eventful day at the summit:
Sir Keir rebuk..
CloseRubio: ‘America has no interest in being caretakers of the west’s managed decline'US secretary of state Marco Rubio told the Munich Security Conference that the US has “no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline.”
The US Secretary of State hit out at a “dangerous delusion” that every country has followed the international rules-based order and freed trade since the end of the Cold War, and criticised the “overused” phrase “the end of history”.
He said: “We want allies who can defend themselves, so that no adversary will ever be tempted to test our collective strength.
“This is why we do not want our allies to be shackled by guilt and shame.”
Mr Rubio acknowledged that “we made these mistakes together, and now together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward to rebuild”.
European leaders have also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss efforts to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as the fou..
French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot has expressed being “overwhelmed” after receiving a personal letter of support from Queen Camilla, following her ex-husband’s conviction. The Queen, a long-time campaigner against domestic violence and sexual abuse, commended Ms Pelicot’s “extraordinary dignity and courage” in the correspondence.
Ms Pelicot’s former husband, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping her, and for allowing other men to assault her while she was unconscious. This horrific abuse spanned nearly a decade.
He had recruited other men in an online chatroom to rape her while she was unconscious; 47 of them were found guilty of rape, two found guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault. They were jailed for a total of 428 years.
Extracts of her book, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides, written with journalist Judith Perrignon, and published by French newspaper Le Monde, explain how her then-husband had been summoned by..
