EUROPE - The European Union will free up $840 billion in funding to funnel into defense across the bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday. Dubbed "Rearm Europe," the remarks from the European Commission's president came hours after President Donald Trump suspended all US military aid to Ukraine, widening the gulf between Washington and Kyiv and going against the fresh commitments of support from Europe for Ukraine in recent days. "I do not need to describe the grave nature of the threats that we face, or the devastating consequences that we will have to endure if those threats would come to pass," von der Leyen told reporters. Propelled by Trump's return to the White House and insistent calls from his administration that Europe dramatically pulls up its defense spending, European nations are scrambling to work out how to plug huge gaps in its military capabilities that the US has traditionally filled.

USA - Trump declares war on anonymous sources: A bold stand against media corruption and the Deep State. In a fiery rebuke of corporate media corruption and the shadowy machinations of the so-called "Deep State," President Donald Trump has once again taken aim at one of the most insidious tools of the establishment: anonymous sources. In a series of bold statements, Trump has threatened lawsuits against authors, publishers and media outlets that rely on unnamed insiders to push defamatory narratives. Even more provocatively, he has hinted at the possibility of a "NICE NEW LAW" to crack down on the rampant abuse of anonymity in journalism and publishing.

USA - Trump has no idea where most of the Ukraine aid went – and honestly, who does? Throwing billions upon billions of cash at Kiev turned out to be such a massive scam no one seems to even know the exact amount. The US president keeps saying that the reason Washington wants dibs on Ukrainian natural resources is because “the United States has put up far more aid for Ukraine than any other nation, hundreds of billions of dollars,” and that “we’re in there for about $350 billion. I think that’s a pretty big contribution.”

USA - President Donald J Trump spent the weekend in Mar-A-Lago for an all-too-brief break before another busy week. When he returned, he hopped on Truth Social to remind the world that his “mean Tweets” are still real and they’re spectacular. He didn’t go after anyone in particular. He simply reminded Americans about our priorities. We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe! Europe is, of course, obsessed with Ukraine and Russia. Their governments will obsess over anything that takes attention away from the invasion they’re allowing at their borders and in their streets.

USA - The auto finance industry is in trouble. Subprime car loan delinquencies just hit 6.56% — the highest level ever recorded. That’s not just a bad month. That’s a flashing red warning sign that borrowers are drowning in debt and running out of options. Companies like Carvana, DriveTime, and Westlake Financial are seeing default rates spike across the board. It’s not just subprime borrowers struggling either — even prime customers are starting to fall behind on payments. That’s when you know things are breaking down.

CHINA - Extreme weather destroys cities as level 10 winds and giant hailstones trigger chaos. On March 2, 2025, extreme weather struck multiple regions in China, with parts of Henan province experiencing heavy rainfall and violent winds, causing road obstructions, vehicle overturns, and significant travel disruptions. Meanwhile, in Yueyang, Hunan, a sudden hailstorm lasted for over an hour, with densely packed hailstones the size of eggs, severely impacting city traffic and daily life.

UK - With the transatlantic pact which has underpinned peace and security on the continent since 1945 beginning to falter, they will need all the strength and resolve they can muster. After 80 years of relying on the US, it seems Europe may henceforth have to defend itself. Appalling though his behaviour sometimes is, President Trump is not wrong when he says other Nato countries have been freeloading on the US for too long. He is also right to say the war must be brought to an end – the sooner the better. Sir Keir, Mr Zelensky and President Macron of France are now working on an acceptable plan to end the hostilities, which will then be put to the White House for approval.

UK - One MP is calling for Europe to develop its own collective alliance, dubbed EATO, with the UK likely leading it. A British Army officer turned MP has warned NATO’s Article 5 is “effectively dead” and says Europe needs to form its own alliance without the US. Lib Dem MP Mike Martin, who sits on the Defence Committee, says the Government needs to reconsider its faith in Article 5 - the cornerstone of NATO security. The Afghanistan veteran says Europe must develop its own collective alliance, dubbed EATO, led by Britain or France as the continent’s two sole nuclear powers.

UK - Britain’s peace plans for Ukraine will not be “derailed” by Donald Trump’s decision to suspend all military aid, the Deputy Prime Minister has insisted. The White House announced the decision late on Monday evening after Mr Trump criticised Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, for saying the end of the war was “very, very far away”. Mr Trump’s decision threatens to widen the gap with European nations, who have been scrambling to boost defence spending amid fears the US could abandon Kyiv. Angela Rayner said the Prime Minister would not be “derailed by announcements” and said he remained “laser focused on getting peace”. “He will continue that dialogue with our oldest and strongest ally the US and our European partners and Ukraine,” she said.

USA - JD Vance has criticised European leaders for publicly backing Volodymyr Zelensky while privately calling for the war in Ukraine to end. The US Vice President claimed allies had privately expressed dread about the war with Russia dragging on for years, and warned them against dragging out the conflict by “puff[ing] up” the Ukrainian leader. European leaders are privately pushing for Mr Zelensky to build bridges with Donald Trump, the US President, after he threw his Ukrainian counterpart out of the White House last week following an explosive meeting. “Sometimes you will have European heads of state who in public will puff up their chests and say, ‘we’re in it with President Zelensky for the next 10 years,’” Mr Vance told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday evening. “And then in private, they will pick up the phone and say, ‘This can’t go on forever. He has to come to the negotiating table.’”

ISRAEL - Israel’s prime minister has threatened Hamas with “consequences you can’t imagine” if the Palestinian group does not release the remaining hostages held in Gaza. He also said in a video that Israel “fully supports” President Trump’s plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, saying they should be given “the freedom to leave” the territory. “If you don’t release our hostages, there will be consequences you can’t imagine,” Binyamin Netanyahu said at Israel’s parliament on Monday in a hearing about an inquiry into the October 7 terrorist attacks.

UK - The deconstruction of masculinity started decades ago. Feminism lurched from an attempt to level the playing field between men and women into an agenda that held men were a waste of space and worse. The role of the male breadwinner was denounced as a mechanism for female enslavement in the home. Women would henceforth do everything men did — not just paid work but also “laddish” behaviour such as drinking, casual sex and aggression.

VATICAN - Pope Francis suffered two respiratory attacks on Monday, more than two weeks into a hospital stay for pneumonia. Doctors had to intervene to extract a large build-up of mucus from the lungs of the 88 year-old, who is battling double pneumonia in the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. “Today, the Pope experienced two episodes of acute respiratory failure, caused by a significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus and consequent bronchospasm,” the Vatican said in a statement released on Monday evening. The medical team looking after him intervened to help him breathe. The Pope, who has been in hospital since February 14, was put back on non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said.

USA - Nato could be in its final days, a former Supreme Allied Commander has warned, as America’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance wavers. Admiral James Stavridis, an American who served as Nato’s Europe commander from 2009-2013, said we could be witnessing the “last days” of the alliance and the start of a new “European Treaty Organisation”. Donald Trump’s insistence on European leaders increasing their defence budgets, combined with his falling out with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, has sparked concern among members of the alliance.

UNITED NATIONS - At the Security Council, America sided with Russia – and against the founding principles of the United Nations. Nothing could be simpler than the procedure for casting a vote in the United Nations Security Council. Fifteen ambassadors gather around a horseshoe table, beneath a mural of a phoenix escaping the ashes, and raise their hands like obedient pupils. Until Donald Trump regained the White House, the easiest duty of America’s representative was to vote alongside Britain and France to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as exactly the kind of blood-soaked tragedy which the UN was created to prevent.