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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's clumsy nuclear rhetoric shows he still has no strategy to deal with Putin
US president Donald Trump claims to have ordered a redeployment of nuclear submarines in response to threatening language from Moscow. Predictably, the US and global media have reacted excitedly, without always stopping to consider what, if anything, has happened, and why. As with Trump's other comments on Russia, the vague statement raised more questions than answers. Trump claimed he ordered two nuclear submarines (without specifying whether that meant nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered) to be positioned 'in the appropriate regions' (without explaining why they would have been somewhere inappropriate to start with). All of which came in response to a taunt containing a reference to The Walking Dead and a laughing emoji on social media from Dmitry Medvedev, once president of Russia but now enjoying a public persona more akin to a court jester. Trump's secretary of state Marco Rubio seems confident that Medvedev is 'not a relevant player in Russian politics', and yet his trolling has supposedly triggered a change in American nuclear posture. As with so much else in Trumpworld, the explanation probably lies elsewhere. It's true that Trump's verbal outbursts criticising Moscow have become more frequent recently – and that this marks a startling turnaround from his earlier inclination to blame Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Russia having invaded his country. But despite the latest claims, there's still no indication that Trump is willing to follow words with meaningful action. The latest arbitrary deadline for Vladimir Putin to take unspecified action towards ending Russia's war on Ukraine, followed by an equally arbitrary bringing forward of the deadline, suggest there is no coherent plan for putting pressure on Moscow. Instead, when setting dates, Trump appears to be plucking random numbers from the air and then changing them with no warning, in the same manner as when setting the United States's global trade policy. With the submarine comment, Trump has discovered another means of appearing 'tough on Russia' without actually doing anything that would be of any concern to Moscow – and there are plenty of other reasons why he might be seeking headlines that suggest he is taking a firmer line with Putin. Namely, that Trump needs distractions at the moment. His best efforts to keep his relationship with sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell out of the headlines, and prevent the release of any material from their criminal case that may implicate Trump personally, have been counterproductive. And the effects of his economic policies are starting to dawn on even those sections of the American public that still believe he has their best interests at heart. With prices rising rapidly amid uncertainty triggered by Trump's chaotic tariff policy, it is becoming harder to maintain upbeat messaging on the economy – and last week also saw the release of employment statistics so bad that Trump felt compelled to shoot the messenger who delivered them, by firing the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics. This, and moving submarines in response to an insult from a Russian politician who throws them for a living, unfortunately fits Trump's style of governing through outbursts and rants in response to perceived slights more than through clear and considered policy. But whatever the reasons for that, the net effect is that once again, Trump has taken every possible step to pressure Russia short of actually doing something. In fact, he has succeeded in preventing action that Russia would dislike: Trump's notional deadline for Putin to do something successfully headed off an initiative by Senate Republicans to push through a package of secondary sanctions that would have caused genuine headaches for Moscow, not to mention a proposal for sanctions on China for supporting Russia's war. That's one reason among many why Russia felt the Trump submarine claim, which, if made by any other US president, would have been a significant and dramatic move, could be calmly ignored. Whatever Trump's latest verbal salvo at Moscow may be, there's one thing it isn't: a strategy for dealing with Russia, let alone a sensible or coherent one. Vladimir Putin and those around him will no doubt continue to watch Trump's moves closely; but perhaps as much out of curiosity as of concern as to what he will do next.
Sky News
37 minutes ago
- Sky News
No 10 declines to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power
The prime minister's spokesman has refused eight times to confirm whether recognition of Palestine could go ahead if Hamas remain in power and the hostages are not released. Keir Starmer's spokesman was questioned by journalists for the first time since the announcement last week that the UK will formally recognise the state in September - unless Israel meets certain conditions including abiding by a ceasefire and increasing aid. The policy has been criticised by the families of UK hostages, campaigners and some Labour MPs, who argue it would reward Hamas and say it should be conditional on the release of the remaining hostages. A senior Hamas politician, Ghazi Hamad, speaking to Al Jazeera, said at the weekend that major nations' decision to recognise a Palestinian state "is one of the fruits of 7 October". The PM's spokesman said on Monday: "The PM is clear that on 7 October, Hamas committed the worst act of terror in Israel's history. That horror has continued since then. "As the foreign secretary said over the weekend, Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza's future, there is a diplomatic consensus on that. Hamas must immediately release all hostages and have no role in the governance of Gaza." But asked whether removing Hamas from power and releasing hostages were conditions for statehood, he said a decision on recognition would be made at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, based on "an assessment of how far the parties have met the steps we have set out. No one side will have veto on recognition through their actions or inactions." 2:25 He added: "Our focus is on the immediate situation on the ground, getting more aid in to end the suffering in Gaza and supporting a ceasefire and a long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians based a two-state solution." Starmer, who recalled his cabinet for an emergency meeting last week before setting out the new position, is following the lead of French president Emmanuel Macron, who first pledged to move toward recognising Palestinian statehood in April. Canada has also backed recognition if conditions are met, including by the Palestinian Authority. The prime minister had previously said he would recognise a state of Palestine as part of a contribution to a peace process. 3:05 In his announcement last Tuesday, he said: "We need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day. But ultimately, the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement. "So we are supporting the US, Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a vital ceasefire. That ceasefire must be sustainable and it must lead to a wider peace plan, which we are developing with our international partners. "I've always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act." Adam Rose, a lawyer acting for British families of hostages in Gaza, has said: "Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?"
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Social media images of Gaza cafes can't hide truth: Israel is starving Palestinians
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his supporters have variously argued that there is no starvation in Gaza, or that if there is hunger it is the fault of Hamas – who they accuse of stealing aid – or the United Nations. In a recent interview with the New Yorker, Amit Segal, the chief political correspondent for Israel's Channel 12, said he did not believe there was hunger in Gaza. Israel's consul general in New York said that there was 'no deliberate starvation in Gaza, only a deliberate disinformation campaign orchestrated by Hamas'. Social media has also helped spread misinformation about hunger in Gaza, with photographs and video of cafes being presented as evidence that there is no famine. One Israeli creator on YouTube with more than 400,000 subscribers posted a video entitled 'Summer 2025 (Genocide Never Tasted So Good)', which highlights the existence of several small cafes in Gaza City in an attempt to disprove the existence of food shortages. But Israeli government data clearly shows that it is starving Gaza. UN-backed food security experts said that Gaza is currently experiencing a 'worst-case scenario' famine. Even Netanyahu's biggest ally, Donald Trump, has said there is 'real starvation' in the territory. Despite such conclusions, pro-Israeli figures have continued to cast doubt on the veracity of images of malnourished children. In an interview with Piers Morgan, the US media personality Megyn Kelly dismissed such images as having been 'manipulated', before claiming that Hamas and 'frankly a lot of Palestinians' are 'masters of propaganda and they're fine having their own children starve just as long as they can put them on camera'. Such attitudes are reflected in the comments under the Gaza cafes video, where a typical post reads: 'It is hard to imagine that people can be so easily fooled into passionately believing the 'genocide' and 'famine' in Gaza when evidence against such false narratives is so readily available.' But while a small number of cafes are open in Gaza – including some of those in the video – they are operating in a severely limited capacity due to spiralling prices and scarcity of key ingredients, according to Salah Ahmad, the co-founder of HopeHub, an organization that created co-working spaces for remote workers and students in cafes across the territory. Basic ingredients are hard to obtain, and prices fluctuate wildly from day to day: a kilo of flour can cost $12 one day, and $40 the next. Consequently, the small array of snacks these cafes are able to still offer are usually extremely expensive, Ahmad said. 'When you see a small coffee shop or cafe selling drinks or cakes at high prices, it does not truly reflect the reality most people in Gaza are living,' Ahmad said. 'In many cases, it is just a small business. The owners are simply trying to survive and feed their families with a sense of dignity.' Of the five cafes in the video, one was not currently open because they ran out of supplies, one said it was reopening after being shut down for several weeks because there were no supplies, and another said it was no longer selling food, Ahmad said. Often, cafes in Gaza remain open even when they do not offer food, as they provide internet connections and electricity from solar panels, Ahmad said. HopeHub is still operating two co-working spaces out of cafes – one in Khan Younis and one in Deir al-Balah. Further confusion has been created by the fact that some of the cafes are posting pictures and videos from before they closed down on. Hamada Ice Cream shop, which has not been open for weeks, recently posted a highlight reel of the pastries, cakes and drinks the cafe once served. 'Me and 2 million Gazans are waiting for this moment Oh God, make things easy and these days pass safely, O Lord,' reads the video's Arabic caption. The few cafes that are open are obviously not able to serve Gaza's entire population, Ahmad said. 'Most people in Gaza right now are poor and trying to survive,' he said. Those who do go to the cafes 'might be employees who still receive salaries from international organizations, remote workers, or journalists', he said. 'They are holding on to hope, clinging to familiar routines, trying to stay connected to their memories of a more beautiful Gaza. For them, going out for a coffee is not about luxury. It is about staying human.'
