Gerald Warner

via Alamy/ 2YMYBTA

Peace breaks out; or perhaps not. Blink and you would have missed the historic Easter truce in the Ukraine war. This was Vladimir Putin's initiative, not a temporary respite forced upon him by America. Washington would have preferred a 30-day truce: what it got was 30 hours. Even then, any notion that this was an event similar to the famous Christmas truce of 1914, with opposing soldiers playing football, can be dismissed.

For this was a fighting truce, a shooting truce. Ukrainian authorities claim the ceasefire was broken 2,000 times. Russia, predictably, has made similar complaints. While it is not easy to establish the truth, a rough assessment of what happened can be made and it is not reassuring. Ukraine concedes that, during the truce, Russian forces refrained from launching air strikes or missiles. It is also accepted that the fighting diminished on the front line, but did not cease.

Donald Trump has inexplicably chosen to pussyfoot around the one power on earth that most notoriously responds only to strength.

Russia's phoney Easter truce bodes ill for any peace settlement

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DONALD Trump is pushing for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine by Easter, a report claims. But any peace is looking unlikely as Vladimir Putin continues blitzing Ukraine with drones and doesn…

Trump pushes for 'Ukraine ceasefire with Putin by EASTER' but peace hangs in balance as Putin drone ons...

HE boasts billions of views on TikTok, an army of ­slavish followers and is the third most Googled person of 2022, beaten only by the Queen and Donald Trump. But you may never have heard of Andrew …

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Highly reducing or oxidizing photocatalysts are a fundamental challenge in photochemistry. Only a few transition metal complexes with Earth-abundant metal ions have so far advanced to excited state oxidants, including chromium, iron, and cobalt. All these photocatalysts require high energy light for excitation and their oxidizing power has not yet been fully exploited. Furthermore, precious and hence expensive metals are the decisive ingredients in most cases.

Scientists develop new molecular system made from abundant element manganese for photooxidation

Robert F Kennedy Jr mentioned Joe Biden's name eleven times in a speech moments after praising the RNC for not focusing on the US president. The independent candidate abandoned his own presidential campaign on Friday 23 August and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, ending a bid he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics. During a press conference, he railed against chronic disease, "corruption" in health agencies, and the Democratic Party - focusing part of his attack on Mr Biden. "In Chicago, Democratic speakers mentioned Donald Trump 147 times just on the first day, who needs a policy when you have Trump to hate?" he asked. "In contrast, at the RNC, President Biden was mentioned only twice in four days."

RFK mentions Biden 11 times after praising RNC for not focusing on president

Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump Former US President Donald Trump pinned blame for the assassination attempt against him on his political opponents but offered no evidence over the course of an hourlong interview with former talk show host Dr Phil McGraw that was shared on Tuesday.In the same interview, Trump complained, ironically, that political rhetoric in the country had become too intensely heated.Though Trump has accused President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of preventing him from having greater Secret Service protection in the weeks after Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump during an outdoor rally, his new comments go a step further. The FBI said on Wednesday that it believes Crooks saw Trump as a "target of opportunity," as the gunman had searched online for information about both Biden and Trump in the month beforehand and had no clear ideological motivation.  Trump spoke extensively about the July 13 shooting with McGraw. "You know, when this happened, people would ask, 'Whose fault is that?' I think to a certain extent it's Biden's fault, Harris' fault. And I'm the opponent," he said. "Look, they were weaponising the government against me. They brought in the whole DOJ to try and get me," Trump went on, referring to the Department of Justice and his false claim that Biden is secretly orchestrating Trump's many legal woes. "They weren't too interested in my health and safety. I would be, if I were in their position. But they weren't very interested. And they were always making it very difficult to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service," he told McGraw. After ending his talk show last year, McGraw launched a conservative news and entertainment network, Merit Street Media. He has not been a licensed doctor for nearly two decades.McGraw asked Trump: "I'm not saying that they wanted you to get shot, but do you think it was OK with them if you did?""I don't know. I don't know. There's a lot of hatred. I don't know why. I had a great presidency," Trump replied. He complained that Democrats spoke about him too many times at their convention last week, and that calling him a threat to democracy — a line used even by some Republicans — is harmful."That turned out to be one of their lines, that Trump is a threat," Trump told McGraw. "That can get assassins or potential assassins going."Trump said that he thought he was not killed that day because of God."There had to be some great power," Trump said, launching into a discussion about how he happened to turn his head to his right and avoided a shot to the head. A bullet instead grazed his ear as he pointed to a large poster board showing immigration figures. "I used to say 1 million to 1, [but] it's much more than that, because again, you have to pull down the sign, there has to be a reason to go right, and I never go right, there's no reason. And not only go right — it's for about an eighth of a second. It's not just right. Out of all the time we're on this planet, it's one-eighth of a second," Trump said. McGraw asked him why he thought he was "spared.""The only thing I can think is that God loves our country, and he thinks we're going to bring our country back," Trump said. "If I win that," he said, referring to November's election, "that would really serve to say that there's some incredible power up there that wanted me to be involved in saving — and maybe it's more than saving the nation, maybe it's saving the world."In recent years, Trump has openly embraced the Q-Anon conspiracy theorists that posit his presidency actually had the secret, loftier purpose of saving the country from the "deep state," or a shadowy cabal of satanic Democrats. Some right-wing evangelicals have also pushed the idea that Trump has been chosen by God to lead the country — a view that has only been amplified since the attempt on his life.Related...Trump Says He'd Win Blue States If Jesus Counted The VotesThe Foo Fighters Have Come Up With A Solution To Their Donald Trump ProblemCritics Give Trump Holy Hell After Utterly Bonkers Claim About Jesus

Trump Faults Biden And Harris For Assassination Attempt Without Evidence

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga.Donald Trump and his Democrat rival, US vice president Kamala Harris, are neck and neck in the polls ahead of the presidential election, meaning the outcome seems like anyone's guess right now.But the Republican nominee has tongues wagging in the UK after his team filed a legal complaint against Keir Starmer'sLabour Party this week.The campaign accused activists of "blatant foreign interference" – a claim Labour rejects – because some volunteers had flown to the States to go door-knocking for Harris.The spat has raised eyebrows about just how well a potential second Trump presidency could work with the newly-elected Labour government, considering he only worked with prime ministers from the Conservative Party.But what do British voters in general think about Trump?How have British attitudes towards Trump changed since 2016?There's no denying that Brits, by a large majority, want Harris to win November's election.But support for Trump seems to have gradually increased over the last eight years, according to surveys.An Opinium and Observer poll from November 2016 found 12% of UK adults would back the Republican candidate, and 49% would back Hillary Clinton.Four years later, and another Opinium poll for the Observer (conducted in November 2020) found a slightly larger proportion of Brits, 16%, would have backed Trump this time around, compared to 57% who would have support Joe Biden.Similarly, a poll from Hanbury Strategy found 23.8% of Brits would back Trump over Biden in 2020, with 76.2% saying they would vote Democrat.And then a YouGov survey, conducted on behalf of bookmakers Betfair between 16-19 Sept, found support for Trump has almost doubled in four years, with one in five Brits (22%) saying they would vote for him if they could.This still means 60% would back Harris, of course.It's also worth noting support for Trump is not entirely consistent.Another YouGov poll, conducted between October 15-16, found support for Trump had dropped to 18%, with voters swinging to Harris, 64%.And Statistica found the percentage of people in Britain who like him peaked in the first quarter of 2024 at 26%, but has now dropped to 20% by the third quarter of the year.Even so, that's almost twice the number of people who said they would vote for him back in 2016.Just who is supporting Trump now?YouGov survey claimed 32% of 18-24 year olds would vote for the Republican nominee if he was in the UK.Support in London has almost tripled from 12% to 31% in the past four years – a stark change from the anti-Trump blimp protests over Parliament Square in June 2019.And, apparently, around 60% of Brits who voted Reform in the 2024 General Election would vote for Trump, along with 26% of those affiliated to the Conservative party.Just 12% of Labour voters would back him, compared to 5% of the Lib Dems' supporters and 3% of the Greens'.But, when it comes to the great Brexit divide, more than a third of people who voted to leave in the UK's referendum eight years ago said they would support him, compared to fewer than 10% of the Remainers.Who else seems to have changed their tune towards Trump?There seems to have a flurry of enthusiasm for Trump among high-profile right-wingers in recent months – despite previously slamming the controversial politician.Boris Johnson, the ousted Tory PM, was one of the first senior British politicians to say Trump was not fit for office in 2015.Only this year, he defended the former president over the January 6 riots in the Capitol, saying Trump did "not intend to overthrow the constitution" and claimed a second presidency could be a "big win for the world".Donald Trump used to call Boris Johnson "Britain Trump"Liz Truss refused to say whether the former president was a friend or a foe in August 2022 when running to be the next Tory leader (and subsequently the PM).She also dodged a question on whether she would rather go to cocktails with Trump or Facebook executive and former deputy PM Nick Clegg.But in July this year, she declared Trump offered the "leadership the West needs".Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick did attend Trump's inauguration in 2017 when he was Truss's ministerial aide but claimed at the time it was not an "endorsement".However, in August this year, he said: "If I were an American citizen, I would be voting for Donald Trump."Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been a longtime advocate for Trump and was there in the early days of 2016, speaking to the Republican's rallies about not voting for his then rival Hillary Clinton.His backing of the ex-president has continued, and he even considered putting his own long-term bid of being an MP on hold to support Trump's attempts to get back into the White House.But the difference is that Farage has gone from the fringe of politics to an elected MP and party leader since Trump first ran for president and he campaigned for Brexit – which could mean Farage has more sway with UK audiences.His party went from having just one defected Tory MP in the last parliament to securing just four seats, but coming third by vote share with four million votes.Trump and Farage in 2016.Elon Musk, now the richest man in the world and CEO of social media platform X, said Trump was not the "right" person to lead the US in 2016.Now he has donated more than $75 million (£58m) to a political action committee in an attempt to get Trump re-elected.Labour figures, who previously voiced their strong opposition to him, have also watered down their remarks recently, potentially anticipated a second Trump presidency.Foreign secretary David Lammy called Trump a "neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath" in 2018, but has since brushed off those comments and instead insisted he "gets on" with his running mate, JD Vance.Meanwhile, PM Keir Starmer has so far only managed to meet Trump, not Kamala Harris – but the "usual diary challenges" got in the way.Even as the Republican nominee's campaign has accused Labour of "blatant foreign interference," Starmer was careful not to insult Trump.While he denied any wrongdoing from his party, he said the complaint would not jeopardise his relationship with Trump saying they have a "good relationship". What would it mean for the UK if Trump returned to the White House?The impact of a second term would be significant, according to a range of political pundits, particularly when it comes to diplomacy around Ukraine and trade issues.CEO of the pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain, Naomi Smith, told HuffPost UK: "The possibility of another Trump presidency poses a real risk not just to the UK's national security but to Europe's as a whole, particularly Ukraine, and his protectionist promises would add more pain to our economy from the ensuing tariff hikes."While hoping for a Harris win, the UK must prepare for the worst through closer, formal cooperation with our European allies on both trade and defence."Former Tory justice minister David Gauke, who stood as an independent in the 2019 general election, also warned in Conservative Home this week that conservatives should not back Trump because he represents the "worst form of conservatism".He warned that Trump favours tariffs on everyone in a "truly stupid policy" which risks a trade war, and that he wants to end support to Ukraine.US-based think tank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed concerns over the Republican nominee's economic plans, too.Its chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said: "There is definitely a direction of travel here that we are very concerned about, because a lot of these trade-distorting measures could reflect decisions by countries that are self-centred and could be ultimately harmful not only to the global economy … but also hurtful for the countries who implement them as well."And the former boss of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, told Sky News in January this year that Trump could be "problematic" if he acts "hastily" over the US's NATO membership.He warned: "Because if Trump, as it were, acts hastily and damages the Atlantic alliance, that is a big deal for the UK."We've put all our eggs in defence terms in the NATO basket. If Trump really is serious about, as it were, changing the balance, I mean the American nuclear umbrella for Europe is, in my view, essential to Europe's security and defence."Related...Most Common Adjective Brits Use To Describe UK Is 'Broken', Study FindsTrump's Unexpected Christmas Complaint Has People Asking QuestionsPutin's Attempt To Recruit North Koreans In Ukraine War Is 'Desperate', UK Says In Bleak Warning