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Europe has come to the painful realisation that it needs to be more assertive and more militarily independent from an authoritarian US administration that no longer shares a commitment to liberal democratic norms and values, a report prepared by the Munich Security Conference asserts.

The report sets the scene for an all-out ideological confrontation with the Trump White House at the high-level annual meeting of security policy specialists, which starts on Friday.

In a now infamous speech to last year’s MSC, the US vice-president, JD Vance, claimed European elites were suppressing free speech and “opening the floodgates” to mass migration. The address marked the moment Europe realised the Trump administration would no longer be a reliable trading and security partner.

Since then European leaders and Donald Trump’s team have waged a series of running battles over topics including the US push to force Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia, Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, and a series of protectionist US measures ranging from tariff barriers to inward investment bans.

The divide was starkly set out in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who warned of a rupture between the US and its western allies.

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Israel ’s security cabinet on Sunday approved measures that aim to deepen Israeli control over the occupied West Bank and weaken the already limited powers of the Palestinian Authority.

The office of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a statement announced the decisions that would make it easier for Jewish settlers to force Palestinians to give up land, adding that “we will continue to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Yonatan Mizrachi, a researcher with the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now, called the decision “very significant.” He said the decision still requires approval by Israel’s top commander for the West Bank.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement called the decision “dangerous” and an “open Israeli attempt to legalize settlement expansion” and land confiscation. He called for the United States and U.N. Security Council to intervene immediately.

Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the decision, which it said was “aimed at imposing illegal Israeli sovereignty” and entrenching settlements. The Hamas militant group called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “intensify the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.”

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The U.S. has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal to end the nearly four‑year war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters, as Russian strikes on energy infrastructure forced nuclear power plants to cut output on Saturday.

If the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration will likely put pressure on both sides to meet it, he added.

"The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule," Zelenskyy said, speaking to reporters on Friday. Zelenskyy's comments were embargoed until Saturday morning.

"And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events," he said.

He said the U.S. proposed holding the next round of trilateral talks next week in their country for the first time, likely in Miami, Zelenskyy said. "We confirmed our participation," he added.

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After three days of dramatic and often surprising competition, the United States claimed the Olympic gold medal in the figure skating team competition on Sunday night.

It wasn't easy.

After carrying a five-point lead into the final day of the event, the Americans found themselves locked in a tie with Japan entering the men's free skate, the last segment of the competition.

It would all come down to Ilia Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion in his debut Olympics. The 21-year-old had struggled with nerves during his short program Saturday and stepped out of his triple axel and then under-rotated his quad lutz, finishing in a staggering second pThe stakes Sunday couldn't have been higher as his teammates anxiously watched as he took the ice with their fate on his blades.

"I was more nervous watching Ilia than I was [skating] myself," team captain and pairs skater Danny O'Shea said.lace -- a rarity for him and more than 10 points out of first.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday about the U.S. talks with Iran, his office said Saturday, as concerns remain high about possible regional conflict.

“The prime minister believes that all negotiations must include limiting the ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement.

The U.S. and Iran held indirect talks on Friday in Oman that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Trump said the United States had “very good” talks and said more were planned for early next week. The U.S. was represented by Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on the nuclear program after earlier sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships to the region amid Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands of others detained.

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Every morning, university professor Hassan El-Nabih straps his briefcase and laptop to his bicycle and rides out in search of a place with electricity and an internet connection, hoping to reach his students online.

Before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, a professor on a bicycle was not a common sight. Today, it has become a reality imposed by the war – a practical option, one of the only options, given damaged infrastructure and decimated public transport.

“My car was severely damaged in December 2023 while it was parked in the Shujayea neighbourhood [of Gaza City],” El-Nabih said.

“I was visiting relatives when an Israeli air strike struck a nearby building … shattering both windscreens and crippling the engine. With my car unusable and fuel almost impossible to find, I had to adapt.”

The genocidal war has severely damaged the besieged enclave’s transport infrastructure, with total losses estimated at roughly $2.5bn. A joint report by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations found that about 81 percent of Gaza’s road network has been damaged or destroyed, leaving many areas isolated and basic transport services largely suspended.

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