Good morning.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to hold a wartime election within the next three months, if Ukraine’s parliament and foreign allies will allow it, after Donald Trump accused him of clinging on to power.
Though clearly irritated by Trump’s intervention, the Ukrainian president promised to explore avenues for holding a vote in the coming months. “Since this question is raised today by the president of the United States of America, our partners, I will answer very briefly: look, I am ready for elections,” Zelenskyy said
Trump made the comments in a rambling interview with Politico published earlier yesterday. “They haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more,” he said.
Why hasn’t there been an election? Zelenskyy’s five-year term expired in May last year, but the Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during wartime, and even his political opponents have said repeatedly that the security and political considerations do not allow for holding a vote while the war continued.
Trump rails on affordability ‘hoax’ and immigrants in rally-style speech
Donald Trump has sought to reboot his ailing US presidency at a rally-style event with a blitz of false claims about the economy and xenophobic attacks on immigrants.
After Republican election defeats and criticism that he is out of touch with the country’s affordability crisis, his speech in Pennsylvania yesterday was billed as an opportunity to reclaim the economic narrative.
However, the president swiftly reverted to his freewheeling campaign mode, frequently diverting from his teleprompter over more than 90 minutes to hurl insults and call affordability a “hoax”.
What else did he talk about? There were familiar rally staples such as a mocking impression of Joe Biden, as well as a repeat of a racist falsehood about the Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a Muslim woman born in Somalia: “We ought to get her the hell out! She married her brother … Therefore she’s here illegally.” The crowd chanted: “Send her back!” Omar has called the claims about her brother “ridiculous”.
Eileen Higgins becomes Miami’s first Democratic mayor in 30 years
The Democrat Eileen Higgins was elected mayor of Miami last night in a stunning victory that reversed a run of recent Republican successes in Florida.
The election of Higgins, 61, a former county commissioner, added to a string of Democratic wins across the country that have highlighted the growing level of resistance to Trump during his second presidential term.
What did she campaign on? Higgins focused much of her campaign on affordability and immigration. She presented the election to voters as a referendum on the president’s policies. Her messaging resonated in Miami, whose inhabitants are 57% foreign-born, according to the 2024 census.
In other news …
SpaceX is preparing to list on the stock market next year in a move that could value the Elon Musk-led business at more than $1tn, according to reports.
The single-shot pistols known as derringers have not been widely used since the Old West – but police allege that a robber wearing pyjama pants recently brandished one at an Oklahoma liquor store.
At least one student was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at a residence hall at Kentucky State University yesterday. A suspect who is not a student at the school is in custody, officials said.
A rights activist in Hungary has been placed under investigation after organising a peaceful Pride march, in a case that campaigners have described as “unprecedented and dangerous” for the EU.
Stat of the day: Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds
Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential.
Well actually: Is your relationship solid – or sinking? The bird theory thinks it knows
What would you say if your partner told you they saw a bird today? Would you mumble noncommittally, or ask a follow-up question? You may be surprised to know that thousands of people on TikTok and Instagram would judge you if you chose the former. But does it really show how we think about romance?
Don’t miss this: The hidden life of Matthew Perry – ‘He would say about himself: I need to stop and get help’
Matthew Perry’s manager, Doug Chapin, and publicist Lisa Kasteler-Calio had been working with the actor for more than 30 years. Here they discuss the man behind the headlines – and why they are continuing his mission to help others struggling with addiction with the Matthew Perry Foundation.
… or this: ‘Hating soccer is more American than apple pie’ – the 1994 World Cup nobody wanted the US to host
Glitzy draws, OJ-era chaos, grass laid over synthetic turf and a host nation that barely cared – the 1994 World Cup arrived amid suspicion and slapstick. Yet it became a watershed that would alter US sport and global football politics alike. As the US prepares to co-host next year, Jonathan Wilson looks back on the World Cup nobody wanted the US to host.
Climate check: Synthetic chemicals in food system creating health burden of $2.2tn a year, report finds
Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer and infertility while degrading the foundations of global agriculture, causing harm to the environment.
Last Thing: Margot Robbie in red latex, Kate Bush impersonators and a pint of Emily ale – my crash course in Brontëmania
As Wuthering Heights gets a raunchy Hollywood remake for next Valentine’s Day, Hollie Richardson takes a pilgrimage through Haworth, the UK village where its author lived – and finds her spirit still electrifying the cobbled streets and windswept moors.
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