Texas Senate runoff sees surge of anti-Muslim rhetoric in campaign ads

• Diplomacy between Tehran and Washington has accelerated after weeks of escalation, with regional mediators helping drive a new round of Iran-U.S. talks. • The reporting says the confrontation follows more than six weeks of disruption tied to Iran’s pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S.-enforced naval blockade.

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted a press briefing previewing the upcoming summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping, with Taiwan expected to be a central issue. • CSIS said Xi highlighted Taiwan as the most important issue in U.S.-China relations during a February 2026 phone call and urged Washington not to provide arms to Taiwan.

US president, who turns 80 next month, frequently casts himself as fit but recent photos have added to questions about his healthSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump, who turns 80 next month, will undergo his routine annual physical on Tuesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, after a year of public attention on apparently minor health issues.The US president frequently casts himself as more energetic and fitter than Joe Biden, his Democratic predecessor who left office last year at age 82 after facing questions about his fitness for the job. Continue reading...

Jonathan Andic said he was temporarily standing aside as vice-chair of fashion chain after being named a suspect in death of Isak AndicJonathan Andic, son of the Mango founder Isak Andic, is stepping down temporarily as the fashion group’s vice-chair after being named a suspect in the investigation into his father’s death.In an open letter published on Tuesday, Andic strongly protested his innocence, saying the accusation bore “no relation to reality”, but that “dismantling it” would take a long time. Continue reading...

Some analysts question whether design of Luce, starting at $640,000, lives up to sportscar brand’s heritageFerrari’s share price has dropped after it revealed a long-awaited first electric vehicle, with a minimalist look created by former Apple design chief Jony Ive that departs from the Italian manufacturer’s petrol sportscars.The Luce, starting at $640,000 (£545,000), has a range of 329 miles (530km) thanks to its battery capacity of 122 kilowatt hours, the company said, with four motors that can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of more than 310km/h (193mph). Continue reading...

Internet monitors unsure if political or technical issues behind delay after access was cut off during anti-government protests in JanuaryMiddle East crisis – live updatesAn Iranian government announcement on Tuesday that an 88-day internet blackout was being brought to an end did not have any immediate noticeable impact, according to internet monitors.It was not clear if technical or political issues were delaying the end of the clampdown, the longest in Iran’s history, which was imposed during brutally suppressed protests in January. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer announces review after three boys were given youth rehabilitation orders for rape of two girlsThe court of appeal will review the non-custodial sentences given to three teenage boys for the rape of two girls, Keir Starmer has announced.The boys, two of whom were 15 and one aged 14 at the time of sentencing, were given youth rehabilitation orders after the judge in the case said he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily” and support their reintegration into society. Continue reading...

Vote for Republican nomination is latest test of President’s grip over GOPHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Texans are voting for a Republican nominee for US Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, following Donald Trump’s late bid to influence the race in his latest effort to rid the GOP of less devoted leaders.Iran has poured cold water on suggestions that a deal with the US is imminent, pointing to the confusion in US positions and Israeli interference as reasons why an agreement is proving difficult to secure. Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press briefing, Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, also said future management of the strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to agree on, and that it was not tolls that were being proposed but “fees for navigational services”.By contrast, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that a deal was still possible, adding that the strait of Hormuz would open “one way or another”. “There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document,” Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India.A Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records. The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, which is managed by the US president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu.Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team. Sheinbaum said football’s governing body Fifa approached her government after the US said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there. Continue reading...

Measure could ease concerns from countries – such as France – that are sceptical about bringing in more membersEurope live – latest updatesThe EU could deny future member states veto rights for several years in an attempt to make enlargement more politically acceptable as the bloc undergoes a push to admit new countries before the end of the decade.Under plans being considered by the European Commission, prospective member states – such as Moldova and western Balkan countries – would not, on joining the EU, have the automatic right to veto foreign policy decisions or other issues agreed by unanimity, such as taxation. Continue reading...

Scandal-plagued Ken Paxton has won Trump’s backing – can he defeat John Cornyn in a high-stakes primary runoff? Ken Paxton, the state attorney general, takes on four-term incumbent John Cornyn on Tuesday in the ugliest primary election of the year. The winner of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas will contest November’s general election against Democrat James Talarico.Paxton and Cornyn have spent months coveting the most valuable endorsement in Republican politics: Donald Trump. Last week, scandal-plagued Paxton got it, with the US president describing him as “a true Maga warrior”. Continue reading...

Broadcaster describes Robert Kenyon, who is standing in the upcoming Makerfield byelection, as a misogynist and a ‘cowardly man’ Carol Vorderman has demanded an apology from the Reform UK candidate in the upcoming Makerfield byelection for “disgusting comments” he made about her on social media in the past.The broadcaster and former Countdown numbers expert described Robert Kenyon, who Reform have backed to face Andy Burnham in next month’s vote, as a “cowardly man” for a series of offensive posts made by the Wigan councillor that have since been deleted, along with his account. Continue reading...