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“FUBAR”.

That’s one congressman’s response to the jaw-dropping news that Trump officials discussed war plans in a group chat on the Signal app.

It’s an old military acronym meaning ‘F***ed up beyond recognition” or “…beyond repair”.

Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic’s editor in chief, reports he was accidentally added to an encrypted messaging group.

(L-R) US vice president JD Vance, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and national security adviser Mike Waltz on 13 March. Pic: Reuters
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(L-R) US vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, and national security adviser Mike Waltz on 13 March. Pic: Reuters

The conversation appeared to include vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz.

They were discussing highly sensitive security information relating to an impending attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“I didn’t think it could be real,” writes Goldberg, “… then the bombs started falling”.

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A fighter plane takes off for an operation against the Houthi group.
Pic: US Centcom/Reuters
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A fighter plane takes off for an operation against the Houthis. Pic: US Centcom/Reuters


Brian Hughes, spokesman for the National Security Council, confirmed the veracity of the Signal group.

“This appears to be an authentic message chain, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain,” he said.

“Only one word for this: FUBAR,” said Democrat representative Pat Ryan, an army veteran who sits on the armed services committee.

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The leak raises huge questions about national security, but legal experts suggest establishing the group on Signal may violate the espionage act.

Remember how often Donald Trump called for Hillary Clinton to be jailed for using a private server for emails when she was US secretary of state?

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Why does Trump want Greenland?

Old alliances ‘abandoned’ by White House

As if that’s not enough, the online conversation appears to shed further light on the Trump administration’s abandonment of old alliances.

Vance seems to question the president’s decision to strike, writing: “I just hate bailing Europe out again.”

Hegseth replies: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. PATHETIC.”

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Trump and his team argue that European countries benefit from US protection of shipping lanes in the Red Sea, a frequent target for attacks.

Goldberg’s initial scepticism is understandable – with participants using emojis like praying hands, the US flag, a fist and a fire, in a highly sensitive military discussion.

“Amateur hour,” said Democrat senator Ruben Gallego, a marine veteran.

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US national parks drop free admission on MLK Day and Juneteenth, but add Trump’s birthday

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US national parks drop free admission on MLK Day and Juneteenth, but add Trump's birthday

Americans will be able to visit national parks for free on Donald Trump’s birthday next year, but will no longer be able to do so on Martin Luther King Jr Day or Juneteenth.

The Department of the Interior has released a list of what it calls “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” for next year.

Mr Trump‘s birthday, which falls on the Flag Day national holiday, has been added to the list, as has the Fourth of July weekend and President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday.

However, Martin Luther King Day and Juneteenth have been removed. Juneteenth was recognised in 2021 under Joe Biden’s administration and commemorates the end of slavery in the US.

Also removed are the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act in August and the National Public Lands Day in September.

“President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first,” the US interior secretary Doug Burgum said.

“These policies ensure that US taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.”

Read more from Sky News:
White House: Europe ‘unrecognisable in 20 years or less’
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The department said it was also introducing “America-first entry free policies”, which means US residents will continue to “enjoy affordable pricing” while international visitors “will pay a higher rate to help support the care and maintenance of America’s parks”.

It said the annual pass will cost $80 (£60) for US residents and $250 (£187) for nonresidents, with nonresidents without an annual pass paying a $100 (£75) per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee.

The US Institute of Peace. Pic: AP
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The US Institute of Peace. Pic: AP

Trump renames US Institute of Peace after himself

The decision to make his birthday a ‘free’ day comes after Mr Trump’s name was added to the sign on the headquarters building of the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC.

The State Department shared a photo of the building’s new facade and called Mr Trump “the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history”.

He has also unsuccessfully put himself forward for the Nobel Peace Prize, sought to put his name on the planned NFL stadium in Washington DC, and had a new children’s savings programme named after him.

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White House: Europe ‘unrecognisable in 20 years or less’

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White House: Europe 'unrecognisable in 20 years or less'

President Trump’s “America First” agenda has been spelt out in a new White House National Security Strategy that should make stark reading for allies and foes of the United States alike.

The new 33-page document outlines an upending of American foreign policy objectives and priorities which have stood largely unchanged through different administrations stretching back decades.

The document says American strategy went “astray” over many years. It seeks to reframe America’s strategic interests as being far narrower now than at any time in its modern history.

Among the key points, the document says:

Europe faces “civilizational erasure” and could be “unrecognisable in 20 years or less”

• “Certain NATO members will become majority non-European” within a few decades

•​​​​​​​ America will “shift away” from the “burden” of the Middle East seeing it now as a “source and destination of international investment”

•​​​​​​​ In the Western hemisphere, America should pursue a policy of “enlist and expand… restoring American pre-eminence”

•​​​​​​​ In Africa, American policy focus should be on trade not “providing and spreading liberal ideology”

America will 'shift away' from the 'burden' of the Middle East. Pic: Reuters
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America will ‘shift away’ from the ‘burden’ of the Middle East. Pic: Reuters

In black-and-white, the text articulates a dramatic strategic shift which has been playing out at lightning speed over the past year.

The document underlines the end of the concept of America as an arbiter of the democratic rules-based order.

“American foreign policy elites convinced themselves that permanent American domination of the entire world was in the best interests of our country. Yet the affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests,” the paper says.

Every US administration publishes at least one National Security Strategy during a presidential term.

The focus of this one is starkly different from that published by President Biden in 2022.

It’s also notably different from the document which President Trump published during his first term. His 2017 paper cast the world as a contest between “repressive regimes” and “free societies”.

Trump doesn't want the US to be the arbiter of the democratic rules-based order. Pic: Reuters
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Trump doesn’t want the US to be the arbiter of the democratic rules-based order. Pic: Reuters

This new one places the necessity to do trade above the imposition of values.

“We seek good relations and peaceful commercial relations with the nations of the world without imposing on them democratic or other social change that differs widely from their traditions and histories.”

Mass migration and Europe

The new document is highly critical of mass migration.

It warns that uncontrolled migration is destroying the concept of nation states which could impact America’s strategic alliances and the countries it counts as reliable allies.

The paper is particularly critical of Europe, of the European Union as a concept and of individual European nations.

“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less,” the paper says.

It continues: “As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies.

“Many of these nations are currently doubling down on their present path. We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation.”

Trump will seek to support 'patriotic European parties'. Pic: AP
Image:
Trump will seek to support ‘patriotic European parties’. Pic: AP

The document’s language around the politics of governing parties across Europe is particularly stark.

Regarding Ukraine, the document says: “The Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition.

“A large European majority wants peace, yet that desire is not translated into policy, in large measure because of those government’s subversion of democratic processes.”

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The document outlines how his administration will seek to support “patriotic European parties”.

This is entirely in line with President Trump’s rhetoric but still represents a major departure from the longstanding principle of not interfering in the politics of allies.

It says: “American diplomacy should continue to stand up for genuine democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ individual character and history.

“America encourages its political allies in Europe to promote this revival of spirit, and the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism.”

Trump has at times had a fiery relationship with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters
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Trump has at times had a fiery relationship with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters

Ukraine and Russia

On European-Russia relations, the document raises the prospect of war but curiously does not presume that such a conflict would involve America.

“Managing European relations with Russia will require significant US diplomatic engagement, both to reestablish conditions of strategic stability across the Eurasian landmass, and to mitigate the risk of conflict between Russia and European states.”

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By contrast, President Biden’s National Security Strategy, published in 2022, underlined repeatedly the “iron-clad” commitment the United States had to Europe’s security.

Chinese risk and opportunity

The document presents Asia and the Indo-Pacific region as a source of opportunity for strategic and economic cooperation.

Maintaining US military strength over China is also outlined. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Maintaining US military strength over China is also outlined. Pic: Reuters

“President Trump is building alliances and strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific that will be the bedrock of security and prosperity long into the future…”

And specifically on China, the paper presents a goal of “economic vitality” achieved through a balanced economic relationship between the two countries combined with an “ongoing focus on deterrence to prevent war”.

Deterrence would be achieved, it outlines, by maintaining preeminent military strength over China.

It says: “This combined approach can become a virtuous cycle as strong American deterrence opens up space for more disciplined economic action, while more disciplined economic action leads to greater American resources to sustain deterrence in the long term.”

Hemispheres of influence

In line with President Trump’s focus on spheres of influence, particular focus is given to the western hemisphere.

There are clear references to the impact of drugs from south and central America into the US and more subtle references to control of the arctic.

“The United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region,” the paper says.

It continues: “We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our hemisphere.”

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Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

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Donald Trump awarded FIFA peace prize at World Cup draw

US President Donald Trump has been awarded FIFA’s new peace prize at the draw for next year’s World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Mr Trump with a large golden trophy – formed of hands holding the earth – and a gold medal, which he wore around his neck.

The certificate, which Mr Infantino handed over at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center on Friday, recognises the US president for his actions to “promote peace and unity around the world”.

World football’s governing body, which announced the annual award last month, said it would be given to “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace”.

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Mr Trump said it was “truly one of the greatest honours of my life”.

He said: “We saved millions and millions of lives. The Congo is an example – over 10 million people killed. It was heading for another 10 million very quickly.”

US President Donald Trump. Pics: Reuters
Image:
US President Donald Trump. Pics: Reuters

He also pointed to India and Pakistan, saying, “so many wars that we were able to end, in some cases a little before they started”.

Ahead of the draw, Mr Trump told reporters he did not care about the prize, but noted that he had “settled eight wars” in nearly 11 months in office.

The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the tournament in 2026.

Mr Infantino, who has built up a strong relationship with the US president, backed him for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.

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“This is what we want from a leader – a leader that cares about the people,” Mr Infantino said of Mr Trump.

The FIFA leader said to Mr Trump, “this is your prize, this is your peace prize”.

US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Pic: Reuters
Image:
US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Pic: Reuters

Mr Trump thanked his family, including his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and praised the leaders of the other two host nations – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum – in his brief remarks.

Mr Infantino has often spoken about football as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.

FIFA has described the prize as one that rewards “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace, and by doing so have united people across the world”.

The award comes during a week where Mr Trump’s administration has been under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Mr Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.

The Nobel Peace Prize this year was eventually awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after receiving the prize that she was dedicating it in part to Mr Trump for “his decisive support of our cause”.

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