The German parliament has formally elected Friedrich Merz as the country’s 10th chancellor since the second world war, after a humiliating loss in the first round of voting that raised troubling doubts about the stability of the next coalition government.

Merz secured 325 votes in the second round, just above the necessary 316. Earlier in the day 18 unnamed rebels from the newly formed alliance between his conservatives and the Social Democrats had voted to deprive him of the required majority in the secret ballot.

“Madam Speaker, thank you for the trust,” a visibly relieved Merz told the Bundestag president, Julia Klöckner, after she announced the result. “I accept the election.”

Commentators had called the earlier shock act of political sabotage a “complete catastrophe” for Merz and “a punch to the stomach”. The 69-year-old leads the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc, which won February’s snap election with a disappointing 28.6%.

The Social Democrats, now junior partners in government, turned in their worst performance in more than a century in the election, with just over 16%.

Together they have only a slim majority to pass a reform agenda in the Bundestag, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party now forms the biggest opposition bloc.

A failure by Merz to win in the second round would have plunged Europe’s top economy into political turmoil, triggering an open-ended leadership battle or new elections in which the anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin AfD would have been expected to do well, or even win outright.

Nevertheless, the shaky start to Merz’s four-year term points to potential divisions in the coalition’s ranks just as he is facing an already staggering in-tray of domestic and foreign policy challenges unseen since national reunification 35 years ago.

The incoming government will have to revive the flatlining economy and fend off the far right while maintaining support for Ukraine against the backdrop of fresh uncertainty in the transatlantic relationship under Donald Trump.

Merz, a corporate lawyer who made a fortune in the private sector but has never led a state government or a ministry, promised “strong, well-planned and dependable governance … in times of profound change, of profound upheaval” as he signed the coalition pact on Monday.

“That is why we know that it is our historic obligation to lead this coalition to success,” he said, noting that partners keenly awaited a return of German engagement with Europe.

The AfD co-leader Alice Weidel gleefully welcomed the earlier debacle, posting on X that his failure to win a majority in the first round “shows what a weak foundation the small coalition is built on”.

The stunning developments had also threatened to throw Merz’s finely calibrated schedule for the week into disarray.

Merz is to travel to both Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday, signalling a return to German leadership within the EU after six months of political limbo since Olaf Scholz’s government collapsed in acrimony.

On Thursday, Merz is due to preside over ceremonies in Berlin marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe before heading to Brussels on Friday to meet EU and Nato leaders.

Despite leading his party to victory in February, Merz has a deep popularity deficit among Germans, who mistrust his often brash style and mercurial temperament.

A poll last week for the public broadcaster ZDF showed that only 38% supported him as chancellor while 56% said he was the wrong person for the job. Merz is particularly disliked by Social Democrats, with 62% rejecting him, in a gloomy foreshadowing of Tuesday’s disaster.

The black-red coalition, named for the parties’ colours, had stronger backing than Merz himself at 48%, while 37% oppose the alliance. Yet nearly one in two Germans do not think the team has what it takes to solve the country’s most pressing problems.

The outgoing government slashed its growth forecast for the German economy to zero for this year, citing the impact of Trump’s erratic trade policies. Germany had already suffered two years of recession, contracting by 0.3% in 2023 and 0.2% in 2024.

Before even taking office, Merz in March engineered a reform of the “debt brake” that curbs public spending to unleash a massive “bazooka” package of investment in Germany’s creaking infrastructure and the military, amid fears about Trump’s commitment to Nato and Ukraine’s defence against the Russian onslaught.

Germany is the second biggest national supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US.

However the bold budget move proved highly unpopular with fiscal hawks in the CDU/CSU – possibly a source of the dissent on display in Tuesday’s vote.

Merz had for decades harboured an ambition to become chancellor but was long thwarted by his bitter rival Angela Merkel, who watched the day’s drama from the VIP gallery of the Bundestag.

Since assuming the leadership of their CDU in 2022, he has steered the party to the right of her more moderate course, particularly on border policy.

Meanwhile the hard-right AfD has capitalised on a public backlash against migration, coming second in the February election. Two recent polls have shown it overtaking Merz’s CDU/CSU in support as it profits from the power vacuum in Berlin.

Last week, the BfV domestic intelligence agency designated it a “confirmed rightwing extremist” force, stoking long-running calls for an initiative to ban the party outright. Merz’s bid to claw back support from the AfD is seen as one of the biggest challenges facing him this term.

Although he ground out a win, Merz will now engage in the battle in a weaker position than initially presumed, while Germany seeks to restore its vaunted reputation for predictability.

“Germany is always seen as a source of super-stability in Europe, even worldwide,” the political scientist Wolfgang Schröder told the rolling news channel n-tv. “This bumpy patch on the way to forming a government clearly shows that’s not necessarily the case. You could call it Germany becoming normal.”

Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as Germany’s new chancellor but the process was not as smooth as he would have liked – and that’s an understatement.

Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as Germany’s new chancellor but the process was not as smooth as he would have liked – and that’s an understatement.

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, was due to meet with the US president, Donald Trump, on Tuesday in a closely watched encounter at the White House that could hint at the future relationship between the two countries and their two leaders.

Over the weekend, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would use military force to annex Canada, a key trading partner and political ally. In recent months, the president has repeatedly threatened to use economic coercion to weaken Canada to the point that it accedes to Trump’s wish to make it the 51st state.

“I think we’re not ever going to get to that point, something could happen with Greenland … I don’t see it with Canada, I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” he said.

Carney crafted much of his federal election campaign on Canada’s collective outrage over the US president’s threats to the nation’s sovereignty. During his victory speech last week, Carney used one of his campaign’s most frequently delivered lines, telling exuberant supporters Trump wanted to “break us, so that America can own us”.

“That will never, ever happen,” he added, to shouts from the crowd.

Carney also used his first post-election press conference to once again quash any idea Canada was interested in becoming the 51st US state, a proposal repeatedly floated by Trump.

“It’s always important to distinguish want from reality,” Carney said on Friday.

Colin Robertson, a former senior Canadian diplomat who has had numerous postings in the US, said Trump’s relatively cordial tone since the election bodes well for the Canadian delegation and makes an Oval Office ambush less likely.

Robertson speculated that Trump’s background as a property developer has helped frame his perception of Carney – who he last week referred to as a “very nice gentleman”.

“Anybody I met in real estate, their favourite people are bankers. I suspect that immediately, Trump will look at Carney as a kind of ‘super banker’ and see him in a positive light,” he said.

“And Carney’s also been very careful not to be personally critical of Trump, beyond talking about him that we’re a sovereign country, and this is how we’re doing stuff. That’s worked very well for him. He pushed back when Trump questioned our sovereignty, but that pushback would be something the president understands, because that’s how he behaves.”

While much was made about Trump’s awkward handshake with Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, the pair had a famously frosty relationship.

In Trudeau’s final days as prime minister, Trump repeatedly derided him as “governor” of Canada. And while the president had sometimes called the prime minister a “very nice guy”, Trump also called Trudeau “two-faced” after he was revealed on video leading the laughter at Trump’s expense at a Nato summit.

Still, Carney’s “antagonistic” rhetoric towards Trump might be something he might regret when faced with the economic realities of Canada’s dependence on the United States, said Ryan Hurl, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

“I suspect he backs away from the idea that our relationship with the United States is ‘over’ and he might modify it to say that our relationship is ‘changing’,” said Hurl. “Trade negotiations are never completely static and hopefully he can present his negotiations with Trump as something that is better for Canada, and not simply as bending the knee to President Trump.”

The headwinds the prime minister faces in Tuesday’s White House meeting are already sufficiently strong, on both the economic and partisan fronts.

“If Carney presents himself as making concessions to Trump to preserve the trading relationship between the two countries, the Conservative party will be able to take advantage of this,” said Hurl. “But if no agreements can be made, Canadians are going to start feeling the political the economic fallout very quickly.”

Carney ran much of his brief federal election campaign on the idea that Canada needed to seek out new trade markets. And while a pledge to reshape Canada’s economic structure was welcomed by voters, many of the structural changes implied by such a policy shift – including eliminating internal trade barriers and getting more Canadian products to foreign markets – will take time. “You can’t just snap your fingers and change port capacity. That is a generational project,” said Hurl.

Meanwhile, Trump is also starting to face domestic pressure: his decision to launch a trade war with allies and foes alike has started to harm him in public opinion as US companies warn they are prepared to raise costs for consumers.

“Trump has probably overreached on trade issues and we’re really starting to see the pushback now. With questions over consumer confidence and the direction of the country, we can be part of the solution to Trump’s self-inflicted problem,” said Robertson.

He pointed to Canada’s “relatively strong” bargaining position as the two delegations meet at the White House.

Canada’s federal government has invested in increased border checks, and fentanyl interceptions – the supposed pretext for Trump’s tariffs – have dropped further from a low starting point.

Trade officials anticipate the United States will request changes to the USMCA free trade agreement, which is due for negotiations in 2026. And despite Trump’s repeated assertions that the United States doesn’t need Canada’s resources, experts say potash, steel and aluminum remain key purchases for American farmers and manufacturers.

“And if, for example, they raise the issue of dairy and supply management, we can ask, ‘What do you want here? Do you want more access for dairy products? Because you’re not using your quota right now. And you also practice supply management when it comes to rice and sugar and cotton. So if you want to negotiate this, then we’ve got the process,” said Robertson. “At the end of the day, what’s really important about this meeting, as my kids would say, is the ‘vibe’ between the two. That’s almost more important than whatever processes are committed to moving forward.”

Those close to the prime minister say he is approaching the meeting like he did during debate preparations in the federal election: preparing for all possible iterations of the unpredictable president.

“With Trump, you’re just never sure on any day where he is, what’s going on in his head and who was the last person to talk to him before in the meeting,” said Robertson. “But one thing we know about Carney, he has always been two things: disciplined and prepared.”

An Israeli government minister has vowed that “Gaza will be entirely destroyed” as a result of an Israeli military victory, and that its Palestinian population will “leave in great numbers to third countries”, raising fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territory.

The declaration on Tuesday by the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, came a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan for Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which an Israeli official said would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories”.

After the intensified offensive was announced, Hamas said it was no longer interested in truce talks with Israel and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza, a reference to the total blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza, which has been in place for more than two months.

“There is no sense in engaging in talks or considering new ceasefire proposals as long as the hunger war and extermination war continue in the Gaza Strip,” Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, told AFP.

Effie Defrin, Israel’s chief military spokesperson, said the planned offensive would include “moving most of the population of the Gaza Strip … to protect them”. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said the “population will be moved, for its own protection” in a video posted on social media, but gave no further details.

Smotrich, speaking to a conference on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, went further, making clear that many Palestinians would be driven out of the territory altogether, as part of a scorched earth offensive.

“Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to … the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” the minister said.

Israel’s neighbours Egypt and Jordan have said they will refuse to allow an exodus of refugees on their territory, arguing that would make them party to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

The international court of justice is assessing allegations of genocide against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza, and last year issued a series of provisional measures that included orders for Israel to “take all measures” to prevent genocide being committed or incited, and to allow the “unhindered provision” of humanitarian assistance across the territory’s southern border with Egypt.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, often repeatedly, since the start of the war triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. More than 52,000 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza that followed. A two-month ceasefire collapsed in mid-March when Israel reneged on a promise to implement a second phase.

Faltering indirect talks have continued since, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, but with little sign of any significant progress. Any breakthrough appears unlikely as long as Israel remains committed to forcing Hamas to disarm, and Hamas refuses to release hostages without a ceasefire leading to a permanent end to hostilities as well as a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Some analysts suggest Israel’s threats of the new offensive, occupation of territory and massive displacement are designed to force concessions from Hamas, as well as shore up rightwing support for Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.

Hamas on Monday described the new Israeli framework for aid delivery in Gaza as “political blackmail” and blamed Israel for the war-ravaged territory’s “humanitarian catastrophe”.

The prospect of a new and intensified Israeli offensive has prompted deep international concern.

Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister, in a radio interview on Tuesday called Israel’s plan for a Gaza offensive “unacceptable”, and said its government was “in violation of humanitarian law”.

A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said the UK did not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, while a UN spokesperson said on Monday that António Guterres, the UN secretary general, was “alarmed” by the Israeli plan that “will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza”.

Humanitarian officials say the territory is on the brink of catastrophe as food and fuel runs out due to a total Israeli blockade imposed on 2 March.

Military officials in Israel have given different versions of a plan reportedly agreed by ministers to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza, which would be distributed from a small number of newly constructed hubs in the south of the territory staffed by private contractors but protected by Israeli troops.

Humanitarian officials have dismissed the scheme as unworkable, dangerous and potentially unlawful.

US officials have not reacted directly to Israel’s threat of a new offensive, but Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration would help get food to “starving” Palestinians. He blamed Hamas for making it “impossible” by diverting humanitarian assistance for its fighters.

“We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food. People are starving, and we’re going to help them get some food,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House.

Israeli officials have said the new operation will not be launched before Trump concludes his visit next week to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar.

Naim, a Hamas political bureau member and former health minister in Gaza, called for international pressure on Israel to end the “crimes of hunger, thirst, and killings”.

In recent weeks, Israeli troops have reinforced kilometre-deep “buffer zones” along the perimeter of the territory and expanded their hold over much of the north and south of the territory.

In all, more than 70% of Gaza is under Israeli control or covered by orders issued by Israel telling Palestinian civilians to evacuate specific neighbourhoods.

The party of the year had the potential to be a political firecracker. New York’s ultimate see-and-be-seen event, the Met Gala, was also the launch of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, a fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum honouring the subversive power of black style and the role of dandyism in expanding ideals of masculinity. In other words, the A-list were showing up to raise a toast to diversity under the watchful eye of an administration bent on reversing it.

On the night, the resistance came to party, not to protest. Glamour was the guest of honour, with politics very much the plus-one. The tempered tone of the night was typified by Kamala Harris, the most high-profile political guest, slipping in a side entrance to avoid the photographers. The night was a joyful and thoughtful celebration of black heritage and creativity, but it was not a forthright statement about politics in 2025.

Diana Ross wore a feathered ivory gown with the names of all her children and grandchildren embroidered on to an 18ft train, which took up most of the museum steps. Andre 3000 wore a grand piano on his back. Rihanna announced her third pregnancy in pinstripe bump and matching bustle. Hailey Bieber accessorised her Saint Laurent tuxedo with a martini, and no trousers. But the night did not reach the controversial heights of Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe’s dress, or Rihanna as the pope – let alone the boldness of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021 “Tax The Rich” dress.

Homages to André Leon Talley, Josephine Baker and Dapper Dan were recurring themes. It was the death two years ago of Talley, fashion editor of American Vogue and iconic black dandy, which first sparked the idea for this exhibition in curator Andrew Bolton. Talley “radiated joy”, Anna Wintour wrote in a recent tribute. Talley’s fingerprints were all over the red carpet, in Colman Domingo’s electric blue cape, a nod to Talley’s 2011 Met Gala look, and in singer Doechii staging a pre-gala photo op swinging one of his trademark accessories, a Louis Vuitton tennis racket cover.

The fashion headline of the night was a revival of the sophisticated glamour of 1920s and 1930s Harlem. Singer FKA twigs wore a scalloped and feather trimmed Baker-esque cocktail dress with a chiffon stole, made for her by the black British designer Grace Wales Bonner. Zendaya wore an immaculate three-piece ivory “zoot suit”, the ultra-fitted silhouette popular in Harlem dancehalls in that era, which recalled the flamboyant tailoring of queer blues singer Gladys Bentley.

Dapper Dan, iconic 80-year-old tailor and godfather to hip-hop fashion, told red carpet reporters that his jazzy black-and-white tailoring, with matching two-tone hat and shoes “personifies the Harlem Renaissance”. Jazz-age fashions, which have been percolating on the moodboards of New York creatives since the Met’s 2024 show The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, looks to be the most influential fashion direction to emerge from the gala.

Most striking among the Harlem Renaissance tributes was the return of the kiss curl. The slick, lacquered single loop of hair popularised by Baker a century ago was worn on the red carpet by celebrities from across the board: singer Dua Lipa, actor Sydney Sweeney, gymnast Simone Biles, basketball player Angel Reese and rapper Bad Bunny.

For white guests, there were anxieties around how best to honour black culture without risking accusations of appropriation. Gigi Hadid wore a gold Miu Miu dress that paid tribute to the work of black designer Zelda Wynn Valdes, who made gowns for Ella Fitzgerald and created the original Playboy Bunny waitress costume. Kendall Jenner wore a grey tailored two-piece, with a wrapped waist tied at the back in a style inspired by Nigerian tailoring traditions, which designer Torisheju Dumi said expressed “the versatility of black dandyism and what it means to a black British woman.”

The interpretations of the dress code, “Tailored for You”, was a reminder of how fluid men’s and women’s fashion has become. Men wore capes and skirts and brooches; women wore trousersuits and waistcoats. Walton Goggins, riding the crest of White Lotus mania, twirled for the cameras in his deconstructed Thom Browne coat and matching flared skirt. Zendaya’s three-piece trousersuit was made for her by Pharrell Williams, who designs menswear, not womenswear, for Louis Vuitton.

At a historic edition of the Met Gala with tons of news-making moments, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky once again stole the show.

The power couple is expecting their third child, the rapper A$AP Rocky revealed.

“It feels amazing, you know,” gala co-chair A$AP Rocky told reporters who congratulated him on Monday after outlets reported the couple was expecting their third child. “It’s time that we show the people what we was cooking up. And I’m glad everybody’s happy for us ’cause we definitely happy, you know.”

TMZ reported earlier on Monday that Rihanna and the rapper were expecting their third child.

A representative for Rihanna did not immediately return the Associated Press’s request for comment.

Photos taken of the singer on Monday walking in New York showed her with what appeared to be a baby bump.

Later in the night, Rihanna appeared on the Met Gala carpet in a pinstripe look and a huge hat, her newly announced baby bump on display.

“Honestly, it’s a blessing nonetheless,” Rocky told the AP. “Because you know how like some people in other situations at times can be envious of other people. But we’ve been seeing love for the most part. And we real receptive to that and appreciate that, you know what I mean? That’s love. Love is love.”

The couple announced their last pregnancy in a similarly starry way: at the 2023 Super Bowl, Rihanna emerged on stage for her half-time performance with baby bump on full display. Their son Riot Rose was born later that year.

The couple’s first child, RZA, was born in May 2022.

Rocky is one of the 2025 Met Gala co-chairs of the menswear-themed event tied to the museum’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. But his attendance at this year’s Met Gala wasn’t always a sure bet. That announcement came a couple months before the opening of his trial on firearms charges in Los Angeles. Rocky was ultimately found not guilty in mid-February.

At his trial, he showed his eye for fashion. He sported tailored suits and luxury labels throughout the proceedings. Yves Saint Laurent even put out press releases directing attention to his high-fashion court attire. He was clad in a pinstripe Saint Laurent suit for the verdict.

He has collaborated with several designers and brands on shoes, sunglasses and clothing collections. In December, he was honored with the Cultural Innovator Award at the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards.

Britain and India have agreed a long-desired trade deal that ministers said would add £4.8bn a year to the UK economy by 2040.

The agreement, which was finalised on Tuesday after more than three years of negotiations under successive governments, has long been touted as one of the biggest prizes of Brexit.

Keir Starmer said the “landmark deal” with India would “grow the economy and deliver for British people and business” after a call with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

The deal promises a boon for the UK’s car and alcohol industries, which have suffered from the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs in the US.

India’s tariffs on British whisky and gin will be halved from 150% to 75% before reducing to 40% by the 10th year of the deal, according to the business department.

Tariffs on British cars will be reduced from 100% to 10%, with quotas set on the number of British cars that can be exported to India and vice-versa.

Under the deal, India will cut tariffs across 90% of British product lines, including cosmetics, lamb, salmon, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits, as well as medical devices, aeroplane parts and electrical machinery. Based on 2022 figures, the tariff cuts are worth £400m.

The UK will lower tariffs on Indian clothes, footwear and food products. Ministers said this would give consumers access to cheaper products and more choice.

Parallel talks to agree a bilateral investment treaty, which would establish legal protections for investments between the UK and India, have not yet reached resolution.

Modi and Starmer are expected to meet in the coming months to sign the deal. Modi tweeted on Tuesday that India and the UK have “successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement” and that he was looking forward to welcoming Starmer to India soon.

Officials said that by 2040 the deal would increase bilateral trade between the UK and India by £25.5bn, the UK’s GDP by £4.8bn and wages by £2.2bn each year. British negotiators said it was the most ambitious deal ever agreed by India.

As part of the agreement, the UK and India will strike a double contribution convention under which Indian workers temporarily living in the UK will not have to pay national insurance contributions for three years. The same applies to British workers in India, and meets a key demand by Delhi.

Officials said the deal involved no change to immigration policy but would facilitate visa routes for Indian professionals in certain sectors. There will be no exemption from the UK’s forthcoming carbon tax as part of the deal, although talks on this continue.

There will be chapters seeking to improve anti-corruption measures, gender equality, and environmental and labour standards.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, held talks with his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, in London on Tuesday last week, where the majority of outstanding issues were agreed.

After a brief trip to Norway, Goyal returned to London and met Reynolds on Friday for talks, before returning to India. Negotiators have worked round the clock over the weekend to finalise the agreement.

Reynolds relaunched the negotiations with India on a trip in March to Delhi, where the two sides agreed not to reopen the chapters agreed under the Conservatives.

The deal, which is the biggest and most economically significant trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU, was wanted by a succession of Conservative prime ministers.

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both set Diwali deadlines to reach agreements but failed to get them over the line. Under Rishi Sunak, negotiators got close to finalising a deal but this was put on ice when the UK election was called.

Reynolds said: “By striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the world, we are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year and unlocking growth in every corner of the country.

“In times of global uncertainty, a pragmatic approach to global trade that provides businesses and consumers with stability is more important than ever.”

Mark Kent, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said it was “a once-in-a-generation deal and a landmark moment for scotch whisky exports to the world’s largest whisky market”.

He added: “The reduction of the current 150% tariff on scotch whisky will be transformational for the industry, and has the potential to increase scotch whisky exports to India by £1bn over the next five years, creating 1,200 jobs across the UK.”

Britain and India have agreed a long-desired trade deal that ministers said would add £4.8bn a year to the UK economy by 2040.

The agreement, which was finalised on Tuesday after more than three years of negotiations under successive governments, has long been touted as one of the biggest prizes of Brexit.

Keir Starmer said the “landmark deal” with India would “grow the economy and deliver for British people and business” after a call with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

The deal promises a boon for the UK’s car and alcohol industries, which have suffered from the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs in the US.

India’s tariffs on British whisky and gin will be halved from 150% to 75% before reducing to 40% by the 10th year of the deal, according to the business department.

Tariffs on British cars will be reduced from 100% to 10%, with quotas set on the number of British cars that can be exported to India and vice-versa.

Under the deal, India will cut tariffs across 90% of British product lines, including cosmetics, lamb, salmon, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits, as well as medical devices, aeroplane parts and electrical machinery. Based on 2022 figures, the tariff cuts are worth £400m.

The UK will lower tariffs on Indian clothes, footwear and food products. Ministers said this would give consumers access to cheaper products and more choice.

Parallel talks to agree a bilateral investment treaty, which would establish legal protections for investments between the UK and India, have not yet reached resolution.

Modi and Starmer are expected to meet in the coming months to sign the deal. Modi tweeted on Tuesday that India and the UK have “successfully concluded an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement” and that he was looking forward to welcoming Starmer to India soon.

Officials said that by 2040 the deal would increase bilateral trade between the UK and India by £25.5bn, the UK’s GDP by £4.8bn and wages by £2.2bn each year. British negotiators said it was the most ambitious deal ever agreed by India.

As part of the agreement, the UK and India will strike a double contribution convention under which Indian workers temporarily living in the UK will not have to pay national insurance contributions for three years. The same applies to British workers in India, and meets a key demand by Delhi.

Officials said the deal involved no change to immigration policy but would facilitate visa routes for Indian professionals in certain sectors. There will be no exemption from the UK’s forthcoming carbon tax as part of the deal, although talks on this continue.

There will be chapters seeking to improve anti-corruption measures, gender equality, and environmental and labour standards.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, held talks with his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, in London on Tuesday last week, where the majority of outstanding issues were agreed.

After a brief trip to Norway, Goyal returned to London and met Reynolds on Friday for talks, before returning to India. Negotiators have worked round the clock over the weekend to finalise the agreement.

Reynolds relaunched the negotiations with India on a trip in March to Delhi, where the two sides agreed not to reopen the chapters agreed under the Conservatives.

The deal, which is the biggest and most economically significant trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU, was wanted by a succession of Conservative prime ministers.

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both set Diwali deadlines to reach agreements but failed to get them over the line. Under Rishi Sunak, negotiators got close to finalising a deal but this was put on ice when the UK election was called.

Reynolds said: “By striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the world, we are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year and unlocking growth in every corner of the country.

“In times of global uncertainty, a pragmatic approach to global trade that provides businesses and consumers with stability is more important than ever.”

Mark Kent, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said it was “a once-in-a-generation deal and a landmark moment for scotch whisky exports to the world’s largest whisky market”.

He added: “The reduction of the current 150% tariff on scotch whisky will be transformational for the industry, and has the potential to increase scotch whisky exports to India by £1bn over the next five years, creating 1,200 jobs across the UK.”

Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow on Tuesday as the first foreign leaders landed in the capital ahead of a major military parade marking the end of the second world war.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said Russian air defence shot down two drones en route to the capital on Tuesday evening. It was the second consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks, following two waves that temporarily shut several Moscow airports.

Ukraine’s drone campaign in Moscow appeared aimed at unnerving the Kremlin before the 9 May parade, which about three dozen foreign leaders – including China’s Xi Jinping – are expected to attend.

Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the 8-10 May second world war commemorations, which this year mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union and its allies’ victory over Nazi Germany. But the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described the offer as self-serving and meaningless unless extended to 30 days, in line with a US-backed proposal that Putin has so far dismissed.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv about the latest drone attack.

Zelenskyy earlier warned that Ukraine “cannot bear responsibility for what happens” to foreign leaders attending the commemoration parade in Moscow.

Security has been tightened in Moscow before the Victory Day celebrations, with residents experiencing major internet disruptions. Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported that critical facilities in the capital had been placed under reinforced protection, while some Telegram social media channels reported that air defence systems had been transferred to protect Moscow.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, previously accused Zelenskyy of directly threatening the 9 May events, while the former president Dmitry Medvedev said “10 May may not come for Kyiv” if there were any “Victory Day provocations”.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, said on Tuesday that 29 world leaders were expected to attend second world war Victory Day commemorations in Moscow in the coming days. Ushakov added that military units from 13 countries, including China, will take part in the parade along with Russian troops and military vehicles. However, Ushakov denied earlier media reports claiming that North Korean troops – whom Pyongyang acknowledged for the first time in April had fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine – would take part in the parade.

It will be the largest delegation of foreign leaders at the Red Square parade since Putin launched his full-scale invasion over three years ago – a show of support that Moscow will present as evidence it is not isolated.

So far, there is no indication that Ukraine will accept Moscow’s proposed three-day ceasefire, which Zelenskyy has dismissed as an “unserious” stunt aimed at ensuring smooth 9 May celebrations. The US has been pressing Moscow to agree to a longer, one-month ceasefire, though on Monday, Trump appeared to tacitly support the Kremlin’s proposal.

“As you know, President Putin just announced a three-day ceasefire, which doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a lot if you knew where we started from,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said its forces had been engaged in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region over the past 24 hours, despite Moscow saying it had defeated a Ukrainian incursion into the area.

In a daily update posted on Telegram, the military said its forces in the Kursk sector had fought off Russian attacks and come under fire from Russian artillery and air-dropped bombs.

Local Russian authorities appeared to confirm on Monday evening that Ukraine’s military had made gains along the border. Vasily Khudyakov, the head of Glushkovo – a small settlement in the Kursk region – said Russian troops had begun evacuating all residents from the area.

“Due to the worsening situation in the village, residents currently there must temporarily evacuate,” Khudyakov wrote on social media.

Iran has urged the US to end its support for Israel’s continuing strikes on Yemen, claiming Israel is trying to use its conflict with the Houthi-led government to drive a wedge between Iran and the US in the negotiations over the future of Tehran’s civil nuclear programme.

The strikes have been criticised by the UN-recognised Yemen government based in Aden , which said it had not been consulted and airstrikes alone were not an integrated plan to remove the Houthis from power. Yemen has been divided between the Houthis and the official government since the Houthis captured the capital, Sana’a, in 2015.

Israel claimed 20 of its warplanes on Monday had completely destroyed the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah, as well as a nearby cement factory. The Houthis said four people had been killed. On Tuesday, Israel struck Sana’a international airport, warning civilians to leave the area.

In launching the attacks, probably more extensive than those mounted by the US, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been highlighting Iran’s role in arming the Houthis. The Shia group mounted an attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday that the Houthis said was an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel was shocked that its air defences were penetrated by a single Houthi missile, but Iran believes Israel is escalating the crisis in an attempt to disrupt the negotiations between the US and Iran over its nuclear programme. The talks are due to resume on Sunday.

Israel remains opposed to a US-negotiated settlement with Iran that leaves its civil nuclear programme intact, and wants US cooperation in an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.

The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday issued a statement insisting the Houthis operate independently from Iran, and was not a proxy army. The ministry said it “considers the repetition of baseless claims attributing the courageous actions of the Yemeni people in self-defense and support for the Palestinian people to Iran as an insult to this powerful and oppressed nation, and reminds us that it is the US army that, in support of the Zionist regime’s genocide, has entered the war against the Yemeni people and is committing war crimes by attacking infrastructure and civilian targets in various cities of this country.”

The foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said: “Netanyahu is brazenly trying to dictate to President Trump what he can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran. The world has also learned how Netanyahu is directly interfering in the US government to lead it to another disaster in our region.

“The Netanyahu minority in America, who are terrified of diplomacy, have now revealed their real agenda. The world should take note of what their real priorities are.”

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, denounced the strikes as “a blatant crime and a gross violation of the principles and rules of international law”.

Baqaei urged international and regional powers “to stop the killing and destruction America and Israel are committing in Islamic countries”.

The escalation in Yemen represents a further diplomatic difficulty for Iran since support for the Houthi’s acts of solidarity with Gaza has featured prominently in Iran’s conservative media, and numerous UN reports have documented Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis.

But Iran’s support for the Houthis, it is argued, hands US Republican hardliners the chance to lobby that Iran’s support for resistance groups in the region must form a central part of the US agenda in the talks. Iran has insisted discussions will focus solely on the monitoring of its civil nuclear programme, and the lifting of sanctions.

For the past month, conflicting statements from the Trump administration about its requirements for Iran, such as whether it would abandon its domestic uranium enrichment, have disturbed many Iranians. Araghchi has insisted the right to enrich, rather than import uranium, was normal for many signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that Iran’s entitlement to enrich was a red line.

Drones have struck the airport and targeted an army base in Port Sudan, officials said, the third straight day the seat of power of the government, which is aligned with the Sudanese army, has come under attack.

The country’s main fuel depot was hit on Monday, causing a massive blaze just south of the eastern city that had until Sunday been considered a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of displaced people fleeing a two-year war.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent reported loud explosions at dawn on Tuesday and plumes of smoke over the coastal city, one coming from the direction of the port and another from a fuel depot just south.

One drone struck the civilian section of the Port Sudan airport, an airport official told Agence France-Press, two days after the facility’s military base was first attacked in drone strikes the army blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

All flights were grounded at the wartorn country’s main international port of entry, the source added.

Another drone targeted the main army base in the city centre, an army source said, while witnesses reported a nearby hotel was hit.

Both sites are close to the residence of Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has been at war with his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the RSF, since April 2023.

A third drone hit a fuel depot near the southern port in the densely populated city centre, where the UN, aid agencies and hundreds of thousands of displaced people have relocated from Khartoum.

Witnesses in the city’s north reported anti-aircraft fire from a military base.

The RSF has increasingly relied on drones since losing territory including nearly all of Khartoum in March, attacking deep into army-held territory.

Explosions were heard early on Tuesday morning across Port Sudan, where the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on Monday reports of paramilitary attacks were a “worrying development threatening the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations”.

Nearly all humanitarian aid into Sudan, where famine has already been declared and nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity, arrives in Port Sudan.

At the airport, where Sudanese airlines had resumed flights after Sunday’s strike, “fires broke out in multiple buildings” following the explosion, a traveller told AFP. The army source said the strike had also “targeted fuel depots at the airport”.

The RSF has in recent weeks attacked civilian infrastructure across the army-controlled north-east, causing widespread blackouts for millions of people.

Since it began, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 13 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises. It has effectively split the country in two, with the army controlling the centre, north and east while the RSF holds nearly all of the vast region of Darfur and, with its allies, parts of the south.

According to experts, the RSF’s increased reliance on drones since its loss of Khartoum has highlighted its reach and hindered the army’s supply line. The RSF has used both makeshift and highly advanced drones, which the army accuses the United Arab Emirates of supplying.

The international court of justice on Monday threw out a case brought by Sudan against the UAE, accusing it of complicity in genocide by supporting the RSF.
Sudan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it “respected” the ruling, which came on the basis of the ICJ’s lack of jurisdiction due to the UAE’s 2005 “reservation” on the UN genocide convention.

After the cancellation of two UK performances with the Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood has said that they “dread the weaponisation of this cancellation by reactionary figures as much as we lament its celebration by some progressives”.

In a statement, Greenwood and Tassa said that venues in London and Bristol as well as “their blameless staff” had received enough credible threats to conclude that it was not safe to proceed with the gigs.

“Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves,” they said. “This cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.”

The two shows were due to take place in June in support of the duo’s 2023 album Jarak Qaribak, which translates as Your Neighbour Is Your Friend. The record features Arabic love songs and was recorded in Tel Aviv, Oxfordshire and across the Middle East. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding member of the BDS movement, described the planned events as “artwashing genocide” and welcomed their cancellation.

Greenwood and Tassa accused the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign – known as BDS – of having it “both ways”.

“The campaign which has successfully stopped the concerts insist that ‘this is not censorship’ and ‘this isn’t about silencing music or attacking individual artists’ … Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing.”

Greenwood and Tassa highlighted the heritage of the performers, among them singers from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq. “The silencing campaign has demanded that the venues ‘reaffirm (their) commitment to ethical, inclusive cultural programming’,” they said. “Just not this particular mix of cultures, apparently.”

They lamented the corner they had found themselves in politically. “For some on the right, we’re playing the ‘wrong’ kind of music – too inclusive, too aware of the rich and beautiful diversity of Middle Eastern culture. For some on the left, we’re only playing it to absolve ourselves of our collective sins.”

They said “meekly agreeing to be silenced without some response feels wrong” and drew contrasts with recent music industry support for Irish rap trio Kneecap in the face of censorship and moral panic. “We have no judgment to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.”

They praised the bravery of the performers in the band for their conviction in touring with them. “Their artistic achievements are toweringly important, and we hope one day you will get to hear us play these songs – love songs mostly – together with us, somewhere, somehow. If that happens, it won’t be a victory for any country, religion, or political cause. It’ll be a victory for our shared love and respect of the music – and of each other.”

In 2024, Greenwood and Tassa performed in Tel Aviv. At the time, PACBI called for “peaceful, creative pressure on … Radiohead to convincingly distance itself from this blatant complicity in the crime of crimes, or face grassroots measures”.

At the time, Greenwood said in response: “I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile. And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important.”

He added that he could not join any call to silence art made by Israeli Jews, calling it “unprogressive … Not least because it’s these people that are invariably the most progressive members of any society.”

Greenwood’s wife, artist Sharona Katan, is Israeli. Their nephew was killed in 2024 while serving in the Israeli Defence Force.

Radiohead have a long history with Israel. Their 1992 debut single Creep first became a success on Israeli radio after initially failing to break through elsewhere, and the band have continued to perform in the country throughout their career, despite protests from fans and activists.

Wildlife officials in Florida are investigating what is believed to be the first fatal mauling of a human by a bear in the state.

The body of the black bear suspected in the death of 89-year-old Robert Markel was removed from woodland near the unincorporated community of Jerome, close to Florida’s Big Cypress wildlife management area, on Monday night, according to the Naples Daily News.

Rangers were called to the area shortly after 7.15am on Monday when Markel’s daughter reported that she witnessed a bear killing his dog, said George Reynaud, spokesperson for the Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC), at a press conference on Monday.

He said Markel’s body was found “a couple of hundred yards away” from the dog. “We do know it was a bear attack. We don’t know if it was the same bear or multiple bears,” he said.

Reynaud said that rangers had set traps in the woodland during the day on Monday, and a search team of about 10 was searching the area on foot, as well as using drones. He warned the public to stay away from the area.

“Lethal force is a last resort but we are armed to address that,” another FWC spokesperson, Tyler Matthews, told the press conference.

The commission has recorded 43 human-bear encounters in Florida dating back to 2006, excluding vehicle strikes, and almost all of them also involving a dog. Markel’s death would be the first fatality in the state attributed to a bear mauling, if that was found to be his cause of death.

Matthews told the Naples Daily News that the carcass of the bear in Monday’s incident was being transported to Gainesville for a necropsy. The Guardian has contacted FWC for further comment.

The only other recorded encounter in Florida this year between a bear and human was in Marion, in the state’s north-east region, in February, involving an adult female and her cub.

Florida has more than 4,000 black bears, with a sizable population in south-west Florida, and in and around the Big Cypress natural area.

Once a threatened species, with only 300-500 statewide in the 1970s because of habitat loss and unregulated hunting, black bear numbers have rebounded in recent years.

Hunting was banned in 1994, but the Florida legislature authorized a limited hunt in 2015, and FWC has proposed issuing permits for the hunting of another 187 bears later this year. The move sparked a backlash from wildlife advocates and a petition with more than 31,000 signatures.

In June of last year, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill loosening protections for black bears. Legislators approved the measure after hearing a state congressman, Jason Shoaf, insist without evidence that black bears high on crack cocaine were breaking into people’s homes and destroying property.