After three girls die of cancer in a town in Mexico, a group of mothers and a scientist investigate the water supply.

When three young girls die from leukaemia within a year in a Mexican town, the authorities insist that the water is not contaminated. A teacher and local mothers demand answers and form an action group to investigate the cause. When they team up with a scientist, they find out their water is highly radioactive.

Corporate agriculture for export has depleted the aquifers, leaving behind an ancient layer of groundwater that is poisoning their town. This revelation prompts national outrage and leads the government to cut off the town’s water supply, while some officials still claim that the water is safe.

As the community turns against the women, they face a difficult choice. They must either give up their activism or keep fighting for clean water and environmental justice.

The Age of Water is a documentary film by Isabel Alcantara Atalaya and Alfredo Alcantara.

Published On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025

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The Chinese owner of TikTok, ByteDance, has struck a deal with US and global investors to operate its business in America, TikTok’s boss told employees on Thursday.

ByteDance has been under pressure from Washington to sell its US operations over national security concerns.

As BBC Asia business correspondent Suranjana Tewari explains, it is still unclear what sort of experience TikTok users in the US will get.

Read more on this story here.

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Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Woody Allen appear in Epstein estate photo drop

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The Department of Justice is facing an end-of-day deadline to release thousands of documents related to the government’s investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender.

For months, members of the public, lawmakers and survivors of Epstein’s abuse have been urging the government to release all applicable material to promote greater transparency and hold any other individuals accountable who participated in Epstein’s crimes.

But President Donald Trump, who was once friends with Epstein, pushed back on the release. Finally, in November, he gave Republicans the go-ahead to vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the DOJ to release its documents within 30 days.

Epstein, who died in federal jail in 2019 before a trial could commence, was accused of using his wealth and connections to high-profile individuals to run a decades-long sex trafficking scheme that involved young women and girls.

The government initially investigated him in 2006 but ultimately handed him a sweetheart deal. A second investigation in 2019 landed him with a sex trafficking indictment. Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021.

On Thursday, House Democrats released more photos retrieved from Epstein’s estate.

What will be redacted?

Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Attorney General Pam Bondi is permitted to redact information that could identify victims, their medical files, or be considered an invasion of personal privacy.

Bondi can also redact anything that depicts or contains sexual abuse materials, death or physical abuse or injury of another person, as well as any information that could jeopardize an ongoing federal investigation.

The Department of Justice is also permitted to redact information in the interest of national security or foreign policy.

(Getty)

Joe Sommerlad19 December 2025 10:05

What could be released today?

It’s currently unclear what precisely we will see today, given that the government has vast discretion to redact certain information.

But it’s possible that the new information will provide more details about how investigators went after Epstein, and whether they considered other charges.

Epstein was under federal investigation twice, the first in Florida in 2006. But despite being indicted, the U.S. Attorney at the time, Alex Acosta, arranged a controversial agreement for the multimillionaire to plead guilty to two state charges, as well as a prison sentence and a requirement that he register as a sex offender, in exchange for the federal case to be dropped.

The second investigation led to a 2019 sex trafficking indictment in New York and Epstein’s arrest. However, he died in prison before he could face trial.

Judges in Florida and New York have approved the release of grand jury materials that were used to bring the two separate indictments against Epstein, as well as the one against Maxwell.

While the grand jury materials may contain some information, they represent only a fraction of the documents in the Justice Department’s possession.

However, the judge who approved the release of grand jury materials in Maxwell’s case warned that they would “learn next to nothing new” from the documents.

The judge said the materials do not identify perpetrators other than Epstein and Maxwell; do not discuss Epstein’s alleged clients; and don’t reveal any unknown methods of Epstein or Maxwell’s crimes. Nor do they reveal any other location where crimes occurred, the judge added.

(AFP/Getty)

Joe Sommerlad19 December 2025 09:45

Stephen Colbert predicts Epstein files will be ‘end of the road’ for Trump

“It’s Epstein Files Eve,” The Late Show host declared in his opening monologue last night. “Don’t forget to leave Santa some cookies. And a barf bag.”

“The DOJ specifically has to release ‘searchable and downloadable’ copies. And here’s the kicker: The law says records can’t be withheld, delayed, or redacted due to concerns about embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

Launching into a raspy Trump impression, Colbert joked, “OK, but what if – and hear me out here – what if this is the end of the road for you and you’ve wriggled out of everything else, but for some reason this is the one they won’t let go of, no matter how many East Wings you tear down?

“You can see the end is in sight, which is crazy because you’ve always believed that nothing bad could ever happen to you because the world’s an illusion and you’re the only one that’s real.

“How about that? Do I still have to release them? Yes? OK then, how about this one: Joe Biden was Epstein the whole time. How about that? Anything?”

You can watch it for yourself below.

Joe Sommerlad19 December 2025 09:25

Why are the files being released now?

Last month, nearly every member of Congress voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act which gave the DOJ 30 days to gather, redact and release the trove of documents related to the government’s investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

While nearly unanimous, it took weeks for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to force a vote on the House floor, due to the government shutdown and initial pushback from President Donald Trump.

Despite Trump asserting on the campaign trail that he would release the Epstein files when in the White House, he and key administration officials reversed their position earlier this year and claimed there was no new or necessary information to be released.

But facing immense public pressure, including from members of his own MAGA base and survivors of Epstein’s abuse, the president gave Republicans the go-ahead to vote in favor of the bill.

Rhian Lubin and Rachel Dobkin have this explainer on how we arrived at this point.

Ariana Baio19 December 2025 09:10

Joe Sommerlad19 December 2025 08:55

House Democrats released more photos from Epstein estate

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released more photos from Epstein’s estate Thursday, ahead of the release deadline for the Department of Justice’s files today.

Among the photos are pictures of a woman’s body with quotes from Vladimir Nabokov’s notorious novel Lolita, about a professor who pursues a relationship with an underage girl, written on her body.

Alex Woodward has this report.

Ariana Baio19 December 2025 08:45

Department of Justice ordered to release Jeffrey Epstein files by end of Friday

The DOJ is hours away from a deadline, imposed by Congress, to release hundreds of documents related to the government’s investigation into the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

By Friday, December 19, the department must release all unclassified documents, investigation material and internal communications from probes into Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. That includes flight logs and references to named individuals, including potentially government officials.

The highly anticipated release is part of some lawmakers’ efforts for greater transparency about the Epstein investigation. The multimillionaire financier was accused of sexually abusing young women and girls before he died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on trafficking charges in 2019. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes associated with Epstein’s abuse.

Thousands of documents about Epstein’s crimes have already been released through criminal and civil litigation. House Democrats have also released photos and paperwork with the latest tranche issued Thursday.

Here’s Ariana Baio on what else the public can expect ahead of the release.

Joe Sommerlad19 December 2025 08:40

Good morning

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog coverage of the Epstein files release.

The Department of Justice has until the end of the day Friday to release the thousands of documents in its possession related to the government’s investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.

One month ago, Congress imposed a 30-day deadline for the DoJ to release the materials, which include communications, unclassified documents and other investigation material.

Ariana Baio19 December 2025 08:20

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Holiday season is here, but who has time to clean between family celebrations and parties with friends? We have a tip: Switch out your heavy old vacuum for a sleek, cordless model that makes daily cleaning quick and painless.

Right now, you’ll pay just $75 for the Vipsun Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, which one user described as a “great all-in-one cordless vacuum.” With up to 30,000 pascals, its powerful suction effectively picks up dirt, crumbs, pet hair, and debris from hardwood floors, carpets, and tile, according to users.

The vacuum weighs just over 6 pounds, so you can effortlessly carry it from room to room. Plus, it has LED lights to illuminate small particles of dirt so nothing is missed. With its motorized brush head that can swivel up to 180 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically, maneuvering around bulky furniture is not a problem. And its battery life is more than enough to clean a small home in one single charge.

Vipsun Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Amazon

Other notable features? The compact vacuum converts into a handheld device for daily messes and spills above the floor. It comes with multiple attachments to target spots like stairs, curtains, and upholstery, too. Also, the vacuum’s multi-stage filtration system captures too-small-to-see particles while you clean. 

The vacuum cleaner has racked up nearly 1,500 perfect ratings from reviewers, with multiple people calling it “the best” they’ve ever owned. Plus, more than 5,000 shoppers have snagged one in the past month alone.

“This cordless vacuum cleaner is a total game changer for anyone with fur babies or just messy humans,” one reviewer enthused. “Keeping my floors fur-free has never been this easy — or this satisfying.”

Another person shared that the vacuum is “better than a Dyson, Shark, and Tineco.” And a final user shared that it has “incredible suction.” They continued: “This vacuum is exceeding all expectations. It was easy to assemble, weighs very little, and sufficiently collects everything!”

We don’t know how long this vacuum will be on sale, so head to Amazon now to pick up the Vipsun Cordless Vacuum Cleaner while it’s just $75. Keep scrolling to check out more floor cleaners.

Dyson V11 Origin Cordless Vacuum

Amazon

Shark Steam Pocket Mop

Amazon

Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe Carpet Cleaner

Amazon

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The horrifying cause of death of Emile Soleil has been revealed over two years after his disappearance from the French village of Haut-Vernet.

The latest expert report also revealed disturbing details about how the toddler’s body may have been stored by the killer.

Two-year-old Emile vanished from his grandparents’ home on July 8, 2023, and despite days of searching, the child was not found. 

His remains were then discovered nearly a year later by a hiker in March 2024, only 1.7 km from the village.

According to Le Parisien, analysis of the bones has now revealed an injury on the cheekbone area, next to the right zygomatic bone. 

The new report’s leading hypothesis is that the lesion occurred from a deliberate blow causing ‘violent facial trauma,’ potentially inflicted using an object.

In addition, pollen and insect examinations revealed that the child’s body had been kept ‘for many months in an enclosed space, sheltered from the elements, but not very airtight.’

Places fitting this description could include a barn, stable or a similar agricultural setting. 

Two-year-old Emile vanished from his grandparent’s home on July 8, 2023

His remains were discovered nearly a year later by a hiker in March 2024, only 1.7 km from the village

The yellow t-shirt Emile had been wearing when he disappeared showed no signs of organic decomposition, and only pollen found in the Haut-Vernon area was detected.

This may suggest that the toddler’s body was undressed very soon after his death.

Detectives had previously said they believed the remains of Emile were likely preserved in a protected, almost sterile environment like a freezer before being moved and found.

The new report comes as Emile’s grandparents, aunt and uncle have been questioned for the first time since he vanished.

His grandparents, Philippe and Anne Vedovini, and two of their children, Maximin and Marthe Vedovini spoke to the investigating judges of the criminal division of Aix-en-Provence on December 9.

According to local reports, each family member was heard for an hour as civil parties by the two magistrates in charge of the case.

On March 25, 2024, the group of four were taken into custody for ‘voluntary homicide’ and ‘concealing a corpse’, before being released 48 hours later without charge.

But the public prosecutor of Aix-en-Provence, Jean-Luc Blachon said the possibility of a family connection has not been ruled out. Since then the family members have filed civil suits in the case.

The new report comes as Emile’s grandparents, aunt and uncle have been questioned for the first time since he vanished.

The group of four were taken into custody for ‘voluntary homicide’ and ‘concealing a corpse’, before being released

The Vedovini family reportedly fell out with Father Gilliot after he shared a photo of Emile with the media

‘This is obviously a very important step for my client, given that her last hearings were conducted while she was in police custody.This time, she was being heard as a civil party,’ Anne Vedovini’s lawyer, Julien Pinelli, told Le Parisien.

The mystery surrounding Emile’s disappearance and death deepened as it emerged in March this year that the family’s Roman Catholic priest who baptised Emile before he went missing had ‘taken his own life’, according to reports.

Father Claude Gilliot, 85, is said to have died from a ‘massive overdose’ at his home in Aix-en-Provence, French media reported.

Claims have been made that he fell out with the Vedovini family before his death after providing a photo of the little boy to the media. 

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Russell Brand launched a verbal attack on former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who’s been pop star Katy Perry since the summer

Russell Brand used a US political rally to take a swipe at his ex-wife Katy Perry and her new relationship with Justin Trudeau(Image: Getty Images)

Russell Brand took aim at his ex-wife Katy Perry’s new romance with Justin Trudeau during a US political event.

Brand launched a verbal attack on the former Canadian Prime Minister, who’s been with the pop star since the summer, over his policies. He also detailed his hatred of authority raged against the current Labour government. The former stand-up comic also praised Donald Trump’s actions and ‘performed near miracles” in The White House in 2025. He took swipes at Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden and made a joke about his son Hunter’s drug addictions.

The Brit added that he is ‘done with Hollywood”, but didn’t discuss being charged in the UK over a series of alleged sexual assaults. However, he declared that he will never “trust human authority.” The 50-year-old was given a mixed reception as he spoke onstage at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest event in Phoenix, run by the wife of assassinated activist Charlie Kirk.

Brand did not hide his disdain for Trudeau while appearing on stage in America(Image: Getty Images)

Out of nowhere during his speech about politics and his faith, Brand started discussing Perry, 41, dating the politician. In the audience was his former mother-in-law, Mary Hudson.

After first reflecting on his love for his current wife, he then turned to his ex, saying: “I love my wife. Oh man, my ex-wife’s parents are here. They’re Christians, and I love them. I love Mary Perry. God bless you. Thank you for bringing the message to me.

‘I’ve got to say, though, look, Katie Perry, I was married to her. I love her still. And I’m glad that her mom’s in the room to see me say this. But look, I was okay with Orlando Bloom, but Justin Trudeau?

“Come on man. Don’t put me in a category with that guy. That globalist stooge.” He then changed the subject: “Alright, praise Jesus. Come on kids. God’s real,” But later he circled back to attack Trudeau. “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Katy Perry or indeed anybody. Justin Trudeau on the other end. Oh man.

“Look, the biggest threat to our society is political leaders that have no authentic power, that seem to be operating on behalf of global bureaucracies that seem to get kind of auditioned into political power. We have it in my country, in France, we have it everywhere. We know these are not real political leaders or real political figures. You can see it by looking at them. They are the operatives of deeper interest, shall we say. Whether that’s the when or the who or something more occult that I don’t understand.

He went on: “I’d like to be positive and forgiving and loving is a message of forgiveness and loving that I need to share.” He then poked fun at Trudeau for being caught in a black face scandal: “And I will say he’s got a nice haircut, so black up less – hairdressers more.”

At the end of his speech, he raised the Canadian again: “I’ve been glib and flippant about Justin Trudeau; he’s a child of God. He deserves love, and he deserves respect, and he deserves happiness. And I pray for that for him. I pray for it for all of you. As long as we are picking favourites, we are not acting like our Lord, for he has no favourites.”

Earlier this year, Brand was charged with five counts of assault and rape stemming from allegations from four women.

He has denied the accusations, saying he “absolutely refutes” the claims. Brand never addressed his court cases, but expressed his loathing of authority.

Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry have been dating since the Summer

He stated: “I don’t like the idea that we are meant to submit to human authority unless it’s backed by the Lord because I don’t trust human authority and I’ll never trust them.” He later yelled: “Yield to no human power. Don’t trust them.

“Get used to disobeying authority, man….I never like being told what to do. I’ve never trusted authority. It makes me a bad driver. I’ll tell you that because I think, alright, for example, stop signs or traffic lights, these are perfectly reasonable systems in the event of an evident contraflow of traffic.

“If there’s a red traffic light and there’s a car coming, he wins. I get the game, I get red.

“The colour of blood, the colour of fire, I get it. But in the event that it’s the middle of the night and there’s a red traffic light, I’m taking my freedom as an American because the world has been captured by evil and they’re training you to be obedient….break rules every day just to remind yourself, you can bow down to the only true authority, not a made up phony authorities (who) turn up here telling us what to do.”

Ends

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United States President Donald Trump has often said that since he took office in January, the US has received trillions of dollars in promises of investments, and the dollar amount he cites changes.

On his second day in office, January 21, Trump said the US had “already secured nearly $3 trillion of new investments”.

By May 8, that figure had risen to “close to $10 trillion“. It eventually peaked on October 29 during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok: “I think by the end of my first term, we should have $21 or $22 trillion dollars invested in the United States from other people and countries,” Trump said.

Since then, Trump has reported varied investment figures:

• On November 27 and December 2, he said they were worth nearly $20 trillion.
• On December 2, December 3, December 4 and December 9, he said about $18 trillion, a figure he had first cited on October 10.

Sometimes Trump has phrased the commitments as approaching a dollar figure; other times, he’s said they’ve already hit that number.

In May, when Trump said, “We have now close to $10 trillion” in investments, we rated that False. The White House had documented at least $4.9 trillion less than what Trump claimed.

That $10 trillion number has about doubled in the seven months since, according to Trump, but it’s unsubstantiated. On the higher end, $22 trillion would be equal to about three-quarters of the United States’ entire 2024 annual gross domestic product (GDP), an extraordinary total for the richest country in the history of the world.

The White House website documents $9.6 trillion, and not everything cited on the website was newly pledged during Trump’s second term. Experts say there’s no guarantee the full amounts promised will come to fruition, and some of this investment would have occurred regardless of who was president.

The White House did not respond to PolitiFact’s questions about Trump’s statements.

One way to benchmark Trump’s investment figure is to look at what the White House officially documented.

The White House launched a webpage in April that includes a list of countries and companies it said have announced investments during Trump’s second term.

Using the internet archive Wayback Machine, we tracked the amount of investment the White House website cited over time. The figures Trump has used were usually at least double the amount listed on the website.

In recent weeks, as Trump cited figures from $18 trillion to $22 trillion, the White House website reported $9.6 trillion.

Is Trump accurately framing the foreign and corporate investments?

The White House website’s figure includes aspirational goals over multiple years and counts future purchases of products rather than capital investments. For some of the biggest line items – such as commitments by the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – the pledges are multiple times those countries’ annual gross domestic product, which calls their feasibility into question.

A Bloomberg Economics’ analysis found that of the $9.6 trillion the White House listed on its website in late November, $7 trillion could be considered “real investment pledges”. The remaining $2.6 trillion included countries’ agreements to purchase items such as natural gas or to expand future trade. The analysis characterised some of the investment pledges by other countries as “amorphous”.

More than 80 percent of the investments from private companies stemmed from artificial intelligence-related spending.

“Many of the pledges cited by the White House are part of overlapping multi-company projects, making it difficult to determine how much may be counted more than once,” Bloomberg said.

Ten items on the White House’s website accounted for the vast majority of the $9.6 trillion the White House detailed. Some of the White House’s documentation includes details such as specific companies getting involved and the types of facilities or infrastructure envisioned; other examples are more vague. Some involve conventional investments, while others have to do with projected trade increases.

1. United Arab Emirates: $1.4 trillion. The White House says this investment focuses on AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, quantum computing, biotechnology and manufacturing. Companies cited in a White House news release include Boeing, GE Aerospace, Emirates Global Aluminum, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Qualcomm and Amazon Web Services. It’s unclear how much of this investment would come from new investments.

The UAE’s 2024 gross domestic product was $537bn, making the pledge equal to three years of the country’s entire economic output.

2. Qatar: $1.2 trillion. The White House press release described this as an “economic exchange”, rather than a one-way investment. It cited the involvement of companies including Boeing, GE Aerospace, Raytheon, General Atomics, ExxonMobil and Chevron Phillips. The announcement described a mixture of trade deals, purchase agreements and investment intentions – items that analysts say often include future-looking efforts rather than capital injections.

In 2024, Qatar’s gross domestic product was $218bn, making this pledge equivalent to nearly six years of the country’s entire economy.

3. Japan: $1 trillion. The White House has said Japan is moving towards $1 trillion, following an initial agreement to invest $550bn in sectors such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, energy, pharmaceuticals, metals and minerals by the end of Trump’s term. Japan also disputes that this will be a one-way flow of cash into the US. Bloomberg News quoted Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa saying, “It’s not that $550bn in cash will be sent to the US” but rather a combination of investments, loans and loan guarantees provided by financial institutions backed by the Japanese government.

4. Meta: $600bn. The White House and the social media company said $600bn is tied to Meta’s US AI infrastructure and workforce expansion plans through to 2028.

5. Apple: $600bn. Apple’s long history of multi-year domestic investment pledges  means the $600bn figure incorporates prior commitments plus recent accelerations. Apple’s news release described a new $100bn boost to bring its total US commitment to $600bn over several years. The release cites a new American Manufacturing Program, supplier investments and training programmes.

6. Saudi Arabia: $600bn. The administration said $600bn from Saudi Arabia would involve the energy, critical minerals and defence sectors.

The amount cited would be equal to about half of Saudi Arabia’s 2024 gross domestic product.

7. European Union companies: $600bn. The EU said in August that “European companies are expected to invest an additional $600bn across strategic sectors in the United States through 2028.” However, the statement frames this as aspirational, not as a commitment.

8. Stargate: $500bn. This consortium between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle was unveiled during a January 21 White House event. Stargate said $100bn will be invested “immediately” and that the consortium “intends to invest” a total of $500bn over the next four years. OpenAI, among others, published blog posts describing its plans for five new sites that would bring the project to “over $400bn” in near-term investment, positioning it on a path to the $500bn target.

9. NVIDIA: $500bn. The White House said NVIDIA has pledged to build $500bn-worth of AI infrastructure in the US over the next four years. NVIDIA has said it is pursuing “ambitious” manufacturing and server production in the US, but the $500bn figure remains a goal.

10. India: $500bn. What is being called “Mission 500” aims to reach $500bn in annual bilateral trade by 2030. But it is a trade goal, not an investment pledge, and its end date would come after the end of Trump’s term. Further, the framework seems to allow US purchases of Indian goods to count towards the goal, which does not foster US investment and production.

Importantly, experts said, some of these pledges won’t materialise.

“Historically, large-scale investment announcements often overpromise and underdeliver,” Roman V Yampolskiy, an AI specialist at the University of Louisville told PolitiFact in May. “There is a performative element to them, especially in politically charged contexts. They function as political theatre as much as economic commitment.”

Trump isn’t the first to overstate new investments. President Joe Biden said in 2024 that his bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act had attracted $640bn in private investments; economists told PolitiFact that Biden’s numbers were based on what companies had announced, which is not the same as dollars already spent.

Our ruling

Trump says the US has received investment commitments totalling $18 trillion to $22 trillion since he took office in January.

The number Trump cites is about double what the White House’s website lists. And experts say the website’s current figure, $9.6 trillion, should be viewed with caution.

It includes aspirational, multi-year goals that might or might not come to fruition, and some items are future purchases or sales of products, rather than capital investments.

For the two biggest line items – commitments from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – the amounts are multiple times those countries’ annual gross domestic product.

We rate Trump’s statement False.

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Hungary’s Orbán calls EU loan for Ukraine ‘extremely bad decision’ and ‘lost money’

Babiš’s partner in the opt-out three, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, made it clear overnight that he wasn’t a fan of the agreed solution, and didn’t want his country to have anything to do with it.

Leaving the summit, he said “Hungary is totally out of that.”

“I think it’s a bad decision. All the others, except the Czechs and Slovaks, think that it was a good decision. I think it was an extremely bad decision, which brings Europe closer to the war.”

He continued:

“It looks like a loan, but of course, the Ukrainians will never be able to pay it back, so it’s basically lost money, and those who are behind that loan will take the responsibility and the financial consequences of that.

[The] three countries decided not to be part of it, that’s an opt out for Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. So we are innocent.”

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Ukraine loan turned out ‘exactly as I promised,’ Czech Republic’s Babiš says

New Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš is also very pleased with the outcome of the summit, particularly with the Ukraine loan, which he says has turned out “exactly as I promised”: politically supported, but not financially guaranteed by the Czech Republic.

The country is one of the three – alongside Hungary and Slovakia – that backed the idea, but refused to provide guarantees.

Here is how it reads in the actual summit document:

“By means of enhanced cooperation (Article 20 TEU) in respect of the instrument based on Article 212 TFEU, any mobilisation of resources of the Union’s budget as a guarantee for this loan will not have an impact on the financial obligations of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.”

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Updated at 09.31 CET

Spain’s Sánchez backs EU decision on loan as right politically, legally and morally

Sam Jones

in Madrid

Speaking to the press early this morning, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez described the EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine as the right course of action politically, legally and morally.

“As I told President Zelenskyy in a bilateral meeting earlier, the European Union has to support the Ukraine financially, but it has to do so for moral reasons and in the interest of justice – but also because it’s legal,” he said. “This decision is backed by international law.”

ShareJakub Krupa

It’s Jakub Krupa here, picking up the blog to bring you the latest reaction from Europe and Ukraine to the overnight deal in Brussels.

Good morning.

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French president Emmanuel Macron has hailed the deal as a major advance, saying that borrowing on capital markets “was the most realistic and practical way” to fund Ukraine and its war efforts.

Associated Press reports that the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, also hailed the decision.

“The financial package for Ukraine has been finalised,” Merz said in a statement, noting that “Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan.”

“These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budgetary needs of Ukraine for the two years to come,” Merz added. He said the frozen assets will remain blocked until Russia has paid war reparations to Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that would cost over €600bn.

“If Russia does not pay reparations we will — in full accordance with international law — make use of Russian immobilised assets for paying back the loan,” Merz said.

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Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán agreed not to block the huge EU-backed loan to Ukraine as long as his country, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were excluded from the guarantees for the debt.

The deal will not affect the financial obligations of those three countries, which did not want to contribute to the financing of Ukraine, a text on the EU agreement said.

Moscow-friendly Hungary had previously said it would oppose the deal, just as it opposed the use of frozen Russian assets.

Viktor Orbán speaks to media at the end of the European Council summit in Brussels. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images

The deal followed hours of discussions among leaders on the technical details of a loan based on frozen Russian assets, which turned out to be too complex or politically demanding to sort out at this stage, diplomats said.

“We have gone from saving Ukraine to saving face, at least that of those who have been pushing for the use of the frozen assets,” one said.

You can read more on the deal as well as other developments in the Ukraine war – including Russian strikes near the Black Sea port of Odesa – in our daily briefing here:

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Updated at 08.22 CET

The EU agreement to provide Kyiv with an €90bn interest-free loan will cover most of Ukraine’s urgent financial needs but be secured against EU borrowing rather than frozen Russian assets.

As Jennifer Rankin reports from Brussels, after the summit talks ended in the early hours of Friday, the European Council president, António Costa, told reporters: “We committed and we delivered.”

He said EU leaders had approved a decision to make the €90bn (£92bn/$105bn) loan to Ukraine for the next two years backed by the EU budget, which Kyiv would repay only once Russia paid reparations.

Costa added: “The union reserves its right to make use of the immobilised assets to repay this loan.”

EU leaders entered the summit on Thursday with many wanting to secure the urgently needed loan against some of Russia’s €210bn frozen assets on the continent. But the plan fell over on the demand of Belgium, which hosts 88% of the Russian funds in the EU, to have unlimited budget guarantees from other member states if Moscow won a successful claim for damages.

Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, said the reparations loan was not a good idea and had a lot of loose ends. “And if you start pulling at the loose ends in the strings, the thing collapses.”

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Updated at 08.23 CET

Opening summary

Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Ukraine war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is grateful to European Union leaders after they agreed on a plan to provide Ukraine a €90bn ($105bn) loan to cover its looming budget shortfalls.

“This is significant support that truly strengthens our resilience,” the Ukrainian president said in a post on X on Friday.

The EU leaders’ agreement came at summit talks in Brussels, but they failed to agree on using frozen Russian assets to make up the loan funds.

Zelenskyy said: “It is important that Russian assets remain immobilised and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years. Thank you for the result and for unity. Together, we are defending the future of our continent.”

The agreement came after EU leaders settled on granting an interest-free loan for the next two years backed by the bloc’s common budget, providing Kyiv a lifeline as Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end Russia’s near-four-year war in Ukraine.

“Today’s decision will provide Ukraine with the necessary means to defend itself and to support the Ukrainian people,” said European Council head Antonio Costa, who chaired the summit.

Meanwhile, US and Russian representatives are set to hold fresh talks on Ukraine in Miami at the weekend as Trump urged Kyiv to move “quickly” on reaching a peace deal.

In key developments:

• The leading option at the EU summit had been to tap about €200bn of Russian central bank assets frozen in the EU to generate a loan for Kyiv but that fell through after Belgium – where the bulk of the assets are held – demanded guarantees on sharing liability that proved too much for other countries. Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever said as the summit wrapped up that he believed “rationality has prevailed”.

• German chancellor Friedrich Merz had pushed hard for using Russia’s frozen assets but still said the final decision on the EU-backed loan “sends a clear signal” to Vladimir Putin. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine would need to repay the loan only once Moscow paid for the damages it has caused.

Merz and von der Leyen at the EU summit in Brussels. Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock

• Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, agreed not to block the loan to Ukraine to meet its military and economic needs for the next two years as long as his country, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were excluded from the guarantees for the debt. The deal would not affect the financial obligations of those three countries, which did not want to contribute to the financing of Ukraine, a text on the agreement said.

• Zelenskyy had urged EU leaders at the start of the summit to use the frozen Russian assets, saying: “It’s moral, it’s fair, it’s legal.” The EU estimates Ukraine needs an extra €135bn to stay afloat over the next two years.

• In Washington, Donald Trump urged Ukraine to move swiftly on a peace deal ahead of fresh talks expected in Miami this weekend. The US president told reporters in the Oval Office: “Well, they’re getting close to something, but I hope Ukraine moves quickly. I hope Ukraine moves quickly because Russia is there. And you know, every time they take too much time, then Russia changes their mind.” Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to meet Russian officials in Florida, a White House official said, after the envoys held talks with a Ukrainian delegation in Berlin last Sunday and Monday.
  With agencies

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Updated at 08.31 CET

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President Donald Trump has suspended the US green card lottery scheme in the wake of a mass shooting at Brown University last week in which two people were killed.

The suspect, a Portuguese man who was found dead on Thursday, entered the country through the diversity lottery immigrant visa programme (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she has paused the visa scheme under Trump’s direction to “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous programme”.

US officials said they believe the suspect, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, also killed Portuguese Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro earlier this week.

The programme makes up to 50,000 visas available each year through a random selection process among entries from countries with low rates of immigration to the US.

Writing on social media, Noem said Trump had previously “fought to end” the scheme in 2017 after eight people were killed in a truck-ramming attack in New York City.

Uzbekistan national Sayfullo Saipov, an Islamic State supporter who is serving multiple life sentences for the attack, entered the US through the DV1 scheme, according to Noem.

Her comments come just hours after Neves Valente was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, from what police believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said video evidence and tips from the public led investigators to a car rental location where they found the suspect’s name and matched him to their person of interest, following a six-day multi-state manhunt.

He was found dead with a satchel and two firearms. Evidence in a car nearby matched to the scene of the shooting at Brown University in Providence, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente was enrolled at the Ivy League school from the autumn of 2000 to the following spring, and was studying for a PhD in physics.

He had “no current active affiliation” to Brown, she said.

Officials said they believe Neves Valente shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, on Monday at his home in Brookline, which is about 50 miles (80km) from Providence.

Both men had studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s, police said.

Officials said the cases were linked when the suspect’s vehicle was identified via CCTV footage and a witness at Brown University.

The same car was spotted near the scene of the professor’s shooting, which happened just two days later.

Authorities have not provided any suspected motive for either of the attacks.

Two students were killed and nine others were injured as a gunman burst into Brown University’s engineering building on 13 December and opened fire during final exams.

They have been identified as Ella Cook, 19, a second-year student from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American who had just started at the university.

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US homeland security chief Kristi Noem said late on Thursday that President Donald Trump ordered her to pause the diversity visa lottery which was used by the suspect at the Brown University shooting.

“At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”

How is the visa suspension linked to the Brown University shooting?

Noem said the shooting suspect entered the US in 2017 using the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1).

The suspect, a 48-year-old Portuguese man who two decades earlier was a Brown University student, later obtained a green card under the same program.

“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said.

Last week, two people were killed and nine others were wounded in a mass shooting at Brown University.

Authorities on Thursday found the suspect dead of self-inflicted wounds at a storage facility in the state of New Hampshire and are investigating the case.

Investigators believe the man was also responsible for the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who was fatally shot in Boston on Monday, US Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said.

What is the diversity visa lottery?

• The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) makes ‍over 50,000 immigrant ​visas available annually, according ⁠to ​the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Eligible applicants must be “from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States,” according to the State Department
• The diversity visa program was created by Congress
• The decision to halt the program is expected to be legally challenged

Edited by: Rana Taha

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