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Tony Diver Political Editor in New York |
As I shuffled into the UN conference room where Andy Burnham met Donald Trump for the first time yesterday afternoon, the tension was palpable.
He knew how disastrous a meeting with Trump could be if the US president decided to flex his muscles and humiliate his counterpart for the world’s cameras.
In the end, it went mostly without a hitch – with the notable exception of my own question on the Chagos Islands.
Trump said the “terrible” and “ridiculous” deal to give the territory away to Mauritius should be scrapped, prompting a bashful Burnham to commit to reviewing it.
Later, Burnham said he was looking for a “resolution” to the issue, did not deny suggestions that the deal could be scrapped entirely and clarified comments made to the Mauritian prime minister that he would do “everything possible” to continue with the agreement.
He told reporters in New York: “I’ve inherited the situation, and we need a resolution.
“It’s critical to safeguard the future of the base, and that matters to us for security reasons, but also clearly to the United States as well.”
In the early hours, Burnham delivered his speech to the UN General Assembly, during which he said AI needed to be reined in hours after the US president said he rejected any attempt to control it.
The Prime Minister dedicated a chunk of his speech to the threats and benefits of frontier AI models, while Trump said the technology, which he referred to as “superintelligence”, was “actually amazing”.
Asked about the state of relations between Britain and the US, Trump said: “Well, they’re more up now than they were with your last prime minister, let me put it that way.
“I think right now, based on my relationship with the Prime Minister, Andy…I think we’re doing very well.”
So, Burnham made it through the most high-stakes moment of his trip without a major diplomatic incident, and was able to continue the summit spreading his new message of “hope”.
On the plane home, as he reflects on his first encounter with Trump, he will need it.
This report is available to subscribers only.
Continue reading ➤
Burnham tells Trump we need to rein in AI ➤
No 10 will be pleased... but trouble lies ahead ➤ |
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Sophia Yan Senior Foreign Correspondent |
In an address to the United Nations in 2017, Xi Jinping, the president of China, said: “Nuclear weapons, the Sword of Damocles that hangs over humankind, should be completely prohibited and ultimately destroyed over time.”
Satellite images analysed by The Telegraph suggest that China may not be the nuclear peacemaker it has presented itself to be. In fact, since coming to power, Xi has overseen a record expansion of the country’s nuclear weapons programme.
By comparing satellite imagery of nuclear sites, we can see exactly how the programme has developed.
First up, Mianyang, home to perhaps China’s most advanced fusion research centre. The first image was taken in October 2016 when the area was all farmland. In the most recent satellite image, construction is almost complete.
In the middle of the 2026 image is the main testing chamber. Experts believe that the four bays surrounding it could house super-powered lasers, which can be used to compress and heat fuel to start nuclear reactions. This helps scientists examine what happens when a nuclear bomb explodes without actually having to detonate one.
Now, let’s go to Pingtong, better known as the home of the pandas. Here, experts have determined that pits for nuclear warheads are being fabricated.
Think of a pit as a trigger – it’s about the size of a bowling bowl and forms the core of a nuclear bomb.
This factory is where experts believe pits are produced. The facility broke ground in 2013, just after Xi took power.
Read Sophia’s full breakdown of the satellite images ➤ |
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Janet Daley There were no embarrassing contradictions or blatant disagreements, but they did not seem genuinely happy or convincing Continue reading ➤
Con Coughlin Trump is making a fool of himself over Iran Continue reading ➤
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Labour’s love affair with Right-wing Europe will end in tears Continue reading ➤ |
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• Patients are being harmed and dying because the NHS is replacing doctors with nurses and other healthcare workers, medics have warned.
• Police thwarted an alleged Islamist terror attack targeting Manchester’s Jewish community hours before Yom Kippur. Two men in their 30s were arrested as Jews prepared to mark the holiest day in their calendar.
• Britain may have to increase its Channel deal payments to France to nearly £1bn because it is such a big draw for migrants, the head of an inquiry has warned.
• Earl Spencer has apologised to Piers Morgan over false claims about the presenter in his book about Diana, Princess of Wales. A passage accused Morgan of publishing pictures of the Princess in a leotard.
• Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales was pictured wearing earrings that belonged to Princess Diana last night as she walked the red carpet with Tom Cruise at the London film premiere of Digger.
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The super-rich are shedding their private club memberships over fears they could trigger an HMRC investigation into their tax affairs. Changes to non-dom status last year have left wealthy individuals more susceptible to being snared in the British tax system – and maintaining a club membership has been deemed too risky by some. Continue reading ➤ |
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A new 007 novel is here, courtesy of Fast Show writer and star Charlie Higson. Has Higson played fast and loose with Bond? Far from it. In a quiet London bar, he explains why 007’s “Britishness” is special, how he chose the new Bond girl’s name and what makes for a terrifying villain. A clue: it’s all on the surface… Continue reading ➤ |
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Cindy Crawford, the supermodel, suffered a tragic loss on Sunday: Presley Gerber, her 27-year-old son, died of a suspected overdose while at a rehab facility. It’s the sad conclusion to a young life dominated by substance and mental-health issues, which deeply affected his close-knit family, even as his sister Kaia Gerber’s star continued to rise in Hollywood. As Marianka Swain discovers, it’s remarkable just how much these siblings’ lives diverged – yet, as those who knew Presley reveal, the bonds still ran deep Continue reading ➤ |
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Not long ago, Matthew Podmore enjoyed a spacious house in Gloucestershire, family holidays and senior corporate salaries. Then redundancy struck. Twice. Left with a broken marriage and an empty diary, he swapped his nice car for an old VW Polo and began delivering KFC. For midlife professionals, the battle to rebuild their careers is an unforgiving one. Continue reading ➤ |
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Andy Burnham may soon almost double capital gains tax (CGT) rates, which would further burden Britain’s investors. Whether or not it comes to pass, it’s always worth considering the tax affairs of your portfolio. Here, Telegraph Money details a range of investments that are exempt from CGT. For subscribers only ➤ Here is another article that I hope you’ll find helpful this morning:
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Balerno
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Michael Deacon Columnist |
One blissfully sunny morning in May this year, during a holiday to Scotland, I took my 12-year-old son to see the place where I grew up. This was Balerno, a village on the very farthest outskirts of Edinburgh, just before it dissolves into the Pentland Hills.
I showed my son the cottage we lived in, the surrounding woods, farms, fields, the Water of Leith river, and then took him around the National Trust for Scotland gardens where my father, who’s now retired, used to work.
Michael Deacon as a child in Balerno |
As I did so, I thought: “What an absolutely wonderful place to grow up. So why on earth didn’t I realise it at the time?”
Perhaps children of my generation (I was born in 1980) had little appreciation of natural beauty. Or perhaps I just happened to be uniquely obtuse. Either way, I thought the whole place was unbelievably boring, and couldn’t wait to grow up, get out and live in some thrillingly hideous city, instead.
Still, at least I’m capable of appreciating it these days, now that I live in a busy town in north Kent, 400 miles away. Finally, I’ve grasped that it was actually quite nice to grow up somewhere I routinely saw deer and heron, and could walk the mile to primary school by myself every day without any risk of getting run over (because there was almost no traffic). I also see now that the gardens my father used to run were spectacularly beautiful (although much more so in his day. They clearly miss him).
Maybe my son will do the opposite of me: since he’s grown up in a busy town, he’ll go and live in a lovely village. Balerno would be the perfect choice.
Have you ever been to Balerno? If so, let us know your memories of the village here. |
Verse-atilityWhile Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, is away, Joe Burgis is on hand to share an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Joe writes...
Being in Clun, Shropshire, recently, I had cause to read AE Houseman’s Clunton and Clunbury with my morning coffee – inspired by The Telegraph’s weekly feature.
I’ve only ever read poetry alone, but Roisin Lee’s comment made me see the appeal of doing it in company: “I have just joined a poetry group. We each read a poem aloud. I read Night Golf by Billy Collins. The other poems included Ode to the Artichoke by Pablo Neruda and one by the less well known Belfast poet, Thomas Carnduff. A lovely, stimulating couple of hours. I look forward to our next meeting.”
I’m envious of those people who have great lines of poetry in their heads. However, like John Lee, I’m destined not to be one: “I have read and loved poetry my whole life but, try as I will, I can never remember a single line once I have put the book down.”
The solution is to carry poems with me, as Thomas Murn does: “A pocket book of Kipling’s poems accompanies me everywhere. A bit awkward when I sob in a waiting room re-reading his poems about dogs.”
Perhaps if I’d done more practice in early life, I’d be a walking poetry library now. John Trevor Fielding’s comment suggested as much: “I am one of the organisers of the Oldham primary schools choral speaking festival, launched in 1985. It runs for three days and this year we had over 2,000 children learning two poems and performing them in front of an audience.
“We have parents and grandparents coming to watch who performed themselves many years ago. They can still remember and recite the poems they learnt. The children are from reception to their final primary school year. The quality of their performance with actions and props is unbelievable.” That’s all from me folks. I’ll be back tomorrow to bring you the best Telegraph talking points. In the meantime, you can contact me here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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1974 | BBC premieres the world’s first teletext service: BBC Ceefax
1994 | The Shawshank Redemption is released in the United States
2019 | Greta Thunberg, aged 16, gives her “How dare you!” speech in an address to world leaders
2022 | Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget is announced, leading to an economic crisis (see below for our front page the following day)
Birthdays: Karl Pilkington (54), Cherie Blair (72), Bruce Springsteen (77)
Plus, in the news this week, endangered birds could scupper plans for an asylum camp next to a village in Suffolk. What breed are they?
1. Whimbrel
2. Stone curlew
3. Great Bustard
4. Lapwing
Click one of the options to reveal the answer...
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was DRIFTWOOD. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. |
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