How the Donald Trump charm offensive played out
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Essentially, the charm offensive is working on Donald Trump.
Started by France’s Emmanuel Macron and continued by Sir Keir Starmer in successive meetings, Trump has rowed back on some of his more strident positions - on Nato, on Zelenskyy, and even, potentially, on tariffs on UK goods.
“When you’re dealing with such a capricious and mercurial president as Donald Trump, you’re never sure what sort of president you’re going to get - but the one they got today was charming, almost gushing,” ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers says.
Downing Street is said to be “buzzing” with how the Starmer-Trump meeting went.
It’s a view echoed by ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston. He says colleagues of Starmer are “genuinely amazed” with how the Trump face-to-face went - bolstered by the offer from King Charles for an unprecedented second State visit.
“You could just see from President Trump’s face how overjoyed he was that he would be the first president in American history to come on a State visit twice - quite a remarkable thing,” says Robert.
Starmer would also be delighted that Trump himself kept talking about a UK-US trade deal. It’s a sign of how positive the relationship is between the UK and the USA.
“Even if he does whack painful tariffs on the EU, it may be that we won’t in the UK suffer, we won’t be punished quite as much,” he says.
Robert says that given the “incredible anxiety” among the UK delegation before the meeting, “honestly, I cannot believe they will be doing anything but celebrating on the plane home”.
However, much will still hinge on the meeting between Trump and Ukraine leader Zelenskyy. The minerals deal is the guarantee to have Americans behind any forces on the ground should Russia invade again.
The ‘schoolboy vs the silverback’ - body language expert on Starmer vs Trump
Don’t forget to give our latest Talking Politics podcast a watch or listen, and our Talking Politics USA team bring the latest from Stateside here.
See more or our original journalism below!
'I deserve an apology for my stolen childhood'
Victims of "industrial scale" forced adoptions in the 1950s, 60s and 70s are increasing the pressure on the UK government to formally apologise for the state’s role in the practice.
In the latest development in ITV News’ investigation, three children - now adults - who were taken from their mothers describe the "lifetime of trauma" they’ve experienced.
One, Su Chantry, says she met her birth mother for the first time on the day she died.
Watch the latest from our Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker on ITVX. And you can catch up with Sarah’s special report for the Tonight programme here.
Exclusive: Military court system 'set up to fail' alleged victims of sexual assaults
A former female member of the Royal Navy who says she was sexually assaulted by a colleague says the military court system is "set up to fail" alleged victims of sexual offences.
Jo, which is not her real name, said that while serving in the force, she was was raped on two separate occasions, though she did not report it.
Jo has spoken exclusively to ITV Tyne Tees as part of an investigation which has revealed conviction rates of sexual assault cases are significantly lower in court martial trials compared to the civilian justice system.
Mum of backpacker fears she’ll never know who is to blame for daughter’s death
Simone White lived life with such irrepressible energy, that her friends and family say it was hard to keep up.
Simone, from Kent, was one of six tourists who died after staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, Laos after consuming drinks laced with methanol.
Her mum, and Simone’s best friend Bethany, who survived the poisoning, tell ITV News’ Chloe Keedy how three months on how they’re no nearer to learning who is to blame.
There’s also a special What You Need To Know podcast.
Omagh bombing: The victims’ stories
August 15 1998 is a date scored into the dark history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. A car bomb detonated by the Real IRA in the town of Omagh, Co Tyrone tore through Saturday shoppers, leaving 29 dead and hundreds hurt.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry has been hearing extraordinary testimony from some of the survivors - and learning from friends and family the stories of those who died.
UTV News has covered the first part of the ongoing inquiry and has produced a mini-documentary on the victims’ stories on ITVX.
Holiday scammers stole more than £11 million from Brits last year
Mum-of-three Emma Last thought she’d done everything right when booking a sunshine break to Majorca. Three generations of her family checked out the villa, they even used Google Earth to see if the villa existed.
But fraudsters were behind the booking - even texting her right up until the night before they were set to travel. The con artists walked off into the sunshine with £4,000 of Emma’s money.
Consumer Editor Chris Choi has some top advice on how to avoid falling into a similar trap - check out his report on our TikTok page…
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#HistoryAI on TikTok: A helpful learning tool or an inaccurate trend?
If you've been anywhere near TikTok over the past few weeks you might have found yourself lying in the trenches during WWI, building the pyramids of Egypt 5,000 years ago, or even starting the Great Fire of London in 1666.
#HistoryAI videos have wracked up tens of millions of views on the app.
The content's generating huge engagement - but is it doing more harm than good? ITV News digital producer Jossie Evans investigates…
Stepping back into history…
Margaret Louglin last stepped into this house 80 years ago - a time when Jersey was under the occupation of the Nazi Reich.
She remembers her mother hiding an outlawed radio set during a surprise house call by a German soldier and how the family “had nothing” during those dark times.
Current owner Dave Norman, who showed Margaret around, says: “It’s absolutely wonderful, it’s almost tearful, to have someone who was living in your house, see that history spring to life.”
Watch the report from ITV News Channel on ITVX.
Hollywood's uncertain future ahead of the Oscars
Hollywood’s future is facing challenges, writes ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar.
Even before the LA wildfires, there were signs that the sparkle was fading in Tinsel town. TV and film production for all of last year was down 35% from pre-pandemic levels.
Nina travelled to Hollywood ahead of this year’s Academy Awards night to speak to some of those in the movie industry - see what they said on ITVX.
Jonathan Ross hosts exclusive Oscars night coverage on ITV1 and ITVX from 10.30pm on Sunday, March 2 - and there’s a special Unscripted podcast preview with him and Nina here.
What’s coming up…
Saturday March 1: Annual Brit Awards night, O2 Arena - from 8.15pm on ITV1 & ITVX
Tuesday March 4: With Love, Meghan premieres on Netflix - the Duchess of Sussex’s new show
Wednesday March 5: Sentencing of Nicholas Prosper, 19, for murdering his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, and two siblings Kyle Prosper, 16 and Giselle Prosper, 13, at their flat in Luton in September last year
Thursday March 6: Inquest to open into the death of ex-gangster Dave Courtney, 64, a gangland associate of the Kray twins in the 1960s
And finally… is Ken football’s oldest serving ref?
Ken Wright was 16 when a school teacher told him he’d “never make it as a footballer”.
So, he did the next best thing and became a referee. And, now aged 77, Ken is still lacing up his boots, checking his yellow and red cards and turning out every weekend.