Zelenskyy ‘ready for elections’ after Trump questions Ukrainian democracy | First Thing

2025-12-10 11:44

Good morning.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to hold a wartime election within the next three months, if Ukraine’s parliament and foreign allies will allow it, after Donald Trump accused him of clinging on to power.

Though clearly irritated by Trump’s intervention, the Ukrainian president promised to explore avenues for holding a vote in the coming months. “Since this question is raised today by the president of the United States of America, our partners, I will answer very briefly: look, I am ready for elections,” Zelenskyy said

Trump made the comments in a rambling interview with Politico published earlier yesterday. “They haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more,” he said.

Donald Trump has sought to reboot his ailing US presidency at a rally-style event with a blitz of false claims about the economy and xenophobic attacks on immigrants.

After Republican election defeats and criticism that he is out of touch with the country’s affordability crisis, his speech in Pennsylvania yesterday was billed as an opportunity to reclaim the economic narrative.

However, the president swiftly reverted to his freewheeling campaign mode, frequently diverting from his teleprompter over more than 90 minutes to hurl insults and call affordability a “hoax”.

The Democrat Eileen Higgins was elected mayor of Miami last night in a stunning victory that reversed a run of recent Republican successes in Florida.

The election of Higgins, 61, a former county commissioner, added to a string of Democratic wins across the country that have highlighted the growing level of resistance to Trump during his second presidential term.

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What would you say if your partner told you they saw a bird today? Would you mumble noncommittally, or ask a follow-up question? You may be surprised to know that thousands of people on TikTok and Instagram would judge you if you chose the former. But does it really show how we think about romance?

Matthew Perry’s manager, Doug Chapin, and publicist Lisa Kasteler-Calio had been working with the actor for more than 30 years. Here they discuss the man behind the headlines – and why they are continuing his mission to help others struggling with addiction with the Matthew Perry Foundation.

Glitzy draws, OJ-era chaos, grass laid over synthetic turf and a host nation that barely cared – the 1994 World Cup arrived amid suspicion and slapstick. Yet it became a watershed that would alter US sport and global football politics alike. As the US prepares to co-host next year, Jonathan Wilson looks back on the World Cup nobody wanted the US to host.

Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer and infertility while degrading the foundations of global agriculture, causing harm to the environment.

As Wuthering Heights gets a raunchy Hollywood remake for next Valentine’s Day, Hollie Richardson takes a pilgrimage through Haworth, the UK village where its author lived – and finds her spirit still electrifying the cobbled streets and windswept moors.

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