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Wall Street stocks turned lower on Tuesday while the dollar slid as the US Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting at which it is expected to cut interest rates.While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite set fresh record highs as trading got underway in New York, equities soon slid into the red.Stocks have repeatedly set record highs in recent days as a series of data showing a softening of the labour market and moderate inflation have cemented expectations that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates.”The Fed’s focus appears to have shelved inflation concerns for now, instead concentrating on a stalling (US) jobs market, which should lead to a 0.25-percent cut,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.The rise in stocks, particularly in tech shares, has provoked some concern about them having become overvalued, but City Index and FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said investors have largely shrugged off these worries.”So, it looks like investors are taking no chances ahead of the FOMC meeting, choosing to take profit on what has been another amazing bull run for technology stocks,” he said, referring to the Fed committee that sets interest rates.Data released on Tuesday showed retail sales in the United States rose more than analysts expected in August, even as the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs ripple through the US economy.Overall sales jumped by 0.6 percent on a month-on-month basis in August, beating expectations of a 0.2-percent gain, showing US consumers are not holding back despite the softening jobs market.Separate data showed US non-fuel import prices rose by 0.4 percent in August, following no gain in July.”Today’s data won’t change the market’s expectation that the Fed will vote tomorrow to cut the target range for the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.00-4.25 percent, but it will presumably temper calls for a 50-basis-point cut,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.The dollar dropped against main rivals on Tuesday as lower interest rates make the greenback less attractive to investors. Expectations that US interest rates will be reduced over the next few months and possibly into 2026 pushed up gold to an all-time peak close to $3,700 an ounce.The euro hit its highest level against the dollar since 2021.The British pound firmed versus the dollar, with analysts increasingly expecting the Bank of England to maintain its key interest rate on Thursday and for the remainder of 2025.Official data on Tuesday showed UK unemployment remaining at a four-year high of 4.7 percent amid stubbornly high British inflation.European stock markets fell on Tuesday following a steady showing by Asia’s main indices.Shares in Germany’s Thyssenkrupp rose around eight percent in Frankfurt after India’s Jindal Steel International made an offer for the company’s steel division.Sentiment was also supported by Trump announcing on Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over TikTok, which Washington says must pass into US-controlled ownership.Trump said he would confirm the deal when he speaks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 45,708.99 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,604.12New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 22,332.41London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.9 percent at 9,195.66 (close) Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,818.22 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.8 percent at 23,329.24 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 44,902.27 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 26,438.51 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,861.87 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1841 from $1.1768 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3646 from $1.3609Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.60 yen from 147.38 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.78 pence from 86.47 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.3 percent at $68.33 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $64.38 per barrelburs-rl/rlp

Top Hollywood studios filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax, alleging massive copyright infringement.Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Universal Pictures accuse MiniMax of building what they call a “bootlegging business model” that systematically copies their most valuable copyrighted characters to train its AI system, then profits by generating unauthorized videos featuring iconic figures like Spider-Man, Batman, and the Minions.The lawsuit marks the first time major US entertainment companies have targeted a Chinese AI company and follows a similar lawsuit in June against California-based AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement.”MiniMax operates Hailuo AI, a Chinese artificial intelligence image and video generating service that pirates and plunders Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works on a massive scale,” states the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court.The studios are seeking monetary damages, including MiniMax’s profits from the alleged infringement, as well as statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work. They also demand a permanent injunction to stop the unauthorized use of their copyrighted material.According to the 119-page complaint, MiniMax users can simply type prompts like “Darth Vader walking around the Death Star” or “Spider-Man swinging between buildings” to receive high-quality videos featuring these protected characters.”MiniMax completely disregards US copyright law and treats Plaintiffs’ valuable copyrighted characters like its own,” the lawsuit states.MiniMax, one of China’s emerging AI giants, was reportedly valued at $4 billion in 2025 after raising $850 million in venture capital.The lawsuit says the studios sent MiniMax a cease-and-desist letter detailing the extensive copyright violations, but the company “did not substantively respond to Plaintiffs’ letter as requested and did not cease its infringement.”The studios argue that MiniMax could easily implement copyright protection measures similar to those used by other AI services but has chosen not to do so.A request for comment from MiniMax did not receive a response.

Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Monday, adding to the US president’s growing list of legal attacks on news organizations he accuses of bias against him.Trump, 79, has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, repeatedly badmouthing journalists critical of his administration, restricting access and bringing lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.In his suit filed Monday in federal court in Florida, Trump accuses The New York Times of a “decades-long pattern” of smears driven by feelings of “actual malice.”The Times reported last week that Trump had threatened legal action against it in relation to its articles on a lewd birthday note he allegedly gave to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A copy of the alleged note was later released by US lawmakers. The Republican president has denied authoring the note.”The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.The lawsuit also named four New York Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants, according to an 85-page complaint filed in the US District Court for Florida’s Middle District.The document cited three articles that came out between September and October last year, and a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig also published around that time.”The Book and Articles are part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump,” read the complaint, which was dated Monday.”The Times has become a leading, and unapologetic, purveyor of falsehoods against President Trump on the legacy media landscape.”In a statement posted on X, The Times said Trump’s case “has no merit.””It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” it added.- Other suits -Trump’s lawsuit alleged that the Times deviated from its typical journalistic patterns and industry best practices when covering him, such as writing articles “in the most antagonistic and negative way” and not giving him sufficient time to respond before publishing.”Put bluntly, Defendants baselessly hate President Trump in a deranged way,” the complaint read.The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”While broad constitutional protections exist for US media, Trump has found success in similar lawsuits brought against other news organizations, winning multi-million dollar settlements from Disney-owned ABC and Paramount-owned CBS.However, the settlements in those cases — which are to be paid to Trump’s future presidential library — were seen as being motivated by the desire of the news organizations’ parent companies to stay in Trump’s good graces.Trump has also sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion, after it reported in July on the existence of the letter he allegedly sent to Epstein.

A massive security operation swung into force Tuesday as US President Donald Trump headed to the UK for a state visit, in one of Britain’s largest policing operations for years.Trump and his wife Melania were due to land north of London in Air Force One on Tuesday night, before heading to Windsor Castle on Wednesday to be welcomed by King Charles III and other royals.Police in Windsor, around 20 miles (32 kilometres) west of London were on standby to respond to potential “very high threat level” incidents, with anti-Trump protests planned on Tuesday and Wednesday in Windsor and London.While security is generally heightened during carefully choreographed state visits, Trump’s trip comes days after his far-right ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a university in Utah, prompting further fears of political violence in the United States.Trump himself survived two assassination attempts during his US presidential election campaign in 2024.The US Secret Service — which has been coordinating with the UK’s domestic intelligence service MI5 and police forces — will be allowed to carry firearms when in Britain, according to the BBC.”I’m very content that we have planned a very comprehensive policing and security operation that has taken into consideration just about every eventuality of what could happen,” said Windsor’s local force Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt.In a break from previous royal events, steel barricades have been thrown up blocking the public view and access of the Long Walk avenue leading to Windsor Castle, where Trump is due to stay on Wednesday night.Some British media highlighted that it was the UK’s largest security operation since the king’s coronation in 2023.- Drones and boats -Thames Valley Police secured Windsor from the skies and water ahead of the whirlwind trip, with a temporary airspace ban over the southeast English town and boat patrols on the River Thames.One drone pilot was arrested in Windsor for breaching the restrictions on Tuesday.A marine unit deployed on Windsor’s river and riverbanks was “part of a wide range of security measures in place, many of which will be visible to the public and others which will not”, police said.US Vice President JD Vance was criticised by locals when he visited rural England on holiday in August for bringing with him a large motorcade, road closures and ID checks.The Metropolitan Police was gearing for a protest scheduled in London on Wednesday afternoon, which thousands were expected to attend.Trump, whose last state visit in 2019 was dogged by demonstrations, is set to skip the British capital entirely this time and will remain largely out of the public view.On Monday, UK group “Everyone Hates Elon” unfurled a large canvas depicting a picture of Trump posing with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Since Charlie Kirk’s murder stunned the United States, his widow has not shied from view, mourning in the public spotlight as she vows to advance the ideology she shared with the conservative activist.Married since 2021 and the mother of two young children, 36-year-old Erika Kirk, a former Miss Arizona, has for some years promoted the same vision as her husband who championed a Christian, traditionalist America.Two days after the head of right-wing youth activist group Turning Point USA was gunned down on a university campus in Utah, his widow took to social media to deliver a proclamation of faith and a call to ideological arms.”To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,” she declared, standing by the chair from which he hosted his popular podcast.”The evil-doers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done. They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God’s merciful love.”You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”- Biblical studies -She exhorted America’s youth to join the movement Charlie Kirk co-founded in 2012, and thanked President Donald Trump for his support. Turning Point USA has grown into a powerful conservative force embraced by Trump and much of his inner circle. The Republican president said he will attend a memorial service for Kirk on Sunday at a 63,000-seat stadium in Glendale, Arizona.Erika Kirk’s own entrepreneurial and podcasting activities are steeped in her Christian faith. Her “Proclaim” clothing line features Bible verses and religious imagery. With “Biblein365,” her company offers daily scripture readings. Her weekly podcast aims “to provide you that deep breath of, ‘God’s got this,'” she explains on her website.With degrees in law, political science and international relations, she is pursuing a doctorate in biblical studies at an evangelical university.Erika Kirk has shared her grief openly with her 5.4 million Instagram followers.In photos and videos, she is seen kneeling at her late husband’s open casket, holding and kissing his hands.She was also seen grieving on an airport tarmac alongside US Vice President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk whose remains were transported aboard Air Force Two.- Young conservatives -The Kirks used their public image to boost young conservative support.In June, Erika Kirk accompanied her husband on stage in Dallas, at the nation’s largest gathering of young conservative women, organized by Turning Point USA.”I don’t want you to chase a paycheck,” she told them, according to The New York Times. “You’re not wasting a degree when you’re raising your children with wisdom, love and truth,” she said, suggesting it was “not ideal” for women to be getting married after age 30.”But this is how amazing God is,” she added. “When I met Charlie, that was it. I could care less about a career.”Since his death, she emphasized that “our battle is not simply a political one, above all it is spiritual” and pledged the movement was set to become “stronger, bolder, louder and greater than ever.”It has at least received a major financial boost, as millions of dollars in donations have been raised in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination.

With his all-American good looks, Robert Redford, who died on Tuesday aged 89 was the eternal “Sundance Kid”, a US screen legend both in front of and behind the camera.The tousled-haired heartthrob made his breakthrough alongside Paul Newman as the affable outlaw in the Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” in 1969.After 20 years as one of Hollywood’s hottest actors, he moved behind the camera becoming an Oscar-winning director and co-founded the Sundance Film Festival, which became a springboard for a new generation of independent filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino.”Few careers have had such an impact on the history of cinema,” said French producer Alain Terzian before awarding him the French equivalent of an Oscar in 2019.- Outlaw -But the athletic young Redford’s beginnings were far from a smooth ascent to the top. The son of an accountant from Santa Monica, California, his mother died in 1955, a year after he finished high school.He won a scholarship to the University of Colorado thanks to his baseball skills, but lost it a year later because of his heavy drinking.Redford spent the next months travelling around Europe before enrolling in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1959.After various television roles, his first big screen break was in the romantic comedy “Barefoot In The Park” (1967) opposite Jane Fonda.Two years later his career went stellar with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” about two outlaw buddies who flee to Bolivia to escape US authorities.The film became an instant classic, launching Redford and burnishing the career of the older Newman, who became a lifelong friend.The pair also teamed up as 1930s con artists in “The Sting” (1973), which won Redford his only nomination for an Oscar for best actor.- Behind the camera -Now a household name, he starred in a succession of major films such as “The Great Gatsby” (1974), “Three Days of the Condor” (1975) and the critically acclaimed “All the President’s Men” (1976), playing Bob Woodward, one of the Washington Post journalists who broke the Watergate scandal.In another career high, he won an Oscar for his directorial debut with “Ordinary People” in 1980.The baseball classic “The Natural” followed in 1984 before Redford had another generation of women swooning in the epic romance “Out of Africa” (1985), in which he starred alongside Meryl Streep.He went on to star with a young Brad Pitt in “A River Runs Through It” (1992) and the Oscar-nominated “Quiz Show” (1994).”At one time I thought when I was making films… that might have an effect on the country or the future,” he told AFP in 2007. “I don’t think so anymore.””If you look at ‘All The President’s Men’ and what it was saying about the relationship between the media and government and the corporate powers, and then look where we are now, it’s worse than it was,” he added.”Robert Redford’s work… always represents the man himself: the intellectual, the artist, the cowboy,” said singer Barbra Streisand as she presented the avowed liberal and environmentalist with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2002.The actress, who played his lover in “The Way We Were” (1973), said: “He’s always interesting, he’s always interested. He’s very smart, very private, he’s self-assured, but shy.”- Indie guru -Redford always saw his part in launching the independent Sundance Film Festival in 1985 as one of his greatest achievements.Created to help aspiring filmmakers disaffected with Hollywood’s commercialism and lack of diversity, it has fostered leading independent directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.In 2013 Redford said that by pursuing the indie path, he had ensured his own survival in the movie business.”Had I given in to living in the (Hollywood) system, I don’t know that I would be here right now.” – #Metoo -Aged 76, he was back on screen for one of his meatiest starring roles in years, a solo performance as a lost-at-sea yachtsman in “All Is Lost” (2013).He also had a role in Marvel Studios’ superhero blockbuster “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) and a cameo in its record-shattering “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).In 2018 Redford said that the greatest change in Hollywood over his 60-year career had been the #MeToo movement, a “tipping point” he said would change the industry’s attitudes towards women and sexual misconduct.  Redford had four children with his first wife, Lola Van Wagenen, one of whom died as an infant. He married German artist and longtime girlfriend Sibylle Szaggars in 2009.

The trial of Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance industry executive, will start on December 1, the state court judge in the case said on Tuesday.Mangione appeared in court wearing a beige jumpsuit and shackles, flanked by armed police and court officers, stopping to smile and nod at a young woman in the front row as he was led out, AFP saw.His appearance in a Manhattan courthouse is a reminder of the string of political violence that has rocked the United States in recent times, including the December 4 slaying of insurance executive Brian Thompson.That has been followed by a number of other incidents, including the murder of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, the firebombing of the Pennsylvania governor’s home and, most recently, the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.”I think we agree that hearings in this case will start December 1,” judge Gregory Carro said.Fervent supporters of Mangione gathered both inside and outside court to show their backing for the 27-year-old whose alleged crimes have sharply divided Americans.Thompson’s murder brought to the surface deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial health care system, with many social media users painting Mangione as a hero.He is charged in both state and federal court in the December 4 shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Thompson.- Insufficient evidence for ‘terrorism’ -If convicted in the state case, Mangione could face life imprisonment with no parole. In the federal case, he could technically face the death penalty.At Tuesday’s hearing, the judge said that the grand jury in the case had been presented with insufficient evidence to support the first-degree murder charges, and murder as an act of “terrorism” charge. The remaining counts still stand — including second-degree murder.”The evidence put forward to the jury was legally insufficient” the judge said.”As to the other counts evidence was sufficient — including murder in the second degree.”One of the protesters, who were mostly young women, held up an Italian flag emblazoned with the words “healthcare is a human right.”Mangione’s attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo has sought clarity on how simultaneous federal and state charges would work, calling the situation “highly unusual.”Dozens of Mangione’s supporters chased his legal team along the street after they left court following the packed hearing.Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt. He had traveled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime, the Department of Justice said. After checking into a Manhattan hostel with false identification, he allegedly performed reconnaissance near the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the shooting took place.Early on December 4, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, the DOJ said. Afterward, he is said to have fled on a bicycle.

Wall Street stocks hit fresh record highs on Tuesday as the US Federal Reserve prepared to meet, while the dollar slid.The Fed’s two-day gathering is widely expected to conclude on Wednesday with the central bank agreeing to trim borrowing costs, with policymakers trying to shore up the world’s biggest economy.The dollar dropped against main rivals on Tuesday as lower interest rates make the greenback less attractive to investors, while safe haven gold hit yet another record high.”The Fed’s focus appears to have shelved inflation concerns for now, instead concentrating on a stalling (US) jobs market, which should lead to a 0.25-percent cut,” noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.Data released on Tuesday showed retail sales in the United States rose more than analysts expected in August, even as the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs ripple through the US economy.Overall sales jumped by 0.6 percent on a month-on-month basis in August, beating expectations of a 0.2-percent gain, showing US consumers are not holding back despite the softening jobs market.Separate data showed US non-fuel import prices rose by 0.4 percent in August, following no gain in July.”Today’s data won’t change the market’s expectation that the Fed will vote tomorrow to cut the target range for the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.00-4.25 percent, but it will presumably temper calls for a 50-basis-point cut,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.Wall Street’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices pushed to fresh record highs as trading got underway on Tuesday.Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over TikTok, which Washington says must pass into US-controlled ownership.Trump said he would confirm the deal when he speaks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday.The Fed meeting takes place with Trump appointee Stephen Miran as a new member of the bank’s rate-setting committee after the Senate narrowly voted to confirm his appointment late on Monday.Meanwhile, a US federal appeals court ruled that Fed Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her position while challenging her ouster from the bank — after Trump sought to fire her.Miran’s appointment comes as the president demands that the Fed cuts borrowing costs and accuses the central bank’s chief, Jerome Powell, of being unfit for the job.Expectations that US rates will be reduced over the next few months and possibly into 2026 continued to weigh on the dollar and pushed up gold to an all-time peak close to $3,700 an ounce.The British pound firmed versus the dollar.Analysts increasingly expect the Bank of England to maintain its key interest rate on Thursday and for the remainder of 2025.Official data on Tuesday showed UK unemployment remaining at a four-year high of 4.7 percent amid stubbornly high British inflation.European stock markets fell on Tuesday following a steady showing by Asia’s main indices.Shares in Germany’s Thyssenkrupp rose around eight percent in Frankfurt after India’s Jindal Steel International made an offer for the company’s steel division.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 45,898.56 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,624.42New York – Nasdaq Composite: 0.2 percent at 22,397.50London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,220.07 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,865.57Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,531.60Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 44,902.27 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 26,438.51 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,861.87 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1823 from $1.1768 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3657 from $1.3609Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.87 yen from 147.38 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.59 pence from 86.47 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.0 percent at $68.10 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $64.10 per barrelburs-rl/

The suspect in the murder of prominent US conservative political activist Charlie Kirk is to be charged in a Utah court on Tuesday, authorities said.Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead last week during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.Authorities said 22-year-old Tyler Robinson used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop. Robinson was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt.Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.A polarizing figure, he often posted carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.FBI Director Kash Patel has been heavily criticized for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a separate suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.On Tuesday, Patel will face questioning from a Senate panel, likely to include probing of the handling of the Kirk shooting, among other issues.Patel has come under fire from both the right and the left since being named by Trump to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.On Monday, the White House said it would be pursuing an alleged left-wing “domestic terror movement” in the wake of Kirk’s killing, prompting alarm that such a campaign could be used to silence political dissent.

The UK was rolling out the red carpet on Tuesday for US President Donald Trump due to arrive on an historic second state visit, with security tight as protestors gear up to make their voices heard.As wars still rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, and major economies grapple with US tariffs, Britain is hoping to woo the mercurial Trump, treating him to a huge show of pomp and pageantry.But controversies over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and free-speech culture wars could make for some awkward moments when Trump sits down with Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.Trump was due to arrive Tuesday evening and then head to the historic Windsor Castle on Wednesday, for a full day of lavish events. The 79-year-old Republican has long been fascinated with the royal family and will be honoured with a carriage procession with King Charles III as well as a grand state banquet at Windsor.The setting means he will be far away from crowds and protesters, with his schedule due to avoid London where a large anti-Trump demonstration has been called on Wednesday.Labour leader Starmer is not a natural bedfellow for right-wing firebrand Trump, but has worked to win him over since his return to the White House in January.The visit is “a huge moment for both” men, said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.”For Trump, the state visit is an opportunity to revel in the pomp and ceremony he loves,” she told AFP.”For Starmer, the visit is a chance to distract from domestic discontent and shift the limelight onto international issues where he has had greater success.”- US investments -Security is being ramped up. Thames Valley Police said it has deployed its marine unit around Windsor as “part of a wide range of security measures in place, many of which will be visible to the public and others which will not”.Downing Street has said Trump’s visit would see the “unbreakable friendship” between the countries “reach new heights”.The two nations are set to sign a raft of agreements worth £10 billion ($13.6 billion), including one to speed up new nuclear projects as well as what British officials called “a world-leading tech partnership”.Ahead of the trip, Google said it would invest £5 billion in the UK in the next two years while US finance firms including PayPal and Citi Group announced they would spend £1.25 billion.Trump, whose mother was Scottish, will become the first US president to get a second state visit, after his previous one in 2019 when he met Queen Elizabeth II.After Windor’s pomp, politics will dominate on Thursday when Starmer hosts Trump at his country retreat Chequers, seeking to capitalise on Britain being one of the first countries to secure a US trade deal.- Epstein scandal -Ukraine will also be a key topic. Starmer is one of a host of European leaders who have pushed Trump to keep backing Kyiv despite signs of him leaning toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Trump will likely meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.First Lady Melania Trump, who is making a rare public appearance, has a separate itinerary on Thursday.She is due to take part in an event with Queen Camilla, who is recovering from a bout of acute sinusitis which forced her to pull out attending the Duchess of Kent’s funeral on Tuesday.Despite the pomp, tensions will be lurking in the background.The White House said Trump would discuss “how important it is for the prime minister to protect free speech in the UK” — a topic raised by Trump’s former ally Elon Musk in a speech to a far-right rally in Britain over the weekend.Starmer’s spokesman on Monday called Musk’s language “dangerous and inflammatory”.Starmer desperately needs the visit to go well following a miserable few days in which some of his own Labour party members have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader.He has been dogged by questions over his judgement for appointing the now-sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his known friendship with Epstein.But Rubio, on a visit to Israel, said Mandelson’s sacking “won’t change the nature of the visit”.”It’s a big honour and they’re an important ally and partner,” Rubio said.Trump is facing awkward scrutiny himself over his own links to the convicted sex offender.Activists on Monday unveiled a huge portrait of Trump and Epstein on a large patch of grass outside Windsor Castle.