LONDON: After the royal hospitality and pageantry, US President Donald Trump&#39;s unprecedented second state visit to the UK takes a serious turn on Thursday when he is hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for wide-ranging talks.&nbsp;Starmer will greet Trump on the second day of the visit at his country residence, Chequers, with pressing issues such as trade, Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda.&nbsp;The prime minister has positioned himself as a bridge between the unpredictable US leader and European allies, particularly on the war in Ukraine, in a bid to secure more commitments for Kyiv from Trump.&nbsp;Starmer&#39;s warm tone with Trump &mdash; in stark contrast to his words while in opposition &mdash; has won some leniency in the president&#39;s trade war, with the two countries signing an &quot;economic prosperity deal&quot; at the White House in May.&nbsp;Britain hopes to secure further concessions and is keen to see 25% duties on aluminum and steel reduced to zero, but Trump&#39;s non-committal comments suggest an agreement is not imminent.&nbsp;&quot;They&#39;d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal. So, we&#39;ll talk to them,&quot; Trump said before leaving for Britain.&nbsp;However, Starmer received a boost when US private equity giant Blackstone said it planned to invest &pound;90 billion ($123 billion) in UK projects over the next decade, after Microsoft unveiled a plan to spend $30 billion in the country.&nbsp;In the other direction, British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline announced that it will invest $30 billion in the United States over the next five years.&nbsp;Epstein shadowThe talks could turn awkward on several fronts, with Starmer facing political troubles at home after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a furor involving the diplomat&#39;s connections to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.&nbsp;Epstein has also haunted Trump over recent weeks, with further revelations about the pair&#39;s relationship in the 1990s emerging.&nbsp;Police arrested four people after they projected images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle late Tuesday.&nbsp;But it was all smiles for the US leader on Wednesday as he was lavished with the full pomp and circumstance of the British state.&nbsp;King Charles III welcomed Trump to Windsor Castle with a royal spectacle featuring gun salutes, mounted horses and bagpipes.&nbsp;The pair laughed and joked as Trump inspected troops at the castle west of London, in an elaborate welcome designed to play into the mercurial US leader&#39;s love of pageantry.&nbsp;Around 120 horses and 1,300 members of the British military &mdash; some in red tunics and gold-plumed helmets &mdash; feted Trump during a ceremonial guard of honor that British officials called the largest for a state visit to Britain in living memory.&nbsp;Trump was due to see an unprecedented joint flypast of US and UK jets, but bad weather saw the American planes pull out.&nbsp;&#39;Greatest honor&#39;The president and Charles wrapped up Wednesday with a white-tie state banquet, attended by 160 guests including senior royals, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook and golfer Nick Faldo.&nbsp;The menu included watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, chicken wrapped in courgettes and vanilla ice cream bombe with raspberry sorbet.&nbsp;The playlist included Trump favorites such as Nessun Dorma from Puccini&#39;s opera Turandot and a James Bond medley.&nbsp;Before the dinner, Trump told guests that the state visit was &quot;truly one of the highest honors of my life,&quot; describing the UK and US as &quot;two notes in one chord ... each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together.&quot;&nbsp;In his speech, the king praised Trump&#39;s &quot;personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world&#39;s most intractable conflicts,&quot; while stressing the environmental obligations current leaders have to &quot;our children, grandchildren, and those who come after them.&quot;&nbsp;The 79-year-old Republican is being kept far away from the British public, among whom polls indicate Trump remains unpopular, with the entire trip happening behind closed doors.&nbsp;An estimated 5,000 people marched through central London on Wednesday, waving Palestinian flags and displaying banners with slogans including &quot;Migrants welcome, Trump not welcome.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m just scared of the way the world&#39;s being taken over by really nasty men,&quot; Jo Williamson, a 58-year-old funeral director from Kent, southeast England, told AFP.

United Kingdom

PM Starmer is set to greet Trump on the second day of the visit at his country residence, Chequers, with pressing issues such as trade, Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda.

Trump's UK state visit gets political after royal welcome

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Britain on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, White House announced in a statement on Tuesday.&quot;A lot of things here warm my heart,&quot; the 79-year-old Republican told reporters after he arrived with First Lady Melania Trump. &quot;It&#39;s a very special place.&quot;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1968052852708016509&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=985cdc273bab42a0e2e6d62bc4e8095c5a4116fd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 755px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle for a lavish banquet and carriage ride on Wednesday, before Trump meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence on Thursday, AFP reported.In a sign of the pomp and pageantry to come, a guard of honor greeted the Trumps as they stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport near London.Trump then expressed his admiration for the British monarch.&lsquo;A very big day&rsquo;&quot;He&#39;s been a friend of mine for a long time, and everyone respects him, and they love him,&quot; Trump said as he arrived by helicopter at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador&#39;s residence in London, where he will spend the night.&quot;Tomorrow&#39;s going to be a very big day.&quot;Trump is the first U.S. president to be invited for two state visits, after previously being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during his last term in office in 2019 -- as Britain tries to keep the so-called special relationship alive.The British government has been unapologetic about its efforts to get on the right side of Trump, whose mother was Scottish and who owns a number of golf courses in the UK.But the British public will be kept far away from Trump, with the visit taking place entirely behind closed doors and heavy security.Shadow of Epstein scandalA large anti-Trump demonstration has been called in London on Wednesday, while protesters projected images of Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the towers of Windsor Castle late Tuesday.The shadow of the Epstein scandal has hung over Trump for weeks after his administration declined to release files on the issue.It has also embroiled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who sacked his ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson on the eve of the visit over the envoy&#39;s emails to Epstein.Starmer&#39;s government is however counting on the sheer scale of the state visit to keep Trump onside.Largest military showIn Windsor on Wednesday, Trump will get a ceremonial carriage ride and a flypast by both UK and U.S. jets in what officials call the largest military show for a state visit in living memory, AFP reported.In the evening King Charles will host Trump for a lavish state dinner where both men will give speeches.Trump may also relish the royal part of the visit as a chance to escape a turbulent period at home, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused turmoil.$30B over four yearsPolitics will take over again on Thursday when Starmer hosts Trump at his country residence Chequers for talks focusing on trade and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.The visit has been timed to line up with announcements of several investments in Britain -- the latest being a pledge by Microsoft to spend $30 billion over four years.Starmer needs the visit to go well after a miserable few days in which some in his Labour party have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader over the Mandelson resignation.Downing Street has said Trump&#39;s visit would see the &quot;unbreakable friendship&quot; between the countries &quot;reach new heights&quot;, AFP reported.Trade tops agendaStarmer will host Trump at Chequers, his country residence, on Thursday to discuss various matters, including security in Ukraine. Starmer&rsquo;s ultimate aim, however, is to ensure that Trump makes good on his promise to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.The UK was the first country to sign a bilateral trade agreement with the Trump administration in May. Under that deal, the U.S. planned to reduce tariffs on aluminum and steel from 25% to zero, but that has not happened yet.The two countries are also expected to sign a multibillion-dollar deal to develop small nuclear projects, which could, in some cases, help to power new artificial intelligence data centres. On Monday, Starmer announced a joint U.S.-UK project to build a fleet of small modular reactors.Potential technology partnership&nbsp;A major talking point will be a new potential technology partnership, involving enhanced U.S. investment in the UK and greater British cooperation with Silicon Valley on artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, Al Jazeera reported.Nvidia, OpenAI and Google are expected to announce investment deals as part of the partnership, according to the Reuters news agency. Meanwhile, the British government recently secured 1.25 billion pounds ($1.7bn) in private investment pledges from PayPal and Bank of America.Elsewhere, private equity firm Blackstone plans to invest 100 billion pounds ($136bn) into British assets over the next decade, with a focus on physical infrastructure. The investment will be part of a previously announced $500bn package of investment into Europe.

Americas

U.S. President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for an unprecedented second state visit, marked by royal pageantry and talks on trade and Ukraine and Gaza wars.

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Trump's UK state visit gets political after royal welcome

U.S. President Trump arrives in UK for historic second state visit