NATO is not on life support yet; its institutional foundation is too strong inside US and allied militaries and capitals. But on its 70th birthday, it is soul searching.

'She hasn't had so much fun in 25 years'

Dangerous guests

Surely it's not too much to ask.

That tradition where foreign leaders don't interfere in each other's elections that Johnson hopefully referred to the other day? Trump's never heard of it. He's already barged into the campaign, slamming Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and buddying up with Brexit Party boss Nigel Farage — a constant thorn in Johnson's right side.

Trump sees Johnson as a populist-nationalist cousin and will try to accommodate him -- even by keeping his distance this week. But the trip could so easily go pear shaped: Trump always acts in the moment, often without forethought. His temper sometimes betrays his own political best interests. If attacked, he hits back hard, which means that Corbyn -- or another bitter foe, London Mayor Sadiq Khan -- could goad him into an eruption that would be uncomfortable for Johnson. And his foreign policy is always ultimately about satisfying domestic political goals, rather than appeasing his hosts.

Guest or not, Trump will be Trump. Which is why Conservative Party election chiefs can't wait for Air Force One to head home.

'I don't trust anyone at all'

Volodymyr Zelensky sounds like he's at the end of his tether, after being drawn into a US impeachment imbroglio over delayed military aid while his country wars with Russia-backed separatists. "You have to understand. We're at war. If you're our strategic partner, then you can't go blocking anything for us," the Ukrainian President said in an interview with Time magazine, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and Gazeta Wyborcza.