Keir Starmer had "several clear victories" in his meeting with Donald Trump at the White House yesterday, said The Times' political editor Steve Swinford. But the US president is a notoriously mercurial figure, and questions remain about what exactly Starmer stands to gain from his widely praised performance in Washington D.C.

What did the commentators say?
There's still "a long way to go", said Beth Rigby on Sky News, but "against a backdrop of a president threatening tariffs on a number of countries", Trump's statement that a US-UK trade deal "could remove the need for any tariffs entirely" was "a big win for the PM". But after the encounter, Trump aides clarified that the White House was "not prioritising" any "full-fat" free-trade agreement with the UK – leaving "crucial unanswered questions", said Dan Bloom on Politico. Any deal is expected to be "narrow" and tech-focused, said the BBC's Chris Mason.

Trump also signalled approval of Starmer's plan to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, which is "a boost for Downing Street", said Ben Riley-Smith in The Telegraph. Starmer's team had feared that Trump would reject the deal, which he inherited from Joe Biden. But Trump's comments – that he would be "inclined to go along" with the proposal but would need to see the details – "leave open the possibility he could change his mind".

What next?
The issue of a peace plan for Ukraine, including US support for European peacekeeping forces, remains unresolved. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House today should offer more clarity, but "considerable uncertainty" remains about the practicalities of a deal, said Mason. Europe wants to be assured the US "has its back", but there's been no "public offer of air cover" from the White House.

As the "transatlantic divide" between the US and the EU grows, particularly on trade and defence, Starmer "may find himself trying to bridge a widening gap", said Andrew Roth in The Guardian.

When the writer Joan Didion died in December 2021, she left a literary legacy of novels, essays and screenplays including the original "A Star is Born". In April, her personal diaries will join the list. "Notes to John", written after Didion's sessions with her psychiatrist, offer an "astonishingly intimate" insight into Didion, said publishers 4th Estate.

But the announcement has caused some unease, given that Didion never indicated any intention of publishing the journals, said The New York Times's Alexandra Alter. Indeed, she "occasionally expressed disapproval" of publishing houses releasing "every last scrap of a famous author’s work", calling the posthumous release of an Ernest Hemingway novel a "betrayal".

From Pepys to Winehouse
Posthumous publication is nothing new. Samuel Pepys' diaries, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Last Tycoon" and Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" were all released after their author's death. More recently, Gabriel García Márquez's sons last year defended their decision to publish his novel "Until August" against his dying wishes, on the grounds that it would allow them to protect its copyright.

Musicians are no less immune, said The Independent's Helen Coffey. Previously unreleased recordings from Amy Winehouse hit the market six months after her death in July 2011, while 1978's "An American Prayer", the "woefully misguided Doors album", was "cobbled together" seven years after singer Jim Morrison died.

Keeping art alive
Without posthumous publishing, we would not have Franz Kafka's "The Trial", the poems of Emily Dickinson or "The Diary of Anne Frank", said fashion and arts magazine Russh. To block such publication would be to silence voices that "still might have something to say". That said, the landscape today has become "distinctly dystopic": just look at the AI-generated song "by" The Beatles and the CGI Carrie Fisher featured in two recent "Star Wars" films.

Yet with writers "always" stealing from life "and from everyone around them" for artistic inspiration, perhaps it is "only fair that life sometimes steals" from them, too, said Alex Belth for Esquire. "Especially when they’re no longer around to complain."

Ceredigion: Brynymor House, Cardigan
Stunning Georgian residence with spectacular views over the Teifi Estuary. 6 beds, 2 baths, kitchen, 2 receps, study, gardens and woodland of approx. 4.5 acres. OIEO £1.9m; Country Living Group

Cornwall: Trerhose, Mullion
Attractive period seaside villa in an elevated position with views over Mullion Cove and direct access to a coastal path. 3 suites, 1 further bed, 2 baths, kitchen/breakfast room, 2 receps, conservatory, study, double garage, garden approx. 1.75 acres. £1.25m; Jackson-Stops

Devon: Waters Edge, The Strand, Shaldon, Teignmouth
An attractive house on the River Teign, with access for sailing. 4 beds, family bath, kitchen/breakfast room, 2 receps, courtyard garden, boathouse. £895,000; Knight Frank

Devon: Beesands, Kingsbridge
Beachfront property just 200 yards from the water’s edge and moments from the South West Coast Path in the fishing village of Beesands. 2 beds, 2 loft rooms, family bath, kitchen/ dining room, recep, garden, patio, garage. £650,000; Marchand Petit

East Sussex: Beach End, Hastings
A charming property on the shores of Pett Level Beach with sublime views of the rock face at Cliff End. Main suite (with private terrace and walkin wardrobe), 1 further suite (with sea-facing Juliet balcony), 1 further bed, family bath, kitchen, study, 2 receps, courtyard garden, garage. £2.5m; The Modern House

Israel and Hamas have something in common
The Economist editorial board
Things have "not quite gone to plan" in the truce between Israel and Hamas, says The Economist. Second-phase talks "have yet to start". Negotiators may complete them "in record time" or the ceasefire may collapse altogether, but both scenarios seem "unlikely" right now. "That leaves a third option: keep kicking the can." Benjamin Netanyahu, a "chronic procrastinator", will "seek to drag out" the ceasefire's first phase "until Hamas gives him an excuse to terminate it". 

Russia isn't the threat to the West that Starmer claims it is
Diane Abbott in The Independent
Cutting aid to pay for increased defence spending is the "clearest expression of the completely wrong priorities" of Keir Starmer's government, writes Labour MP Diane Abbott. "No authoritative military analyst" has suggested that Russia could "sweep through western Europe" in the "foreseeable future", so these "morally indefensible" cuts to foreign aid won't "add to our security". We "should lay to rest" the notion that Russia poses a "military threat" to us.

Expansion at Gatwick Airport is long overdue
The Times editorial board
Every prime minister since Harold Macmillan has "failed to embrace his appreciation of Gatwick in their search for prosperity", says The Times. Gatwick is "Europe's busiest single runway airport and has reached full capacity", so converting its second, "emergency", runway for routine use is "critical for easing congestion". Campaigners and local residents and campaigners "may challenge the expansion on environment grounds", but this "will be a test of the government's mettle when it comes to growth".