Good morning and welcome to the Politics Hub, this Wednesday, 13 August.

First up: Sir Keir Starmer is set to attend a virtual meeting on Ukraine with President Zelenskyy and other European leaders, as well as US President Donald Trump. 

The meeting, being hosted online by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, will cover further options on how countries can pressure Russia to a ceasefire, as well as preparations for peace negotiations focussing on territory and security issues.

It comes ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with Russia’s President Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Starmer will also co-chair a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing to update partners on the day’s discussions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the corruption trial into British MP Tulip Siddiq is set to begin shortly. 

A court in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka is looking at allegations of corruption against the former PM Sheikh Hasina as well as members of her family, including her niece Siddiq. 

The UK MP is accused of illegally receiving a plot of land in a new high-end development on the outskirts of Dhaka. But Siddiq denies the allegations and says she is the victim of an “orchestrated campaign”.

Back in Blighty and US Vice President JD Vance is continuing his tour of famous faces and places around the UK. Today he’ll be speaking to US troops at an RAF base, and it’s reported he will also be holding a meeting with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

And on the domestic agenda, ministers have announced a major expansion of the use of facial recognition technology by police forces across England. 

Yvette Cooper has said it will help officers catch “the most serious offenders, including people wanted for violent assaults or sex offences”. But human rights groups have called for the roll-out to be paused, with Amnesty International calling the tech “discriminatory against communities of colour”.

Coming up on Sky News shortly:

  • Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister;
  • Jack Lopresti, the former Tory MP.

Stay with us throughout the day as we will bring you all the updates, as they happen, right here on the Politics Hub.