‘You have to be serious’: Macron criticises Trump’s mixed messages about Nato and Iran 02. April 2026 (19:34) Speaking in South Korea, the French president defended the transatlantic alliance and called for return to peaceMiddle East crisis – live updatesEmmanuel Macron has sharply criticised Donald Trump’s inconsistent and often contradictory pronouncements on the Iran war and Nato, saying if “you want to be serious” it was better not to come out with a something different every day.“There is too much talk … and it’s all over the place,” the French president said on Thursday during a state visit to South Korea. “We all need stability, calm, a return to peace – this isn’t a show!” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer must call energy summit akin to 2008 crisis response, Labour MP says 02. April 2026 (19:31) Former government adviser Polly Billington urges bigger steps to shield people in UK from effects of Iran warMiddle East crisis – live updatesKeir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Drip-feed of Reform UK controversies puts party’s policy drive in shade 02. April 2026 (19:24) Sacking of Simon Dudley is latest distraction at a time when party is keen to show it is serious contender for governmentIt was a week that started with a candid admission from Nigel Farage. When asked if Reform UK’s vetting process was finally up to scratch, the party leader said: “I accept that at the last general election basically there was no vetting really.” He was speaking after the latest of what a senior colleague had described as a “series of abhorrent incidents”.That latest incident had involved a Welsh Senedd candidate, Corey Edwards, who was forced to step down last Friday after a picture of him appearing to do a Nazi salute surfaced online. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pam Bondi sacked by Trump as Attorney General 02. April 2026 (19:17) Bondi removed from post following US President’s mounting frustration with her performance, including her handling of the Epstein files(London News)
Jewish diaspora leaders urge Israeli president to stop West Bank settler violence 02. April 2026 (19:12) Former UK foreign secretary among 3,000 signatories of open letter to Isaac Herzog after spate of killingsThe former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind is among leading members of the Jewish diaspora urging the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to intervene to stop “attacks by Jewish extremists” on Palestinians in the West Bank.An open letter to Herzog facilitated by the London Initiative – a liberal Zionist network of 360 people, including eminent Jewish, Israeli and Israeli Palestinian figures – has attracted more than 3,000 signatories, including diplomats, philanthropists, rabbis and academics from Australia, Canada, across Europe, South Africa the UK and US. It follows a spate of killings and arson attacks by settlers on Palestinian civilians in March. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
