Trump Says U.S. Military Campaign to Wind Down and Plans National Address

Keir Starmer to give update on Iran war and cost of living after latest Trump attack – UK politics live

Prime minister to give press conference from Downing Street Peter Kyle, the business secretary, was telling people to carry on as normal this morning, in the light of concerns about fuel shortages. (See 9.24am.) In an analysis, Heather Stewart, the Guardian’s economics editor, suggests this might be the wrong message.Here is an extract.As the oil price surges once more, there are growing fears the government’s “don’t panic” messaging may be underplaying the scale of the challenges ahead and crowding out sensible advice on cutting consumption.“It’s the wrong message,” says Andrew Sissons, the director of the climate programme at research foundation Nesta, referring to the government’s communications so far on the war’s impact. “The reality is that the global supply of oil and gas is going to be down by maybe 20%. It’s a supply crisis, which means everybody needs to consume less” …The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents 12,000 food and drink manufacturers, hiked its inflation forecast for the year in light of the conflict.Economists for the trade body are now predicting that food inflation will reach at least 9% by the end of the year, up from the 3.2% that it had forecast in September last year. Continue reading...

U.S. Plans Military Expansion in Greenland

The Pentagon is in talks with Denmark for access to three more areas on the Arctic island. Several Greenlanders said they didn’t like the idea.

Ex-Alex Jones employee reflects on job at Infowars: ‘It was nonsense. It was lies’

Former Infowars video editor and field producer spoke on his experience working on the show in an NPR interviewSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA former video editor and field producer for Alex Jones’s Infowars has said his work for the notorious conspiracy theorist was “nonsense” and “lies”, but he kept at it for four years in his 20s because the far-right media company’s founder was a magnetic presence and it earned him good money.Josh Owens made those revealing remarks in an NPR interview published on Tuesday promoting his new memoir about once having been an employee of Jones and Infowars – a conversation that also detailed the hand he said he had in fabricating a video of an operative of the Islamic State (IS) terror group sneaking into the US from Mexico immediately after a beheading. Continue reading...

PM pledges to ‘do everything we can to protect Australia’ amid Iran fuel crisis – as it happened

This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe makers of Claude.ai will become the first company to sign on to Australia’s national AI plan after a meeting with Anthony Albanese this morning.Anthropic, one of the world’s largest AI companies, will meet with the prime minister, science minister, Tim Ayres, and assistant science minister, Andrew Charlton, to sign a memorandum of understanding.The Australian government and Anthropic are working together to harness AI responsibly – securing investment into Australia’s energy grid, driving economic resilience and safety for all Australians.What we’re announcing today will make our systems more flexible, our supply chains more responsive, and also businesses more supportive as well.Obviously, there is a threshold for where this kind of concessional treatment will be provided, but the ATO is prepared to provide that kind of support in circumstances which are obviously because of what we’re seeing in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Trump says war will end in ‘two or three weeks’; Houthis claim responsibility for missile attack on Israel

US president to address the nation later today; Houthis say attack was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah‘Get your own oil’: Trump launches tirade against Europe for not joining Iran warHouthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah.In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict “in conjunction with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon”. Continue reading...

Israelis Prepare to Celebrate Passover in Shadow of War

The atmosphere during preparations for the Jewish festival has been unusually subdued, with people afraid to stray far from their homes and shelters.

India begins world’s largest population census

More than three million Indian officials have begun the yearlong task of counting the country’s population.

‘Gerrymandering’ in India’s Assam cuts Muslim representation before vote

Muslims formed the majority in about 35 of the state’s 126 constituencies. Now that is down to about 20 seats.

Here’s the latest.