US spending on ‘reckless’ Iran war could have saved 87m lives, says UN

• Governments of Spain, Brazil, and Mexico issued a joint statement on Saturday expressing deep concern over the grave humanitarian crisis in Cuba and calling for immediate measures to alleviate suffering faced by the Cuban people. • The statement follows US President Trump's recent indication of shifting focus from the Iran war to Cuba, with a senior US delegation sent last week to Havana to negotiate a deal addressing the island's crisis. • This diplomatic push highlights growing international attention to Cuba's deteriorating conditions, potentially signaling a US pivot that could reshape regional geopolitics and aid flows.

• The US Navy fired upon and seized an Iranian-flagged vessel amid escalating tensions in the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, which began with airstrikes on February 28, 2026, targeting Iranian leadership and nuclear sites. • President Trump confirmed the action, occurring as Iran's retaliatory strikes hit Israel and US bases, compounded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting global oil supplies. • Oil prices have exceeded $100 per barrel, prompting IEA nations to release strategic reserves; the incident dims prospects for peace talks and amplifies economic fallout worldwide.

Criminals paid on behalf of Iran are believed to be behind attacks against Jewish targets, say detectives Detectives are investigating whether the series of arson attacks in London were planned for weeks with suspects carrying out reconnaissance on the Jewish targets to be firebombed.The series of attacks against synagogues and other Jewish targets, as well as one premises linked to Iranian dissidents, are believed to be carried out by criminals paid on behalf of Iran, police said. Continue reading...

Advocates expressed alarm as new project drills deeper into ocean bed, pointing to company’s failures at Deepwater Horizon spillSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxEnvironmental groups have sued the Trump administration over its approval of BP’s huge new ultra-deep oil drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, 16 years to the day since the company’s Deepwater Horizon disaster caused the worst oil spill in US history. Continue reading...

Preston Davey died aged 13 months after ‘routine abuse’ by Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, jury hearsA baby boy was “routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted” before he was killed by a secondary school teacher adopting him, a jury has heard.Jamie Varley, the teacher, 37, and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, were in the process of adopting Preston Davey. Continue reading...

Government amendment to children’s wellbeing and schools bill to replace existing guidance with statutory banA ban on mobile phones in schools in England is to be introduced by the government to ensure that “critical safeguarding legislation” is passed.The government will table an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill in the House of Lords after the bill was held up by peers on opposition benches. Continue reading...

US vice-president to travel to Islamabad with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as deadline for current ceasefire loomsPakistan seeks to raise its global standing in push for Middle East peaceMiddle East crisis – live updatesJD Vance is expected to fly to Islamabad at the head of a US diplomatic delegation on Tuesday if Iran agrees to further talks in the Pakistani capital as the deadline for the current ceasefire looms.The US vice-president will travel with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law – though Iran’s president warned there remained a “deep historical mistrust” of the US. Continue reading...

Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the storyLabour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against.The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar. Continue reading...

Gabrielle Carrington, 29, faces charges after incident on Argyll Street in the early hours of Sunday morningA woman has been charged with attempted murder after a car hit pedestrians in central London in the early hours of Sunday.A woman in her 30s remains in a life-threatening condition and a man in his 50s suffered life-changing injuries after they were hit by a car in Argyll Street, Westminster, at approximately 4.30am on Sunday, the Metropolitan police said. A second woman in her 30s suffered minor injuries, the force added. Continue reading...

PM sets out chronology of Mandelson’s vetting failure – and insists he has not misled MPsUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has laid out a detailed timeline of events leading up to Peter Mandelson being refused security vetting and how the message was not passed to No 10. Here’s what his statement did tell us – and what it was more vague on. Continue reading...

Antisemitism has been rising in years since 7 October attacks, including recent arson attacks at Jewish sitesBritish Jews feel under siege and worried about their children displaying religious symbols in public, community leaders have said.There have been a series of attempted arson attacks at Jewish sites over the past week, including incidents at two synagogues in London and one at a building used by the charity Jewish Futures. Four Jewish community ambulances were also set on fire in north London in the early hours of 23 March. Continue reading...

Musician has been charged after the dismembered and decomposing body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in abandoned TeslaSinger D4vd has been charged with murder in the death of a 14-year-old girl whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in September in his apparently abandoned Tesla.The Los Angeles county district attorney’s office said the 21-year-old D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13. Authorities say she was 14 when she died. Continue reading...