• Brazilian President announced on Monday a comprehensive enforcement initiative targeting illegal logging and land invasions in the Amazon, deploying 5,000 additional federal agents to protected areas.
• The government committed to reducing deforestation rates by 80 percent over the next two years through satellite monitoring and criminal prosecutions of organized trafficking networks.
• Environmental groups and the U.S. State Department praised the pledge as a meaningful step toward climate commitments, though skeptics noted enforcement challenges in remote regions.
• Venezuelan security forces restricted opposition parties from entering their campaign headquarters on Monday, raising fresh concerns about democratic conduct ahead of this year's presidential elections.
• The blockade prevented opposition candidates and staff from gathering electoral signatures and organizing voter outreach efforts, significantly hampering their campaign infrastructure.
• International observers from the Organization of American States expressed alarm over the move, calling it a violation of political freedoms and warning it could undermine the legitimacy of upcoming elections.
President blames dissident Farc faction for attack on Pan-American Highway that also injured 36 people in south-western region The death toll in a weekend highway bombing in Colombia has risen to 20, with another 36 people injured, amid a surge of violence ahead of presidential elections next month.Buses and vans were left mangled in the blast on Saturday on the Pan-American Highway, in the restive south-western Cauca department. Continue reading...
• U.S. stock futures fell late Sunday with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down 130 points or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures also declining after record highs on Friday.
• West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2% above $96 per barrel following collapsed U.S.-Iran talks announced Saturday.
• The Federal Reserve's interest-rate committee meets Tuesday-Wednesday, with Chair Jerome Powell's likely final press conference anticipated amid market highs.
Special session comes after Virginia voted to redraw maps and as Trump pressures Republicans to protect House majorityFlorida begins a special session on Tuesday in what may be the last front of the redistricting war before the 2026 election, with Republicans trying to redraw maps to pick up more seats in Congress.Lawmakers enter the session in Tallahassee cloaked in mystery, with no preview of a proposed map to consider and no clear path for Republicans to increase their representation in what appears to be a hostile year for their party. Continue reading...
Reuters-Ipsos, AP-NORC and NBC polls show approval in mid-30s, with economy, Iran and immigration concernsUS politics live – latest updatesA trio of political polls indicate public approval of Donald Trump’s management of the US economy, immigration and the Iran conflict is slipping, flashing warning lights for Trump-aligned Republican candidates with six months to go until the US midterm elections.Polls by Reuters-Ipsos poll, Strength in Numbers-Verasight and AP-NORC had the president’s approval rating hovering in the mid-30s, at 36%, 35% and 33% respectively, which are near his lowest numbers. Continue reading...
• The Kennedy Center will hold its first award ceremony since President Trump overhauled the board of trustees earlier this year.
• Changes aim to align cultural programming with administration priorities.
• The event draws attention to federal arts funding debates and political influence on institutions.
• The U.S. Senate passed a 10-day extension of FISA authority on Friday, April 17, 2026, sending the bill to President Donald Trump's desk.
• The measure averts a lapse in surveillance powers set to expire Monday, providing temporary continuity for national security operations.
• This short-term fix highlights ongoing partisan debates over warrant requirements and reforms to Section 702 of FISA.
Interior minister is ‘highly determined’ to block US rapper from performing in the southern city in June due to his past antisemitic remarks, sources sayFrance’s interior minister is seeking to block the US rapper formerly known as Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said Tuesday.The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, is “highly determined” to ban the 11 June concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source told Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...
Rick Jackson is flooding Georgia’s media markets with ads attacking immigrants, transgender people and DEIA campaign ad from Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson pledging that unauthorized immigrants committing violent crimes will end up “deported or departed” has inundated streaming services and social media in Georgia for weeks.“I don’t care if you’re a Muslim or a Mongolian, you don’t have the right to force your culture on our country,” the Jackson ad begins. “Too often, criminal illegals commit sick, violent crimes, victimize our children and get away with murder. So here’s my guarantee to them: do that when I’m governor, and you’ll end up deported or departed. Any questions?” Continue reading...
• NFL player JuJu Smith-Schuster gave marital advice to Travis Kelce in anticipation of his potential wedding to Taylor Swift.
• The comments highlight celebrity couple dynamics in sports and music circles.
• Advice comes amid heightened public interest in the high-profile relationship.
• President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Iran as negotiations approach, signaling a harder stance in diplomatic discussions.
• The administration's strategy reflects Trump's approach to foreign policy negotiations, combining public pressure with diplomatic engagement.
• Analysts view the timing and rhetoric as a negotiating tactic designed to strengthen the U.S. position before formal talks commence.
• Wall Street stocks closed mixed on Friday, April 10, 2026, with S&P 500 down 0.1% at 6,816.89, Dow dropping 0.6% to 47,916.47, and Nasdaq up 0.4% to 22,902.90 amid anticipation of U.S.-Iran talks post-ceasefire.
• Healthcare stocks led declines with Eli Lilly falling 1.8% and Johnson & Johnson down 1.3%, offset by tech gains including Nvidia up 3% and Broadcom rising 5.3%.
• Oil prices slipped while major indexes recovered most March losses from Iran conflict, now just 2.3% below S&P 500's January all-time high, though volatility persists on war news.
Almost 2,000 jobs will be created, with retailer vying to overtake Morrisons as Britain’s fifth largest supermarket Lidl is to open 50 new UK stores in the year ahead as it aims to overtake Morrisons as the country’s fifth largest supermarket chain.The German-owned retailer, which now has more than 1,000 British stores, said it planned to invest more than £600m in UK growth, creating almost 2,000 jobs as it expands its warehouse and logistic network to supply its new outlets. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Taskforce led by former Treasury official Anthea Long will advise on cost-cutting options for $52bn programGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has quietly established a razor gang to drive budget savings in the national disability insurance scheme, as it works to further rein in costs ahead of next month’s federal budget.An NDIS Sustainability Taskforce was established within the health department earlier this year, with instructions from the federal government and national cabinet to advise on cost-cutting options for the $52bn program. Continue reading...
With former ministers and party heavyweights being dragged into court, the country is once again confronting the unresolved legacy of political graft and shady backroom deals• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEaster will not have been a particularly celebratory time for Spain’s two biggest political parties. In a quirk of judicial fate, both the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) and the conservative People’s party (PP) are bracing themselves after two high-profile trials involving former senior figures from each party began in Madrid this week.Though vastly different, both cases have the potential to seriously dent each party’s claims of having zero-tolerance for corruption as voters in Andalucía, Spain’s most populous autonomous community, prepare for next month’s regional election. That will be followed by a general election next year. Continue reading...
More than 33GW of battery capacity approved for Turkish grid since 2022 compared with 12-13GW in GermanyTurkey has given the green light to more batteries to buffer its electricity grid than any EU member state, a report has found, in a further sign of rich countries losing steam in the race to a clean economy.More than 33GW of battery capacity have been approved in Turkey since 2022, according to the climate thinktank Ember, while the total planned and operational capacity in European frontrunners that started deploying them earlier, such as Germany and Italy, is 12-13GW. Continue reading...
Ukrainian president says Russia unlikely to accept – ‘for them, nothing is sacred’; Australian police arrest army reservist for joining war. What we know on day 1,504Ukraine’s president has renewed his offer to Russia of a mutual ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure. “If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will respond in kind,” he said. “This proposal has been conveyed to the Russian side through the Americans.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered last week to observe a ceasefire for Easter, which Orthodox adherents mark on Sunday (13 April) in Russia and Ukraine.In his remarks on Monday, after an overnight attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa killed three people and injured at least 16, Zelenskyy said Russia appeared unwilling to agree to the ceasefire. “We have repeatedly proposed to Russia a ceasefire at least for Easter,” he said. “But for them, all times are the same. Nothing is sacred.”Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s oil shipping terminal in southern Russia early on Monday, damaging a mooring point and setting four oil tanks on fire, the Russian defence ministry claimed. The Ukrainian army said it had attacked a different terminal in the port of Novorossiysk – without mentioning the CPC, which did not immediately comment. The CPC pipeline handles about 1% of the world’s oil supplies, as well as about 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports.A reservist in the Australian army has been charged after allegedly working as a drone operator for Ukraine. The 25-year-old man from Felixstow, in the South Australian city of Adelaide, was charged by the Australian Federal Police with working for a foreign military without authorisation, the AAP news agency reported. It is the first time someone has been charged with the offence, with the man facing up to two decades in jail if found guilty. Australian laws limit the work defence personnel can perform with a foreign military, government or company without authorisation. The man allegedly travelled to Ukraine in May 2025 and returned to Australia in January 2026.A Russian ship carrying wheat believed to have sunk in the Sea of Azov after a drone attack has been found and towed to shore, Russia’s state news agency Tass said on Monday. The death toll has risen to three, it added. Crew abandoned the ship last Friday and made it to shore on Monday, according to Russian reports.Russia jailed on Monday a former governor of the Kursk border region, where Ukraine’s army broke through in 2024, for 14 years over alleged kickbacks for government contracts related to the construction of fortifications. Since August 2024, the Kremlin has gone after top regional and military officials for failing to stop the incursion – a massive embarrassment for Vladimir Putin. Alexei Smirnov, the former Kursk governor, was “sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of 400 million rubles [£3.8m/US$5m]”, a court statement said. Another former Kursk governor, Roman Starovoyt, who led the region until just before the Ukrainian breakthrough, died last year by alleged suicide – a fate that regularly befalls officials who run foul of the Russian president. Continue reading...
Nasa’s Orion capsule will be just over 4,000 miles above lunar surface, allowing astronauts to see both polesThe four astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis II mission are poised to begin the first flyby of the far side of the moon in more than half a century, bringing them to the furthest point from Earth ever reached by humans.The crew of three Americans and one Canadian earlier entered the moon’s “sphere of influence”, where its gravity has a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. Continue reading...
• US stock indexes showed mixed performance on Monday morning with S&P 500 up 0.1%, Dow down 0.1% or 46 points, and Nasdaq up 0.3% amid ceasefire mediation efforts.
• President Trump threatened to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges by Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, stating 'you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!' on social media.
• Gasoline prices hit $4.12 per gallon nationally, up from below $3 before late February US-Israel attacks, pressuring the economy despite strong March jobs data.
• S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 futures turned lower on Sunday evening ahead of the US market reopening on April 6, 2026, post-Easter weekend.
• The downturn follows a holiday break, with trading heavily impacted by recent geopolitical developments and economic data releases.
• Investors are monitoring ceasefire reports and Trump-related escalation threats for potential volatility at the open.
Elections seem top-of-mind for the Maha movement as key polling indicates anti-vaccine views are a liabilityUS health officials appear to be shying away from voicing negative views of vaccines in public as November’s midterm elections loom and key polling indicates anti-vaccine views are a liability.Health officials have made unprecedented changes to routine vaccine recommendations in the past year – slashing one-third of the US childhood schedule, including the recommendation for hepatitis B immunization at birth. But even before a federal judge essentially invalidated these moves, officials haven’t championed their dramatic changes after Donald Trump’s pollsters recommended veering away from anti-vaccine ideology ahead of the midterms. Continue reading...
Prime minister urges Australians to consider using public transport and conserve fuel for ‘critical industry’ and othersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian prime minister Anthony Albanese has used a rare address to the nation to attempt to allay public fears over dwindling fuel supplies, vowing to keep petrol prices down by shoring up international supplies and ramping up local production.But the opposition has been scathing of the address, describing it as “nothing but hot air” and urging more clarity over the fuel crisis. Continue reading...
• In late March 2026, the South Carolina Senate passed heavily amended H. 3924, regulating rather than banning hemp-derived THC products like drinks and gummies.
• The bill restricts sales to those 21 and older, tightening safety standards to close 2018 Farm Bill loopholes on high-potency THC.
• Legislation now returns to the House for concurrence before the May 7, 2026, deadline.
Visit with Camilla to take place in late April despite calls for it to be delayed because of US war against IranUK politics live – latest updatesThe king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.Charles and the queen’s long-expected trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April, despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing war in the Middle East. Continue reading...
• Finnish quantum hardware company IQM secured a €50 million financing facility from BlackRock-managed funds to fuel R&D and U.S. market expansion.
• The funding supports IQM's preparations for a potential US stock market listing, enhancing its position in quantum computing technology.
• This investment underscores growing Wall Street interest in quantum breakthroughs amid competition in advanced computing sectors.
• East and Midwest Regions completed Sweet 16 action on Friday, March 27, with top-seeded Duke facing a tough challenge from Rick Pitino's team.
• Live bracket updates, scores, and in-depth analysis available for all 2026 March Madness games.
• Elite Eight matchups now determined, setting stage for Final Four in Indianapolis.
• BMW accidentally leaked images of its redesigned i3 EV, revealing a sleeker design ahead of its scheduled March 2026 U.S. market launch.
• The updated model features enhanced aerodynamics and interior tech tailored for American consumers amid rising EV demand.
• Separately, Toyota announced a $1 billion investment in U.S.-made EV production, bolstering domestic manufacturing.
Case focuses on RNC’s challenge to a Mississippi law that allows ballots to count if they are arrive after election dayUS politics live – latest updatesThe US supreme court is hearing arguments Monday about whether mail-in ballots can be counted if they arrive after election day, which would affect laws in more than a dozen states during a midterm election year.The justice are considering Watson v Republican National Committee, a challenge over a Mississippi state law that was brought in 2024 by the Republican party. Mississippi allows mailed ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days of election day, so long as they were postmarked by election day. Fourteen states, Washington DC and three US territories have similar laws that allow for late-arriving ballots to be counted. Continue reading...
• U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, stated in an interview that the military campaign against Iran is 'ahead or on plan' amid ongoing strikes.
• Israeli forces launched a wide-scale wave of strikes on Iranian terror regime infrastructure early Monday, with Iranian media reporting new airstrikes in Tehran.
• Death toll exceeds 1,500 in Iran, 1,000 in Lebanon, 15 in Israel, and 13 U.S. military members, displacing millions in both countries.
