Criticism

• Chief Justice John Roberts publicly criticized the intense rhetoric targeting the Supreme Court on May 6, 2026. • His remarks address growing partisan attacks amid high-profile rulings on elections and immunity. • The statement aims to defend judicial independence as public trust in the court hits historic lows.

Mark Rowley defends officers who arrested suspect in Wednesday’s incident and calls on Green party leader to show solidarity The Metropolitan police chief has said that Green party leader Zack Polanski sharing a post about the arrest of the Golders Green terror suspect will have a “chilling effect”.Met officers arrested a 45-year-old man after two Jewish people were stabbed in the suburb of north-west London on Wednesday. Police said the suspect was shot with a stun gun to subdue him. Continue reading...

US president’s statement follows comments by German chancellor that the US was being ‘humiliated’ in conflictUS president Donald Trump threatened to reduce the number of troops deployed in Germany last night, after chancellor Friedrich Merz said this week that the US was being “humilitated” by Iran.Trump said the US was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time.”“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP” Continue reading...

• The FCC announced it will review eight broadcasting licenses owned or managed by Disney due to the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. • The move came one day after President Trump called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over a controversial joke likening First Lady Melania Trump to an 'expectant widow.' • Kimmel faces backlash amid debates on whether his late-night monologue could incite political violence following recent assassination attempt charges.

Members will plan how to come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack as Nato faces worst crisis in its historyBrussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU’s little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack, as Donald Trump’s criticism of Nato intensifies.EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission “will prepare a blueprint” on how the bloc will respond if the mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks. Continue reading...

US president told reporters he was ‘not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDonald Trump has again accused Australia of not doing enough to help him in the Middle East war, claiming the US “asked them to be there” despite Australia’s defence minister saying there had been no “specific request”.The US president made the comments while taking questions from reporters, including Australian correspondents, as he left the White House on Thursday. Continue reading...

UK chancellor tells US audience she is ‘not convinced that this conflict has made the world a safer place’Middle East crisis – live updatesBusiness live – latest updatesRachel Reeves has stepped up her criticism of Donald Trump’s war on Iran, describing it as a “mistake” that has destabilised the global economy and damaged living standards around the world.In a marked fraying of the transatlantic relationship, the UK chancellor said Trump breaking off from diplomatic talks with Iran and launching airstrikes had not made the world a safer place. Continue reading...

• President Trump has escalated his feud with Pope Leo, doubling down on criticism in an exclusive interview with CBS News on April 13, 2026. • The confrontation reflects growing tension between Trump and religious leadership, with reports indicating Trump is losing some support from religious Americans. • The conflict highlights the broader divide between Trump's political stance and traditional religious institutions' positions on various policy matters.

Luba Grigorovitch, one of four MPs promoted to Jacinta Allan’s cabinet, says she has ‘no regrets’ over friendship with former CFMEU bossLuba Grigorovitch, one of four Victorian Labor MPs promoted to cabinet, says she has “no regrets” about her past friendship with disgraced construction union leader John Setka, despite the opposition labelling her appointment “appalling”.The Victorian Labor caucus met on Tuesday and voted to elevate Grigorovitch, the member for Kororoit, along with Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke, Eureka MP Michaela Settle and Box Hill MP Paul Hamer, to cabinet. Continue reading...

Australian PM also welcomes a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that will reopen the strait of Hormuz to global shippingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has welcomed a two-week ceasefire deal between the US and Iran that is set to temporarily reopen the strait of Hormuz, as he issued a rare criticism of Donald Trump for threatening a “whole civilization will die”.The prime minister said news of the conditional ceasefire was “very positive” and was hopeful it would lead to the permanent end to a conflict that has sent global fuel prices soaring. Continue reading...

JP Morgan boss appears to condemn president’s tariff regime in annual letter to shareholdersMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe head of America’s largest bank has pressed the White House to strengthen America’s allies economically in order to “avoid truly adverse consequences”, in the latest instalment of an increasingly testy relationship with the Trump administration.As the Middle East conflict sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran enters its sixth week, Jamie Dimon, the chair and chief executive of JP Morgan Chase, said in his annual letter to shareholders that “good” US foreign policy should put America first “though not alone”. Continue reading...

After threatening to withdraw from the alliance, the president did not mention it in his address to the nation, and will meet the secretary general, Mark Rutte, next weekAfter all the excitement about Donald Trump’s rapidly escalating rhetoric on Nato and (his own) suggestions he would go even further in last night’s address to the nation, he … just didn’t say anything about it at all.Whether it was the late phone call intervention by Europe’s finest Trump whisperer, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, or the prospect of next week’s Washington visit from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte, we will never know, but the fact is that we live to fight another day. Continue reading...

Head of committee says it was appropriate for government to seek guidance on way out of £330m deal with US data companyClaims by Palantir that concerns over the US data analytics company’s multimillion-pound NHS contract are “ideologically motivated” have been rejected by the chair of a parliamentary committee.It was also appropriate for the government to seek guidance on activating a break contract in the deal, said Chi Onwurah, a Labour MP who heads the science, innovation and technology select committee. Continue reading...

EU, Spain and Germany, as well as rights groups, condemn law to execute Palestinian convicted terroristsA vote in the Israeli Knesset approving a bill sanctioning the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes, has been greeted with widespread international condemnation.“The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU,” the EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in Brussels. “This is a clear step backwards – the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law. Continue reading...

MP for Hull East had recently given interview with Jody McIntyre, campaigner who stood against Jess Phillips in 2024The MP Karl Turner has lost the Labour whip, after making a series of interventions criticising Keir Starmer and No 10, especially changes to jury trials.The decision is understood to have been prompted by an interview given by Turner, the MP for Hull East, to Jody McIntyre, a campaigner who had previously stood at the 2024 elections against Labour’s Jess Phillips. Continue reading...

Force issues strongly worded rebuttal after Tory former cabinet minister alleges ‘egregious failures’ in call for reviewThe police force that conducted the investigation into Lucy Letby has made a strongly worded public statement rejecting criticism after David Davis called in parliament for a review of the case.The Conservative former cabinet minister, who last year said that Letby had suffered “a clear miscarriage of justice”, said Cheshire constabulary had approached the investigation into deaths of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital with too much focus on suspecting Letby, and made “egregious failures” in not following guidelines and best practice, including in the appointment of expert witnesses. Continue reading...

• The 2026 farm bill advancing through Congress includes amendments subsidizing tobacco farmers with more disaster funds and shielding pesticide makers, conflicting with Make America Healthy Again goals to reduce chronic diseases. • Critics like Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy of Action on Smoking and Health argue tobacco subsidies lower product costs, increasing youth addiction and quit barriers despite U.S. smoking rates dropping below 10% for the first time. • The provisions highlight tensions between the Trump administration's industry-friendly policies and public health advocates, as tobacco remains the leading cause of 500,000 annual U.S. preventable deaths ignored by HHS.

Kennedy’s appointees promoted ‘treatments’ like bleach enemas, but new committee has only one autistic memberThe first public meeting of US autism advisers – notably, since Robert F Kennedy Jr reshaped the committee – was cancelled recently with few details, coinciding with the creation of a rival organization that has prompted some questions within the autistic community about their focus.Kennedy, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who has long argued for a debunked link between vaccines and autism, chose entirely new members for the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) in late January, with fewer autistic people and several anti-vaccine advocates. Continue reading...

Tory leader says US president’s words ‘completely wrong’ as she tries to distance herself from his war on IranKemi Badenoch has called Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Keir Starmer “childish”, as the Conservative leader continued her recent moves to distance herself from the US president and his military action against Iran.Speaking shortly before Trump yet again singled out Starmer for condemnation to say the prime minister had not been sufficiently supportive of the US war, Badenoch used a social media video to describe Trump’s actions as counterproductive. Continue reading...