• G7 foreign ministers, led by US, demanded on April 4, 2026, independent audits of Venezuela's March 29 presidential election marred by 45% voter suppression claims.
• US froze $800 million in Maduro regime assets, supporting opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's fraud allegations backed by 2 million witness affidavits.
• Statement warns of hemispheric instability, with 7.2 million Venezuelans already refugees straining US border resources.
• Health savings account companies, benefiting from Trump's tax bill, formed the Great American Health Alliance (GAHA) dark money group to push for further HSA expansions.
• The lobbying effort aims to broaden tax advantages amid growing industry influence in policy debates.
• Critics highlight potential risks of prioritizing industry gains over consumer protections in health financing.
• The Pentagon released new details on personnel reforms for U.S. Cyber Command to enhance cybersecurity operations.
• Officials aim to utilize existing CyberCom powers and avoid creating a separate cyber force.
• The reforms address growing cyber threats, bolstering U.S. defense amid rising incidents.
More than half of roles could be hit and young shop workers in particular could lose out, trade body warnsMore than half of retail jobs could be affected by reform to guaranteed working hours, making it harder for shops to employ people – particularly young workers – in part-time roles, the industry’s lobby group has warned.From April, the Employment Rights Act will introduce new protections for workers on sick pay, sexual harassment, parental leave and trade union recognition. Continue reading...
• A new US science and technology council has been established including leaders from Meta, Nvidia, Oracle, Google, and AMD to guide national AI strategy and policy.
• The council will shape policy in response to global competition, particularly with China, while prioritizing innovation acceleration and reducing regulatory barriers.
• This government-industry alignment reflects the administration's emphasis on AI competitiveness and signals closer integration between policymaking and tech sector interests.
The government has launched a consultation on banning social media for under-16s but peers voted to move fasterHouse of Lords pushes for Australian-style social media ban for under-16sGood morning. It is going to be a busy political news day, but potentially quite a mixed and messy one. Keir Starmer is in Helsinki for a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (the northern European military pact – the Nordics, the Baltics, the Dutch and the UK), and he has already been speaking to the media. In the Commons it is the last day before the Easter recess, which means it is “take out the trash day” – the trash, in this case, being government announcements that have to be reported to parliament (so they can’t be announced during the recesss), but which have been held back because they’re moderately embarrassing (or sometimes just too dull). There are 24 written ministerial statements (full list here). Few, if any, of these are likely to produce big headline stories, but there should be a lot here for people interested in the workings of government.And, with the parliamentary session also about to end soon (the new king’s speech is expected to take place on Wednesday 13 May), the government is also trying to get all its bills onto the statue book. And it faced a new problem last night after peers voted for a second time to insert a clause into the bill committing the government to an Australian-style social media ban for under-16s.Obviously we’ll study that ruling very carefully, but I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.The status quo isn’t good enough. We need to do more to protect children. Continue reading...
• US Customs and Border Protection issued a January 16, 2026 ruling, publicized recently, barring unlicensed foreign online platforms from certain importer services for fees.
• The platform was deemed to conduct impermissible customs business, setting guidelines for automated import tech providers.
• This clarifies regulatory limits amid growing use of tech in US trade compliance.
• Congress passed landmark PBM reforms within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, reshaping pharmacy benefit manager operations and introducing new compliance requirements for PBMs and group health plans.
• The legislation coincides with proposed Department of Labor rules on PBM fee disclosures and increased FTC enforcement on drug pricing initiatives.
• These changes aim to address compliance risks and evolving regulations in the pharmaceutical supply chain, impacting industry stakeholders significantly.
Former deputy prime minister says Labour’s immigration changes are un-British and Starmer must respond to fall in party’s popularityAngela Rayner has said the very survival of the Labour party is at stake and warned Keir Starmer that he “cannot go through the motions” in the face of declining support.In a speech at campaign group Mainstream’s spring reception, the former deputy prime minister said she believed the government was “running out of time” to show it can deliver the changes that the public needs. Continue reading...
US president says his country does not ‘need or desire’ the help of Nato, Japan, Australia or South Korea. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take the reins.After a day of grim headlines yesterday, with economists forecasting recession for Australia, Jim Chalmers has come out fighting, telling 7.30 last night “that’s not something that we’re anticipating or forecasting or expecting”. Read more in a moment. Continue reading...
