• The International Monetary Fund's Executive Board concluded its 2026 Article IV Consultation on April 2, stating there is "little room to cut interest rates in 2026" despite moderating inflation expectations.
• The IMF projects U.S. GDP growth will reach 2.4% in 2026, up from 2.0% in 2025, while the federal funds rate is forecast to decline only from 3.6% to 3.4% — representing barely a single rate cut for the entire year.
• Inflation is on track to hit the 2% target by early 2027, but the IMF warns that growth will peak this year and slowly decay toward 1.8%, while U.S. debt continues climbing annually.
• The United Nations reported on April 4, 2026, that 25 million Sudanese face famine risk due to ongoing civil war blocking aid routes in Darfur and Khartoum.
• US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced $300 million in emergency food assistance during a Security Council session, bringing total US aid to $1.2 billion since 2023.
• Conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces has displaced 8.5 million, making it the world's largest humanitarian crisis, per UN estimates.
Lack of regulation for specialist classes leaves UK fitness enthusiasts at risk, say professional bodiesThe boom in reformer pilates has created a “wild west” of studios where poor regulation has resulted in inexperienced teachers and a rise in injuries, professional standards bodies have warned.Pilates is not formally or legally regulated, and as its popularity has surged, industry experts say, so too has the growth of packed reformer-based classes often led by instructors with limited training. Continue reading...
• The IDF issued warnings on April 2, 2026, of potential coordinated rocket attacks by Iran and Hezbollah toward Israel as rocket sirens sounded across the country on Passover eve.
• Hezbollah reported a top commander killed in a Beirut strike, escalating tensions amid broader Middle East conflict.
• This development heightens risks of multi-front escalation, directly impacting US ally Israel and regional stability critical to American interests.
• Scientists warn that rapid advances in artificial intelligence and neurotechnology are advancing faster than our scientific understanding of consciousness, creating serious ethical risks.
• The acceleration of AI capabilities and brain-computer interface technologies raises urgent questions about the nature of consciousness and ethical implications.
• Researchers emphasize the need for parallel development of ethical frameworks to accompany technological progress.
Two people reported killed in attack on newly completed suspension bridge after strike splits structure in halfMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump claimed responsibility for destroying Iran’s largest bridge, a day after he threatened to bomb the country “back to the stone ages” if a deal to end the five-week-long war he started was not reached.The US president shared footage of part of the newly built 136 metre-high $400m B1 suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj collapsing dramatically on to the causeway below amid a rising plume of black smoke. Continue reading...
Six teenage girls have been arrested after shops were stormed by young people earlier this week as part of social media trend Sadiq Khan has warned against any repeat of “utterly unacceptable” scenes of disorder in Clapham earlier this week, saying culprits who assault and intimidate shop workers will face the full force of the law.The mayor of London said more arrests will be made in the coming days, and urged anyone considering more violence over the Easter weekend to think again. Continue reading...
• President Trump announced in a White House speech that U.S. involvement in the Iran war will extend two to three more weeks, with objectives nearly met.
• Trump vowed continued strikes on Iran, threatening energy and water sites, while claiming Iran's offensive capabilities are 'essentially decimated.'
• Oil prices surged 6% to $108 per barrel for Brent crude, pushing U.S. gas prices over $4 a gallon and impacting motorists and food costs.
• The United Nations humanitarian coordinator reported on Thursday that drought conditions across East Africa have intensified, affecting approximately 24 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia with critical water and food shortages.
• The organization is requesting $3.2 billion in emergency humanitarian assistance for 2026, warning that without immediate intervention, malnutrition rates could exceed 2022 levels when the region experienced famine conditions.
• US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $450 million in emergency aid packages, representing a 40% increase from the previous fiscal year allocation for East African relief operations.
Brent crude jumps 6.5% as US president vows to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ over coming weeksBusiness live – latest updatesOil prices soared and stocks sank after Donald Trump vowed in a televised speech to hit Iran “extremely hard” over the coming weeks, knocking investors hopes of a near-term end to the conflict in the Middle East.Brent crude prices jumped by 6.5% on Thursday morning to more than $107.6 a barrel, reversing Wednesday’s drop when hopes of a de-escalation pushed the international benchmark below the $100-a-barrel mark at one point. 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...
New measures will protect Tata and British Steel but allow foreign pre-made parts into the UK, say industry bossesSteel bosses have warned ministers that a “back door” in new trade rules could hit British manufacturers and lead to job cuts and factory closures by allowing a vast array of foreign products to still enter the UK tax-free.The loophole means pre-made steel parts ranging from bridge sections, columns and door frames, all the way to smaller rods and tubes used in buildings, will escape recently announced import tariffs, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...
Jim Mackey tells LBC phone-in he is ‘really worried’ about supply issues amid US-Iran warMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe head of the NHS in England has said he is “really worried” about medicine supply issues.A number of experts have raised concerns about cost implications and supply disruption linked to the war in Iran. Continue reading...
Prime minister threatens to withdraw NHS training posts for residents doctors if they don’t call off strikeGood morning. Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee later to discuss the Iran war, but domestic issues don’t go away and he (or, to be more accurate, his staff) have also found time to write an article for the Times delivering a warning to resident doctors in England planning to go on strike. As Jamie Grierson reports, the PM is threatening to withdraw an offer of thousands of extra NHS training posts for resident doctors if they do not call off the strike within 48 hours.Judging by what Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, told the Today programme in an interview this morning, Starmer may have as little success with his ultimatum as Donald Trump seems to be having with his inconsistent and increasingly apocalyptic warnings to what is left of the Iranian government.I’m very happy to sit down with the government at any point to try and negotiate a settlement, but I don’t think that’s done by writing in newspapers and issuing threats unilaterally.The government made very late changes to the pay offer, reducing the pay investment and stretching it over a longer period in a way that had not been previously talked about.Ministers effectively moved the goalposts on the deal at the last minute.Two weeks ago, the government took that investment, reduced it, and then stretched it over three years. That is a very, very, very different outcome to the one that we were discussing just two weeks ago. Continue reading...
Kuwait says fire broke out after Iranian attack on giant tanker and warns of possible oil spill in surrounding watersHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its impact on the region, the world and the global economy.Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday while Donald Trump warned the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke hanging over the Lebanese capital.Two successive Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, the Times of Israel reported, quoting the emergency service as saying it had not received any reports of injuries.Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.Oil prices were headed on Tuesday for a record monthly rise while Asian shares were headed for their steepest fall since 2022, capping a tumultuous month as the war fanned fears of higher inflation and slower growth. Bonds were headed for their largest decline in months, while the dollar recorded its strongest gain in eight months.The US national average retail price of fuel crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed, as tightening global supplies pushed US crude prices above $101 a barrel.Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters. , as part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.The White House later said talks with Iran were progressing and Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before a 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the largely blocked strait of Hormuz oil route.Trump had told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the strait or Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal later reported.Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries and that they were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”. Continue reading...
Congressman Joaquin Castro calls for release of boy, Kaleth, and mother from much-criticized detention Dilley facilityA two-year-old detained in a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, is sick and not getting adequate help, said Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from San Antonio. The boy, Kaleth, has a fever and is not eating the food served at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, which Castro said detainees have complained of having mold and worms.“When his mother asked for help, the staff said it was all ‘mental’,” Castro wrote in a post on X. “A vulnerable child at the Dilley trailer prison was suffering and ICE denied their reality and their needs. It’s shameful and must stop.” Continue reading...
Washington-based fund says rising energy and food costs will hit economies worldwide and could leave lasting scarsThe International Monetary Fund has warned that “all roads lead to higher prices and slower growth worldwide” should the conflict in the Middle East continue to throttle the amount of oil, gas and fertiliser making its way out of the Gulf.In a stark message that countries on all continents will be affected, the Washington-based organisation said a rise in energy and food costs would harm economic growth this year and could leave lasting scars on the global economy. Continue reading...
Human rights group says US is facing an ‘emergency’ICE director said agency will play ‘key part’ at tournamentAmnesty International has warned that the World Cup, spread across three North American countries, risks becoming a “stage for repression”. The human rights organisation published a report on Monday – “Humanity Must Win” – calling on Fifa and the host countries, the US, Canada and Mexico, to take urgent action to protect fans, players and other communities.Fifa has promised a tournament where everyone “feels safe, included and free to exercise their rights”. But Amnesty said that pledge sat in “stark contrast” to conditions in all three host nations, especially the US, which hosts three-quarters of the 104 matches. Continue reading...
Fears grow that Tehran may start activating sleeper cells across Middle East as part of war with US and IsraelMiddle East crisis – live updatesGulf countries have raised concerns over the prospect of attacks by Iran-backed militias and proxy armed groups in the region, which they fear could destabilise their regimes and escalate the war in the Middle East.In a joint statement this week, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan condemned Iranian attacks on their soil, both as strikes carried out directly from Iran and “through their proxies and armed factions they support in the region”. Continue reading...
Flash flooding threatens the wheatbelt region and Perth, as weather system expected to continue south-east from Geraldton on SaturdayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEx-Tropical Cyclone Narelle was downgraded to a tropical low on Saturday morning after making landfall in Western Australia on Friday.Storm-ravaged communities were warned not to let their guard down, however, as residents along the state’s coastline prepared to assess the trail of damage along the Pilbara and North West Cape. Continue reading...
• Israel launched strikes on central Tehran and warned of expanding its campaign against Iran, which continues firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states, as U.S. strikes persist.
• President Trump extended the deadline to April 6 for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, stating talks are 'going very well' after Iran requested a grace period despite public denials.
• Israel moved thousands of troops into Lebanon to control the area south of the Litani River, 20 miles north of the border.
Weak demand and global trade pressures hit ouput, with energy price rises expected to bring further dropBusiness live – latest updatesFewer cars rolled off UK production lines in February in what the industry called an “extremely worrying” slump even before the impact of the Iran war was felt.Vehicle production was 17% lower last month on the same period in 2025, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, as exports dropped sharply. Continue reading...
Malcolm Turnbull asks defence department official what Australia would do if the promised Virginia-class and Aukus-class submarines don’t arrive Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia will be left with no submarines if it abandons the Aukus deal with the US and UK, a senior defence official has warned, declining to publicly countenance an alternative plan if Australia’s promised nuclear-powered fleet does not arrive under Australian command.“Defence has been directed to pursue Aukus and we are pursuing Aukus and that’s our plan. I would not venture into the space about ‘Plan B’ or ‘Plan C’,” defence department deputy secretary, Hugh Jeffrey, told a Sovereignty and Security Forum in Canberra on Friday. Continue reading...
Banks, governments and tech providers urged to upgrade security because current systems will soon be obsolete Banks, governments and technology providers need to be prepared for quantum computer hackers capable of breaking most existing encryption systems by 2029, Google has warned.The tech company said in a blogpost that quantum computers would pose a “significant threat to current cryptographic standards” before the end of the decade and urged other companies to follow its lead. Continue reading...
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on March 25, 2026, that President Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran does not accept military defeat.
• The US is closely tracking efforts to secure oil tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats.
• This escalation threat underscores Trump's strategy to force Iran into capitulation, potentially prolonging the conflict without regime change.
Watchdog issues formal guidance to trustees at top AI research institute after staff expressed concernsThe board of the UK’s leading AI research institute has been reminded of its legal duties in areas such as financial oversight and managing organisational change by the charity watchdog after a whistleblower complaint.The Charity Commission has issued formal regulatory advice and guidance to trustees at the Alan Turing Institute (ATI) – the organisation’s board – after it was contacted by a group of staff with a list of concerns. Continue reading...
Hostilities should halt and healthcare facilities must be treated as ‘safe havens’, WHO’s regional chief has saidMiddle East crisis – live updatesA total stop to hostilities in the Middle East is needed to halt a “health crisis unfolding in real time”, the World Health Organization’s chief in the region has said.Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must be treated as “safe havens”, urged Dr Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean. Continue reading...
Ha Nguyen McNeill testified before House committee about airport wait times amid DHS funding shutdownThe acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Wednesday that airports across the country are experiencing the “highest wait times in TSA history”, as the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enters its sixth week.At a House homeland security committee hearing, Ha Nguyen McNeill said her agency has been shut down for 50% of the fiscal year so far – a stretch that includes last year’s record-breaking 43‑day lapse in federal funding. She told lawmakers that by Friday, TSA employees will have missed $1bn in paychecks as a result of the closures. Continue reading...
Iran conflict could see shortages not just in fuel, but fertiliser and fossil fuel resins – used to make milk bottlesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFarmers say Australian consumers could pay more for everyday staples for the next year at least as a result of the US-Israel war on Iran.But the CEO of dairy farmer cooperative Norco, Michael Hampson, says a six to 12 month disruption to food supply is likely a best-case scenario, depending on the strait of Hormuz reopening soon and global petrochemical supply chains beginning to stabilise. Continue reading...
Wael Sawan says energy shortages on way if strait of Hormuz does not reopen to oil and gas shippingEurope could face energy shortages and fuel rationing as soon as next month without a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, Shell’s chief executive has warned.The boss of Europe’s biggest oil company said it was working with governments to help them address the oil and gas supply crisis, which has already led to energy rationing in Asian countries. Continue reading...
