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• 上院軍事委員会は、強制削減（sequester）の枠組みに関連する特定の予算上の策略によって引き起こされる軍の自動的な給与削減を阻止する条項を盛り込んだ、国防権限法（NDAA）の草案を可決しました。 • この規定は、国防総省（Pentagon）の当局者が、人為的な給与削減が募集や定着の問題を引き起こす可能性があると警告し、複数の擁護団体が強制削減（sequester）の上限を恒久的に撤廃するよう議員にロビー活動を行ったことを受けて導入されました。 • Adam Smith上院議員や他の委員会メンバーは、軍人が政治的な予算争いの巻き添え被害（collateral damage）になるべきではないと主張しました。

• メイン州の Janet Mills 知事は木曜日、計画していた上院選への出馬を撤回すると発表した。これにより民主党の予備選から身を引き、州上院議員の Ben Chipman が開かれた選挙戦に参入する道を実質的に拓くこととなった。 • Mills 知事は主な理由として、家族への配慮や注目度の高い上院選に伴う負担を挙げ、2期目を続投する中でメイン州には知事室における「着実なリーダーシップが必要である」と述べた。 • 彼女の撤退は州の政治地図を塗り替えるものであり、近年の国政選挙で「パープル・ステート（激戦州）」の傾向にある同州において、民主党が激しい党内予備選を回避できる可能性が高い。

木曜日に公開された155ページの中間報告書は、12月14日の銃撃事件について、判明していること、そして共有可能な情報がいかに少ないかを示している。Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast。antisemitism and social cohesionに関するroyal commissionによる155ページの中間報告書から明らかなことが一つあるとすれば、それはBondiの惨劇についていかに多くのことが不明なままであり、判明していることの中でいかにわずかな部分しか公衆と共有できないかということだ。木曜日に発表された報告書による勧告の3分の1以上は機密事項であったが、Albanese政権はそれらすべてを履行する計画である。Continue reading...

Senate の委員会は Donald Trump の指名候補を前進させる構えだが、Fed の独立性と Powell の将来についての疑念は消えていない。 US politics live – latest updates Breaking News US ニュースレター・メールへの登録 Federal Reserve を率いる Donald Trump の指名候補である Kevin Warsh は、水曜日に重要な手続き上の関門を突破する見通しとなっており、世界で最も強力な中央銀行を統制しようとする White House の前例のない試みが続く中、今後数週間以内に Jerome Powell の後を継ぐための道が開かれることになる。 Senate 銀行委員会は 10am EDT (1400 GMT) に採決を行い、共和党が支配する Senate 本会議に Warsh の指名案を送る予定である。North Carolina 選出の Thom Tillis 上院議員が、自身が Fed の政治的独立性への脅威と見なしていた Powell に対する Department of Justice による刑事捜査を終了するという Friday の決定を受けて反対を撤回したため、パネルの 13 名の Republicans 全員が Warsh を支持する見通しだ。Continue reading...

• 米大統領の発言は、通常中立を保つ英国君主の側近たちに当惑をもたらす可能性が高い。 • ドナルド・トランプ氏は、イランに核兵器を保有させるべきではないという自身の考えにチャールズ国王が同意していると主張した。 • トランプ氏はこの発言を、訪問中のチャールズ国王とカミラ王妃を歓迎して火曜日にホワイトハウスで開催された国賓夕食会で行った。二人は同日早々に二国間会談を行っていた。

イランを巡る紛争は、経済制裁や海上の遮断といった冷戦のような局面に入り、緊迫した膠着状態にあります。エネルギー価格の高騰は続くと予想され、さらなるエスカレーションのリスクも残っています。トランプ大統領は、イランを核プログラムの交渉に引き出すため、制裁の強化に加えて新たな攻撃を検討していると報じられています。

米イスラエルによるイラン攻撃で戦争が始まってから2ヶ月が経過したが、ホルムズ海峡の支配権とイラン核計画の今後という2つの主要な論点が争点となり、和平交渉は停滞している。(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

Australia is dependent upon UK’s ability to deliver new submarines, but report finds ‘cracks are already beginning to show’ “Cracks are already beginning to show” in the UK’s funding for the Aukus agreement that could derail the ambitious nuclear submarine plan, a British parliamentary inquiry has found, highlighting a threat to Australia’s security.UK shipbuilding has been under-funded for decades and the country’s submarine availability is “critically low”, the House of Commons defence committee’s report found. Continue reading...

Former prime minister says policies will lose support without continued lower prices, while Malcolm Turnbull points to some progress in USGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastKevin Rudd has described Donald Trump’s cuts to support for green industries as “unfortunate”, warning that Australians would conclude the clean transition was “bullshit” if it did not offer tangible benefits to their lives.But – in some of his first comments since finishing his term as Australia’s ambassador to the US – the former prime minister said climate policies would have staying power if they delivered affordable prices, a reliable energy supply and new job opportunities. Continue reading...

• Iran has announced the resumption of uranium enrichment to 80% purity at its Natanz facility, signaling a breakdown in ongoing ceasefire negotiations with the United States. • International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors confirmed the announcement on Friday; Iran's move violates terms of previous diplomatic agreements and heightens regional security concerns. • The escalation comes as negotiators report deadlocked talks over sanctions relief, with both sides blaming the other for refusing compromise on nuclear program restrictions.

• A military confrontation along the Kashmir border escalated Friday when Pakistani forces fired on Indian positions near Uri, killing 12 Indian soldiers and wounding 18 others in the deadliest incident in two years, Pakistani military sources confirmed. • India's military responded with retaliatory strikes, with New Delhi claiming to have neutralized three Pakistani military positions; Pakistan denied casualties on its side but acknowledged defensive operations. • Regional analysts expressed alarm that the incident could spiral into broader conflict, warning both nations possess nuclear arsenals and recent diplomatic tensions have left few de-escalation channels open.

In February 2025, a cheap Russian drone tore through Chornobyl’s confinement shelter. Workers warn the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident is not safe yetThe dosimeter clipped to your chest ticks faster the moment you step off the designated path inside the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Step back, and it slows again – an invisible line between clean ground and contamination.Above rises the “new safe confinement” (NSC) – the largest, movable steel structure ever built, taller than the Statue of Liberty, wider than the Colosseum, its arch curving overhead like an aircraft hangar built for giant planes. Continue reading...

Lack of a sustained plan to end the war has convinced US allies that the White House is running out of ideasNearly eight weeks after Donald Trump launched his assault on Iran, the White House has shifted from a strategy of shock-and-awe bombardments and leadership decapitation to a plan of sustained economic pressure as it tests the wills of a regime practiced over decades at wars of attrition.Since the negotiations stalled, the White House has begun to shift its messaging to say it is willing to wait to strike a more durable deal with Iran – despite the growing economic toll inflicted on the world economy by the closure of the strait of Hormuz. The reason, senior officials have said, is because of the joint US-Israeli strikes were so successful that they have fractured Iran’s leadership and prevented a new consolidation of power. Continue reading...

• North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile from its western region Tuesday evening, the sixth such test in the past three months despite frozen nuclear diplomacy with the US. • US officials assessed the missile demonstrated improved guidance systems, suggesting continued weapons development despite economic sanctions and international isolation. • The test complicates efforts to restart dialogue, with South Korea calling for emergency trilateral talks involving Japan to address escalating regional security threats.

Christopher Trybus, of Swindon, also found not guilty of coercive and controlling behaviour towards Tarryn BairdA man has been cleared of waging a campaign of domestic abuse and sexual violence on his wife, who went on to take her own life.Christopher Trybus, 43, was charged with manslaughter, as well as with two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviour, but was found not guilty after a seven-week trial at Winchester crown court. Continue reading...

Unwanted vessels left to decay release fibreglass shards into the water, harming marine life. Steve Green – with his trusty van Cecil – is determined to clean things upSteve Green, a boat engineer from Cornwall, was pulled over by the police just before Christmas. He was driving a decrepit-looking VW campervan and towing an even more dilapidated yacht up to Truro. He hadn’t broken any laws, but he admits that Cecil the campervan, which runs on donated chip oil from local pubs and has a crane and a winch on the front, “wasn’t quite what VW intended”.Green (and Cecil) are on a mission to rid the beautiful hidden creeks of Cornwall’s Helford and Fal rivers of 166 abandoned fibreglass yachts, which are leaking plastic and toxins into the predominantly marine waters. Marine biologists have likened the thousands of shards of fibreglass they have found embedded in the flesh of sea-creatures in areas with wrecks such as these to asbestos, a substance known to have a noxious effect on humans.Green uses a detachable crane system at the front of his van to move around bags of plastic after they have been weighed. Cecil is upholstered in recycled denim Continue reading...

Ministers hope tobacco and vapes bill, which will become law next week, will create a ‘smoke-free generation’A bill banning anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco in the UK has completed its progress through parliament in a move that ministers hope will create a “smoke-free generation”.Under the tobacco and vapes bill anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never be able to be legally sold tobacco across the UK, in an effort to save lives and reduce the burden on the NHS. Continue reading...

Washington reportedly limits satellite data after minister spoke publicly about suspected facility in North KoreaThe US has partly restricted intelligence sharing with South Korea after the country’s unification minister publicly identified a suspected North Korean nuclear site, according to reports in South Korean media.Chung Dong-young told lawmakers in March that North Korea was operating uranium enrichment facilities in Kusong, a north-western area that had not previously been officially confirmed as a nuclear site alongside the known facilities at Yongbyon and Kangson. Continue reading...

The 82-year-old was accused of abusing girls in the 1960s but was acquitted in Perth despite judge finding the alleged victim was telling the truthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe former champion footballer Barry Cable has been acquitted of a slew of historical child sexual abuse charges despite a judge finding the alleged victim was likely telling the truth.The 82-year-old faced a judge-only criminal trial over allegations he abused a girl aged about eight or nine at his family home in the late 1960s. Continue reading...

• US President Donald Trump warned Iran of 'no more Mr Nice Guy' and threatened new strikes if no deal is agreed by Wednesday, following stalled talks over nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz. • Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz until the US lifts its blockade, with Revolutionary Guard navy confirming the move amid risks to global oil shipments; 13 US service members killed in related conflict. • Negotiations in Islamabad saw US propose 20-year Iranian nuclear suspension, countered by Iran's 3-5 year halt offer; Tehran reports progress but fundamental gaps remain per speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

• President Trump signals he will not extend Iran's ceasefire deadline if a comprehensive deal is not reached by Wednesday, warning of renewed military action including 'dropping bombs' if negotiations fail. • Trump declares the Strait of Hormuz now open due to a U.S. Navy blockade and pointedly rejects NATO's offer of assistance, highlighting America's unilateral stance in Middle East tensions. • The escalating pressure on Iran represents a significant shift in Trump administration foreign policy and challenges traditional alliance structures in addressing regional security threats.

The defence minister insists that increases in spending did not happen because of thinktanks, retired generals ‘or washed-up bureaucrats’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIf there’s anyone who knows just how much pressure Donald Trump is heaping on allies to lift defence spending, it’s Richard Marles.The message was received loud and clear when he met his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in Singapore nearly a year ago. Continue reading...

Pyongyang making ‘very serious’ progress on producing weapons, with rapid rise in activity at main nuclear complexNorth Korea has made “very serious” progress in its ability to produce more nuclear weapons, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog has warned, in another sign that the regime is seeking to use its nuclear arsenal to ensure its survival.North Korea is thought to have assembled about 50 nuclear warheads, although some experts are sceptical of its claims that it is able to miniaturise them so they can be attached to long-range ballistic missiles. Continue reading...

Chancellor ‘frustrated and angry’ at decision to attack Iran ‘without being clear what the objectives are’UK politics live – latest updatesMiddle East crisis – live updatesRachel Reeves has hit out at the “folly” of Donald Trump’s decision to go to war against Iran without a clear exit plan.Speaking to the Mirror before a trip to Washington for the International Monetary Fund spring meeting, the UK chancellor renewed her criticism of the war, which has pushed up oil prices and threatens a new jump in inflation across the west. Continue reading...

Lisa Nandy says there are no grounds to refer Axel Springer deal to Ofcom, ending almost three years of uncertainty for titlesBusiness live – latest updatesThe culture secretary has cleared Axel Springer’s £575m takeover of the Telegraph, paving the way for the end of almost three years of uncertainty over the ownership of the titles.Lisa Nandy said that she does not believe there are grounds to intervene and refer the deal to the media regulator, Ofcom, for an in-depth regulatory investigation. Continue reading...

• President Trump announced on April 12 that the U.S. Navy would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and intercept any vessel that has paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait safely, following the failure of 21-hour nuclear negotiations. • Vice President JD Vance confirmed in Islamabad that no agreement was reached, with Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear program cited as the primary sticking point. • Iran's state-affiliated Fars news agency reported the country has no plan for a next round of negotiations, marking a significant escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict.

• Vice President JD Vance announced at a press conference in Pakistan on April 12 that 21 hours of negotiations with Iran have concluded without reaching an agreement, with the primary sticking point being Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear program. • Vance characterized the lack of progress as "bad news for Iran," while Iran's state-affiliated Fars news agency reported that Tehran has "no plan for a next round of negotiations" according to sources close to the negotiating team. • The failed talks carry significant implications for Middle East stability and global security, with experts examining how the diplomatic breakdown affects ongoing regional conflicts and US-Iran relations.