Pledge

The Politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, was cited as saying by state news agency Xinhua that the economy got off to a better-than-expected start this year.

• 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.

Soaring cost of building materials, lack of affordability and planning bottlenecks are some of the obstacles thwarting housing targetAt South and City College in Birmingham, dozens of young people clad in hi-vis vests and hard hats are building mini-walls and plastering half-formed rooms.Some weave in and out of stacks of bricks with wheelbarrows, while others use spirit levels to check the walls are straight and flat. In a few days time, these walls will be demolished and the plastering scraped away, for a new class to come in and try their hands. Continue reading...

• Filipino coast guard vessels and Chinese maritime militia engaged in a tense standoff Friday near Scarborough Shoal, with both nations claiming territorial waters; no shots were fired, but vessels came within 500 meters of each other, Filipino officials reported. • The incident involved disputed fishing rights and resource access; the Philippines detained three Chinese fishing boats accused of illegal harvesting in Manila-claimed waters, while China demanded their immediate release. • The US State Department reiterated commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines and called for peaceful resolution, warning that any military escalation in the strategic waterway threatens global trade and stability.

Prime minister tells Jewish leaders legislation against malign state actors will go before parliament in JulyKeir Starmer has promised to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards by introducing legislation in the next session of parliament in July.On a trip to Kenton united synagogue in north-west London on Thursday, the prime minister said he wanted “to make Britain a country where our Jewish community feels safe”. Continue reading...

Donors exceed funding target at Berlin conference but prospects for ceasefire remain distantMore than £1bn (€1.15bn) has been pledged for war-ravaged Sudan at a conference in Berlin, eclipsing the funding target organisers had set to help mitigate the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.The financial commitments made on Wednesday will also help offset a chronic humanitarian funding shortfall in a country devastated by three years of conflict, where two-thirds of its population – 34m people – require assistance. Continue reading...

Party says plan for ‘radical change’ will be funded in part through higher taxes on aviation, gambling and landlordsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Scottish Greens have called for free bus travel, thousands of extra teachers and doctors and a universal basic income among hundreds of uncosted manifesto pledges.The party is enjoying a bounce in Scottish opinion polls, with some putting it ahead of Labour, driven partly by the surging support for the Green party of England and Wales under the leadership of Zack Polanski. Continue reading...

Petition with 4,000 signatures decries ‘slap in the face’, saying Philz made fortune off LGBTQ+ communitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPhilz, a popular coffee chain with locations across California, is facing growing criticism after news broke that the San Francisco-based company planned to remove Pride flags from its stores.The move is part of an effort to “[create] a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor”, Mahesh Sadarangani, the company’s CEO, said in a statement to SFGate. The company did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. Continue reading...

Australia and Singapore will ‘make maximum efforts to meet each other’s energy security needs’ in refined fuels and LNG, according to new agreementGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s largest petrol source has pledged not to cut supplies, with Singapore’s prime minister telling Anthony Albanese that fuel will keep flowing despite the international crisis.Albanese’s whistle-stop visit with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, culminated in a new agreement that the two countries would keep sending one another fuel and liquefied natural gas, amid the “acute energy crisis” caused by the war in the Middle East. Australia and Singapore will also add a legally binding addendum to their free trade agreement on essential supplies like energy. Continue reading...

• USAID announced $200 million emergency aid on April 8, 2026, for Ethiopia's northern drought affecting 4.2 million people facing acute famine. • Funds will deliver food, water, and medical supplies via UN partners to Tigray and Amhara regions, where child malnutrition rates hit 30%. • The crisis, worsened by conflict and failed rains, threatens Horn of Africa stability; US envoy warned of 'catastrophic' death toll without swift action.

Anas Sarwar says scheme would be part of overhaul of arts funding in ScotlandLabour has pledged to spend £30m on giving Scottish artists and musicians a living wage, mirroring a similar scheme in Ireland guaranteeing artists a basic income.Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said the scheme would be part of a deeper shake-up of cultural funding in Scotland by integrating arts and culture into the Scottish government’s economic strategies if his party won power in next month’s Holyrood election. Continue reading...

• A UN report released April 5, 2026, warns of famine in Sudan affecting 25 million people, prompting the US to announce $500 million in emergency food aid amid ongoing civil war. • USAID Administrator Samantha Power highlighted clashes between RSF and SAF displacing 4.5 million since last year, with child malnutrition rates at 30% in Darfur. • The crisis underscores US humanitarian leadership but strains budgets amid domestic priorities, potentially influencing congressional funding debates.

• 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.

• Major companies—Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, OpenAI, and xAI—signed a federal pledge to provide their own electricity for AI data centers, shielding U.S. consumers from grid overload. • The commitment responds to exploding energy needs from AI infrastructure, following Meta's Louisiana gas plant initiative and similar efforts nationwide. • Industry leaders aim to prevent rate hikes and blackouts while fueling the AI boom central to U.S. tech competitiveness.

Police and animal rights activists say trail hunting is frequently used as a ‘smokescreen’ for illegal foxhuntingThe government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.“We pledged to ban trail hunting in our manifesto and that is exactly what we intend to do,” said Sue Hayman, the animal welfare minister. “The nature of trail hunting makes it difficult to ensure wild and domestic animals are not put at risk of being killed or injured – that is clearly unacceptable.” Continue reading...

• The Trump administration, through Energy Secretary Chris Wright's leadership, is accelerating AI data center expansion via a 'Ratepayer Protection Pledge' encouraging major tech firms including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI to fund their own power generation. • Utilities have signed agreements for 183 gigawatts of data center capacity, equivalent to 22% of 2025 U.S. electricity demand, with initiatives including streamlined permits and federal land use for construction. • The expansion presents challenges in deregulated markets like Texas and mid-Atlantic states, where utilities manage only transmission infrastructure rather than power supply responsibility, requiring state and regional coordination to ensure adequate power plant development.

• Both Republicans and Democrats signaled strong opposition to cutting National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the 2027 budget request expected within two weeks, following President Trump's failed 40 percent cut request for the prior year. • Last month Congress approved a $415 million increase for the NIH, allocating $48.7 billion to the agency for biomedical research, with bipartisan lawmakers encouraging NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya to distribute funding to their districts and projects improving American health. • Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro stated lawmakers would "continue to reject cuts to NIH research, because what you do is life-saving," underscoring commitment to maintaining research support.

• Eight leading tech companies, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, have signed a voluntary accord to share threat intelligence on fraudsters misusing their services ahead of the UN Global Fraud Summit in Austria on March 16. • The initiative aims to counter AI-accelerated fraud tactics, where criminals use online forums and AI to create convincing personas and spread activities across multiple platforms. • Fraud losses have surged recently due to advanced technology enabling realistic deceptions, prompting calls for enhanced user security features and stricter law enforcement against global syndicates.