Leadership

Germany’s chancellor suggests Trump administration is being outwitted at negotiating table by TehranThe US is being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership, according to Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, who suggested the Trump administration was being outwitted at the negotiating table by Tehran.Two days ago Donald Trump cancelled a trip by US negotiators to Islamabad for indirect talks with an Iranian delegation. A previous round in the Pakistani capital two weeks earlier, when JD Vance, the American vice-president, led the US delegation, broke up without progress. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s leadership is still in the spotlight after Mandelson was appointed US ambassador after he failed security vettingLiz Kendall has repeated David Lammy’s claim the prime minister would have stopped Peter Mandelson’s appointment if he had known the peer had failed security vetting.Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday, the science and technology said Keir Starmer was a “man of integrity”. Continue reading...

Current and ex-officials at the CDC warn Americans’ health security in danger under RFK Jr’s directionFourteen months after Robert F Kennedy Jr was sworn in as US health secretary, the country’s prime public health agency over which he presides is in a state of disarray.Eighty per cent of the top director positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stand vacant, with no permanent leader to drive policies affecting the health of millions of Americans. No one is in place to coordinate the agency’s day-to-day work fighting infectious disease, combatting heart conditions or screening for cancer. Continue reading...

• Ben Jealous has publicly opposed the NAACP board's decision to terminate his leadership, characterizing the move as "disheartening" and signaling his intent to challenge the removal. • The termination represents internal conflict within the nation's oldest civil rights organization over strategic direction and governance. • The leadership dispute within the NAACP reflects broader debates within civil rights organizations about activism, funding, and political alignment.

• US stock markets experienced sharp volatility in March 2026, with equities approaching correction territory before a month-end rally as oil prices surged significantly, driven by geopolitical events shaping the economic outlook. • Energy emerged as the strongest-performing sector, driving value stocks to materially outperform growth peers, while bond markets showed less stability than expected as inflation concerns contributed to higher rate volatility. • Despite market weakness and narrowing leadership, corporate profit expectations remained resilient with consensus earnings forecasts pointing to healthy growth in 2026, suggesting the selloff was driven by valuation reassessment rather than earnings deterioration.

Review finds no ‘meaningful impact’ five years after race action plan launched, amid calls for government to step inPromises by police chiefs to tackle racial bias failed owing to “a lack of clear national leadership”, an independent police report has found.The promises were made five years ago in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and led police bosses in England and Wales to launch a race action plan promising to tackle the “stigmatising and humiliating” experiences of Black people at the hands of officers. Continue reading...

• White House technology advisor David Sacks has expanded his role to become co-chair of a newly formed presidential advisory council focused on guiding U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. • The council aims to shape national AI policy and strategy amid intensifying global competition. • This development underscores the Biden administration's push to maintain U.S. dominance in AI innovation and deployment.

Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf at first dismissed talks took place, insisting Trump’s claim was ‘fake news’ designed to soothe markets Middle East crisis – live updatesThe backchannel talks between Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, were not a secret in the sense that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry had tweeted that conversations were under way on Sunday, 24 hours before Donald Trump’s late Monday deadline to start blowing up Iran’s energy infrastructure.But such is the chaos surrounding the process that the discussions – thought to be well short of negotiations – may have lasted longer than Sunday, with more than one mediator, as is often the case, jostling for the title of peacemaker in chief. Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, for instance, spoke with Trump on Sunday, while Pakistani prime minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, held talks with Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Monday. It is possible Pakistan could become the venue for further talks that this time would include JD Vance, the vice-president, a private sceptic about the war. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, was right to warn not to bank on an early end to the conflict. Continue reading...

• Stagwell's Harris Poll found 88% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats view rigorous science as essential for progress, with 80-90% crediting US scientists for quality-of-life improvements. • Only 19% believe US leads China in research, 33% say falling behind; 90%+ across parties want US global leadership role. • If government funding lags, Americans favor businesses (23%) and nonprofits (19%) to fill gaps.

A report by George David Banks, former Trump energy adviser and president of the American Council for Capital Formation, calls for the US to study and regulate solar geoengineering technologies that cool the planet by reflecting sunlight. Banks warns that adversaries like China could weaponize these planet-cooling tools, threatening US agricultural production and economic stability. The paper argues for proactive research regardless of climate change views to prevent foreign dominance. It recommends government funding and international agreements on deployment risks.

A University of Pennsylvania Annenberg survey reveals only 11% of Americans would follow CDC over American Academy of Pediatrics on vaccine recommendations, signaling severe public health alarm fatigue. RFK Jr.'s leadership gutted the childhood immunization schedule from 17 to 11 vaccines, terminated $500 million in mRNA research contracts, and oversaw 2,200 measles cases with three deaths in 2025, risking loss of elimination status achieved in 2000. CDC trust plummeted from 75% to 60% in one year due to political leadership, though two-thirds still trust career scientists. Protocols are shifting as 77% prefer AAP guidance on vaccinations.