Top World News

Apr 13, 2026 - World

Donald Trump's announcement of the Hormuz blockade plans came hours after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal in direct talks in Pakistan.

Apr 13, 2026 - World

Iran's weakness in some domains, strength in others, complicates any straightforward application of pressure.

Apr 13, 2026 - World

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top security official Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, and security advisor Ali Shamkhani were all assassinated in the last 45 days.

Apr 13, 2026 - World

Reform UK leader says ‘he is statisfied’ with his deputy after he was accused of failing to pay taxKeir Starmer has confirmed that he wants to stop children being exposed to addictive scrolling features on their phones as part of measures to protect them from social media.The PM is under pressure to implement an Australian-style ban on social media for under-16s, and the government is consulting on whether to go ahead with a full ban, or whether to just impose more specific restrictions.It’s not a question of if we do something, it’s what we do.The addictive scrolling mechanisms are really problematic to my mind, they need to go.Despite some lower-income households receiving a long-overdue real-terms increase in their benefits, we now estimate – based on market-forecasts for the rise in energy prices consistent with market pricing after the announcement of a ceasefire – that average income growth for the poorest fifth this year is now set to be just 1.2 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent before the conflict.The picture is brighter for families in the bottom half of the income distribution with three or more children. Even after the inflation shock, the abolition of the two-child limit is estimated to deliver 7.7 per cent income growth for this group this year – compared to 0.0 per cent for poorer families with fewer than three children.Despite hopes for a sustained peace, the path of this conflict remains uncertain and energy prices remain well above pre-war levels, meaning many households face a decline in their purchasing power this year. Continue reading...

Apr 13, 2026 - World

Tisza leader thanks voters in Facebook post and says his administration will be ‘well-functioning and compassionate’in BrusselsThe EU will start work with the new Hungarian government “as soon as possible” to make progress on issues including energy and the release of frozen European funds, the head of the European Commission has said.“We will start working with the government as soon as possible on the topics you mentioned and much more to make a swift and overdue progress to the benefit of the Hungarian people.”“I think moving to qualified-majority voting in foreign policy is an important way to avoid systematic blockages as we’ve seen in the past. And we should use the momentum now really to move forward on that topic.” Continue reading...