CHINA - China said on Friday it will impose reciprocal 34% tariffs on all imports from the United States from April 10, making good on a promise to strike back after US President Donald Trump escalated a global trade war. On Wednesday, Trump unveiled an additional 34% tariffs on all Chinese goods imported into the US, in a move poised to cause a major reset of relations and worsen trade tension between the world’s two largest economies. “This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing its retaliatory tariffs.

USA - Even if Trump’s trade wars avoid tipping the US and world economies into recession, they look set to fail on multiple fronts. Already, China has responded with equally brutal retaliatory measures. Always a stickler for the legalities, the EU will take time to act, but act it eventually will. Who’s to say what comes next? If, for instance, Europe retaliates by targeting the digital economy, where the US currently enjoys a considerable trade surplus, Mr Trump might respond with increased US protections around financial services and other service based industries so far unaffected by the blizzard of new tariffs.

UK - The world as we knew it has gone. Nobody wins from a trade war. First it was defence and national security. Now it is the global economy and trade. Old assumptions can no longer be taken for granted. The world as we knew it has gone. We must rise to meet the moment. We are ready for what comes next. The new world is less governed by established rules and more by deals and alliances. It demands the best of British virtues – cool heads, pragmatism and a clear understanding of our national interest.

UK - Security experts have urged Brits to keep a three-day survival kit on hand in case Putin targets crucial infrastructure. The UK's increasing reliance on imported gas could make it particularly vulnerable to Russian gas pipeline sabotage, security experts have warned. Advisors have urged Brits to follow the example of EU leaders who have told citizens to pack three-day survival kits in case of blackouts from Russian sabotage of underwater pipes transporting gas to the UK. Around 40% of the country's gas supply comes from Norway, including through the 700-mile Langeled pipeline. The North Sea infrastructure helped Britain to keep the lights on over the winter after the Government's drive towards Net Zero saw the UK's last coal-fired power station close in September.

GERMANY - Berlin’s rearmament drive could see automotive assembly lines retooled to roll out tanks. Ferdinand Porsche became widely known as the brilliant engineer behind the bestselling Volkswagen Beetle and some of Porsche’s first sports cars. But like his creations, the German industrialist had a dark side that is impossible to separate from his technical achievements.

MIDDLE EAST - Hamas has removed more than 3,400 previously reported deaths from its official casualty figures, including 1,080 alleged child fatalities, according to new research that asserts the numbers were knowingly falsified. On Tuesday, The Telegraph reported that a March update from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health drastically revised down its earlier tallies of war dead. According to Honest Reporting’s Salo Aizenberg, the updated fatality list dropped thousands of names that had been publicly listed in PDFs released in August and October of 2024. “These ‘deaths’ never happened,” he stated. “The numbers were falsified – again.”

USA - Robert Bryce's 2011 book "Power Hungry: The Myths of 'Green' Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future" challenges widely held beliefs about renewable energy and presents a sobering analysis of what truly powers modern society. The book opens with a striking depiction of the Cardinal Mine in western Kentucky, where coal miner Pete Hagan extracts massive quantities of coal with remarkable efficiency. In just 45 seconds, his machine mines a dozen tons – a testament to coal's enduring role as a cornerstone of affordable energy. Despite claims that coal is obsolete, Bryce reveals that this single mine produces the raw energy equivalent of 66,000 barrels of oil per day. Its output nearly matches that of all US wind and solar installations daily. This stark comparison underscores the immense scale of energy demand and the limitations of renewables in meeting it.

USA - Days of heavy rains have led to rapidly swelling waterways and prompted a series of flood emergencies from Texas to Ohio. Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding on Saturday hit parts of the US south and midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that also spawned deadly tornadoes. Forecasters warned that rivers in some places would continue to rise for days. Day after day of heavy rains have pounded the central US, rapidly swelling waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies from Texas to Ohio. The National Weather Service (NWS) said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible. At least 16 weather-related deaths have been reported since the start of the storms, including 10 in Tennessee.

RUSSIA - The West is breaking up – here is what Russia and China must do. The old world is fading. Moscow and Beijing are building the new one. Russia and China have emerged in recent years as standard-bearers of a world that aspires to multipolarity, sovereignty, and respect for international law. Their strategic partnership, tested by global crises and geopolitical turbulence, now serves as a cornerstone of what is often called the “world majority” – a growing group of states seeking independence in foreign policy and development. Despite intense Western pressure, including sanctions and information campaigns, Moscow and Beijing have preserved and even deepened their cooperation. This partnership is not only important to both countries, but it also carries global significance. It is a model for how major powers can challenge hegemonic structures while remaining committed to international norms.

RUSSIA - Nations of the group make a significant contribution to crucial sectors of the world economy, and this also increases the group’s political role. BRICS+ collectively represents nearly half of the world’s population and is set to overtake the G7 in terms of global GDP share by 2028. The figures underscore the critical role of BRICS in the international arena, showcasing its influence over essential sectors like agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and the extraction of minerals. BRICS+ has become a key player in global food production. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are major contributors to primary crops like sugar, corn, rice, wheat, palm oil, and potatoes. These countries produce nearly 90% of the world’s palm oil and substantial amounts of soybean and canola oil.

ITALY - Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has condemned the verdict against French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen as “a declaration of war by Brussels.” Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison on embezzlement charges and barred from running for public office for five years, including an upcoming presidential election in 2027. In a post on X on Monday, Salvini compared the outcome of the trial in Paris to the recent barring of independent candidate Calin Georgescu in Romania. ”Those who fear the judgment of the voters often find reassurance in the judgment of the courts,” Salvini said. “A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries such as Romania.”

EUROPE - The controversial move to ban National Rally leader Marine Le Pen from standing in the French presidential election has been accused of demonstrating double standards, with reports claiming that over a hundred other European politicians violated the same rules without facing prosecution. A Paris court enacted a five-year ban from running in any election against populist firebrand Marine Le Pen after finding her, and other members of her National Rally party, guilty of “embezzling” European Union funds for political activities in France.

USA - The global trade war is officially heating up. President Trump just unveiled a series of tariffs that were higher than expected, and business leaders all over the world are absolutely stunned. For many of those that have made a killing importing goods into the United States, their businesses have now been ruined. For many of those that manufacture their goods right here in the United States, President Trump’s tariffs are very welcome news. The tariffs that Trump has just announced will go into effect right away, and stock futures are plunging as I write this article. During the economic chaos that is ahead, there will be winners and there will be losers. But without a doubt, the global trade war that has now fully erupted will certainly be an enormous shock to the global economy.

USA - About 92 percent of judges who blocked President Donald Trump’s first-term agenda were appointed by Democrats, Representative Tom McClintock (Republican for California) says. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls it a “judicial coup d’état.” During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, McClintock cited research from the Harvard Law Review, published last year, which found that of the 64 nationwide injunctions issued in Trump’s first term in office, 92 percent were delivered by Democrat-appointed judges. “That at least suggests a rather partisan tilt to all of this, and it’s not being done even-handedly,” McClintock said.

USA - US president Donald Trump has moved another aircraft carrier to the Middle East after amassing stealth bombers to the nearby Chagos Islands, amid fears he may be gearing up to strike Iran. The US is moving the USS Carl Vinson from Asia, where it normally patrols the South China Sea, to the Persian Gulf, directly south of Iran, to join its sister carrier USS Harry S Truman. Trump appears to be making good on a threat to attack Iran with a 'bombing the likes to which they have never seen before' should its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, refuse to destroy its nuclear programme and stop supporting proxy wars in the Middle East. America has already moved six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to the Chagos Islands, a third of its fleet, with satellite imagery showing them resting at the Diego Garcia military base on the UK-controlled island.