US spending on first week of Iran war raises stark questions about priorities 18. March 2026 (13:00) $11.3bn more than enough to fund EPA or National Cancer Institute, where administration sought to slash budgetsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US spent $11.3bn on just the first week of its military assault on Iran. This huge expenditure dwarves the annual budgets of many of the public health and scientific agencies the Trump administration has sought to cut, raising stark questions about the country’s priorities.In the six days that followed the US and Israel’s joint attack on Iran on 28 February, $11.3bn was spent on American taxpayer-funded bombs that hit the country and caused hundreds of deaths, the Pentagon has told lawmakers. This figure does not capture the full cost of the conflict, such as deployment of forces, and will now be far higher given the ongoing nature of the war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Afghans search for loved ones at Kabul rehab centre hit by Pakistani airstrike 18. March 2026 (12:53) Afghan Taliban government says more than 400 people killed and 265 injured, as Pakistan disputes target of strikeFamilies and friends of people who were being treated at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul have continued to search for their loved ones two days after it was bombed by Pakistan, in the deadliest attack so far in the months-long conflict between the two countries.The Afghan Taliban government has said more than 400 people were killed and 265 others wounded in the airstrike, which took place on Monday night as people and staff at the centre were praying days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
RFK Jr met Republican diplomat days before controversial 2019 trip to Samoa, emails show 18. March 2026 (12:00) Records shed light on how Scott Brown – then Trump’s New Zealand ambassador, now running for Senate – responded to Kennedy’s 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreakWhen Robert F Kennedy Jr ran for president as a Democrat in 2023, he found an unexpected ally in Scott Brown. A former Republican senator, Brown had begun a tradition of hosting Republican presidential candidates for barbecues in his New Hampshire back yard, where they could stump for votes and get attention ahead of the state’s crucial primary.Kennedy became Brown’s first Democratic invitee. His appearance in September 2023 drew hundreds of people, Brown’s biggest crowd ever. Kennedy held Brown in such high regard that after he decided to run instead as an independent, he reportedly reached out to Brown as a possible vice-presidential running mate, though Brown declined. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Canada wants to build up its long-neglected Arctic. The hard question is how 18. March 2026 (12:00) Ottawa wants to modernize a region in the north that’s about six times the size of Texas, ‘just like in the 1800s’Picture an Arctic territory, marginalized by its own country, almost entirely lacking roads, ports and power sources, but rich in mining potential and suddenly feeling vulnerable to outside threats.It’s not Greenland; it’s the Canadian Arctic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Revealed: a crypto billionaire’s political base hosting ‘anti-woke’ and rightwing activists in Westminster 18. March 2026 (12:00) Pardoned by Trump after violating US banking law, Ben Delo provides funding, networking, and podcasting space for a range of groups, including those with hardline views on migration and abortionA British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate money-laundering controls on his cryptocurrency business is funding a political base in the heart of Westminster used by “anti-woke” and rightwing activists.Ben Delo, 42, who was pardoned by Donald Trump last year, has given support in kind to Rupert Lowe, the anti-migration MP challenging Nigel Farage from the right – while also connecting with mainstream figures including the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and former cabinet minister Michael Gove. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate to consider Markwayne Mullin’s nomination amid DHS shutdown 18. March 2026 (11:00) Trump pick for homeland security secretary followed firing of Kristi Noem amid blowback for anti-immigration tacticsA Senate committee on Wednesday will consider Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which Democrats have forced into a partial shutdown until their demands for guardrails on immigration enforcement are met.Donald Trump nominated Mullin, a first-term Republican senator from Oklahoma, as DHS secretary earlier this month, after the president ousted secretary Kristi Noem amid public blowback against the administration’s aggressive approach to its mass deportation agenda, which resulted in the killings of two US citizens by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
HelloFresh hit by sales slump as people lose appetite for meal kits 18. March 2026 (10:33) German food delivery firm’s share price has plummeted by 93% since 2021 boom during Covid lockdownsHelloFresh has reported a sharp decline in sales as the struggling food delivery company battles falling demand after the pandemic-era meal kit boom.The German company was forced to make 900 UK job cuts last year with the closure of a delivery site in Nuneaton, and the demand for meal kits tumbled as revenue fell by more than 11% during 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fuel rations and no air con: south-east Asian nations race to conserve energy 18. March 2026 (10:28) Governments in countries heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil introduce measures to shield public from soaring costsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn Thailand, news anchors ditched their jackets on air as the government called on the public to reduce their use of air conditioning to save energy. In the Philippines, many government workers are now operating on a four-day week. In Vietnam, officials have urged employers to allow staff to work from home.Across south-east Asia, governments are scrambling to find ways to conserve energy and shield the public from soaring costs as war in the Middle East causes what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham says Labour would ‘do well to listen’ to Angela Rayner 18. March 2026 (09:51) Greater Manchester mayor adds to Rayner’s criticism of planned immigration changes, which she has called ‘un-British’UK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has backed stark criticism of the direction of Keir Starmer’s government by Angela Rayner after she said the very survival of the Labour party was at stake.Rayner, the former deputy prime minister and an influential backbencher, used a speech on Tuesday night to warn that the prime minister “cannot go through the motions” in the face of declining support. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
GB News faces complaints after commentator claims ‘genocide’ against white people in UK 18. March 2026 (09:46) Thomas Corbett-Dillon, who claims to have advised Boris Johnson, says immigrants could ‘turn’ on white populationGB News is facing a backlash after a commentator on one of its shows suggested there is “a genocide happening” against white people in England and that immigrants could “turn” on the white population.Ofcom, the media regulator, has received a series of complaints about the comments by Thomas Corbett-Dillon. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
