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UK’s bilateral aid to African countries, which funds areas such as schools and clinics, to be cut by almost £900m by 2028-29Some of the world’s poorest countries will lose out on UK aid that funds programmes such as schools and clinics, due to budget cuts set out by the foreign secretary.The UK’s bilateral aid to African countries will be reduced by almost £900m by 2028-29 – a 56% cut – as part of more than £6bn in cuts which are funding an increase in defence spending. Continue reading...

Right-wing author Brandon Weichert warned MAGA influencer Steve Bannon that President Donald Trump's war in Iran was "not going well."During a Thursday interview on the War Room podcast, Bannon insisted that the U.S. had to "win" the war, even though the goals were unclear."Regardless of how we got in here, and we can debate that, and I'm sure that even in the next couple days are coming up, we are where we are, we have to win, right?" Bannon told Weichert. "The President of the United States gave a very clear order out to the public, to the country, to everybody, that Iranian infrastructure, oil infrastructure was not to be hit. These gas fields were hit deliberately.""Now we're in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, all of it. And it's rattling, whether you like it or not, whether you support President Trump or not," he continued. "It's rattling the world's economy and President Trump's economic plan.""Clearly, there is a severe breakdown in communication not only between the U.S. and its purported allies in the region, but also between — within the administration itself," Weichert agreed. "And I would encourage everybody in the administration, get on the same page now. Because this is not — this is not going well. The American people do not understand what's going on.""Furthermore, whatever the Pentagon and Centcom and the intel community is saying publicly, behind the scenes, the Iranians are still popping these missiles off," he added. "And you asked about Israel. And I would just say that I don't think we have any idea who is running Israel right now. I have seen no confirmation as to whether or not Netanyahu is still alive or in command.""I have seen no confirmation that anyone has succeeded him. I've been hearing rumors from people.""Hang on!" Bannon interrupted, annoyed with rumors of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demise. "That can't be the internet slop that says he's an AI figure or anything like that. It's got to be more definitive.""It's a mess in Israel right now," Weichert said."Besides internet slop, why do you say that?" Bannon demanded. "Well, because the entire Israeli system seems to be in confusion," the author insisted. "There is clearly a problem right now. And then also you have these intelligence failures going on in Lebanon with Mossad, where they're blowing up targets that are clearly not military.""I think they're operating off of bad intelligence because Mossad's capabilities have been degraded."Before signing off, Weichert made it clear that he stood with Joe Kent, a former Trump intelligence official who resigned over the war in Iran."This show and me personally have been the biggest backer of Joe Kent," Bannon remarked.

Distributor says authorities warned screening Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama could harm India–Israel relationsThe Indian release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated Tunisian film about the death of a five-year-old girl during the Israel-Gaza war, has been blocked by the country’s ratings body, according to the film’s Indian distributor.In a report by Variety, Manoj Nandwana of Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment said that he was told that if the film was released, it would “break up” India-Israel relations. Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s Oval Office appearance with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ended on a sour note after he made a tone-deaf comment about Japan attacking Pearl Harbor in 1941.At the end of what was a mostly cordial joint appearance, the president was asked why he did not alert the leadership of Japan and other allies about his impending attack on Iran.First stating that he didn’t want to lose the element of surprise, he took what seemed an awkward stab at a joke, saying, “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"That led to a few scattered laughs and then some murmuring, as the president continued, “You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us. And we had a surprise, and we did, and because of that surprise, we knocked out, the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we — and much more than we anticipated doing. So if I go and tell everybody about it, there’s no longer a surprise, right?”Needless to say, social media lit up over the tasteless remark.Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark L Jacob was quick to respond with, “Trump jokes about Pearl Harbor with his guest, the Japanese prime minister. He’s mentally unhinged, with no impulse control or sense of what’s appropriate.”“I can’t believe that Trump just joked about Pearl Harbor while sitting next to Japan’s prime minister at the White House. What an absolute embarrassment!” added Democratic strategist Jon Cooper. Journalist Steven Beschloss added, “’Who knows more about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?’ -- the embarrassing idiot Donald Trump in response to a Japanese reporter's question about starting a war with Iran while sitting next to the Japanese prime minister.”Educator Orion noted, “You can hear the air go out of the room.”“This is another leak in the cognitive damn. Look for increasingly racist comments in the coming weeks. Unless biology steps in and saves us, I have a feeling we’ll hear the N word by the midterms,” predicted Democracy Dude.“I didn't think he could still make me gasp, but I was wrong,” admitted archivist Rubberband Girl Cheryl McNeilly noted. “My great-aunt Hisako was a Nagasaki survivor. Great-uncle was a pilot, brought her to US post-war. We saw her regularly till her death when I was 20. Sweet, gentle woman. First rule of the family was to NEVER discuss the war. Ever. Even when cancer finally killed her. The look on the PMs face ...”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's approach to war messaging has devolved into pure spectacle — TikTok-style video montages splicing missile strikes into movie clips and video game footage — leaving military veterans and Congress members stunned by the brazenness of treating armed conflict like entertainment content.According to Politico, the White House communications team has churned out more than half a dozen of these viral videos, apparently plucked straight from staffers' private group chats. But outside the administration bubble, the reaction has ranged from bewilderment to outright revulsion.Former military brass are particularly appalled. "I don't think the performance of our men and women in uniform requires embellishment from Hollywood or computer games," said Joe Votel, a former Central Command chief under Trump's first administration. "They represent the American people quite well on their own."Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. troops in Europe during Obama's presidency, was even blunter. "It just seems detached from reality. Our allies look at this and they wonder what the hell is going on? It doesn't look like we're serious."The videos range from an NFL clip captioned "Touchdown" to baseball home runs, Grand Theft Auto footage, and scenes from "Iron Man," "Top Gun" and "Gladiator."Hegseth has escalated beyond embarrassing aesthetics into genuinely alarming territory. He's declared the U.S. will give "no quarter, no mercy for our enemies" — language that signals troops should execute combatants rather than take prisoners, a potential war crime. He's called rules of engagement "stupid" and branded Iranian leaders as "rats" who are "cowering" underground.Military historian Tom Ricks slammed the entire approach. "The Trump administration's approach to discussing the war against Iran is both unusual and unprecedented," he said. "With Hegseth at the helm, they are mixing incompetence and hubris. They don't seem to care what the American public thinks, which is a dangerous approach."The messaging offensive isn't working. A YouGov poll this week found 56 percent of Americans — and 63 percent of independent voters — disapprove of Trump's Iran handling. The propaganda blitz hasn't even successfully consolidated Trump's base, with significant cracks emerging in the MAGA movement.Joe Rogan, the podcaster who helped Trump reach young male voters during the presidential campaign, has called the Iran war "nuts" and reported his listeners feel "betrayed" by Trump's pivot toward military adventurism instead of domestic priorities.You can read more here.e here.

Wall Street is sounding the alarm as Trump's Iran war threatens to crater an already fragile economy, with financial analysts warning the protective guardrails shielding the U.S. from economic catastrophe are rapidly eroding.Just three weeks into the conflict, the damage is already mounting. Oil prices have exploded past $100 a barrel with no relief in sight, inflation is climbing, hiring has stalled, wage growth is collapsing, and mortgage rates are surging as market anxiety deepens. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, but the underlying economic picture is darkening by the day, Politico reported."The guardrails that protected the U.S. economy from President Donald Trump's policy jolts are wearing thin," according to the report.Gregory Daco, EY-Parthenon's chief economist, warned of systemic vulnerability. "The U.S. is now confronting inherent fragilities," he said. "The typical buffers that would prevent any type of external shock — like an oil price shock — from disproportionately affecting the economy are smaller than usual.""Downside risks are rising, and this is an extremely fluid situation," Daco added.The financial sector is rapidly losing confidence in the administration's economic stewardship, Politico reported. A Bank of America survey of global fund managers released Tuesday found inflation expectations surging, with 28 percent now expecting Democrats to retake both houses of Congress in the midterms — up from just 20 percent a month ago.Bob Elliott, CEO and CIO of investment firm Unlimited Funds, expressed the shift in sentiment bluntly. "Until this war happened, everyone thought we were going to have a pretty good growth year," he told Poltico. "Now it's pretty clear that growth is going to be soft."Even Republican insiders are panicking. "The thing that underlines every strong economy is consistency and progress, and things that promote confidence, and I just don't see any of those attributes being displayed on a disciplined, routine basis by the White House," said Chuck Coughlin, a veteran Republican strategist in Arizona. "Most of the country is looking at the president, going: 'What is he doing?'"Goldman Sachs has now pegged the odds of a U.S. recession within the next year at 25 percent. Other major banks are warning that inflation and growth risks look far more acute than they did just weeks ago, before oil prices started soaring.The longer Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, the worse the economic fallout becomes. Release of global oil reserves, sanctions relief, and political risk insurance for tankers cannot fully offset the cascading damage to global supply chains and GDP.Andrew Hollenhorst, chief U.S. economist at Citi, summed up the deteriorating picture before Wednesday's Fed meeting: "Things look a little bit weaker than before. Once an oil shock is added to the equation, it's a really unpleasant combination of data and events."You can read more from Politico here.

Lemi Limbu, who has severe intellectual disabilities, remains in prison and will now face retrial for the murder of her daughterA woman with severe intellectual disabilities in Tanzania has had her conviction and death sentence quashed after spending more than a decade in prison awaiting execution.Lemi Limbu, now in her early 30s, was convicted of the murder of her daughter in 2015. On 4 March, a court in Shinyanga, northern Tanzania, declared she can appeal. She will face a retrial, but a date has yet to be set. Continue reading...

People struggle to cook and businesses bear brunt as closure of strait of Hormuz slows imports of liquefied petroleum gasFor four days, Maya Rani, 36, has been arriving each morning at a gas distributor’s office in Delhi, her six-month-old daughter in her lap, waiting for hours. And each day she returns home empty-handed, told that a cooking gas cylinder may not be available for at least another week. Around her, the queue keeps growing, people clutching forms and documents, hoping to secure a cylinder.The flame in her kitchen began to fade last week and her husband, as he always does, took their 5kg cylinder to a local refiller. This time, there was nothing. The only option left was to apply for a government-subsidised supply, a process that has meant repeated visits, long waits and no certainty. Continue reading...