Tulsi Gabbard tells Senate panel US strikes on Iran are strategic success 18. March 2026 (17:11) National intelligence director says Iran’s conventional military projection capabilities had been ‘largely destroyed’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxTulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence who in 2019 was selling “No War With Iran” T-shirts, told the Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday that US strikes on Iran had been a strategic success.“I’d like to remind those who are watching what I am briefing here today conveys the intelligence community’s assessment of the threats facing US citizens, our homeland and our interests,” Gabbard told the committee, “not my personal views or opinions”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Farage called for release of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and praised effort to free drug trafficker 18. March 2026 (17:00) Reform UK leader was paid to make remarks about imprisoned rapper and ex-Honduran president in Cameo videosNewly unearthed Nigel Farage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogansNigel Farage called for the release of the imprisoned rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and commended the efforts to free a former Honduran president jailed in the US for drug trafficking.The Reform UK leader was paid to make the remarks on the personalised video platform Cameo, which allows users to commission celebrities and public figures to record short video clips. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Polanski positions Greens’ economic policy as radical alternative to Reeves 18. March 2026 (16:45) Offer to reform taxes, tackle ‘rip-off Britain’ and overhaul fiscal rules could tempt exasperated Labour supportersZack Polanski says Greens would ditch GDP targets and focus on wellbeing insteadThe venue for Zack Polanski’s economic speech on Wednesday – a sunny north London garden centre – could hardly have been more different to the sombre City backdrop for Rachel Reeves’s Mais lecture a day earlier.The chancellor was, as it happens, the last politician to give a major economic speech at the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the leftwing thinktank that invited the Green party leader, Polanski, to set out his stall as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations. Back in 2018 it hosted the speech in which, as a backbencher, Reeves called for an “everyday economy” that would prioritise the needs of low-paid workers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The EU’s Hungary problem won’t be solved even if Viktor Orbán is ousted 18. March 2026 (16:33) The bloc’s foremost troublemaker could lose April’s election, but the headaches he’s caused will not necessarily disappear with him• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHow do you solve a problem like Viktor Orban? By crossing your fingers and hoping it disappears in just over three weeks’ time. But even if the European Union’s disruptor-in-chief is ousted in elections next month (which is far from certain), Europe’s Hungary problem is unlikely to vanish overnight.EU leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for yet another summit that will be at least partly hijacked by Orbán, Hungary’s illiberal prime minister. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israel faces stiff Hezbollah resistance as it attempts to push deeper into Lebanon 18. March 2026 (16:25) IDF engaged in intense fighting with militants in at least three key areas in battle for control of border townsMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIsrael and Hezbollah are engaged in intense ground clashes in at least three strategic areas in south Lebanon as Israel pushes on with its ground invasion of its neighbour, according to a Lebanese security source and residents of the affected towns.Much of the fighting was concentrated around the strategic hilltop city of Khiam, with the Israel Defense Forces carrying out an air and artillery campaign against Hezbollah fighters dug into the city. Fighting escalated there after days of clashes, with a Hezbollah spokesperson acknowledging there were “heightened clashes” on the eastern and northern outskirts of the city. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Looking for leverage: China keeps close eye on US politics after summit delay 18. March 2026 (16:25) Beijing seeks to decipher effect of Iran war on US midterms and best way to apply pressure when Trump meets XiThe White House said on Wednesday that China had agreed to postpone Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, as war in the Middle East rages on, complicating the US president’s position at home and abroad.China has not yet commented on the delay to the highly anticipated trip, in which Trump and the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will meet in person for the first time since October. Trump previously said he hoped to delay the trip, originally scheduled to run from 31 March to 2 April, for “five or six weeks”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Channel 5 defends Huw Edwards drama and says it gives voice to alleged victim 18. March 2026 (16:00) Producers say alleged victim of grooming was ready to tell his story and show raises urgent issues around online safetyChannel 5 has defended its controversial drama about the downfall of Huw Edwards, saying it raises the “urgent” issue of grooming and online safety and gives voice to his alleged victim, who worked with the programme to tell his side of the story so “no one who has been silenced feels they are alone”.Starring Martin Clunes as the disgraced former BBC newsreader, the drama charts the claim of a relationship and texts between Edwards and a vulnerable young man who was at the centre of a scandal reported by the Sun in 2023, which alleged the presenter made payments to a 17-year-old for sexually explicit images.Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards will air at 9pm on 24 March on Channel 5. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prosecutors seek more than seven years in jail for son of Norway’s crown princess 18. March 2026 (15:57) Marius Borg Høiby accused of 39 offences, but denies the most serious charges of four rapesMarius Borg Høiby, the son of Norway’s crown princess, should receive more than seven years in prison if he is found guilty of 39 offences, including four rapes and assaults, according to prosecutors.On Wednesday, the penultimate day of the more than six-week-long trial at Oslo district court, the prosecution said it believed that Høiby was guilty of 39 of the 40 offences with which he was charged, which, as well as rape and domestic abuse, include multiple breaches of restraining orders, assault, drug and driving offences. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Polymarket gamblers threaten Israeli journalist over missile strike story 18. March 2026 (15:22) Emanuel Fabian says his routine report became focus of wager with $23m at stake on online prediction platformAn Israeli journalist received threatening messages from users of the online prediction platform Polymarket after one of his reports, on a minor missile strike near Jerusalem, suddenly became the focus of an unresolved bet about the Israel-Iran conflict.“After you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you,” said one message to the journalist, Emanuel Fabian. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
NSW police overusing ‘highly intrusive’ legal powers to monitor phones and computers, national watchdog finds 18. March 2026 (15:00) Commonwealth ombudsman also finds Victoria and Queensland police not keeping adequate recordsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales police force is overusing intrusive technology to monitor the phones and computers of people suspected of committing less serious crime, the commonwealth ombudsman has found.The watchdog said Victoria and Queensland police were not keeping sufficient records to justify their use of the electronic surveillance powers, while NSW police “were unable to demonstrate” they were meeting the requirements of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
