14 h. ago Netanyahu stuns Israelis by describing ‘personal cost’ of postponing son’s wedding

Israeli prime minister prompts furious backlash for remarks in front of missile-struck hospital at height of Iran conflict Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London during the blitz, and pointed to his own family’s sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son’s wedding.The Israeli prime minister’s remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war that Netanyahu unleashed on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Netanyahu stuns Israelis by describing ‘personal cost’ of Iran war

Israeli prime minister prompts furious backlash for remarks in front of missile-struck hospital at height of Iran conflict Middle East crisis – live updatesBenjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London during the blitz, and pointed to his own family’s sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son’s wedding.The Israeli prime minister’s remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war that Netanyahu unleashed on Friday. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago Starmer warns Trump against ‘ramping up’ Middle East conflict by striking Iran

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman called for restraint and a return to diplomacy

Events

22 h. ago UK interest rates expected to remain on hold; rate cuts in Norway, Switzerland and the Philippines – business live

Central bankers warn that trade war worries, and conflict in the Middle East, could hurt growthNewsflash: We have a third interest rate cut this morning!Norway’s central bank has surprised analysts by cutting its policy rate by a quarter of one percentage point, to 4.25%. The rate had been set at 4.5% since December 2023.“Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected.A cautious normalisation of the policy rate will pave the way for inflation to return to target without restricting the economy more than necessary.”“The uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is now greater than normal. If the economy takes a different path than currently envisaged, the policy rate path may be adjusted. But our objectives stand firm. We will finish the job and ensure that inflation is brought all the way back to 2 percent.”The Monetary Board also noted indications of a deceleratio...

Politics

23 h. ago Bank of England expected to leave interest rates on hold as Middle East conflict pushes up oil price – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Switzerland and Philippines cut interest ratesNewsflash: We have a third interest rate cut this morning!Norway’s central bank has surprised analysts by cutting its policy rate by a quarter of one percentage point, to 4.25%. The rate had been set at 4.5% since December 2023.“Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected.A cautious normalisation of the policy rate will pave the way for inflation to return to target without restricting the economy more than necessary.”“The uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is now greater than normal. If the economy takes a different path than currently envisaged, the policy rate path may be adjusted. But our objectives stand firm. We will finish the job and ensure that inflation is brought all the way back to 2 percent.”The Monetary Board also noted indications of...

Economics

24 h. ago London metals ease on dollar strength; Middle East conflict in focus

London metals ease on dollar strength; Middle East conflict in focus  TradingView

Events

24 h. ago Bank of England expected to leave interest rates as Middle East conflict drives up oil price – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsEurope’s main stock markets have dropped at the start of trading.In London, the FTSE 100 index has lost 33 points, or 0.37%, to 8810 points. Mining stocks are among the fallers. Continue reading...

Economics

38 h. ago Why two of the world’s most powerful spy agencies disagree on Iran’s nuclear capabilities

Donald Trump has publicly disputed analysis by his own intelligence officials that suggests an Iranian nuclear weapon may be years away

Events

40 h. ago America is sleepwalking into another unnecessary war | Eli Clifton and Eldar Mamedov

Here we are, on the brink of another Middle East conflict with Iran – one that was entirely preventableAs the United States inches closer to direct military confrontation with Iran, it is critical to recognize how avoidable this escalation has been. “We knew everything [about Israel’s plans to strike Iran], and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death,” said Donald Trump on Friday. “I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out.”As two of the last analysts from an American thinktank to visit Iran, just three weeks ago, we can report that Iran’s own foreign ministry and members of the nuclear negotiating team were eager to work out a deal with Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, and showed no indication they were interested in slow-walking talks. Continue reading...

Events

43 h. ago How US and Israeli intelligence assessments of Iran’s nuclear capabilities differ

Israeli intelligence believes an Iranian nuclear bomb may be imminent - but US spies disagree

Politics

51 h. ago Asian shares are mixed and oil prices rise as escalating Iran

Asian shares are mixed and oil prices have advanced after the escalation of conflict in the Middle East hit Wall Street

Politics

52 h. ago Donald Trump leaving G7 early was 'no problem' says Mark Carney as summit ends with no statement on Ukraine

The Canadian Prime Minister said he understood why the US President wanted to return to Washington in order to focus on the Middle East conflict.

Politics

59 h. ago Experts' chilling clues the Book of Revelation predicted today's bloody Middle East conflict

The escalating conflict between Israel and other nations in the Middle East has reignited a conspiracy theory that claims the events were foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation.

Events

64 h. ago Foreign governments seek emergency exits for nationals stranded in Iran and Israel

The Iran-Israel conflict has shuttered airspace across the Middle East as the two bitter enemies launch attacks and reprisals at one another

Politics

65 h. ago Israel and Iran strikes continue into fifth day as Trump demands ‘complete give

US president says he is looking at something ‘better than a ceasefire’ after leaving G7 in CanadaLiving in Israel: how have you been affected?Living in Iran: how have you been affected?Donald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.There is indeed an offer to meet and e...

Politics

67 h. ago 'WW3 has now begun' says Putin's crony as he calls on troops to be mobilised

The general's comments come amid rising tensions in the Middle East, coupled with an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has raged on since early 2022

Politics

2 d. ago The Phoenician Scheme is fantasy. It is also a remarkable engagement with the real

Sharp edges of bitter history keep jutting through Wes Anderson’s whimsical intrigues that turn international tragedy into light comedyThe Phoenician Scheme, Wes Anderson’s makebelieve treatment of the war-ravaged near east, reimagines the region as a sunlit Levantine fantasia of cypress trees, fez hats, camel-riders and kitsch hotels, all photographed with the lustre of an Ottolenghi cookbook. Meanwhile, livestreamed daily to our news feeds, the warlords of the Holy Land exhibit for us an equally spectacular dystopia of cities pummelled into sawdust, of skies scarred with scorching white phosphorus and gun-toting paragliders.How could these images be of the same place? What does it mean that they have been produced at the same time, and that we are consuming them alongside each other? Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump to leave G7 early due to escalating Middle East conflict

Israel and Iran trade strikes for fifth day

Politics

3 d. ago US sends aircraft carrier from South China Sea to Middle East as conflict between Israel and Iran grows

The USS Nimitz and its carrier strike group are steaming west from the Pacific as part of an overall buildup of US military firepower

Politics

3 d. ago European leaders at G7 trying to bring Iran back to negotiating table

UK prime minister and French president among those pressing for de-escalation of conflict with IsraelMiddle East crisis – live updatesUS politics live – latest updatesEuropean leaders at the G7 summit in Canada are trying to engineer an Iranian return to the negotiating table using Gulf leaders as intermediaries.But Iran is demanding a joint ceasefire with Israel, while Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is resisting the move, and Donald Trump has yet to show his hand. Continue reading...

Politics