Independent News & People Network Desk of News

Starmer’s liaison committee jaunt was largely soporific – just as he’d wanted | John Crace

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:47:46+00:00

Every PM hopes to emerge having said nothing that makes the news, and with Iran centre-stage Keir played a blinderWhat a difference a week makes. At last week’s prime minister’s questions, Keir Starmer tried to persuade us that he knew less than he did. His memory was so bad that he could barely remember who Peter Mandelson was, let alone why he had appointed him as ambassador to the US. Fast forward to Monday’s appearance before the liaison committee, the supergroup of select committee chairs, and Keir was desperate to convince us he knew more than he did. He had the inside track on Iran. He

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Italians Reject Judicial Overhaul, Undermining Meloni

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:46:53+00:00

Some 54 percent of voters spurned a government plan to change how jurists are supervised. It presented Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with her biggest domestic challenge since her election in 2022.

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Avec l’annonce de l’entrée en vigueur du traité Mercosur au 1er mai et l’accord signé mardi avec l’Australie, l’Union européenne accélère dans le libre-échange

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-23T18:37:31+00:00

Amérique du Sud, Inde et maintenant Australie. La présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Layen s’est félicitée, lundi, de la « trilogie commerciale » que Bruxelles a bâtie en quelques mois pour accélérer les échanges de l’UE avec le reste de la planète. Et ce malgré de fortes réticences, en particulier du monde agricole.

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Avec l’annonce de l’entrée en vigueur du traité Mercosur au 1er mai et l’accord signé mardi avec l’Australie, l’UE accélère dans le libre-échange

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-23T18:37:27+00:00

Amérique du Sud, Inde et maintenant Australie. La présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Leyen s’est félicitée, lundi, de la « trilogie commerciale » que Bruxelles a bâtie en quelques mois pour accélérer les échanges de l’UE avec le reste de la planète. Et ce malgré de fortes réticences, en particulier du monde agricole.

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Avec l’annonce de l’entrée en vigueur du traité Mercosur au 1ᵉʳ mai et l’accord signé mardi avec l’Australie, l’UE accélère dans le libre-échange

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-23T18:37:27+00:00

Amérique du Sud, Inde et maintenant Australie. La présidente de la Commission, Ursula von der Leyen s’est félicitée, lundi, de la « trilogie commerciale » que Bruxelles a bâtie en quelques mois pour accélérer les échanges de l’UE avec le reste de la planète. Et ce malgré de fortes réticences, en particulier du monde agricole.

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Security agencies investigate claim Iran-linked group behind London ambulance arson

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:37:18+00:00

Met police say authenticating claim of responsibility by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia is ‘priority’Golders Green ambulance arson attack – live updatesSecurity agencies are investigating whether a group linked to Iran is behind an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in north London.The Metropolitan police said efforts to authenticate a claim of responsibility made by a group known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) were a “priority” as they sought to track three hooded people caught on CCTV at the scene. Continue reading...

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Starmer signals support for household bills next winter amid energy price shock

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:29:29+00:00

PM indicates he would prefer to focus taxpayer-funded help on poorest households, rather than universal bailoutMinisters are looking at providing support for household bills next winter, Keir Starmer said, as he suggested the energy price shock unleashed by the Iran conflict could continue for months to come.The prime minister indicated he would prefer to focus any taxpayer-funded help on the poorest households, rather than an expensive universal bailout, ahead of an emergency meeting on the economic fallout of the Middle East crisis. Continue reading...

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Keir Starmer signals winter support for household bills amid energy price shock

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:29:29+00:00

Any taxpayer-funded financial help will be likely to go to poorest households, rather than to everyone, PM indicatesMinisters are looking at providing support for household bills next winter, Keir Starmer said, as he suggested the energy price shock unleashed by the Iran conflict could continue for months to come.The prime minister indicated he would prefer to focus any taxpayer-funded help on the poorest households, rather than an expensive universal bailout, ahead of an emergency meeting on the economic fallout of the Middle East crisis. Continue reading...

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Итоги торгов на Мосбирже 23 марта

Source: Vedomosti – All Articles · Published: 2026-03-23T18:27:25+00:00

Главный бенчмарк российского фондового рынка по итогам основной сессии в понедельник, 23 марта, уменьшился на 1,1% до 2833,38 пункта. Его долларовый аналог индекс РТС вырос на 1,46% до 1090,15 пункта.

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US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:25:40+00:00

Trump administration announces deal with TotalEnergies to redirect investment in wind to oil and gas insteadAs a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.The deal is the latest blow to the US offshore wind industry, which has faced repeated disruptions to multi-billion-dollar projects under Donald Trump. Continue reading...

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Colombian Military Plane Crash Injures 48 People

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:19:43+00:00

A military transport aircraft was involved in an accident as it took off from southern Colombia, according to the authorities. The military was still investigating the cause.

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Ministers tell HS2 to consider slower train speeds to cut costs

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:04:40+00:00

Company will assess whether drop to 186mph from 224mph will save money and help bring forward launchMinisters have told High Speed Two to consider running its trains at lower speeds, in an attempt to rein in the spiralling budget and begin operations as soon as possible.HS2 Ltd will assess whether limiting the speed to 186mph (300km/h) instead of 224mph could save money – potentially billions of pounds – and bring the railway into being earlier in the 2030s. Continue reading...

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British destroyer HMS Dragon arrives in eastern Mediterranean

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:04:26+00:00

Ship arrives three weeks after Iranian-made drone hit British base of RAF Akrotiri on CyprusMiddle East crisis – live updatesHMS Dragon has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri, the defence secretary has said.The Type 45 destroyer will begin “operational integration into Cyprus’s defence” from Monday night, John Healey told MPs. Continue reading...

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Scores feared dead as Colombian military plane crashes

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:02:51+00:00

Transport plane carrying 125 soldiers and crew crashes shortly after takeoff in southern Amazon regionScores of Colombian soldiers are feared dead after a military transport plane crashed on takeoff in the south of the country.The defence minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the accident happened as the Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 plane was taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region on the border with Peru, as it transported troops from the armed forces.More details soon … Continue reading...

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Six students challenge Home Office visa ban on four countries

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T18:00:56+00:00

Sudanese and Afghan students with offers to study in UK say government’s ‘emergency brake’ is discriminatoryThe women banned from studying in BritainSix students from Sudan and Afghanistan have accused the home secretary of racial discrimination and launched legal action to try to overturn a ban on them taking up university places in the UK.The students – five from Sudan and one from Afghanistan – have undergraduate degrees in medicine and science-based subjects and received offers from universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London. Continue reading...

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Viktor Orbán celebrated by Europe’s far right before Hungary election

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:56:59+00:00

France’s Marine Le Pen and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders among speakers praising prime minister at Budapest eventMarine Le Pen has called Viktor Orbán “an exceptional leader” and Geert Wilders hailed “a lion on a continent led by sheep” as Europe’s far-right figureheads rallied round Hungary’s prime minister before an election that polls suggest he may lose.“Hungary has become a symbol in Europe of a proud and sovereign people’s resistance against oppression,” Le Pen, the parliamentary leader of France’s National Rally (RN), told a gathering of EU-sceptical leaders in Budapest on Monday. Cont

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How the Iran war is about to hit your wallet

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:56:35+00:00

Strikes on gas sites in the Iran war are driving up energy costs, pushing up prices for power, food and more worldwide.

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Starmer says he is ‘unapologetic’ about his focus on national interest when asked how he deals with ‘rude’ Trump – as it happened

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:56:05+00:00

PM tells MPs ‘a lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said or done to put pressure on me’Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, was speaking for the government on the morning news programmes earlier. Speaking to LBC, he confirmed that the government wanted the Competition and Markets Authority to deal with any potention profiteering by oil companies. Pennycook said prices were “prices are soaring in places” and “we’re seeing a huge differentiation in prices across the country, which is why the CMA have put fuel retailers on notice”.Donald Trump has said he has instructed the defence dep

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Watch: Inside a Palestinian home attacked by settlers

Source: BBC News - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:53:17+00:00

Violence began after a teenage settler was killed, reportedly after being hit by a vehicle driven by a Palestinian.

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Watch: Inside Palestinian homes attacked by settlers

Source: BBC News - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:53:17+00:00

Violence began after a teenage settler was killed, reportedly after being hit by a vehicle driven by a Palestinian.

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Middle East crisis live: Trump says Iran and US ‘want to make a deal’ but Tehran says claims of talks are ‘fake news’

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:42:13+00:00

Iranian parliament speaker says ‘no negotiations’ were held with US, as Trump postpones strikes on power plants for five day periodIran vows to destroy Middle East water and energy facilities if US attacks power plantsBritish prime minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting on the economic fallout from the war in Iran on Monday, with chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey also attending, the UK government has said.Financial markets face another turbulent week after Iran said it would strike its Gulf neighbours’ energy and water syst

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Trump can declare victory in Iran – and he should

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:42:04+00:00

The US president has proven that hitting hard and fast rather than engaging in endless negotiations guarantees victory.

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Trump tells Republicans to not make any deals with Democrats until strict voter ID law is passed – US politics live

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:32:46+00:00

President tells Republican senators that Easter is not a reason to leave Washington until Save America Act is passedPilots killed after Air Canada jet collision at LaGuardia New YorkTSA lines stretch for hours as Trump deploys ICE agents to US airportsSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump has said ICE agents did not need to wear masks when deployed at airports.ICE has repeatedly faced criticism for its agents hiding their faces during immigration raids. State officials across the US have said the face coverings add to a climate of fear in local communities and a lack of accountabi

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Reform mayoral candidate likens Jewish community group to ‘Islamists on horseback’

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-23T17:32:25+00:00

Chris Parry describes Shomrim members as ‘cosplayers’ hours after arson attack in north LondonGolders Green ambulance arson attack – live updatesA Reform UK mayoral candidate has described members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likened them to “Islamists on horseback” in comments made after an attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity.Chris Parry, who remains Reform’s mayoral candidate for Hampshire despite a previous controversy in which he said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean, made the comments on Monday about Shomrim, a group of volunteers who saf

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