EUROPE - The controversial move to ban National Rally leader Marine Le Pen from standing in the French presidential election has been accused of demonstrating double standards, with reports claiming that over a hundred other European politicians violated the same rules without facing prosecution. A Paris court enacted a five-year ban from running in any election against populist firebrand Marine Le Pen after finding her, and other members of her National Rally party, guilty of “embezzling” European Union funds for political activities in France.

USA - The global trade war is officially heating up. President Trump just unveiled a series of tariffs that were higher than expected, and business leaders all over the world are absolutely stunned. For many of those that have made a killing importing goods into the United States, their businesses have now been ruined. For many of those that manufacture their goods right here in the United States, President Trump’s tariffs are very welcome news. The tariffs that Trump has just announced will go into effect right away, and stock futures are plunging as I write this article. During the economic chaos that is ahead, there will be winners and there will be losers. But without a doubt, the global trade war that has now fully erupted will certainly be an enormous shock to the global economy.

USA - About 92 percent of judges who blocked President Donald Trump’s first-term agenda were appointed by Democrats, Representative Tom McClintock (Republican for California) says. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls it a “judicial coup d’état.” During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, McClintock cited research from the Harvard Law Review, published last year, which found that of the 64 nationwide injunctions issued in Trump’s first term in office, 92 percent were delivered by Democrat-appointed judges. “That at least suggests a rather partisan tilt to all of this, and it’s not being done even-handedly,” McClintock said.

USA - US president Donald Trump has moved another aircraft carrier to the Middle East after amassing stealth bombers to the nearby Chagos Islands, amid fears he may be gearing up to strike Iran. The US is moving the USS Carl Vinson from Asia, where it normally patrols the South China Sea, to the Persian Gulf, directly south of Iran, to join its sister carrier USS Harry S Truman. Trump appears to be making good on a threat to attack Iran with a 'bombing the likes to which they have never seen before' should its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, refuse to destroy its nuclear programme and stop supporting proxy wars in the Middle East. America has already moved six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to the Chagos Islands, a third of its fleet, with satellite imagery showing them resting at the Diego Garcia military base on the UK-controlled island.

USA - This morning the world's focus is on Donald Trump's decision to launch a global trade war. But in a few weeks' time, the man who last month pledged to deliver 'peace through strength' is planning to embark on a real war. I'm currently in Tel Aviv, and according to several senior political, military and diplomatic sources, the United States and Israel are preparing to launch a strike on Iran that will finally eradicate the threat posed by the country's nuclear weapons programme. 'This should have been avoided a long time ago', a senior Israeli government source told me. 'It's time to draw a line.' A week ago the US deployed a trio of B2 'Spirit' stealth bombers, accompanied by long-range refuelling assets, to its Chagos Islands base on Diego Garcia, bringing the total strength of the bomber force there to seven. This was significant because it's rare to see such a major concentration of these sophisticated – and expensive – assets, and the B2s have the capability to deploy the GBU-57 'Bunker Buster' which can penetrate Iran's hardened nuclear shelters.

IRAN - The Iranian military is contemplating striking the US base at Diego Garcia to deter the US from using the base to target the Islamic Republic, according to a report. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plans to target the four long-range stealth B-2 bombers stationed at the base in the Indian Ocean. The discussion among top IRGC officials has revolved around Diego Garcia ever since America stationed the bombers there, according to the British Telegraph. "The response to Trump's threats must come through action, not words. Every base in the region is within the range of our missiles," the official said, adding that the commanders have been urging leaders to order an attack on the base if Trump's threats against Iran become serious. The IRGC is preparing for an all-out war and is confident that Iran's missiles can strike any target in the region, be it Bahrain or Diego Garcia.

GERMANY - Germany has launched its first deployment abroad since World War II. The country's parliament said troops will be sent to eastern Lithuania, which is NATO's eastern flank. The unit is to be fully operational by 2027. It will be the first time German troops have been serving abroad permanently since the Second World War. Brigadier General Christoph Huber, commander of the brigade, explained: "We have a clear mission. We have to ensure the protection, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies here on NATO's eastern flank." Germany did join allied nations by sending troops to Afghanistan, but they were not stationed there on a permanent basis.

USA - Donald Trump announced a reciprocal tariff of 10% on the United Kingdom as he outlined a list of measures which are expected to rock the world economy. Going through a chart which marks the tariffs being imposed on different countries, the president said: “United Kingdom – 10% – and we’ll go 10% so we’ll do the same thing.” Trump has put in place a barrage of what he claims to be reciprocal tariffs affecting both traditional enemies and allies like the UK. After weeks of White House hype and anxiety the US president has finally announced the measures on what he has branded “Liberation Day.” They are tariffs which are aimed to boost US manufacturing and punish other countries for what he says have been years of unfair trade practices. “It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said in announcing the tariffs. “For years, hard working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper.”

UK - Goods exports to the United States worth more than £60 billion to the UK economy are firmly in the sights of Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariff frenzy. Tonight the US president is expected to include Britain in his protectionism attempts to help American manufacturers and 'make America wealthy again'. The tariffs - up to 20 per cent across the board - could knock up to 1 per cent off the size of the UK economy if there is a full-blown trade war where the UK retaliates to Trump's measures. The sectors most at risk are the UK car industry and other manufacturing efforts including medicines and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, power generators and scientific instruments. These six fields between them accounted for almost half of the value of UK exports to the United States, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

UK - Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to finalise a package of economic concessions to the US in an attempt to persuade Donald Trump to spare the UK from his trade war. The Government had been scrambling to agree a deal with Washington before Wednesday, which the president has dubbed “Liberation Day” and when he is expected to announce a swathe of global import tariffs. However, the Prime Minister now accepts a deal will not happen and is instead turning his attention to showing the White House that the UK is willing to give ground. The package the Government has put on the table is focused on future technologies, with agreements expected on artificial intelligence. The UK could also ease or scrap its Digital Services Tax on US tech giants. Downing Street is also offering to change the tariffs that it imposes on American exports of chicken, beef and other meats.