Author: Lucas Bennett

The threat hanging over the Strait of Hormuz is no longer theoretical. With President Donald Trump ordering a naval blockade of Iran after the collapse of weekend negotiations in Islamabad, and Tehran refusing to cede control of the world’s single most important oil artery, the possibility that the strait could be shut — by Iranian mines, by military confrontation, or by the sheer risk premium driving shipping away — has moved to the centre of every finance ministry, central bank and energy desk on the planet. If it happens, the consequences will not be confined to the Gulf. They will…

The parents of Axel Rudakubana withheld information about their son that would almost certainly have led to his detention before he launched the attack on a children’s dance class in Southport last summer, the public inquiry into the murders has concluded. In a 760-page report published on Monday, Sir Adrian Fulford, chair of the Phase One inquiry, said Rudakubana’s mother and father had failed in what he described as a clear moral duty to alert the authorities to their son’s escalating behaviour. Had they done so, he wrote, the teenager “undoubtedly” would have been taken into care or held in…

Lamine Yamal has urged his Barcelona teammates to approach Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid as a challenge to be embraced rather than a lost cause, even as the Catalan side prepares to walk into the Metropolitano two goals adrift. Speaking to reporters on Monday, the 18-year-old forward dismissed suggestions that a 2-0 first-leg deficit placed the tie beyond reach. “A comeback is very much possible, which is why we’re here,” he said, framing the occasion as one his squad intended to meet head-on. What Barcelona Are Up Against The statistics do little to soften the task.…

Trump Orders Naval Blockade of Iran as Diplomatic Push Falters A weekend of intensive shuttle diplomacy in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough on Saturday, prompting President Donald Trump to announce the following morning that the United States would impose a naval blockade on Iran — a sharp escalation that arrived in a sequence of posts on his Truth Social platform. The decision came after Vice-President JD Vance led a 20-hour negotiating effort aimed at ending a war that is now entering its second month. Talks broke down without an agreement, and within hours the President had set out a tougher…

Home Office data showing that several thousand non-Ukrainians have entered the UK through the emergency visa schemes created after Russia’s 2022 invasion has reignited a political row over the integrity of Britain’s humanitarian immigration routes. Figures obtained and analysed by The Telegraph indicate that 3,464 visas were issued to nationals of 112 other countries under the two programmes — Homes for Ukraine and the family visa route — out of a total of 279,223 granted since the schemes began. That works out at roughly one in every 80 visas going to someone who is not a Ukrainian citizen. What the…

What Vance said as the US delegation departedTwenty-one hours of historic negotiations between the United States and Iran have ended in Islamabad without an agreement, after Vice-President JD Vance told reporters that Tehran had refused to accept what he described as Washington’s “final and best offer”.Speaking for just three minutes shortly after 6am local time, following a marathon session that had stretched long into the night, Mr Vance did not attempt to soften the outcome. “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news…

What the bank has decided Lloyds Banking Group has chosen not to mount a legal challenge against the Financial Conduct Authority’s £9.1 billion compensation scheme for motorists who were allegedly mis-sold car finance, according to a report by the Financial Times. The decision, disclosed on Friday, represents a significant moment for the regulator’s flagship redress programme, given that Lloyds is among the lenders most heavily exposed to the scheme. In a statement issued by the bank, a spokesperson said: “We have carefully considered the FCA motor finance redress scheme. While we remain disappointed in and disagree with its conclusions, we…

What happened after Trennan walked out of HMP North Sea Camp The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, David Lammy, is facing mounting pressure to explain how a convicted double rapist was allowed out of an open prison without supervision, only to travel across the country and carry out a knife attack on a 19-year-old student in her own home. Neil Trennan, 61, was already serving two life sentences for separate violent sexual assaults on women when he was granted unsupervised day release from HMP North Sea Camp, near Boston in Lincolnshire. Rather than returning, he made his way to…

What is emerging from inside the Red Zone American and Iranian negotiators have spent Saturday locked in face-to-face discussions in the Pakistani capital, in what amounts to the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sources close to the mediation told Al Jazeera that the two delegations have exchanged written texts during the session, a tentative but symbolically significant step in an encounter initially expected to take place only through intermediaries. Al Jazeera correspondent Abid Hussain, reporting from Islamabad, said the meeting had begun as “proximate talks” but that, according to sources close to the…

What the Pentagon has confirmed Two United States warships have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, the US military announced on Saturday, in what officials described as the opening move of a plan to begin removing mines from one of the world’s most strategically important shipping lanes. In a post on X, US Central Command said the transit had been intended to begin “setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz”, the narrow waterway through which a substantial share of the global oil trade passes. The move comes as concerns continue to mount over disruption to traffic through…