Author: Lucas Bennett

Iran’s leadership has issued a defiant response following a devastating strike on a major bridge connecting two of the nation’s largest cities, which claimed eight lives and left 95 people wounded. State media outlets confirmed the casualty figures after footage emerged showing thick smoke rising from the 1,000-meter structure that serves as a critical transportation link between major urban centers. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed any notion that the attack would force Iran into submission, characterizing the strike as evidence of adversarial weakness rather than strength. “It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray,” Araghchi…

President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from office following a heated confrontation at the White House, marking the end of a controversy-filled Justice Department leadership period. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve in an acting capacity while the administration searches for a permanent successor. The dismissal came after a Wednesday evening meeting where Bondi requested more time in her position, but Trump refused, according to senior administration officials. The President reportedly accused her of betrayal for allegedly alerting Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell about upcoming FBI document releases. “She was unhappy and tried to change his mind,”…

King Charles III is set to arrive in Washington carrying unusually high diplomatic weight, after Donald Trump publicly declared the monarch a personal friend and suggested he would have taken a different position on the Iran war than Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The remarks, made by the US president in an interview with The Telegraph, came as final preparations are made for the King and Queen’s state visit to America later this month. Trump described the King as “a wonderful and brave man” with whom he has a longstanding relationship, adding that he had known him “a long time”…

The Core Issue When the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran, they expected allied nations — including European countries and the United Kingdom — to offer support. That support has largely not come. Understanding why requires looking at both legal obligations, political calculations, and economic consequences. It Is Not Their War European governments, including the UK under Sir Keir Starmer, have been clear that this conflict was initiated by Washington and Tel Aviv without broader allied consultation or agreement. Starmer himself stated publicly: “This is not our war and we are not going to get dragged…

Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he wants Britain to deepen its economic relationship with the European Union, including greater cooperation on the single market, as the ongoing war in Iran reshapes the country’s foreign and economic priorities. Speaking at a news conference, the prime minister said an upcoming UK-EU summit expected this summer would go beyond confirming existing agreements and would instead pursue a more ambitious agenda. The two sides struck a deal last May covering fishing rights, trade, defence and energy, but Sir Keir said this year’s meeting would seek to build considerably further on that foundation. When asked…

Officers from the Metropolitan Police were deployed to Clapham High Street on Saturday evening after a large crowd of young people gathered in the south London neighbourhood, causing widespread disruption that forced businesses to lock their doors and left shoppers trapped inside stores. The trouble began at around 4.45pm on 28 March — the first day of the Easter school holidays — when police received reports of approximately 100 young people causing anti-social behaviour and stealing from shops along the high street. A dispersal order was swiftly imposed, requiring those gathered to leave the area. Three girls, two aged 16…

King Charles III is set to travel to the United States later this month on a state visit expected to include an address to Congress and meetings with President Donald Trump at the White House, as the British government looks to strengthen a transatlantic relationship that has come under considerable strain. The trip, scheduled to run from 27 to 30 April, has been in planning for months, with Buckingham Palace, the Foreign Office, the Trump administration and the UK Embassy in Washington all involved in coordinating the details. The visit coincides with America’s 250th anniversary of independence, and the Palace…

Donald Trump has told Britain and other countries that failed to support the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran to take matters into their own hands over access to oil through the Strait of Hormuz — warning that American assistance can no longer be taken for granted.In a post on Truth Social, the president addressed nations he said had “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran”, telling them to “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.” He added that such countries would “have to start learning how to fight for yourself”, saying the…

A month after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to shipping traffic following the outbreak of war between the US and Israel and Iran, economists and energy experts are warning that the true economic pain has yet to be felt — and that the scale of disruption already exceeds anything seen during the oil shocks of the 1970s. The narrow waterway, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, has been shut to commercial vessels since the conflict began. Gulf states that depend on the route to export oil, gas and other goods have seen their…

There is a strip of water so narrow you could almost call it unremarkable. At its tightest point, the Strait of Hormuz measures just 21 miles across — less than the distance between Dover and Calais. And yet right now, in the spring of 2026, that sliver of sea between Iran and Oman has become the most consequential piece of geography on earth. What happens there in the coming weeks will determine whether households across Britain and Europe face another devastating energy crisis, whether global food prices spiral out of control, and whether the world tips into a recession that…