The Observer view on Trump’s tariffs: Starmer faces his greatest test as prime minister | Observer editorial

The market reaction to Donald Trump’s announcement last Wednesday that he would be levying punitive tariffs on imports from the rest of the world was immediate: US stock markets experienced their worst single-day decline since Covid. The long-term implications will depend on how permanent Trump’s reshaping of the global economic order turns out to be. … Read more

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Lands in Pacific Ocean

new video loaded: SpaceX Dragon Capsule Lands in Pacific Ocean transcript Back transcript SpaceX Dragon Capsule Lands in Pacific Ocean After more than five years of landing its returning vessels off the Florida coast, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed down off the California coast for the first time. “We are expecting the main parachutes to deploy … Read more

Weather tracker: powerful storms bring flooding to Aegean islands | Extreme weather

A series of powerful thunderstorms erupted in the Aegean Sea on Monday and Tuesday, bringing torrential rain and bursts of hail to several popular holiday and tourist destinations. The most severe storms on Monday were concentrated across the Cyclades islands in the south, where the islands of Paros and Mykonos were reported to have received … Read more

The US is turning its back on global trade. Ireland and the EU can’t afford to make the same mistake | Simon Coveney

Ireland believes in open, free trade and has build a strong, resilient economy by being the most globalised in Europe. We are a trading country. That is why last night’s news on tariffs came as such a disappointment to us. Imposing tariffs to force companies to locate in the US will fundamentally change how the … Read more

The far right has seemed unstoppable in Europe. Here’s how Trump’s tariffs could change that | Nathalie Tocci

Donald Trump has unleashed a trade war on the world, and Europe, considered by Washington to be among the “worst offenders”, is a major target. After hitting European steel, aluminium and cars, this week Trump announced sweeping 20% tariffs on almost all EU imports. Europeans have seen this coming for a long time. Well before … Read more

Germany is now deporting pro-Palestine EU citizens. This is a chilling new step | Hanno Hauenstein

A crackdown on political dissent is well under way in Germany. Over the past two years, institutions and authorities have cancelled events, exhibitions and awards over statements about Palestine or Israel. There are many examples: the Frankfurt book fair indefinitely postponing an award ceremony for Adania Shibli; the Heinrich Böll Foundation withdrawing the Hannah Arendt … Read more

France’s left is celebrating Le Pen’s conviction. But gloating will make it harder to beat the far right | Georgios Samaras

The verdict is in: the National Rally (NR) and its leader, Marine Le Pen, have been found to have employed fictitious European parliament assistants between 2004 and 2016. The fraudulent scheme enabled the misappropriation of around €2.9m in European funds, and Le Pen has now been barred from holding public office for five years. Could … Read more

Andrew Tate is back in Romania. How we handle him will reveal what kind of country we really are | Andrei Popoviciu

A turquoise Koenigsegg Jesko, the world’s fastest car and worth about £2.3m, zipped through central Bucharest at nearly 100mph on Monday 24 March. At the wheel, the self-proclaimed “misogynist” influencer Andrew Tate, exuding an air of invincibility as he sped past the imposing Palace of the Parliament. To the surprise of many Romanians – and … Read more