Tuesday, April 7, 2026

World

US-Iran War Escalates as Hormuz Deadline Expires

Trump threatened to destroy Iran 'in one night' as his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz passed, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirming US forces conducted more strikes on Iran in a single day than at any previous point in the war. Iran's military dismissed the threats as 'delusional,' while Hezbollah and the Houthis launched coordinated strikes on Israel alongside Iran. The UK has convened an emergency conference on securing safe passage through the strait, a chokepoint for roughly 20% of global oil supply.

MarketIran x Israel/US conflict ends by June 30?62%

Politics

Vance Backs Orban Days Before Hungary's Tightest Election

US Vice President JD Vance traveled to Budapest to publicly shore up Viktor Orban's support ahead of Sunday's election, cementing the Trump administration's alignment with Europe's foremost far-right leader. Orban faces the most serious electoral challenge of his 16-year tenure, with opposition candidate Péter Magyar polling within striking distance. The visit signals Washington's willingness to openly intervene in a NATO ally's democratic process.

MarketWill Fidesz–KDNP win the most seats in the next Hungarian parliamentary election?32%

Health

RFK Jr. Seizes CDC Vaccine Panel Control After Court Loss

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has rewritten the charter of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to give himself sweeping authority to appoint any member he chooses, days after a court blocked his earlier attempt to stack the panel. The move effectively lets the nation's top health official handpick the experts who set US vaccination recommendations. The charter renewal bypasses the independent process that previously governed the committee.

Tech

Anthropic Secures Massive Compute Deal as Revenue Hits $30bn

Anthropic has struck a multi-gigawatt computing partnership with Google and Broadcom, securing the infrastructure capacity needed to run increasingly powerful AI models at scale. The deal comes as the company's annualized revenue has reached $30 billion, a figure that underscores how quickly AI demand has outpaced earlier projections. The partnership gives Anthropic access to custom chips at a scale previously reserved for the largest cloud providers.

World

Australia's Most Decorated Soldier Arrested for War Crimes

Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient and Australia's most decorated living soldier, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning over alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The arrest follows a years-long investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator, and comes after Roberts-Smith lost a high-profile 2023 defamation suit against three newspapers that had published the original allegations. He is 47 years old.