Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated he was unaware that Peter Mandelson failed to obtain security clearance, a disclosure that raises direct questions about vetting processes at the senior levels of his government. The admission is politically significant because Mandelson, a close Labour ally, holds a high-profile role that would ordinarily require cleared access to sensitive material. Starmer's claim of ignorance shifts scrutiny toward how appointments are managed and who bears accountability when clearance failures go undisclosed to the top of government. The immediate pressure centres on whether Starmer's position is tenable if he was genuinely kept out of the loop on a matter of this sensitivity, or whether the explanation itself becomes the political liability. Resignation speculation has surfaced publicly, though no formal moves have been reported. What to watch: whether Mandelson retains his position, whether a formal review of the vetting process is announced, and how the Labour parliamentary party responds in the coming days.
India's Expenditure Finance Committee has cleared a Rs 1.25 lakh crore outlay for India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, up 64 percent from ISM 1.0's Rs 76,000 crore. The proposal now goes to the Cabinet, as two chip plants begin commercial output and a third, CG Semi, is set to open July 4, 2026.
The Supreme Court blocked Trump from firing Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, preserving the Fed's independence from presidential removal power. A separate ruling the same day gave Trump broader authority to dismiss leaders of other independent federal agencies.
The US Supreme Court has blocked President Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who faced unproven mortgage fraud allegations. The ruling preserves Fed independence for now and keeps a politically charged removal case alive in the courts.
The US Supreme Court, splitting along ideological lines, has allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
