THE BIG STORIES
China defiant after Trump threat | The shocking state of Barlinnie | Baby born to womb transplant mum

📣 China once again promised to “fight to the end” after Donald Trump threatened further tariffs on its exports to the US. The defiant stance, which has been consistent since before the US President imposed tariffs, has increased fears of a “hard decoupling” of the world’s two most important economies. It brings back memories - and similar fears - of the debate around the UK’s “hard Brexit” debate of 2018. (Yahoo Finance)

• Katie Martin’s markets explainer in the FT today does a great job of setting out what is really worrying market-watchers now. It’s not just that stocks are dropping as traders look to “price in” a US recession. It’s that the value of bonds and “haven assets” are also falling in price. That tells us people are selling - and when people sell safe assets during a time of crisis, that tells us they need the money elsewhere. “Something could break” warns Martin. (FT £)

• That said, the markets aren’t so bad this morning. Asian shares have shot up - Japan’s Nikkei 225 up by as much as 6% earlier - after big losses yesterday. It’s also looking brighter for European and US shares ahead of the markets opening across the world later. (AP)

📣 Barlinnie prison is in a “wretchedly poor state” and reports of bullying and attacks by officers on inmates is rife, an inspectorate report has warned. The 143-year-old jail is filled to 30% above capacity, with two-thirds of prisoners sharing cells designed to hold one person, locked up for 22 hours a day. (Daily Record) (Read the full report)

📣 A baby has been born to a Scottish mother in London after a womb transplant, in a UK first. Even more remarkably, the doner was the new mum’s sister, who has two children of her own.

It’s a wonderfully happy tale - but also one of persistence, bravery and cutting-edge medical science, told at length in the the Daily Mail. It also has the exclusive interview with the new mum, Grace Davidson and her husband Angus, not to mention a picture of everyone present in the operating theatre after the birth - I count 17, including newly-arrived baby Isabel. (Daily Mail)

IDEAS
The Tories’ trouble at the top

🗣️ It’s clearly not easy being the Scottish Conservative leader. At a charity lunch last week, the party’s former leader Ruth Davidson spoke of her “delight” at not being head of the Scottish Tory party any more, as MSP Jamie Greene noisily defected to the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Now there’s widespread muttering against current boss Russell Findlay, accused by his detractors of having gone too far to the right and by Greene of being in a “grotesque dance with Nigel Farage”. Alistair Grant, the Scotsman’s political editor, offers a good overview of the troubles Findlay faces: under pressure from moderate members, but also being squeezed by Reform - polling well in Scotland despite having no leader here, yet.

One wonders: is it really Findlay’s positioning that’s the problem, or the sense there’s no narrative about where his ideas lead, or colour in the background to explain why he thinks they’re needed? Or something more fundamental… that many Scottish Tories aren’t, in truth, that Conservative? (The Scotsman)

🗣️There may be more queasy Scottish Tories tempted to join the Lib Dems, suggests Andy Maciver (a former Scottish Tory communications chief). “There remains a gap in Scottish politics for a party which embraces free-market liberalism and can also claim to put Scotland first,” he writes in The Spectator. “The sort of Tory who is more interested in lower taxes, infrastructure and using net zero as an economic opportunity might feel quite at home in Alex Cole-Hamilton’s party.” (The Spectator £)

🗣️If Findlay is having a bad time, it’s as nothing compared to Kemi Badenoch, the floundering leader of the UK Conservatives. She was dealt a bad hand coming out of last year’s thumping General Election defeat, but few people argue he’s played it well and now - as Rebecca McCurdy notes in The Herald - the clock appears to be ticking on her leadership. Could next month’s local elections be a fatal blow? (The Herald)

There’s been a lot of ink spilt on what’s going wrong with Badenoch, but Stephen Bush’s piece from the end of February in the FT did the job early and well.

He lambasted the banality and incoherence of a speech she had just delivered on foreign policy, and bemoaned the “half-formed thoughts that don’t bear up to much scrutiny” which are “becoming a staple of Badenoch speeches”.

She enjoys listing enemies, from people who work in HR “to people who quite liked the US’s unipolar moment to basically everyone” (and sandwiches). But, says Bush, she also doesn’t seem to know who her friends are, and is obsessed about fighting the left - even when what they’re saying align with her interests.

“She doesn’t seem to have noticed that the creation of a rules-based order, the spread of free trade, the very achievements that are among the greatest of the British and global right, are under threat not from the enemies she sees all too clearly to her left, but the ones to her right.” (Financial Times £)

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 The SNP’s former treasurer, Colin Beattie, has been accused of taking a swipe at a mother who’s attempting to replace him as a candidate in next year’s Holyrood elections. He distributed an election leaflet saying a job as MSP is “far from family-friendly” and that he worked 12 to 14-hour days “as standard”. His challenger, Kelly Parry, is a mother to a seven-year-old and has previously spoken about a lack of support for women in local government. (The Times £)

📣 Anonymous critics are warning Lorna Slater that she might not win a leadership contest and should have thought more carefully before announcing her candidacy. (Herald)

• Time for a councillor to lead the Scottish Greens, says Glasgow Govan councillor Dan Hutchison (Green Left Substack)

📣 The gang war which had seen a number of places firebombed in Edinburgh has spread west, with four more homes targeted. (The Sun)

• A man has been arrested in connection with two fires linked to the gang feud in Edinburgh (BBC)

AROUND THE UK

📣 Hospitals in England could shed 100,000 jobs in repsonse to the huge reorganisation and cost cuts being led by Health secretary Wes Streeting, and the new NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey. (The Guardian has the exclusive)

📣 The MPs expelled from Israel received a show of support from a cross-party group of more than 70 parliamentary colleagues. (Guardian)

📣 March was the hottest on record in Europe, and by some distance. (Sky News)

📣 Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was attacked by an ostrich at a wildlife park while visiting with his family. Yes, there’s video. (Independent)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed Ukrainian troops have been active in Russia's Belgorod region. (Reuters)

🌎 Scientists have genetically engineered a wolf with characteristics - white hair, muscular jaws - similar to the extinct dire wolf, which died off more than 10,000 years ago. (AP)

🌎 March was the hottest on record in Europe, and by some distance. (Sky News)

SPORT

⚽️ It’s the start of a mouth-watering week of European action: Tonight, Arsenal play Real Madrid in North London, while Bayern Munich take on Inter Milan in Germany. The Arsenal game is on Amazon Prime Video, while the Bayern/Inter game is on TNT Sports 1 - both kick off at 8pm.

• Thibaut Courtois has revealed that Real Madrid are wary of Arsenal’s prowess from set pieces (The Guardian)

• Bayern are without nine first-team players for the game. (London Standard)