The exemption of smartphones, laptops and other electronic products from import tariffs on China will be short-lived, top US officials have said, with Donald Trump warning that no one was “getting off the hook.”

“There was no Tariff ‘exception’, Trump said in a social media post on Sunday. “These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”

In the post on his Truth Social platform, Trump promised to launch a national security trade investigation into the semiconductor sector and the “whole electronics supply chain”.

“We will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China,” he added.

The White House had announced on Friday the exclusion of some electronic products from steep reciprocal tariffs on China. US stock markets were expected to stage a recovery after the announcement. Shares in Apple and chip maker Nvidia were on course to soar after tariffs on their products imported into the US were lifted for 90 days.

China’s commerce ministry said the exemption demonstrated the US taking “a small step toward correcting its erroneous unilateral practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’,” and insisted Washington cancel the whole tariff regime.

Zhang Li, president of the China Center for Information Industry Development, told state media outlet, China Daily, that the exemptions proved “how important China is to major US tech companies that rely heavily on the country for manufacturing and innovation”.

However, Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said on Sunday that critical technology products from China would face separate new duties along with semiconductors within the next two months.

Lutnick said Trump would enact “a special focus-type of tariff” on smartphones, computers and other electronics products in a month or two, alongside sectoral tariffs targeting semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The new duties would fall outside Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs on China, he said.

“He’s saying they’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” Lutnick said in an interview on ABC, predicting that the levies would bring production of those products to the United States. “These are things that are national security, that we need to be made in America.”

The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving game of brinkmanship since Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports. China’s leader Xi Jinping said on Monday that protectionism “leads nowhere” and that a trade war would have “no winners”.

Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145%, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125% levy on US imports. On Friday Beijing said it would ignore any future raises in tariffs by Trump, as they were already so high that there was “no market acceptance for US goods” in China.

On Monday a spokesperson for China’s Customs agency said the country’s exports were facing a complex and severe external situation but “the sky will not fall”. They said China’s domestic demand was broad, and they were building a diversified market.

Trump’s back-and-forth on tariffs has triggered the wildest swings on Wall Street since the Covid pandemic of 2020. The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down more than 10% since Trump took office on 20 January.

After announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners, Trump abruptly issued a 90-day pause for most of them. China was excluded from the reprieve.

The fallout from Trump’s tariffs – and subsequent whiplash policy reversals – sent shock waves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.

US senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, criticised the latest revision to Trump’s tariff plan, which economists have warned could dent economic growth and fuel inflation.

“There is no tariff policy – only chaos and corruption,” Warren said on ABC’s “This Week,” speaking before Trump’s latest post on social media.

China has sought to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries amid the escalating trade war. Xi will visit Vietnam on Monday as he begins a tour of south-east Asia.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse

Chinese president Xi Jinping warned there would be “no winners” in a trade war and that protectionism “leads nowhere”, as he began a three-nation trip to south-east Asia starting in Vietnam on Monday.

Xi’s tour, which began in Hanoi, also includes rare visits to Malaysia and Cambodia and will seek to strengthen ties with China’s closest neighbours amid a trade war that has sent shockwaves through global markets.

Writing in an article published in Vietnam’s Nhan Dan newspaper on Monday, Xi urged Vietnam to “resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment”, Beijing’s Xinhua news agency said.

He added that a “trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere”.

It is expected Xi’s visit will seek to emphasise that China is a reliable partner, contrasting itself with Washington, which imposed – then suspended – punishing tariffs across south-east Asia, an export-reliant region.

Officials in Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, were shocked when Vietnam was hit with a tariff of 46%, even after various efforts to appease the Trump administration. The tariff, which has been paused, threatens to devastate the country’s ambitious economic growth plan.

During Xi’s visit, Vietnam and China will sign about 40 agreements across multiple sectors, Vietnam’s deputy prime minister, Bui Thanh Son, said on Saturday. It is expected this will include cooperation to develop Vietnam’s railway network.

Vietnam’s leader, To Lam, wrote in an article published in state media on Monday that Hanoi wanted to boost cooperation in defence, security and infrastructure, especially on rail links.

Vietnam, and many other south-east Asian countries, are trying to maintain a delicate balancing act between the US and China. The US is Vietnam’s main export market, with US exports accounting for 30% of Vietnam’s GDP. However, China is Vietnam’s top import source, which it relies on for raw materials and other supplies that will be used to produce exports destined for the US.

Vietnam has traditionally sought to avoid taking sides between the US and China and will want to avoid antagonising either party, especially as it tries to persuade Washington to lower its 46% tariff.

Vietnam is vulnerable to Washington’s tariffs because its trade surplus with the US has grown rapidly over recent years to more than $123bn (£94bn), fuelled in part by companies relocating production to Vietnam to avoid tariffs imposed on China by the last Trump administration.

Hanoi is preparing to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped from its territory to the US, in an effort to placate the Trump administration, according to a Reuters report, and to tighten controls on sensitive exports to China. It has also made other concessions, including offering to remove all tariffs on US imports and promising to buy more US goods.

Cambodia and Malaysia, which face tariffs of 49% and 24% respectively, are also seeking to negotiate with Trump, while China has previously vowed to “fight until the end” if the US continued to escalate the trade war.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said that he is worried the US will experience “something worse than a recession” as a result of Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, the 75-year-old hedge fund manager said: “I think that right now we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession. And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.”

He went on to add: “A recession is two negative quarters of GDP and whether it goes slightly there. We always have those things. We have something that’s much more profound. We have a breaking down of the monetary order. We are going to change the monetary order because we cannot spend the amounts of money.”

Dalio’s comments come in response to a tumultuous week across the global stock markets following the US president’s tariffs policies that include a 145% tariff raise on China. The billionaire also said there are “profound changes in our domestic order … and world order”, comparing current times with the 1930s.

“I’ve studied history and this repeats over and over again. So if you take tariffs, if you take debt, if you take the rising power challenging existing power, if you take those factors and look at the factors, those changes in the orders, the systems, are very, very disruptive. How that’s handled could produce something that is much worse than a recession. Or it could be handled well,” he said.

Dalio, who correctly predicted the 2008 recession, also said the current economic state of the US is “at a juncture”.

“Let’s take the budget. If the budget deficit can be reduced to 3% of GDP, it will be about 7% if things are not changed. If it could be reduced to about 3% of GDP, and these trade deficits and so on are managed in the right way, this could all be managed very well,” he said.

He went on to urge congressional members to take what he calls the “3% pledge”, adding that if they don’t, there will be a supply and demand problem for debt with results that will be “worse than a normal recession.”

In response to whether he believes Trump’s tariffs are worsening the “complicated mix of challenges” the world is facing, Dalio said there is a reality to build manufacturing and expand jobs across the US.

However, he added that how that is done, “whether that’s done in a practical way, whether that’s done in a stable way”, or in a way with “quality negotiations” versus a “chaotic and disruptive way … makes all the difference in the world”.

Despite Trump’s freezing of tariffs at 10% on all US imports except Chinese imports for 90 days, financial experts have warned that the “damage has been done,” particularly in regards to what many are calling a “rapid de-dollarisation”.

Donald Trump’s tariff war has dived deeper into chaos after a cabinet official telegraphed new levies on semiconductors – a crucial component in electronic goods – just days after the Trump administration exempted computers and smartphones from reciprocal tariffs.

Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said in an interview with NBC that the tariff exemption on several electronic devices was just temporary and that new duties would come in “a month or two”. Semiconductors would be targeted with new tariffs, he said.

Trump was forced to intervene, saying he would lay out the new tariffs on Monday and any relief would be short-lived. “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: “Especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”

Here are the key stories at a glance:

Catching up? Here’s what happened on 12 April 2025.

In an election seen as a referendum on his “war on drugs”, Ecuador’s right-wing president, Daniel Noboa, won Sunday’s presidential runoff, defeating leftist candidate Luisa González.

With 92.61% of ballots counted, the incumbent had secured 55.85% of the vote, compared to 44.15% for the former congresswoman.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) stated that the margin “marks an irreversible trend,” effectively recognising Noboa’s victory.

In a speech shortly after the announcement, Noboa, called it a “historic victory”.

“A victory by more than 10 points, a victory by over a million votes, leaving no doubt about who the winner is,” he told his supporters.

González, meanwhile, said she would not accept the results. “We will request a recount and for the ballot boxes to be opened,” she told her supporters, while the crowd shouted “fraud”.

International observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States monitored the vote, but their official reports have yet to be released. Throughout the day, the heads of both missions said the atmosphere was one of “normality”.

The margin of victory – more than 1.1m votes – was significantly larger than suggested by opinion polls, which had indicated a technical tie, as well as the result of the first round in February, when Noboa had beaten González by just 16,746 votes (0.17%).

Noboa’s term has been defined by an “internal armed conflict” he declared in January 2024 against drug trafficking gangs.

He placed the armed forces at the centre of his mano dura (iron fist) offensive, which initially led to a drop in crime – soon followed by a surge in reports of human rights violations and a return to previous levels of violence.

Once one of the safest countries in Latin America, Ecuador registered the highest homicide rate in the region in 2024.

The population also faced an energy crisis that led to scheduled blackouts of up to 14 hours, a shrinking GDP, and rising poverty levels – yet the incumbent emerged victorious.

The heir to a banana fortune will now serve a full term in office – until 2029 – as his current 17 months in power were to complete the term of former president Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved Congress and stepped down to avoid impeachment.

In the 2023 snap election, Noboa also defeated González in the runoff but by a much narrower margin: 51.83% to 48.17%.

Voting is compulsory in Ecuador, and, according to the National Electoral Council, 83.76% of eligible voters turned out.

One move by Noboa on the eve of the election sparked controversy.

Less than 24 hours before polls opened, the president signed a decree declaring a 60-day state of emergency – something that has been a frequent feature of his presidency – suspending the right to freedom of assembly and authorising warrantless searches.

The president claimed there was a “serious internal disturbance” in light of rising violence levels, but the decision was sharply criticised by the opposition, Indigenous movements and even Congress.

Despite once again coming close to becoming the first female president in Ecuador’s history, González’s competitiveness had more to do with her political patron: former leftist president Rafael Correa, who governed Ecuador from 2007 to 2017.

A split between Correístas – the former president’s supporters, such as González – and anti-Correístas has since polarised Ecuador. Correa has lived in Belgium since leaving office and was convicted by an Ecuadorian court in 2020 for corruption during his presidency.

In the speech in which she said she would not recognise the election result, González claimed that none of the opinion polls showed such a large margin and that Noboa had abused his power by not stepping down from office to run, as required by law.

“This is a dictatorship, and this is the biggest electoral fraud that we, the Ecuadorians, are witnessing,” she said.

To the Ecuadorian outlet Primicias, Noboa said it was regrettable that González would not accept defeat. “I find it regrettable that, with an 11- or 12-point difference, she’s still trying to somehow question the will of the Ecuadorian people. The Ecuadorians have already spoken, and now it’s time to get to work starting tomorrow,” he said.

At least 34 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people were going to church for Palm Sunday, in the worst attack on civilians this year.

Two missiles landed in the crowded city centre on Sunday morning. One hit a trolley bus full of passengers. Footage from the scene showed bodies lying in the street, burning cars, and rescuers carrying bloodied survivors. Two of the dead were children.

“My seven-year-old son was running for shelter when the second missile struck. The blast ripped off a door which hit him in the leg. He has a bruise but is OK,” said Volodymyr Niankin, a film director. “My son said this is the most terrible day of his life.”

Niankin said he saw bodies on the ground. “Many of the people who died were sitting on the bus or walking in the road. A lot of people were out and about because it was a religious festival. I think this is genocide.”

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said there were “dozens of dead and wounded civilians”. He accused Russia of carrying out an act of deliberate terror and said tough reaction was needed from the US, Europe and the rest of the world.

“Enemy missiles hit an ordinary city street, ordinary life: houses, educational institutions, cars on the street … And this on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday, the feast of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem,” he posted on social media.

The attack caught the attention of Donald Trump, who described it as “horrible” and a “mistake”.

“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake,” he told journalists on Air Force One on Sunday. “But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing.”

Earlier, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the attack “crosses any line of decency”. “As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy said the Kremlin was ignoring a US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire. “Unfortunately, there in Moscow they are convinced they can keep killing with impunity. Action is needed to change this situation,” he said.

Officials said 117 people had been injured, including 15 children.

European leaders also expressed their outrage.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled at Russia’s horrific attacks on civilians”. Vladimir Putin “must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions”, he said.

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, agreed on the “urgent need to impose a ceasefire on Russia”. “Everyone knows it is Russia alone that wants this war,” he said. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, described the scenes from Sumy as heartbreaking and horrific.

The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, called the strikes a war crime. “Nothing seems to be sacred to the Russians – neither churches, nor Ukrainian children,” she said.

Ukrainians contrasted the images of bodies in Sumy with photos of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, warmly shaking hands with Putin on Friday. The two held four hours of talks in St Petersburg.

Putin’s press spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Sunday that the talks were going very well but that it was “impossible to expect any instant results”.

Trump has said he is “pissed off” at Russia’s failure to stop bombing, but has so far not taken any concrete measures against Moscow. Ukraine has signed up to a 30-day ceasefire that Washington proposed a month ago.

Since then, Russia has escalated its bombardment of Ukrainian cities, firing 70 missiles and 2,200 drones. Nine children and nine adults were killed earlier this month when a Russian missile hit a playground in the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Zelenskyy has been pressing allies to send another 10 Patriot air defence systems to protect Ukraine’s skies. “Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and air bombs. We need the kind of attitude towards Russia that a terrorist deserves,” he said on Sunday.

Sumy is 15 miles (25km) from the border with Russia and is a major Ukrainian military hub. The missiles landed in a central civilian area where many people carrying willow branches for Palm Sunday were on their way to church.

Video from a car dashcam shows an orange flash as one of the missiles struck at 10.20am. Plumes of grey smoke can be seen as other vehicles reverse away from the danger and passersby run in panic.

The first missile hit a conference centre belonging to Sumy’s state university. Several children were waiting outside for an 11am theatre performance in a basement venue. The second landed 200 metres away, in Pokrovska Street, as the trolley bus rolled past.

Niankin said the centre was a unique arts hub and home to a theatre he ran. “I feel like half of my heart has been taken away. It was a place where we could play and create. Everything is destroyed: the stage, costumes, all our stuff. We have no chance to continue our work,” he said.

The director, who made a film about Sumy’s resistance to Russia’s 2022 invasion, said there were not a lot of people inside the building when it was flattened. “It happened half an hour before the show was due to start. My son was nearby attending a class in a studio.”

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said Russia had launched two Iskander-M missiles from its western territory in the Voronezh and Kursk regions. He identified the army forces responsible as the 112th and 448th missile brigades. “Another proof of the godlessness of the disgusting cursed Moscow,” he said.

Even by the warped standards of wartime, Russia’s Sunday morning attack on Sumy was astonishingly brazen. Two high-speed ballistic missiles, armed, Ukraine says, with cluster munitions, slammed into the heart of the border city in mid-morning as families went to church, waited for a theatre performance or were simply strolling about on a mild spring day.

The death toll currently stands at 34, including two children. Images from the scene show bodies or body bags on the ground, a trolley bus and cars burnt out, rubble and glass scattered around. It was reckless, cruel and vicious and its consequences entirely predictable to those who gave the order and pressed “launch”.

To contemplate a daytime city-centre attack, in the full knowledge that civilians will be present, reflects a Russian culture of impunity that has been allowed to endure without effective challenge. Nevertheless, Washington’s approach, under Donald Trump, has been to try to negotiate an end to the war by talking directly with Moscow, while remaining mostly silent on Russian attacks on civilians.

Talks between the US and Russia have continued unabated over the past two months at a time when Russian attacks on Ukraine’s cities appear to have stepped up. Nine adults and nine children were killed when a Russian ballistic missile using cluster bombs struck a children’s playground in Kryvyi Rih at the end of last week.

People were burned alive in their cars and the bodies of children were found dead in the playground, yet the attack was weakly condemned by the US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, who, toeing the White House line, would not say the deadly missile was from Russia as she tweeted: “This is why the war must end.”

Brink has since announced she will step down and been more forthright. On Sunday, the ambassador attributed the Sumy attack to Russia and repeated that it appeared cluster bombs had been used. But now that she is on her way out, it is easier for her to speak her mind while Russia’s Vladimir Putin toys with Trump and the rest of the US administration in peace talks that have hardly developed in two months.

On Friday, the Russian leader spent four hours in talks with Steve Witkoff, a donor real estate developer who has become a key Trump adviser on Ukraine as well as the Middle East. What they talked about is unclear, but reports suggest Witkoff has been pushing the idea that the quickest way to get Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine is to force Kyiv to hand over the entirety of four provinces that are only partly occupied by Russia’s military, including the cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The dissonance between the killing and destruction in Sumy on Sunday and the photographed handshake between Witkoff and Putin is all too evident to most observers. It is not clear why it should even be contemplated that Ukraine hand over territory (something that even the US cannot easily force on Kyiv) when Russia is willing to countenance daytime attacks on civilians.

But Moscow believes, and acts like it believes, it can get away with it. The Kremlin will ignore condemnation from European leaders and wait for the news cycle to move on – and will almost certainly continue to attack Ukrainian cities to little military purpose. Not only are drone attacks commonplace, but there are now concerns they are routinely being armed with cluster munitions, while almost every day one or two hard-to-intercept ballistic missiles are thrown into the deadly mix.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hopes that gradually Trump will realise Putin is not negotiating in good faith. Certainly, the attack on the centre of Sumy hardly suggests a strong appetite for peace. But it is unclear at what point, if any, the White House is prepared to conclude that killing of civilians means that it needs to put genuine pressure on Russia to negotiate rather than indulge the Kremlin.

Rory McIlroy, Masters champion. Four words that belie what this remarkable Northern Irishman achieved on a spine-tingling afternoon at Augusta National. They ignore, too, the torturous process McIlroy endured to realise this lifetime goal.

Did he win the 89th Masters the hard way? Too right he did. From a seemingly untouchable position, McIlroy was dragged back into a scrap he was so desperate to avoid. He emerged from it on the first extra hole, where the unlikely adversary of Justin Rose was nudged aside. Rory McIlroy, Masters champion.

No wonder the scenes were so moving as McIlroy battered down the Masters door. McIlroy reduced so many others to tears, let alone himself. Finally, they were of unbridled joy. It almost felt the heartache had been worth it. What a ride. What a gobsmacking, exhausting ride. From 5ft on the last hole of regulation play, McIlroy passed up a chance to claim the Masters. Soon, he would be hugging his lifetime friend and caddie Harry Diamond in a scene of euphoria. This was a success built on sheer guts. Rory, you are immortal now.

“I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy admitted in the Butler Cabin. He was not the only one.

McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as winners of golf’s career grand slam. He also has Tiger Woods, his childhood idol, for company in that special group. We have known about McIlroy’s genius since he flicked golf balls into a washing machine on national television in 1999. He had long since been holing putts outside the family home on the outskirts of Belfast with the dream of winning the Masters. Little did anybody know that his career would be so storied, so dramatic, such compulsive viewing.

McIlroy did not exactly sprint into the pantheon of legends. Augusta National tugged upon every dark corner of his psyche, from a point where McIlroy looked like he would enjoy a procession. Rose and Ludvig Åberg had late hope. Rose’s rampaging 66 meant second at 11 under. McIlroy’s 73 tied that. Patrick Reed took third.

More than a decade had passed since McIlroy won the last of his quartet of majors. Near misses had come and gone, none as painful as at last year’s US Open. It felt appropriate that McIlroy had Bryson DeChambeau, the man who pipped him at Pinehurst, for company here. DeChambeau capsized. He spent Saturday evening watching James Bond movies and Sunday afternoon starring in one: Bogeys Galore.

There were moments that implied the golfing gods were on McIlroy’s side. He played a dangerous, low second shot to the 11th which clung on for dear life at the top of a bank leading to a water hazard. Moments later, DeChambeau found the same pond. There were also examples of McIlroy’s jaw-dropping talent, such as the second shot to the 7th, which danced through trees. Those who criticise McIlroy’s propensity to live dangerously should remember the theatre when his audacity pays off.

McIlroy’s nerves were jangling to the extent he made a terrible mess of the 1st, his double bogey cancelling out a two-stroke lead. DeChambeau licked his lips. A DeChambeau birdie to McIlroy’s par at the 2nd and the Californian was ahead.

McIlroy jabbed back with a birdie at the 3rd as DeChambeau three-putted. DeChambeau did the same at the next with McIlroy’s birdie earning him a three-stroke lead. It remained that way until the 9th, where McIlroy collected another shot and DeChambeau wasted an opportunity. McIlroy smiled when reaching dry land at the 12th, his playing partner now six back. The danger lay elsewhere; Rose and Åberg.

Yet with six holes to play the only person who could beat McIlroy was McIlroy himself. Case in point; the 13th, where McIlroy laid up before astonishingly chipping into Rae’s Creek. Cue McIlroy’s fourth – yes, fourth – double bogey of the week. Åberg made a four at the 15th for 10 under. Rose had birdied the same hole. McIlroy’s five-shot lead after 10 evaporated into a three-way tie as his par putt on the 14th somehow remained above ground. How would he recover from tossing this away? How would he ever recover?

McIlroy’s iron into the 15th, bent around pine trees from 209 yards, is among the finest of his life. A birdie ensued. Rose matched 11 under at the 16th. Although he later made a triple bogey at the last, Åberg’s race ended on the penultimate hole. Up ahead, Rose converted for a closing birdie – he had made a bogey on the 17th – to again tie McIlroy. A downhill birdie putt on the 16th gave McIlroy fresh hope but it missed to the right.

One birdie from the last two was needed to avoid a playoff. There, Rose would not be lacking in incentive; he lost in extra holes to Sergio García in 2017. McIlroy delivered that three on the 17th but wobbled on the last after finding a greenside bunker from the fairway. Tension, wild tension. Back to the 18th tee they went.

Lost in this melee will be that McIlroy’s approach in the playoff hole was a thing of utter beauty. This time, it was a putt he could not possibly miss. Rose is due huge credit for his contribution to this major.

When dust eventually settles, we will be left to ponder what on earth else McIlroy might fixate on for the remainder of his career. He has reached the promised land in only his 36th year. Rory McIlroy, Masters champion.

Hungarian lawmakers are expected to vote in a controversial constitutional amendment on Monday that rights campaigners have described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crackdown on dissent and chip away at human rights.

Backed by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party, Fidesz, the amendment seeks to codify the government’s recent ban on Pride events, paving the way for authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them.

The amendment, which the government says prioritises the protection of children’s physical, mental and moral development, also enshrines the recognition of only two sexes, providing a constitutional basis for denying the gender identities of some in Hungary.

After Orbán’s repeated claims of foreign interference in the country’s politics, the amendment will also allow the government to temporarily suspend Hungarian citizenship in the case of dual nationals deemed to pose a threat to the country’s security or sovereignty.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a rights group, described the amendment as a means of “legislating fear” in the EU country. “These laws represent a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to suppress dissent, weaken human rights protection and consolidate its grip on power,” it said in a statement.

The opposition Momentum party highlighted similarities with restrictions in Russia. Much like Vladimir Putin, Orbán has sought to portray himself as a champion of traditional family values, ushering in policies that include blocking same-sex couples from adopting children and barring any mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programmes.

Momentum has issued a call on social media for Hungarians to join it in a blockade of the country’s parliament on Monday, in the hope of keeping lawmakers from voting in the legislation. “Let’s collectively prevent them from leading us down the Putin road and depriving us of our freedom,” it said.

The constitutional amendment is expected to be approved almost a month after lawmakers fast-tracked a law that banned public events held by LGBTQ+ communities. Thousands of people have since taken to the streets, blocking bridges and major thoroughfares with chants of “democracy” and “assembly is a fundamental right” in weekly protests.

“This government isn’t just dismantling democracy brick by brick, it’s now going at it with a bulldozer,” Ákos Hadházy, an independent lawmaker who campaigns alongside Momentum, said at a recent rally, according to Bloomberg. “We are here because we need to act fast to get ahead and stop it.”

Orbán and his government have said their aim is to protect children from what they describe as “sexual propaganda”, but analysts have pointed to forthcoming elections to argue that the country’s LGBTQ+ minority is being scapegoated by a government intent on mobilising its conservative base.

Orbán, who has long faced criticism for weakening democratic institutions and gradually undermining the rule of law, is facing an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz party’s elite, Péter Magyar, before next year’s elections.

As news of the Pride ban broke last month, 22 European embassies in Hungary, including those of the UK, France and Germany, issued a joint statement saying they were deeply concerned that the legislation would result in “restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression”.

The EU’s equality commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, also weighed in, writing on social media: “Everyone should be able to be who they are, live & love freely. The right to gather peacefully is a fundamental right to be championed across the European Union. We stand with the LGBTQI community – in Hungary & in all member states.”

The organisers of Budapest Pride, which regularly attracts tens of thousands of people, said they were determined to go ahead with this year’s march on 28 June. “This is not child protection, this is fascism,” they said last month.

The amendment, the 15th to Hungary’s constitution since it was unilaterally authored and approved by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition in 2011, also seeks to reinforce Orbán over what he claims are foreign efforts to influence Hungary’s politics.

In a recent speech laced with conspiracy theories, Orbán pledged to “eliminate the entire shadow army” of foreign-funded “politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs and political activists”.

Rights groups described the amendment as a step in this direction for Orbán, a self-described “illiberal” leader, because it allows for the suspension of Hungarian citizenship for up to 10 years for dual nationals deemed to pose a threat to public order or security. The suspensions would only apply to Hungarians who hold citizenship of another country that is not a member of the EU or European Economic Area.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Háttér Society have urged the European Commission to launch a procedure against Hungary’s government, arguing that the recent changes breach EU law.

The groups highlighted the “gravity and urgency of the consequences of the adopted changes” in a recent statement, noting that they would “force LGBTQ+ people complete out of the public eye”. The nationwide ban is believed to be the first of its kind in the EU’s recent history.

The groups also said the amendment went further than violating the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those who support them, describing it as a tool to further instil fear among those who voice dissent in the country. “The changes have overarching consequences that affect fundamental rights well beyond the issue of Pride,” they said.

Hungarian lawmakers are expected to vote in a controversial constitutional amendment on Monday that rights campaigners have described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crackdown on dissent and chip away at human rights.

Backed by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, and his rightwing populist party, Fidesz, the amendment seeks to codify the government’s recent ban on Pride events, paving the way for authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them.

The amendment, which the government says prioritises the protection of children’s physical, mental and moral development, also enshrines the recognition of only two sexes, providing a constitutional basis for denying the gender identities of some in Hungary.

After Orbán’s repeated claims of foreign interference in the country’s politics, the amendment will also allow the government to temporarily suspend Hungarian citizenship in the case of dual nationals deemed to pose a threat to the country’s security or sovereignty.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a rights group, described the amendment as a means of “legislating fear” in the EU country. “These laws represent a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to suppress dissent, weaken human rights protection and consolidate its grip on power,” it said in a statement.

The opposition Momentum party highlighted similarities with restrictions in Russia. Much like Vladimir Putin, Orbán has sought to portray himself as a champion of traditional family values, ushering in policies that include blocking same-sex couples from adopting children and barring any mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programmes.

Momentum has issued a call on social media for Hungarians to join it in a blockade of the country’s parliament on Monday, in the hope of keeping lawmakers from voting in the legislation. “Let’s collectively prevent them from leading us down the Putin road and depriving us of our freedom,” it said.

The constitutional amendment is expected to be approved almost a month after lawmakers fast-tracked a law that banned public events held by LGBTQ+ communities. Thousands of people have since taken to the streets, blocking bridges and major thoroughfares with chants of “democracy” and “assembly is a fundamental right” in weekly protests.

“This government isn’t just dismantling democracy brick by brick, it’s now going at it with a bulldozer,” Ákos Hadházy, an independent lawmaker who campaigns alongside Momentum, said at a recent rally, according to Bloomberg. “We are here because we need to act fast to get ahead and stop it.”

Orbán and his government have said their aim is to protect children from what they describe as “sexual propaganda”, but analysts have pointed to forthcoming elections to argue that the country’s LGBTQ+ minority is being scapegoated by a government intent on mobilising its conservative base.

Orbán, who has long faced criticism for weakening democratic institutions and gradually undermining the rule of law, is facing an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz party’s elite, Péter Magyar, before next year’s elections.

As news of the Pride ban broke last month, 22 European embassies in Hungary, including those of the UK, France and Germany, issued a joint statement saying they were deeply concerned that the legislation would result in “restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression”.

The EU’s equality commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, also weighed in, writing on social media: “Everyone should be able to be who they are, live & love freely. The right to gather peacefully is a fundamental right to be championed across the European Union. We stand with the LGBTQI community – in Hungary & in all member states.”

The organisers of Budapest Pride, which regularly attracts tens of thousands of people, said they were determined to go ahead with this year’s march on 28 June. “This is not child protection, this is fascism,” they said last month.

The amendment, the 15th to Hungary’s constitution since it was unilaterally authored and approved by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition in 2011, also seeks to reinforce Orbán over what he claims are foreign efforts to influence Hungary’s politics.

In a recent speech laced with conspiracy theories, Orbán pledged to “eliminate the entire shadow army” of foreign-funded “politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs and political activists”.

Rights groups described the amendment as a step in this direction for Orbán, a self-described “illiberal” leader, because it allows for the suspension of Hungarian citizenship for up to 10 years for dual nationals deemed to pose a threat to public order or security. The suspensions would only apply to Hungarians who hold citizenship of another country that is not a member of the EU or European Economic Area.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Háttér Society have urged the European Commission to launch a procedure against Hungary’s government, arguing that the recent changes breach EU law.

The groups highlighted the “gravity and urgency of the consequences of the adopted changes” in a recent statement, noting that they would “force LGBTQ+ people complete out of the public eye”. The nationwide ban is believed to be the first of its kind in the EU’s recent history.

The groups also said the amendment went further than violating the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those who support them, describing it as a tool to further instil fear among those who voice dissent in the country. “The changes have overarching consequences that affect fundamental rights well beyond the issue of Pride,” they said.

Paramilitaries in Sudan have murdered more than 200 civilians in a wave of attacks in displacement camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last big city still in the hands of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region.

The deaths include at least 56 civilians killed by the Rapid Support Forces over two days of attacks in Um Kadadah, a town they seized on the road to El Fasher.

The violence is some of the worst in the Darfur region since the civil war between the army and the paramilitary forces began almost exactly two years ago.

The UN said killings were continuing at two large displacement camps, including of the entire medical staff of Relief International, which was operating the only remaining clinic inside Zamzam camp. RSF forces were said to be burning buildings throughout Zamzam on Sunday, claiming they were seeking Sudanese government fighters hiding in the camps.

The US has condemned both sides in the war, saying the RSF has committed genocide in Darfur and that the army has attacked civilians.

The conflict has essentially divided Sudan in two, with the army holding sway in the north and east while the RSF controls most of Darfur and parts of the south.

The war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million and created what the International Rescue Committee described as “the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded”.

The deaths at the weekend put extra pressure on the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to deliver a decisive response on the issue of civilian protection when he convenes a ministerial conference on Sudan in London on Tuesday. The conference of 20 countries and organisations will inevitably shine a spotlight on the United Arab Emirates, past backers of the RSF, to issue an unambiguous statement of condemnation.

The attacks on Um Kadadah, about 180km (112 miles) east of El Fasher, came one day after RSF fighters said they had taken the town from army forces. The victims appeared to be targeted because of their ethnicity.

Lammy tweeted: “Shocking reports are emerging from El Fasher, Darfur, where indiscriminate RSF attacks have killed civilians, including aid workers. This gives added urgency to Tuesday’s Sudan conference in London with international partners. All sides must commit to protection of civilians.”

The UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said she was “appalled and gravely alarmed by reports emerging from Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps as well as El Fasher town in North Darfur”. The two camps protect as many as 700,000 civilians displaced by previous violence and famine.

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab said it had observed that “arson attacks have burned multiple structures and significant areas of the Zamzam camp in the centre, south and south-east portions of the camp”.

The UN reported that the RSF had launched coordinated ground and air attacks on the camps and El Fasher from multiple directions on 11 April, triggering intense clashes and resulting in catastrophic consequences for civilians.

The UN said more than 100 people, including more than 20 children, were feared dead, including nine Relief International personnel. The Sudanese army said more than 70 people had been killed in El Fasher alone. The precise death toll was unverifiable due to deliberate internet shutdowns implemented by the RSF.

Last month the army recaptured the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, about 1,000km (600 miles) to the east.

Adam Regal, a spokesperson for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, said Zamzam and Abou Shouk remained under artillery shelling and an assault by RSF armed vehicles on Sunday.

Relief International said of the loss of its staff: “We understand this was a targeted attack on all health infrastructure in the region to prevent access to healthcare for internally displaced people. We are horrified that one of our clinics was also part of this attack – along with other health facilities in El Fasher.”

Both the Biden and Trump administrations in the US have said the RSF has committed genocide in Darfur, and that the army has attacked civilians. The Sudanese government last week took the UAE to the international court of justice, the UN’s top court, claiming the UAE was complicit in genocide.

Kate Ferguson, a co-director of Protection Approaches, said: “It appears that the RSF is attacking Zamzam, Abu Shouk and El Fasher simultaneously for the first time, including a ground assault on Zamzam. This is a significant escalation in violence against civilians in the North Darfur region and requires immediate diplomatic response.”

She said she feared such “a coordinated military effort by the RSF would represent the beginning of the assault we have all so long feared – including further acts of genocide and crimes against humanity – and should trigger all emergency diplomatic and other responses.”

She added: “In hosting the conference on Tuesday, Lammy holds the heavy responsibility of securing a collective response to the appalling atrocities committed yesterday and this weekend. It is a tough but rare opportunity to bring international commitment to protect civilians in Sudan from strong words to resolute action.

“This means sincerely confronting those backing and enabling atrocity crimes, and establishing a serious senior coalition willing to advance at pace the political and technical solutions necessary to halt genocide, crimes against humanity, war and famine.”

A Palestinian paramedic who has been missing since a massacre of medics and rescue workers by Israeli troops in Gaza last month is being detained in Israel, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The whereabouts of Assad al-Nsasrah, a Palestinian paramedic, had been unknown for weeks since an incident on 23 March when workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) and Palestinian civil defence came under fire as they drove ambulances to rescue injured colleagues in the southern city of Rafah.

Fifteen Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, including at least one United Nations employee, were killed in the attack by Israeli troops. The UN has said they were deliberately shot “one by one” and the bodies, along with the rescue vehicles, were then buried with a bulldozer in a sandy pit, in what appears to have been an attempt to cover up the killings. Witnesses who uncovered the bodies said the workers were found still in their uniforms and some had their hands tied.

The Red Crescent called the attack on its workers a “grave violation of international law” and has called for an international investigation.

Nsasrah, 47, from Gaza, who had been working for Red Crescent for 16 years, was among the medics in the ambulances caught up in the ambush, and he had not been seen since. In an interview with the Guardian, another survivor, the Red Crescent volunteer Munther Abed, 27, said he had seen Nsasrah being taken away alive and blindfolded by Israeli officers at the scene of the killings.

On Sunday, the ICRC said it had “received information that the PRCS medic Assad al-Nsasrah has been detained in an Israeli place of detention”. The ICRC spokesperson gave no further details on where Nsasrah was being held and confirmed that Israel had not granted access to visit him.

“The ICRC has not been able to visit any Palestinian detainees held in Israeli places of detention since 7 October 2023,” said the spokesperson. “The ICRC continues to call for access to all places of detention and reiterates publicly and privately that all detainees must always be treated humanely and with dignity.”

In a statement, PRCS called on the international community to demand the release of Nsasrah, a father of six, stating that he had been “forcibly abducted while carrying out his humanitarian duties”.

There was no immediate comment from the Israel military.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have faced mounting pressure over inconsistencies in their account of the attack. They had initially claimed troops opened fire on vehicles that were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals.

However, the IDF had to backtrack after mobile phone footage, from a medic who was among those killed at the scene, showed the ambulances – clearly marked with the Red Crescent logo – driving with flashing red emergency lights and headlights on their vehicles.

Abed, the medic who survived the attack, described how he was held for several hours by Israeli forces after the ambulances came under fire. He said he was fully stripped, beaten again and interrogated about his past before he was finally released.

The IDF said they were now re-examining “operational information” to understand why the initial account had been “mistaken”, and that an investigation was being carried out.

They added that a preliminary inquiry had indicated “troops opened fire due to a perceived threat after a previous encounter in the area, and that six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists”. However, none of those killed in the attack were armed and no proof has yet been presented that any of those killed were Hamas militants.

When Gemma Lucy Smart received an invitation to attend an academic conference in the US, she was excited. But that was before Donald Trump was returned to office.

Now Smart, who has a disability and is queer, has decided it’s too risky to travel to Seattle for the social sciences conference in September.

The disabilities officer at the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations and a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney will instead attend remotely.

Shortly after Trump was inaugurated, the Society for Social Studies of Science made its conference “hybrid” in response to what it said were “unpredictable” developments at the US border.

“They were concerned about people entering,” Smart said.

“I work on the history of psychiatry, so my field has a lot to do with diversity, equity and inclusion. They [the conference organisers] very explicitly said, ‘We don’t believe it is safe for everyone to travel to the US, particularly our trans and diverse colleagues.’

“The focus on that is really troubling. That, if you legitimately have a different passport than you were given at a young age, you could be detained.”

The conference’s co-chairs announced the hybrid move on 21 January – a day after Trump began his second term. They said the decision reflected “conversations with disability justice and environmental justice scholars and activists”.

“It also comes on the heels of political shifts that have made travel to the US more tenuous for many STS [science, technology and society] contributors,” they added.

Australian academics are not only cancelling trips to the US for key conferences. Scholarships are being rescinded and grant funding pulled as the fallout from the Trump administration’s interference continues.

It follows media reports of travellers having their devices searched at the US border and being denied entry, including a French scientist who had messages on his phone critical of Donald Trump.

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Before this Trump administration, US visa applicants were required to declare if they had a disability. But Smart said she began to hear accounts of people being stopped and “detained or denied” on the basis of their condition.

“They are doing things like checking if your medication matches your declared disability,” she said. “If it doesn’t, they can deny you entry.

“As an openly disabled person, I would be very hesitant to be entering right now. If the conference hadn’t switched online, I wouldn’t have taken the risk.”

In a statement uploaded to its website in late January, the Society for Social Studies of Science said it was aware that US border control was “unpredictable”.

“We … will be watching events closely in the coming months to make sure that we are supporting international attendees to the greatest possible extent,” organisers said. “Attendees are also encouraged to consult their own countries’ travel advice.”

Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union said it had received multiple reports from members that US policy shifts have caused academics to cancel travel, while others have had planned research partnerships terminated with little explanation.

The union’s national president, Dr Alison Barnes, said members had expressed “deeply concerning impacts on their work and careers”.

“Academics are cancelling travel to the US, abandoning valuable research partnerships, and dealing with suddenly terminated grants and contracts,” she said.

“One researcher had their five-year USAID-funded conservation program terminated literally within days of the policy changes … another had a 10-year collaboration with the CDC abruptly ended when their US counterpart was sacked by email.

“Many academics tell us they’re avoiding US travel entirely due to genuine fears about border detention and visa issues.”

Barnes said many LGBTQ+ researchers, in particular, no longer felt safe travelling to the US for conferences, “directly impacting their career progression”.

“We’re seeing grant applications go unanswered, contracts for 2025 jeopardised, and researchers facing significant career uncertainty,” she said.

“When our academics fear travelling to major conferences or partnering with US institutions, the impacts ripple through the entire global knowledge ecosystem.

“These changes threaten to isolate US research from vital international exchange at precisely the time when global collaboration is most needed.”

Smart has a colleague who was shortlisted for a scholarship at an Ivy League university. The academic, who is openly trans, works on gender issues in her research.

“They have been told that the number of scholarships is dwindling, if there are any at all, and that it wouldn’t be safe to enter the country,” Smart said. Her colleague declined to comment further but confirmed they had been warned by the university that travel would be risky.

A PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne and the national president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, Jesse Gardner-Russell, said academic conferences were crucial for developing connections and partnerships with international collaboration, particularly for early-and mid-career researchers.

“In Stem, the majority of the large research labs with the top equipment will generally be found in the United States,” he said.

“If there are cuts to NIH [National Institutes of Health] funding and how those grants are rolled out, there will be large implications on our researchers even if they don’t directly receive that money, because it’s impacting their collaborators.”

Last year Gardner-Russell went to the US for an international research conference in his field of ophthalmology.

“I would never have learned of these individuals or their research if I hadn’t had the opportunity to go there and be ingrained in that unique research culture,” he said.

“Losing students that might have to make a judgment call as to whether they can attend a conference based on the possibility of getting detained at the US is really troubling.”

He said there were also concerns about intellectual property, citing reports of phones and devices being taken and examined at the border.

Separately, on Friday, the host of the cybersecurity podcast Risky Business, Patrick Gray, posted to Bluesky that he had cancelled a planned trip from Australia to the IT security conference RSA due to take place in San Francisco in April.

“Unfortunately, I have received advice that crossing the border into the United States right now would be a bad idea,” he wrote.

According to Smartraveller, which provides advice on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, customs and border protection have strict requirements and “broad powers” for temporary detainment or deportation when assessing eligibility.

“Officials may ask to inspect your electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts,” it says. “If you refuse, they can deny your entry.

“You may be held at the port of entry or a nearby detention facility. The Australian government cannot intervene on your behalf, and our ability to provide consular assistance in these circumstances may be limited.”

Donald Trump – the oldest person to ever be elected US president – controls high cholesterol with medication and has elevated blood pressure but is “fully fit”, White House physician Sean Barbella said in a report released on Sunday.

The US navy captain’s report was published two days after Trump underwent a routine physical. It also said he was up to date on all recommended vaccines – despite his national health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr having spent years sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccination.

Trump himself has previously spread debunked claims about links between vaccines and autism often invoked by Kennedy.

Barbella’s report is the most detailed information on the health of Trump, 78, since he returned to the White House in January for a second presidency.

“President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” Barbella wrote in his report.

The report noted that Trump’s high cholesterol is “well-controlled” with two medications addressing it.

The medicines are rosuvastatin and ezetimibe, generic names of the branded drugs Crestor and Zetia. They have improved Trump’s cholesterol over time.

Ideally, total cholesterol should be less than 200. At his physical in January 2018, his total cholesterol was 223. In early 2019, the reading came in at 196 and it stood at 167 in 2020. In Sunday’s report, it was listed as 140.

Trump’s blood pressure was 128 over 74. That is considered elevated. And people with elevated blood pressure are likely to develop high blood pressure – or hypertension – unless they take steps to control the condition.

The report also noted that Trump has scarring on his right ear, the result of a gunshot wound he suffered when a would-be assassin fired at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last year.

A secret service sniper killed the attacker, who fatally shot one spectator while wounding two others.

Barbella’s report also references Trump’s history with Covid-19. Trump was hospitalized during a serious bout with the virus in October 2020 during a run for re-election that ended in defeat to Joe Biden.

Amid questions about his age and mental acuity, Biden then dropped out of an electoral rematch with Trump in November 2024 and endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, to succeed him. Trump won the popular and electoral votes against Harris to return to the presidency.

After the exam preceding the report, Trump told journalists on Air Force One: “It went, I think, well … Every test you can imagine, I was there for a long time, the yearly physical.

“I think I did well.”

Trump also told reporters he took a cognitive test. Barbella’s report gave Trump a 30 out of 30 on what is known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

The screening takes about 10 minutes to administer, according to information online. One version available online asks those undergoing the screening to draw a clock, repeat words, name animals and count backwards from 100 at intervals of seven, among other tasks.

Trump’s resting heart rate was 62 beats per minute, in line with previous tests. A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 beats to 100 beats per minute. And generally, a lower rate implies better cardiovascular fitness.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting

Aimee Lou Wood has criticised a Saturday Night Live sketch that mocked her appearance, calling it “mean and unfunny”.

The White Lotus star, 31, used an Instagram story to address the skit in which the SNL cast member Sarah Sherman impersonated her, using a British accent and exaggerated prosthetic teeth.

“Whilst in honest mode – I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,” she wrote, but said she might delete the post later.

SNL had since apologised for the sketch, Wood added.

Wood plays Chelsea in the third series of Mike White’s drama The White Lotus, which follows the lives of guests and staff at a luxury resort in Thailand as dark secrets are revealed and tensions rise over the course of the holiday.

During the skit, titled White Potus, the series’ characters were replaced by depictions of Donald Trump and his inner circle.

In later posts, Wood, who has also starred in Sex Education and Toxic Town, said: “Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the piss for sure – that’s what the show is about – but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?”

She added: “On a positive note, everyone is agreeing with me about it so I’m glad I said something instead of going in on myself.”

Wood shared supportive messages from fans, including one that read: “Don’t delete it. It was mean, and saying it out loud removes their power. You’re unreal in every way, I have a big gap in my teeth and an overbite and you’ve genuinely made me feel so much better about myself.”

In a recent GQ Hype interview, Wood said the conversation about her appearance made her “a bit sad” as she was “not getting to talk about my work”.

On Instagram, she also addressed confusion over the interview, clarifying that her comments about feeling “ugly” stemmed from her own insecurities, not from anything said by HBO.

In the interview, Wood explained how White was said to have fought to cast her, which had made her feel insecure. “That was my own paranoid thought,” she said.

“Nobody at HBO would say that. My point in the article was about how our minds play tricks on us. Please read carefully before getting angry for me. HBO has been nothing but super supportive.”

In another story, Wood added: “So, to conclude today’s rant: HBO – kind and supportive and never wronged me and so leave them alone. SNL – mean.”