Iran has targeted Israel and Gulf states while denying Trump's claims that any negotiations are taking place. Plus, Democrats flip seat in district that includes Mar-a-LagoGood morning.The US appeared poised to deploy airborne troops to the Middle East, according to reports, as strikes intensified across the region.What is the 15-point framework? Diplomats with knowledge of the talks believe it is likely to be a rehashed version of a proposal put forward by Trump's negotiating team during nuclear talks in May 2025.What is happening with the strait of Hormuz? Iran has announced it is permitting non-hostile" ships to pass safely through the strait.This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Continue reading...
Former MP appears at Westminster magistrates court to admit four drugs charges stemming from raid on his homeThe former MP Crispin Blunt has pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court to four charges of possession of drugs including cannabis and crystal meth.The 65-year-old former justice minister appeared at Westminster magistrates' court on Wednesday to admit four drugs charges, which stem from a raid on his home in Horley, Surrey, on October 25 2023. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent on (#74FSN)
Government's pilot ban for under-16s accompanies consultation as peers vote on Australia-style restrictionsHundreds of UK teenagers will trial social media bans, digital curfews and time limits on apps under a government pilot, which will run alongside a consultation to decide whether the UK should ban access to social media for the under-16s.During the test, led by the UK government, a proportion of 300 teens across all four nations of the UK will have their social apps disabled, mimicking the enforcement of a social media ban at home". Continue reading...
Marco Rubio welcomes release of Dennis Coyle, who was detained in January last year for violating unspecified lawsAfghanistan's Taliban authorities have released the American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul on Tuesday, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan's supreme court considered his previous imprisonment sufficient". Continue reading...
German rescue teams have been trying to ease the humpback's path back into deeper waters without successA 10-metre-long humpback whale stranded on a sandbar in the Baltic Sea is in danger of dying if rescue workers do not manage to help it move into deeper waters soon, experts have said.Believed to be a young male, the mammal was spotted by guests of a hotel in Niendorf in Lubeck Bay, northern Germany, on Monday after they heard its deep moans and alerted police. Continue reading...
Investigation continues into Iran-linked group's claim it attacked Jewish charity's ambulances in north LondonThe number of national security cases involving hostile states carrying out operations such as spying and sabotage in the UK has increased by half in six months, the head of counter-terrorism policing has said.As the security services continue to investigate the potential involvement of an Iran-linked group in Monday's attack on community ambulances run by a Jewish charity, the assistant Metropolitan police commissioner Laurence Taylor warned of a worrying trend. Continue reading...
Scheme expanded to four schools with known or suspected cases, as UKHSA figures show number has fallen to 23The meningitis B vaccination programme will be expanded to include year 11 pupils at schools affected by the outbreak in Kent, health officials have said.Figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show the number of cases of meningitis have fallen from 29 on Sunday, when 20 cases were confirmed and a further nine were under investigation, to 20 confirmed cases with a further three under investigation, as of 12.30pm on Monday. Continue reading...
Declan Conlon will argue officials have failed to act despite clear evidence of the ecological collapse of Lough NeaghAn eel fisher is to argue at the high court in Belfast that the authorities have allowed the ecological collapse of Lough Neagh by failing to take action over pollution.Declan Conlon, whose family have for generations fished the inland lake in Northern Ireland that once hosted the largest wild eel fishery in Europe, is seeking to take a judicial review against the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera). He will argue the department has failed to act against polluters despite clear evidence of the ecological collapse of the lake. Continue reading...
PM tells MPs a lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said or done to put pressure on me'Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, was speaking for the government on the morning news programmes earlier. Speaking to LBC, he confirmed that the government wanted the Competition and Markets Authority to deal with any potention profiteering by oil companies. Pennycook said prices were prices are soaring in places" and we're seeing a huge differentiation in prices across the country, which is why the CMA have put fuel retailers on notice".Donald Trump has said he has instructed the defence department to postpone all airstrikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five day period, Yohannes Lowe reports. This is subject to the success" of ongoing meetings and discussions", Trump said in a Truth Social post. Continue reading...
Italian prime minister says she will respect the vote but says it is a lost change to modernise Italy'Meanwhile, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban attempted to get on the front foot after allegations that his foreign minister Peter Szijjarto was leaking confidential EU talks to Russia as he ordered a probe into what he called a wiretapping of Szijjarto's phone.We are dealing with two serious issues: there is evidence that Hungary's foreign minister was wiretapped, and we also have indications of who may be behind it. This must be investigated immediately," Orban tweeted on Monday, as reported by Reuters. Continue reading...
by Lauren Herdman and Morgan Thomas for MetDesk on (#74CCX)
Karachi particularly badly affected with 18 people killed, more than 50mm of rain and winds gusting up to 60mphUnseasonally wet weather struck southern Pakistan and north-west India on Wednesday, as heavy rain rolled in from the west, accompanied by thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds.Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, was particularly badly affected, locally recording more than 50mm of rain with winds gusting up to 60mph. Walls, buildings, and a pedestrian bridge collapsed, with flooding and power outages across the city. At least 18 people were killed and several more injured, many by structural collapses, with other deaths attributed to a fallen tree and a lightning strike. Continue reading...
UK's bilateral aid to Africa, which funds areas such as schools and clinics, to be cut by almost 900m by 2028-29Some of the world's poorest countries will lose out on UK aid that funds programmes such as schools and clinics, due to budget cuts set out by the foreign secretary.The UK's bilateral aid to Africa will be reduced by almost 900m by 2028-29 - a 56% cut - part of more than 6bn in cuts which are funding an increase in defence spending. Continue reading...
by Bethan McKernan, Wales correspondent on (#74B9K)
Business secretary announces new steel safeguards' during visit to Tata's Port Talbot plantThe UK is to double tariffs on Chinese and other foreign steel in a bid to save its remaining plants from collapse.The new steel safeguards" came weeks after bosses at Tata Steel in south Wales warned the government they had just two months to be saved. Continue reading...
CenTax warns bill under debate in parliament has easily exploitable' loopholes and will not prevent foreign interferencePolitical donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to keep British democracy safe" by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe and agencies in Kabul on (#74AXA)
Five-day cessation announced as mass funeral held for some of hundreds of victims of airstrike on rehab centrePakistan has announced a five-day pause in strikes against neighbouring Afghanistan, as a mass funeral was held for some of the hundreds of victims killed in Monday's attack on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul.The Afghan Taliban government has said more than 400 people were killed in and 265 others wounded in that attack, which took place as people and staff at the centre were praying days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...
Nick Timothy said an event attended by the mayor of London that included prayers was an act of domination'Polanski says the government should be doing more to improve home insulation, and on the drive towards renewable energy.And he says the government should commit to ensuring energy bills do not rise above the April-June price cap.The government should guarantee right now that it will not allow energy bills to rise beyond the April-June price cap - instead setting aside approximately 8.4bn to prevent a rise of up to 300 per household that could be coming down the track.No, it's not cheap. But the alternative is unacceptable: if the price cap rises, we will see interest rate rises. Mortgage rates up. Bond yields up. And inflation up - and we will be back into the doom loop that has done untold damage to our economy and caused misery for households across the UK for years now.There are ways to pay. Instead of scrapping the windfall tax on energy companies, as this government is planning to do, we should be strengthening it instead. We need a real, loophole-free windfall tax with no exemptions for reinvesting in fossil fuels. A robust tax that claws back every single pound of reckless profiteering from this crisis and repurposes it immediately to protect every home in the country. And while taxing extreme wealth in the ways we need to will take time to implement, there are levers the government could pull right now - like equalising capital gains tax with income tax and reforming the base, to raise 12bn.It's time for the government to act decisively, eliminate the uncertainty that is plaguing people and the markets and insulate us from some of the worst economic effects of Trump's war.This was not a war of self-defence, there was no imminent threat. Negotiations were ongoing. It was, as the BBC's international editor said, a war of choice.People across the Middle East are terrified of what Trump and Netanyanhu's war will mean for them and their loved ones. And the repercussions are echoing across the world as instability spreads and oil prices spike.People are already struggling so hard just to make ends meet. People feel like they're running every day just to stay in the same place. The idea that yet again - for the second time in just a few years - that we are going to have to deal with another enormous spike in the cost of the basics is unacceptable.It's unacceptable because we didn't need to be here. It's unforgivable that just four years after we last saw an energy price shock, that one triggered by Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, far too little has been done to protect this country, its people, and its economy - from the impact of yet another energy price shock. Continue reading...
As Deep As the Grave, the true story of 1920s archeologists, will bring late actor back with support from his estateVal Kilmer is set to be the latest Hollywood star to be resurrected by AI. The acting legend, who died last year at age 65, will star in the drama As Deep As the Grave.Kilmer was attached to the project prior to his death from throat cancer. Continue reading...
The bloc's foremost troublemaker could lose April's election, but the headaches he's caused will not necessarily disappear with him Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHow do you solve a problem like Viktor Orban? By crossing your fingers and hoping it disappears in just over three weeks' time. But even if the European Union's disruptor-in-chief is ousted in elections next month (which is far from certain), Europe's Hungary problem is unlikely to vanish overnight.EU leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for yet another summit that will be at least partly hijacked by Orban, Hungary's illiberal prime minister. Continue reading...
Records shed light on how Scott Brown - then Trump's New Zealand ambassador, now running for Senate - responded to Kennedy's 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreakWhen Robert F Kennedy Jr ran for president as a Democrat in 2023, he found an unexpected ally in Scott Brown. A former Republican senator, Brown had begun a tradition of hosting Republican presidential candidates for barbecues in his New Hampshire back yard, where they could stump for votes and get attention ahead of the state's crucial primary.Kennedy became Brown's first Democratic invitee. His appearance in September 2023 drew hundreds of people, Brown's biggest crowd ever. Kennedy held Brown in such high regard that after he decided to run instead as an independent, he reportedly reached out to Brown as a possible vice-presidential running mate, though Brown declined. Continue reading...
Pardoned by Trump after violating US banking law, Ben Delo provides funding, networking, and podcasting space for a range of groups, including those with hardline views on migration and abortionA British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate money-laundering controls on his cryptocurrency business is funding a political base in the heart of Westminster used by anti-woke" and rightwing activists.Ben Delo, 42, who was pardoned by Donald Trump last year, has given support in kind to Rupert Lowe, the anti-migration MP challenging Nigel Farage from the right - while also connecting with mainstream figures including the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and former cabinet minister Michael Gove. Continue reading...
Ottawa wants to modernize a region in the north that's about six times the size of Texas, just like in the 1800s'Picture an Arctic territory, marginalized by its own country, almost entirely lacking roads, ports and power sources, but rich in mining potential and suddenly feeling vulnerable to outside threats.It's not Greenland; it's the Canadian Arctic. Continue reading...
Thousands of students to be offered vaccines in response to quickest-growing outbreak experts have seenThe number of meningitis infections linked to Kent continues to grow, with five confirmed new cases on Wednesday, in what experts have described as the quickest-growing outbreak of the disease they have seen.The UK Health Security Agency said that as of 5pm on Tuesday there were 20 cases of invasive meningococcal disease, up from 15. Nine have been confirmed in the laboratory, while a further 11 are under investigation. Six are confirmed to be the meningitis B strain, also known as MenB, which is the most common form of invasive meningococcal disease. Continue reading...
by Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on (#74A47)
Prime minister Jonas Gahr Store says connections have been proved between those in trusted and central positions' and late sex offenderThe Norwegian parliament has voted unanimously to appoint an independent investigative commission to look into connections between its foreign office and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Speaking before the vote on Tuesday, the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, paid tribute to Epstein's victims and said that the files released by the US Department of Justice had clearly shown it is possible to buy and abuse influence if you are rich enough". Continue reading...
Chancellor says Brexit may have cost 8% of UK GDP in wide-ranging Mais lecture at Bayes Business School in London which also called for AI pushThe number of people in England and Wales falling into insolvency has jumped.There were 11,609 individual insolvencies registered in England and Wales in February, the Insolvency Service has reported this morning. This was 18% higher than in February 2025 and 6% higher than in January 2026.The individual insolvencies consisted of 768 bankruptcies, 4,210 debt relief orders (DROs) and 6,631 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The number of DROs in February 2026 was a record high in the monthly time series going back to their introduction in 2009, exceeding the previous high of 4,185 in August 2025.The number of IVAs was higher than both January 2026 and the 2025 monthly average. Bankruptcies were 25% higher than in February 2025, although numbers were affected by the clearing of a backlog following the Insolvency Service moving to a new case management system.Average 2-year fix has risen from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today. It's highest since April 2025.Average 5-year fix has risen from 4.95% at the start of March to 5.32% today. It's highest since February 2025.War in the Middle East has added almost 800 to a typical annual mortgage bill in just two weeks, which will be unwelcome news for anyone currently seeking a fixed rate deal.The average two-year fixed rate has jumped from 4.83% at the start of March to 5.28% today - its highest level since April 2025. The average five-year fix has risen from 4.95% to 5.32%, now at its highest since February 2025. For a borrower with a 250,000 mortgage over 25 years, that equates to paying 788 more per year on a two-year fix, or 651 more on a five-year deal compared to just a fortnight ago. Continue reading...
by Oliver Holmes, Hannah Ellis-Petersen and agencies on (#74A1A)
Pakistani strike on Afghan capital kills 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by collapsing wallsWitnesses and survivors have described the horrific scenes of a Pakistani air raid that hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, killing more than 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by the collapsing building.Afghan rescue crews were still digging bodies out of the rubble on Tuesday after the strike, the deadliest single attack so far in a three-week war between the two countries. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#749K2)
Refund systems for individual train operators to be merged into single service under nationalised rail bodyRail passengers will be able to claim compensation for delayed trains directly from the website where they bought their ticket, the government has said, as part of a shake-up to make rail travel simpler.Passengers who use third-party retailers such as Trainline to buy tickets currently, have to submit applications for refunds to the relevant train operator for processing. Continue reading...
Brand enlists JW Anderson to help brew up 17-piece range of luxury fashionwear, from beer towel' shorts to branded trousers and topsYou too can look like a pub carpet - and for the bargain price of 1,295. Such sartorial elegance - perhaps an option for anyone stepping out to celebrate St Patrick's Day this week - is the aesthetic love-child of a partnership between Guinness and the luxury clothing brand JW Anderson.The tie-up, launched earlier this month, allows fashionistas to get their hands on a range of Guinness wear that exploits the continuing metamorphosis of the black stuff" from unfashionable pub staple to social media status symbol. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#747AR)
Witness statements by Laimonas Jaktys were clearly prepared by others', insolvency judge rulesA claimant was being fed answers through his smart glasses while giving evidence in the high court in London, a judge has found.Laimonas Jaktys was untruthful in denying his use of the smart glasses" and his witness statements were clearly prepared by others", the insolvency judge Raquel Agnello KC ruled. Continue reading...
Djidji Ayokwe was handed to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this monthA sacred artefact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Cote d'Ivoire in one of the most significant cultural restitutions to a former French colony in years.The Djidji Ayokwe, a talking drum confiscated in 1916 by French administrators, landed at 8.45am on Friday at the airport in Port Bouet on the outskirts of the economic capital, Abidjan. It was handed over to Ivorian officials in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Museum. Continue reading...
by Faye Hulton and Oliver Lewis for MetDesk on (#7475Z)
US also sees active few days of severe convective storms, while record breaking heat recorded in parts of South AfricaOn Monday 9 March, severe thunderstorms affected parts of southern France, with several departments including Herault, Var, and the Alpes-Maritimes put under yellow alert for heavy rain.Some of the heaviest rainfall totals came from a cell that passed over the Var department. Examples of high rainfall totals taken from some private weather stations come from the towns of Carqueiranne and Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer, where 104.4mm was recorded in seven and a half hours, and 92.7mm in three hours respectively. However, as these are private weather stations, they may contain measurement errors. Continue reading...
Calls for Alexandra Cpitnescu's Choke Me to be banned as campaigners say lyrics are dangerous' and reckless'Romania's Eurovision entry Choke Me has been labelled dangerous" and reckless" for appearing to glamorise sexual strangulation, an unsafe practice that can lead to brain injury and death.Campaigners against sexual violence said the entry, in which the words choke me" are repeated 30 times during the three-minute song, was playing fast and loose with young women's lives". Continue reading...
Austrian officials took action after airline ignored court order to pay 890 to unnamed womenBailiffs have boarded a Ryanair aircraft after the airline refused to pay compensation to a passenger whose flight was delayed.Austrian officials took action after the airline ignored a court order to pay the unnamed woman 890 (742) in legal costs and compensation for a delayed flight two years ago. Continue reading...
Ministers face accusations of carrying out irresponsible deregulation' as they push through clean energy' proposalsEd Miliband has unveiled plans to cut regulations, costs and bureaucracy by the end of next year to speed up the development of nuclear power generation.The UK government said the changes, to be carried out this year, would deliver a win-win for building critical infrastructure while protecting nature and the environment". Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#74764)
More than 20% of weekend availability lost in England since 2022, forcing some to turn to A&E, says national associationPeople who need to obtain medication at the weekend are having to undertake long trips because more pharmacies are cutting their opening hours on Saturdays and Sundays.One in six pharmacies in England have reduced their hours at weekends since 2022, with some shutting altogether, as a result of unsustainable" pressures on their budgets. Continue reading...