Keir Starmer previously reassured that the war in Iran would not distract the UK from supporting UkraineNigel Farage is speaking now at the Reform UK event.The website promoting the lottery is up. It is called nigelcutmybills.com. Continue reading...
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on (#74A5F)
Margaret Hodge, who led report into arts funder, tells DCMS committee that grant recipients have lost confidence in the bodyArts Council England (ACE) requires a radical" overhaul so that it is able to respond to the challenges of the culture sector, according to Margaret Hodge, who said if ACE leaders did not heed her warnings it would be a disaster".The Labour peer, who led a wide-ranging and critical report into ACE, made the comments at a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, where she reiterated her calls for the organisation to embrace reform. Continue reading...
Minister says the change is needed to protect the corporation from repeated culture war' attacksThe government is to put the BBC's charter on a permanent footing for the first time, after the corporation said the change was needed to protect it from political interference.In a significant change to the governance of the BBC, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, said she wanted to grant the corporation's demand for a permanent charter. She said she wanted to protect it from repeated culture war" attacks. Continue reading...
Family of then PM, Patrice Lumumba, welcome decision to charge Etienne Davignon as beginning of a reckoning'A former Belgian diplomat, 93, should stand trial over alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congolese state, a Brussels court has ruled.Etienne Davignon, the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family accuses of involvement in the killing, is charged with participation in war crimes.The illegal transfer of Lumumba and his associates from Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) to Katanga.The humiliating and degrading treatment" of the men.Depriving them of a fair trial. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#74A18)
Woman known only as Beth says abuser claimed status made him untouchable, which terrorised her into silenceMI5 has apologised and paid compensation to a woman who alleged the Security Service was to blame for her being attacked with a machete and abused by one of its agents.The woman, known only as Beth, was in a relationship with a man she says used his status as an MI5 agent to perpetrate abuse and terrorise her into silence. Continue reading...
Carmaker reduces office-based roles and will not fill vacancies to ensure long-term competitiveness of business'Bentley is to cut 275 jobs in the UK as the carmaker faces a challenging global market environment".The luxury brand, owned by Germany's Volkswagen, is preparing to launch its first all-electric model but acknowledged it had some work to do to convince consumers to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles. Continue reading...
Forces in England and Wales and journalists pledge to improve relations amid rising distrustPolice and the media have backed a reset" in relations between officers and journalists, after a prolonged period of distrust since the handling of the Nicola Bulley case in 2023.Bulley's disappearance in Lancashire led to significant fallout between the police and the press, with media outlets saying a lack of access and information allowed incorrect assertions and conspiracy theories about the case to gain ground. Continue reading...
Exclusive: actor's Papa Salt gin to get oyster-free version after venues says it is not worth the risk'Margot Robbie said she couldn't wait" to see the artisan gin brand she had created stocked in her London local. But the willingness of the capital's venues to fulfil her dream has been seriously compromised by three words on the side of the bottle - warning: contains molluscs".The Wuthering Heights star has had to change the recipe of her spirit after top London bars and restaurants rejected it due to allergen concerns, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...
More than 100 others injured in bombings targeting post office, market areas and hospital in MaiduguriAt least 23 people have been killed and more than 100 others injured in multiple suspected suicide bombings in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, shattering its reputation as a relative oasis of calm in recent years as a long-running insurgency was pushed to the rural hinterlands.Authorities said the explosions went off at the post office and market areas, as well as the entrance to the University of Maiduguri teaching hospital, on Monday evening during iftar, the breaking of fast in the month of Ramadan. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#749V4)
After carrying out an audit, the council found some parts of the town were overwhelmed'A local council has stopped residents from installing any more memorial benches in the town amid concerns that it is becoming overwhelmed".Hartlepool borough council has said it is not currently taking any new applications for benches, after concerns from residents that there are too many. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: As drones and missiles hit Dubai, Doha and other sites across the Gulf, Hannah Ellis Peterson explains what happens next for the regionMorning everyone, I'm Patrick Greenfield - you may recognise the name from my environment reporting over the years (or perhaps you read my piece about the possible rebirth of a long-extinct 12ft bird). I'll be joining you on First Edition for the next few months, where I will inevitably be turning my attention to some rather more worrisome news than the Jurassic Park-adjacent ambitions of a US startup.On that note: no Gulf state wanted war with Iran. But, as fighting in the Middle East enters its third week, the region finds itself on the frontline of an increasingly intractable conflict. After the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February, drones and missiles have showered the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia - bringing the region's oil and gas industries to a near standstill, and prompting an exodus of tourists and expats.UK news | Keir Starmer has said the UK will not be drawn into the wider war in the Middle East, after Donald Trump called for allies to send warships to the strait of Hormuz to help unblock global oil supplies from the region. Starmer also announced that households reliant on heating oil to warm their homes would receive 53m of government support to help with their bills.Health | A sixth-form student at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school in Faversham has been confirmed as the second person to have died after an outbreak of meningitis in Kent.Environment | Realtime pollution alerts are urgently needed across Windermere, campaigners have said, as the mother of a seven-year-old boy who kayaked on the lake described how he nearly died after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli from contaminated water.Media | The BBC has asked a US court to throw out Donald Trump's $10bn (7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a chilling effect" on its reporting on the president.Energy | Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, has been criticised for calling for the normalisation of relations with Russia to re-establish cheap energy supplies. Continue reading...
by Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent on (#749Q7)
Exclusive: Birthrights report says women are being told they are not allowed' and are being denied genuine choiceWomen feel put under pressure to have medical procedures such as caesareans during their maternity care, according to a report.The charity Birthrights collated the experiences of 300 people in England who said they had felt or witnessed coercion within a maternity setting. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent on (#749K4)
Afghanistan's deputy government spokesman says death toll has reached 400 people so far' as Islamabad denies targeting facility for drug addictsHundreds were feared dead after a strike on a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which officials from Afghanistan blamed on the Pakistani military.Afghanistan's deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the death toll had so far" reached 400 people, while about 250 people had been reported injured. He said most of those killed and wounded were patients undergoing treatment at the facility. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#749QA)
Only half the road network is in good condition despite 1.9m repairs last year, says industry bodyA losing battle with potholes has now seen the backlog of repairs across England and Wales reach a record 18.6bn, according to an annual industry estimate, despite councils filling in about 1.9m holes last year.The national disgrace" of dangerously pockmarked local roads has been exacerbated by a notably wet winter, with only half of the network now reported to be in good condition. Continue reading...
by Adam Fulton and (earlier) Lucy Campbell, Fran Lawt on (#748WP)
This blog is closedContinued from previous post:Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she has no immediate plans to send her country's maritime self-defence forces to help protect tanker traffic in the strait of Homuz.We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework.I would like to engage in solid discussions based on Japan's views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation. Continue reading...
by Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Jillian Ambrose; p on (#749NA)
Events in the narrow waterway are causing chaos around the globe. Jillian Ambrose explains whyThe strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of water at the mouth of the Gulf, is the world's petrol pump, a geographical bottleneck through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows.Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, however, Tehran has threatened to close the strait and cause mayhem. They've not formally, officially shut it down, but they have said that they will set ablaze any tanker that tries to move through. For any shipping owner, for any insurer, that is as good as closed," explains the Guardian's energy correspondent, Jillian Ambrose. Continue reading...
Lawyer acting for alleged Bondi beach terror attack shooter says 24-year-old's mother and siblings have received death threats since December antisemitic shootings
Details from US Central Command come as 13 US service members and more than 1,300 Iranians have been killedAt least 200 US troops have been injured in the US-Israeli war on Iran, a US military spokesperson said on Monday.Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 200 US service members have been wounded," US Central Command spokesperson Cpt Tim Hawkins told the Guardian via email. Continue reading...
Wiles, 68, praised by president as one of the strongest people I know', to continue working while having treatmentSusie Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, has been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer but plans to continue working while undergoing treatment.The 68-year-old revealed on Monday that the illness had been detected in the past week. Both she and Donald Trump struck an optimistic tone, saying doctors expect a strong recovery. Continue reading...
by Kevin Rawlinson, Sally Weale and Matty Edwards on (#7491P)
Deaths of student and sixth-former named as Juliette announced as long queues for antibiotics form at Canterbury campusCases of invasive meningitis have been confirmed at the University of Kent and three schools in an outbreak that has killed two young people and left 11 others in hospital.One of the young people to have died was a student at the University of Kent, while the second was a sixth-former at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school (QEGS) in Faversham. Continue reading...
Head of world's energy watchdog says it will take time for markets to recover from ongoing crisis in strait of HormuzThe world's energy watchdog will consider releasing further emergency crude stocks into the global market to cool rising oil prices after warning that it will take time for markets to recover from the ongoing crisis in the strait of Hormuz.Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, said its members continued to hold large reserves of emergency oil stocks even after agreeing to the biggest release of government crude in the history of the market, meaning more emergency oil reserves could still be released as and if needed". Continue reading...
President says PM should be more supportive over strait of HormuzKeir Starmer is speaking at his press conference.The war is entering its third week, he says.First, we will protect our people in the region.Second, while taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war.Moments like this also tell you about leadership ... Now, there are others who would have made a different decision two weeks ago.They would have rushed the UK headlong into this war without the full picture of what they were sending our forces into and without a plan to get us out.It is no surprise that our closest and most important ally is so disappointed. The Labour government's response to the crisis in Iran has been shameful.We should have been supporting our allies, not making it harder for them. Even now Starmer is still trying to sit on the fence, which is a complete failure of leadership. Continue reading...
Candidates look for deals with rivals to boost chances as major seats including Paris, Marseille and Lyon look closePolitical parties in France are hastily attempting to negotiate strategic alliances ahead of the final round of local elections this weekend, after a strong showing by the far right and the radical left.This Sunday's final-round vote for mayors and local councillors in major cities including Marseille, Lyon and Paris will be close. Continue reading...
Corporation's lawyers argue expensive but groundless' litigation restricts ability to cover public figuresThe BBC has asked a US court to throw out Donald Trump's $10bn (7.5bn) lawsuit over the way a documentary edited one of his speeches, warning that proceeding with the case would have a chilling effect" on its reporting on the president.In papers filed to the Florida court dealing with the case, the BBC's US lawyers claimed Trump's reputation had not been damaged by the documentary, given it aired in the UK a week before his re-election. Continue reading...
Swift leads with 1.6m vinyl sales of The Life of a Showgirl in 2025 while Sabrina Carpenter and Kendrick Lamar round out the LP chartsFor the first time in over four decades, US vinyl sales have topped $1bn in annual revenue.Vinyl purchases reached $1.04bn in 2025, per a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) published on 16 March. It marks the 19th consecutive year of growth for the format that was once considered a niche interest. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Claire Earley's son Rex spent six weeks in hospital after contracting E coli from contaminated lakeRealtime pollution alerts are needed across Windermere urgently, campaigners have said, as the mother of a seven-year-old boy who kayaked on the lake described how he nearly died after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli from contaminated water.Claire Earley's son Rex spent six weeks in hospital, and underwent two emergency operations, after a family kayaking trip on Windermere last August. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian