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Australian PM also welcomes a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that will reopen the strait of Hormuz to global shipping

Category 3 cyclone is moving south of Fiji towards New Zealand, with winds at centre in excess of 150km/hTropical Cyclone Vaianu forming in the Pacific could bring life-threatening winds and heavy rain to New Zealand later this week, forecasters have said, with strong wind watches issued for the entire North Island.The category 3 cyclone is moving south of Fiji towards New Zealand, with winds around the centre in excess of 150km/h, MetService said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

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Chuck Schumer attacks president's ridiculous bluster' while Republicans cast decision as shrewd tactical move

Iran bombed US bases and allies' facilities soon after Russian satellites mapped them, according to Ukrainian assessment. What we know on day 1,505Russian satellites made detailed imagery of military facilities and critical sites across the Middle East including US bases and other targets that were attacked by Iran soon afterwards, according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment. Reuters reported that the assessment cited at least 24 surveys of areas in 11 Middle Eastern countries from 21-31 March, covering 46 objects" including US and other military bases and airports and oilfields. Within days of being surveyed, military bases and headquarters were targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, the assessment said.Russian satellites were actively surveying the strait of Hormuz, according to the Ukrainians. Reuters said a western military source and a separate regional security cited their own intelligence in backing up the claims. Reuters said the Iranian foreign ministry had no immediate comment and the defence ministry in Russia did not respond to a request for comment.Reuters said its regional security source confirmed a specific incident where a Russian satellite imaged Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia days before Iran struck the facility on 27 March, hitting a sophisticated US E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft. The next day a Russian satellite passed over again to assess the damage, the assessment said. The Ukrainian report also alleges Russian and Iranian hackers were collaborating in the cyber domain.The Ukrainian military said it had struck Russia's Ust-Luga oil terminal in the Leningrad region on Tuesday. The general staff said on Telegram it had preliminary confirmation of damage to three storage tanks belonging to the Transneft-Baltika company.Crude oil exports from Russia's Sheskharis terminal in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk were suspended after a big drone attack and a fire, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The terminal, which typically loads 700,000 barrels a day of crude oil, is Russia's key oil outlet in the Black Sea. Its suspension will add to the strain on Russian infrastructure, which has been repeatedly attacked.Moscow's troops targeted two buses in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, its governor, Oleksandr Ganzha, said on Telegram. A drone smashed into a bus approaching a stop in Nikopol's city centre, he said, and later another bus was hit in a neighbouring community. Four people were killed in Nikopol and at least 16 injured, officials said. In the southern city of Kherson, a Russian attack on a residential area that lasted half an hour killed four elderly people and injured seven more, said the regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. Other deadly Russian strikes took place in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy oblasts, said Ukrainian officials.Ukrainian drone strikes killed five civilians including a 12-year-old boy and his parents in Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, Russian officials said on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the officials' statements, and Ukraine denies deliberately targeting civilians. Continue reading...

Freelancer Shelly Kittleson was reportedly held by Iran-backed militia which says she must now leave countryThe US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street corner last week, has been released, secretary of state Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday.We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq," he said on social media. Continue reading...

After meeting with Marco Rubio, foreign minister Winston Peters says he made sure US understands significant economic impacts on New Zealand and Pacific'

Exclusive: Former UN climate chief to co-chair Lancet Commission examining how sea-level rise is reshaping health, wellbeing and inequality

Man born in El Salvador has been fighting removal to series of third' countries after mistaken deportation last yearUS government attorneys on Tuesday told a federal judge the Department of Homeland Security still intends to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia, despite a new agreement with Costa Rica to accept deportees who cannot legally be returned to their home countries.The Salvadorian national's case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last year. Since his return, he has been fighting a second deportation to a series of African countries proposed by homeland security officials. Continue reading...

Attacks on Iran increase and Israel tells Iranians to avoid train travel as deadline to reopen strait of Hormuz looms

President says on Truth Social he will annihilate country if government ignores deadline to reopen strait of Hormuz

Annie Ramos, who came to US from Honduras as a toddler, was detained last week at husband's base in LouisianaThe wife of a US soldier who was detained last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at her husband's Louisiana military base was released from federal custody on Tuesday.All I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby," Annie Ramos said in a statement following her release. Continue reading...

Chad Bianco of Riverside county obtained warrants to seize ballots cast for state's successful redistricting referendum

Alarm among military observers after president says whole civilization will die tonight' if Iran ignores demands

Markwayne Mullin visits Asheville to survey Hurricane Helene recovery in first big trip since Kristi Noem's ousterMarkwayne Mullin, the US homeland security secretary, used a visit to Asheville, North Carolina to call for a fundamental shift in the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), arguing that states and local governments - not the federal agency - should lead disaster response.We shouldn't look at Fema as being a first responder, but look at Fema as supporting the first responders you already have," Mullin told reporters at a roundtable discussion. Continue reading...

As the US vice-president wades into a heated campaign, Hungary's leader faces the real possibility of defeatEven before the plane carrying JD and Usha Vance had landed in Budapest, the Hungarian government had hailed their two-day visit as a new golden age in the relationship between Washington and Budapest.What came next was a whirlwind of politics in which the US vice-president waded directly into the country's heated election campaign, just days before Hungarians cast their ballots. Continue reading...

President Masoud Pezeshkian says 14m people declared their readiness to sacrifice their lives' for defence of Iran

Watchdog finds complaints against City of Sanctuary UK were misleading and false after online attacks over its migrant welcome projectA refugee charity subjected to vicious social media attacks over a migrant welcome project in schools has been cleared after watchdogs found allegations it encouraged pupils to send Valentine's Day cards to asylum seekers were misleading and false.City of Sanctuary UK came under fire last year after rumours spread online that under its schools programme, children were being forced" to write heart-shaped welcome cards to adult migrants, including cards addressed to my fiance". Continue reading...

London gallery to undergo biggest transformation in its 200-year history, with Kengo Kuma's design called exemplary'The National Gallery has announced that its largest and most significant transformation in its 200-year history will be designed by the Japanese architect behind Tokyo's Olympic stadium.The new wing will be designed by Kengo Kuma as part of Project Domani, the gallery's expansion into art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Its completion will make the National Gallery the only museum in the world that exclusively displays paintings where visitors will be able to view the entire history of painting in the western tradition. Continue reading...

The Reform UK leader says he is shocked' by the remarks which were over the top in every single way'The Green party is backing resident doctors who are on strike. This morning the party issued a statement on the dispute from its co-deputy leader, Mothin Ali, saying:Rather than shifting goalposts or arm twisting resident doctors with threats over training places, Wes Streeting needs to get serious about resolving resident doctors long term concerns over pay, training and working conditions. The government's 10-year plan for the NHS will go nowhere if the workforce feels unappreciated, devalued and demotivated.I think I'm going to stay out of the selection of music by different bands. We live in a free country; people are going to say things. Let's just let people listen to the music they want to.People should choose their music and they don't really they need advice from John Swinney unless they want to listen to The Jam or Amy McDonald.Well, the government should go on and take their decisions within their powers, but I'm not going to give a running commentary on music taste. Continue reading...

Steven Stewart and Mark Shephard claim in high court that LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme is structurally unfair'Two veterans who were forced to resign for being gay due to a ban on LGBT personnel in the armed forces have launched legal action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over a scheme set up to compensate them.Steven Stewart, 55, and Mark Shephard, 49, who were both effectively forced to resign" from the military due to their sexuality, and faced enduring psychological and relational harm", are taking legal action against the MoD over the rules of the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme, with their lawyers telling the high court that it is structurally unfair". Continue reading...

US vice-president claims the bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary'... and here they are!JD Vance and Usha Vance off the Air Force Two, welcomed by Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto as they begin their two-day trip to the Hungarian capital. Continue reading...

Pheap Rom was one of 15 people sent to prison in African kingdom last year despite completing US sentencesA Cambodian man deported by the US said he would have accepted being sent to Cambodia, but instead ended up imprisoned in Eswatini, a country he knew so little about that when he first read the name he thought it was another immigration detention centre in Louisiana.Pheap Rom, who had been convicted of attempted murder, was one of 10 deportees sent to Eswatini by the US in October 2025. They joined a group of five men, from Cambodia, Cuba, Jamaica, Vietnam and Yemen, who were deported to the small southern African country in July. All were sent to a maximum-security prison. Rom was deported from Eswatini to Cambodia in March. Continue reading...

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square claims world's biggest music company has suffered because of delay of US listing

Authorities launch investigation after human remains found at DeForest Park in Long Beach

Madrid and Basque government leaders call each other provincial' in dispute over the artworkA row has broken out between the Madrid and Basque regional governments in Spain over the latter's request for Guernica, probably Picasso's most celebrated work, to be housed temporarily in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to mark the 90th anniversary of the bombing of the Basque town.The work has hung in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid since 1992 and repeated requests for it to be moved to the Basque Country have been refused. Continue reading...

Planning application expected shortly as London City airport and bank reach agreement for 265m-high building

Bread and biscuits made from Crispr-edited wheat showed substantially reduced acrylamide levels, even after toastingGene-edited wheat which can make bread less carcinogenic when toasted has been successfully developed by scientists.Researchers at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, used Crispr genome editing which allows researchers to selectively edit the DNA of living organisms. This revolutionary technology was adapted for use in the laboratory from naturally occurring genome editing systems found in bacteria. Continue reading...

Campaign Against Antisemitism calls on rapper to cancel gigs, while rapper offers to meet Jewish representativesKanye West will face mass protests if his three-night residency at London's Wireless festival goes ahead, according to Jewish groups who say that if the rapper is truly sorry for his antisemitic remarks he should cancel this summer's gigs.In a statement on Tuesday, West, who is legally known as Ye, offered to meet and listen" to members of the UK's Jewish community after a backlash over his planned appearance at the festival in July. Continue reading...

Oil prices seesaw and stock markets on edge amid Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz

Licensed school teacher and one-time police officer among those participating in riot-style gatherings as experts warn of threat to public safetyA network of militant neo-Nazi active clubs from around the US has been participating in riot-style combat events with other white nationalist groups in Virginia as part of what their founder called a tip-off point for a fascist cultural revolution".Social media posts and group chats show members of so-called active clubs from Texas, Tennessee and Pennsylvania have in recent weeks and months travelled to Lynchburg, Virginia to train together at a secretive compound. The compound is run by the Wolves of Vinland, which the civil rights watchdog the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies as a neopagan white nationalist hate group. Also present were members of the white supremacist hate group Patriot Front and the neo-Nazi skinhead group known as the Hammerskins. Continue reading...

The US president has threatened to bomb power plants and bridges unless Iran reopens the strait of Hormuz. Plus, the US origins of Mexico's toxic waste problemGood morning.Israel has told Iranians their lives will be at risk if they use the country's railways on Tuesday, after Donald Trump's threats to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants unless a deal is reached by Tuesday evening.How are negotiations to end the war going? They appeared to be faltering. Iran, which has submitted its own 10-point peace plan, said it wanted a permanent end to the war, not a ceasefire.What is the latest on oil prices? Oil traded at more than $110 a barrel on Tuesday.This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog for updates. Continue reading...

Minister says change for plan 2 and 3 loans in England and Wales will protect borrowers' from impact of global conflict

Petrol prices have stopped falling, despite the federal government's cut to the fuel excise last week

Roberts-Smith previously failed in his attempt to sue three newspapers which published allegations he murdered unarmed civilians and bullied comrades

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The bank is closed and the door is locked', says Zia Yusuf as calls grow for compensation to remedy historical wrongsReform UK has said it would stop issuing visas to any person from a country which continues to demand compensation from the UK for its role in the transatlanctic trade in enslaved people.Zia Yusuf, the party's home affairs spokesperson, told the Daily Telegraph that the call for reparations was insulting". Continue reading...

UN assists in emergency vaccination drive as country battles worst surge in cases in years amid fall in vaccination ratesBangladesh is battling its worse measles outbreak in years, with more than 100 children dead amid a rise in unvaccinated infants.The government, in partnership with the United Nations, has begun conducting an emergency measles-rubella vaccination drive for children across the country, after more than 900 cases were confirmed since March. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: As cases charged hit their highest level on record in England and Wales, a look at what is behind the increase and whether the criminal justice system is keeping paceGood morning. Disturbing new data shows that stalking offences recorded by police in England and Wales have surged over the past decade, with sharp rises in every region. The number of cases charged by the Crown Prosecution Service has also climbed to the highest level on record.But those figures only tell part of the story. Stalking is not a single incident but a pattern of behaviour - one that can leave victims living in constant fear, reshaping every aspect of their lives.NHS | Wes Streeting has accused resident doctors of torpedoing" their own pay rises and training jobs by walking out on strike again, as tens of thousands of doctors began a six-day stoppage in England.Middle East | Diplomatic negotiations aimed at halting the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering a day before a deadline imposed by Donald Trump with a threat to destroy Iran's bridges and attack its power plants.UK News| Children are reporting online sextortion attempts in record numbers in the UK, as campaigners urge tech companies to do more to stamp out the crime.Space | Artemis II astronauts broke Apollo 13's distance record, hugging each other in the cramped capsule as they made history by being the four humans to travel the farthest from Earth.Weather | Parts of the UK are forecast to experience the warmest temperatures of the year so far in the wake of Storm Dave, which caused widespread damage and disruption over the Easter weekend. Continue reading...

CBI figures showing surprise jump in financial sector's growth will be welcome news for Rachel ReevesBritain's financial services companies have reported a strong recovery in activity at the start of the year, in a surprise boost to the government after a gloomy end to 2025.Banks, insurers and investment managers said their businesses were growing, with a positive balance of nearly two-thirds noting an expansion, according to a long-running survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), a lobby group. That contrasted with the negative balance of 38% in December, despite the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. Continue reading...

US president acknowledges significant' 10-point peace plan submitted by Tehran but says it is not good enough'

Withdrawal of additional speciality training roles amid strike deadlock has left some doctors with uncertain futureAfter almost two years on the NHS frontline as a resident doctor, Heather Gunn says she is bracing herself for unemployment. Like many of her colleagues, she was desperate to secure one of the up to 4,500 additional training posts the government agreed to introduce in England over three years to help doctors progress into more specialised fields.The posts were promised in negotiations between the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), and the government in a long-running dispute over resident doctors' pay and job security. Continue reading...

With polls suggesting Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Fein could be in power after May vote, constitutional challenges may lie aheadIn four weeks, the shape of British politics is likely to change dramatically. For the first time, nationalists who aspire to break up the UK are expected to be in control of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland simultaneously. The change will be seismic," said Angus Robertson, a senior minister in the Scottish government.Opinion polls consistently suggest that after the elections on 7 May, England will be flanked by countries run by restless centre-left nationalist parties - Plaid Cymru in Cardiff, the Scottish National party in Edinburgh and, in Belfast, Sinn Fein, which shares power with the Democratic Unionists. Continue reading...

State-funded savings accounts set up for children at birth going unclaimed, with 1.5bn estimated to be sat in bank accountsAs Elle Middlemas approached her 18th birthday, she began wondering if she had a child trust fund, a government savings account given to all children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, that can be accessed as soon as they officially hit adulthood.She quickly hit a dead end. She wasn't sure if she was even owed the money and could find no information online. An email to HMRC seeking clarity led her nowhere. Continue reading...

Signed acoustic guitar used on (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - the bestselling album of the 90s - could fetch up to 60,000 at Sotheby'sIncredibly, some critics were lukewarm about Oasis's second album, with one calling it laboured and lazy" and another dismissing it as a marginally less hook-laden reprise" of their debut.But (What's the Story) Morning Glory? went on to become the bestselling British album of the 90s and a guitar Noel Gallagher used to write it will, Sotheby's has announced, be a star lot of its April rock and pop sale. Continue reading...

Claims explosives found near pipeline come before election in which PM Viktor Orban is trailing in most pollsHungary has placed the gas pipeline that straddles the Serbian border under military protection, the prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said, as accusations of a false-flag operation continued to swirl before a crunch election at the weekend and an official visit on Tuesday from the US vice-president, JD Vance.Orban travelled to Hungary's southern border with Serbia on Monday, one day after Serbia said it had found explosives of devastating power" near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed - our live coverage continues hereA Japanese shipping firm said on Monday that an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had passed through the strait of Hormuz and was en route to India.A spokeswoman for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines told AFP that the Green Asha - a liquefied petroleum gas tanker - had crossed the waterway.Pakistan stands in solidarity with the brotherly people of the UAE and reiterates the urgent need for restraint and de-escalation in the region. Continue reading...

Astronauts become Earth's farthest travelled and exceed a 1970 record on the fifth day of the mission

Woman denies allegations of aggravated kidnapping during Augusto Pinochet's 1970s military dictatorship

Rapper very thankful' to be given chance to enter mental health diversion program after arrest in LA last yearA judge has allowed Lil Nas X to enter a mental health diversion program intended to lead to the dismissal of charges of attacking Los Angeles police officers.Judge Alan Schneider told the rapper and singer on Monday that if he sticks to his treatment program and obeys all laws for two years, his four felony counts will be dismissed. Continue reading...