by Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest on (#74REY)
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...
by Adam Fulton, Lucy Campbell, Aneesa Ahmed and Fran on (#74R2P)
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...
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...
Ukrainian president says Russia unlikely to accept - for them, nothing is sacred'; Australian police arrest army reservist for joining war. What we know on day 1,504Ukraine's president has renewed his offer to Russia of a mutual ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure. If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will respond in kind," he said. This proposal has been conveyed to the Russian side through the Americans." Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered last week to observe a ceasefire for Easter, which Orthodox adherents mark on Sunday (13 April) in Russia and Ukraine.In his remarks on Monday, after an overnight attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa killed three people and injured at least 16, Zelenskyy said Russia appeared unwilling to agree to the ceasefire. We have repeatedly proposed to Russia a ceasefire at least for Easter," he said. But for them, all times are the same. Nothing is sacred."Ukrainian drones attacked the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's oil shipping terminal in southern Russia early on Monday, damaging a mooring point and setting four oil tanks on fire, the Russian defence ministry claimed. The Ukrainian army said it had attacked a different terminal in the port of Novorossiysk - without mentioning the CPC, which did not immediately comment. The CPC pipeline handles about 1% of the world's oil supplies, as well as about 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports.A reservist in the Australian army has been charged after allegedly working as a drone operator for Ukraine. The 25-year-old man from Felixstow, in the South Australian city of Adelaide, was charged by the Australian Federal Police with working for a foreign military without authorisation, the AAP news agency reported. It is the first time someone has been charged with the offence, with the man facing up to two decades in jail if found guilty. Australian laws limit the work defence personnel can perform with a foreign military, government or company without authorisation. The man allegedly travelled to Ukraine in May 2025 and returned to Australia in January 2026.A Russian ship carrying wheat believed to have sunk in the Sea of Azov after a drone attack has been found and towed to shore, Russia's state news agency Tass said on Monday. The death toll has risen to three, it added. Crew abandoned the ship last Friday and made it to shore on Monday, according to Russian reports.Russia jailed on Monday a former governor of the Kursk border region, where Ukraine's army broke through in 2024, for 14 years over alleged kickbacks for government contracts related to the construction of fortifications. Since August 2024, the Kremlin has gone after top regional and military officials for failing to stop the incursion - a massive embarrassment for Vladimir Putin. Alexei Smirnov, the former Kursk governor, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a fine of 400 million rubles [3.8m/US$5m]", a court statement said. Another former Kursk governor, Roman Starovoyt, who led the region until just before the Ukrainian breakthrough, died last year by alleged suicide - a fate that regularly befalls officials who run foul of the Russian president. Continue reading...
At least 432 ebike fires and 147 e-scooter fires recorded in 2025, up 38% and 20% respectively on previous yearEbike and e-scooter fires in the UK reached a record high last year, an investigation has found, renewing concerns over the use of lithium batteries and unregulated marketplaces.Fire brigade figures obtained by the Press Association show there were at least 432 ebike fires recorded across the UK in 2025, up 38% from 313 the previous year and more than five times higher than the 84 recorded in 2021. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#74RKH)
Home Office will use mapping technology and crime data to identify up to 250 schools in areas of greatest riskSchools across England are to receive dedicated support to prevent knife crime incidents in a hyper-targeted Home Office programme that uses mapping technology to identify areas of risk down to the level of specific groups of streets.Under the 1.2m scheme - part of a series of initiatives launched under a government pledge to halve knife crime within a decade - a maximum of 250 schools will receive help. Continue reading...
Two fatalities reported in southern California so far, with warmer spring bringing reptiles out on trails earlierA sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California's Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025.Andrew Dowd, a Ventura county fire department spokesperson, said paramedics responded to a call on Sunday for a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The victim said he had been bitten near California State University Channel Islands. Continue reading...
Performer is being extended forgiveness' over antisemitic remarks, says Melvin Benn, despite calls for banThe promoter of Wireless festival has stood by the decision to have Kanye West perform at the event, despite an outcry over the rapper's antisemitic behaviour and calls to cancel his appearance.West, who is legally known as Ye, has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Continue reading...
Jackie and Shadow's eaglets emerged from eggs on Easter weekend in Big Bear Valley as watched by thousands onlineOver Easter weekend, thousands of people tuned in to celebrate something spectacular unfolding 145 feet up a pine tree in southern California's San Bernardino national forest - the hatchings of two bald eagle chicks.Two eaglets were born to Jackie and Shadow, the southern California pair that have become avian celebrities thanks to the webcam that has livestreamed their activities since 2018. Continue reading...
Trump targets media to find leaker' who revealed that a US airman was missing after being shot down by Iranian forcesDonald Trump threatened to jail a journalist - or journalists - who reported that a second US airman was missing after being shot down by Iran on Friday in an effort to identify their source.The badly injured airman hid in a mountain crevice to avoid capture before being rescued by a US recovery team that received heavy fire. The US president announced on Sunday that the service member had been recovered. Continue reading...
Ron Gibson had recently expressed support for a 14-acre, $500m datacenter project in Martindale-BrightwoodAn Indianapolis city councilor said his home was fired at on Monday, with a note left behind suggesting he had been targeted over his support of datacenters.The case involving Ron Gibson - a Democrat on Indianapolis's city council - comes amid growing bipartisan concern in the US over political violence in the wake of cases such as the September murder of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist. Continue reading...
President dismisses concerns that bombing civilian targets would punish ordinary people and could be war crimesDonald Trump on Monday claimed that Iranian civilians were actively welcoming US strikes on their country's infrastructure, saying they would be willing to suffer" the loss of power and basic services in order to achieve freedom from the Islamic Republic.Speaking to reporters from the White House press room, Trump dismissed concerns that targeting Iran's power grid and civilian infrastructure would punish ordinary Iranians rather than the regime, saying without evidence that US intelligence had intercepts of civilians near active bombing sites urging American forces to continue. Continue reading...
Retailer faces public outcry over treatment of Walker Smith, who tackled shoplifter stealing Easter eggs at London storeWaitrose is under growing pressure to reinstate an employee of 17 years who was sacked after tackling a shoplifter who was trying to steal Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.The retailer has faced public outcry over its treatment of Walker Smith, who was fired two days after he stopped the shoplifter taking items from the Easter egg display. Continue reading...
Nurul Shah Alam, a nearly blind Rohingya refugee, was left alone in a Buffalo parking lot. His death has been ruled a homicide - what now?On 19 February, the second day of Ramadan, Mohamad Faisal Nurul Amin and his family gathered to pray before sunrise in their apartment on the outskirts of Buffalo, New York. After nearly a year of waiting, they believed their family would be together again. Amin's father, Nurul Shah Alam, 56, was coming home.For the first time since we arrived in America, I felt happy," said Fatima Abdul Roshid, Shah Alam's wife, speaking through an interpreter. I thought my husband would be with our two sons and me for Ramadan." Continue reading...
She got ripped away from me,' army soldier Matthew Blank said after his wife Annie Ramos was detained in LouisianaImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents under the command of the Trump administration have reportedly detained the wife of a US army staff sergeant at his military base in Louisiana amid his preparations to deploy.The arrest of Annie Ramos, 22, took place last Thursday, just days after she married 23-year-old Matthew Blank, a soldier who has served for more than five years and previously deployed to the Middle East and Europe, the New York Times first reported on Sunday. Continue reading...
Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls alleged scamming of EU agricultural funds a turning point'The Greek prime minister has vowed to tackle what he has called a deep state" he says is plaguing the country, as he sought to address a growing political crisis over a farm fraud scandal that has forced the resignation of multiple government ministers.In a speech, aired on national TV, Kyriakos Mitsotakis attempted to limit the damage, describing the revelations as a turning point" that had turbo-charged his commitment to rooting out entrenched corruption. Continue reading...
Police say 26-year-old man died at scene outside nightclub in Peckham and two others remain in hospitalFour men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death and two other men were injured outside a nightclub in south-east London.The Metropolitan police said officers were called at 3.54am on Monday to reports of a disturbance involving a group of people outside a nightclub in Ruby Street, Peckham. Continue reading...
With some misgivings, families and aviation enthusiasts bring stepladders and picnics to the perimeter fenceIt was a 4.40am start for the Wilkinson family. They packed their car with gear you might take on a trip to the seaside - folding chairs, blankets, a picnic. But instead of heading to the coast, they drove 80 miles from their home in Hampshire to Gloucestershire and set up camp close to the perimeter fence of RAF Fairford to watch American warplanes take off and land.It's definitely cheaper than a trip to a theme park," said Jonathan Wilkinson, who was there with wife, Katie, and three sons, aged seven to 12. The sights and sounds are impressive. But it's a bittersweet thing. These planes are only here because of war. We have to keep that in mind." Continue reading...
Nasa's Orion capsule will be just over 4,000 miles above lunar surface, allowing astronauts to see both polesThe four astronauts on Nasa's Artemis II mission are poised to begin the first flyby of the far side of the moon in more than half a century, bringing them to the furthest point from Earth ever reached by humans.The crew of three Americans and one Canadian earlier entered the moon's sphere of influence", where its gravity has a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth's. Continue reading...
Minister adds to growing calls from charities and politicians as some urge government to bar rapper from UK over antisemitismThe education secretary has said Kanye West should be barred from performing at Wireless festival because of his completely unacceptable and absolutely disgusting" antisemitic remarks.Bridget Phillipson said she could not comment on whether ministers should heed calls to ban West from entering the country, but added that there was no place for that kind of hatred, bigotry or antisemitism". Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#74RAE)
Exclusive: Seven of England's 24 stroke centres still not providing mechanical thrombectomy 24/7 despite ministers' pledgesThe NHS has not made a life-changing" treatment for stroke available around the clock across England despite ministers repeatedly promising that it would.The health service was expected to improve stroke care by making a clot removal technique called mechanical thrombectomy available everywhere in the country 24/7 from 1 April. Continue reading...
US congressman decried bets on when two crew members on the F-15 jet shot down by Iranian forces would be rescuedAfter strong criticism from a federal lawmaker, the online betting platform Polymarket stopped accepting wagers on when US warplane crew members who were shot down in Iran might be rescued. It promised to investigate how the market materialized.The criticism came from Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democratic representative who earned two bronze star medals serving with the United States marine corps in Iraq from 2003 to 2008 and published an X post describing Polymarket's acceptance of bets on the downed pilots' fate as DISGUSTING". Continue reading...
by Rob Davies and Carmen Aguilar García on (#74R8M)
Tougher ethical certification process requires companies to meet standards in every one out of seven categoriesDozens of companies may be at risk of losing their coveted B Corp ethical status after the organisation behind the corporate kite-marking system raised the standards required to qualify.B Lab, which oversees B Corp certification, launched the biggest overhaul in its 19-year history earlier this month, scrapping a system under which companies must gather enough points across multiple categories to qualify. Continue reading...
Leaders say automated mowers' blades threaten nocturnal animals as studies highlight risks to wildlifeGerman mayors have called for a nationwide ban on night-time use of robot lawnmowers to protect hedgehogs and other small nocturnal animals from being killed or maimed in the dark.Recent studies have highlighted the threat lawnmower blades pose to wildlife active between dusk and dawn, prompting growing calls for regulation. Hedgehogs also tend to curl into a ball when threatened rather than running away, making them harder for a robot mower's sensors to detect. Continue reading...
Anutin Charnvirakul encourages measures such as home working and carpooling as country is reliant on oil importsThailand's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has called on the public to conserve energy, urging work-from-home measures and carpooling, as he warned of the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.In a statement posted on social media, Anutin said Thailand was exposed to the crisis because of its reliance on imported oil and gas, and the country could not be complacent. Continue reading...
New legislation comes amid push from big oil, as critics warn polluters' profits prioritized over Americans' healthUtah has made it nearly impossible for residents to hold fossil fuel companies legally accountable for climate damages in a move one advocacy group described as putting profits for the biggest polluters over communities", with other states expected to follow suit.The new state legislation comes as part of a push from big oil and its political allies - including groups tied to rightwing impresario Leonard Leo - for legal immunity in red statehouses and Congress, with a goal of winning state and federal legal immunity similar to the liability waiver granted to the firearms industry in 2005. Continue reading...
Chuck Schumer accuses president of ranting like an unhinged madman' in threat to obliterate Iran's power plants and bridges. Plus, Audrey Hepburn's son Sean on her movies, marriages, good works and fascist parents
Concerns about coming wildfire risk, and temperatures also remain high on other side of Pacific where rare tropical cyclone has formedAfter a historically warm winter across nine states in the US, the first month of meteorological spring again brought exceptionally high temperatures, with numerous states recording new all-time high temperatures in March. The remarkable intensity and longevity of the warmth have left much of the mountain snowpack, a crucial source of water for millions in the American west, at critically low levels.Though precipitation totals tend to increase in spring, the low snowpack has raised concerns about a potentially severe wildfire season if conditions do not improve soon. And with further spells of abnormally warm, dry weather expected this week, the outlook is becoming increasingly worrying heading into the late spring and summer months. Continue reading...
Levy on inherited farms and family businesses worth 2.5m or more comes into force 6 AprilA new inheritance tax regime for UK farms and family businesses comes into force on Monday and will present significant challenges" for those affected, according to accountants.In October 2024 the government announced plans to levy inheritance tax on farms - prompting an outcry in many quarters. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#74R56)
BFI and National Portrait Gallery to mark centenary of the film star's birth with the summer of Marilyn'Though often reduced to a sex symbol frozen in time, or a tragic figure at the centre of several scandals, Marilyn Monroe was something far more subversive, according to two exhibitions that will herald what has been nicknamed the summer of Marilyn".To mark the centenary of her birth, Monroe is being celebrated by leading British cultural institutions as a performer of sharp comic intelligence, a canny architect of her own image, and a woman who reshaped the possibilities for female stardom on screen. Continue reading...
How much fuel does Australia have left today, and when could we run out? Check how much petrol and diesel prices have risen near you in Sydney, Melbourne and across the country since the US and Israel's war on Iran began in late February
Even if motorists can provide evidence they've paid for parking, they are threatened with bailiffs and courtDrivers have accused a leading car park management company of issuing false" parking fines - leaving one mother to defend herself from multiple debt collection agencies sent by the company.Jane Winder says she was sent letters from five different debt collection agencies each asking her to pay 170 after she was accused of not purchasing a 2.30 parking ticket at a car park in Lancashire managed by Euro Car Parks. Continue reading...
by Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent on (#74R3C)
More than half of NHS trusts have cap on availability of products, forcing patients to pay for products themselvesMillions of people across the UK living with incontinence are facing shortages of sanitary products due to supplies being rationed by NHS trusts, according to a coalition of charities.The shortages are leading to a pad gap" where people are having to pay for incontinence products themselves, according to an open letter from organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, Prostate Cancer UK, and Bowel and Bladder UK. Continue reading...
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