Former SAS soldier charged with five counts of war crime murder to learn whether he will be be released from Silverwater prison Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Ben Roberts-Smith was planning to move overseas – and had not told authorities investigating him – when he was arrested at Sydney airport last week, a Sydney court has heard. Roberts-Smith made a bail application before Judge Greg Grogin in Downing Centre local court Friday morning. Continue reading...

Former Iranian women’s team players ‘overwhelmed’ by support Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh have trained with Brisbane Roar The two members of the Iran football team who remained in Australia after the Women’s Asian Cup are beginning their new lives away from the spotlight, even if their dream is to return to elite football. Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh issued a statement on Friday saying they “respectfully ask” for “privacy and space”. Continue reading...

EU economy commissioner says Iran war is feeding Russia’s war machine; Trump condemns massive strikes on Ukraine. What we know on day 1,513 The EU expects to start releasing a new €90bn loan to Ukraine in the second quarter, the bloc’s economy chief told AFP on Thursday. The EU’s economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, was speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to Washington. “Our support for Ukraine, also continued pressure and sanctions against aggressor Russia was very much part of the agenda,” Dombrovskis said. He warned that Moscow was “emerging as a winner from this war in Iran, because it provides windfall profits to feed Russia’s war machine”. Russia hammered civilian areas across Ukraine with drones and missiles on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 100 others in the worst aerial attack in weeks, Ukrainian authorities said. Nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles were used, as Ukrainian officials said vital stocks of advanced interceptors were running low. Donald Trump on Thursday condemned a massive Russian drone and missile attack across Ukraine that ripped through apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv. Asked by reporters at the White House for his reaction to the barrage, Trump said: “I think it’s terrible.” It is not in the interest of the US that Russia is the winner of the Iran war, the German vice chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, said on Thursday in Washington. “It’s not in our interest and it cannot be in the interest of the United States,” he said in a joint statement with the finance ministers of Ukraine and Norway on the sidelines of the IMF spring meetings. Klingbeil said the Russian economy was growing thanks to the Middle East conflict and the country was profitting from the energy situation. As the conflict in the Middle East dominated the gathering of finance officials at the IMF in Washington, the ministers of Norway, Germany and Ukraine spoke about not forgetting to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia. “All the meetings here are about the question of what’s happening with the war in Iran, and I think it’s really important we show solidarity with our friends in Ukraine,” Klingbeil said. The heads of the EU and Nato on Thursday discussed efforts to bolster Europe’s arms production, as Donald Trump threw doubt on Washington’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance. “We need to invest more, to produce more and to do both faster,” the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, posted online after meeting Nato’s chief, Mark Rutte. European nations are scrambling to bolster their militaries in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine and pressure from Trump. Continue reading...

New York mayor, ‘C-list rapper’ who went by Mr Cardamon and Young Cardamon, collected $1,643 in royalties last year The New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is still making money from his short-lived career as a multilingual rapper, tax filings show. But the 34-year-old Democrat’s meteoric rise as a celebrity politician has brought only a modest increase in hip-hop profits: he took home $1,643 in music royalties last year, up only slightly from $1,267 in 2024, according to the filings. Continue reading...

A seismic clash between City and Arsenal, Tottenham need leadership, and could Eddie Howe recall Yoane Wissa? Josh King learned of the difficulties that come with being a Premier League player at Liverpool on Sunday. The 19-year-old was withdrawn at the break after a tough first half at Anfield as Marco Silva wanted to change things when two goals down. It will be interesting to see how King reacts to the half-time hook when he is next called upon, whether he uses it as inspirational fuel or sees it as an undeserved irritation because he was not solely to blame for Fulham being behind. Silva will have a quandary over whether to start the youngster again or leave him stewing on the bench, offering a further reminder of what is required at the top level. King has impressed over the season and, sometimes, at this stage of a player’s development, it is a good idea to see what lessons are learned from a challenging moment. Will Unwin Brentford v Fulham, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST) Leeds v Wolves, Saturday 3pm Newcastle v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm Tottenham v Brighton, Saturday 5.30pm Chelsea v Manchester United, Saturday 8pm Continue reading...

Campaigners organise open letter to director demanding ‘fair day’s wage’ for all workers at V&A museums A row over pay has broken out at the V&A before the opening of its newest site , with thousands of people calling for it to become a living wage employer. On Saturday, V&A East will open its doors in Stratford, east London, showcasing stunning fabrics, photos and black British music. It joins a wider group of V&A museums including its original site in South Kensington, Young V&A in Bethnal Green and V&A Dundee. The V&A describes its latest opening as one of the most significant new museum projects in the UK. Continue reading...

Shaftesbury theatre, London Twenty years since its West End debut, the sweetly subversive musical returns with a few tweaks and a lot of heart The trigger warning “puppet nudity” does not begin to cover it. You will also see puppets having sex, singing about being “a little bit racist” and gleefully owning up to their predilections for porn. Avenue Q’s cute subversiveness is back, 20 years after these fuzzy-felt Sesame Street wannabes took the West End by storm. Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx’s Tony award-winning musical is not exactly shocking now but it’s very amusing as these creatures (plus some humans) fall in love, have existential crises and create merry havoc. Continue reading...

Hull 14-24 St Helens Battling display in defeat feels like coach’s last stand There is rarely a shortage of emotion and passion in this particular part of the rugby league world but even by the usually high standards set in Hull, this was a night many, least of all their head coach, will never forget. On any other night, the headline would be St Helens producing another impressive statement of their title credentials to go top of Super League. But this was no ordinary night: perhaps underlined not necessarily by the action on the field, but by what transpired after Saints’ win over Hull FC. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer understood to have lost confidence in official over decision to override security vetting failure Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Sir Olly Robbins, the UK Foreign Office’s top civil servant, is leaving his post after the decision to fail Peter Mandelson during his security vetting was overruled by his department. Robbins was the Foreign Office’s most senior official in late January 2025 when the decision was made, paving the way for Mandelson to become the US ambassador. Continue reading...

The first series’s insightful look at bipolar disorder is gone. For its second outing, it’s a knockabout tale of a relationship gone wrong – which isn’t always easy to buy into The second part of the title of Camilla Whitehill’s Channel 4 comedy drama is a reference to mood disorders. Bipolar, to be exact – the condition her protagonist Maggie has been diagnosed with. The first part is a reference to pretty much everything else. Big Mood tackles big topics and chases big laughs. There are big adventures, big gestures and big cameos. It’s undeniably ambitious, but does all this add up to something truly meaningful? It can be difficult to tell. Series one introduced Maggie in the midst of a manic episode: she had pestered her alma mater to let her deliver a speech in the hope of seducing her old history teacher. That quickly gave way to a depressive one, during which she attended her 30th birthday party unshowered and on the verge of tears. The reason for this rollercoaster was Maggie’s decision to stop taking her medication; she believed it was impeding her creative capabilities and her career as a playwright. Eventually, she agreed to go back on lithium, only to experience terrifying hallucinations and confusion – she’d been poisoned by an erroneous prescription filled out by an overwhelmed psychiatrist. Continue reading...

What a time it is to be a Crystal Palace supporter. Twelve months ago, the south London club was still waiting to win their first major trophy and even the most optimistic fan could never have imagined that they would be contesting the semi-final of a European competition. But despite a few anxious moments when a battling Fiorentina side cut the deficit from last week’s 3-0 defeat in first leg at Selhurst Park to just two goals with half an hour still to play, Oliver Glasner’s side showed their growing maturity at this level to progress to a last four showdown with Shakhtar Donetsk. Continue reading...

The final whistle brought a second of relief before the celebrations truly kicked in after Nottingham Forest secured a place in the Europa League semi-finals. It should have been easier but nothing is simple at the City Ground as they made hard work of overcoming Porto, who played almost the entire match with 10 men. Morgan Gibbs-White settled the match, to set up an all English clash with Aston Villa for a place in the final. His goal came in the aftermath of Jan Bednarek’s early sending off and should have laid the foundations for more but Forest’s finishing was poor, forcing them to grind out the victory. Continue reading...

Ollie Watkins kickstarted Aston Villa’s near-perfect evening as his 100th goal for the club enabled Unai Emery’s side to cruise into a semi-final against Nottingham Forest. The England striker, looking to earn a late recall into Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, tapped home in the 16th minute before goals from Emiliano Buendía and Morgan Rogers followed the latter’s spurned penalty. Ezri Konsa, who had set this emphatic aggregate victory in motion with the first goal in the first leg last week, rounded off the triumph by volleying home late on after Tammy Abraham headed on a corner. Continue reading...

Chair’s decision to not seek re-election in June ‘not as a result of any disagreement’, company says in SEC filing Netflix chair Reed Hastings is leaving the streaming service he co-founded 29 years ago as the company regains its footing after it lost its $72bn deal for Warner Bros Discovery. In a letter to investors released on Thursday, Netflix said Hastings will not stand for re-election at its annual meeting in June and plans to focus on philanthropy and other pursuits. Continue reading...

Exclusive: A trove of previously redacted documents was filed as part of the tech giant’s anti-trust battle with the state of California. Amazon denies it engages in price-fixing Hundreds of previously redacted records reveal how Amazon has pressured independent sellers using its platform into raising their prices on the sites of competitors like Walmart and Target, so that Amazon can appear to have lower prices, California authorities allege. The global conglomerate became concerned even if a competitor was selling an item for as little as a penny less, according to one segment of the newly unredacted evidence. Continue reading...

Chancellor says she is ‘working through a range of options’ to boost the armed forces but does not want to put up taxes UK politics live – latest updates Rachel Reeves has warned “difficult choices” are required to increase defence spending and other budgets may have to be cut, including welfare. Under pressure for a faster rise in military spending amid the Iran conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the chancellor said she was “working through a range of options” but preferred not to increase taxes or add to government borrowing. Continue reading...

Jay Bryant negotiating plea deal in New York death of Run-DMC star, over which one conviction has been overturned One of the three men charged in the killing of Jam Master Jay plans to plead guilty, court records show, in what would be the first admission anyone has made in court to any role in the Run-DMC star’s death in 2002. Jay Bryant pleaded not guilty to murder after his 2023 indictment, but his lawyer and federal prosecutors told the court in recent letters that they were negotiating a plea agreement. Continue reading...

Met police look into incident near office of Iran International after attempted firebombing of a synagogue Counter-terrorism investigators are examining three separate arson attacks in London against an Iranian dissident and Jewish targets amid fears the Iranian state may be behind them. The latest attack happened at about 8.30pm on Wednesday, against the offices of the parent group of a company that runs Iran International, a Persian news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran. Continue reading...

Leader of Tories criticises Farage after he says holding another independence vote ‘probably quite reasonable’ Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party, has accused Nigel Farage of being an opportunist who does not believe in unionism after he urged Scottish nationalists to back Reform. Farage said earlier this week he believed in “genuine nationalists” who do not support the Scottish National party’s bid to rejoin the EU, and urged them to vote Reform in the Holyrood election on 7 May. Continue reading...

Thieves believed to have escaped into sewers after holding staff and customers in Crédit Agricole branch for two hours Armed robbers held 25 people hostage at a bank in Naples for two hours on Thursday, before fleeing through a tunnel. The three thieves entered a branch of Crédit Agricole in the southern Italian city at about 11.30am, taking hostage staff and customers, who were freed by police a couple of hours later. Continue reading...

A deeply scarred country is caught in a war not of its making, seeking a solution which lies outside its hands The 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon that Donald Trump announced on Thursday is desperately needed. It must also be regarded with immense caution. Iran and mediator Pakistan believed that Lebanon was covered by last week’s US-Israel-Iran ceasefire, before Israel unleashed 100 strikes in 10 minutes – killing hundreds and wounding many more on “Black Wednesday”. Lebanon was pulled into this crisis by Mr Trump’s illegal war on Tehran, and should not have been excluded from his truce. The US president, desperately seeking an exit to the broader conflict, is now reining in Mr Netanyahu. But only up to a point. Israeli forces on Thursday destroyed the last bridge linking Lebanon’s south to the rest of the country and struck a school. The previous day they killed at least four paramedics – the latest of scores to have died. More than 2,100 people have reportedly been killed, including at least 172 children. Thousands have been injured. One in five of the population are displaced, some permanently: having occupied a vast swathe of land, Israel is wiping whole villages from the map. Its own defence minister described that as modelled on its actions in Gaza. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The spytech company and founder Peter Thiel should ‘have their hands ripped off our NHS’, say MPs during impassioned Westminster debate MPs have queued up to demand the government scraps its £330m NHS contract with the spytech company Palantir, calling it “dreadful” and “shameful” in a debate on Thursday, after which the government said it was “no fan” of the US company’s politics. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs led the calls for Palantir, which also works for Donald Trump’s ICE immigration crackdown and the Israeli military, to be removed as a supplier to the NHS federated data platform (FDP), with one Labour backbencher, Samantha Niblett, questioning whether it could be “trusted as a custodian of the intimate health records of tens of millions of British citizens”. Continue reading...

The impunity with which organised crime groups operate in jails is scandalous. Blocking drones should be just the start To most of the public, the widespread availability of illegal drugs in prisons must be hard to comprehend. A Ministry of Justice that cannot prevent law-breaking within its own institutions is clearly failing to a disastrous extent. As well as undermining rehabilitation by perpetuating criminality, addiction and debt, drug dealing in prisons undermines the whole system’s credibility and purpose. Yet this is the situation in multiple English and Welsh jails, as set out by chief inspector Charlie Taylor. His last annual report highlighted the fact that 39% of prisoners surveyed in 2024/25 said it was easy to obtain drugs, while 19% of female prisoners had developed drug problems in jail. The rate of positive results in random drug tests regularly topped 30%. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Public Investment Fund withdraws support for rebel tour and other sports could be hit too with Newcastle United uncertain The reverberations of an unscheduled meeting of LIV Golf executives in New York this week have been felt way beyond their swanky offices in Hudson Yards, on the west side of Manhattan. A slowdown in Saudi Arabia’s lavish spending on sport, which is conservatively estimated to have cost the kingdom more than $10bn in the past five years, had been expected, but its Public Investment Fund’s withdrawal of financial support for the rebel tour – which was first mooted to LIV execs on Monday – has caused shockwaves throughout the wider industry. Continue reading...

Individuals such as Matt Goodwin and Lord Frost benefited from largesse of self-styled ‘illiberal democracy’ UK politics live – latest updates The last 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule have been kind to a number of British political figures – from the Tory peer David Frost to Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin and James Orr. All benefited from largesse extended by the self-styled “illiberal democracy” established by the Hungarian leader’s ruling Fidesz party, which took a particular liking for those on the harder right of British conservatism. Continue reading...