Castleford 40-28 Bradford Bulls had led 16-12 after half an hour Castleford Tigers kicked off Super League’s 30th anniversary weekend with a much-needed victory against promoted Bradford Bulls that perhaps said as much about the frailties of both sides as it did their strengths. The Bulls have been one of the stories of Super League in 2026 since returning to the top flight over the winter, with the four-time champions who dominated the early years of the competition providing plenty of entertainment and three wins from three at home to sit inside the playoffs after the opening five rounds. Continue reading...

Jono Ridler has battled loneliness and fatigue as he aims to break the record for the longest unassisted staged swim – and raise awareness about fragile marine life First he hears a faint chatter coming from the ocean depths, then clicks and squeaks as the creatures draw closer. From the murky edges of his goggles they appear, swift and agile, darting within 10cm of his bare outstretched arms and following him for a time, as he swims hundreds of metres off the coast of New Zealand. Jono Ridler, an ultra-distance swimmer who is 1,254km (779 miles) into his world record attempt for the longest-ever unassisted staged swim, has learned to hear dolphins more than 15 minutes before they reach him and long before his support boats can see them. Continue reading...

Game seven of Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy tenure delivered comfort. In number eight, he will look to end the painful wait of a nation by returning his country to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Northern Ireland’s future, a bright one with this young squad, now means looking towards Euro 2028. This was simply a campaign too soon. Gattuso has a stated aim of making World Cup impact, not simply qualifying. There were long spells in this playoff when the coach’s aspirations felt ludicrous. Perhaps Italy laboured, especially in the first half, under expectation. Yet it is an undoubted truism that they will require a huge uplift in performance level to feature prominently in the summer. Had Northern Ireland snatched the opening goal here, Italy would have been in serious bother. Continue reading...

As many organizations celebrate outcome, some are skeptical as to what it means for privacy protections The verdict in a landmark social media trial that Meta and YouTube deliberately designed addictive products has sparked calls for reform across borders. International human rights and tech freedom groups issued statements after the decision, praising jurors for holding social media companies accountable for harms to children and urging tech giants to change their design features to ensure children are safe. Amnesty International said in a statement Thursday that “this court decision is clear: these platforms are unsafe by design and meaningful change is urgently needed”. Continue reading...

Petition seeks accountability from Salvadorian authorities over human rights violations at notorious Cecot facility A group of 18 Venezuela men whom the US expelled a notorious Salvadorian mega-prison are demanding that Salvadorian authorities be held internationally accountable for violation of human rights – detailing new allegations of torture, sexual assault and medical neglect. A new petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador violated the human rights of these men, who were expelled to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) last year without charge. Continue reading...

Defender called up for first time since exiting 2022 World Cup ‘There are strong opinions but he deserves a second chance’ Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Ben White needs to clear the air with his teammates after returning to the England squad, but the head coach is confident that the defender will not be booed by the Wembley crowd during tonight’s friendly against Uruguay. White has not been part of the setup since exiting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar early for personal reasons and the decision to end his international exile has not gone down well with some people. The Arsenal player has never explained the reasons for his departure and subsequently making himself unavailable for selection for the rest of Gareth Southgate’s time in charge. Continue reading...

The deposed Venezuelan president and his wife appeared in a Manhattan courtroom as rival protests took place outside The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had a smile on his face as he walked into a Manhattan court with shackles around his ankles and affably shook hands with attorneys at the defense table. But though he appeared at ease on Thursday, Maduro, who was captured in Caracas by US special forces on 3 January, faces a “narco-terrorism” indictment that could land him in federal prison for life. Continue reading...

Conservative former cabinet minister says nurse convicted of murdering seven babies has suffered a miscarriage of justice The police force that conducted the investigation into the nurse Lucy Letby made “egregious” failures and did not follow official guidance or best professional practice, David Davis has said in parliament. Speaking in the final parliamentary debate before the Easter recess, the Conservative former cabinet minister made a series of criticisms of Cheshire police and said Letby has suffered a miscarriage of justice. Davis said Cheshire police failed to appoint appropriate medical and statistics experts, and pursue all possible lines of inquiry into why babies died and collapsed on the “failing” neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester hospital in 2015-16. Continue reading...

Thomas Tuchel’s desire for clarity has him pitching two players against one another for each position. The competitive tension is palpable In the analysis of Thomas Tuchel’s split-squad approach for this international window, his naming of 35 players for the Wembley friendlies against Uruguay on Friday and Japan on Tuesday – including nine that he has not previously worked with – one detail has slipped under the radar. It is because it is easy to forget that the England manager recently signed up to stay on for Euro 2028. There is a degree of longer-term planning about him wanting to get a first look, for example, at Ben White and Lewis Hall, Kobbie Mainoo and James Garner. Fikayo Tomori as well. The centre-half left Chelsea for Milan, initially on loan, in January 2021 – four days before Tuchel arrived at the London club for his brief but storied spell. Continue reading...

BMA’s decision to withdraw from talks with government and NHS chiefs has sparked a war of words NHS bosses have accused resident doctors of seeking to cause “maximum harm” to patients by striking for six days next month over pay and jobs. Wes Streeting has given resident – formerly junior – doctors in England until 2 April to reconsider their rejection on Wednesday of his “generous” offer to end the dispute. It would have given them £700m in extra pay over the next three years. Continue reading...

Oscars to end over two-decade run at Dolby Theatre the same year it moves broadcast to YouTube The Oscars are moving to a new venue, ending a more than two-decade run in Hollywood during the same year the Academy moves its annual awards broadcast to YouTube. The Academy Awards will move to the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles starting in 2029. The venue, located within the 4m sq ft LA Live sports and entertainment complex will serve as the Oscars’ new home from the 101st ceremony through 2039. Continue reading...

Huw Aaron’s tale of a green blob reading to its child takes overall prize, while Janeen Hayat wins in the young readers category and SF Williamson in the older readers This year’s Waterstones children’s book prize winner features a green blob tucking its child – a smaller green blob – into bed. Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron is narrated by the parent blob who, through the course of the book, tells the child blob about all the other creatures also getting ready to sleep, including a yeti, Medusa and a Minotaur. Continue reading...

Charities say taxes should rise for banks, defence and energy companies which stand to make windfall profits Middle East crisis live Rachel Reeves is being urged to raise taxes on businesses generating “windfall” profits linked to the US-Israel war on Iran to fund emergency cost of living support for UK households. With the government under pressure to respond, a group of leading charities, campaigners and trade unions said the chancellor could raise billions by taxing “excess profits” linked to the conflict. Continue reading...

Alireza Tangsiri oversaw technology now used to threaten strategic waterway and goaded Trump to attack oil-export hub Kharg Island Middle East crisis – live updates Alireza Tangsiri, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, was a veteran hardliner with a taste for fiery rhetoric who grasped better than many the strategic importance of the strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil and gas. During naval exercises in the Gulf in January, Tangsiri said the Iranian Revolution of 1979 represented “a turning point in the history of the Iranian nation and a new dawn for the awakening of the oppressed nations of the world”. Continue reading...

Tehran denies it is ‘begging to make a deal’ and continues strikes across swathe of Middle East Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has urged Iranian leaders to negotiate an end to the near-month-long war or face further assassinations of senior officials amid intensified military action by the US and Israel. The latest threat on Thursday came as Israel said it had had “blown up and eliminated” the Revolutionary Guards’ naval commander, Alireza Tangsiri, and several senior officers in a strike on the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. Continue reading...

Announcement comes after IOPC said it was examining force’s response to allegations made in 2014 and 2015 A police force under investigation over its handling of sexual abuse claims against the self-professed misogynist Andrew Tate has reopened an inquiry into allegations against him. Hertfordshire police said they had made the decision to reinvestigate alleged rape and sexual assault offences in the light of previous failures in 2014 and 2015. Continue reading...

Italian sweeps Tiafoe aside 6-2, 6-2 to reach semis France’s Fils wins thriller against Paul The past nine days at the Miami Open have not been kind to most of the best male tennis players in the world. One by one, so many have fallen, most dumped out of the tournament with mediocre performances. Even Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 1, was not immune to the string of giantkillings in Florida. One man remains completely unbothered. Having broken Novak Djokovic’s 2016 record for most consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events earlier in the tournament, Jannik Sinner has continued to bulldoze through the draw as he tries to follow up his recent Indian Wells title by winning the Sunshine Double. He rolled into the semi-finals of the Miami Open with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over the 19th seed, Frances Tiafoe. Continue reading...

Research suggested resurgence in Christianity, especially among young people, but some respondents found to be ‘fraudulent’ A YouGov survey showing a significant rise in church attendance in parts of the UK has been withdrawn after some respondents were found to be fraudulent. The poll was central to a Quiet Revival report, published by the Bible Society last year, which prompted news stories about an apparent resurgence in Christianity, particularly among young people. Continue reading...

Ministers not on course to meet their objectives, including to shift power from Whitehall to local areas, says IfG Keir Starmer’s drive to overhaul public services is failing to live up to its aims of shifting power from Whitehall to local areas, a report from the Institute for Government (IfG) has found. Last summer, the government set out its three guiding principles for reform aimed at making public services such as the NHS, court system and children’s social care easier to access and better at helping people. Continue reading...

Wes Streeting pronounced the UK’s health system ‘broken’. An upbeat survey does not mean that it is fixed For the government, news that public satisfaction with the NHS has increased for the first time since 2019 came as a huge relief. After 20 difficult months in office, ministers can point to proof that one public service at least is getting better, in spite of doctors’ strikes. The annual survey also found that the proportion of people who are dissatisfied with social care provided by councils has fallen, although the change here is less marked. Given the low base from which this boost has been measured, and ongoing problems in multiple areas, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, was careful to temper his evident glee in a speech on Wednesday, with pledges of further improvement. Since the NHS is widely regarded as his party’s proudest achievement, and the UK’s most cherished institution, a figure of 26% declaring themselves to be satisfied, compared with 51% who are dissatisfied, sounds more like a cause for concern than celebration. 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 limits of its partnership with Tehran are unsurprising. But this conflict raises broader issues for the superpower For years, official Chinese rhetoric on Iran invoked their shared historical status as grand civilisations that have struggled against western aggression. Bilateral ties date back more than half a century. In 2021, they signed a comprehensive strategic agreement pledging $400bn of Chinese investment. And China’s economy is already flagging; it has just set its lowest growth target since 1991, underlining the importance of stability for Beijing. So its muted response since the US and Israel launched their war is striking. Beijing condemned the attack, but it was Washington that postponed the summit between their leaders because of the conflict. As Gulf states that previously mediated back away, China shows no interest in stepping up. 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...

Labour MP who led the charge against the Blair government’s plans for prolonged detention of terrorist suspects For much of his career, David Winnick, Labour MP for 42 years – representing Walsall North for 38 of them – was a dogged parliamentarian, originally of the Tribunite left and never aspiring to ministerial office. Yet he will be best remembered for an act of singular courage when he succeeded in defeating the plans of the Blair government in its Iraq war-era attempt to hold terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without charge. Winnick, who has died aged 92, had supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003, but took his stand on civil liberties grounds and, much to the aggravation of ministers, led the charge against the prolonged detention proposal in the Commons in 2005 – and then in the home affairs committee against a further attempt by the subsequent Brown administration to hold suspects for 42 days. Winnick’s successful amendment limited the term to 28 days; the vote against the terror bill was the first defeat for the Labour goverment, nine years after taking power. Continue reading...

Investigative reporter Szabolcs Panyi covered story alleging foreign minister had passed information to Sergei Lavrov The Hungarian government has filed charges against one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists, accusing him of spying for Ukraine, as officials grapple with the fallout of allegations that Budapest shared confidential EU information with Moscow. The claims of espionage cap off a tumultuous week in Hungarian politics, in which relations with the EU plummeted to new lows and polls suggested that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party is still lagging behind in support before next month’s election. Continue reading...

The decision follows activist pressure as Palantir faces growing scrutiny over NHS and UK government deals Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox New York City’s public hospital system announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Palantir as controversy mounts in the UK over the data analytics and AI firm’s government contract. The president of the US’ largest municipal public health care system, Dr Mitchell Katz, testified last week before the New York City Council that the agreement with Palantir would expire in October. Continue reading...

About 38% of children in London live in relative poverty, compared with 29% in England as a whole London has England’s highest levels of child poverty and most extreme concentrations of hardship, data has revealed. In two boroughs more than half of children live below the breadline. In Britain, child poverty rates flatlined in 2024-25 compared with the previous year. About 4 million youngsters (27%) live in households earning less than 60% of the national median income after housing costs are taken into account. Continue reading...