Trump continues contradictory messaging on Iran; US will release 172m barrels of oil from strategic supplies. Key US politics stories from 11 March Donald Trump has continued his contradictory messaging over the Iran war, telling a rally in Kentucky that the war is “won” but “we don’t want to leave early, do we?”. With Trump and his fellow Republicans under pressure, according to polls, due to a stuttering economy, immigration crackdowns and the Iran conflict, the president noted this year’s midterm elections “are going to be very, very important”. Continue reading...

Budapest said it had dispatched a delegation for talks, only for Kyiv to deny the group had official status; Ukraine drone experts work in the Gulf. What we know on day 1,477 See all our Ukraine coverage A row between Ukraine and Hungary over a pipeline carrying Russian oil appeared to deepen on Wednesday, after Budapest said it had dispatched a delegation for talks, only for Kyiv to deny the group had any official status. Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia accuse Kyiv of deliberately delaying reopening the Druzhba pipeline pumping Russian oil to the two landlocked states. Ukraine says the pipeline was damaged by Russian strikes in January. Hungary’s Energy Minister Gabor Czepek said the group, including representatives from Slovakia, would aim to hold talks on reopening Druzhba. Ukrainian anti-drone experts have begun working in three Gulf states targeted by Iranian attacks, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help the Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine. G7 nations Wednesday rejected easing punitive measures against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as the Middle East war wreaks havoc on global oil markets, France’s President Emmanuel Macron said. Russian forces were attacking an oil pumping station in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region with drones for the second day in a row, the CEO of Ukrainian state oil and gas firm Naftogaz said on Wednesday. In a statement, Serhiy Koretskyi said the attacks are aimed at preventing the alternative supply of non-Russian oil to Europe, adding that Russia has attacked Naftogaz infrastructure more than 30 times this year. Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned a deadly Ukrainian strike on the western Russian city of Bryansk as a “terrorist attack” and accused Britain, whose missiles it said were used, of overstepping international legal norms. In a statement, the ministry said the strike was intended to derail efforts toward a peace process and fuel an escalation of the conflict. Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Wednesday one more person had died in the attack, bringing the death toll to seven. Bogomaz said earlier that Tuesday’s strike had injured 42 people, without saying what was hit. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy met US negotiators in Florida on Wednesday, the United States said, in their first talks since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The talks come after the US earlier this week lifted some sanctions on Russian oil – imposed because of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine – to ease prices amid the Iran war. Team Ukraine have launched a ­stinging attack on the International Paralympic Committee and Winter Paralympics organisers, claiming they have been under “systemic pressure” to reduce their presence at the Milano Cortina Games. The Ukraine National Paralympic Committee has made four specific allegations against the IPC and the Milano Cortina organisers, alleging mistreatment of its athletes and a “systematic” attempt to remove flags from the team base and spectators. Continue reading...

Hezbollah and Iran had launched joint attack on more than 50 targets including Israeli military bases Middle East live – latest updates Israeli warplanes bombarded Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched drones and rockets at northern Israel on Wednesday night in a sharp escalation of the 10-day conflict. Hezbollah let off successive volleys of rockets and drone swarms at Israel on Wednesday night, injuring two people, with most of the projectiles either being intercepted or falling into open areas. Continue reading...

Criminals using artificial intelligence tools to take over mobile, bank and online shopping accounts, says Cifas Criminals are increasingly exploiting AI technology to take over people’s mobile, banking and online shopping accounts, the UK’s leading anti-fraud body has warned. Last year, a record number of scams were reported to the national fraud database, fuelled by AI, which allows for large-scale deception on “industrialised” levels, according to Cifas, the fraud prevention organisation. Continue reading...

New legislation will require schools to use Mandarin by default, taking priority over minority ethnic languages such as Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), the state legislature, will vote on Thursday on a suite of new laws agreed at this year’s annual two sessions gathering, including a piece of legislation that will diminish the role of minority ethnic languages in the education system. NPC delegates are expected to approve a new ethnic unity law, along with a new environmental code and the 15th five-year plan, the economic planning document for 2026-2030. Delegates have spent the last week debating Beijing’s proposed bills, which they are all but certain to approve. The NPC, which is often described as a rubber-stamp parliament, has never rejected an item on its agenda. Continue reading...

The fox is said to be ‘settling in well’ after mischievous 3,400 mile journey from Southampton to New York A sly fox slipped on to a cargo ship and travelled from Southampton to New York, according to officials at Bronx Zoo. The zoo, which is looking after the animal, said it appears healthy after early examinations. Continue reading...

Coventry beat Preston 3-0 to go eight points clear Boro lose ground with 1-0 home defeat by Charlton Coventry moved eight points clear at the top of the Championship with a 3-0 win over struggling Preston. Goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Brandon Thomas-Asante in the first half were followed by Matt Grimes’s penalty after half-time for their 23rd win of the season. Coventry’s sixth consecutive win opened up an eight-point gap to second-placed Middlesbrough, who lost 1-0 at home to Charlton, and returned them nine points clear of third-placed Millwall. Continue reading...

Authors like me are being targeted by AI-powered accounts promising exposure and fake reviews Self-publish and be scammed: Jon’s tale of heartbreak highlights boom in fraudsters using AI to supercharge book swindles My latest book had been out for less than a month when the emails started to arrive. One came from “Elena”, with the tantalising subject line, “When history flutters its wings and reveals a crime too beautiful to ignore.” Then followed a long, florid message about how it was “one of those rare true stories that makes you question everything you thought you knew about history, museums, and human obsession”. Continue reading...

At least there was no public humiliation for Filip Jörgensen from his manager. But while Liam Rosenior did not do an Igor Tudor and hook his goalkeeper, this hurt. It is why a goalkeeper passing out from the back only looks clever until the moment it goes wrong. Above all, it was tough for Chelsea to take. They impressed at the Parc des Princes, twice pegging Paris Saint-Germain back, but there was no escaping the reality that the focus was on the moment Jörgensen’s stray ball out gifted the European champions the advantage in this last-16 Champions League tie. Continue reading...

Federico Valverde was the Real Madrid hero who wrote himself into this storied club’s folklore with a first-half, 22-minute hat-trick that decimated Manchester City and cast Pep Guardiola as a tactical novice. Each of Valverde’s goals were a diagram of his supreme skill and City’s chump-like defending that leaves their hopes of a quarter-final berth near extinct. If Vinícius Júnior had netted a second-half penalty Real could all but celebrate progression yet if City score early in Tuesday’s return who knows. Continue reading...

Barbara Taylor Bradford’s 1979 novel became a massive TV hit in the 1980s. Now, Brenda Blethyn has donned a fabulous wig to whisk us back to the age of excess and escapism Basically, there was trouble at ’mill. Or at least t’mill owner’s house. This is the fons et origo of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s A Woman of Substance. The quintessential rags-to-riches tale, of impoverished Yorkshire lass Emma Harte making her way to the top of the fashion business, was published in 1979 – but it anticipated and appealed instantly to the self-improving, bootstrap-straining, money-hungry, power-mad, ambition-laden mood of the decade to come. It was first adapted for television in 1985 (starring Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr as Emmas young and old) and now it is time for another. Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley have delivered an eight-part miniseries whose lavish absurdity takes us back to the supreme madness of 80s television and gives us the escapism we surely all currently crave. We open in the late 70s with Emma Harte in a limousine and her multimillionaire grande dame prime. She is played by Brenda Blethyn, who has, at last, cast off her drab Vera garb and shuffling gait after 14 series. Instead, she has embraced a gorgeous silver-grey bouffant wig and equally lavish wardrobe, with, I hope, all the joy that such a metamorphosis can bring. A Woman of Substance is available on Channel 4. Continue reading...

Interim manager has lost four out of four Harry Redknapp rules himself out of return Igor Tudor will fight on with Tottenham against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday in a desperate bid for any positivity before the relegation six‑pointer at home against Nottingham Forest the following Sunday. The interim manager, who is under contract until the end of the season, is not expected to last that long as his tenure lurches from one horror performance to the next, the latest being the 5-2 defeat at Atlético Madrid in the Champions League last‑16 first leg on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Brian Rolapp: ‘My brief is to make the PGA Tour better’ American wants to change structure of regular season Brian Rolapp, the chief executive of the PGA Tour, has dismissed any notion of LIV golfers being afforded entry to the Players Championship as a means of boosting the tournament’s status. The PGA Tour has tried to start a debate over whether the Sawgrass event should be added to golf’s rota of majors. The obvious element that undermines the Players’ standing is the inability of LIV players – such as Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith – to enter. Rolapp made it plain during pre-tournament media duties in Florida on Wednesday that the situation will not change any time soon. Continue reading...

There were £210,00 deals for Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney in what was meant to herald a new era, but it was still mostly men making decisions It’s Piccadilly Circus. It’s candy pink and dayglow green. It’s 19-year-old Davina Perrin being bought by the Birmingham Phoenix for £50,000 a couple of years after she has graduated from Ebony Rainford Brent’s ACE programme. It’s the former Leicestershire fast bowler Charles Dagnall in skinny jeans with an iPad and an interactive screen. It’s Hero Players. It’s Vitality Wild Cards. It’s Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney being signed for £210,000, which is more than the entire women’s squad earned between them when the Hundred launched in 2021. It’s English cricket’s first player auction. Continue reading...

Whoever runs Bayer Leverkusen’s social media accounts obviously meant it as a joke. But even they couldn’t have predicted that a cheeky post hours before kick-off would almost end up being such a good omen for Kasper Hjulmand’s side. “No corners allowed,” it read in a clear dig at Arsenal’s favoured modus operandi this season, before adding: “Worth a try … ” Nonetheless, the plan seemed to be working for almost the entire cagey first half when neither side managed to muster a single corner until stoppage time. But everything changed at the start of the second half when Leverkusen’s captain Robert Andrich headed home their second corner of the evening. Suddenly Arsenal found themselves in a game. Step forward Kai Havertz to rescue them against his former club as the Germany forward came off the bench to score a late equaliser from the penalty spot after Noni Madueke was brought down. Continue reading...

Newly released documents also show Peter Mandelson was offered highly classified briefings before formal vetting was complete Keir Starmer overruled officials who warned of a “reputational risk” in making Peter Mandelson US ambassador, despite being handed a dossier of evidence about the peer’s relationship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, documents reveal. The disclosure in newly released files will raise fresh questions about Starmer’s judgment – as well as about the vetting procedures at the highest levels of government. Mandelson was offered a severance payment of £75,000 after initially asking the Foreign Office to pay him more than £500,000; Starmer was warned before appointing Mandelson that he remained in contact and stayed with Epstein after the financier was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008; Powell told an investigation that he thought the appointment was “weirdly rushed”; Starmer was reassured about Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein by Matthew Doyle, his former communications chief and a friend of Mandelson. Doyle said he was “satisfied” with Mandelson’s explanation of the relationship. Continue reading...

Latest sculpture titled ‘King of the World’ includes plaques with pointed commentary on pair’s past association A woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets. The appearance of a golden statue depicting Donald Trump and the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as doomed lovers from the movie Titanic is confronting Washington with a murkier mystery. The nearly 12ft sculpture, unveiled on Tuesday on the National Mall, is the third piece of guerrilla art satirising Trump’s past relationship with Epstein attributed to The Secret Handshake, a shadowy collective whose members remain anonymous. Continue reading...

Richard Kemp tells high court former Sinn Féin leader would have authorised attacks carried out in England A former British army commander has told the high court it is “inconceivable” that Gerry Adams was not involved in the authorisation of IRA bombings. Richard Kemp said there was evidence from “a multitude of intelligence” spanning 20 years about the former Sinn Féin leader’s membership of the paramilitary organisation. Continue reading...

Unite union began all-out strike more than a year ago and city remains without full waste collection service It has been more than a year since Birmingham’s bin workers began their all-out strike that has left residents without a fully functioning waste collection service – and there is still no end in sight. The strikes have attracted global media attention as pictures emerged of towering waste and overflowing bins on the streets of the UK’s second largest city. Continue reading...

Nathan Chasing Horse found guilty on 13 of 21 charges in case that affected Indigenous communities across US Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Nathan Chasing Horse, the actor known for his role in Dances With Wolves, is scheduled to be sentenced next Wednesday after being convicted of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls, bringing to an end a case that deeply affected Native American communities across the country. The sentencing comes about a month after a Nevada jury found him guilty on 13 of the 21 charges brought against him. Many of the convictions stemmed from allegations involving a victim who was 14 years old when the abuse began. The jury cleared him of several other sexual assault counts. Chasing Horse has denied all accusations. Continue reading...

Strike in Shukeiri killed teachers and health care workers and is latest incident in three-year war At least 17 people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed on Wednesday when an explosive-laden drone blamed on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces struck a secondary school and a health care centre. At least 10 people were wounded in the strike in the village of Shukeiri in the White Nile province, according to Dr Musa al-Majeri, director of Douiem Hospital, the nearest major medical facility to the village. Continue reading...

⚽️ Champions League news from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽️ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email Scott Real Madrid: Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Mendy, Valverde, Tchouameni, Brahim, Thiago, Guler, Vinicius Jr. Subs: Lunin, Gonzalez, Carvajal, Camavinga, Gonzalo, Ascencio, Garcia, Mastantuono, Aguado, Cestero, Angel, Palacios. Manchester City: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias, Guéhi, O’Reilly, Rodri, Silva, Savinho, Semenyo, Doku, Haaland. Subs: Trafford, Bettinelli, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Cherki, Nico, Ait-Nouri, Nunes, Foden, Alleyne. Continue reading...

⚽️ Updates from Champions League last 16 and beyond ⚽️ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And mail Xaymaca Hello and welcome to another Champions League clockwatch. Tonight we’re following Paris Saint-Germain v Chelsea at the Parc des Princes and Bodø/Glimt v Sporting at Aspmyra Stadion. Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 in the last meeting between the two sides. The fiery final of the Club World Cup ended with Joao Neves receiving a red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair and Luis Enrique (lightly) slapping Joao Pedro in the aftermath of the game. Enrique said: “there is no feeling of revenge for us” but I wonder what the players think. Continue reading...

Payment for Inditex founder, the world’s 15 richest person, tops last year’s dividend of €3.1bn The billionaire founder of Zara is to receive a company record €3.23bn (£2.8bn) dividend this year from the world’s biggest fashion retailer. Amancio Ortega, who still controls 59% of Spain’s Inditex and whose daughter Marta Ortega Pérez is now chair, will receive half his dividend in May and half in November – as will other shareholders. Continue reading...

One of UK’s largest trade unions say it is cutting £580,000 contributions to the party over the Birmingham bin strike One of Britain’s largest trade unions is cutting membership fees to Labour by more than half a million pounds over the Birmingham bin strike. The move by Unite, one of the three largest unions affiliated to Labour and a key financial donor to it, comes ahead of a conference next year when members will consider whether they want to maintain ties to the party. Continue reading...