US president said he did not want to make a deal with Iran yet, while claiming that he might hit Kharg Island again ‘just for fun’ How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events? Donald Trump has said he is “surprised” that US allies in the Gulf have been targeted by Iran, in an interview with NBC News. The president called these countries “terrific”, adding that “they got shot at unnecessarily.” When talking about Iran’s decision to target them, Trump said it was “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.” Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 826 people, including 65 women and 106 children, since the start of the war. In a statement today, the ministry said 31 paramedics were among those killed. Local health authorities reported this morning that an Israeli strike killed 12 medical staff at a clinic in the southern town of Burj Qalaouiya. At least 15 people were killed when a strike by Israel and the US hit a factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the semi-official Fars news agency said. There were workers inside the factory, which produces heaters and refrigerators, when the strike hit, Fars reported. Iran issued an evacuation warning for three major ports in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, including the busiest in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported. Iran claims the US had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island. It urged people to evacuate areas where it said US forces were sheltering. Trump renewed his call for other nations to help secure the strait of Hormuz and said the US will coordinate with them amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way, but the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help – A LOT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. The Trump administration rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war that started two weeks ago with a massive US-Israeli air assault, according to reporting from Reuters. The Israeli military says it killed two senior officials in Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Emergency Command in an airstrike on Tehran. In a post on X, army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Abdullah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, described as senior figures in the command’s intelligence branch, were killed in the attack. Israel informed the US this week that it is running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors as the conflict with Iran continues, Semafor reported on Saturday, citing US officials familiar with the matter. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr accused news broadcasters of “running hoaxes and news distortions” amid the war in Iran in a post on X. “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote. Formula One has cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia grands prix because of the war, underlining the disruption across the Middle East. The races were due to take place on 12 April in Bahrain and 19 April in Saudi Arabia but the sport was approaching the point at which a decision on cancellation needed to be made to prevent more freight being sent to Bahrain. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia targeted energy infrastructure near Kyiv but residential buildings and schools also hit. What we know on day 1,481 Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, killing six people and inflicting damage across several regions of the country, Ukrainian officials said. Five of those killed were in the Kyiv region outside the capital, where Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure but also damaged residential buildings, schools and businesses. Fifteen people were injured. The Ukrainian president said the Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions were also targeted in an attack that included about 430 drones and 68 missiles, most of which were downed by air defences. “The main target for the Russians was the energy infrastructure of the Kyiv region, but unfortunately, there were also direct hits on and damage to ordinary residential buildings, schools, and civilian businesses,” Zelenskyy said. A Russian strike later in the afternoon on a residential area in the Zaporizhzhia suburbs killed one and wounded 18, including two children, the local administration said. Reuters footage showed emergency crews at work amid piles of rubble and twisted metal. Windows and frames on balconies were smashed. Russia’s winter attacks on Ukraine have left swathes of major cities without power or heating, part of a campaign to weaken resolve as Moscow’s troops press a battlefield offensive and demand Kyiv cede more territory in the east. Ukraine’s energy ministry said on Saturday that people in six regions were without electricity after the overnight strikes and Russian shelling of frontline areas. Saturday’s attack also prompted Nato member Poland to scramble jets to protect its airspace, but no violations were observed, Warsaw’s military said. In Moldova, on Ukraine’s western border, the foreign ministry denounced what it said was an intrusion by a Russian drone into its airspace in a border district, saying Moscow’s actions undermined regional security and posed a danger to its citizens. Zelenskyy repeated his call for Kyiv’s partners to boost production of air defence weapons, stocks of which have been diminishing as the US and its allies in the Gulf, fending off Iranian strikes. The UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer may send thousands of interceptor drones to the Middle East, the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Military officials are examining whether the “Octopus” interceptor anti-drone drone system, which is manufactured in the UK for Ukraine to use against Russia, can also be used to bolster British defences against Iran’s Shahed drones, the report said. Russian air defence units downed 65 Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow throughout the day on Saturday, the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, said the drones were intercepted over an 11-hour period beginning around noon. Crews were examining the fragments at the sites where they fell. The governor of the Bryansk region on the Ukrainian border, Alexander Bogomaz, said on Telegram that units in his region had downed 128 drones. He gave no time frame. Continue reading...

In comments to NBC News, US presidents also deflates hope of deal with Tehran, saying ‘terms aren’t good enough’ Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub “just for fun”, saying that while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet”. He said the US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, telling NBC News that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.” Continue reading...

World No 1 sitting outside the top 20 with one round to go Åberg takes three-shot lead into final 18 holes at Sawgrass There is a robotic element to Scottie Scheffler during periods of success that observing the world No 1 in times of adversity is far more intriguing. There is more – much more – to the American than meets the eye. This is a golfer who was once reduced to tears after a Ryder Cup trouncing. While all charges were eventually dropped, the mere fact Scheffler found himself in a prison jumpsuit before a round at the 2024 US PGA was highly unusual. Last summer, he was filmed in long and histrionic discussion with his coach amid struggles at the US Open. Continue reading...

Death comes two months after Alford was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting two teenage girls The actor John Alford has died in prison two months after being jailed for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Alford, 54, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in January after he was found guilty of the assaults which occurred during a party at a friend’s home. The actor, who appeared in the drama London’s Burning and BBC show Grange Hill, died at HMP Bure, Norfolk, on Friday, the Prison Service said. Alford, who was tried under his real name, John Shannon, was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to a 15-year-old girl at a property in Hertfordshire in 2022. Jurors heard during the trial that he had sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk after a night out at the pub. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “John Shannon died in prison on March 13 2026. “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.” Continue reading...

Friends said ‘most people will never get in the ring’ as if it was comforting instead of a reminder I’m extremely stupid I’ve spent most of my life being devoured by heart-exploding anxiety. “Doing scary things” has meant stuff like being out after dark and calling someone on the phone. It has never, for one minute, meant fist fighting in front of a crowd of people. But a while ago I decided to try countering the anxiety by doing new stuff. With that in mind, I went to a boxing class. At worst, I figured, I could write a column about being a middle-aged mother in a young man’s world. Anna Spargo-Ryan is the author of A Kind of Magic, The Gulf and The Paper House, and a winner of the Horne prize Continue reading...

France 48-46 England Late penalty denies Ireland the championship This has been a stunningly unpredictable Six Nations but no one saw this astonishing final reel coming. While France may have clinched the trophy for the second successive year England came within seconds of spoiling their pulsating last night party in a see-sawing game for the ages. In the end the hosts needed a last-gasp penalty from Thomas Ramos to secure the trophy, dashing Irish hopes of a sensational title heist. It will go down among the most extraordinary chapters in the 120-year history of this fixture, ultimately securing back-to-back titles for France for the first time since 2007. They were particularly indebted to the brilliant Louis Bielle-Biarrey who surpassed himself by scoring four tries, condemning England to four losses in the same championship season for the first time in 50 years. Continue reading...

Bahrain circuit only 20 miles from targeted US base Races unlikely to be replaced because of logistics Formula One has cancelled the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia grands prix because of the war in the Middle East. The races were due to take place on 12 April in Bahrain and 19 April in Saudi Arabia but the sport was approaching the point at which a decision on cancellation needed to be made to prevent more freight being sent to Bahrain. Continue reading...

As much as the memory of past comebacks from Manchester City will continue to occupy Arsenal’s every waking thought, the temptation to declare that the title race is all but over is becoming increasingly impossible to resist. Pep Guardiola must know there will be no breathless sprint for the finish if his side continue to play with such a lack of identity, cohesion and belief. Putting it bluntly, this is not the City of old. This was a careless, unfocused performance and it left them nine points below Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand. City did not raise the tempo until it was too late and although they limited West Ham to a solitary shot the problem is that it was the one that allowed Konstantinos Mavropanos to earn the point that lifted Nuno Espírito Santo’s dogged side out of the bottom three before Nottingham Forest host Fulham on Sunday. Continue reading...

Brendan Carr posts that he may cancel spectrum permits of ‘mainstream news’ outlets for ‘misleading’ coverage The Trump administration’s communications licensing tsar fired a warning shot over the US broadcasting industry Saturday, threatening to cancel the spectrum permits of broadcasters pushing what he termed “hoaxes and news distortions”. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr posted on social media that broadcasters running “fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” Continue reading...

Adicoff adds relay title after two previous Milan golds Oksana Masters wins US record 23rd Paralympic medal US quartet dominates Para cross-country mixed relay There was no bow this time at the Milan Cortina Games for Jake Adicoff, the first out gay American male Winter Paralympic champion. Instead, he was tackled to the ground by teammate Oksana Masters after they helped the United States win the Para cross-country mixed relay on Saturday. Continue reading...

Three squad members to remain in Australia on specially granted protection visas Three more members of the Iranian women’s football squad have left Australia, leaving behind teammates who sought asylum after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said on Sunday the three team members had decided to join the rest of the squad and make the journey back to Iran. Continue reading...

Met police says woman, 43, was detained after newborn girl in Westminster taken to hospital and pronounced dead A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after an 18-day-old baby girl fell from a property in central London. The Metropolitan police said officers attended Horseferry Road in Westminster after reports on Saturday morning that a baby had fallen from a residential property. Continue reading...

It was the moment to blow the roof off the Emirates Stadium, the exclamation mark on a victory that felt pivotal to the destination of the Premier League title. Everton had been excellent, an incredible test for Arsenal and their credentials. Mikel Arteta and his players passed it. They found a way. The goal to tilt it their way, the decisive one with time almost up, was tapped in by the substitute, Viktor Gyökeres. It came when Jordan Pickford touched the ball on to Piero Hincapié and, with luck on their side, it broke perfectly for Gyökeres in front of an empty net. Continue reading...

Humbled English clubs must realise that what works against the very good turns out to be inadequate against the best If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. If the only tool you have is a set play, the solution to everything starts to look like a pre-programmed move based on blocking runs. And perhaps that’s especially true if you’re worn out, knackered by the attrition of a persistent schedule of two games a week against teams who are frustratingly well organised and physically imposing. Think? Dribble? Make a surprising run? Who has the bandwidth for that? Just sling it to the back post and get in the way of the keeper. Arne Slot had spoken in the buildup to Liverpool’s defeat by Galatasaray on Tuesday of how difficult it is to create chances in modern football, and how set pieces are a way to circumvent the sophisticated defensive setups of most Premier League teams. He is certainly not alone in taking that approach in the Premier League. But the Champions League is not like the Premier League. The crowding of the six-yard box, the full bearhug grappling, the meat wall to block the goalkeeper … it turns out all of those are penalised by European referees, and that is a problem for Premier League teams. Continue reading...

A half-century of Premier League London wins for Newcastle, a first win at Stamford Bridge since 2012, Anthony Gordon their match-winner against the club he was close to joining in 2022. He ran Chelsea ragged. In the stands, Todd Boehly, the co-owner who, when acting as de facto sporting director in the early days of ownership, targeted Gordon. Four years on, there may be regret that deal never happened, though there are deeper doubts to consider, including the current team’s stall under Liam Rosenior. Newcastle supplied the know-how and organisation, Sven Botman outstanding in leading the defensive effort as Chelsea and their supporters’ belief in them sagged collectively. Full time was followed by fierce barracking of players and manager. A blame game is being played at Stamford Bridge. How much has been spent now? The answer is closing on £1.5bn in the Boehly years and Chelsea are falling short of their objectives. Continue reading...

US president calls on China, France, Japan and the UK to send vessels after US strikes Kharg Island oil facilities Middle East crisis – live updates Iran threatened on Saturday to further escalate the war raging in the Middle East by targeting any facility in the region with US ties, after Donald Trump predicted “many countries” would send warships to support a US bid to reopen by force the strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway closed to virtually all maritime traffic by Tehran since the beginning of the war. Iran has responded to the joint US-Israeli offensive, which is entering its third week, with daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure around the Gulf region, as well as against Israel. Continue reading...

Slips at key moments proved costly with Andy Farrell’s team able to easily maintain a stranglehold on this fixture There were some Ireland fans who even said they would not begrudge Scotland victory, the triple crown, and, potentially, a first Six Nations title. There was a sense Gregor Townsend’s side had earned their day in the sun, somehow, especially after the glorious fourth-round triumph against France. And this Ireland team have certainly had their share of vitamin D against Scotland. Ireland’s players, it soon became clear, did not see it that way. They were visibly keen to remind Scotland that no one is owed anything in elite sport. This was meant to be a transitional season for them, but the quality of this performance penned a depressingly familiar script from a Scottish perspective. Continue reading...

Six Nations updates from Paris (8.10pm GMT) Sign up for The Breakdown newsletter | Email Lee Pre-match reading to get you in the mood The final game of the tournament is upon us, share your thoughts on this and anything else from the past few weeks if you like on this very email. I look forward to reading them. Continue reading...

Wales 31-17 Italy Steve Tandy’s side end 15-game losing run in competition So that’s what it was like. Wales win a Six Nations match in Cardiff for the first time in more than four years. A crowd of 70,000 fairly ripped the stadium off the roof. And they did it with virtually every play of the game. Most plays of those gave some cause or other for a cheer - and, boy, did the locals respond. How familiar an experience, and yet how not, a ghostly echo of times past. Wales’ mission now is to put flesh on the spirit, to do it again as a matter of course, as of old. Continue reading...

We take a look at the best images from the Games, including skiing, curling and ice hockey Continue reading...

As users turn to VPNs to access pornography, experts warn collection of information creates a ‘honeytrap’ for bad actors Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast When porn sites began blocking Australians from access, it also meant X began age-checking users before they could look at adult content on the social media site. But it asked some users to send a video selfie every time they wanted to look at a single picture or video. Continue reading...

The Australian terrorist’s propaganda continues to surface in other offenders’ cases, and Muslim leaders say more needs to be done locally to confront Islamophobia Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast When he was 14, a boy in South Australia downloaded more than a dozen videos of the terrorist attack committed by an Australian man on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. He was sentenced in 2025 for possessing documents with information for terrorist acts and extremist material, according to the magistrate’s remarks, which included having the shooter’s manifesto on his devices. Continue reading...

In addition to near-20% of the beachside suburb’s population claiming Irish ancestry, it also boasts an astounding array of Irish entities, from themed bars to two fully fledged rugby teams “I remember having my mind blown seeing boys walking down the beach in Irish football jerseys,” says Luke McCaul, a Dublin-born hairdresser and drag queen who moved to the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee to work 15 years ago. “Like, ‘what the fuck are they doing?’ Gaelic football jerseys – in Australia!” Continue reading...

Liz Steel and Marc Taro Holmes live on opposite sides of the globe, but connected through a sketching challenge. Now it’s a phenomenon If you’re lucky, you may spot Liz Steel tucked into the corner of a sun-dappled Sydney cafe, water-soluble pencils and markers in hand. Half a world away, Marc Taro Holmes is led by his sketchbook on to the thawing streets of Montreal, “like a bear coming out of hibernation”. The duo are co-founders of #OneWeek100People challenge, an informal global initiative that asks artists to sketch 100 people in seven days. The challenge, now in its 10th year, took place this week, but Steel and Holmes stress it is entirely for enjoyment and anyone can take it up and post with the hashtag at any time. Continue reading...