Hull KR 6-58 Leeds Rhinos Ex-Parramatta veteran scores four tries Hull KR may well be rugby league’s newly crowned world champions but on the biggest stage the sport can provide its superstar athletes, it was Leeds Rhinos who produced their very best in Las Vegas to absolutely dismantle the Super League champions in spectacular fashion. A week on from stunning NRL premiers Brisbane Broncos to win the World Club Challenge for the first time, the Robins headed Stateside keen to put on another show to further enhance their burgeoning reputation as one of rugby league’s great sides. But the Super League champions were ultimately humbled by one of their main title rivals. Continue reading...

US president says Khamenei’s death is ‘justice for the people of Iran’ as he repeats call for regime change Full report: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed A visual guide to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran – and Tehran’s response War on Iran: how the US-Israeli bid for regime change unfolded China’s ministry of foreign affairs has expressed concern over the US-Israeli strikes against Iran and called for an immediate ceasefire, urging all sides to avoid escalation and to resume dialogue and negotiation. In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president voices support for US and Israel strikes on Iran, calling Tehran ‘an accomplice of Putin’. What we know on day 1,467 Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the time and place of the next round of peace talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine would depend on the security situation in the Middle East and the level of “real diplomatic possibilities”. The Ukrainian president on Saturday said he would issue new directives to Ukraine’s negotiating team at the talks, without detailing what they were. He had said the next round of talks would probably take place in Abu Dhabi in early March. But the United Arab Emirates has since been caught up in hostilities after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Zelenskyy voiced his support for the US-led strikes, calling Iran “an accomplice of Putin” for supplying Shahed drones and the technology for Russia to produce them and other weapons in its war against Ukraine. He said it was important that Washington acted decisively, but also that hostilities did not escalate into a wider war. “It is only fair to give the Iranian people a chance to get rid of the terrorist regime, to get rid of it and guarantee the safety of all nations that have suffered from terror originating in Iran,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on social media. “It is important that the United States is determined. And whenever America is determined, global criminals weaken.” Zelenskyy said that Russia has used “more than 57,000 Shahed-type strike drones against Ukraine – against our people, against our cities, against our energy sector”. “Although Ukrainians have never threatened Iran, the Iranian regime chose to be Putin’s accomplice,” Zelensky said. Donald Trump is urging Moscow and Kyiv to strike an agreement to end Europe’s biggest war since 1945, though Zelenskyy has complained that his country is facing more pressure to make concessions. Ukraine is seeking iron-clad security guarantees which commit the US and its European allies to action if Russia attacks again after a peace deal is reached. The last round of peace talks, which took place in Geneva last week, did not achieve a breakthrough and was described as difficult by Kyiv and Moscow, although Washington said it saw “meaningful progress”. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff on Saturday said that Russia said at recent talks in Geneva that it would accept the US proposal for Ukraine’s postwar security guarantees. “At the last talks, the Russian side said for example that they would accept the security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the United States,” said Kyrylo Budanov in an interview aired on Ukrainian television. Budanov also said that at present Russia had not agreed to a summit between Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, which had been floated earlier as a possibility by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Russia on Saturday condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state”, demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy. Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran. Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean last week aimed at “upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact in January last year as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging western sanctions. Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday its forces had taken control of the settlements of Neskuchne and Girke in Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Zaporizhizhia regions. And Ukraine’s Naftogaz said Russia struck a gas extraction facility in the Kharkiv region overnight, causing serious damage. Continue reading...

Supreme leader of Iran who maintained theocratic rule at home and an anti-western axis of resistance in the Middle East Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has died aged 86 in a large-scale air attack on the country by the US and Israel. He presided over a complex theocratic system that was enforced brutally at home, and sought to influence the exercise of power in other Middle Eastern countries. Though the US and Israel attempted to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme with a bombing campaign in June 2025, it was not fully successful. The economy continued to deteriorate, and the following January the country’s people took to the streets against the Islamic Republic. An estimated 30,000 or more protesters were killed – the largest death toll in modern Iranian history. Continue reading...

A Manchester move, Shaun Ryder’s bleeped-out anecdote and the odd leftfield flourish added some life to a slick ceremony – yet when it came to the prizes, commercial heavyweights tended to reign The Brit awards have perhaps borrowed a trick from the Mercury prize, which last year unexpectedly applied the defibrillator to an event that’s been on the verge of extinction for years by the simple expedient of moving it to Newcastle and packing the audience with music fans rather than music biz grandees. The Brits’ relocation to Manchester had the effect of adding at least a slight edge of chaos to a ceremony that’s become increasingly slick in recent years, largely by dint of involving Shaun Ryder, who almost immediately enlivened proceedings by telling an anecdote about being busted for drug possession during the Brits in the 90s that ITV found it necessary to bleep out in its entirety. The show itself was too varied to suffer from the blandness that’s cursed Brits past, offering performances ranging from Rosalia’s Björk-assisted opera/gabber hybrid to Alex Warren (“what you get if you order Ed Sheeran on Temu”, as Whitehall put it) performing Ordinary with a smoking-jacket-clad James Blunt on piano, via the unexpected sight of Ghostface Killah dad-dancing with Dua Lipa during a medley helmed by outstanding contribution to music winner Mark Ronson. Continue reading...

Chaos as key transit hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha close, and more than 1,000 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines cancelled Full report: US president announces death of the ayatollah, who has ruled Iran as supreme leader since 1989 Latest updates: Trump says Khamenei is dead America and Israel’s attack on Iran disrupted flights across the Middle East and beyond as countries around the region closed their airspace and three of the key airports that connect Europe, Africa and the west to Asia halted operations. Hundreds of thousands of travellers were either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace. There also was no flight activity over the United Arab Emirates, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said, after the government there announced a “temporary and partial closure” of its airspace. Continue reading...

As Olivia Dean swept the board, there were eye-catching performances from Sombr, Raye, Rosalía and more, while Jeff Goldblum and Maya Jama lit up the red carpet Continue reading...

Crowds gather in DC, New York and beyond to denounce Trump’s Iran strikes as an illegal act of war As news reports circulated that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, anti-war protesters gathered across the United States, including outside the White House and in New York’s Times Square to voice opposition to US military involvement in the region. “It wasn’t sanctioned by Congress, so what Trump is doing is on his own terms, it’s making him a fascist and it’s making the country into a fascist state,” said Sue Johnson, a protester. Continue reading...

The US joined an Israeli assault after intel suggested Iran’s top clerics and commanders could be hit at once Donald Trump launched attacks against Iran on Saturday as part of a joint operation with Israel after they developed intelligence that they could simultaneously target the country’s leaders and mullahs, according to two people familiar with deliberations. The Israelis had been tracking the movements of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and determined there was a window of opportunity to launch attacks as they convened, the people said. Continue reading...

Bystander describes ‘loud crashing sound from the rocks’ as light aircraft goes into sea at Lee-on-the-Solent A pilot survived after a light aircraft crashed on to a beach in Hampshire on Saturday. The pilot had exited the aircraft before firefighters arrived and was subsequently assessed by the ambulance service, Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire and rescue service said. Continue reading...

The 26-year-old dominates in Manchester, landing the night’s biggest prizes as Rosé, Wolf Alice and Mark Ronson also take top honours Olivia Dean was the big winner at the 2026 Brit awards, taking home awards for artist of the year, pop act, song of the year for her Sam Fender duet Rein Me In, and album of the year for The Art of Loving. In less than a year, Dean has leaped to the forefront of British pop thanks to The Art of Loving, her second album. With songs that get to the heart of the joys and frustrations of casual modern dating, she is enormously relatable, while her sophisticated and cosmopolitan songcraft, deftly finessing styles such as bossa nova, trip-hop, neo-soul and jazz together, has given her an unusually broad and cross-generational appeal. Continue reading...

CMAT, Wolf Alice, Wet Leg, Self Esteem and Loyle Carner say musicians should not shy away from politics – with several warning of ‘scary times’ as the far right gains ground Artists including CMAT, Wet Leg, Loyle Carner, Wolf Alice and Self Esteem expressed concern about the rise of Reform UK on the Brit awards red carpet, saying artists should feel empowered to be political. CMAT, nominated for international artist of the year at the ceremony in Manchester, said she was “not a big fan of anyone trying to argue that art is not a political place”. Continue reading...

The beloved comedian, musician and Strictly winner would rather stick to the landscapes and culture. Luckily, his reluctance to chat is saved by the sheer charisma of his interviewees There was a time when the only celebrity travel presenter on offer was Michael Palin – and if watching that charming so-and-so sweet talk his way on to ships wasn’t your bag, well, tough. These days there are celeb-fronted travelogues for every mood and penchant. Want giddy glee? Sandi Toksvig has you covered. A spot of sarc? That’ll be Richard Ayoade. And if you’re after a smart introvert with a dash of relatable “can’t I just have a sit down?”, Bill Bailey’s your man. It’s not a brand that will work everywhere but in this six-part series he’s in Vietnam, where residents have an infectious warmth and a pleasingly low tolerance for grumbling. Cycling past lush rice fields in the first of many shots of Vietnam’s gorgeous landscapes, Bailey says he will explore a country that, just over 50 years after the end of the Vietnam war, is “surging ahead to meet the demands of a globalised world [while] still dealing with the legacy of its turbulent past”. His journey will take in bustling Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), rural Dalat and Sapa, and Ha Long Bay. But first up is Hội An, where the lantern-lit streets of the historic old town fill with selfie snappers, and the entrepreneurship of the local tradespeople, many still practising the crafts that made the city a significant 16th-century trading port, is helping to boost the country’s economy. It’s the perfect embodiment of the show’s neat (if sometimes overly referenced) old-meets-new framing. Bill Bailey’s Vietnam is on Channel 4 now. Continue reading...

Air strikes halt bitter political feuding ahead of elections as prominent Israelis call for a broad open-ended war US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran – what we know so far Air raid sirens emptied Israel’s streets on Saturday and filled its bomb shelters, as the country braced for waves of Iranian attacks. But individual fear and resignation did not temper broad political and popular support for the country’s second regional war in less than a year. Continue reading...

Coordinated daylight assault on Tehran sparked Iranian retaliation and plunged the region into wider conflict US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran – what we know so far The bombs and missiles started falling on Tehran in full daylight, at about 9.15am, after the working day had started and the streets and offices were full. Bombing campaigns in the modern era usually start at night, to heighten the target’s sense of disorientation and minimise the effectiveness of air defence. Continue reading...

Section of fans reacted as play paused at Elland Road Guardiola: ‘Respect the religion, respect the diversity’ Leeds coach calls it ‘disappointing … we need to do better’ Pep Guardiola has called on football supporters to “respect religion and diversity” after fans booed a brief stoppage in play at Elland Road to allow Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast. Play was halted in the 13th minute of Manchester City’s 1-0 win against Leeds after the sun had set to allow the Muslim players to eat. At this point, despite a clear message on the big screen, fans audibly jeered the situation. Continue reading...

Footage circulating on social media appears to show the moment a missile fell near a residential area in Doha. Qatar's defence ministry said its air defences successfully intercepted several missiles. Explosions were reported in Gulf nations including the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, all of which host US military bases US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran: what we know so far Continue reading...

Regime could try to retain control of streets as US and Israel have expressed no intention of mounting ground invasion Venezula’s Nicholás Maduro was captured. But Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have chosen a different strategy for Iran: to target and aim to kill the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, , and as many other senior regime figures as possible. Though Iranian military sites and its air defence systems were also targeted by coordinated US and Israeli bombing, beginning in the morning, the most significant attack was on Khamenei’s compound in Tehran. Continue reading...

From Epstein to tariffs: the strikes function as an attempt to hijack the global narrative and drown out domestic scandal with the thunder of cruise missiles In 2003 the United States invaded Iraq without deciding whether it should. The George W Bush administration failed to ask whether the costs, risks and likely consequences of regime change justified the gamble. The result was tragedy – for Iraq, for the Middle East and for America. Donald Trump’s attack on Iran now follows the same pattern – but with an even narrower logic of performative power. In the run-up to Iraq, Washington devoted enormous energy to planning the invasion. Almost no attention was given to the more important question: was war necessary, and could it realistically produce a stable political outcome? Christopher S Chivvis is a senior fellow and director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Continue reading...

The starkest improvement under the interim manager has been the Slovenian supersub’s attacking potency Benjamin Sesko’s career at Manchester United breaks into two distinct periods. In the first, he played 1,404 minutes of football and scored two goals. In the second, he has played 274 minutes and scored six goals: 702 minutes per goal and then 45 minutes 40 seconds per goal. There’s a very obvious explanation. On 4 January, Sesko toiled in a 1-1 draw at Leeds. He didn’t manage a shot on target. He completed only 76% of his passes. He didn’t attempt a dribble but still lost possession five times. He was caught offside twice. On 5 January, Ruben Amorim was sacked. Continue reading...

For those wondering if Manchester City are over reliant on Erling Haaland, they offered a riposte at Leeds. It was neither a fluid nor entertaining victory but importantly it closed the gap at the top to two points, increasing the pressure on Arsenal in the process. It helps that when the league’s top scorer is absent, City can rely on the third man in the charts. Antoine Semenyo scored his 14th of the season on a difficult night for Pep Guardiola’s side, making the full-time euphoria well deserved after what felt like a significant win. A number of City players sunk to the turf once the whistle went, having called on all their reserves to get over the line. Continue reading...

War launched by US and Israel on Iran has quickly escalated prompting anxiety and concern in whole region Full report US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates Iran struck the world-famous Fairmont hotel in Dubai, setting the hotel alight, as the war launched by the US and Israel on Iran quickly spread to the rest of the Middle East on Saturday. Residents watched in shock as an Iranian missile hit the five-star hotel in Dubai’s luxurious Palm Jumeirah area. Social media videos showed fires breaking out near the entrance of the hotel, which led to four people being injured. Continue reading...

Body of Nathan Smith, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, found in pond north of Atlanta in February The son of the rapper Lil Jon drowned after ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms, officials in the US state of Georgia said. The body of Nathan Smith, known professionally as DJ Young Slade, was found in a pond north of Atlanta in early February. Continue reading...

In the new podcast former sect members reflect on end times, warnings of ‘astral larvae’ lurking in nightclubs and being in thrall to charismatic leaders – and the embarrassment and shame they feel now Dave Mullins can’t quite believe he devoted 10 years of his life to a lie. Idealistic and open-minded, he was 19 when he saw an advertisement for a free workshop on out-of-body experiences in Sydney. There he met a captivating, charismatic teacher who was thought to be able to read minds. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

After undergoing double bypass surgery two years ago, the band’s frontman talks about his band’s chaotic reputation, making it up to his fans, and his dream sandwich You and I have something very serious in common – we’ve both had open heart surgery in the last few years. I’m fine, but it changed me, so I was curious to know if it changed you too. Oh, on more than one level. The issue isn’t me dying; it’s having to address mortality. It’s constantly on my mind now. I’m 58, I’m thin as a twig, I grew up on the coast eating fish, I was a vegetarian for 12 years. I did, however, drink – mostly hard alcohol – and I have smoked [Anton periodically drags on a cigarette throughout our hour-long conversation]. I thought I was like a teenager. But my life expectancy, because I smoked, is probably less than five years now. Continue reading...