Middle East crisis live: Trump insists Iran wants a deal despite initial rejection; China sees ‘glimmer of hope’ for talks

US president claims Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side; Chinese foreign minister says US and Iran ‘signalling a willingness to negotiate’

• Iran rejects US ceasefire plan and submits its own amid push for talks

• Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-ramp

An Iranian envoy has said South Korean ships can pass through the strait of Hormuz only after coordinating with Tehran, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.

Such an agreement had to be reached in advance of the transit, said Saeed Khuzechi, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea, at a press conference in response to a question about guarantees for South Korean vessels to navigate the vital conduit for oil.

Fears net zero is ‘next Brexit’ as oil crisis fuels political climate divide

Rising energy bills give Reform and Tories opening to attack net zero while government hesitant to make case for clean energy

Could net zero become “the next Brexit”? That is the fear stalking climate advocates as the oil crisis caused by the war on Iran starts to bite.

A powerful coalition of the well-funded Reform party, led by Nigel Farage, the Conservative party, some business interests, and the UK’s right-wing media, are engaged in an onslaught against the longstanding target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

You be the judge: should my partner keep his ashtrays outside?

Rita wants Martin’s novelty ashtrays to stay in the garden. He likes to give them pride of place on the shelf. Whose argument is a smokescreen? You decide

• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

Martin says his novelty ashtrays are decor and will spoil in the rain, but ash in our home is gross

I’ve already compromised and cut down on smoking – plus they’re more like collector’s items

White House turns down Elon Musk's offer to pay TSA workers during DHS shutdown

In a post on X Saturday, Musk offered to pay the salaries of TSA workers during the DHS shutdown.

Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen review – so scary it will send you hysterical

Abandoned babies, pink Barbie shoes and throat-slitting serial killers? This wedding horror from the makers of Stranger Things is so hellish I may never sleep again

Personally, I have always broken off my engagements no more than halfway through a portent-filled night drive to meet my fiance’s parents for the first time in their sprawling, dark-corridor-laced ‘cabin’ in the woods. I might get through the true-crime podcast about a local blood-letting serial killer. I might survive finding a maggoty dead fox in the smashed toilet of a rest stop on the way. But at the first sign of a mysteriously abandoned baby in a parking lot and long before I find myself standing in front of a shrineful of taxidermied family pets in the cabin’s entrance hall, I’m outta there. I’m gone.

I commend you all to have such boundaries, but none more so than twenty-something semi-orphaned Oregonian Rachel (Camila Morrone), who finds herself doing precisely that in the eight-part horror series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

‘It’s like having a friend everywhere you travel’: after 12 home exchanges, I’ll never book a hotel again

The Which? travel editor on the unexpected joys and considerable savings of house swapping. Plus top tips on how to do it

Imagine cutting the cost of accommodation on your next holiday to about £5 a day. You can have a whole house, rather than just a bedroom. And you can go almost anywhere in the world and stay as long as you like, within reason. Welcome to house swapping.

You’re sceptical, I know. I was, too. Our terrace house was too small. Too overflowing with stuff. The 1980s kitchen was too old (and battered). We aren’t in a nice enough neighbourhood. Who would want to stay here? Lots of people, it turned out.

Protect ya neck! Wu-Tang Clan as they’ve never been seen before – in pictures

Eddie Otchere spent 10 years photographing the New York hip-hop stars and other musicians. Here are the highlights of his thrilling new photozine

Pepys ‘curated’ letters to conceal being offered enslaved boy as bribe – research

Cambridge University historian uncovers letter to diarist who was a naval official in 1670s

His journals would become famed for their vivid detail and candour. But now, almost exactly 360 years after diarist Samuel Pepys chronicled the Great Fire of London, new research has found that he “erased” and “curated” correspondence to conceal he had been offered an enslaved boy as a bribe.

Cambridge University historian Dr Michael Edwards consulted hundreds of records in The Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; The National Archives; and the Bodleian Library in Oxford for the study “Samuel Pepys, the African Companies, and the Archives of Slavery, 1660–1689”.

Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says US has linked security guarantees to ceding of Donbas

Ukrainian president says peace deal proposed by US includes handing over land to Russia. What we know on day 1,492

North Korea and Belarus sign ‘friendship and cooperation’ treaty

Kim Jong-un welcomed Alexander Lukashenko with lavish ceremony, including artillery salute and goose-stepping soldiers before a large flag-waving crowd

North Korea and Belarus’s strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday, state media reported, after Kim Jong-un “warmly” welcomed president Alexander Lukashenko to Pyongyang for a maiden visit.

Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine – about 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought to have been killed – both nations are subject to western sanctions and are accused of gross human rights violations.

Rachel Roddy’s recipe for potato, aubergine and herb tortino alla fiorentina

A substantial, velvety dish to carry you through into the summer months

The sky is the same shade as old Tupperware, our tortoise appears to have gone back into hibernation, the flat upstairs has builders in, but the kitchen smells gorgeous, thanks to this week’s recipe. It is one of the variations suggested by Anna Gosetti Della Salda for her aubergine and egg tortino alla fiorentina in the Tuscany chapter of Le Ricette Regionali Italiane, an indispensable book that I would save from a fire. The addition of potato to the aubergine makes it an even more substantial, velvet-like and better-tasting dish, I think: a layered vegetable bake crossed with a frittata that fancies itself as having a touch of baked eggs (although don’t expect any puffing up).

Instead of the aubergine, you could use artichoke hearts (trimmed and cut into slim wedges), courgettes or cardoon, and, if you fancy, you could also add a crumbled sausage or a handful of diced pancetta. Whatever you use, however, a fundamental stage in terms of both flavour and texture is the initial cooking of the vegetables: frying the potatoes, then covering the pan so they fry-steam into tenderness; the aubergine by simply frying. Important, too, is sprinkling the just-cooked slices with a little salt, so the end dish is seasoned through. (The egg and milk mixture is seasoned with cheese – use whatever you have – but check for salt, too.)

Thursday news quiz: security scrapes, sordid statues and feral ferrets

Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare?

Welcome once again to the Thursday quiz. There are no prizes but plenty of opportunities to discover which of your firmly held opinions are, on closer inspection, just question marks in disguise. Fifteen questions await you, covering topical news, popular culture and general knowledge, and surprisingly not one of them is about that possum found among the toys at an airport. Let us know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 240

Melania Trump shares the spotlight with a robot at an education and technology event

The robot accompanied the first lady to the White House East Room for the final day of a summit she had convened with counterparts from around the world through her Fostering the Future Together global initiative.

UN calls for reparations to remedy the 'historical wrongs' of trafficking enslaved Africans

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans "the gravest crime against humanity" and calling for reparations.

‘You go in bald and walk out with the best hair you’ve ever had’: the remarkable return of the toupee

Hair transplants have never been more widespread or more affordable. So why do so many balding men prefer glued-on hairpieces? And are the best really undetectable?

When you hear the word toupee, certain images spring to mind. Older men with suspiciously thick hair, say; or a poorly colour-matched partial wig covering a bald patch, perhaps flying off in the wind. These are the toupees of old.

Toupees are distinct from wigs in that they cover only part of the scalp, but both have a long history. While humans were wearing hairpieces as far back as ancient Egypt, toupees originated in the 18th century, the name developing from the French toupet, meaning “tuft of hair”. They became particularly prominent in the mid-20th century, with Time magazine estimating that more than 2.5 million men across the US were wearing toupees by 1970. But concerns about how obvious the pieces were, hammered home by ridicule in popular culture (see Monty Python’s Toupee Department sketch) combined with the gradual acceptance of shaved heads in fashion, led to their decline.

WHO warns of health crisis ‘unfolding in real time’ across Middle East

Hostilities should halt and healthcare facilities must be treated as ‘safe havens’, WHO’s regional chief has said

• Middle East crisis – live updates

A total stop to hostilities in the Middle East is needed to halt a “health crisis unfolding in real time”, the World Health Organization’s chief in the region has said.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities must be treated as “safe havens”, urged Dr Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Meloni’s referendum defeat shows the cost of the Trump factor | Riccardo Alcaro

The Italian PM has won plaudits for her tightrope-walking pragmatism. But have voters now had enough?

Giorgia Meloni has a long history of defying expectations. She holds the record as Italy’s youngest cabinet member, at 31, and is its first female prime minister, thus overcoming two of Italian politics’ most formidable obstacles, gerontocracy and machismo. After she took office in autumn 2022, she quickly put to rest concerns that her post-fascist background would make her a foreign policy radical. Staunch support for Ukraine and a pragmatic relationship with EU leaders won her international credibility.

Against this backdrop, the defeat she suffered in this week’s referendum – where Italians rejected the government’s proposed constitutional reform of the judiciary by 53.2% to 46.8% – appears all the more significant.

Riccardo Alcaro is head of research at IAI, Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome

War with Iran disrupts fertilizer exports as U.S. farmers prepare for planting season

Gulf states are major fertilizer producers, and the war with Iran has triggered a 25% price hike just as struggling U.S. farmers are planting corn.

Wreckage of crashed Air Canada plane being cleared from LaGuardia Airport runway

Since Monday, much of the wreckage had remained on the tarmac, blocking access to one of LaGuardia's two runways at one of the country's busiest airports.

Record-high temperatures set in over a dozen states as heat wave moves east

Several states saw record daily temperatures set on Wednesday, as the heat wave that has been scorching the West expands into the central U.S.

Is Cuba Trump’s next target? – podcast

The journalists Ruaridh Nicoll and Daniel Montero report from Havana as Cuba suffers from a devastating oil blockade imposed by the US

When asked about Cuba by journalists last week, Donald Trump replied: ‘It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter, because they’re really down to the fumes.’

It was the only the latest in a series of increasingly belligerent statements from the White House about the island 90 miles off the Florida coast. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state and a Cuban-American himself, openly threatens Cuba’s communist leadership. Trump says ‘I can do anything I want with it’.

3/25: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Long TSA lines continue continue across the country as DHS shutdown hits Day 40; White House says Trump will "unleash Hell" if Iran doesn't make a deal.

Trump says Justices Barrett, Gorsuch ‘sicken me’ after Supreme Court tariff ruling

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, said President Trump did not have authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs.

USPS to add temporary fuel surcharge for some postage prices

The U.S. Postal Service is raising some postage prices to help offset the federal agency's rising transportation costs as fuel prices surge.

Shock, disbelief at Houston airport as 36% of TSA officers call out: "Insane"

"This is the first time I've experienced something like this in my entire life," one traveler said as TSA lines snaked through George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Senate funding deal stalls as DHS shutdown grinds on

A potential deal to end the DHS shutdown has stalled on Capitol Hill after Senate Democrats made their latest counteroffer.

Esther Perel provided couples therapy for a man and his AI ‘girlfriend’ and now I fear for the human race | Emily Mulligan

The relationships therapist sat down with a lovestruck man and his chipmunk-voiced companion. But could the bot provide him with what he really craved?

I heard celebrity therapist Esther Perel provide a couples counselling session for a man and his AI “girlfriend”. As a result, my soul will never know peace.

Something very, very drastic needs to occur to fix society before more precious, real people spend their allotted hours on Earth being kept company by a machine that does a good job of approximating a human interaction.

Ministers consider charging tourists to access UK national museum collections

Government says proposed levy for international tourists is part of initiative to improve arts funding

Ministers are considering charging international tourists to access permanent collections at national museums as part of an initiative to improve arts funding.

The government said there was a need for long-term options to fund the struggling arts sector in its response to a review of Arts Council England, which distributes public funding to the arts. Among the options cited was a hotel levy, a policy being consulted on.

FEMA resumes disaster mitigation program following judge's order

FEMA will make $1 billion available for the BRIC program​, which helps local governments harden against natural hazards like fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.

Savannah Guthrie gives first interview since mom vanished: "It is unbearable"

Savannah Guthrie said her family is in agony as she made a tearful plea for someone "to do the right thing" nearly two months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared.

Meta and YouTube found liable on all charges in social media trial

The verdict, which caps a weeks-long trial in Los Angeles, could set a legal precedent for similar allegations brought against social media companies.

Baseball is back as another MLB Opening Day arrives

Tony Dokoupil reflects on the evolution of baseball as another MLB season begins.

Democrat flips Florida state legislative district that includes Mar-a-Lago

Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election for a Florida state House seat on Tuesday, flipping a district that is home to President Trump's estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Savannah Guthrie gives first interview since mom Nancy disappeared: "We are in agony"

"Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie said her family is in agony as she made a tearful plea for someone "to do the right thing" nearly two months after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her Arizona home.

MLB players can now challenge balls and strikes under new system

It's opening day for Major League Baseball, and for the first time in the history of the sport, players who disagree with a called ball or strike will have something they can do other than holler and kick dirt. Kris Van Cleave has details.

Travelers miss flights as TSA chief warns of "perilous situation"

At Houston's George Bush Airport, security lines snake three stories, underground and even outside amid a severe TSA staffing shortage. Nicole Sganga has the latest.

Jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial

A jury found that Meta and YouTube are liable for creating products that led to harmful and addictive behavior by young users, a landmark decision that could set a legal precedent for similar allegations brought against social media companies. Jo Ling Kent reports.

DOJ reaches financial settlement with Michael Flynn

Former Trump national security official and right-wing activist Michael Flynn sued the Justice Department for $50 million, alleging wrongful prosecution during the first Trump administration.

Republicans block Democratic push for Trump Jr. subpoena

The presidents family businesses have been heavily scrutinized during his second term in the Oval Office.

Oil trades surged before Trump's Iran post. Some experts are suspicious.

Trading in crude oil futures spiked only minutes before President Trump postponed an ultimatum on Iran, causing oil prices to drop and stocks to surge.

Twin Cities residents missed work, school during Operation Metro Surge, survey finds

A survey of Minneapolis and St. Paul residents found the deployment of thousands of federal agents to their cities caused significant upheaval to their lives.

UK armed forces authorised to board Russian tankers in British waters

Prime minister approves tougher action against shadow fleet of oil vessels attempting to evade sanctions

UK armed forces have been authorised to board Russian oil tankers in British waters, Downing Street has said, in an escalation against Moscow’s sanction-evading shadow fleet.

The Royal Navy has previously joined allies in action against the vessels. Last week it helped track a sanctioned Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean which was then boarded by the French navy.

Harry Maguire: ‘I really like Ruben, he’s got great ideas. They just didn’t work at Manchester United’

Centre-back opens up on his renaissance at Old Trafford and his burning World Cup desire for England

Harry Maguire was injured again and Manchester United were stuck in a loop under Ruben Amorim, offering their own take on the definition of insanity. As Albert Einstein almost said, it is playing 3-4-2-1 with Bruno Fernandes deep and Casemiro exposed over and over again – but expecting different results.

It was the start of January and, at that point, Maguire simply wanted a return to fitness after two months on the sidelines, regular minutes, a bit of rhythm in his game after an in-and-out season. The notion of an England recall was fanciful. Not to mention the World Cup. Maguire was set to remain on 64 caps, the last of which he won against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in September 2024.

3/25: CBS Evening News

Jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial; travelers miss flights as TSA chief warns of "perilous situation."

Rep. Seth Moulton bans staff from using prediction markets like Kalshi, Polymarket

Congressional lawmakers are ramping up efforts to rein-in prediction markets.

Manchester United left reeling in WCL by late strike from Bayern Munich’s Tanikawa

When they took the lead for the third time at Old Trafford, Bayern Munich fans were singing ‘football’s coming home’, taunting the hosts. Their prediction remains to be seen but they will take a priceless one-goal lead back to Germany for the second leg of this quarter-final, meaning Manchester United have it all to do next week.

The English side never quite showed their full potential on Wednesday and despite two spirited fightbacks eventually succumbed to a 3-2 loss against a Munich team inspired by Pernille Harder, who scored twice. A delighted Harder, who was a Manchester United fan as a child, told Disney+: “I never thought I would score two goals at Old Trafford. When I was a kid there was no women’s team so it would not even be possible. So of course it’s a dream come true but most of all I’m really happy with the win.”

Trump voted by mail in Florida despite calling mail-in voting "cheating"

President Trump has long railed against mail-in voting, but used the method this month in a Florida election, public records indicate.

Met says it will resume arresting people who show support for Palestine Action

Reversal by London police comes as Shabana Mahmood prepares an appeal against high court overturning ban on the group

The Metropolitan police has said it will resume arresting people who show support for Palestine Action just weeks after it said it would no longer do so following a high court ruling that the ban on the direct action group was unlawful.

After last month’s judgment, the Met police said it would immediately stop arresting people for such offences under the Terrorism Act but would gather evidence for potential future prosecutions.

U.S. Postal Service seeks 8% fuel surcharge for package deliveries as Iran war raises oil prices

Oil prices have jumped more than 40% since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Republicans balk at Senate Democrats' DHS shutdown counteroffer

Congress and the White House are working to reach a funding deal before Congress leaves for a scheduled two-week recess on Friday.

Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer-winning author who turned unlikely subjects into bestsellers, dies aged 80

Writer looked to topics such as computer engineering and life in a nursing home to produce richly researched books

Tracy Kidder, an award-winning narrative nonfiction writer who turned everything from computer engineering to life in a nursing home into unexpected bestsellers, has died. He was 80.

Kidder’s longtime publisher Random House confirmed his death in a statement on Wednesday: “Tracy’s gifts for storytelling and tireless reporting are an enduring reflection of the empathy, integrity, and endless curiosity he brought to everything he did.”

The Comeback review – Lisa Kudrow is back as Valerie Cherish … but with no laughs

It’s been 21 years since we met the self-absorbed TV star in this industry satire. But as she comes out of retirement, the results are woeful – and it’s not just the AI script

Valerie Cherish may just be the closest thing America has to its own Alan Partridge. Both narcissists clinging desperately to 1990s showbiz successes (starring in a popular sitcom and hosting a BBC chatshow respectively), they are also two rare examples of comedy characters who have returned sporadically over multiple decades: Steve Coogan’s alter ego made his television debut 32 years ago, while Lisa Kudrow first appeared as Cherish in The Comeback in 2005, returning for a second season nine years later and a third this week.

Yet the pair are most alike as prisms through which their creators can satirise the ever-evolving entertainment landscape. Thus far, Partridge’s career has been bookended by sports commentary and self-funded documentaries about mental health; in between we’ve had sendups of local radio, travelogues, podcasting, celebrity memoir and teatime magazine shows. The Comeback, meanwhile, began as a twin spoof of the studio sitcom and reality TV. Co-created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King (best known for directing and writing for Sex and the City and And Just Like That), season one revolved around the making of a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Cherish’s return to work in a trashy comedy called Room and Bored. In 2014, The Comeback – the name of both the actual show and the reality TV programme within it – was revived to chronicle another career renaissance; this time, Cherish won serious acclaim as the star of Seeing Red, a dark dramedy inspired by the real-life conflict between her and Room and Bored’s heroin-addicted co-writer Paulie G.

The Comeback aired on Sky Comedy and is on Now in the UK and HBO Max in Australia

OpenAI's Sora app may be going away, but its legacy will be the spread of AI video slop

Barely six months after its launch, OpenAI is ending an app that could generate AI video at the click of a button.

Iran has no intention to hold talks with U.S; foreign minister says Trump proposal to end war being reviewed

President Donald Trump has claimed the U.S. and Iran are "in negotiations now." But the Islamic Republic denies any direct talks to end the war.

Italy and Northern Ireland target return to international football’s top table

Gli Azzurri start favourites in the World Cup playoff on Thursday but Michael O’Neill says his young team will show no fear

The shorter wait is the one worthy of considerably more attention. Four decades have passed since Northern Ireland appeared at a World Cup, which was their second tournament in succession. Any disappointment at finishing third in a group also involving Brazil and Spain was offset by hope of an imminent return. There has been no further seat at international football’s top table.

Italy’s World Cup hiatus involves failure to qualify in 2018 and 2022 (their previous two experiences were only marginally less miserable). For four-time winners of the tournament and a nation obsessed with the sport, this constitutes an affront. It brings intense pressure. One of Italy and Northern Ireland will retain the aspiration of 2026 participation when the full-time whistle shrieks in Bergamo on Thursday night.

Elon Musk calls for Delaware judge to recuse herself in lawsuits, alleging bias

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is calling for a judge to recuse herself in two shareholder lawsuits that are winding their way through Delaware's courts.

‘We have to do something for our people’: Ukraine nurture World Cup dream

The team have led a nomadic existence since Russia invaded and face a playoff against Sweden in Valencia on Thursday

Around the pitch of the latest stadium Ukraine will call home, a set of banners reels off the venues that have accommodated them in the past four years. The list goes on: Lodz, Prague, Leverkusen, Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow, Murcia, Poznan and Trnava, some of those in multiple. If that is an exhausting read then imagine the effect on Serhiy Rebrov’s players, who have been unable to add Kyiv to the roll call since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Now Ukraine will have to navigate a week in Valencia if they are to book a summer at football’s showpiece. They face Sweden at Levante’s neat, modest ground, rather than the fabled Mestalla, and will remain there for the playoff final on Tuesday if they win. Twenty years have passed since their last appearance at a World Cup, when Rebrov was among the stars of a side that rather slogged its way to the quarter-finals. Now he is the manager and stands on the verge of an achievement that would, given the context, surely surpass those heroics.

Doctors worry about FDA scrutiny of RSV shots to protect babies

The antibody shots are about 80% effective at preventing babies from ending up in intensive care because of RSV. The drugmakers behind them maintain they're safe.

Arm jumps 16% as company expects revenue windfall from new chip, a 'significant shift'

Arm said it expects its new chip to generate six times more revenue in 2031 than the $4 billion it made in 2025.

Jury in Los Angeles finds Meta, YouTube negligent in social media addiction trial

A jury reached a verdict in the LA trial focused on Meta and YouTube, a case that experts have characterized as social media's "Big Tobacco" moment.

Meta and YouTube designed addictive products that harmed young people, jury finds

Jury in Los Angeles awards plaintiff damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder

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Meta and YouTube have been found liable for deliberately designing addictive products that hooked a young user and led to her being harmed, a jury ruled on Wednesday. Jurors found the tech companies to be both negligent and having failed to provide adequate warnings about the potential dangers of their products.

The jury awarded the plaintiff in the case damages of $6m, with Meta to pay 70% and YouTube the remainder. It took nearly nine days of deliberations for the Los Angeles jury to reach its verdict. This lawsuit, over social media’s alleged harm to young people, was the first of its kind to go to trial.

Swiss sneaker maker On Holding shakes up leadership amid slowing growth

Co-founders to become co-CEOs as On prepares to enter its "next growth phase," the company said in a statement Wednesday. 

Trump waives summer gasoline regulations to ease fuel prices

Summer gasoline regulations will be waived for 20 days, and possibly longer to try to ease gas prices.

LaGuardia pilots have complained about close calls for years: "Do something"

CBS News reviewed dozens of reports dating back three decades about New York's LaGuardia Airport.

First trailer for Harry Potter TV series reveals much-anticipated new take

First real look at HBO’s big-budget small screen take on JK Rowling’s best-selling books also reveals that first season will premiere this Christmas

After a lengthy casting process and tight-lipped production, Harry, Ron and Hermione are finally headed back to Hogwarts. Today, HBO released the first teaser trailer for the new Harry Potter TV series, with a previously unannounced premiere date of Christmas 2026.

The preview for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – the first season of the show, based on the first of seven books by JK Rowling – introduces the three central characters: Harry (Dominic McLaughlin) and his friends Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton) and Ron Weasley (Alastair Stout), who meet as 11-year-olds on the train to their first year at wizarding school.

Mark Carney rebukes Air Canada chief over English-only crash message

The prime minister says the condolence video after the fatal LaGuardia crash revived anger over linguistic rights

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has said a decision by Air Canada’s top executive to post an English-only message of condolence after a deadly crash in New York showed a “lack of judgment, a lack of compassion”.

Amid growing calls for his resignation, the airline chief’s misstep has once again revived frustrations and fears over linguistic rights protections in the province of Quebec, where French is the only official language.

How the Iran war could crush the U.S. housing recovery, and it's not just about mortgage rates

A combination of higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty are reversing what was expected to be a recovery year in the housing market.

Everton exploring legal options over lack of sporting sanctions against Chelsea

• Merseyside club to demand formal explanation from Premier League

• Chelsea docked no points for rule breaches, unlike Everton and Forest

Everton are exploring a possible legal challenge against the Premier League for its handling of Chelsea’s undisclosed payments sanction.

The club are understood to be preparing to write to the Premier League requesting a formal explanation for its failure to take any sporting sanctions against Chelsea, with their legal options also being considered.

Travelers are facing the longest TSA wait times in history

Wait times are exceeding four hours at some major airports, leading TSA officers to call out at rates of 40 to 50%, according to TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill.

UN votes to describe slave trade as ‘gravest crime against humanity’

Members call for reparatory justice as landmark resolution aims for ‘political recognition at the highest level’

The United Nations has voted to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs”.

The landmark resolution passed on Wednesday was backed by the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom). It had been proposed by Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, who said: “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.”

‘There won’t be any regrets’: Bellamy steels Wales for last World Cup push

Before meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, head coach has urged his players to step up and embrace the occasion

“Have you ever seen Usain Bolt in the 100m?” Craig Bellamy asks a crowd of journalists at Wales’s hub in Hensol on the eve of the World Cup ­playoff semi‑final against Bosnia and ­Herzegovina. “He’s smiling, waving – all right, it does help he knows he can run at 60% to win – but he has discovered the art of being relaxed and calm to be able to run at his best speed. If you’re tense, you’re fighting yourself.”

Bellamy has been there as a player but as a head coach, while intense and fiercely driven, he believes cool heads will prevail at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday and, if they get the right result, in the playoff final at the same venue five days later. It is a ­message he has relayed in each ­session, every conversation, since his squad ­gathered on Sunday.

Democratic rising star extends ‘love’ after Hegseth pastor prays for his death

Senate nominee in Texas James Talarico says ‘Christian nationalism kills’ in response to Brooks Potteiger remark

James Talarico, the Texas Democratic state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, has said he forgives Pete Hegseth’s pastor for praying for his death. On Tuesday, Texas’s popular Democratic nominee for a US Senate seat pushed back against comments from Brooks Potteiger, the defense secretary’s closest spiritual adviser, who said: “We want him crucified with Christ.”

Talarico said on X: “Jesus loves. Christian Nationalism kills. You may pray for my death, Pastor, but I still love you. I love you more than you could ever hate me.”

$100,000 in Social Security benefits? New proposal would cap them.

With Social Security's trust fund sliding toward insolvency, one group wants to cap benefits for the wealthiest U.S. couples.

The Guardian view on Israel’s war in Lebanon: allies must not accept a repeat of the crimes in Gaza | Editorial

The conflict in Iran has absorbed global attention, but attacks on civilian infrastructure and occupation threats must be challenged

The intense focus on Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran has meant scant attention paid to the Israeli war in Lebanon. Yet almost 1,100 people have now been killed there by strikes, according to the health ministry, and a fifth of the population has been displaced.

When Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel shortly after the attack on its patron Iran began, Israel responded with what it called “precise and targeted strikes”. But the offensive quickly escalated. On Tuesday the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, announced another occupation of Lebanon – describing a “defensive buffer” running up to the Litani river, about 30km north of the border, and by implication likely to be prolonged. That would be illegal in itself. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, has called for annexation outright.

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The Guardian view on a significant week for European politics: progressives have some reasons to be cheerful | Editorial

Events in Denmark and Italy show geopolitical instability is creating opportunities for a centre-left response to the far right

In the lead-up to Denmark’s snap election on Tuesday, it was revealed that blood supplies were flown into Greenland in January in order to treat Danish military casualties in the event of a US invasion. Against that surreal backdrop, the country’s Social Democrat prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, did not need to work too hard to justify a “stick to what you know” message in uncertain times.

Ms Frederiksen’s surprise gamble in calling an early poll duly paid off, but only just. Donald Trump’s threats to annex territory belonging to a Nato ally handed her party a patriotic lifeline, after it had endured a historic humiliation in local contests last November. But in a campaign dominated by domestic issues, the hoped-for Trump bump was modest, meaning that any Frederiksen-led coalition will depend on centrist support. The Social Democratic party remains comfortably the biggest political force, but its vote share dropped markedly compared to the last general election, while rivals to the left and on the far right made notable gains.

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Italy’s tourism minister resigns amid turmoil from referendum failure

Giorgia Meloni made public request for Daniela Santanchè to quit in effort to restore credibility after voters rejected judicial reform

Italy’s embattled tourism minister has resigned, heeding a call to step down as the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, strives to restore credibility after a bruising defeat in a referendum that has thrown her far-right government into turmoil.

The resignation on Wednesday of Daniela Santanchè, a prominent and brash member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, came after the prime minister took the unusual step of calling in a public statement for her to go.

Greetings from Turkey's border with Iran, where Iranians let loose on the dance floor

Iranians escaping hardship and war are shaking it off to Persian, Arabic and Turkish tunes in this disco in eastern Turkey.

El Paso and LA among most polluted U.S. cities in 2025, report says

El Paso, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, had some of the worst air pollution in the U.S. last year, according to a new report.

How to survive our doomed times? Both the experts and I have the same advice | Emma Brockes

We have two choices: be paralysed by fear or just continue with what we are doing. I know what I choose

In the past, my response to any given large-scale world crisis has generally been to do nothing, which, as well as aligning with my personality, has the advantage of being exactly what the experts recommend.

During periods of intense market volatility, we are advised not to look at our investments, let alone touch them. If we are rushed at by a bear, we are supposed to stand stock still (unless it’s one of those bears you have to bang pots and pans at, but let’s leave them aside). The result of this is an avoidant philosophy hingeing on the motto “it’ll probably be fine”, that, this week, as Tehran mocked the US for pretending peace talks were under way, was accompanied by a cold, rival notion: what if this time it’s different?

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

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Supreme Court sides with internet provider in dispute over pirated music

The Supreme Court ruled that internet service provider Cox Communications cannot be held liable for copyright infringement by its subscribers.

Microsoft's diversity chief is leaving as company continues 'AI-powered transformation'

Hiring and retaining top talent is becoming more critical as Microsoft seeks to develop top-class artificial intelligence models and products.

Prediction markets' new insider trading restrictions aren't enough, bipartisan senators say

Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and John Curtis, R-Utah, said they are optimistic their bill has enough bipartisan support to pass in Congress.

Ella Baron on Keir Starmer’s task of turning round Labour’s fortunes – cartoon

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Trump says he could send National Guard to airports 'for more help'

President Donald Trump says he is considering sending the National Guard to airports where TSA officer absences have led to long lines.

Melania Trump pitches robots as potential educators for schoolchildren

First lady Melania Trump argued that humanoids can help children develop critical thinking skills — and robots never get impatient.

Would Morgan McSweeney’s stolen phone have Mandelson messages on it?

The theft of the ex-Labour chief of staff’s mobile has raised eyebrows in the context of the scandal over ex-ambassador

Morgan McSweeney is not the first person to have had their phone snatched on a London street, but the fact he was at the time Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, and that his phone most likely contained messages to and from Peter Mandelson, has prompted questions. So what do we know about the circumstances surrounding the theft of McSweeney’s phone?

Jury finds Meta and Google negligent in social media harms trial

The jury ordered the companies to pay $6 million in damages over defective design. The landmark verdict may influence the outcome of 2,000 other pending lawsuits.

For the first time in more than 1,400 years, Church of England gets a woman leader

A new archbishop of Canterbury has been installed in a historic ceremony. Sarah Mullally is the 106th person to hold the job, and the first woman.

Mormon Wives star being investigated for third domestic violence allegation

Latest allegation against Taylor Frankie Paul comes days after ABC pulled her upcoming season of the Bachelorette

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Authorities in Utah are investigating allegations of a third domestic violence incident involving The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality stars Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen.

The West Jordan police department told the Guardian in a statement on Wednesday that it was “currently investigating an incident involving Taylor Frankie Paul and Dakota Mortensen” and that the “allegations were reported at the end of February 2026, and detectives have reviewed video believed to have been recorded in early to mid-2024.

Savannah Guthrie's first interview since mother Nancy vanished: 'I imagine her terror'

Nearly two months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, her daughter Savannah discusses the toll on her family in an emotional interview with her Today show colleague Hoda Kotb.

Duffy to tell story of her kidnapping and rape ordeal in new Disney+ documentary

Promising ‘unprecedented access’, the programme will recount the singer’s story, including full details of the harrowing attacks that drove her into hiding for a decade

It was a great music industry mystery: after becoming one of the biggest pop stars of the 2000s with her debut album, 2008’s Rockferry, the Welsh pop star Duffy vanished from the public eye. In 2020, she revealed what had happened to her: in 2010, she said, she had been drugged, kidnapped and taken to another country where she was subject to violent abuse and raped.

Duffy, real name Aimée Anne Duffy, 41, will tell that story in depth for the first time in a new documentary, produced by Disney+ and Hulu Original, with production set to begin soon. A press release promises “new, unprecedented access” to the Mercy singer, who will tell her entire life story, as well as interviews with friends, family and music industry associates.

‘What’s your favourite thing about me?’ How to deal with a conversational narcissist

We all know a person who sees every chat as an opportunity to go on and on about themselves. And sometimes that person is us …

Name: Conversational narcissism.

Age: Christened in 1979.

Bond between dogs and humans dates back more than 15,000 years, study finds

Research suggests hunter-gatherers were feeding dogs and giving them ritual burials as early as the last ice age

They are humankind’s best friend, and now ancient DNA analysis has revealed that the enduring bond between dogs and humans dates back more than 15,000 years.

The groundbreaking research, published in the journal Nature, pushes back the oldest genetic evidence for domestic dogs by 5,000 years, revealing that hunter-gatherers were feeding the animals and giving them ritual burials long before the emergence of agriculture.

US has caused $10tn worth of climate damage since 1990, research finds

US, top carbon emitter in history, has ‘a lot of responsibility’ for causing ‘substantial’ harm globally, scientist says

The US has caused an eye-watering $10tn in global damages to the world over the past three decades through its vast planet-heating emissions, with a quarter of this economic pain inflicted upon itself, new research has found.

By being the largest carbon emitter in history, the US has caused greater harm to worldwide economic growth than any other country, ahead of China, now the world’s largest emitter that is responsible for $9tn in GDP damage since 1990, according to the findings of the paper.

Skeleton of Three Musketeers hero d’Artagnan may have been found

Archaeologists believe remains found in Maastricht, Netherlands, may be of soldier who inspired novel character

More than three-and-a-half centuries after a musket ball to the throat put an end to decades of exemplary swashbuckling, the French soldier who inspired Alexandre Dumas and went on to be immortalised on the stage and screen – not to mention as a plucky cartoon dog – may rise again.

Workers repairing a church in the Dutch city of Maastricht have discovered a skeleton that could belong to the 17th-century Gascon nobleman Charles de Batz-Castelmore – better known as d’Artagnan – whose exploits led Dumas to make him the hero of the Three Musketeers.

NBA expansion explained: teams in Vegas and Seattle, LeBron’s role and hungry billionaires

The NBA’s board of governors voted to move forward with the cities as targets for its first expansion since 2004. Here’s what it means for the future of the league

The NBA has moved a step closer to adding teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.

The league’s board of governors met this week and voted to explore bids and applicants for teams exclusively in those two cities, beginning the process for its first expansion in more than two decades. Bids are expected to be in the $7bn to $10bn range per franchise.

FedEx to offer same-day delivery as it battles with Amazon, other retailers

FedEx said it will give customers the option of two-hour or end-of-day delivery, including for large and oversized packages.

Denmark’s prime minister given first chance at forming government after election

Danish palace says it has asked Mette Frederiksen to try to form new majority with her Social Democrats and leftwing parties

Denmark’s outgoing prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has been given the first shot at forming another coalition government after an election which saw her leftwing bloc and the opposing rightwing parties fail to win a parliamentary majority.

A statement released by the Danish palace on Wednesday said Frederiksen had been asked to see if she could pull together a new majority involving her Social Democrats, who had their worst general election since 1903 but remain the biggest force in parliament.

The shot that shows the absurdity of war: Peter van Agtmael’s best photograph

‘US soldiers would look for “suspected terrorists” in Iraqi homes and usually find nothing. This could be my grandma’s living room – it shows that insane violence can continue amid normal life’

I took this picture during my first time in Iraq, 20 years ago. It was the first entry in a body of work about the US post-9/11, at home and at war, which has occupied a good chunk of my professional life for the last two decades. I had turned 25 the week before and it was a formative journey on a personal level. It was the first time I experienced war, and my understanding of my country and its relationship to the world developed in the crucible of this extremely violent situation, which was descending into civil war while I was there.

I had been embedded in Iraq with the US military for six weeks or so at this point, and had taken some good pictures. But this one was different and it still means something to me today. It was the first I had taken that wasn’t overtly channelling the history of war photography – which largely focusses on violence, horror and victims. Those are important things to show, but I wanted to understand this particular conflict, and how my position as an American of the same generation as those fighting could help me interpret it for the public. I guess the image crystallised something I had seen – this vast machine of military might mobilised in the Middle East; the momentum of all these young men with powerful weapons patrolling cities in search of people identified as enemies of America, enemies of democracy.

Emily Gregory projected to win Florida special election to represent Trump, Mar-a-Lago

President Donald Trump had endorsed fellow Republican Jon Maples in the special election against Emily Gregory, the Democratic nominee.