‘DM your details’: Travellers warned of scam airline accounts as Iran war disrupts flights

Ballots in 35,000 villages, towns and cities will be closely watched for signals about party strategies and alliancesFrance has begun voting in the first round of municipal elections, seen as crucial a test of the political temperature before next year’s presidential election.The vote for mayors and councillors in 35,000 villages, towns and cities across France is focused on local issues including security, housing and refuse collection and is very different from national elections. Continue reading...

In 2023, what were thought to be Nazar Daletskyi’s remains were buried in his home village and his mother, Nataliia, visited the grave every week. Three years later, he spoke to her on the phoneNazar Daletskyi was declared dead in May 2023. The DNA match left no room for doubt, officials told his mother, Nataliia. A Ukrainian soldier who volunteered for the front in the early weeks of the war, Nazar had become one more casualty of Russia’s invasion.Nazar’s remains were laid to rest in the cemetery of his home village. In the months after the funeral, Nataliia visited the grave at least once a week, at first to cry and later to stand in quiet contemplation, remembering her only son. Continue reading...

Lib Dem leader will tell spring conference Britain can no longer rely on US while Donald Trump is presidentBritain should have a completely independent nuclear deterrent as it can no longer rely on the US, Ed Davey is expected to say on Sunday.In a speech at the Liberal Democrats spring conference, the party leader will argue that the UK should manufacture and maintain its nuclear weapons in Britain, a move that Davey acknowledges will cost billions. Continue reading...

Alexandre Dumas was wowed by it and Burt Lancaster starred there. Now the Cirque d’Hiver has a new spectacleFor more than 170 years the Cirque d’Hiver, the world’s oldest circus, has been the scene of many a breathtaking act.In 1859, gymnast Jules Léotard – whose name would become synonymous with the one-piece – captivated audiences by launching himself from one swinging trapeze to another without a safety net for the first time in public. Continue reading...

Streaming platform Hulu decides ‘not to move forward’ with reboot of hit 90s series, according to actressBuffy The Vampire Slayer will not return, its star Sarah Michelle Gellar has announced, saying a reboot of the 90s supernatural fantasy series had been cancelled.Hulu, the Disney-owned streaming platform, has decided not to pick up the planned sequel, according to the actor. Continue reading...

Economists predict RBA will raise interest rates this week and in May – days before treasurer unveils budgetFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHouseholds can expect significant additional cost-of-living pressures because of the war in the Middle East, with Jim Chalmers confirming that the government expects inflation to rise beyond 4.5% in Australia.But the treasurer said he did not expect the economy to fall into recession because of the war sparked by US and Israeli bombings in Iran. Continue reading...

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...

Underquoting and ‘dummy bidding’ will attract fines of $110,000 in bid to create a ‘fair property market’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales government will introduce new laws this week to force property sellers to publish a price guide on all advertising, and impose a fivefold increase to fines for underquoting real estate agents.The government says the draft laws, first flagged last year, are aimed at cracking down on agents providing misleading price estimates on property listings, a practice often used to inflate interest. 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...

Death comes two months after Alford was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting two teenage girlsThe 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...

US Central Command says crash followed unspecified incident, and second refueling tanker landed safely in IsraelThe names of two of the six US service members who died when the military refueling aircraft they were aboard crashed over Iraq last week were made public Saturday, revealing a father who had recently been promoted and a beloved son.The Ohio air national guard said that three of the service members came from its 121st air refueling wing in Columbus, while a family from Birmingham, Alabama, confirmed that pilot Alex Klinner was killed in the crash. Continue reading...