Surprise

• BBP-cijfers komen overeen met sommige enquêtes die suggereren dat UK plc het momentum heeft behouden ondanks stijgende brandstofkosten

Whimsical film shows relay of animals carrying centennial card from Balmoral Castle to naturalist in LondonKing Charles has featured in a surprise birthday tribute to David Attenborough, with a cast of wild animals helping to relay his handwritten congratulatory centenary card.The whimsical film, A Very Special Delivery, begins with the king writing his tribute in the library of Balmoral Castle. Charles, wearing an animal-themed tie featuring elephants, reflects on more than 60 years of friendship with the renowned naturalist. Continue reading...

Law says conviction of two men for spying raises serious concerns over how they accessed sensitive informationNathan Law, an exiled leader of the Hong Kong student protest who lives with a £100,000 bounty on his head from the Chinese authorities, was not surprised to discover a spy ring had photographed him entering the Oxford Union for an evening debate in November 2023.The conviction at the Old Bailey of Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, for assisting a foreign intelligence service, was a sobering first – no Chinese spies had been convicted in British criminal history before Thursday – but the details that came out in the nine-week trial mainly served to confirm his suspicions. Continue reading...

Drugmaker had stalled large-scale UK projects but has now pledged investment at two sites, announced by Keir StarmerBritain’s biggest drugmaker AstraZeneca has said it will invest £300m in the UK in a surprise U-turn after pausing large-scale projects last year.The drugmaker had pulled back projects in Britain after becoming disillusioned with the business environment, including the availability of new medicines on the NHS and drug pricing. Continue reading...

ONS data for three months to February is not expected to alter Bank of England’s decision on interest ratesUnemployment in the UK unexpectedly fell in the three months to February, according to official figures – but the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East is expected to cause a rise in job cuts.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the rate of unemployment was 4.9% in the three months to February. This compares with 5.2% in the three months to January, a rate that economists had expected to also see in February. Continue reading...

• Taylor Swift revealed on April 16 the final US dates for her 'Eras Tour' kicking off June 15 in Miami, wrapping December 20 in New Orleans, via social media to 300 million followers. • Confirmed openers include Sabrina Carpenter for 12 shows and Post Malone for five stadium dates, with ticket sales starting April 18 via Ticketmaster. • The announcement sent Ticketmaster crashing briefly, with resale prices already hitting $1,200 average per Billboard reports, underscoring Swift's $2 billion tour dominance.

• Beyoncé surprise-released 'Renaissance Act III' at midnight ET on April 16, featuring 14 tracks blending country and R&B with collabs from Miley Cyrus and Shaboozey. • The album debuted with 25 million global streams in first hour, topping US iTunes charts per Parkwood Entertainment. • Critics hail it as 'a bold evolution' in Rolling Stone, positioning Beyoncé for Album of the Year Grammy contention amid her cultural renaissance trilogy.

• Coachella Valley Music Festival opened April 16 with headliner Travis Scott drawing 125,000 fans, joined by Lady Gaga for a 30-minute unannounced 'Apocalypse' medley at Empire Polo Club. • Billie Eilish and Green Day also performed, with festival attendance up 10% from 2025 per organizers. • The event generated $600 million economic impact for Riverside County, highlighting live music recovery post-pandemic.

ONS figure for February suggests economy was gaining momentum before conflict stoked inflation with soaring energy pricesThe UK economy unexpectedly expanded by 0.5% in February, before the war in the Middle East dashed hopes of an uptick in growth this year, official figures show.The unusually large increase reported by the Office for National Statistics, suggests the economy had gained momentum before the conflict began. Economists had forecast just a 0.1% expansion. Continue reading...

First lady had called for a public hearing for survivors but a group of those affected say they have ‘done their part’ and reiterate calls for Pam Bondi to be questionedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Melania Trump has been accused of “shifting the burden” onto sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors after her extraordinary statement at the White House.Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony.Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.It also diverts attention from [former attorney general] Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities.Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers. Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.The push from House Democrats to pass a war powers resolution by unanimous consent failed yesterday, after the pro forma speaker, Republican Chris Smith, did not recognize Democrats. It was always a tall order, given that pushback from even a single member would require Democrats to pursue a formal vote on the resolution.While it’s largely a symbolic move, Democrats in both chambers have vowed to hold votes again when Congress returns from recess next week. On the steps of the US Capitol, lower chamber Democrats appeared confident that when Congress returns from recess next week, they will have at least a couple of House GOP members who are willing to buck their party and pass the resolution.Donald Trump told NBC News that he is “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by his vice-president JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the war this weekend. Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” the president said, in line with his administration’s narrative that there’s a disconnect between what Tehran says publicly and privately. Continue reading...

• Taylor Swift revealed her 12th studio album 'Evermore Echoes' during a live stream from Nashville on April 9, featuring collaborations with Post Malone and Lana Del Rey. • The 16-track project includes bonus tracks from fan-voted sessions, priced at $13.99 on digital platforms, set for April 17 release. • This marks Swift's quickest turnaround between albums at 18 months, boosting her streaming dominance amid 1.2 billion monthly Spotify listeners.

Reporters search for answers to why first lady chose to make speech – and whether president knew it was comingMelania Trump’s surprise statement denying she had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein sparked confusion about why she had chosen to speak out, and whether Donald Trump knew that the first lady was planning to draw attention to a subject he has called for the public to move on from.Even normally well-sourced correspondents for rightwing outlets were at a loss to explain why Melania Trump felt the need to issue the seemingly out-of-the-blue statement about her relationship with Epstein, the late sex offender who socialized with her husband for nearly two decades, or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Continue reading...

Estée Lauder Companies claims Zara collaboration with perfumer breaches long-standing naming agreementThe British perfumer Jo Malone has said she is “surprised and very sad” after being sued for more than £200,000 in damages for using her name on fragrances she created for the fashion chain Zara.It emerged last month that New York-based multinational Estée Lauder Companies, which owns brands M.A.C, Bobbi Brown, Estée Lauder and Jo Malone London, was taking legal action claiming the fragrance entrepreneur infringed trademarks. Continue reading...

• Taylor Swift revealed a new surprise album titled 'Evermore Sessions' during her Eras Tour stop in Los Angeles on April 5, featuring 15 re-recorded tracks and collaborations with Bon Iver and The National. • The announcement came via a live Instagram post to 280 million followers, with pre-orders spiking 500% on iTunes within hours, reaching No. 1 globally. • Fans and critics hail it as a bridge between folklore and evermore eras, potentially breaking streaming records amid Swift's dominant 2026 chart presence.

Jess Wilson tried to create a united front – and it worked for a minute. But they just couldn’t help themselvesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor months, a plan has been under way by moderates within the Victorian Liberal party to dislodge a group of conservative women from their prized, top positions on the upper house ballot ahead of the November state election.While they failed to move Bev McArthur and Renee Heath, and Ann-Marie Hermans held on in the second spot, they did claim one major victory by ousting Moira Deeming – by far the most high-profile of the group. Continue reading...

Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf at first dismissed talks took place, insisting Trump’s claim was ‘fake news’ designed to soothe markets Middle East crisis – live updatesThe backchannel talks between Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, were not a secret in the sense that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry had tweeted that conversations were under way on Sunday, 24 hours before Donald Trump’s late Monday deadline to start blowing up Iran’s energy infrastructure.But such is the chaos surrounding the process that the discussions – thought to be well short of negotiations – may have lasted longer than Sunday, with more than one mediator, as is often the case, jostling for the title of peacemaker in chief. Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, for instance, spoke with Trump on Sunday, while Pakistani prime minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, held talks with Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Monday. It is possible Pakistan could become the venue for further talks that this time would include JD Vance, the vice-president, a private sceptic about the war. Keir Starmer, the UK prime minister, was right to warn not to bank on an early end to the conflict. Continue reading...

US president claims he ‘always says yes’ to Australia, Japan and South Korea, after saying he didn’t need help from trio of countries earlier this weekDonald Trump says he is “very surprised” Australia has not sent warships to aid in opening the strait of Hormuz as the blockade of the key strategic route for global oil supply continues to impact fuel prices.“I was very surprised,” the US president said in Washington on Friday when asked what he took issue with regarding Japan, South Korea and Australia. Continue reading...

Jess Wilson’s party has made a splash on social media but will they work together in the state election race?Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJess Wilson doing bombs into a swimming pool. Brad Battin in a muscle shirt curling 20kg, tattoos on show. John Pesutto throwing a discus, clad in blue jeans. Matthew Guy running, clutching a pink baton.The current Victorian Liberal leader and three of her predecessors feature in a social media video to mark what would have been the opening ceremony of the regional Commonwealth Games on Tuesday – if the state government hadn’t cancelled them. 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...