In this issue

April 20, 2024

Calls for calm after Israeli strikes hit Iran

World leaders urged calm yesterday after Israel conducted a pre-dawn strike on Iran following a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks which crossed an important red line that has for decades held the Middle East back from a major regional conflict.

3 mins

Insiders say water firms are knowingly breaking sewage law

Water companies are knowingly failing to treat legally required amounts of sewage and some treatment works are manipulating wastewater systems to divert raw sewage from the works and into rivers and seas, say whistle-blowers.

3 mins

Senhor, you're really spoiling us Brazil hails South Korea's samba singing ambassador

Brazil's latest music sensation grinned from ear to ear as he wandered down Copacabana beach contemplating his unusual rise to fame.

3 mins

Thousands to join Canary Islands protest demanding freeze on tourist numbers

Thousands of people will join protests across the Canary Islands today to call for an urgent rethink of the Spanish archipelago's tourism industry and a freeze on tourist numbers, arguing the decades-old model has made life unaffordable and environmentally unsustainable for local people.

2 mins

Sunak accused of 'assault on disabled people' with plan to curb benefits

Rishi Sunak was accused of launching \"an assault on disabled people\" after he revealed plans to curb benefits for some people suffering from anxiety and depression.

3 mins

The view from Iran Behind the rhetoric, signs of an uneasy balance

Tehran has played down the impact of Israeli airstrikes carried out against it, raising hopes that a cycle of escalatory state-on-state attacks can be averted, and that previous Iranian threats of retaliation will be shelved.

2 mins

The view from Israel Short-term win for PM, but this was just a practice run

In the aftermath of Iran's unprecedented salvo of missiles and drones fired directly at Israel last weekend, Benny Gantz, a centrist member of the Israeli war cabinet, said that the country would respond \"in the place, time and manner it chooses\".

2 mins

Symbolic target The buildup to Israel's air attack on Iran and how it unfolded

Just before dawn yesterday morning the explosions of air defence systems woke Iranians across the historic city of Isfahan. Breaking news alerts that followed roused people from their sleep around the world, to worry that the region had moved a step closer to full-blown conflict.

3 mins

Analysis Both sides play with fire as old rules are torn up

While the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan yesterday morning.

3 mins

Iran attack Gulf states came to Israel's defence. Does this signal an unlikely alliance?

Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel had by the end of this week already become one of the most interpreted events in recent modern history. And then, in the early hours of yesterday morning, came Israel's riposte.

5 mins

Poetic revenge Key lessons from Swift's surprise double album

It's a surprise double-album epic At 7am yesterday Swift announced the surprise release of the second half of the album she had released hours earlier with 15 more songs:

3 mins

Play explores the mystery behind Scots writer's lost’ masterwork

Nan Shepherd, the Scottish poet and nature writer whose reflections on her treks through the Cairngorms brought posthumous acclaim, is celebrated in a play that aims to unravel the mystery of why her masterwork went unpublished for 30 years.

2 mins

Women told to call police over secretly filmed videos of nights out

Women who have been secretly filmed on nights out are being urged to contact the police after videos posted online have racked up millions of views and attracted an abundance of misogynistic comments.

2 mins

Happy shoppers: appetite for ‘nanna glamour' drives up wheelie bag sales

You may associate shopping trolleys with older people travelling home with their groceries. But now they are being embraced by shoppers of all ages thanks to a fashion makeover that chimes with the current vogue for \"nanna glamour\".

2 mins

Great friend, terrible foe? How Michael Ashcroft still steering the debate

If this week's tetchy exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak at PMQs proved one thing, it was the ability of the veteran businessman, donor and publisher Michael Ashcroft to set the political agenda.

2 mins

Labour woos influencers in effort to win younger voters through TikTok

Labour has hired a dedicated employee to work with influencers and seed positive messages about Keir Starmer's party on TikTok and Instagram, as the UK's political parties prepare to target \"microinfluencers\" during the general election campaign.

3 mins

Artist evicted by London landlord saves on rent by commuting ... from Argentina

An artist who was made homeless after being evicted by his private landlord in London has started commuting from Argentina, where the rent is so much cheaper that it makes up for the cost of air fare.

2 mins

Theatre review Pitch perfect japes in tech bro romcom

This early Shakespeare comedy may be rich in verse but it is tricky to pull off for its strained Elizabethan-era wordplay, convoluted subplots and too inevitable downfall of four men who swear off women, only to crack when a female convoy arrives.

2 mins

Fashion forward So how does the cult £360 Acne football shirt feel on the pitch?

It may be nearly the end of the Premier League season but fashion has other plans: this month the Swedish luxury fashion label Acne Studios launched a £360 mock replica football shirt. Even though it makes Nike's £124 England tops seem like a bargain, it is close to sold out.

3 mins

Next level Success of Fallout proves video game adaptations have hit mainstream

In the first few days of its release, Fallout, a Prime Video adaptation of the post-apocalyptic gaming franchise, has been a hit with global audiences, shooting to the top of the UK chart and ranking among Prime's top three most-watched titles ever.

2 mins

'Intensive care on wheels' 24 hours with battlefield medics in Ukraine

It is around midnight in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, and the first emergency ambulance of the night is charging at 75mph down a single carriageway road from the frontline. Inside, under the care of two watchful medics, is Ihor, an unconscious soldier wounded from the battle of Chasiv Yar, with shrapnel, perhaps from a mine, in his abdomen.

2 mins

Ukraine aid Congress to vote amid Republican divisions

Republican divisions over military support for Ukraine were long simmering. Now, before today's extraordinary vote in Congress on a foreign aid package, they have erupted into open warfare.

2 mins

French PM criticised over call for crackdown on teenage violence

The French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, is facing criticism for his proposed crackdown on violence in and around schools, after he said some teenagers in France were \"addicted to violence\", just as the government seeks to reclaim ground from the far right on security issues before European elections.

2 mins

Rallying for Donald: Melania's back, but still not playing by political wife rules

Her biggest fashion statement as first lady was a green jacket emblazoned with the words, \"I really don't care, do u?\" More recently Melania Trump has given the impression that she doesn't care whether her husband, Donald, returns to the White House. That is about to change.

3 mins

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