© Majid Asgaripour/WANA News Agency, via Reuters
Israel says Iran has fired missiles in retaliation as Trump tells Iranian troops to lay down arms or ‘face certain death’
Blasts have been heard in several cities, including the capital, Tehran, and Isfahan in central Iran.
Reuters reports there are long queues at petrol stations in the capital, as many people try to leave. An unnamed Iranian official who spoke to the news agency said several ministries in southern Tehran had been targeted.
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© Photograph: AP
© Photograph: AP
© Photograph: AP
News, discussion and buildup before the day’s action
Premier League 10 things link | Email us here
And what about this chat with the Premier League’s all-time top appearance-maker, Mr James Milner?
It turns out to keep playing as long Milner has, it helps to do yoga, be teetotal and have a direct line to Gareth Barry.
When I was growing up my biggest idol was probably Neuer. I take pride in being an all-around goalkeeper and that’s why I was such a big fan because he didn’t really have a weak point. But I try to learn something from everyone because everyone has strong points.
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© Composite: Getty Images
© Composite: Getty Images
© Composite: Getty Images
Butter, her novel about a female serial killer, was a global hit. As Asako Yuzuki’s second book is published in English, she talks about criticism at home – and why she’ll be writing darker stories in the future
The next time Japanese novelist Asako Yuzuki comes to the UK, she would like to bake some traditional Japanese muffins for Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off, she says when we meet over video call. It is evening in Tokyo, where she lives with her partner and eight-year-old son. “I’ve had my bath and am ready for bed,” she explains, via translator Bethan Jones, apologising for being in her pyjamas. She thinks the Bake Off judge would be particularly impressed by “marubouro” muffins, from Nagasaki. “Kazuo Ishiguro also comes from Nagasaki and British people love Ishiguro, so they are bound to love these muffins,” she continues. “They go very well with tea.”
As anyone who has read Yuzuki’s international bestseller Butter will know, Yuzuki is all about food. Based on the 2009 real-life “Konkatsu Killer” case (konkatsu means marriage hunting), in which 35-year-old Kanae Kijima was convicted of poisoning three men, Butter follows the relationship between journalist Rika Machida and Manako Kajii, a serial killer and gourmet cook, through a succession of interviews in Tokyo Detention Centre. Yuzuki even signed up for the high-class cookery school in Tokyo that Kijima attended as research. The result is an irresistible mix of social satire and feminist thriller, dripping with descriptions of buttery rice and soy sauce.
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© Photograph: Andrew Faulk/Andrew Faulk
© Photograph: Andrew Faulk/Andrew Faulk
© Photograph: Andrew Faulk/Andrew Faulk
Legendary nightclub Le Palace, where Serge Gainsbourg and Prince also performed, to rise again
In the late 1970s, Le Palace in Paris’s busy theatre district was one of continental Europe’s most famous nightclubs.
On the opening night on 1 March 1978, Grace Jones stunned VIP guests with her rendition of Edith Piaf’s classic La Vie en Rose. Later, Serge Gainsbourg and Prince came to perform, Bob Marley was photographed there and Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol and Karl Lagerfeld were part of a glittering cast of international celebrities, politicians, designers and models who came to drink and dance.
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© Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian
© Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian
© Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian
The US and Israel have attacked Iran, with Trump calling the US operation ‘massive and ongoing’. This is what we know so far
The US has launched “major combat operations” in Iran, designed to eliminate “imminent threats” from the country’s regime, Donald Trump announced on Saturday.
The operation is “massive and ongoing”, the US president said in a video on social media, pledging to use “overwhelming strength and devastating force” to destroy Iranian missiles and ensure it cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attacks aimed to “remove the existential threat” posed by the Iranian regime, as he urged the people of Iran to topple the government.
Shortly beforehand, Israel said it had launched “preventative” strikes on Iran.
The Israel Defense Forces said Iran had fired back a “barrage of missiles” and they were working to intercept them. Israel has closed its airspace.
Explosions were heard in Tehran, the Iranian capital, where smoke could be seen rising on the skyline, and several other cities. Iran has closed its airspace.
“The hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump told Iranian citizens, urging them to “take over your government” once the operation was over.
Talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively on Friday, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week. Trump had said he was “not happy” with the progress of the discussions.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not in Tehran, and has been transferred to a secure location, an official told Reuters on Saturday.
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© Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
In the past he has been urged to follow strategies that don’t really match his core beliefs. That’s changing, as it must, because he knows the clock is ticking
Tom Baldwin is the author of Keir Starmer, The Biography
In a crowded and overheated bar towards the end of the evening a few months ago, I received some strange parenting advice from one of those “Labour strategist” types.
We were discussing – maybe arguing – over the government’s position on Gaza. Eventually I asked if he could provide me with a decent explanation to give my son who had shown me stuff on his phone a couple of days earlier about how Israeli army officers were still being trained by Britain’s military. “Here’s what you say to your son,” began his reply, followed by a portentous pause that made me lean in closer. “You should tell him to fuck off.”
Tom Baldwin is the author of Keir Starmer, The Biography
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© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
As the director general prepares to stand down, potential candidates have fallen away amid a series of crises
There is an impressive shortlist circulating in Britain’s media circles, comprising some of the most talented executives in the business. Unfortunately for the BBC, it contains the names of figures no longer in the running to become its next director general.
Those closely observing the corporation’s search for a successor to Tim Davie have been quick to note how the events of the past week help explain the alarming attrition rate.
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© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters
© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters
© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters
Syaban Shadikillah told to get new driver’s licence after being issued one using photo of him with colander on his head
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A “Pastafarian” in rural Queensland has vowed to fight to keep his driver’s licence featuring a photo of him wearing a colander on his head, arguing it’s a matter of freedom of religion.
But the state government has told him he must hand it in and get a new one, as it was issued “in error”.
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© Photograph: supplied/Syaban Shadikillah
© Photograph: supplied/Syaban Shadikillah
© Photograph: supplied/Syaban Shadikillah
RFU council approves change from 2026-27 season
‘The professional game must evolve if it is to thrive’
English rugby has adopted a franchise system for the first time with promotion and relegation from the Prem scrapped from the end of this season.
In the biggest change to the club game since the introduction of a formal league in 1987, the Rugby Football Union’s council voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to ringfence the existing 10-team Prem on Friday, with a view to expanding to 12 clubs in 2029-30.
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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
One dairy company has seen sales of cottage cheese double over the last few years
© Graham's Family Dairy /PA Wire
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Reports suggest Donald Trump could launch attacks on Iran within days after weeks of growing tensions with Tehran
© AP
Attack comes as Trump says he is 'not happy' with nuclear talks, amid directives to reduce embassy staff
© AP
Despite worldwide backlash, the US president continues to embrace an aggressive foreign policy agenda. Maira Butt reports on the countries Trump has targeted in his first 12 months back in office - and where could be next
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