Central bankers and economists warn prolonged conflict could raise retail prices and rip up growth forecasts

• Middle East crisis – live updates

An inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran could wreck a fragile global economic recovery that had been expected to gain momentum this year.

With oil and gas prices spiking, despite a pledge from Donald Trump to protect tankers making their way through the crucial strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint, central bankers and economists have warned that a prolonged conflict could increase retail prices around the world and force them to rip up growth forecasts for this year.

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© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

© Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters

Wang Yi cautioned against a return to the ‘law of the jungle’ but stopped short of criticising Trump directly

War in the Middle East “should never have happened”, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has declared, even as he struck a more conciliatory tone with the US ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Donald Trump.

Regime change, a key stated aim of the US president as the US and Israel continue to attack Iran, “will find no popular support”, Wang said on Sunday. “A strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle,” he added.

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© Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/EPA

© Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/EPA

© Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares/EPA

Carlo Soracchi admits exploiting empathy of woman who had abusive father by claiming his father abused his sister

An undercover police officer told “grotesque and cruel” lies while emotionally manipulating two women he had deceived into long-term sexual relationships, the spycops public inquiry has heard.

Carlo Soracchi admitted he sought to elicit the empathy of one of the women by claiming that his sister had been abused by his father. He also told her that his father had died when he was actually alive.

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© Photograph: UCPI

© Photograph: UCPI

© Photograph: UCPI

On a tight budget, we stayed in a bothy, climbed a mountain, looked for Nessie and – best of all – made memories that money can’t buy

‘There! There – I can see it!” The cries of my four-year-old echoed around the ruins of 13th-century Urquhart Castle, causing a group of US tourists to come running over to the corbelled bartizans (overhanging turrets) where we stood. “It’s Nessie, I saw her,” he insisted, pointing at the ripples spinning out from the back of a sightseeing vessel on Loch Ness.

This was day four of a budget, week-long Scotland adventure for the two of us, and we were spending the day in Drumnadrochit, on the shores of the country’s most famous body of water, looking for the fabled monster.

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© Photograph: Orietta Gaspari/Getty Images

© Photograph: Orietta Gaspari/Getty Images

© Photograph: Orietta Gaspari/Getty Images

Plastic, textiles, e-waste and more end up at the vast Dandora site, where waste pickers spend all hours sifting through toxic debris looking for recyclables

On my journey documenting environmental stories in Kenya, I attended the Africa Climate Summit in 2023. It ignited a deeper exploration into the lives of waste pickers, revealing a glaring omission in global recycling narratives: the invisibility of these essential workers.

Living and working in Nairobi, I immersed myself in Dandora, the largest dump in Kenya, spanning more than 12 hectares (30 acres) near the Nairobi River and receiving an estimated 2,000 tonnes of industrial and domestic waste daily. For months I witnessed first-hand how waste is devastating local ecosystems and human lives. Kenya’s waste streams are now overwhelmed by single-use plastics from companies shifting the burden on to informal workers.

Pre-sorting has reduced the amount of recylables in the waste brought by truck to Dandora

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© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke

© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke

© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke

Rogue operators draw in customers by advertising low prices, but when the work is done they invoice 10 times that sum

Late on a Sunday night, you put your key into the front door and it snaps when you turn it. Unable to get in, you search online for an emergency locksmith and find one advertising a willingness to do the job for £69. You call it out.

When the locksmith arrives, they ask no questions, drills through the lock within minutes and replaces the fixture. You are then given a bill for more than £700 with an invoice detailing a breakdown of the costs – all in excess of the original quote.

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© Photograph: Samantha Brown/Stockimo/Alamy

© Photograph: Samantha Brown/Stockimo/Alamy

© Photograph: Samantha Brown/Stockimo/Alamy

Whether you want bulbs or bare roots, perennials or houseplants, we asked experts for the online nurseries they trust for reliable, beautiful greenery

• The best secateurs, tested

As winter turns to spring and the days warm and lengthen, we’re so keen to get out in the garden, do some work, and also go shopping for lovely new plants.

It’s great to get acquainted with your local garden centre to see what’s on offer, but nurseries with an online presence can be a horticultural lifeline if you don’t have a good one nearby, or you’re (or want to be) car-free. Online stores often provide a wider range of inspiring plants because they have more growing space or specialise in particular types of plant, such as shade lovers or hellebores, enabling you to track down the perfect plant for your space.

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© Photograph: Dmitrii Marchenko/Getty Images

© Photograph: Dmitrii Marchenko/Getty Images

© Photograph: Dmitrii Marchenko/Getty Images

At festival in Kenya, artists and writers discuss role arts can play in continent’s growing push for redress over colonial crimes

• More than money: the logic of slavery reparations

One afternoon last October, at a hotel in a forest in a Nairobi suburb, a few dozen people sat quietly in a room watching the 2020 documentary If Objects Could Speak, which explores restitution by tracing the roots of a Kenyan artefact stored in a German museum.

The people were at the two-day Wakati Wetu (“Our Time” in Swahili) festival, aimed at sparking global conversations on reparative justice.

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© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke/The Guardian

© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke/The Guardian

© Photograph: Edwin Ndeke/The Guardian

Tebow, a former NFL quarterback, said he spent most of his life chasing the wrong 'MVP.' Now, he wants to spend it fighting for the 'most vulnerable people.'

Data centres, energy projects and hotels move to limit potential losses

However this conflict concludes, the US and Iran’s new leaders will have to revisit the same issues that sparked hostilities

Tehran’s missiles are key to its retaliation against Israel and the US. But launching them brings an immediate risk of death

Korean giant’s device chief says its future Galaxy devices will host multiple models as users mix and match AI tools

Murders have fallen in Fortaleza in the north-east, but that may be because one mob is dominant and can extort at will

The former world champions squared off in Las Vegas, 11 years after they first fought one another

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I imagine the birds I see are the family members I’ve lost.

Cold open on the Ryan Gosling-hosted episode saw Colin Jost as Hegseth performing a keg stand and giving a shout out to embattled actor Shia LaBeouf

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Visitors to London’s galleries and museums can see some of the finest artworks in the world without paying a penny – but for how much longer? Annabel Nugent explores the fraught debate about who should foot the bill for keeping them free of charge

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Last week, Rose Wylie became the first female painter to have a solo show in the Royal Academy’s main galleries. She tells Jessie Thompson about why she’s never minded being misunderstood

© Getty

Pink was scheduled to perform at the GNP Seguros Stadium in the Mexican capital on April 26 and 27

© Getty Images

Strikes on oil storage and refining facilities spark large fires across Iranian capital

© AFP via Getty Images

Russell lost his lead at the start to Charles Leclerc but when Ferrari opted not to pit either driver, Mercedes saw their opportunity to claim an impressive one-two finish at the season-opener

© Getty Images

Russell took the chequered flag 2.9 seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Antonelli.

© AP

Morrisons also announced it has upgraded its accessible toilets to be ‘stoma-friendly’ following feedback

© Getty/iStock