There are only two buyers left in the race to buy retailer WH Smith’s ailing high street division, according to a report. The retail group confirmed in January it was seeking a buyer for its 500 UK high street shops, in a shake-up that would leave it free to focus on its more successful travel … Read more
Romania’s central election authority has barred far-right pro-Russia candidate Cǎlin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election re-run. The rejection of his candidacy, which was announced on Sunday evening and was condemned by far-right party leaders as undemocratic, can be challenged at the constitutional court. Dozens of supporters of the populist Georgescu gathered outside the … Read more
Children as young as 11 to 13 are being targeted by sextortion criminals for the first time, according to data. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said the “worrying” trend showed that criminals behind extortion attempts were casting their nets wider in an attempt to trap victims. Sextortion is a form of blackmail where teenagers – … Read more
Israel is to cut off any remaining electricity supplies to Gaza in an apparent attempt to ramp up pressure on Hamas amid increasingly chaotic multi-track negotiations over the fragile ceasefire in the territory. The potential consequences of the Israeli decision for the 2.3 million residents of the devastated Palestinian territory are unclear, as most rely … Read more
The next James Bond should be British, Pierce Brosnan has said, as a leaked memo reportedly confirmed the character will remain a man. The Irish actor, who played the spy from 1995 to 2002, also said it was the “right decision” for creative control of the franchise to be handed to Amazon-MGM, in an interview … Read more
Germany’s chancellor-to-be, Friedrich Merz, has said he will reach out to France and Britain to discuss the sharing of nuclear weapons, but cautioned that such a move could not be a replacement for the US’s existing protective shield over Europe. “The sharing of nuclear weapons is an issue we need to talk about,” Merz said … Read more
A prominent French journalist has said he is stepping down from his role as an expert analyst for broadcaster RTL after provoking an uproar by comparing French actions during colonial rule in Algeria to a second world war massacre committed by Nazi forces in France. Jean-Michel Aphatie, a veteran reporter and broadcaster, insisted that while … Read more
The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose works included the plays Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island and the novel Tsotsi, has died at the age of 92. A major political dissident playwright of the 20th century, Fugard wrote more than 30 dramas including Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act … Read more
Ambulance crews in Cambridgeshire are piloting the use of finger-prick blood tests to diagnose the deadliest form of stroke, with preliminary data suggesting they may be up to twice as effective as relying on patients’ symptoms alone. The tests, which work on a similar principle to the lateral flow tests (LFTs) used to detect Covid, … Read more
Firefighters in New York were continuing to battle at least one brush fire in a wooded stretch of Long Island on Sunday with the wealthy coastal enclave of the Hamptons vulnerable and officials warning that high wind gusts threatened to ignite further blazes. The state’s Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency on … Read more