WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finalized an agreement with House Republicans Tuesday to testify in a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein this month, bowing to the threat of a contempt of Congress vote against them.
Hillary Clinton will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 26 and Bill Clinton will appear on Feb. 27. It will mark the first time that lawmakers have compelled a former president to testify.
The arrangement comes after months of negotiating between the two sides as Republicans sought to make the Clintons, both Democrats, a focal point in a House committee’s investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend.
“We look forward to now questioning the Clintons as part of our investigation into the horrific crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors,” Rep. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement.
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The negotiation with the Clintons
For months, the Clintons resisted subpoenas from the committee, but House Republicans — with support from a few Democrats — had advanced criminal contempt of Congress charges to a potential vote this week. It threatened the Clintons with the potential for substantial fines and even prison time if they had been convicted.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that any effort to hold them in contempt of Congress were “on pause.”
Even as the Clintons bowed to the pressure, the negotiating between GOP lawmakers and attorneys for the Clintons was marked by distrust as they wrangled over the details of the deposition. They agreed to have the closed-door depositions transcribed and recorded on video, Comer said.
The belligerence is likely to only grow as Republicans relish the opportunity to grill longtime political foes under oath.
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Comer told The Associated Press that Republicans, in their inquiry with the Clintons, were “trying to figure out how Jeffrey Epstein was able to surround himself with all these rich and powerful people.”
Comer, a Kentucky Republican, also said that the Clintons had expressed a desire to make the proceedings public, but that he would insist on closed-door testimony with a later release of a transcript of the interviews. He added that he was open to holding a later public hearing if the Clintons wanted it.
How Clinton knew Epstein
Clinton, like a number of other high-powered men including President Donald Trump, had a well-documented relationship with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been credibly accused of wrongdoing in their interactions with the late financier.
Both Clintons have said they had no knowledge that Epstein was sexually abusing underage girls before prosecutors brought charges against him.
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The Clintons had initially argued the subpoenas for their testimony were invalid and offered to submit sworn declarations on their limited knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. But as Comer threatened to proceed with contempt of Congress charges, they began looking for an off-ramp.
Both Clintons have remained highly critical of how Comer has handled the Epstein investigation and argue that he is more focused on bringing them in for testimony rather than holding the Trump administration accountable for how it has handled the release of its files on Epstein.
However, as Comer advanced the contempt charges out of the House Oversight Committee last month, he found a number of Democrats willing to help. A younger generation of more progressive Democrats showed they had few connections with the Clintons, who led the Democratic Party for decades, and were more eager to show voters that they would stand for transparency in the Epstein investigation.
Nine Democrats out of 21 on the Oversight panel voted to advance charges against Bill Clinton, and three Democrats joined with Republicans to support the charges against Hillary Clinton. As the vote loomed this week, House Democratic leaders also made it clear they would not expend much political capital to rally votes against the contempt resolutions.
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That left the Clintons with little choice but to agree to testify or face one of the most severe punishments Congress can give.
A precedent set?
Congress has historically shown deference to former presidents. The Clintons’ concession, however, prompted some Democrats to suggest that it set a precedent for former presidents to comply with congressional subpoenas.
“We look forward to using this same precedent when we take back the majority in November,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, a New York Democrat, said on social media.
Trump’s attorneys successfully resisted a congressional subpoena in 2022, between his first and second terms, issued by a House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a mob of his supporters at the U.S. Capitol. Trump’s lawyers cited decades of legal precedent they said shielded an ex-president from being ordered to appear before Congress, and the committee ultimately withdrew its subpoena.
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At a signing for an unrelated bill later Tuesday, the president told reporters the depositions for the Clintons were “a shame” and “I always liked them.”
He praised Hillary Clinton — his opponent in his first presidential election win in 2016 — for her debate skills and called her a “smart woman.”
The actress shared a string of adorable snaps as she was seen returning to her Manchester wedding location, a year after tying the knot
Emmerdale star Isabel Hodgins has shared a string of adorable snaps as she was seen returning to her Manchester wedding location with her baby daughter, as she and her husband marked one year since their big day.
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The actress, who is best known for having played Victoria Sugden in the ITV soap for two decades, recently gave birth to her and her husband Adam Whitehead’s daughter, Georgie.
Isabel and Adam shared the news of their baby girl’s arrival in a sweet social media post on February 13. The video showed Isabel in the hospital in labour, before a blank screen appeared with the message: “On the 11th of February at 1:02am… Georgie Grace Whitehead. 11.02.26. 8lbs5oz [heart emojis].”
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The couple have since been candidly sharing their parenthood journey with fans, having posted a number of adorable updates on their baby girl on social media in recent weeks and months.
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But they were recently seen celebrating one another as they marked a year since they tied the knot. Isabel and Adam said ‘I Do’ in a fair-tale wedding at Castlefield Rooms in the city centre. The elegant celebration was attended by Isabel’s Emmerdale co-stars Danny Miller, Mark Jordon, Laura Norton, Jeff Hordley and Zoë Henry.
And Isabel, who hails from Salford, previously admitted that Manchester was the only place for her to tie the knot. “Some of our first dates were in town,” she previously told the Mirror. “And we like to run there, so I think it was nice that we kept it there.”
Now, Isabel and Adam have take Georgie to The Castlefield Rooms and shared a string of photos from their return to their wedding location with their newborn in tow. Sharing the sweet images on Instagram, the soap star wrote: “Showing Georgie where Mum and Dad got married. What a difference a year makes.”
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Emmerdale co-star Laura Norton was quick to respond, as she commented on the post: “Unbelievable [heart eyes emojis],” and after sharing a number of their wedding snaps in between the new family images, their original photographer THE BRIDE TRIBE by Louise Cuppello, gushed: “Oh guys! How emotional.”
It comes after Isabel marked her one year anniversary on social media by sharing pictures from her and Adam’s wedding day. Alongside the post, she wrote: “Happy 1st wedding anniversary to My Love My husband. My best friend. My biggest supporter. What an incredible 3 and a half years HOW LUCKY ARE WE?!” Also in the post, Isabel shared their first Valentine’s together, the night Adam proposed, the day they found out they were expecting, and their first family photo together.
Adam also took to his own Instagram and posted a heartfelt tribute to their big day. He penned: “Happy 1st Anniversary 3 and a half years together… and this last year has been the best yet We didn’t just get married, we built a whole new life together. And honestly, the best part has been watching you become a mum. It’s made me fall in love with you in a completely different way. The way you look after her, even on little sleep, is unreal.
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“You’re my best mate, my audience to my shows and the person I’m proud to call my wife. What we’ve got, our little family, means everything to me. Love you more than ever.”
Planners admitted it would be good to “bring life back into” the former Masons Arms in Abbeygreen, but expressed concern over car parking and other issues.
A bid to convert an empty Lesmahagow hotel into houses and flats has been turned down.
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Planners admitted it would be good to “bring life back into” the former Masons Arms in Abbeygreen, but expressed concern over car parking and other issues.
The two-storey town centre hotel and pub closed during the Covid 19 pandemic and hasn’t re-opened.
Glendevon Group lodged conversion plans with South Lanarkshire Council. The idea was to create two three-bedroom terraced houses and two flats.
A report by the authority’s planning department stated: “The principle of conversion to residential use is acceptable.
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“The building has been vacant for some time without any apparent interest in reopening it as a pub or hotel.
“Bringing the building back into productive use would generally be beneficial in terms of securing its future and bringing life back into it.”
However, the report said there were “significant concerns about certain details of the proposal”.
The flats would have “little or no natural light” and views would be “oppressive”.
There were also concerns over access arrangements and roads officials had objected because of the lack of car parking spaces.
The report concluded: “The proposal does not comply fully with the relevant policies of the adopted development plan and consent must, therefore, be refused.”
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A baby who died after being found with heroin and cocaine in her system arrived at the hospital “unkempt and smelly”, despite several concerns being raised to social services, an inquest has heard.
She had been transferred from a house on Meaford Drive, Blurton, on the morning of October 25, 2019, after reports that the infant had gone into cardiac arrest. Despite treatment at the paediatric intensive care unit, she died four days later, on October 29.
The court was told that a urine sample taken on the day of the baby’s death revealed a level of cocaine, and further testing on hair samples confirmed she had been exposed to cocaine, heroin and cannabis, StokeonTrentLive reports.
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Parents Rachel Bourne and John Douglas both admitted child cruelty at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in 2024. Bourne was jailed for 31 months and Douglas was given a 10-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years.
An inquest into Phoebe-Rose’s death is now being held this week at Swann House, Stoke.
Phoebe-Rose was born in Halifax in August 2019, where her father lived, and returned to Stoke-on-Trent with her mother a month later, the inquest heard.
Both parents were drug users, with several referrals having previously been made to social services before Phoebe-Rose’s birth, prompted by concerns amongst family members. One such concern was raised in July 2019, relating to their living conditions.
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The couple were subsequently evicted from the property, where drug paraphernalia was later discovered. Paediatrician Dr Deborah Stalker told the inquest that hospital discharge notes from Phoebe-Rose’s birth showed no signs of neonatal abstinence syndrome – withdrawal symptoms that newborn babies may experience if they have been exposed to opiates while still in the womb.
“But she was a bit of a struggle to feed, reading between the lines of notes”, Dr Stalker said. “There was also evidence that feeding bottles were not sterilised prior to use – that had been observed in hospital.”
Dr Stalker told the inquest how, when Phoebe-Rose was admitted to hospital in October 2019, “she was unkempt and she was unclean”, adding “She was smelly and she had dirty fingernails and feet and creases under arms and neck.”
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Dr Roger Malcolmson, a consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist, was involved in post-mortem examinations conducted following Phoebe-Rose’s death. He described her to the inquest as “relatively small”.
“There was no evidence of external injuries of any significance that would suggest a pattern of physical abuse”, he said.
“Her brain was swollen, which correlates with injury to brain cells and hypoxia (reduced oxygen to the brain). There was no obvious underlying cause. I think the biggest risk factor for this death we can identify from the history is maternal drug use and smoking.”
Ekitike is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines (Picture: Getty)
Hugo Ekitike is expected to be sidelined for at least nine months with a serious Achilles tendon injury suffered in Liverpool’s Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool’s last hope of silverware this season ended on Tuesday night after defeat to the French champions at Anfield who sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory to progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
Eiktike fell to the ground unchallenged after 34 minutes, clutching the back of his ankle in visible pain.
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Despite two attempts, the striker was unable to get back to his feet and received treatment from Liverpool’s medical staff before he was carried off the pitch in tears.
Arne Slot provided a grim update after the match, admitting the injury was ‘not good’ with Ibrahima Konare also fearing the worst for his teammate.
Liverpool are still to officially confirm the extent of the injury but L’Equipe report the former Eintracht Frankfurt star has ruptured his Achilles tendon which will sideline him for approximately nine months.
There have been concerns among fans this season that the game’s top teams, faced with stubborn man-to-man defensive set-ups, are taking a less risky approach in attack.
But Kompany’s Bayern lean into that risk, playing freely both in and out of possession. They often dominate, and are exciting to watch – an approach that involves all 11 players and starts right from the back.
In the Champions League last 16, Bayern faced an Atalanta side who opted to man-mark across the pitch. So Kompany rotated his players around, dragging opposition defenders out of position.
For instance, attacking midfielder Serge Gnabry frequently dropped into centre-back positions to get on the ball. His Atalanta marker followed him. That opened up space for Gnabry’s team-mates. As a result, Atalanta ended up with attackers in defence and defenders in attack. Bayern Munich won 10-2 on aggregate.
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Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti was particularly impressed, noting Bayern’s fluidity. In his words: “They showed us a whole encyclopedia of movement and positioning in football.”
Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday 3-2 on aggregate, with Marcus Rashford feeling the sting of European football away from Manchester United
Raphinha has claimed that Barcelona were “robbed” as his club were knocked out of the Champions League – a match that Marcus Rashford was widely expected to start in but was given just 20 minutes. The Catalan giants faced Atletico Madrid at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Tuesday evening in a second leg quarter-final clash.
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Hansi Flick’s side understood the monumental task at hand. given they headed into the 8pm kick-off with a 2-0 deficit to overcome thanks to Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth raining on their parade last week at the Camp Nou.
However, Barca were ultimately unable to conquer their La Liga rivals on the road, leaving the Spanish capital 2-1 up on the night – but 3-2 down on aggregate. Lamine Yamal took very little time to offer his team a glimmer of hope by netting withing four minutes, before Ferran Torres diminished Atleti’s 2-0 aggregate lead completely 20 minutes later.
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It took Ademola Lookman a matter of moments to ensure that Atletico ultimately advanced to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier footballing competition, however, with a goalless second half seeing Barcelona sent packing.
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However, Raphinha had some strong words for referee Clément Turpin in the aftermath. He told TNT Sports Brasil: “For me, we were robbed.
“I don’t want to talk about the refereeing, but we played extremely well, they committed I don’t know how many fouls, and the referee didn’t even pull out a single yellow card against them. The refereeing was very bad in all the decisions he made.
“What I really want to understand is, by what criteria is Barca being refereed? I’d really like to understand the secret behind this fear that haunts these people at the thought of Barca winning.
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“Yes, we’re all human and we can make a mistake in a match, that’s something I can understand, but for it to happen in two consecutive matches? That’s not normal. I think the result of this double confrontation isn’t fair.”
Elsewhere, Manchester United loanee Rashford suffered a double heartbreak in the fixture. Not only were Barcelona ousted from the Champions League in what has otherwise been a largely successful spell for the 28-year-old, but he also didn’t have the full 90 minutes to make a difference.
That’s despite Spanish media touting Rashford to start the match. The Englishman was afforded just over 20 minutes to make a difference as he entered the field as a late substitute for Fermin Lopez.
However, he was ultimately unable to make much of an impact as Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League. It comes as Rashford’s future in sunny Spain is currently up in the air.
While Barcelona have an option to make his move permanent come season’s end to the tune of around £26million, it looks as though they are set to use limited funds to recruit Alessandro Bastoni from Inter Milan to strengthen their defence.
But with Robert Lewandowski potentially leaving the club this summer, the board could opt to keep Rashford as a replacement for their talisman – given he can also operate through the middle as well as on his favoured left flank.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose in Wednesday trading, echoing the rally on Wall Street that came as oil prices eased on hopes the United States and Iran may try again on talks to end their war.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% in afternoon trading to 58,122.52. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 8,978.70. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 6,092.77. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.4% to 25,980.69, while the Shanghai Composite declined less than 0.1% to 4,023.40.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 1.2% to its leap from the day before, and the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is just 0.2% below its record set in January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 317 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 2%.
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On Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude fell 58 cents to $90.70 a barrel. Brent crude added 7 cents to $94.86, or less than 1% after falling 4.6% the day before. While that’s still above its roughly $70 price from before the war began in late February, it’s well below the peak level of $119.
Lower oil prices help bring down costs for all kinds of businesses. But some analysts noted the war was still ongoing, warning that the optimism may be unfortunately unfounded.
“The counterintuitive decline in crude appears driven by growing hopes that a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran could soon materialize, after the first attempt fizzled out. Traders are clearly choosing to price in the possibility of de-escalation rather than the immediate reality of restricted flows,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
Asian nations depends on access to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that’s the main avenue for crude oil produced in the Persian Gulf area to reach customers worldwide. Blockages there have kept oil off the global market, which has in turn driven up its price.
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Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought inflation would slow to 3.8%. The IMF on Tuesday also downgraded its forecast for global economic growth to 3.1% this year from the 3.3% it had forecast in January.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 81.14 points to 6,967.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 317.74 to 48,535.99, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 455.35 to 23,639.08.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as the fall for oil prices took some of the pressure off inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.30% late Monday.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 158.95 Japanese yen from 158.79 yen. The euro cost $1.1790, down from $1.1797.
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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.
The Brandon Street site is on the market with a guide price of £72,000 and is set to go under the hammer at an online auction on April 29.
A Motherwell town centre property is up for sale with potential to convert into flats.
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The Brandon Street site is on the market with a guide price of £72,000 and is set to go under the hammer at an online auction on April 29.
The property is being managed by Town & Country Property Auctions, based in Chester and is being shown on property website, Rightmove.
Writing on the website, Town & Country Property Auctions state: “There is strong potential for conversion into four 2-bedroom flats and one 1-bedroom flat, with layout feasibility supported by architectural input, giving confidence in the development opportunity (subject to planning).
“Alternatively, the property may suit residential units or continued use as office suites.
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“From an income perspective, four 2-bedroom flats are estimated to achieve £750 per month each, with the 1-bedroom flat achieving £600 per month, generating a total of £3,600 per calendar month (£43,200 per annum).
“For serviced accommodation, each unit is projected to generate approximately £24,000 per annum based on a £98 average daily rate and 68% occupancy, equating to a total potential income in excess of £120,000 per annum across five units.
“The asset is well suited to a range of strategies including flat conversion, HMO, or commercial use (subject to planning).
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“Located on Brandon Street, the property is within walking distance of the high street, supermarkets, schools, and colleges, with excellent transport links via the M74 and M8.
“Motherwell is currently benefiting from approximately £19 million of investment focused on town centre regeneration, new housing delivery, infrastructure improvements, and public realm upgrades across areas including Forgewood and North Motherwell, all of which are driving increased demand and long-term growth.
“A low entry price with significant upside makes this an ideal opportunity for investors and developers seeking strong returns.”
British Airways is making permanent changes to its network, announcing the cancellation of all flights from London Heathrow to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 24 April. Having suspended most Middle East services shortly after the conflict began, British Airways will resume flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv in the second half of the year, though at a much-reduced scale.
While airspace in the region is starting to reopen, with Bahrain’s Gulf Air set to resume London flights, BA’s decision marks a strategic pivot away from the Middle East.
Adding to the strain, jet fuel prices have soared since the conflict’s onset, intensifying pressure on carriers already rerouting to bypass the volatile region.
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Below is the latest on which airlines have cancelled flights to the region, in alphabetical order:
Aegean Airlines
Greece’s largest carrier cancelled flights to Riyadh and Amman until June 27 and to Tel Aviv and Beirut until June 26. It cancelled flights to Erbil and Baghdad until July 2 and to Dubai until June 29.
airBaltic
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Latvia’s airBaltic says all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled until May 31. All flights to Dubai are cancelled until October 24.
Air Canada
The Canadian carrier has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until September 7.
A display in the arrivals terminal of the Henri Coanda International Airport shows cancelled flights originating in Middle East countries (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Air Europa
The Spanish airline has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 3.
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Air France
Air France has suspended its Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh flights until May 3.
It plans to reduce services to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv to one daily flight from July 1, and to cut Riyadh services from two daily flights to one from mid-May. Changes apply through the summer season that ends on October 24, with one Dubai service restarting on October 16.
Cathay Pacific
The Hong Kong airline has cancelled all passenger flights to Dubai and Riyadh until June 30. To cater for a surge in demand to Europe, it will operate extra passenger flights to London, Paris and Zurich in April.
Delta
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The U.S. carrier has cancelled its New York-Tel Aviv flights and delayed the restart of its Atlanta-Tel Aviv route until September 5. It said the launch of its Boston-Tel Aviv route, planned for late October, has been delayed until further notice.
EL AL Israel Airlines
The Israeli carrier said customers who planned to depart Israel through April 18 had their flights cancelled, including relevant return flights. It will increase the number of destinations to about 30 from April 13 and will gradually expand that number through the rest of the month.
Emirates
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The UAE carrier has said it is operating a commercial flight schedule between Dubai and around 110 destinations.
Ethiad Airways
The UAE carrier said it had resumed a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and around 80 destinations.
Finnair
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The Finnish carrier has cancelled its Doha flights until July 2, while continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. The airline only restarts its Dubai flights in October.
Flynas
The Saudi budget airline has suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria until April 15.
Iberia Express
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IAG’s low-cost airline, Iberia Express, has cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv through May 31.
Indigo
The Indian airline suspended operations to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah until March 28.
ITA Airways
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ITA Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv until April 2 and extended Dubai cancellations until March 29, continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.
Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines has suspended scheduled Tokyo-Doha flights until May 10 and Doha-Tokyo flights until May 11. The airline also announced extra flights between Tokyo and London on April 25.
KLM
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KLM has suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until May 17.
LOT
The Polish airline has suspended all its flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. It has also cancelled flights to Riyadh until June 30 and to Beirut from March 31 to May 30.
The airline plans to operate its winter route to Dubai in October.
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Lufthansa Group
Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways and Edelweiss suspended flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31, and to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Dammam, Riyadh, Erbil, Muscat and Tehran until October 24.
Lufthansa Cargo is the same, except for the Tel Aviv suspension, which will last through April 30.
Low-cost carrier Eurowings plans to suspend flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Erbil through April 30 and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman through October 24.
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Passengers wait amid flight disruptions as a result of the Israeli-US strikes on Iran, at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. (AFP/Getty)
Malaysia Airlines
The Malaysian carrier has suspended all flights to Doha until June 14.
Norwegian Air
The low-cost airline has pushed back planned launches of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services to June 15.
Pegasus
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Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines cancelled its Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah flights until May 1.
Qantas
Australia’s flag carrier is adding flights to Rome and Paris to meet an upswing in demand for European routes.
Flights to Paris will increase to five return flights per week from three and the Perth-Singapore service will increase from daily to 10 flights per week.
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An updated schedule will come into effect progressively for flights from mid-April and run until late July.
Qatar Airways
The carrier said it is gradually increasing flights from Doha to more than 120 destinations by mid-May.
Royal Air Maroc
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The Moroccan carrier says flights to Doha are cancelled until June 30 and those to Dubai until May 31.
Singapore Airlines
The carrier extended its Singapore-Dubai flights suspension until May 31, while adding services on the Singapore-London Gatwick and Singapore-Melbourne routes from late March until October 24 to meet higher demand.
Turkish Airlines
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SunExpress, Turkish Airlines’ joint venture with Lufthansa, has cancelled flights to Dubai until April 30.
Wizz Air
The low-cost airline suspended flights to Israel until April 13, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman from mainland European destinations until mid-September. All flights to Medina have been suspended indefinitely.
AO.com experts have warned that Brits’ bad laundry habits are not only affecting how clothes look and feel, but also shortening their lifespan – meaning they could end up paying as much as £275 a year replacing their favourite items.
The Bolton-based online electrics online retailer, which has its own laundry advice hub, conducted a survey of 3,000 Brits, which revealed that many still use outdated laundry habits – and are washing their favourite items more than they need to.
Jeans were revealed as the most overwashed item, with 8 in 10 Brits (79%) saying they wash their jeans too often, despite guidance suggesting jeans can be worn up to 10 times before needing a wash.
Hoodies were also identified as an overwashed item, with two thirds of Brits (65%) admitting they wash this beloved staple more often than the recommended 7 wears, and half of Brits (51%) are washing jumpers more frequently than needed.
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However, whilst Brits have an over-washing tendency in general that is damaging their favourite items, the survey also revealed some interesting guilty habits.
A third of Brits (35%) admit to rewearing socks, despite guidance stating these should be washed after one wear, and a quarter of Brits admit they wear underwear items like briefs and knickers more than once.
The top five clothing items Brits are washing wrong – and cost them over £275 a year to replace:
Jeans – 79% of Brits are washing them too often, despite being wearable up to 10 times before needing a wash. With jeans costing £40–£80+ on average, this is one of the most costly items to replace if damaged in the wash.
Hoodies – 65% of people are washing them too often, even though they can usually be worn 6-7 times unless visibly dirty. Hoodie prices typically range from £30-80, so it’s important not to overwash this item.
Jumpers – Half of Brits (51%) wash them too frequently, despite getting around five wears out of them when layered over other clothing. Overwashing your favourite jumpers and knits could cost you from £25-75 to replace based on highstreet prices.
Socks – 35% of Brits admit to wearing them more than once, even though guidance suggests they should be washed after every use. Whilst socks are on the cheaper end of wardrobe staples, a new multipack could cost £5-15 to replace damaged items.
Underwear – A quarter (24%) of Brits say they wear their briefs and knickers more than once, despite guidance suggesting these should be changed daily. Multipacks for underwear can range from £10-30, meaning this staple can easily wrack up costs if it’s damaged during the wash.
Gwil Snook,Washing Machine Expert atAO.com, says that laundry behaviours are often based on assumptions rather than expert guidance.
“People tend to stick to the routines they’re used to, but a lot of the time those habits don’t match how clothes are designed to be cared for, or how washing machines are designed to help you get the most out of your clothes,” Gwil explains.
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“Jeans are one of the most commonly overwashed items, as people think that washing them regularly will help the denim to stay structured. In reality, they don’t need frequent washing, and wearing them multiple times actually helps preserve their shape and colour.”
“Jumpers are really easy to overwash, as people often think they’re the same as t-shirts and should be washed after 1-2 wears. But actually, if you’ve got a layer on underneath, then they can be worn for up to 5 wears. That makes a big difference in keeping them in good condition.”
“The same goes for hoodies: unless a hoodie is stained or starting to smell, it doesn’t need to go straight in the wash. Washing it too often just puts unnecessary stress on the fabric.”
“Socks are different, they should always be washed after one wear. They’re in constant contact with sweat, so rewearing them isn’t recommended from a hygiene point of view.”
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Gwiladded that incorrect laundry habits can also affect washing machines, stating: “Washing machines work by gently aggravating the fabric of your clothes, and different settings do this at different levels. So washing items more than you need to, or even worse on the wrong settings, can easily reduce the lifespan of clothing by weakening fibres and fading colours. Underwashing on the other hand can create hygiene issues, so it’s really important to get the balance right to help both your clothes and your machine to last longer and avoid unnecessary washing.
(Image: Tom Molloy)
“Running unnecessary cycles or using the wrong settings can lead to a build-up of detergent and residue inside the machine.
“Over time, that can create conditions where bacteria and mould develop.”
He advises checking care labels, avoiding unnecessary washes and using appropriate settings for different fabrics.
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