FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — For the second time, Israel has attacked Iran’s South Pars natural gas and its associated petrochemical complex – an energy lifeline for Iran that both helps keep the lights on for civilians and provides a key source of export earnings.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday that Israel attacked a key petrochemical plant at Asaluyeh, the onshore industrial aspect of the gas field, which lies under the Persian Gulf.

Katz said the “powerful strike” hit what he called “the largest petrochemical facility in Iran … responsible for about 50% of the country’s petrochemical production.” Combined with an earlier attack, two facilities responsible for 85% of Iran’s petrochemical exports have been taken out of service, he said.

Attacks on South Pars are sufficiently provocative to Iran that an earlier Israeli attack on March 18 prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries in response, an escalation of the war that sent new shockwaves across the region and beyond.

After the March attack, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Israel would not attack South Pars again, but warned on social media that if Iran continued attacking key energy infrastructure in Qatar, the United States would retaliate and “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.

Here are things to know about the South Pars natural gas field and its associated industries making chemicals using gas as a raw material:

Iran’s share of the world’s largest gas field provides both domestic energy and export earnings.

South Pars is Iran’s biggest source of domestic energy in a country that sometimes struggles to produce enough electricity. The gas field under the Persian Gulf — the world’s largest — is shared by Iran and Qatar. It’s called South Pars on the Iranian side and the North Field on the Qatari side.

Iran relies heavily on gas to produce electricity and heat homes. It is the fourth-largest consumer of natural gas in the world, behind the U.S., China and Russia, according to the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, even though its economy is much smaller. In contrast to other Middle East countries, it uses gas for heating due to its cold climate and much of that use is subsidized, which discourages efficient use.

Abundant, affordable gas from South Pars fuels industries making chemicals for export

While the South Pars gas is important at home, the petrochemical plant is a source of export earnings. The gas is used to make basic chemical building blocks like ethylene, propylene, methanol, ammonia and urea used to make other products such as plastic pipe, packaging, clothing, household products or fertilizer. Among the largest importers are Turkey, China, India and Southeast Asian countries, according to Iranian mining and petrochemical export company Irminex. Iran’s petrochemical industry gets a competitive advantage from low raw material costs due to its access to South Pars gas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says those earnings benefitted Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. “Today we destroyed the largest petrochemical plant in Iran,” Netanyahu said. “In other words, we are systematically destroying the money machine of the Revolutionary Guards.”

Iran has struggled with rickety energy infrastructure and shortages

Iran has suffered power shortages because of interruptions to gas supplies, even though on paper it has huge energy reserves. In July, public buildings had to shut down when a heat wave strained the power grid.

So an attack on South Pars could potentially target both civilian welfare and export earnings.

The village hosts a tranquil setting away from the hustle and bustle of city life

A picturesque Cambridgeshire village is known for its famous Roman burial mounds alongside an award-winning pub considered an “absolute gem” by customers. Bartlow is a small village located around 12 miles south-east of Cambridge and sits against the banks of the River Granta.

Perhaps one of the most popular features of this village is it being blessed with some truly tranquil areas away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Some people know Bartlow very well but others not so much so here are a few reasons why this village is such a lovely place to live.

Batlow has an intriguing history with one particularly interesting landmark. Barlow Hills consists of four remaining ancient burial mounds dating back to the Roman era that offer locals a glimpse of those who used to live there.

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The mounds reportedly contain cremated remains of high-ranking individuals and chambers. Standing 15-metres high, the tallest barrow is considered the largest Roman barrow north of the Alps.

What is even better than a village steeped with history is a village filled with history that one also home to a beautiful pub offering traditional classics.

The Three Hills, a dog-friendly, country pub, is hosted in a 17-th century Grade II listed building which initially opened as an alehouse in 1847. The kitchen has earned multiple awards including two AA Rosettes, a Michelin Plate for great food, and named Highest Newcomer in the Top 50 gastropubs in the UK in 2021.

This gastropub offers foods from haddock and steak dishes to lamb belly and a potato risotto.

Not only has this pub earned recognition through awards, it has also built a strong reputation of reviews online. With an average of 4.6 out of five stars on Tripadvisor, amongst over 450 reviews, new customers can feel assured to have a delightful experience.

One guest said that The Three Hills is an “absolute gem” while another said “I can’t recommend this place enough.”

Another wrote: “The location was prefect, the staff were friendly and professional and our room was lovely.

“The evening meals and breakfasts were delicious, fresh and beautifully presented and the staff in the kitchen and serving worked really hard. I cannot fault this place and will definitely be back.”

The pretty village is around 20-minutes away from Cambridge by car or regular bus routes from the village into the city are available.

Barlow is home to a nursery called Little Hands, that offers care for babies from six-months old. Nearby, families can send their children to Castle Camps Church of England School or Linton CE Infant School. For older ones, Linton Village College is the local secondary school and provides education between the ages of 11 and 16.

Brisk south-easterly winds developing on Tuesday and Wednesday will drag in much warmer air from the European continent.

Temperatures will be around 6 to 10C above average for early April.

On Tuesday temperatures will rise to the high teens and low twenties in most parts.

Across the south Midlands and the west coast of Wales it is likely to reach 22C, making it the warmest day of the year so far.

The previous highest temperature this year was 20.9C, recorded on 31 March at Pershore, Worcestershire.

Tuesday will be a mostly sunny day, especially across England and Wales but cloud will build in Northern Ireland and western Scotland with a few showers.

By Wednesday temperatures will rise even further to 23C, perhaps even 24C in south-east England.

With sunshine continuing, temperatures across England and Wales will still be into the low twenties, so it will feel more like a typical summer’s day for most of us.

However, conditions will turn a little cooler in western Scotland, Northern Ireland and Irish Sea coasts with more cloud and rain moving in later in the afternoon.

Trump has given Iran the deadline of Tuesday evening to open the Strait of Hormuz, or else: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

While council leaders previously described the move as an expression of humanitarian solidarity, promoting “cultural, social, economic and educational exchanges,” concerns were raised about possible links to extremist groups and individuals who celebrated the October 7 attacks on Israel and the Jewish people.

The south Manchester Sunday league side have landed another huge coup

It may not quite be Old Trafford, but Antonio Valencia will be in some illustrious company when he steps out for a Manchester Sunday league side.

Former Manchester United skipper Valencia, who retired in 2021, is to lace-up his boots again after signing for Wythenshawe FC’s Veterans side.

Valencia, 40 – who won nine trophies with the Reds including two Premier League titles after signing from Wigan Athletic for £16m in 2009 – has become the latest former pro to sign up with the south Manchester club.

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Former Manchester City players Stephen Ireland, Joleon Lescott and Nedum Onuoha; ex-England striker Emile Heskey; and former Newcastle forward Papiss Cisse are among the stars who once played at the very top of the game who have appeared for Wythenshawe Vets this season.

Others include Marc Albrighton, Maynor Figueroa, Jefferson Montero, Erik Pieters, Kieran Westwood, Cameron Jermone, Paul McShane, Danny Drinkwater, Adrian Mariappa, Oumar Niasse and Martyn Waghorn.

Former Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd scored four times in the team’s most recent league game, a 7-1 win over Collegiate Old Boys last month.

The ‘Galactico’ approach has worked as they sit top of the Cheshire Veterans Football League Premier Division this season, with seven wins from seven games and a goal difference of plus 54.

They will be hoping former Ecuador international Valencia, who also won the FA Cup and Europa League and captained the Reds before leaving the club in 2019, can add even more star quality.

After leaving United he joined Ecuadorian top flight sight LDU Quito and was on their books for two seasons before moving to Mexican outfit Queretaro.

In a post on X they said: “We’re proud to welcome Premier League winner, Antonio Valencia to Wythenshawe Vets A Manchester United legend. Title winner. Now wearing our badge. Welcome to the club, Antonio! #UpTheAmmies.”

Owner Carl Barratt recently told the Manchester Evening News: ““Without financial aids, a club cannot exist, and I want to make sure that my managers, my players, my volunteers, everyone gets as much support as possible. We rely on funding, we rely on sponsorship, we rely on everything else.

“We happened to come across a Vets team which is helping make that a little bit easier, so suddenly people know who we are. When I go to people talking about sponsorship for this season, next season, I’m saying Wythenshawe and yes, they know we’ve got a successful women’s team, know we’ve got a successful men’s team, but they know ultimately at the moment we have a very popular Vets team.

“Ultimately, brand awareness is something which is key across many sort of businesses and what this does is it makes it an easy sell to them, the Vets team. But likewise, they’re just another team to me. One that I can utilise for the greater good of the club.”

Ireland previously told Sky Sports: “We’re all retired and it’s nice to get together to continue to play football, keep fit and also from the mental health side of things.

“A lot of lads can feel a bit stranded and alone when they come out of football. We all live in the same area so help each other.”

Authorities in Singapore have announced a limit of two power banks per passenger on flights to reduce risks for travellers.

The new rule will come into effect from April 15, and any additional power banks will have to be surrendered before people board their plane, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has said in a statement.

CAAS also advised power banks shouldn’t be charged onboard the aircraft and that passengers shouldn’t be using them to charge their other devices while flying.

This is already the case on all Singapore Airlines flights after it banned the use of these chargers in March 2025. But these blanket changes are set to affect more of the roughly 580,000 Brits who visit Singapore each year, according to Travel Weekly.

This change comes after the International Civil Aviation Organisation updated its global safety guidelines on April 2 to a new requirement of two power banks per passenger.

Not to mention, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism recently banned the use of this tech on flights departing or arriving to its airports.

Emirates also rolled out a blanket ban prohibiting passengers from using power banks onboard in October, while Lufthansa became the first European airline to do so in January this year.

Officials are working with airlines operating out of Singapore’s Changi Airport to ‘implement the new requirements in a smooth and orderly manner’.

It’s the airlines who are expected to inform passengers travelling with them of the new requirements.

‘CAAS will provide some time for the airlines to do so and for passengers to familiarise themselves and have the requirements take effect only from 15 April, 2026,’ a Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore spokesperson said. ‘In the meantime, passenger service and security screening officers will be trained.’

Reminders will also be displayed across the airport to avoid any confusion.

‘The new requirements will help reduce the risk of fire caused by power banks on board flights,’ Foong Ling Huei, director of Flight Standards at CAAS, says. ‘We urge all passengers to familiarise themselves and comply with the new requirements, for their own safety and the safety of other passengers.’

Why are power banks a problem on planes?

If a lithium-ion battery is damaged, misused, or stored improperly, it can short circuit — triggering a process called ‘thermal runaway’ where the batteries start to irreversibly overheat.

The result can be a sudden, violent, and explosive fire, hence why the European Union Aviation Safety Agency advise only putting these in your hand luggage, and not your checked baggage.

Concerns about allowing passengers to keep power banks in the cabin initially began to grow following an incident in January 2025, when a portable power bank caused a fire that engulfed and destroyed a passenger plane in South Korea.

First discovered by a flight attendant in an overhead luggage bin, the flames quickly spread throughout the entire cabin. Thankfully, everyone onboard was evacuated safely.

But this wasn’t an isolated incident.

An Air China flight suffered a similar fate in October last year after a power bank stored inside carry-on luggage caught fire, but cabin crew put the fire out while the plane made an emergency landing.

According to the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation in Japan, portable battery chargers caused 123 fires in 2024, an increase of more than 150% from the 47 fires reported in 2020.

Moreover, the Japanese fire agency, stated that by product type, power banks accounted for 30% of the 290 incidents in 2024, followed by power tools at 89 and mobile phones at 85.

While flights pose an exaggerated risk, given the intense pressure, faulty lithium-ion batteries can be lethal in all kinds of environments.

So, with all this in mind, it’s not surprising that more and more government bodies are cracking down on these particularly feisty fire hazards.

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Crafts, performances and an Easter egg hunt were held at Auckland Palace in a packed day of activities.

Fiona Thomas, events co-ordinator at The Auckland Project, said: “Easter is an important moment in the calendar for families, and we are pleased to be able to offer a range of activities at Auckland Palace that bring people together to enjoy the occasion.

“From the firm family favourite Easter Egg Hunt Trail to performances, crafts and the chance to meet the Easter Bunny, the programme has been designed to give families the opportunity to spend quality time together while exploring the historic surroundings of the palace and its gardens.”

There was also live music and a coffee cart which served refreshments between 10am and 4pm.

Can you spot yourself in our pictures?

An Easter Sunday Fun Day event at Auckland Palace (Image: Chris Booth)

An Easter Sunday Fun Day event at Auckland Palace (Image: Chris Booth)

An Easter Sunday Fun Day event at Auckland Palace (Image: Chris Booth)

An Easter Sunday Fun Day event at Auckland Palace (Image: Chris Booth)

An Easter Sunday Fun Day event at Auckland Palace (Image: Chris Booth)

Lin Fidgin, of Hartlepool, who works at University Hospital of North Tees, wrote and illustrated Bess of Clara Vale.

Drawing from her own experiences as a woman with autism, Ms Fidgin wanted to create the stories she longed for in childhood.

She said: “I wanted to write the books I wish I had as a child.

“I felt so different to everyone else around me but had no mirror to see myself reflected or to help me understand why I wasn’t like my peers.

“Being different can be a lonely place – always trying to fit in, but always feeling like an outsider.

“Understanding who you are and why can lighten the load.”

The story follows Bess, a Labrador with autism, and gently explores sensory differences, social misunderstandings, and the comfort found in routine and repetition.

Through Bess’s journey, the book explores the development of her confidence and self-acceptance.

Since its publication in March, Ms Fidgin has gifted copies to local schools, libraries, autism services and other organisations, including the children’s ward and children’s emergency department at the University Hospital of North Tees.

The first in a planned series of seven books, Bess of Clara Vale is the first of a series of seven books Lin has planned, each focusing on neurodiversity, friendship and belonging.

Ms Fidgin said: “If I can help make education about autism and neurodiversity accessible to those who need it most, then it can only be a good thing.

“I want to make a difference.”

Ms Fidgin said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the response and have cried a lot.

“I’ve had some beautifully affirming messages and emails, and one particularly beautiful video from two young children who have a book and wanted to share with me how they felt while reading it, because I would understand them.”