Garden experts have shared their top tips to help revive tired lawns and encourage healthier growth in the weeks ahead

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If your lawn’s looking particularly patchy this spring, you may be worried that it’s unfixable before the summer bloom. However, this can be solved if you do just one simple job now.

Laura Bradbury, Head of Ecommerce at Vonhaus, said: “By April, many lawns are showing the effects of winter, with moss, dead grass and debris sitting on the surface.

“If this isn’t removed, it can stop healthy grass from growing through properly. The good news is that a few simple jobs can make a big difference.

“Improving airflow, clearing build-up and getting the basics right can help lawns recover and grow back thicker and greener as the weather improves.”

Scarify your lawn to remove moss buildup

During the cold winter months, lawns typically develop a layer of moss, dead grass and debris known as thatch. This build-up can block air, water and nutrients from reaching the soil, leaving grass weak and patchy.

Investing in and using a scarifier can do wonders when it comes to removing this layer and allowing lawns to breathe again. Experts recommend doing this in spring when grass is actively growing, making April an ideal time to tackle the problem.

Clear debris to stop moss returning

“Debris left sitting on the lawn can hold moisture and create the perfect environment for moss to return,” says Laura. “Keeping on top of it regularly makes a big difference and helps grass grow through more evenly.”

Mow little but often

In the spring months, you’ll want to keep the grass slightly longer. Experts recommend cutting to a height of three or four cm, any higher than this and you slow down recovery by stressing the lawn.

Laura adds: “A good rule is to avoid removing more than a third of the grass height in one go, as cutting too much at once can put the lawn under unnecessary stress.”

Water at the right time to avoid damage

Most lawns need around one to two inches of water per week, and while your garden may receive this from rain, if not, you’ll likely have to water it yourself.

For this, Laura says: “Lawns don’t just need water, they need the right watering routine. Early morning watering gives the soil time to absorb moisture properly, which helps keep grass hydrated throughout the day.

“If water sits on the surface for too long, especially overnight, it can create the damp conditions that lead to problems like mould or patchy growth.”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A gunman wielding an automatic weapon killed six people and barricaded himself inside a supermarket with hostages in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday, before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.

At least 14 people were wounded and taken to hospital.

The 58-year-old attacker was not named by police, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was born in Russia, as authorities worked to piece together a motive for the violence.

The mass shooting — unheard of in wartime Kyiv following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — took place in a busy central district of the city, outside an apartment block and a nearby shopping center, leaving bodies on a crowded street as bystanders fled for safety.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw victims’ bodies in the street covered with emergency blankets before they were taken away.

“The assailant has been neutralized. He had taken hostages and, tragically, killed one of them. He also murdered four people on the street. Another woman died in the hospital due to severe injuries,” Zelenskyy said.

“It has been established that the attacker set fire to an apartment before taking to the streets with a weapon,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted online. “He had a prior criminal record, had lived in the Donetsk region (in eastern Ukraine) for a long period, and was born in Russia.”

Ukraine’s special tactical police units stormed the convenience store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

The hostages were supermarket customers and staff.

“We tried to persuade him, knowing that there was likely a wounded person inside. We even offered to bring in tourniquets to stop the bleeding, but he did not respond,” Klymenko said. “Consequently, the order was given to neutralize him.”

The minister said the gunman had a valid weapon’s permit.

During the 40-minute standoff, a female negotiator wearing body armor and standing behind an armored vehicle used a loudspeaker to call out to the assailant, urging him: “The people are not to blame for this. Please let them go, and we will talk with you.”

Ukraine’s security service, or SBU, described the killings as an act of terrorism.

The shooting took place in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, where several residents said they recognized the gunman.

“I knew him by sight. He seemed like an educated, refined man. You’d never guess he was some kind of criminal,” said 75-year-old Hanna Kulyk, who lived in the same apartment block as the attacker.

“He didn’t socialize much with people — just a greeting and he’d be on his way,” she said. “He lived alone.”

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Associated Press journalists Vasilisa Stepanenko and Dan Bashakov in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

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An earlier version of this story was corrected to say the gunman shot bystanders, not the government.

Banish grime from your oven in under 30 minutes using this woman’s super easy cleaning hack which transformed her appliance from looking dirty to completely brand new

Cleaning your oven and hob can often slip down the priority list, purely because it’s such a lengthy job and, let’s be honest, rather unpleasant. Everyone desires a sparkling oven, but achieving it demands considerable elbow grease.

A grimy oven doesn’t just look awful, it can also create unpleasant odours throughout your home while cooking – and when entertaining visitors, this can prove genuinely mortifying. However, one woman has revealed she transformed her entire oven and hob using an unexpected household item that’s typically used for something completely different. Posting in the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook group, she explained: “So I did it!

“I bought the cheapest dishwasher tablets I could find (Morrison’s own make) and cleaned my entire oven and hob with them, took less than 30 minutes to do the whole thing.

“I had tried Elbow Grease spray, Pink Stuff, Cif oven cleaner, and others alike before. Nothing cleaned the oven door, I couldn’t see through it.

“Now it’s almost like new, the whole oven and hob and door. Thank you to this page. Also, please remember to wear gloves when doing this as you don’t want prolonged contact with skin from the dishwasher tablets.”

Keen to discover more about the cleaning method, fellow Mrs Hinch fans requested further details, with one asking: “Did you just go over everywhere with just the tablet or do you do something with the tablet?”

The original poster explained: “I just sprayed hot water inside and on the door and on hob then scrubbed around with the dishwasher tablets.

“I used the tablets then wiped all over with a clean wet sponge to essentially rinse it off then wiped all around with kitchen towel.”

She further emphasised that it required “no effort.”

Dishwasher tablets are available for as little as £3.29 for a pack of 40.

How to clean your oven:

Another easy way to clean your oven is by creating a paste of baking soda and water. Next apply it to the interior and let it sit overnight to break down grime.

This easy method avoids harsh fumes and doesn’t require much elbow grease either. The paste acts as an abrasive to banish stubborn burn-on grease, which you can then easily wipe away the next morning.

It took a first home defeat to Leeds since 1981 for the real moans to start.

The calmness previously viewed as an asset became a negative. Inaction was seen as conservative. All week the question has been asked, is Carrick up to the job?

Well, there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about this latest triumph.

But given only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of all the post-Sir Alex Ferguson bosses had experienced the feeling of winning at Stamford Bridge, style was a secondary element.

Chelsea may have hit the woodwork three times. They may have carried the more consistent threat. But Carrick’s team was the one that delivered.

“It was a game for a result,” he said. “And we managed to find it.”

There was more to it though. There was overcoming the adversity of knowing that on top of the three central defenders he knew would be missing (Matthijs de Ligt through injury and Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire due to suspension), Carrick then lost a fourth, Leny Yoro, to a training ground injury.

That came so late in the week his chosen pairing, Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven, could only prepare with walk-throughs.

“I love when you see players thrive in those moments,” said Carrick.

Heaven, 19, had not started a game under Carrick, having first been given his chance by Ruben Amorim and then his immediate replacement Darren Fletcher.

“Ayden has not played a lot of football recently, and to come into that environment is not something that you can take for granted,” said Carrick.

“We say the same things to young players all the time. Sometimes they look at you as if to say, ‘yeah, good one’ but in terms of training every day and looking after yourself and being ready ‘because you never know when that chance comes’, he probably wouldn’t have thought it would come at that moment.

“But he was there, he was prepared, and he took it in his stride magnificently well.”

Top chef Angela Hartnett revealed how she takes her favourite pasta dish to the next level

Pasta is a go-to choice for many households when they’re in need of something comforting and quick and easy to prepare. Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett recently shared her knack for elevating the simplest of pasta recipes.

In a recent episode of the Dish from Waitrose podcast, Angela whipped up one of her favourite pasta dishes for actress Gemma Arterton. She paired linguine with flavours of the coast, using crab and fennel as the heart of the dish.

What’s even better is that it takes just ten minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook, so it works perfectly for a speedy midweek dinner, too. In a clip shared to TikTok, the chef revealed how she takes a simple pasta dish to the next level.

The real secret to any good pasta dish, which Angela swears by, is using pasta water. When adding all of the ingredients to the pan, you want to make sure that you’re adding a splash of the reserved pasta water.

Angela said: “The key to all of this is your reserved pasta water.”

Pour around a cup of the pasta water and then toss all of the ingredients together to coat the pasta. Adding pasta water to sauce acts as a binder that helps to emulsify fats, thickens the texture with starch, and helps the sauce cling to the pasta.

The starchy, salty water prevents watery sauces, binds oil and/or cheese, and allows the sauce to coat each noodle evenly. To add some extra colour and flavour to the dish, you can add a handful of wild rocket leaves to the pasta after everything is stirred together.

Angela continued: “Mmm, that is lovely. I hope Gemma likes it.”

Gemma described the dish as “beautiful”.

The video has already been viewed over 18,400 times, receiving 972 likes and seven comments, at the time of writing. AA simply commented: “Delicious.”

Another agreed: “God Angela is GORG.”

Here’s how you can recreate Angela’s favourite pasta at home for a true taste of Italy.

Angela Hartnett’s crab, caramelised fennel and red chilli linguine

Ingredients

• Two tbsp olive oil
• One bulb/s fennel, halved, core removed, then finely sliced
• One shallot, finely sliced
• 150g linguine (or and pasta shape of your choice)
• One mild red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
• One unwaxed lemon, zest of half and juice of whole
• 15 basil leaves, shredded
• 100g white crab meat

Method

Heat one tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the fennel and shallot and season. Cover with a lid and sweat gently for five minutes until soft, then uncover and fry for another five minutes, stirring regularly until starting to caramelise.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the pasta. Simmer for one minute less than stated on the pack instructions.

Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of the cooking water and set aside.

Add the chilli and finely grated zest from half the lemon to the fennel, then tip in the drained pasta and six tbsp of the reserved cooking water and toss together. Toss through the juice of the whole lemon and most of the basil and crab meat, then divide between plates and drizzle with the remaining one tbsp oil.

Grind over some black pepper and scatter over the remaining basil to serve.

It is sixth versus third at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host Manchester United, with the race for the Champions League places hotting up. Manchester United won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Old Trafford back in September, with Chelsea spending most of the game down to 10 men after Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card. If Manchester United were to win tonight, they would complete a league double over Chelsea for just the second time after the 2019/20 campaign. Chelsea have lost just one of their last 12 home league meetings with Manchester United.

Chelsea lost 3-0 at home against Manchester City last weekend. Chelsea have just one Premier league win in their last seven games and go into tonight’s game four points behind Liverpool, who occupy the final Champions League place in fifth.

“That is the great thing about the quality we have in this team,” Liam Rosenior said. “We are capable of a run, but capability is one thing and producing it is another. Time is running out, so we need to be as close to perfect as possible in every aspect of the game. If we do that, we have the potential to win every game for the rest of the season.

“When the team was its best with players like John [Terry], Frank [Lampard], Didier [Drogba], it was a team of big personalities fighting for the shirt, not a team of egos. I feel we have those kinds of characters in our squad, and that is what we need to show in this moment.”

Enzo Fernandez has been suspended for their last two games but is back available for selection tonight, although it remains to be seen in what capacity.

Manchester United lost 2-1 at home to Leeds last Monday but remain in third, level on points with Aston Villa, three points ahead of Liverpool and seven ahead of Chelsea.

“It is an important game,” Michael Carrick said. “We are in a good position in the league and we want to keep building on that. It is a tough place to go, always has been. We have had some tough games down there. Most of the time they have been good games in terms of what it brings. It has the feelings of a real, proper game so we will be ready for that. We have prepared well and take the confidence from what we have built. We did not get the result we wanted against Leeds but the character that we showed we have to take into this game with an extra player and make the most of it.”

Manchester United will be without centre-backs Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez for the trip to Stamford Bridge due to suspension. Maguire was given an extra game ban for improper conduct following his red card against Bournemouth whilst Martinez was sent off against Leeds. They could have a real centre-back problem tonight with Matthijs de Ligt still out injured and Leny Yoro set to miss out. Kobbie Mainoo though could be fit to return having missed the loss to Leeds.

Team news to follow shortly.

Iranian officials are still yet to bury the remains of the assassinated Supreme Leader months on from his death, with one security expert claiming the regime is too scared to hold a ceremony

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Reports suggest that Iranian officials are ‘afraid to bury’ the slain Supreme Leader, months after his death.

Ali Khamenei, 86, was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 that launched the Iran war with the US – with his son now taking over the reigns after his death.

The cleric’s remains are yet to be laid to rest, breaking with established tradition, according to the New York Post.

Now, one security expert claims the delay is down to Tehran being too fearful to carry out the process.

The last state funeral for his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989 saw millions of Iranians flooding the streets of Tehran in mourning – but similar displays for Khamenei were largely absent during weeks of airstrikes across Iran that claimed many of the regime’s top leaders.

According to reports, a ceremony would risk potential Israeli airstrikes, nationalist counter-rallies similar to the nationwide uprisings earlier this year, and the regime’s need to explain the absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son and the new supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since his appointment.

“It speaks volumes that the turnout for the funeral of the regime’s founding father in 1989 was such a massive affair, and yet one generation later his successor is still not able to have a funeral well over a month after his passing,” Taleblu continued.

“The Islamic Republic likes to talk a big game about owning the streets, but a 50-day internet blackout tells you all you need to know. The regime fears the consequences of the truth getting out.”

Iranian officials are now understood to be weighing up the remote northeastern city of Mashhad as a potential resting place for the Supreme Leader, according to state media outlet Fars, as reported by The Australian.

Mashhad, which borders Turkmenistan and lies far from Israel, is Khamenei’s birthplace and holds both practical and symbolic significance.

Among the proposals being considered is a burial site close to a shrine that benefits from a substantial security presence, which would afford protection to the long-serving leader’s grave, according to reports.

The Islamic Republic had initially planned a three-day state funeral commencing on 4th March, but those plans never came to fruition after the country was shaken by large-scale Israeli and US bombing campaigns, according to state news agency Irna.

No dates have yet been confirmed for Khamenei’s burial ceremony.

The US and Iran reached a temporary truce on 8th April, which is due to expire on Wednesday.

Grant McKinnon, 30, was described by police as ‘dangerous’ after disappearing around 4am on Saturday from the Cardowan Road area of Glasgow – police have now launched an appeal

Police have launched a manhunt for a missing man who has been deemed “dangerous”.

Grant McKinnon vanished at around 4am on Saturday, 18 April. The 30 year old was last spotted in the Cardowan Road area of Glasgow.

He was last seen wearing a black jacket with a red hood, or red hood lining, and blue jeans. Mr McKinnon has been described as white, 6ft tall, of slim build and with a shaved head, reports the Daily Record.

Police Scotland issued a public appeal to locate the man this evening, with officers branding him “dangerous”. The force has urged members of the public not to approach him and to contact police straight away.

Detective Superintendent Gary Ferguson said: “Grant is considered to be dangerous and I’m appealing for information from the public to help us trace him as soon as possible.”

“If anyone sees Grant, they should not approach him but contact police immediately.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson added: “We are appealing for information to trace 30-year-old Grant McKinnon. He was last seen in the Cardowan Road area of Glasgow around 4am on Saturday, 18 April, 2026.

“Grant is described as white, 6ft tall, of slim build, with a shaved head. When he was last seen he was wearing a black jacket with a red hood, or red hood lining, and blue jeans.

“Anyone with information on where he may be, or anyone who thinks they’ve seen him since the early hours of Saturday morning, should call 999 urgently quoting reference 0523 of 18 April. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

It is “inconceivable” that Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy were not told about Peter Mandelson failing the security vetting process for the role of US ambassador, a former foreign secretary has claimed, amid growing accusations that the prime minister scapegoated the head of the Foreign Office in order to save himself.

Describing his own recent experience, Sir James Cleverly, who was foreign secretary from 2022 to 2023, said: “I cannot envisage a universe where someone senior in the Foreign Office wouldn’t have sat down with the foreign secretary and said something to warn about this.”

It comes as former civil servants claim that the sacked permanent secretary to the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins, was “thrown under a bus”.

Sir Keir has claimed he only discovered last week that Lord Mandelson had failed vetting, despite The Independent telling Downing Street and running a story on the revelation in September last year.

The prime minister said it was “staggering” and “unforgiveable” that he had not been told earlier, adding that he was “furious”. He claimed that Downing Street and all his ministers had been kept in the dark.

In an interview with The Guardian, Mr Lammy said he had no knowledge of Mr Mandelson’s vetting process and that the prime minister would “absolutely no doubt at all” have blocked the Labour grandee from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington if had he known he failed security checks.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called for the prime minister to resign over the furore and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Mail on Sunday that Sir Keir was “unfit to govern”.

Sir Olly is widely expected to mount a staunch defence of his decision to approve Lord Mandelson’s appointment at a hearing of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday – which has been described as “judgement day” for Sir Keir – with former colleagues expecting the former civil servant to emphasise that the appointment was a ministerial decision pushed through by Downing Street.

As outrage grows at the scandal around Lord Mandelson’s appointment, and the prime minister’s claims that he wasn’t aware of the problems surrounding it, fresh doubts are being cast on Sir Keir’s version of events.

Questions have been raised about his claim, made in the Commons in February, that Downing Street was not aware that Lord Mandelson had failed security vetting.

Simon McDonald, a former permanent secretary in the Foreign Office, told Radio 4’s Today programme that Sir Olly had been “thrown under a bus”, and described him as a “scalp” who had been sacked in an effort to save the prime minister.

“I think this is the biggest crisis in the diplomatic service since I joined it in 1982,” said Lord McDonald.

Speaking on The Independent’s political podcast In the Room, former deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara criticised the prime minister for axing Sir Olly, calling the decision “reactive” and echoing the metaphor about throwing him under a bus.

Other senior former colleagues of Sir Olly have suggested that what he is accused of is “completely out of character”.

With recent experience of making highly sensitive diplomatic appointments as foreign secretary, Sir James said it was “just not credible” that neither Sir Keir nor the then foreign secretary Mr Lammy – now deputy prime minister – did not know.

He said: “It is just inconceivable that Olly Robbins would have sat on this information knowing that it would eventually blow up.

“We are being asked to believe that Olly Robbins was sitting there thinking, ‘I actually know Mandelson didn’t get through vetting… I probably should tell the prime minister that before he embarrasses himself further.’”

He went on: “That is just not credible – the idea that absolutely nobody read The Independent’s piece in September; that seems at odds with what Olly Robbins has already told us.

“The only thing I can think is that Olly doesn’t have anything in writing to show he told anyone.”

Pointing to a letter sent by Sir Olly in July last year to shadow Tory minister Richard Holden, in which he stated that Lord Mandelson “was directly appointed by ministers”, Sir James suggested that the sacked senior mandarin “has left a trail of crumbs back to who was really responsible”.

He said that normally, diplomatic roles are given to career diplomats who have already been vetted, but with political appointments, “the foreign secretary is told firmly that is on him, and is warned of the risks”.

Sir James said: “I had this with two political appointments I tried to make which were much more minor than the ambassador to the United States. They make it very, very clear that you, personally, are importing a whole load of risk.”

He added: “This is why I think David Lammy may have even more problems than Keir Starmer.”

On the matter of any problems that might arise, Sir James said: “Of course I would relay that to the prime minister, especially in a case like this, where the appointment was being driven by Downing Street.”

However, speaking to The Guardian, Mr Lammy said he had not been told about Mr Mandelson’s vetting process and that the PM would not have hired the former him if he’d known.

He added: said: “I have absolutely no doubt at all, knowing the PM as I do, that had he known that Peter Mandelson had not passed the vetting, he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.

“The prime minister was not particularly close to Peter Mandelson. He hadn’t worked with him in the past, as some of us had. He was weighing a decision, but I’m quite sure had he known that, he would not have become ambassador. Therefore this is inexplicable.”

It is known from papers already released that Sir Philip Barton expressed concerns about the appointment before he quit early as permanent secretary at the Foreign Office in February 2025.

Other former top cabinet ministers and civil servants have also privately agreed with Sir James’s assessment, noting that such briefings to the prime minister and other senior cabinet ministers take place in STRAP rooms (secure and secret).

One former senior civil servant also pointed to a post on X by Dominic Cummings, in which Mr Cummings attacked claims that the prime minister hadn’t been briefed.

Mr Cummings, who served as Boris Johnson’s chief of staff, wrote: “The PM is often told by officials details from vetting, leak inquiries, investigations by intel agencies etc. This is because the PM in our constitution is often the only constitutional authority deemed able to make a political judgement about things including risk assessments of appointments.”

The former civil servant described the post as “completely accurate”.

Sir James’s doubts coincide with revelations that others in Whitehall – including new cabinet secretary Dame Antonia Romeo, the permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office, Cat Little, and government lawyers – were all aware of the problem as of March this year.

A source close to the deputy prime minister said: “The deputy prime minister has made it clear that he had no knowledge that the FCDO had overruled Peter Mandelson’s vetting outcome until Thursday afternoon.”

The Independent has approached Downing Street and Mr Lammy’s office for comment.