BERLIN (AP) — Ali Darwich, a gay Muslim influencer in Berlin, picks up a date from his plate, takes a sip of water, and addresses the 15 friends sitting around the table and breaking the Ramadan fast with him.

The 33-year-old German with Palestinian and Lebanese roots — who goes by @alifragt or “Ali asks” on Instagram — has a quickly growing following on Instagram, where he draws attention to the difficulties of living as a young, queer Muslim and calls for more tolerance and inclusiveness.

“Tonight we want to send a message that no matter where a person comes from, no matter who that person loves, no matter how queer that person is, they cannot be too queer … because they are exactly as they should be,” Darwich says, smiling at the diverse group of Muslims and Christians, Germans and immigrants, gay and straight people sharing this meal with him as the sun sets over Berlin.

Indeed, attacks against LGBTQ+ people and gay-friendly establishments are rising across Germany, including in Berlin, a city that has historically embraced the community.

According to the latest figures from 2024, there was a 40% increase in violence targeting LGBTQ+ people in 12 of Germany’s 16 federal states as compared to 2023, according to the Association of Counseling Centers for Victims of Right-Wing, Racist and Antisemitic Violence.

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Brunch Time York at 2 Oak Street, Holgate, was visited by City of York Council inspectors on January 23.

The Food Standards Agency website says that for hygienic food handling, the business was rated as ‘improvement necessary’. The same rating was also given for the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and the building.

However, for management of food safety, the rating was ‘major improvement necessary’.

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The Press submitted a Freedom of Information Request to City of York Council asking for a copy of the inspector’s report, which we have yet to receive.

Brunch Time York receives good reviews on Google, which gives it 4.5 stars out of five based on 52 reviews.

Brunch Time York is popular for food but hygiene inspectors only gave it one-star. (Image: Street View)

Just Eat awards five stars out of five, based on 105 reviews.

The most recent Google review was seven months ago.

It said: “I ordered a cheese sandwich and a tuna salad along with a vegetarian breakfast.

“The owner was attentive and even cooked my hash browns in new oil as I don’t do pork.

“The shop is bright well-lit with a few stools inside, there are two tables outside.

“The shop is very clean and looks appealing as it hooked me from my driving.
I even turned around as I was hungry.

“I paid £16 for the selection and was impressed.

“I would order ahead as it took about 20 mins to cook the breakfast.

“Food was banging and the huge cob roll was like a dinner plate.”

Brunch Time York did not respond to our requests for comment.

Should they do so, we are more than happy to report on what they have to say, along with the results of any future re-inspection.

Italy conjures visions of Roman holidays à la Audrey Hepburn, and romantic adventures in the cobbled streets of Florence, Milan, and Naples.

It’s safe to say that the world loves channelling La Dolce Vita. In 2025, it welcomed some 104 million international visitors, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.

But with several Italian cities taking action against overtourism, including Florence’s ban on Airbnb-style self-check-in keyboxes and Seceda’s €5 turnstile charges, a growing number of travellers are veering off the beaten track.

It will be welcome news, then, that a little-known city in the Emilia-Romagna region has had a direct UK flight reinstated for the first time in 18 years.

Between June and October, Ryanair is reviving its route from London Stansted to Forlì, a quiet city of ancient churches and elegant piazzas that dates back 2,200 years.

The route originally operated between 2001 and 2008, but was pulled when the airline started serving Bologna.

Flights will run twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, providing plenty of time to fit in an Aperol Spritz or two.

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And it won’t break the bank. Flights departing on June 6 and returning on June 13, for example, are currently £46 return.

The route’s revival is set to make travel easier for locals. As it stands, the only year-round option from London is to Bologna, which is 36 minutes away on the IC train, not including a ride on the Marconi Express from Bologna Centrale station. It’s pricey, too, at €12.80 (£11.05) for a seven-minute trip.

In the summer, flights also run from London to Rimini, which is around 50 minutes away by car from Forlì.

Ryanair has confirmed that the comeback has been made possible by the removal of the municipal tax at several Italian airports, including Forlì, which sees a fee (ranging from €6.50/£5.61 to €9/£7.77) wrapped into the cost of the plane ticket.

Alongside Forlì, eight other airports, including Parma, have also scrapped the tax. Ryanair says the changes bring its Italian slate to 20 routes.

It means the airline will serve an extra 660,000 passengers each year and increase traffic by more than 50%.

Top things to do in Forlì and Emilia-Romagna

Looking for a reason to visit? Food should be top of your list.

The Emilia-Romagna region is famous for simple dishes made with local ingredients, thanks to its location close to both mountains and sea.

Some of the most popular things to eat here include mortadella (a type of ham that’s been mimicked as ‘baloney’ elsewhere in the world), Parmesan, and piadina, a type of flatbread best enjoyed with something like squacquerone, a form of soft cheese that’s not hard enough to have a rind, but not mushy enough to be considered cottage cheese.

Wine lovers should indulge in a glass of Sangiovese, a red that’s so embedded in the culture of the region that, in Romagnol (the regional dialect), it’s simply called ‘e be,’ which translates to ‘the drink.’

You’ll find a delectable tagliatelle al ragù (that’s right, it’s not called spaghetti bolognese) at Trattoria ‘petito, or a more rustic meal at La Piadineria.

Culture-wise, the Museo Civico San Domenico is also worth a look, as this year, it’s running an exhibition on Baroque art.

For history, the Rocca di Ravaldino, a Medieval fortress dating back to the fourteenth century, which, alongside being an important historical site, hosts a cultural festival in the summer. Expect music and cinema.

In nearby Cesena, those with a sweet tooth will be delighted by Babbi Café.

Founded in 1952, it’s a local legend renowned for chocolate spreads, wafers, and ice cream (which is served up all year round, not just during the summer).

Once you’ve filled your belly, Cesena has a rich history to absorb. It was referenced as early as Dante in 1321, who described the city centre as being ‘between the plain and the hills.’

It’s also home to the oldest public library in the world: the Malatestian Library, which holds such a fundamental place in Cesena’s constitution that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005.

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Through a new analysis, The British Heart Foundation [BHF] has revealed that more than half of Brits are unaware of how much salt they consume every day.

A senior dietician is warning this may be because some of our foodie staples contain hidden salt which could be causing havoc to our health.

Salt contains sodium, which plays a role in regulating fluid balance in the body.

The NHS states adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day, which is around one level teaspoon.

This includes the salt that’s already in our food and the salt added during and after cooking.

The BHF revealed working-age adults in England eat an average of 8.4g of salt per day.

A worrying 56% of Brits were also found to be not confident in estimating their daily salt intake, with only 16% being able to correctly identify the national maximum adult guideline.

These statistics were revealed through a new poll commissioned by BHF alongside YouGov on 2,000 adults.

A further 20% of Brits also thought the daily salt intake was more than 6g and a third (32%) said they didn’t know.

When we eat too much salt, extra water is drawn into the bloodstream, which increases blood volume and raises your blood pressure.

This can put a strain on your heart and blood vessels over time, which increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and vascular dementia.

Some foods with high salt content won’t come as a surprise like bacon, ham, olives and gravy granules.

But Lloyds Pharmacy revealed there may be some products that are staple in your weekly shop that may shock you with their high salt content.

Types of bread like crumpets and bagels, pasta sauces, pizzas, breakfast cereals, soups, cheeses and sausages can all contain high levels of salt.

The NHS said it is also worthwhile for Brits to check their pasta sauces, stock cubes, ketchup, soy sauce, mayonnaise and pickles too for their salt contents.

Dell Stanford, BHF senior dietician, said the ‘hidden’ salt in these items could be putting your health at risk.

Dell said: “Most of the salt we eat is hidden in the food we buy such as bread, cereals, pre-made sauces and ready meals, so it’s often hard to know exactly how much salt we’re consuming.

“This is bad news for our heart health, as eating too much salt significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major cause of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious diseases. 

“The Government must step in to make the healthy choice much easier for families by giving manufacturers an incentive to take out excessive amounts of salt from our food.”

In light of this, here are some NHS tips to help you reduce your salt intake: 

1. Try adding flavour to your food with herbs and spices, black pepper, garlic, chili, or lemon juice instead of salt.
2. Limit the amount of salt you add to your cooking and eating – taste your food before deciding to add extra salt.
3. Choose lower-salt foods by checking the label on the back of packaging.
4. Buy tinned vegetables, pulses of fish in water instead of brine.
5. Have healthier snacks such as plain rice cakes, fruit, vegetables sticks or unsalted nuts.
6. Try low or reduced-salt versions of food and sauces.
7. Eat salty foods less often and in small amounts.

The underground facility, dubbed a “concrete bunker watching for Armageddon”, has been found in the grounds of Scarborough Castle.

It was built to protect and house Royal Observer Corps (ROC) volunteers tasked with plotting nuclear bombs falling across Britain.

Experts from English Heritage have opened the entrance and have lowered cameras into the chamber below to assess its condition.

The bunker is one of 1,500 that were built across the country in 1963-64 to detect nuclear explosions and were designed to withstand an attack.

A lost Cold War lookout post has been unearthed in the grounds of Scarborough Castle (Image: Jim Holden/English Heritage/PA Wire)

They included communications facilities and bunkbeds for the occupiers from the ROC – a largely unsung civil defence organisation with more than 20,000 volunteers.

English Heritage said the Scarborough bunker appears to have been sealed and buried in 1968 and its location and condition have remained unknown ever since.

The discovery is part of a project led by the charity to mark 100 years of the ROC, with a search for past members and an event at the York Cold War Bunker.

A lost Cold War lookout post has been unearthed in the grounds of Scarborough Castle (Image: Jim Holden/English Heritage/PA Wire)

Following analysis of existing data and a newly commissioned ground survey, a dig began on March 7.

English Heritage’s head of collections, Kevin Booth, said: “Wherever you lived in Britain, you were probably no more than a few miles from an ROC post – yet few people knew they existed.

“It seems strange to have a Cold War bunker built inside Scarborough Castle, but in many ways it is a perfect location: this headland has been an observation post for thousands of years, from a Bronze Age settlement, a Roman signal station, a medieval castle, a Second World War gun battery and, here, a 1960s concrete bunker watching for Armageddon.”

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Helen Featherstone, director of England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “It’s really exciting that this lost bunker has been uncovered by the team working on this project, marking 100 years of the Royal Observer Corps.

“This find builds on our understanding of their story and shines a spotlight on their important work protecting the UK.

“The project has been made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, and I’m sure that they will be thrilled to know that they have played a role in this discovery.”

McDonald’s customers have been issued an important alert this week – and they need to act before March 17 to avoid missing rewards that could save them money

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McDonald’s customers have been urged to take action this week in order to save money.

Fast food fans must redeem their Rewards points before March 17, when it’s believed big changes to the loyalty scheme will come into effect and lower their value. Save the Students warned its TikTok followers: “Your points will suddenly be worth way less.”

Currently, for every penny spent on eligible products at participating restaurants, customers receive one point, which can be redeemed once they reach the first tier threshold of 1,500 points – having spent £15.

This total can be traded for soft drinks, McCafé hot drinks, McFlurries, fries hash browns and side salads. Other items can be redeemed once customers reach further tiers of 2,500, 4,000 and 5,500 points having spent £25, £40 and £55 respectively.

The changes coincide with the launch of McDonald’s latest menu update, which includes 10 new items such as the Double Big Mac with Bacon, Spicy McNuggets and Easter-themed Cadbury Mini Eggs McFlurry.

“From March 17, bottom tier items will cost you 500 points more than they do at the moment and every other tier is going up by a thousand meaning you will need to spend between £5 and £10 extra just to unlock the same freebies,” Save the Students explained.

As such reaching the first tier will require 2,000 points and a £20 spend, with tiers thereafter coming in at 3,500 points (£35), 5,000 (£50) and 6,500 (£65).

Save the Students closed by summarising: “In other words, if you have some points on the McDonald’s app and you want to claim a free Big Mac, do it now before it costs you an extra tenner.”

And this was echoed by Money Saving Expert, which added: “You’ll need 500 MORE points – or to spend £5 more – to claim the cheapest food and drink ‘freebies’ under McDonald’s loyalty scheme from Tuesday 17 March. For higher value freebies, you’ll need 1,000 MORE points – meaning spending £10 more. If you have a stash of points, consider redeeming them now to maximise what you get.”

The following menu items can be redeemed under each tier:

Tier 1

• Hash brown
• Medium soft drink
• Mini McFlurry
• Regular McCafé drink
• Side salad
• Small fries

Tier 2

• Apple pie
• Cheeseburger
• Cheesy Bacon Flatbread
• Four Chicken McNuggets
• Mayo Chicken
• Medium fries
• Regular McFlurry
• Vegetable Deluxe

Tier 3

• Chicken salad
• Double Cheeseburger
• Filet-O-Fish
• McChicken sandwich
• Medium milkshake
• Sausage & Egg McMuffin
• Six Chicken McNuggets

Tier 4

• Big Mac
• Double Filet-O-Fish
• Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin
• McCrispy
• McPlant
• McSpicy
• Nine Chicken McNuggets

While the changes are yet to be publicised by McDonald’s, the company’s website states: “From 17^th March 2026, MyMcDonald’s Rewards is getting an update – including fresh new rewards and some changes to how many points are needed to redeem.”

McDonald’s has been invited to respond.

Michael Johnson will not work on BBC Sport’s athletics coverage this year while he continues to face the turmoil of his failed Grand Slam Track venture.

Johnson launched GST last year with the promise of pitching track stars against one another across four meets, one in Jamaica and three in the US. But the project proved disastrous as low ticket sales and poor broadcast revenues hit finances, before a major investor pulled out, causing the fourth meet in Los Angeles to be cancelled.

GST filed for bankruptcy in December. Athletes are still owed millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees, and creditors are taking legal action against the organisation after alleging Johnson paid himself half a million dollars eight days before the league collapsed. GST strongly rejected the claims as “unfounded and false”.

Johnson has been a respected mainstay of the BBC’s athletics coverage since 2001, working predominantly as a studio analyst. However, he was absent from the broadcaster’s punditry team for last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo as he focused on GST.

At the time, Johnson’s spokesperson told The Times: “He has other commitments unfortunately but is looking forward to working with the BBC in the future.”

However, The Independent understands BBC Sport has no plans to use Johnson on its coverage in 2026.

His spokesperson said in a statement: “Michael wishes to clarify that it was his decision not to continue with the BBC after the Paris 2024 Games. With his contract up for renewal after the Olympics, and Grand Slam Track launching soon after, he chose to focus fully on the project.

“The BBC understood his decision, and he remains grateful for their support and his longstanding relationship with the broadcaster.”

The BBC’s athletics coverage has been scaled back in recent years, and for the first time it will not be the lead broadcaster for this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after losing the rights to TNT Sports. The BBC is still set to show some of the Games through its digital platforms.

The broadcaster will show the UK Athletics Indoor Championships and the outdoor UK Athletics Championships, as well as the London leg of the Diamond League in July, for which Johnson has been a studio analyst in the past.

In the legal filing made at the US bankruptcy court for the district of Delaware this week, Johnson was accused of paying himself before creditors. The filing revealed that Johnson was himself owed $2.2m by GST. But it alleged he took out $500,000 (£370,000) on 4 June when he knew it was in dire straits.

“Mr Johnson initiated a payment of $500,000 purportedly on account of an unsecured note,” lawyers for an official committee of unsecured creditors said. “Shockingly, Mr Johnson elected to secretly prefer himself over the athletes and other, non-insider creditors, while at the same time feigning to the public that he was selflessly looking to advance the interests of the athletes.

“Moreover, at the same time, the debtor knew it was in precarious financial straits without sufficient cash to complete its contemplated season.”

A GST spokesperson said: “We are aware of the UCC’s recent allegation that GST secretly paid $500,000 to Mr Johnson instead of paying athletes and vendors. This claim is unfounded and false.

“As was previously explained to the UCC, Mr Johnson advanced millions of dollars for GST’s operating expenses, including athlete travel, accommodation and costs, only a portion which was repaid through the reimbursement. It is unfortunate that the UCC chose to ignore facts and is instead attempting to discredit the company and Mr Johnson through false statements.”

HONG KONG (AP) — Asia shares retreated on Friday while oil prices again popped above $100 per barrel as anxiety remained over the Iran war and its impact on supplies of crude oil and gas.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 1.2% to 53,819.61. Technology-related stocks saw some of the bigger losses, with SoftBank Group falling 4.5%.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.7% to 5,487.24.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% to 25,450.78, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.8% at 4,095.45.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,617.10.

Taiwan’s Taiex was trading 0.5% lower, and India’s Sensex dropped 1.8%.

U.S. futures were trading lower. The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.3%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%.

Oil prices held steady. Brent crude, the international standard, was at $102 per barrel Friday. It topped $100 Thursday, days after jumping to near $120 earlier this week. Benchmark U.S. crude was up 1.3% to $96.97 per barrel.

On Thursday, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public statements, vowed Iran would keep fighting and continue to use the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway for oil and gas transport which has been effectively closed with significant marine traffic disruptions — as leverage against the U.S. and Israel.

Roughly 20% of the world’s oil is estimated to flow through the strait, and attacks on ships in or around the strait have already heightened concerns “over the scale of supply disruption and persistent shipping bottlenecks,” wrote analysts at Mizuho Bank in a commentary.

The remarks from Iran’s new leader came after U.S. President Donald Trump said the war was “very complete,” which have raised worries over how much longer the tensions could last.

Oil prices have been volatile since the Iran war began. While the International Energy Agency said Wednesday its members would make a record 400 million barrels of oil available from their emergency reserves, some economists believe that would do little to reassure markets.

Global inflation will likely worsen as oil prices jump, and rising fuel costs are already starting to hurt consumers globally. Rising energy prices could also, for example, push up AI and chip development and production costs, some analysts say.

Wall Street recorded losses Thursday following volatile swings this month. On Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%. The Nasdaq composite shed 1.8%.

Shares at some of the companies heavily reliant on fuel costs saw bigger drops. Cruise-ship operator Carnival fell 7.9%, and United Airlines sank 4.6%.

In other dealings early Friday, gold and silver prices fell. The price of gold was down 0.5% to $5,099.40 an ounce, and the price of silver dropped 2.3% to $83.16 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 159.39 Japanese yen from 159.34 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1497, down from $1.1512.

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Investigators worked Friday to determine the exact reason a man with a rifle crashed into a large Michigan synagogue in what federal officials are saying was an attack carried out by a 41-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, and driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fire, according to authorities.

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, described the attack on one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community.

The synagogue’s staff, teachers and 140 children at its early childhood center were not injured, according to Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

Ghazali came to the U.S. in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted U.S. citizenship in 2016, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In the minutes after the attack, smoke billowed from the synagogue. One security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Bouchard said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was in the hallway where the crash happened. She described hearing a loud bang and said she grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.

“When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,” Cohen said.

She said the crash happened near a classroom and, in addition to the children, there were also more than 30 staff members in the synagogue.

Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents.

About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children soon after authorities cleared the building. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.

Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel’s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.

“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she said.

Synagogues around the world have been on edge and ramping up security since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran with missile strikes on Feb. 28.

The FBI has warned that Iranian operatives may be planning drone attacks on targets in California. Two men brought explosives to a far-right protest outside the New York mayoral mansion on Saturday. Investigators allege they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group.

And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. He stabbed two people to death before officers shot and killed him.

President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the attack, calling it a “terrible thing.”

Steven Ingber, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, said Thursday: “I’d love to say that I’m shocked, that I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

The attack was the second at a house of worship in Michigan within the past year. Last September, a former Marine fatally shot four people at a church north of Detroit and set it ablaze. The FBI later said he was motivated by “anti-religious beliefs” against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Oakland County is Michigan’s second-largest county with roughly 1.3 million people. The majority of Detroit-area Jewish residents live there. Temple Israel has 12,000 members, according to its website.

___

Durkin Richer reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

Harry Wilson is aiming to return from an ankle injury for Fulham’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

The 28-year-old was forced off with an ankle injury in the second half of Fulham’s 2-1 win at home to Tottenham on March 1.

Wilson then missed Fulham’s 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham, as well as the 1-0 loss at home to Southampton in the FA Cup last Sunday.

Fulham travel to Forest this weekend and the winger, who has nine goals and six assists in the Premier League this season, is confident he will be able to return.