Durham Castle forms part of the twin UNESCO-designated World Heritage sites along with the cathedral.

As part of World Heritage Day on Saturday (April 18), both medieval “jewels” in Durham’s crown were open to the public.

The event was intended to bring the history of Durham and its twin World Heritage Sites to life, combining entertainment with discovery to appeal to visitors of all ages.

Family group pictured on the steps of the Great Hall, taking advantage of free tours of Durham Castle as part of World Heritage Day, on Saturday (April 18) (Image: Durham University)

Organised by Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site Partnership and County Durham Forum for History and Heritage (CDFHH), it tied in with this year’s World Heritage Day theme of, ‘Living Heritage’.

By day, the castle is a working building, forming part of University College, the founding college of Durham University, and provides novel halls of residence to some of its students.

It can only usually be visited on occasional pre-booked, paid for tours, so Saturday’s free event was a rare opportunity for members of the public to cast a glance at some of its historic nooks and crannies.

The castle hosted ‘The People’s Story’ with a Heritage Fair and family activities in the Great Hall, showcasing local history societies, including the World Heritage Site Youth Ambassadors.

Following a formal welcome to visitors by The Mayor of Durham, councillor Gary Hutchinson, the castle opened for four-and-a-quarters with free entry and self-guided tours of the Tunstall Chapel, Tunstall Gallery, the Norman Chapel and Senate Room, where medieval wall painting was recently discovered.

The Norman Knights of Vanguard re-enactment group was also in action in the castle courtyard, with displays of their swordsmanship.

Vanguard re-enactment group gave displays of their swordsmanship as part of World Heritage Day open day event at Durham Castle (Image: Durham University)

Nearby sites such as Palace Green Library, the Museum of Archaeology and World Heritage Site Visitor Centre were also open for visitors to explore.

The day’s events begin at 10am with a tour of St Margaret’s Allotments, off South Street, Durham, the quarry site from which the stone to build the castle and cathedral was taken.

A series of talks and presentations took place during the day in the Bishop’s Dining Room of the castle, including a reflection on the 40th anniversary of Durham being awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Durham Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum was also to the public, with 30-minute talks on its conservation.

Anne Allen, World Heritage Site Manager, said: “The day’s activities were planned in response to feedback from recent public consultation.

“We focused on opening the castle free of charge and co-creating an intergenerational people’s heritage programme, so everyone could experience the best of the World Heritage Site.”

World Heritage Day is a worldwide annual event, officially known as the International Day of Monuments and Sites, celebrated at UNESCO Sites across the world on 18 April each year. 

Today was the second of four days when artists working in a huge range of disciplines in the city invite the public into their studios.

They will open their doors again on Saturday and Sunday.

Printmaker Susan Bradley at the 2026 York Open Studios (Image: Newsquest)

Susan Bradley was a furniture designer, designing products that were sold across the world until she had children and decided they were more important than attending the international fairs and exhibitions that were an integral part of her work.

So she changed careers, trained as a yoga teacher and turned herself into a print maker, using lino cut and intaglio techniques.

“I no longer do 3D,” she said. “I am now a print maker, in 2D”.

She said she enjoyed being able to do all of a project herself, from conception through the final artwork. Previously, she only designed a product which others then made.

As well as printing onto pristine paper, she particularly likes printing onto paper that has already been printed on, such as an unwanted music score.

“I like doing something unique,” she said of her work on pre-printed paper. “It cannot be duplicated.”

Metalworker Laura Duval at the 2026 York Open Studios (Image: Newsquest)

Another artist who works at South Bank Studios at Southlands Road Methodist Church, is metalworker Laura Duval.

She was a painter, but when doing an art degree at York St John University, realised it wasn’t what she wanted to do.

So she moved to a course at York College where one of the projects was making a spoon.

As she tackled it, she knew she had found her form of art – working with metal.

“I love the hammering,” she said. “It’s therapeutic.  I’m not a jeweller, I’m not a metalsmith, I’m something inbetween, a metalworker.”

Her preferred metal is copper because it’s “warm”, malleable and she can relate to it.

Her art includes jewellery and larger ornaments.

Painter Carolyn Coles at the 2026 York Open Studios (Image: Newsquest)

Both are among more than 150 artists at more than 100 venues across York taking part in this year’s Open Studios, including Carolyn Coles, painter, of South Bank Studios.

They will receive visitors again from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.  Full details are on the event’s website: https://yorkopenstudios.co.uk/.

“We urge the RMT to call off this action, which will disrupt Londoners, and continue to engage with us. If this strike action goes ahead customers should check before they travel as on some days during the strike, there will be significant disruption and the level of service we can provide will vary across lines.”

Arsenal have lost two league games on the spin, so the next time they step on the pitch, at home to Newcastle on Saturday, they are going to have doubts instead of momentum and confidence.

No matter how much quality their players have and how good their preparation, tactics and everything else is, what they have to deal with now is pressure.

Their fans are turning up at the Emirates as nervous as kittens and transferring their fears and frustrations to the players.

City, though, are not under any pressure because they are in a situation they probably never expected, and they have also won the league so many times recently.

There was a time during Sunday’s game when I thought it was not going to be their day. It was 1-1 and they had hit the woodwork twice after Gianluigi Donnarumma’s mistake let Arsenal back in the game.

You think that way when you are watching a game more than you do if you are playing in it, and City certainly never had a negative attitude.

They were relentless with the way they attacked when it was 1-1 and, rather than sit back, they kept attacking when they went 2-1 up.

I was talking to MOTD pundit Wayne Rooney after Sunday’s game and he said Sir Alex Ferguson used to tell Manchester United to do the same. It was a case of “go and score another”, and never shut up shop and be cautious.

City’s relentlessness comes from their manager too, and also having top quality players with an elite mentality like United did.

On top of that, it definitely helps having a lot of players in their team who have won so much.

Their players look so comfortable, even the ones who have not won anything. Rayan Cherki just seems to be enjoying himself.

The desperation you see from Arsenal is not there. City’s fans are not worried – they are just enjoying it.

Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be adding a couple more trophies to his collection. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama has a shot at doing the same.

And for the eighth consecutive year, the MVP will be an international one.

Gilgeous-Alexander — the reigning NBA MVP — is one of the finalists for this year’s top individual honor, along with Denver’s Nikola Jokic and the Spurs’ Wembanyama, who is also a finalist for defensive player of the year.

The NBA’s run of international MVPs started in 2019 and 2020 with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is of Greek and Nigerian descent. Jokic, a Serbian, won in 2021, 2022 and 2024. Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon but since became a U.S. citizen, won the award in 2023, and Canada’s Gilgeous-Alexander won last year.

Gilgeous-Alexander is also a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year this season.

The NBA announced the finalists for seven individual awards Sunday night and will start announcing winners on Monday. The Defensive Player award — widely expected to be going to Wembanyama — comes out then, followed by Clutch Player on Tuesday and Sixth Man on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the appeal that got the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic onto the award ballots might earn him All-NBA, but did not lead to him getting his first MVP award. He was not among the top three in the balloting for MVP; voters cast their ballots last week after Doncic and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham won appeals that got them on the ballot even though they didn’t satisfy the terms of the NBA’s 65-game rule for eligibility in most cases.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards lost his appeal — but might get an award after all.

Edwards is a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year. He wasn’t on the ballot for MVP, All-NBA and other honors, but was on the Clutch ballot because those nominees were selected by the league’s coaches.

The finalists

— MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City; Nikola Jokic, Denver; Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.

— Defensive Player of the Year: Wembanyama; Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City; Ausar Thompson, Detroit.

— Clutch Player: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Gilgeous-Alexander; Jamal Murray, Denver.

— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta; Deni Avdija, Portland; Jalen Duren, Detroit.

— Sixth Man: Tim Hardaway Jr., Denver; Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami; Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.

— Coach of the Year: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit; Mitch Johnson, San Antonio; Joe Mazzulla, Boston.

— Rookie of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia; Cooper Flagg, Dallas; Kon Knueppel, Charlotte.

MVP

Gilgeous-Alexander is trying to go back-to-back, Jokic — who has been first or second in five straight seasons, entering this year — is seeking his fourth MVP in six years and Wembanyama is a finalist for the first time.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

This would be a “seismic change”, were it to happen, Mr Swinney says, adding that in Wales, where Labour have been in power since the start of devolution, it would be a “massive change in the fortunes and perspective of the Labour Party” which would then have “enormous implications for the United Kingdom”.

Connor Casey, 22, of The Brambles, Birtley, appeared at Durham Crown Court via video link from Holme House Prison, where he is remanded in custody.

He is accused of stalking a woman between January 28 and March 16, causing her to fear violence would be committed against her.

The allegation states that he kept track of her movements, damaged and threatened to damage her property, followed her when socialising with friends in Newcastle and when she travelled abroad, to Ibiza.

Casey is also accused of assaulting her, causing actual bodily harm, in Thailand, between January 31 and March 3, this year, and intentional strangulation, at Chester-le-Street, between December 31 and February 1.

All three counts were put to Casey at the hearing and he denied them all.

A timetable prior to trial was agreed, with the prosecution to serve its file of evidence by May 8 and the signed defence statement to be submitted by June 5.

All parties agreed on a trial start date of Tuesday September 1.

Judge Nathan Adams told Casey, of The Brambles, Birtley, near Chester-le-Street: “You have pleaded not guilty and the case is now timetabled to trial.

“By June 5 you need to help in the preparation of your signed defence statement, setting out why you say you are not guilty.

“The trial will start on September 1, and you will remain in custody in the meantime.”

Passengers were forced to miss connecting flights and faced hours of disruption – reports suggest there was overcrowded waiting areas and huge queues at major airports

Passengers have been left stranded after a huge number of flights were reportedly cancelled as four major airlines experienced delays.

According to Travel and Tour World, nearly 500 flights were delayed as Capital Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, China Eastern Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines.

The airlines collectively cancelled 23 flights across a number of different airports in Asia, including Shanghai Pudong and Islamabad International Airport.

Reports suggest that these delays created a whole host of problems – with passengers missing connecting flights and facing hours of disruption. Travel and Tour World reports that there were overcrowded waiting areas and huge queues at Shanghai and Beijing.

It comes as Aer Lingus is expected to cancel around 500 flights due to “mandatory maintenance” on aircraft.

An Aer Lingus spokesperson told RSVP Live: “Aer Lingus has commenced operating its planned summer schedule. A number of recent cancellations have been required due to mandatory maintenance on aircraft, along with a limited number of schedule adjustments.

“Where schedule adjustments are being made, the vast majority of customers are being reaccommodated on same day services.”

Earlier this month, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary cautioned that flights could be cancelled this summer owing to the soaring cost of jet fuel.

He told ITV News: “We’re all facing an unknown scenario. And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5 per cent, 10 per cent of flights through May, June and July.”

Should passengers find their flight cancelled, O’Leary suggested they should ‘blame Trump’ rather than the airline.

Air Canada is also set to suspend services to New York’s JFK International Airport over the summer as the war in Iran creates jet fuel shortages that have sent prices soaring.

Canada’s flag carrier said on Friday that flights from Toronto and Montreal to JFK will cease on June 1 and resume on October 25.

Services to the New York metropolitan area’s two other airports — LaGuardia and Newark — will continue.

Air Canada said it will reach out to customers who are affected by the suspension with alternative travel options.

“As jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict and some lower profitability routes and flights are no longer economic, we are making schedule adjustments accordingly,” a spokesman for the Montreal-based carrier said.

Swedish Chief of Defence warns Moscow could carry out Baltic Sea ‘land grab’ at any time to test NATO’s resolve as military intelligence says Russia capable of war expansion

Sweden is bracing itself for a potential Russian operation to seize the island of Gotland, according to the country’s military chief.

Swedish Chief of Defence Michael Claesson warned that Moscow could execute a land grab “at any time” in order to put NATO’s determination to the test.

“It doesn’t have to be particularly extensive at all, but more to make a point and wait to see what might happen politically,” Claesson said.

NATO military exercises have traditionally centred on a potential Russian land assault along the alliance’s eastern flank, however focus is now turning towards the Baltic Sea.

War games have simulated possible Russian landings on strategically vital islands such as Gotland in Sweden, Bornholm in Denmark, and Hiiumaa and Saaremaa in Estonia.

Swedish military intelligence has cautioned that Russia is capable of broadening its conflict in the years ahead.

They further warn that any resolution to the Russian war could enable Putin to redeploy troops closer to NATO territory.

It follows US President Donald Trump repeatedly rounding on NATO allies over what he regards as insufficient backing for the Iran war. Most recently, at a Turning Point event in Arizona on Friday, 17 April, Trump delivered a keynote speech in which he declared that his country must depend on itself.

Trump said: “If NATO teaches us any one thing, and I hope you all watched because they weren’t there for us, if it teaches us any one thing: we have to rely on ourselves.

“We can’t rely on outside countries and outside sources.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a US decision to extend the period during which Russia is allowed to sell oil despite Western sanctions.

The move means countries can purchase Russian oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels at sea until 16 May.

The US argues that the waiver is meant to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran.

But in his remarks on Sunday, Zelensky said “every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war” in Ukraine. Widespread sanctions have been in place against Russia since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

“Edward”, a nine-year old Kenyan boy, has always been aware his father worked for the British military. The boy’s skin colour, lighter than his peers, has provoked years of bullying. His father disappeared before Edward [not his real name] was born, leaving his mum living in extreme poverty, ostracised by some of her family.