I’m convinced Thomas Tuchel pretty much knows his eleven – and the way this squad is split tells us even more.

The main question mark for me is who starts as the 10 – I struggle to comprehend an England side without Jude Bellingham in it if fit, but clearly Tuchel likes Morgan Rogers after a brilliant season.

However, with Aston Villa not quite in the form they were and Bellingham back in action for Real Madrid, he may still yet force Tuchel to rethink.

In midfield, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are two of the first names on the team sheet – Anderson’s emergence this season could be the difference between success and failure this summer and is a player I genuinely think Gareth Southgate would have loved to have had.

I do think there is time for the two either side of Harry Kane to change, though right now an on-song Bukayo Saka has to start, and Anthony Gordon’s numbers are hard to ignore.

Defensively, Lewis Hall’s form means for me he’s the current standout choice at left-back, and at centre-back if John Stones hadn’t had such an injury-ravaged season I’d have loved to have him and his experience alongside Manchester City team-mate Marc Guehi.

Let’s also hope Reece James is fully fit by the time 17 June comes around too – it would have been interesting to have seen Trent Alexander-Arnold in this squad too, just to give us a different option from full-back.

A notable mention also for Nico O’Reilly who’s missing mainly because I’m not sure where he’d play – though performances like in the Carabao Cup final will only enhance his chances of forcing his way in.

Four teenagers in total have been charged and the police have said more will follow.

A boy of 13 and a girl of 16 are among the four teenagers arrested today in connection with an assault on a man and his dog.

The alleged incident took place in Bangor, Co Down, on Friday night where Ryan Gray, from K9 Search & Rescue NI, was walking his dog Max before they were set upon by a large group of youths.

It’s believed the same group harassed an elderly couple, fought among themselves and caused disturbances throughout the town on Friday evening.

As a result the police have now made four arrests and have pledged more will follow.

A statement from the PSNI said: “Police investigating an assault involving a man and a dog in the High Street area of Bangor on Friday, March 27 have charged four teenagers to court.

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“A 13-year-old boy has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. A 15-year-old boy has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

“A 15-year-old boy has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray. A 16-year-old girl has been charged with affray and common assault. As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

“Police would like to thank all those members of the public who came forward to assist with enquiries following our appeal for information in relation to this incident. The investigation is ongoing and further arrests will be made when the other suspects are identified.”

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John Higgins is in Manchester to defend his Tour Championship title this week, taking on a player he has been battling it out with for 36 years.

The Wizard of Wishaw brilliantly won the event last year, beating Mark Selby in the final and he is back to face Mark Williams in his opener this time round.

The Scot is not just wielding his cue, but also a microphone as he is on commentary and punditry duty for Channel 5, but defending his title is priority number one.

Just the top 12 on the one-year rankings make it to the Tour Championship, which Higgins says is a key aim at the start of any season.

‘I think if somebody says to you at the start of every season that you’ll be competing in the Tour Championship, it means it’s a good season,’ Higgins told Metro. ‘That’s your aim and I’d have bitten your hand off, really.

‘It would have been pretty poor coming down, commentating on it and speaking about it and you’re not in the event to defend your title.

‘I can’t wait to get out there and obviously playing your old nemesis, Mark Williams. It can’t be any bigger or better than playing Mark.’

Two of the three legendary members of the Class of 92 first met professionally in 1994, but their rivalry goes back even further.

Asked for the first time he met Williams, Higgins said: ‘I’m sure it must have been the Home Internationals at Prestatyn in 1990, I was 15. That was the first time I’d met any players from out of Scotland.’

35 years on from that first meeting, the pair met in the 2025 World Championship quarter-final, which Williams dramatically won 13-12 on the final black.

Higgins feels he ‘owes him one’ for that painful defeat, but it is now a friendly rivalry that has lost the edge it once had.

‘I think it’s a lot better than it was,’ the Scot said of his relationship with the Welshman. ‘It’s only natural as well, I think, when you see the boys nowadays, the likes of Judd [Trump] and Kyren [Wilson], you just get a feeling that they really feel as if they’re rivals and they want to keep their distance from each other. It was probably exactly the same [for us].

‘Back in the day when me, Mark and Ronnie were playing, you were vying against each other for the same titles. As well it’s been well-documented when I’d left the management stable with Ian Doyle and Mark was still under that banner, there was a bit of rivalry there.

‘But nowadays you’re basically smiling walking into these events, knowing that you’re still playing against these guys and still competing. You’ve got to give yourself a pat in the back that you’re still doing it.

‘Listen, we’re dads now, we’re nearly grandads. I think everybody’s got a different outlook on life.’

Higgins felt his meeting with Williams in Sheffield last year was likely their last at the Crucible, but the odds of there being another have been improved this week after the announcement that the World Championship is set to stay at the venue – with a significant revamp – until 2045.

The four-time world champion was thrilled with the news and admits he was stunned by it, feeling a departure from the Crucible was likely when the previous contract was due to end in 2027.

‘I couldn’t believe it,’ he said. ‘I could not believe it how they got it over the line, especially for the amount of years. Incredible, incredible news.

‘I really thought it was going to be moving, I just didn’t think the Crucible was going to be be big enough for the event. I think it’s great news that it’s going to get upgraded because it certainly needs that.

‘I think obviously you don’t want to lose the uniqueness of the playing arena, which makes the Worlds that special. But behind the scenes it probably hasn’t moved with the times. Now it’s going to get the upgrade and it brings it up to the present day, and it should be a great, great venue going forward.’

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Severe flooding, a landslide and thunderstorms in parts of Afghanistan left 17 people dead and 26 injured over the last 24 hours, with more heavy rainfall predicted, authorities said Sunday, the latest casualties from extreme weather in the country this season.

The number of casualties could increase as crews from the country’s National Disaster Management Authority survey the affected areas, the authority’s spokesman, Yousuf Hammad, said in a statement. Thirteen of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, mostly in the western, central and northwestern parts of the country, were affected.

The severe weather also left 147 homes either completely or partially destroyed, wiped out 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) of roads and destroyed agricultural land and irrigation canals and businesses, Hammad said. In all, he said, 530 families were affected.

Heavy rainfall was also forecast to affect eastern and central parts of the country Monday, and Hammad warned flooding was also possible in those areas. The disaster management authority warned residents to avoid river banks and areas at risk of flooding in those regions, and ordered local officials to be on standby to provide assistance.

Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floods left dozens of people dead across the country.

Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that trigger flash floods, often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a time. In 2024, more than 300 people died in springtime flash floods.

Decades of conflict, coupled with poor infrastructure, a struggling economy, deforestation and the intensifying effects of climate change have amplified the impact of such disasters, particularly in remote areas where many homes are built of mud and offer limited protection against sudden deluges or heavy snowfall.

The Donegal captain seemed lucky to avoid a red card after several high challenges on Kerry defender Dylan Casey during Sunday’s Division One final at Croke Park

Jack O’Connor felt Donegal’s Michael Murphy was fortunate to escape a red card during yesterday’s Division One final win for the Ulster champions at Croke Park.

Kerry, who won the League title last term before beating Donegal in the All-Ireland SFC decider last July, were decidedly second best in a game that failed to match the competitiveness of the three other football deciders over the weekend.

Not that Donegal will care as they cantered to a 13-point success. However, David Gough’s decision to show Murphy a yellow, rather than a red, for a couple of closed fist tackles on Dylan Casey in the first half proved a major talking point.

For O’Connor, he agreed with the assessment that the former Donegal captain ought to have been sent off.

When that point was put to him by a reporter after the game, he replied: “I agree with you, and you have better eyesight than a few other lads that were looking at it, let’s put it like that. Yeah, so what can I say? That’s what happened.”

McGuinness stressed that he didn’t see the incident in question, but he did state that the game had become “very physical” and urged referees to clamp down on so-called “screening” and third-man challenges.

“I didn’t see anything of it, to be honest with you,” McGuinness said of the Murphy incident, before adding: “But the game is very physical out there.

“Going back to the kick-outs, the game is very physical on kick-outs at the moment. There’s an awful lot of blocking going on on kick-outs. There’s an awful lot of physicality going on in kick-outs across all the games.

“There’s an awful lot of screening going on in the attack in third, which I think somebody’s going to get hurt from. I think people are going to people to hand them the ball, and they’re running into people to release people. That’s not in the rule book.

“People are talking in the media. Coaches are talking about screening. Screening is not in the rule book.

That’s a black card. If you intentionally screen somebody, you’re coming across their path. So I think that’s definitely something that probably needs to be stamped out going into the Championship, because I do see a bad head injury coming from that one.

“But to your point, the physicality, it’s heavy around the middle. It really is heavy around the middle.”

While delighted with his side’s performance, McGuinness swiftly turned his attention to an Ulster SFC quarter-final with Down in Letterkenny at the end of April

“From our point of view it’s another game, it’s a great game to get under the belt,” he added.

“It was lovely to get back to Croke Park, get a good game and have a good performance level and we go away now and start preparing for Down in the first round of the Championship.”

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Black spots burrow deep into surfaces and can be a nightmare to remove

Those stubborn black spots on your patio are a particularly troublesome form of lichen that burrows deep into surfaces, proving a real headache for homeowners. Even more resilient than slippery moss and persistent algae, these tenacious marks can withstand even the most powerful pressure washing, leaving countless households baffled about how to tackle them.

However, there’s no need to despair, as Daniel Scholfield, owner of The Expert Gate Company, has revealed a straightforward removal technique requiring no specialist products whatsoever – just a stiff brush, water and white vinegar.

Daniel explained that whilst pressure washing affected areas may eliminate the visible black spots in your garden, “it won’t kill the organisms that are still present” within the surface, and could potentially cause damage to your paving or patio in the process.

The key is to “kill off the black lichen completely”, for which you’ll need the “right product”. He explained, “Household cleaning products won’t do a thing for black lichen, save for one exception — distilled white vinegar is the only household cleaner that works.”

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However, before tackling the affected area, proper preparation is essential. Begin by using a brush or your hands to clear away any plant debris and surplus dirt that could interfere with the cleaning solution’s effectiveness, then give the patio a swift rinse with fresh water.

You’ll need a clean, unobstructed surface for what comes next. Highlighting vinegar’s effectiveness, Daniel noted: “This miracle cleaner can be mixed with water at a 50 to 50 ratio, and then poured over the affected area.”

He pointed out that you may want to do a test on a small patch of the patio first to make sure it won’t damage or discolour your slabs.

Allow it to sit for up to one hour, scrub vigorously with a stiff brush to eliminate all residue and debris, then rinse thoroughly with fresh water.

Should you notice any lingering traces of the dark marks, repeat the cleaning process to ensure they’re “gone for good”.

For particularly persistent stains, try leaving the mixture on for an extended period or marginally increasing the vinegar concentration in your solution.

Nevertheless, he cautioned, “Don’t overdo it as too much may begin to damage the patio surface.”

To stop these dark marks from reappearing, routinely apply a vinegar and water mixture to maintain your paving’s cleanliness.

Made in Chelsea stars Sophie and husband Jamie Laing are set to share their journey as first-time parents in a new reality TV show

Sophie Habboo has admitted she ‘wasn’t herself’ as she shared the reality of being pregnant whilst filming for her new reality TV show. Former Made in Chelsea stars Sophie, 31, and Jamie Laing, 37, welcomed their first child Ziggy in December last year.

The couple met whilst filming the Channel 4 show Made in Chelsea in 2017, and after initially being friends, a romance eventually blossomed. The pair officially tied the knot at a registry office in Chelsea in April 2023 before holding a larger wedding ceremony in Marbella in May.

Sophie and Jamie are now set to share the highs and lows of becoming first-time parents in their new reality series, Raising Chelsea, with three episodes which will air on Disney+ on April 2.

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During a new Instagram Q&A with fans, Sophie has revealed the harsh reality of being pregnant whilst filming for the show.

One fan asked: “How did you find filming the series? And letting cameras into your personal life,” to which Sophie responded candidly: “I won’t lie I found it challenging at times! It was my 1st pregnancy and I was very anxious about everything and so to have cameras following you was full on at times.

“I was also not myself, my hormones were everywhere, I found pregnancy hard at times Ngl. And even harder to admit that because everyone talks about how magical it is but the reality was for me I was sooo up and down my pregnancy one minute I was floating on cloud 9 next I was savage b***h lol.”

Sophie continued: “I was also so uncomfortable I had horrific pain in my pubic bone and I was so anxious something was going wrong the whole time and I was EXHAUSTED 24/7. So it’s quite scary to have a camera documenting you probably not at your best but it’s what we signed up for, we always promised we would keep it real and my God we really did!

“Obvs that was not all the time and we captured amazing moments and I loved the whole process and watching it back it’s insane to have that time of my life documented!!!.”

The reality TV star then added: “I also had the best team @dorothystpictures @aliceob and we just made so many memories it’s crazy to think we filmed for over a year and it’s going to air in just 3 days!!! wtf!!!

“Also I will add, it was one camera. Very fly on the wall and docu style which is why it was possible to capture it all I think if it was a huge production every day whilst pregnant maybe it would have been more intimidating! but that’s how we managed to keep it SO real and capture those intimate moments! xxx.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has upended long‑standing norms by repeatedly invoking his religious faith, blurring the line between church and state in a way that has become particularly pronounced amid the Iran war, according to a new report.

Hegseth — who has a large Jerusalem cross tattooed across his chest — has long worn his Evangelical faith on his sleeve in a manner that has unsettled some military officials.

The former Fox News host has said that the U.S. was “founded as a Christian nation” and that it “remains a Christian nation in our DNA, if we keep it.” He’s also hosted Pentagon worship services that legal experts have branded “unprecedented,” The Washington Post reports. One faith leader invited to preach to servicemembers has said women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

Hegseth’s proselytizing has drawn heightened scrutiny in connection with the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran, which has now stretched into its second month and shows no signs of abating, according to the Post.

During a press briefing on March 19, he encouraged viewers to pray for the success of U.S. troops in the Middle East. “To the American people, please pray for them every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said.

On Wednesday, while speaking at a Pentagon prayer service, he called for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” asking that “wicked souls” be “delivered to the eternal damnation” in the fight against Iran, a Muslim-majority nation.

Some senior military commanders seem to have followed his lead. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog organization, said it had received more than 200 complaints from service members that military commanders had told troops it was all part of God’s plan that they be deployed to Iran.

During a mass on Sunday, Pope Leo appeared to deliver a thinly-veiled rebuke to this line of messaging. “This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he told worshippers at the Vatican. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

An unnamed senior Army civilian described the current situation as “terrifying.”

If U.S. troops are trained to believe that “God is on our side,” the person told the Post, “what precludes us from doing anything we want to win? The strength of our military is our people, and their sense of belonging to their unit and their service.”

A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

A group of former high‑ranking military officials, chaplain corps leaders, and current Pentagon officers told the Post that they are troubled by both Hegseth’s overt religious rhetoric and the policy changes he has pursued.

Hegseth has eliminated dozens of military codes for various faith groups and axed the Army’s Spiritual Fitness guide, which he claimed focused on self‑care rather than “truth.” On Wednesday, the Pentagon also announced that U.S. military chaplains will now wear religious insignia on their uniforms, rather than their rank.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner said he has spoken with “dozens and dozens” of military chaplains who said those among them who do not identify with Hegseth “are being marginalized.”

The defense chief’s changes have undone longstanding efforts to foster religious inclusion in the armed forces, Rachel Laser, the president of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, told the Post.

“It feels like decades worth of progress has been undone in 12 months,” an unnamed Air Force general added. “It’s heartbreaking and it’s heartbreaking to watch our chaplains try to navigate this.”

“The point was, it didn’t matter, and it shouldn’t have mattered, who you worship, or whether you worship at all. What mattered was doing the job and being mindful that you represent all Americans, no matter what they believe,” a person who served on the leadership team of a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs said. “I don’t approve of cramming your religious faith down people’s throats, and when the top of the chain couches these operations in this hyper-Christian tone, it flies in the face of the freedom of religion that the Constitution enshrines.”

Earlier this week, Americans United sued the Pentagon for failing to answer public records requests about Hegseth’s prayer services.

“Even if these prayer services are presented as voluntary, there is pressure on federal employees to attend in order to appease their bosses,” the organization wrote in a press release.

In response to a request for comment from the Post, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said their office is “proud” to play host to religious services.

“Prayer services at the Pentagon are 100 percent voluntary and are not mandated whatsoever. It is not against the law to worship Christ voluntarily anywhere in the United States,” Wilson added. “The Secretary’s prayer services undoubtedly improve morale for those who choose to attend and are constitutionally protected. No special treatment or punishment is given as a result of one’s choice to attend these prayer services.”

Authorities in Los Angeles deployed tear gas near a federal detention center and made dozens of arrests following one of thousands of “No Kings” rallies held this weekend across the United States and in Europe to protest President Donald Trump’s actions and the war in Iran.

Los Angeles police said Sunday that 74 people were arrested for failing to heed a dispersal order that was given after Saturday’s rally ended. One other person was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing a weapon that police described as a dagger.

The arrests stood out from what otherwise were mostly peaceful protests. Organizers said there were more than 3,100 events registered in all 50 U.S. states.

As hundreds of protesters surrounded a federal complex in downtown Los Angeles, some threw rocks, bottles and broken concrete blocks at officers, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Saturday night.

Two officers who were struck by concrete blocks sustained undetermined injuries and received medical attention, DHS said.

Andre Andrews Jr., a Navy veteran and independent journalist, had walked the entire route of the Los Angeles rally and captured video of the event. He said after authorities gave the dispersal order, they deployed tear-gas canisters when protesters didn’t comply. Some protesters wearing shields and gas masks on the other side of a fence at the federal complex picked up the canisters and tossed them back at police. Andrews said some people also smashed concrete barriers into smaller pieces and threw them at authorities.

“Does it make L.A. look bad? No. They’re bad actors causing problems, for sure,” Andrews said. “The peaceful protest was good for the cause. You have the right to do that. But the other people, they were definitely causing problems.”

Police said those arrested included eight juveniles. Also detained was a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty, smiling as she chatted with an officer who led her away.

In Denver, the police department said on the social platform X that it declared an unlawful assembly and deployed smoke canisters after a small group of protesters blocked a road and did not leave as asked. At least eight people were arrested, as was a ninth person later who police said was throwing objects.

Nationwide, people rallied from New York City, with almost 8.5 million residents in a solidly blue state, to Driggs, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in eastern Idaho, a state Trump carried with 66% of the vote in 2024. In Minnesota, a flagship event on the Capitol lawn in St. Paul drew Bruce Springsteen as its headliner to celebrate resistance to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement.

Demonstrations also were held in more than a dozen other countries, according to co-executive director Ezra Levin of Indivisible, which spearheaded the events.

U.S. organizers have estimated that the first two rounds of No Kings rallies drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October. Levin estimated at least 8 million participants showed up Saturday.

“It was powerful. It was historic. It was joyful. It was boisterous,” Levin said Sunday. “I’d say it went pretty well.”

This year Easter is on 5 April. The date is determined by the timing of key astronomical events, external. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full Moon that follows the spring equinox.

Over the centuries different parts of the Christian church used different calendars – the Gregorian and the Julian – which meant that the Easter would not always be on the same date around the world.

Attempts to bring everyone together meant that while many eastern European countries now use the Gregorian calendar for civil events, they use the Julian one to mark Orthodox festivals.

The date of the astronomical equinox also tends to naturally fluctuate between 20 and 21 March. In 2026 it happens on 20 March.

However, the Christian church decided to ‘set a fixed’ date for it to help regularise its own calculations and always uses 21 March, external.

As the first full Moon after 21 March is the Pink Moon on April 2, it means Easter is the following Sunday – 5 April.

In a year when the full Moon itself rises on a Sunday, Easter will be set for the following one.

The new Moon marks the start of each lunar month of the Jewish calendar, with the full Moon always falling mid-way through.

Passover begins halfway through Nisan, external, the first month of that calendar, which is with the arrival of the April full Moon, external.