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Today, we discuss the ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran. The deal was agreed last night just hours after President Trump had threatened Iran’s ‘civilisation will die.’

But Israel has continued to strike Lebanon, with the US saying it’s not included in the ceasefire deal. And, Vice-President JD Vance will lead US negotiating talks aimed at the war with Iran in Pakistan on Saturday.

Adam is joined by BBC News chief presenter Caitríona Perry, chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet and Parham Ghobadi from BBC Persian.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Gray with Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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Presenter Carol McGiffin was on the panel of the ITVs talk show for several years

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Former Loose Women presenter Carol McGiffin has said the ITV programme was once “brilliant” and “hilarious” but that it’s “not like that” anymore.

The TV star featured on the show on and off between 2000 and 2023, when she left, reports the Express.

During a recent discussion with journalist and YouTuber Andrew Gold, she reflected on her time with the talk show, explaining: “I started in 2000, so I was there for 13 years and left for five, and then I went back.

“And back in the day, it was absolutely brilliant – even I sit there looking at the old clips on YouTube and just think, ‘Wow, that show was brilliant.’ It was hilarious, it was funny, everybody got on, it was sassy – it was just completely different.”

Laughing, she remarked it’s “not like that” any longer.

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READ MORE: Loose Women star opens up on ‘overwhelming lifetime of pain’ after family tragediesREAD MORE: Ex-Loose Women star says ‘that little job isn’t coming back’ in savage swipe at show

Carol also claimed that she “got censored so many times”.

“We would sit in a meeting and talk about what we were going to be talking about on the show, and I would say something, and they’d be like, ‘No, you can’t say that’,” she revealed.

The star suggested that everyone had to “kind of agree with each other” and reckons that they “still do it now”.

She claimed: “I am pretty sure there are people on that show who don’t think like that, but they do because they want to keep their job.”

When questioned about what she could express during her initial period on Loose Women, which she felt unable to voice later, Carol responded: “Well, we didn’t have the ‘fake pandemic’ then. That was the straw which broke the camel’s back, really.”

She continued: “When I watch the clips, I go, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe we were allowed to say that.’

“In some of the skits we used to do with half-naked men, it was just a laugh, and the men were very willing. We didn’t have them tied up around the back. We always got a little bit slated for it but, you know, it was funny, it was just fun. It was a bit embarrassing!”

ITV has been approached for comment.

Loose Women airs on weekdays on ITV and ITVX.

England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler found form at the Indian Premier League before winning the match for Gujarat Titans with a final-ball run-out in a remarkable one-run victory over Delhi Capitals.

Buttler, who had gone 18 innings without a fifty including his difficult run at the T20 World Cup, looked closer to his best form in hitting 52 from 27 balls in Gujarat’s 210-4.

He struck five sixes, including one trademark scoop and a towering six over long-on, before being dismissed in the eighth over.

But his influence was not done there as he ran out Kuldeep Yadav – throwing down the stumps with an underarm effort from his position as keeper – as the India spinner and David Miller tried to scamper a single from the final ball with two runs needed.

South Africa international Miller had hit two sixes and two fours in the 19th over before clearing the ropes again in the last, only to turn down a single with two balls to go and then miss seamer Prasidh Krishna’s bouncer to finish.

A crestfallen Miller finished 41 not out from 20 balls while opener KL Rahul made 92.

“Amazing,” Buttler said. “Great to get the win. It was a very lucky throw but I am delighted.

“We desperately needed a win and I am glad we manage to sneak through.”

Buttler’s fifty was his first across formats since a 97 not out in the SA20 in early January.

He averaged 10.9 across eight matches at the T20 World Cup and made 38 from 33 balls and a 14-ball 26 in his previous innings at this year’s IPL.

Here his first runs came with a six over long-on and he followed by hitting India spinner Axar Patel for four over extra cover and another six over long-on.

He then scooped and drove seamer Mukesh Kumar as Gujarat took 63 from the first five overs. India Test captain Shubman Gill also hit 70 from 45 balls and all-rounder Washington Sundar 55 from 32.

“I have been searching for [runs] a little but felt in good touch since I have been here,” Buttler said.

“I have played long enough to know that it will come back at some point.”

The former England captain was bowled by a ball from Kuldeep which skidded low, but the knock was an encouraging return for one of England’s greatest white-ball players, whose place in the national side came under scrutiny during the World Cup.

His tournament included a run of five single-figure scores but England stuck with him throughout their run to the semi-finals.

After the IPL, Buttler will play in the T20 Blast for Lancashire before England’s first white-ball matches of the summer against India in July.

England’s focus switches to the 50-over format this summer with the next World Cup the one-day international edition in the autumn of 2027.

Buttler has not scored a 50-over fifty since February 2023. He averaged 17.9 over 30 international innings across formats this winter.

Donald Trump is once again appealing a blockbuster fraud penalty against the president and his real-estate empire after his political adversary Letitia James won a multi-million dollar verdict against his sprawling family business.

Last year, a fractured state appeals court tossed a $500 million penalty against Trump and his associates after judges determined the penalty, which has ballooned with interest, was “excessive.”

But the court upheld Justice Arthur Engoron’s findings that the president and his business partners committed brazen fraud, falling short of the vindication that the president sought through the courts to save him.

The president is now asking to throw out the remaining fraud ruling, which his legal team claimed is based on politically motivated and “legally and factually baseless” and “demonstrably wrong” arguments.

The 119-page appeal called on the court to “put an end to this legally deficient case.”

They accused James — who was targeted by Trump’s Department of Justice after her victory in the fraud case — of “unconstitutional selective enforcement.”

“The reason here was pure politics, as Attorney General James’s own statements make clear,” they wrote.

In 2024, Engoron’s verdict in Manhattan determined that Trump and his co-defendants in his Trump Organization empire had illegally enriched themselves by defrauding banks and investors as part of a decade-long scheme to secure favorable financing terms for some of his brand-building properties.

The decision followed a bench trial and three-year investigation under James’s office, who had accused Trump and his associates of fraudulently convincing banks and lenders to give them favorable financing terms based on bogus and inflated financial statements.

This is a developing story

The event will mark the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s death at aged 69 from liver cancer.

David Bowie’s famous Glastonbury band are set to reunite on the banks of Loch Lomond this November in order to raise money for one of the rock star’s favourite charities – Save the Children. The event will also mark the 10th anniversary of Bowie’s passing from liver cancer, aged only 69.

Throughout this legendary career Bowie continually showed support for the charity. This included donating the proceeds of his 50th birthday celebration at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1997, which was a show that included stars such as Lou Reed, Robert Smith of The Cure and The Foo Fighters.

The fundraising event, titled Bowie: Live on the Loch, will take place on November 7 and 8 at Cameron House and will include his band playing live music from their headlining Glastonbury Festival set from 2000. The band will include guitarist Earl Slick, keyboard player Mike Garson, and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey.

Garson played on more than a dozen of Bowie’s albums including Aladdin Sane, while Dorsey also provided a vocal duet on Under Pressure at the Glastonbury set, which quickly became a highlight of the appearance.

The house band will also include multi-instrumentalist Mark Plati and drummer Sterling Campbell, who played with Bowie from the early 1990s. The band will also be joined by a variety of special guests.

In the video to announce the upcoming event, which sees Slick playing Golden Years on the roof of Cameron House, he says the fundraiser will be a “celebration of David Bowie’s life and music in aid of Save the Children”.

In addition to the performance, the event will also have rare footage of Bowie and a photo exhibition put together by Chris Duffy, who is the son of Brian Duffy, who shot three of the rock star’s album covers. There will also be a gala dinner by Michelin-starred chef Graeme Cheevers and an auction of signed guitars.

Slick, who played lead guitar on Bowie’s 1970s Young Americans and Station To Station albums as well as Heathen, Reality and comeback 2013 album The Next Day, will host the guitar auction with London shop Regent Sound, with confirmed contributions from Peter Frampton and Duff McKagan from Guns N’ Roses.

Speaking about Bowie’s love for the charity, Slick said: “David had a lot of motivation to help out. It wasn’t a big bragging thing – it was just done.

“That’s what I loved about it. He did it under the radar. We all live in increasingly uncertain and turbulent times around the world.

“More kids need more help. So it’s time to do it and I cannot think of anything that David would rather lend his support to.”

Funds for the Save the Children charity will be raised by ticket sales, merchandise and a live auction, as well as the charity auction.

George Graham, executive director of global impact at Save the Children, said: “With so much instability and uncertainty around the globe, it is an exceptionally challenging and dangerous time to be a child in so many corners of the world.

“At Save the Children, our only goal is to support children so they can have a safe, happy and healthy childhood. We are deeply grateful to everyone who is honouring David Bowie by backing this star-studded weekend, which will help bring a better future for children here in the UK and around the world.”

Bowie had played in Scotland a few times over his career, with his first show being at the Palais in Dundee in April 1965. Back then he supported Johnny Kidd and The Pirates with this group David Bowie and The Buzz. He also famously performed at Glasgow Barrowlands back in 1997.

Game. Set. Baby!

A woman went into labor and gave birth inside Rogers Place in Alberta, Canada, last week during the Las Vegas, Knights’ victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

“Breaking news: We have word that someone has gone into labor here tonight,” play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels said during the second period on the Sportsnet broadcast. “There’s a baby being born on the seventh floor at Rogers Place as we speak.”

“So someone’s going to have a great story to tell,” Michaels added, before joking, “It would be nice to have the mother join us on After Hours to describe what’s happened, but that could be asking a bit much.”

The mother, who has yet to be publicly identified, did not appear on the sports network’s post-game show.

Details about the mother and newborn have not been released, and it remains unclear whether medical personnel assisted with the delivery.

The Independent has contacted Rogers Place for comment.

While details on the birth itself are slim, fans on social media had big reactions to the once-in-a-lifetime event.

“At least someone is delivering, [Connor] McDavid sure ain’t,” one X user wrote, referring to the Oilers’ center and captain.

“They better get season tickets for life,” another person suggested.

Others offered up their baby name ideas.

“Did she make it back for the 3rd period? And what’s the kid’s name? Rogers, Connor, or Seven (any Seinfeld fans?)?” one person asked.

“I think they name the baby Roger. Roger’s Place,” another said.

The Golden Knights defeated the Oilers 5-1, ending Edmonton’s five-game winning streak in a game that also saw a fan struck by a puck and a late on-ice fight, just weeks before the NHL regular season wraps April 16 and the playoffs begin.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Fired Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman told The Associated Press on Wednesday in his first interview since the ouster that he was “blindsided” by the move but has no hard feelings and is unlikely to sue.

Rothman was fired on Tuesday night in a unanimous vote by the board of regents following a roughly 30-minute closed-door discussion. Regents have not given a reason for firing Rothman, who was in the job for just under four years.

“Absolutely I was blindsided,” Rothman told the AP. He said he has still not been given a reason for his firing.

“I really don’t know,” Rothman said. “I asked for reasons why. They were not able to articulate any.”

But Rothman, who came to the job in 2022 after serving as chair and CEO of a Milwaukee-based law firm with more than 1,000 attorneys, said he is unlikely to file a lawsuit over his firing.

“We’ll have to see how circumstances develop,” Rothman said. “I don’t think it’s likely that I would go in that direction. That’s not who I am.”

The AP was the first to report on April 2 that the regents had asked Rothman, 66, to retire or resign or face being fired. Rothman said on Wednesday that he considered retiring, but since regents gave him no reason, he decided against it.

Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement before the firing that the decision was “about the future” of the 13-university system, including the flagship Madison campus, that educates about 165,000 students.

“The Universities of Wisconsin must be led with a clear vision that both protects and strengthens our flagship, supports our comprehensive universities and ensures we are meeting the evolving needs of our students, workforce and communities across all 72 counties,” Bogost said.

She did not immediately return a message on Wednesday seeking comment.

Rothman did not criticize any regent by name, but he did express frustration generally with the board.

“For a board to be functional, it needs to be able to provide clarity to the management team,” he said. “Not 18 different voices with different opinions and pet projects. There has to be board leadership that is able to consolidate that, build a consensus and provide clear direction.”

Rothman said his performance objectives were not even discussed in his last review in August, which he said was “astonishing.”

Rothman spent his time as president lobbying Republican legislators to increase state aid for the system in the face of federal cuts, navigating free speech issues surrounding pro-Palestinian protests, and grappling with declining enrollment that has forced eight branch campuses to close. Overall enrollment across the system has remained steady under his leadership.

Rothman brokered a deal with Republicans in 2023 that called for freezing diversity hires and creating a position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought in exchange for the Legislature releasing money for UW employee raises and tens of millions of dollars for construction projects across the system.

Rothman said Wednesday he didn’t know if any of those particular issues contributed to his being fired, but conceded they could have.

“When you come in to affect change and you try to move an organization forward, you have to make difficult decisions,” Rothman said. “And when you make difficult decisions, you can upset some people.”

Sen. Patrick Testin, the Republican president of the Wisconsin state Senate, called Rothman’s firing a “blatant partisan hatchet job.”

The state Senate’s committee that oversees higher education scheduled a hearing for Thursday for 10 regents whose appointments by Evers have yet to be confirmed. Testin called for the Senate to reject all 10, which would mean they could no longer serve as regents.

Rothman said he wasn’t going to speculate on why he was cut loose.

“I am disappointed with the board’s action, but I’m not angry,” he said. “This is not about retribution. I’m concerned about the future of the Universities of Wisconsin.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — March’s persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Niño will reach superstrength.

Not only was it the hottest March on record for the U.S., but the amount it was above normal beat any other month in history for the Lower 48 states. March’s average temperature of 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit (10.47 degrees Celsius) was 9.35 F (5.19 C) above the 20th century normal for March. That easily passed the old record of 8.9 F (4.9 C) set in March 2012 as the most abnormally hot month on record — regardless of the month of the year — according to records released Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The average maximum temperature for March was especially high at 11.4 F (6.3 C) above the 20th century average and was almost a degree warmer than the average daytime high for April, NOAA said.

“One reason that’s so concerning is just the sheer volume of records, all-time records that were set and broken during that time period,” Winkley said. “But also this is coming on the heels of what was the worst snow year. And the hottest winter of record.”

Records keep being broken

April 2025 to March 2026 was the warmest 12-month period on record in the continental United States, according to NOAA.

On March 20 and 21, about one-third of the nation felt unseasonable heat that would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, Climate Central calculated.

More than 19,800 daily temperature records were broken for heat across the country, according to meteorologist Guy Walton, who analyzes NOAA data. More than 2,000 places set monthly records for heat — harder to break than daily records — Walton calculated. That’s more March heat records set just last month than in entire decades in the past.

All those broken records “tells us that climate change is kicking our butts,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.

“January through March period was the driest on record for the contiguous U.S. So not only was it hot, it was record dry as well,” Masters said. “And that’s a bad combination for water availability, for agriculture, for river levels, for navigation.”

Here comes a whopping El Nino

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The European climate and weather service Copernicus and NOAA are both forecasting a “super” strong El Niño to form in a few months and intensify into the winter. Meteorologists expect that to increase already warm temperatures across the globe, likely pushing past the hottest year mark set by 2024.

An El Niño is a natural temporary and cyclical warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather across the planet. An El Niño is formed when a specific part of the ocean is 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 F) warmer than normal. It is considered moderate at 1 degree Celsius and strong at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Both NOAA and the Europeans are forecasting this one to be well above 2 degrees Celsius into an area that is informally called super sized and perhaps rivaling records set in 2015 and 2016.

An El Niño releases heat stored in the upper ocean into the air, which causes global temperatures to rise, but with a few months lag time, said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini.

“A strong El Niño could plausibly push global temperatures to new record levels in late 2026 and into 2027,” Gensini said.

El Nino could alter weather patterns for years

Super-sized El Niños often trigger a “climate regime shift,” which pushes normal conditions into a different pattern for years or decades, according to a study last December in the journal Nature Communications. The study said after the 2015-2016 El Niño, the Gulf of Mexico jumped to a new sustained level of warmth that may have contributed to stronger hurricanes along the Gulf Coast in the years after.

Growing research seems to indicate that a warming world from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas could be making El Niños stronger, but climate scientists said that’s not quite a consensus yet.

“Global warming is supercharging El Niños and the atmospheric warming they drive,” said University of Michigan environment dean and climate scientist Jonathan Overpeck. “We saw this in 2016 and more recently in 2023. We’re likely to see another jump in global temperatures if a strong El Niño develops later this year as being predicted.”

El Niños tend to tamp down hurricane activity in the Atlantic, but ramp it up in the Pacific and could help ease the southwestern drought, Masters said.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The family-owned Rudding Park, south-west of  Harrogate is using HSBC UK funding to complete the development of a new 60,000 sq ft golf and country club. 

This will include upgrades to existing health & wellbeing facilities, a new swimming pool and general improvements across the resort.

Rudding Park expects the HSBC UK supported expansion to create 75 new jobs and generate an estimated £14m in annual GVA for Harrogate. This builds on the business anticipating a 4.8% increase in turnover over the next 12 months.  

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The development of Rudding Park will also include the addition of 7 new padel and tennis courts, an accompanying pavilion, and the full restoration of a walled garden. 

Nick Mackaness, Joint Managing Director at Rudding Park, said: “This is an exciting new phase of growth for Rudding Park, as we continue to expand and diversify high quality experiences for our guests. 

“HSBC UK support will enable us to complete these development works, making sure our facilities exceed the expectations of our guests old and new. We look forward to expanding the team and attracting guests from all over the UK as our plans take shape.”

Rudding Park Hall (Image: Pic supplied)

Tom Sikora, Relationships Director at HSBC UK, said: “Rudding Park is a fantastic example of an ambitious business in a competitive market with a clear strategy for growth. 

“The team has built a well-loved resort over many years, always understanding the next steps needed to keep attracting guests These developments will ensure Rudding Park stays a household name across the UK for many years to come and we look forward to seeing the new facilities open.”  

Rudding Park was built in the early 19th Century and has been owned by the Mackaness Family since 1972.

Following previous expansions, it now features 90 bedrooms and suites, a spa, three restaurants (one of which was recently awarded a MICHELIN star), a kitchen garden, private cinema, two golf courses and conference & events spaces. 

The business is building new premises to a BREEAM Excellent rated sustainability standard. This process includes tree planting and the introduction of more wetland areas to achieve overall BNG gains.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan announced the measures in October, with one of them being that developers without an upfront viability assessment can proceed if they can provide at least 20 per cent affordable housing, with schemes being able to access grant funding for around half of the affordable homes delivered.