“Some people might say he isn’t as sharp, others might say he is fresh. All this talk about an eighth World Championship. What a position to be in, some might say he has done it the right way and kept himself fresh.

“I’ve been playing well for a season or two. I’ve been running into superheroes playing unbelievable snooker.

“It is a test of perseverance, it is about mental toughness – can you keep going? With this event, the Tour Championship and World Championship to come. It is a great time to be hitting form.”

Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, who has said a return to tournament-winning form would be the greatest achievement of his career, has a 14-4 career winning record over Murphy.

“I always prepare well. I know people question if I practise enough. Everyone has done that since I was a kid. They seem to think I just turn up,” said O’Sullivan, who lost 4-0 in his last meeting with Murphy, at the Riyadh Season Championship in November.

“I prepare harder than probably any other player and I work harder. I think people just assume I only need to get out of bed and pot balls. That isn’t the case.”

World number one Judd Trump also moved into the last 16 with a 5-2 victory over Jackson Page, while reigning world champion Zhao Xintong beat Sam Craigie 5-1.

Stuart Bingham and Jack Lisowski missed out on chances to move in the world’s top 16 and qualify automatically for the World Championship, losing 5-4 and 5-1 to Wu Yize and Mark Allen respectively.

Masters champion Kyren Wilson defeated Allan Taylor 5-1, while Hossein Vafaei came back from 2-0 down to beat Mark Williams 5-2 and set up a meeting with Zhang Anda, who triumphed 5-2 against Xiao Guodong.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday declared a temporary pause in escalating fighting, two days after Kabul blamed Islamabad for a deadly airstrike in the Afghan capital that it said killed hundreds of people at a drug rehabilitation hospital.

Both said they were suspending fighting before Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, and at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. The three countries have been trying to mediate a cessation of hostilities since Afghanistan and Pakistan renewed cross-border fighting in February, and had also been involved in helping broker a ceasefire between the two in October.

The announcements came shortly after Afghan authorities held a mass funeral in Kabul for some of the victims killed in Monday’s strike.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that the suspension of strikes on Afghanistan would take effect at midnight Wednesday and remain in place until midnight Monday.

“Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms,” Tarar said in a statement. However, he said that “in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan,” the operations will immediately resume with renewed intensity.

Afghanistan’s government spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, didn’t specify a time frame for the pause on the Afghan side. But he said that his country “will respond courageously to any aggression in the event of a threat.”

Military installations targeted, Pakistan says

Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan’s accusation that it targeted the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, insisting its strikes in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan Monday had been against military facilities. It has dismissed Afghan claims of hundreds of people killed as propaganda.

Monday’s attack in Kabul was the deadliest in a conflict that has been escalating between the two neighbors since late February. Afghan officials have put the death toll at 408 people, with 265 wounded. The toll couldn’t be independently verified.

The fighting has seen repeated cross-border clashes as well as airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including several in the capital, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially for the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

Mass funeral in Kabul

Bulldozers dug pits in a Kabul cemetery before Wednesday’s mass funeral, which Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said was for more than 50 people whose remains couldn’t be identified.

Light rain fell as ambulances lined up outside the cemetery and began unloading dozens of plain wooden caskets. Some contained the remains of more than one person, Zaman said.

The 2,000-bed Omid hospital was hit at around 9 p.m. on Monday. It had been renamed and expanded in size roughly a year ago from a previously existing treatment facility as part of the Taliban government’s efforts to stamp out a significant drug addiction problem in the country.

Afghanistan’s vast poppy fields have been the source of much of the world’s heroin, which in combination with decades of conflict and widespread poverty has fueled drug addiction that the country’s government has vowed to combat.

The site, near Kabul’s international airport, is adjacent to a former NATO military base, Camp Phoenix, where U.S. forces used to train the Afghan National Army. It wasn’t immediately clear what was now housed at the site.

The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, with footage from local television showing rescue crews combing through the wreckage with flashlights late into the night as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.

Pakistan warns Afghanistan to make a choice

In an interview with The Associated Press in Islamabad earlier Wednesday before he announced the pause in fighting, Tarar said Pakistan had “only targeted terrorist infrastructure.”

“We have just gone after the Afghan Taliban regime, their military setups, their terrorist infrastructure, and all the setups which are supporting or promoting terrorists,” Tarar said.

He told the AP that Pakistan’s strikes “have been very precise and these strikes were carried out in an ammunition depot in Kabul. In the aftermath of which, we saw fumes and flames in the atmosphere in Kabul.”

He said the subsequent loss of life, which he did not quantify, occurred “because there was ammunition, there were technical equipment, there were arms there in that depot.”

Tarar said Pakistan has given a clear choice to Afghanistan’s government: “Either you are with Pakistan or you are with the terrorists. So, they will have to make a choice, and they will have to make the choice very soon,” he said.

Bodies were still being pulled from the smoldering remains of the hospital on Tuesday morning.

Mujahid, the Afghan government spokesman, condemned the strike, accusing Pakistan of “targeting hospitals and civilian sites to perpetrate horrors.” He said those killed were “innocent civilians and addicts.”

Latest conflict began in February

The fighting, the most severe between the two neighbors, began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes about three weeks ago. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October, after earlier fighting killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

Pakistan declared last month that it’s in “open war” with Afghanistan. The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, still have a presence and have been trying to resurface.

___

Munir Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Elena Becatoros contributed to this report from Athens, Greece.

This is famously the case in the Meningitis Belt – which stretches across 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia. Dust, high temperatures and low humidity throughout the dry season are thought to damage the back of the throat and give the bacteria a route into the body. This triggers regular epidemics.

A woman in Canada is on a desperate search for her wedding dress after it was accidentally donated to the Salvation Army.

The mixup occurred when British Columbia-based Olivia Delgado made the recent move from Surrey to Squamish, according to CityNews.

“We were clearing out our childhood home, big job, and I guess somehow, in the process, it ended up getting mixed in the clothing donations,” Delgado, who got married in October, told the publication.

She said that when she spoke to the manager of the warehouse, he told her that because her dress was donated to a distribution center, it could be at any one of the thrift stores in Canada that the Salvation Army operates.

Delgado noted that the gown has a deep sentimental value, since it was a gift from her mother, who passed away due to brain cancer before the wedding, CityNews reported.

“This was one of the last things we did together before she got too sick to go out,” she said about shopping with her mother. “We picked out the dress together, and she bought it for me. So it’s like a piece of her is in that dress. And it’s really important to me that I get it back.”

Delgado also declared her search for the dress on social media, writing in a Facebook post that she’s offering a $300 reward to anyone who purchased it from a thrift store.

“I wish I wasn’t making this post but I am looking for my wedding dress,” she wrote, while sharing wedding photos of herself in the white gown. “I moved recently, and in the midst of clearing out closets, someone accidentally donated my dress to the Salvation Army in Surrey. It would’ve been donated sometime mid-February. The bottom tulle is a bit torn up and dirty from taking photos in the rain, and I’m pretty sure there is a food stain or two, so it should be pretty identifiable. It would have been in a white David’s Bridal bag. It’s a size 10 Melissa Sweet dress.”

Delgado explained the sentimental value and offered the reward before pleading, “I can help you source down the exact dress brand new, whatever you want. I’m really hoping you’d understand how important it is to me that I get this dress back.”

She told CityNews that since making the Facebook post, other people in British Columbia have been helping her search for the dress.

“That’s been a huge help,” she added. “We’re slowly checking boxes off our list, and I’m hoping that it hasn’t been sold yet.”

👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈

Is Israel about to occupy Lebanon? Why is Donald Trump sending more troops to the Middle East? And what is it actually like reporting from an active war zone?

Yalda and Richard discuss the latest developments in Iran and what the killing of the country’s security chief Ali Larijani could mean for any peace process.

They assess the reaction of the Gulf states to the war and look at how possibly putting troops on the ground could affect the conflict.

Meanwhile, Israel says its forces have begun “limited and targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. What’s the justification? The pair examine the possible reason and talk about when they were both there in 2024.

The two of them will answer listeners’ questions, so write to them at theworld@sky.uk

You can also watch the podcast on our YouTube channel here.

Every vacuum on this list has been tested by our team of expert home product reviewers. They all try several models from different brands, using them at home for deep cleans and quick pick-ups. Each is scored according to the following metrics:

• Design and build: We judge how durable each vacuum feels and whether it is lightweight and manoeuvrable. Components like the bin and accessories are also assessed for overall usability.
• Performance and results: Our experts try each vacuum on different surfaces, including carpets, hard floors and tiles. They lay out debris including food crumbs, fine dirt and pet or human hair, to judge whether it successfully picks up everything in its path.
• Ease of use: The controls should be intuitive to use and well placed, while ideal noise levels are low. Any digital displays or app compatibility are also assessed for usefulness. Finally, we consider the reach under surfaces and into awkward corners.
• Storage: Our testers consider whether the vacuums can stand unsupported, if they fold away and come with a dedicated wall mount or emptying station.
• Battery life for cordless vacuums: We look to see whether a full charge is enough to clean a whole house and whether the battery recharges quickly.
• Power for corded vacuums: The power cable needs to be long enough to enable your cleaning, rather than impede it. And we consider the wattage and what it means for the overall suction.

We’ve tested over 60 vacuums, but only the 18 best feature below.

Visit our Who We Are page to learn more about the testing process.

Which vacuum cleaner is best for you depends on the size of your home and its flooring, plus what you generally clean. Here are the models which performed the best in our comprehensive at home testing, in each of the following categories: cordless, upright, cylinder, handheld, robot and best for pet hair.

Lightweight and manoeuvrable, a cordless vacuum cleaner is ideal for quick pick-ups. The battery life and suction power are often a little lacking in comparison with cylinder and upright vacuum cleaners, but it’s good enough to shift daily dirt, dust, dander and pet hair.

Cambridgeshire Police are continuing their search for a teenage boy also missing after a car entered the River Nene

The body of a teenage girl has been found as police continue to search for another teenager involved in a crash last night (Tuesday 17). Police have recovered the body of a girl, one of two teenagers missing after a crash near Wisbeach yesterday evening.Cambridgeshire Police has confirmed that a boody of a teenage girl has been found while emergency services searched the River Nene near Wisbech.

Emergency services have been at the scene on North Brink, in Wisbech St Mary’s, since around 8.20pm last night (March 17). Following reports of a car, containing five people, entering the water.

This afternoon specialist dive teams recovered the body. Searches continue for the male who is unaccounted for following the collision. Three people, two female and one male, are known to have got out of the vehicle and have been taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn with non-life threatening injuries.

North Brink is likely to remain closed for the remainder of the day. Cambridgeshire Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage.

Anyone with information should use reference incident 515 of March 17and report it through the force website. Anyone without internet access should call 101.

Popular TV cooking host James Martin has co-created a guinea fowl meal for dogs with pet food business Bella+Duke.

The chef is best known for his ITV show: James Martin’s Saturday Morning and developed a passion for cooking during his formative years growing up in Welburn.

James was surrounded by a family of farmers who worked on the Castle Howard estate and recalls helping his mum in their kitchen in North Yorkshire – igniting his interest in making great food.

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After leaving home, James worked at the three Michelin Star restaurant Maison Troisgros in Roanne, France before making the leap to TV in 1996.

A lifelong dog owner, James is passionate about giving dogs great food – improving their comparatively shorter lives with fresh, tasty ingredients.

His guinea fowl meal is made with blueberries, seasonal vegetables and herbs.

James said: “As humans, we think carefully about the provenance of our own food – where it comes from, how it’s produced, and how fresh it is.

“I believe we should be doing exactly the same for our dogs, I believe dogs deserve better.

“They’re part of the family so they deserve not only food that is good for them but food they enjoy too. To me that means meals packed with fresh, nutritious ingredients that are minimally processed and delicious, helping them to truly live their best life.

“That’s exactly what this recipe with Bella+Duke is all about.”

The limited-edition meal will be available exclusively for Bella+Duke customers, complimentary alongside their usual picks, before rolling out to selected pet stores over the following months.

James added: “We know not to eat ultra-processed foods all the time – and let’s be honest, none of us would accept eating the same meal every single day, so why should they? 

“Food should be something to look forward to.

“Feeding a fresher diet packed with real, whole ingredients gives dogs that pleasure, while also supporting their long-term health in a way ultra-processed food simply can’t.”

Some Muslims in the UK began fasting on February 18 and will fast the full 30 days.

Those who follow local and Moroccan moon sighting criteria began fasting a day later and will find out tomorrow if they too will fast the full 30 days.

If they do fast on Friday, then some Muslims may celebrate Eid on Saturday.

READ MORE: Developer of Blackburn estate gets ‘biggest ever’ £24k fine over waste pile

A lot of people were keeping a keen eye on the Saudi Arabian announcement, which happened around 3pm UK time.

An announcement read: “The crescent moon has NOT been sighted in Saudi Arabia.

“Therefore, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, March 20.”

Tom Pidcock launched a late attack to win the Milano-Torino race on the 150th anniversary of the first edition of the world’s oldest classic.

The Pinarello-Q36.5 rider was making his debut in the Italian one-day race and went clear during the final 600m to win its 106th edition.

The 26-year-old double Olympic mountain biking champion became the second Briton to clinch victory in the 174km (108-mile) race, after Mark Cavendish in 2022.

Pidcock was part of a lead group of 12 riders on the final Superga climb, which whittled the contenders down to five.

He attacked with 600m remaining, with Tobias Halland Johannessen in pursuit, but Pidcock kicked again with 400m left to cruise to the summit finish four seconds before the Norwegian, with 2021 winner Primoz Roglic crossing a second later.

“Primoz is hard to read, he’s always in the saddle,” said Pidcock. “I was expecting him to be good there and was hesitating to attack, everyone was looking pretty strong.

“But I knew at one point I had to go. Luckily in the end I had a kick there and I could hold them off.

“A win’s a win, they’re not easy to come by, so it’s nice to get your hand in the air.”

It was Pidcock’s first win in a one-day race since the Amstel Gold Race in 2024 and his second victory of the season – having claimed a stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia last month.

Wednesday’s win also keeps the Briton in good form heading into another Italian classic on Saturday, the Milan-San Remo.