A humpback whale has once again become stranded in the Baltic Sea, just days after rescuers in Germany helped set it free.

The whale became stuck again in the waters off Wismar Bay, in north Germany, on Saturday, local media reports.

Rescuers launched a complicated rescue operation to free the 12-15m (39-49ft) whale earlier this week, after it became stranded on a sandbank at Timmendorfer Strand beach.

After crews used an excavator to dig an escape tunnel on Thursday, the mammal managed to swim free early on Friday.

It was later spotted further east, near the coastal town of Wismar, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Pomerania.

On Saturday, Greenpeace confirmed to German news agency dpa that the whale had become stuck again, dashing hopes that it had made its way to safety in the Atlantic Ocean.

A spokesperson for Mecklenburg-Pomerania’s environment ministry said: “After managing to free itself from its plight, the whale was spotted again at noon today in Wismar Bay.”

It has not been confirmed if a second rescue mission would be launched.

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Whale freed by rescuers

The initial rescue operation hit the headlines both in Germany and around the world, with local media sending news alerts of updates on its progress and streaming live video from the scene.

Authorities also attempted to coax the whale back towards deeper water by using coastguard and fire department boats to create large waves.

The rescue team tried to encourage the whale to swim along a trench dug for it by generating lots of noise, and the animal reportedly responded with a humming sound.

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The whale likely made its way to the Baltic Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, but it will not be able to survive there for long.

The salt concentration of the water isn’t high enough for humpbacks, and it will not be able to find the right kind of nutrition.

The whale has already developed a skin condition, according to local media.

Some experts suggested that the animal may have lost its way when it swam after a shoal of herring.

Others speculated that the whale is likely a male, as males tend to migrate.

If it is to survive, it will need to return to the Atlantic Ocean, which is a journey of several hundred kilometres through German and Danish waters.

Given you can buy a SIM-only monthly mobile tariff, with plenty of data and minutes, for less than the cost of a pint in your local, it’s hard to argue with the value on offer from Lebara. Little wonder then, that Telegraph readers voted it the joint best value award winner with Tesco Mobile.

The sweet spot tariff is the £9 a month 30GB deal, which you can get for £10 a month if you only want a month-to-month contract. Only the most TikTok-hungry teenager would burn through more than 30GB of data, and the fact that you can get that for less than a tenner is remarkable. For comparison, parent network Vodafone charges £15 per month for only 1GB of data.

To sweeten the deal further, Lebara throws in some international calling minutes with every tariff, which is great for reaching family abroad.

It’s worth noting here that Lebara doesn’t offer any tariffs that include a smartphone. While it does sell phones, it sells them on a SIM-free basis. Given its prices, it’s often cheaper than the phone/airtime bundle deals offered by other networks, and you can still spread the cost of buying phones on finance if you wish.

Speed

Score: 4.5/5

Lebara customers are happy with the speeds they’re receiving, with an 85 per cent satisfaction rating from the customers we surveyed. Only Tesco Mobile and Giffgaff posted (slightly) higher scores.

All Lebara plans now include 5G, although parent network Vodafone has some catching up to do with its 5G coverage, according to regulator Ofcom. Its outdoor 5G coverage reaches between 51 per cent and 64 per cent of UK premises according to Ofcom’s latest figures. This is a long way behind EE, which has 86 per cent coverage. Vodafone recently merged with Three, which could improve things.

Reliability

Score: 5/5

Reliability on Lebara is right up there with the best of them, according to Telegraph readers. A score of 94 per cent for network reliability means you can expect few dropouts or downtime, although it’s worth noting the 5G coverage numbers above if you need the fastest possible data wherever you might travel in the UK.

Customer service

Score: 4/5

One way in which Lebara keeps costs down is by providing support from its website, although you can get through on the phone if there’s an issue you can’t resolve with the online chat. Lebara is second only to Tesco Mobile in terms of the quality of its customer support, with the supermarket chain having the benefit of staff available in stores to help boost its customer service scores.

Roaming

Score: 5/5

Roaming is included with all of Lebara’s plans. This means that when you’re travelling to an EU country or India, you can use the data allowance, minutes and texts that are included in your plan, as if you were still in the UK. For other countries, you can buy roaming add-ons. In the US, for example, you can get an eight-day roaming add-on providing 3GB of data for £5. Of those we surveyed, 92 per cent were happy with the roaming value on offer, which is the best score of any network.

The city’s most recognisable building, part of the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site, welcomed 393,090 visitors in 2024.

And recent reviews suggest its mix of history, architecture and setting remains a major attraction for those visiting the city.

Durham Cathedral (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

What is Durham Cathedral famous for?

The cathedral currently holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor, from more than 7,200 reviews.

Visitors have praised everything from its vast interior to its links with the Harry Potter films.

One person who visited this month said they spent “a pleasant few hours walking around this stunning Cathedral”, adding that a volunteer made the experience “even more special”.

Another described it as a “must do” in Durham, while a separate review called it a “beautiful, old and big Cathedral” with “lots to see inside”.

Others highlighted its architecture, with one visitor saying the “massive stone pillars, soaring arches and atmospheric lighting” make it feel “both grand and peaceful”.

The cathedral, which dates back to 1093, is one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Europe and houses the tombs of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede.

Durham Cathedral (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

As well as being a place of worship, it is one of the North East’s leading tourist attractions, with free entry and optional paid extras including tower climbs and guided tours.

Several visitors said these added to their experience.

One reviewer said a guided tour was “well worth doing” and helped them “learn so much more about its history”, while another said climbing the tower offered “panoramic views across Durham”.

The cathedral’s location, perched above the River Wear next to Durham Castle, continues to be a major part of its appeal, with many visitors describing it as one of the most striking sights in the North East.

Nearly 1,000 years after construction began, Durham Cathedral remains at the heart of the city, continuing to attract visitors, generate discussion and cement its reputation as one of the region’s standout landmarks.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “As a community, as an F1 community, we have identified that the priority number one, apart from safety, was qualifying, and driving in qualifying to the limit of grip and to make sure that the drivers that are best at exploiting the grip, and at times even take the risks to do so, they are rewarded.

“Here in Suzuka, because we have this shortage of energy, we expose some of the limitations of the current regulations.

“Degner One is now a corner in which you almost lift and roll through the corner, and then you have to avoid going on power between Degner One and Two, because that way of using your battery would not be efficient.

“Instead, that corner has always been one that the drivers will mention in a season, like what are the most challenging corners, that’s one of those.

“At the moment, that corner is kind of, you know, you think about the battery as you go through the corner, you don’t think about gaining half a tenth just by committing to it.

“The first corner at the Spoon as well, similar concept applies between the first part and second part of the Spoon.

“I can understand that the drivers push the F1 community to fix this, such that qualifying retains the excitement, the challenge, the DNA of being the moment in which the best driver gets rewarded, especially in the places where they can make the difference with the bravery and the ability.

“It is not obvious as to how to do that, but there are some possibilities, and there are some further meetings that will happen between the teams, the FIA and F1, between now and (the next race in) Miami, so let’s see what progress we can do there.”

Emergency services were called to Market Street in Stoneclough at around 5am today, March 28, after a car had crashed into a property, causing significant structural damage and forcing road closures.

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Tony Walters, whose home was struck, said he had been asleep when the incident happened.

“I was asleep, I thought a bomb had gone off,” he said.

“There’s been significant structural damage to my house.

“The vehicle went straight through my steel iron railings and front door and came to rest in the hallway.

“I was in shock.”

The car crashed through railings and into a house on Market Street in Stoneclough (Image: Phil Taylor)

Mr Walters said that although the damage to the property is severe, he and his son, who were both inside at the time, were not injured.

“Thankfully, my wife is away at our holiday home, so it was just me and my son. We’re not injured, but the house is very badly damaged,” he added.

null (Image: PHIL TAYLOR)

The crash also caused damage to nearby property and street infrastructure.

READ OUR LIVE UPDATES ON THIS CRASH HERE

Tony said: “It’s also damaged my neighbour’s property, taking parts off the wall and sending a brick through a window.”

Significant damage was caused after a vehicle ploughed into a Stoneclough home (Image: Phil Taylor)

A nearby bus stop had also been damaged by the vehicle, which the council have since taken away.

Ambulance were also on the scene.

Police have cordoned off sections of Market Street, with at least 10 homes within the closure area.

Roads in and around the village remain shut, with diversions in place.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews attended but said the incident is being led by Greater Manchester Police.

Road closures remain in place following the early morning crash in Stoneclough (Image: Phil Taylor)

A Serious Collision Unit is at the scene and investigations are ongoing.

By mid-afternoon, the vehicle had been removed from Tony’s home and builders have been called to secure the damaged property and board it up.

GMP have been contacted for comment.

Now that Megan Walsh’s (Beth Nixon) predatory grooming has been exposed, Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) finds the strength to confront his own abuser on Coronation Street. Will he get the answers he needs?

After months of manipulating underage Will Driscoll into an illicit affair, Megan Walsh’s dirty secret is finally out in the open thanks to the detective work of schoolboy sleuth Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan). The athletics coach and teacher exploited her authority to get close to Will and gaslight him into a twisted ‘relationship’, right under the nose of his loving dad Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker).

Playing Parallel to this story is Tim Metcalfe’s surprise reunion with Trisha Pinkerton (Anita Booth), an ‘old girlfriend’ from his school days. While Tim’s wife Sally (Sally Dynevor) was initially seething with jealousy when he snubbed their anniversary to meet Trish for a drink, it turns out that was the least of their problems. To Sally’s horror, Tim revealed that Trisha took his virginity when she was 20 and he was fourteen.

Despite Sally and friend Brian Packham’s (Peter Gunn) best efforts to convince Tim that he was a victim of sexual abuse, Tim defended the encounter as a ‘rite of passage’ that occurred ‘in a different time’ and refused to see anything wrong with it.

That’s all about to change.

With word of Megan’s abuse spreading all over Coronation Street, the scales finally fall from Tim’s eyes in upcoming episodes where he starts to see his relationship with Trisha in a new light.

When the Metcalfes bump into Ben, Sally tells him how sorry she is to hear about Will and explains how Tim was groomed by a woman when he was only fourteen.

Awkward, Tim tries to dismiss Sally’s accusations and does his best to play it down. However, making excuses for an abuser is the last thing Ben wants to hear and he snaps at Tim that he’s deluded. Will this be enough to make Tim see the light?

It seems that Tim’s got the harsh home truth he needed when later, he admits to Sally that Ben gave him cause to question his relationship with Trisha. Therefore, he decides to contact Trisha and get some answers once and for all.

Will Trisha respond? And even if she does, will Tim find what he’s looking for?

It remains the only major trophy ever won by Southampton and their most famous day. Dimitar Berbatov, Louis Saha, Antonio Valencia, Ronny Johnsen and Wes Brown are just some of the former United favourites in action today, while Southampton’s squad list includes the likes of Matt Le Tissier, Francis Benali and Rickie Lambert.

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The president of the Maldives has told the UK he “will not recognise” Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The intervention could serve as a further blow to the prime minister’s already beleaguered deal, which has been subject to relentless criticism from Donald Trump over the future of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

The plan will see the government cede sovereignty of the British territory after an advisory International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in 2019 backed Mauritian claims to sovereignty over the islands.

But the Maldives is now threatening legal action as it seeks to assert its own sovereignty over the islands.

In a statement to the BBC, President Mohamed Muizzu’s office said he had raised concerns with both written objections and in a phone call with David Lammy, the then foreign secretary, last year.

“These diplomatic communications articulate the government’s firm position: the decision by the British government to proceed in sole consultation with Mauritius – without due consideration of Maldivian interests – is deeply concerning,” the statement reportedly said.

“Consequently, the Maldives has formally communicated that it does not recognise the transfer of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

“This position is based on the profound historical and administrative ties between the Maldives and the archipelago, as well as the significant implications any such transfer holds for Maldivian sovereignty.”

However, ministers have previously said the islands would be handed over to Mauritius following the 2019 advisory ICJ ruling, a decision the Maldives told the BBC it would be reviewing.

“The government of the Maldives maintains the firm position that, by virtue of historical and geographical proximity, it holds a prior claim to sovereign rights over the Chagos Archipelago over any other state,” the statement said.

“Accordingly, if sovereignty is to be vested in any nation, it must rightfully be the Maldives.”

The Independent has contacted President Muizzu’s office and the UK’s Foreign Office.

Sir Keir’s deal to hand over the territory while retaining control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has plunged into chaos after the US president repeatedly urged him to scrap it.

The UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120m annually during the 99-year agreement to lease back the site, a total cost in cash terms of £35bn.

Mr Trump has withdrawn his support for the deal, branding the move a “big mistake” because of concerns over the joint military base.

His withdrawal of support came after he appeared to indicate his support for the deal last year, before criticising it in January and again in February.

Iran fired missiles at the joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean last weekend amid Washington’s ongoing war on Tehran.

Diego Garcia is around 2,360 miles away from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers, with around 2,500 American troops based on the island.

America’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, sports an array of tattoos with Christian messaging, including one which reads “Deus Vult”, God wills it, and is associated with the medieval crusades. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, while leading a Christian service at the Pentagon on March 25, Hegseth reached for biblical language to describe the war against Iran.

He called on God to “break the teeth” and kill the “wicked” enemies “who deserve no mercy” and should be “delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them”. In other words, for Hegseth this is a holy war in which he calls on god to “grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence”.

This war is not primarily about religion. But leaders on all sides have used religion to justify their actions. Not for decades have political leaders of all three major Abrahamic faith traditions invoked parts of their respective traditions to legitimise war in this way. The way faith and religious scripture and doctrine have been used by the US and Israel to justify launching their war in Iran is a worrying development, and one that highlights the growing relationship between religion and authoritarian nationalism.

It has also deepened the animosity with Iran, where politicians and religious leaders have themselves invoked religious and messianic narratives. But Iran is an Islamic Republic in which religion has a significant constitutional role.

The Israeli prime minister used religious imagery on February 28 while announcing the start of the war. He invoked the Jewish holiday of Purim, which fell on March 2-3 this year, and which celebrates the Jewish escape from a plot by Haman, an evil Persian official, to annihilate the Jews in the ancient Persian Empire. He said:

My brothers and sisters, in two days we will celebrate the holiday of Purim. 2,500 years ago, in ancient Persia, an enemy rose against us with the exact same goal of completely destroying our people. But Mordechai the Jew and Queen Esther, with their courage and resourcefulness, saved our people. In those days of Purim, the lot was cast, and the wicked Haman fell along with it. Even today on the holiday of Purim, the lot was cast, and the end of the evil regime will also come.

Netanyahu has also compared Iran to the biblical Amalekites (a theme he has used to refer to Hamas in Gaza, drawing criticism from the United Nations). The Amalekites were arch enemies of the Jewish people, who the Old Testament God ordered to be completely destroyed, “men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys”. Netanyahu’s government rests on an alliance with religious Zionists, who frequently invoke religious references to justify Israel’s policies.

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American evangelism

The first amendment of the US constitution, meanwhile, guarantees freedom of religion and effectively prevents one faith being favoured over any others. That said, about 70% of Americans identify with a religious faith (the vast majority are Christians) and there is evidence of the growing influence of evangelical Christianity on the Maga movement and the Trump administration.

On March 5, the US president was joined for prayers in the Oval Office by a group of evangelical pastors. Placing their hands on him, prayed “for your grace and protection over him…and over our troops”. The video of the American president engaging in a group prayer while engaged in a major war went viral.

At the start of the war, hundreds of US troops reported being told by their commanders that the war was “part of God’s divine plan” and that: “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”

Evangelical movements have vastly increased their political influence in the US and across the world. They often support right-wing politicians domestically and Israel internationally, believing in Christian Zionism or that the strengthening of the state of Israel will ultimately lead to the erection of the Temple in Jerusalem and hasten the arrival of the day of judgement.

Challenged by evangelical movements, the Catholic church, in contrast, has condemned the war as “immoral” and “unjust”, and denounced Israel’s attacks on Christians in Lebanon. Pope Leo, himself an American, has called the war a “scandal to the whole human family”.

Iranian martyrdom

The Israeli killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke a norm in international relations in more ways than one. It is the first assassination of a head of state by a foreign country in many decades. And it is the first time in centuries – perhaps ever – that one of Shi’ism’s most senior Grand Ayatollahs has been killed by a foreign power.

Many other senior Shia clerics – some of whom had had a difficult and sometimes even antagonistic relationship with Khamenei and the system he represented – declared him a martyr. Assuming his father’s role as supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei delivered remarks that heavily emphasised martyrdom and messianism – including an opening reference to the “Hidden 12th Imam”, who is meant to return on the day of judgement, according to Shia doctrine.

In Iran, Twelver Shia messianism and Iranian nationalism have long been interwoven, especially since the revolution of 1979. Now, Iran’s Shia clerics have declared the defence of the homeland as a sacred duty.

What the other branches of Islam think of the war is more complicated. Some senior non-Shia clerics, including the mufti of Oman – a prominent scholar of the Ibadi branch of Islam – declared Khamenei a martyr. The Sunni mufti of Iraq even argued that all Muslims should support Iran. There have been protests denouncing the war in Pakistan, India, Yemen, Indonesia and beyond.
But other major Sunni clerical institutions or movements have not been so vociferous in their condemnation for the death of Khamenei or the need to support Iran. This – quite apart from the at times bitter antagonism between Sunnism and Shi’ism – also has to do with the fact that Iran swiftly started attacking major Sunni-majority countries that host American military bases.

Messianic and apocalyptic elements of all three major Abrahamic faith traditions have been instrumentalised by increasingly authoritarian leaders in a global confrontation. While there are voices in all three traditions criticising this use of religion, it is setting a dangerous precedent. And while the war has been criticised as being in breach of international law, the reckless use of religion to support this war has not. This should change.