Watching President Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska in the centre of Kyiv lead a minute’s silence to honour the tens of thousands of soldiers who have died on the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine war was a sobering moment. 

European prime ministers and dignitaries had come to Maidan Square in Kyiv as an act of solidarity and remembrance as they set candles in front of the sea of crosses, photos and flags that now adorn this makeshift memorial for those killed in this conflict.

But equally, there is an acknowledgement from those gathered that when it comes to this war, there is no end in sight: the leaders who arrived in Ukraine to mark this anniversary expect to be coming back next year, too.

For Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, the trip was a moment to focus not just on sanctions, weapon supplies and territory, but to try to highlight the war Vladimir Putin is waging against women and children in Ukraine as he wages a “war on Ukrainian culture”.

“I think one of the things that’s been clearly happening, the way that so many children have been stolen, the ways in which, in the temporarily occupied territories, they are trying to change the education system, trying to choke out the Ukrainian language,” she said.

“It’s an attempt really, not just about territory, but to have a war on Ukrainian families, to have war on Ukraine history and culture and identity,” the foreign secretary told me in an interview in Kyiv.

But even as she arrived in Ukraine, issues at home plaguing the government and her foreign office brief were dominating the agenda, with the former US ambassador that she sacked, Peter Mandelson, arrested and taken in for hours of questioning by the police as Ms Cooper took an overnight train to Ukraine.

The foreign secretary, who sacked the ambassador just days into her job in September, reiterated her position that Lord Mandelson “should never have been appointed” and, in a rare flash of emotion, told me that “vile” emails were exchanged between Lord Mandelson and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In one of the emails released by the US Department of Justice, Epstein replies to Lord Mandelson asking how being free from jail felt, by saying “she feels fresh, firm and creamy”. Lord Mandelson replied by calling Epstein a “naughty boy”.

“That’s just vile,” she told me. “It makes me feel so angry.”

“I’ve been really clear, Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as ambassador to the US and I think some of what has been so, so deeply frustrating about all of this is that really at the heart of all of these should be the victims of Epstein, they’re women and and children who faced the most horrendous criminal exploitation trafficking and that really should be the focus.

“As you know, when I was home secretary, I made it a mission for the government to halve violence against women and girls over the next 10 years.

“That’s a strategy now that the prime minister has championed. And now, as foreign secretary, I am making tackling violence against women and girls something that is an international theme for us as well.”

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Beth says she’s never seen the foreign secretary so furious.

On that issue, Ms Cooper used her time in Ukraine to meet female victims of Russian aggression and sexual violence and the “voices for children” charity with Olena Zelenska to highlight the plight of thousands of children stolen from their Ukrainian families by Russia.

Yevgen Zakharov, a civil rights activist working at the Civil Liberties Centre, told the foreign secretary on her visit there that Putin “wants to eliminate Ukrainian identity”.

“This is his crazy idea, a genocidal intent is there,” he said.

Throughout these visits, we heard stories of women in Russian-occupied territory being beaten, sexually abused, falsely imprisoned and sent to Labour camps.

Elena Jagapova spoke of how she was taped to a chair, beaten until bloodied, sexually abused and sent to a labour camp. Another, Julia, told us of how her children – then 10 and 17 – were abducted by the Russians, and her 19-month battle to get them back.

Ms Zelenska says more than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been stolen by the Russians as part of their campaign to eradicate Ukrainian culture, through repressing the language, forcing indoctrination and trying to brainwash children.

“We heard stories not just of torture, but also of this attempt to really destroy Ukrainian culture and identity as well,” said Ms Cooper.

“That’s why it’s so important that we provide support for Ukrainian families, support for Ukrainian services but, also, make sure that you could have the kind of special tribunal, the kind of court processes, international court processes, that can pursue exactly those questions and can make sure that there is some justice and accountability.”

The UK has made it clear to Ukraine that it will play a part in helping set up war crime courts when this conflict finally ends, in echoes of Britain’s role in the Nuremberg trials that punctuated the Second World War.

But when that moment comes is hard to see. Those who gathered in Ukraine on Tuesday did so with a weariness that has come to characterise an attritional war in which Russia isn’t winning, but neither is it defeated, as Europe and the US give enough support for Ukraine to fight on, without the firepower – or sanctions against Russia – for it to truly succeed.

Mr Zelenskyy warned on the eve of the fourth anniversary that Putin had already started World War Three and Ukraine was the outpost, the frontline pushing Putin back.

Ms Cooper doesn’t want to use that language, but she does acknowledge that Russian aggression is here to stay, and allies must support Ukraine for however long it takes.

To that end, the UK introduced another sanctions package on Tuesday, and is pushing the US and Europe about a maritime services ban to make it much harder for Russia’s shadow fleet to transport Russian oil.

The frustration is that the US, in trying to pursue peace talks – and reportedly in favour of Russian demand that Ukraine cede the 20% of the Donbas territory not under Russian occupation as part of any truce, is reluctant to squeeze Russia economically right now.

So this war grinds on. For the Ukrainians and allies, one glimmer of hope is that Russia is now losing more men that it can mobilise on the battlefield.

Ukraine hopes that if it can increase the casualty rate to 50,000 Russians a month, then Putin might be forced to consider conscription, which could prove politically difficult and begin to stall his momentum.

That Russia has sacrificed an estimated 500,000 lives in order to gain less than one per cent of Ukraine’s territory tells of the attritional war in which these two sides are locked – and with the horrific loss of life.

In the meantime, Britain and Europe will try to put more pressure on the US to bring in more aggressive sanctions against Russia, to financially starve Putin’s war machine.

But for all the signs of solidarity on Tuesday, there is little to show in the way of concrete steps to peace. Ukraine hopes for a game changer in the coming months, but is reconciled to more anniversaries like today.

Princess and Junior Andre have reportedly signed up for the BBC’s Celebrity Race Across The World following the success of their ITV2 reality show

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Princess and Junior Andre are reportedly set to participate in the upcoming series of Celebrity Race Across The World. Insiders suggest that the siblings, children of former glamour model Katie Price and singer Peter Andre, have already embarked on their international journey to commence filming for the BBC show.

It’s believed that Princess, 18, and Junior, 20, were enlisted by producers following the success of their ITV2 reality programme The Princess Diaries. The reality series, which documents the influencer navigating life under public scrutiny, was the channel’s most successful launch of 2025 outside of Love Island and Big Brother, and is due to return for a second series next month.

Celebrity Race Across The World features four renowned duos competing across a region of the world to reach a destination using any means of transport other than aeroplanes. The previous series saw Roman Kemp and his sister Harleymoon declared winners after a 3,700-mile race through Central America.

A source disclosed to The Sun regarding the show’s new recruits: “Princess and Junior have proven themselves to be well-mannered, hardworking kids and opportunities continue to come their way. Execs were impressed with the ratings for The Princess Diaries but also how they came across.

READ MORE: Great British Menu viewers all issue same complaint just minutes into new episodeREAD MORE: Great British Menu start time, change to judges, and competing chefs for Wales

“They’re brilliant signings for Celeb Race as they bring with them a younger audience. But bosses are also looking forward to seeing how they cope with the stripped-back style of travelling as they’re more at home in five-star hotels than a hostel.”, reports the Mirror.

Representatives for Princess and Junior Andre declined to comment, and the BBC has been approached by Wales Online for a response.

This follows the siblings breaking their silence after their mother Katie’s whirlwind marriage to her fourth husband, Lee Andrews.

Newly released records appear to confirm that the couple officially finalised the legal registration of their marriage on 17 February. During a recent appearance on This Morning, Princess and Junior discussed their mum’s latest wedding.

Princess revealed she hasn’t yet met Lee, with Junior adding that they are “happy as long as she’s happy”.

At the time, Princess stated: “I’ve not met him.” Junior quickly chimed in, with Princess agreeing: “Our mum is her own person, she’s her own woman, she’s going to do what she’s going to do and at the end of the day, we’re supportive of her as long as she’s happy.

“As long as she’s happy that’s all I care about,” Junior continued, with Princess adding: “If she’s happy, we’re happy.”

You can catch up on Celebrity Across The World on BBC iPlayer

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Signs have been added to the car parks of the stores which are taking part in the supermarket’s small trial, and they tell drivers not to park in parent and child car parking bays if they don’t have any children with them.

The notices at Tesco warn shoppers that anyone who is seen to abuse the spaces and what they’re intended for will face a parking charge.

Tesco told Newsquest the signage also applies to disabled parking bays with customers being reminded to display their Blue Badges when using them.

Should fines be imposed for incorrect use of parent and child parking bays in supermarkets?

In our original article explaining that Tesco shoppers had spotted the notices, we included a poll, asking Newsquest readers if they would like to see the fines introduced in more supermarkets.

We asked ‘Should all supermarkets introduce a parking fine for incorrect use of designated spaces?’ and a huge 80% of the 1,291 readers who answered voted in favour of it.

Meanwhile, 18% said they wouldn’t like to see the fines introduced at other UK supermarkets.

A further 2% replied that they weren’t sure and sit on the fence when it comes to this discussion.

UK high street shops that no longer exist

On Instagram, Netmums shared pictures of the new signs that have started to appear in some Tesco car parks and it led to a large discussion.

One person said: “This is a good start, every single time I go with my toddler there’s always a single man parked up and getting out with no child.

“The amount of abuse I’ve received when saying something to them is horrifying too so fine away!”

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Someone else said: “My local Tesco has introduced this and im here for it! Just curious about how its going to be monitored”.

This person shared: “YES!!! I can’t stand people who use them without young children. Drives me insane!”

Others suggested the warning needed to be clearer, with one saying: “This needs to include pregnant women!”

Another shared: “What age is classified as children”.

How could supermarket car parks be further improved? Let us know in the comments below.

Police said inquiries into the incident are ongoing

A man has died following an alleged assault outside a Wetherspoon pub in south Wales. Gwent Police previously said a 37-year-old man from Tredegar was in hospital in a life-threatening condition following an incident outside The Picture House in Ebbw Vale over the weekend.

Gwent Police confirmed on Tuesday evening that the alleged victim had sadly died in hospital.

A Cardiff man who was previously arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has now been re-arrested on suspicion of murder, a statement from the force said.

The incident was reported to have taken place outside The Picture House in Bethcar Street between 11.30pm on Friday, February 20, and 12.15am on Saturday, February 21.

Gwent Police said its investigation into what happened was “continuing at pace”.

The 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in police custody where he is being questioned.

Police have asked for anyone who witnessed the alleged assault, or has relevant CCTV or dashcam footage, to get in touch if they have not already done so.

You can assist the investigation by contacting Gwent Police via their website, calling 101, or messaging them directly on their Facebook or X social media channels quoting log reference 2600055384.

Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 with information or visit their website.

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