‘Over the top and fun:’ TGI Fridays boss insists time is right for a UK revival 04. April 2026 (07:01) Ray Blanchette admits he may be a ‘little crazy’ as he outlines chain’s hopes of building 1,000 outlets globally“I am a little crazy maybe,” admits Ray Blanchette, a former TGI Fridays kitchen manager who has taken on the revival of the bar-restaurant chain’s UK business in the face of blasting industry headwinds.Blanchette’s family investment firm, Sugarloaf, rescued the Dallas-based parent business from administration in 2025. He then went on to pick up its UK arm in January after the local franchisee got into difficulties, retaining 33 UK restaurants but closing 16, with the loss of 456 jobs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
As a state visit looms … can the king tame Trump? 04. April 2026 (07:00) Royal visitors have long been popular in the US, and Charles has decades of diplomacy under his belt. But can soft power save the special relationship?What’s the worst that could happen when King Charles visits Donald Trump in Washington at the end of this month? And what will be the best outcome from Keir Starmer’s point of view, since it is the prime minister who directed the visit to go ahead in the hope of improving our battered, supposedly special relationship? While the relationship is still apparently meaningful to Britain, to the US it appears to not mean so much – especially now.The king goes where he is told, whether he would prefer to stay at home or not. This time to a land whose president denounces our aircraft carriers as toys and accuses us of cowardice, and whose defence secretary talks derisively of our Royal Navy. Perhaps Charles ought to wear his naval admiral’s uniform when he goes to the White House, medals and all. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
From early birds to emerging butterflies: UK shows signs of earliest spring on record 04. April 2026 (07:00) Citizen science data reveals early flowering, nesting and insect activity as global heating accelerate seasonal changeBluebells are flowering, swallows are returning and orange-tip butterflies are flying in what could become Britain’s earliest recorded spring.Records for early spring occurrences are being smashed as 2026 looks to be the earliest this century for frogspawn laying, blackbirds nesting, brimstone butterflies emerging and hazel flowering, according to Nature’s Calendar, which has logged citizen science records of seasonal change since 2000. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: US and Iranian forces race to recover missing pilot from downed jet; Israel bombards Beirut 04. April 2026 (05:46) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where plane came down in south-western Iran; Israeli military strikes ‘Hezbollah infrastructure’ in Lebanon capitalUS F-15E jet confirmed shot down over Iran as Tehran releases wreckage imagesThe Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing.Two loud explosions were heard in the capital within half an hour early on Saturday and smoke was billowing from the area of one of them, AFP is reporting.Israeli warplanes targeted the bridge that links Sohmor with Mashghara, leading to its destruction. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sydney councils fear new datacentres could cause blackouts, block housing and affect locals’ health 04. April 2026 (04:26) Datacentres ‘directly competing’ with possible residential builds near public transport, one council tells NSW inquiry, amid growing concernsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDatacentre developments are crowding out opportunities for housing and job-rich industries across Sydney, a New South Wales inquiry has heard, with one local council reporting a rise in blackouts linked to the industry’s expansion.Several Sydney councils, all facing an influx of datacentre developments, have raised concerns about the health, environmental and amenity impacts on their local communities in submissions to the state’s datacentre inquiry. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Evacuations ordered as two wildfires break out in southern California 04. April 2026 (04:05) Stiff winds ‘spreading the smoke’ as Springs fire bears down on Moreno Valley while smaller Crown fire also burningA pair of wildfires broke out in southern California on Friday, marking the region’s first significant burns in a spring that has seen a major heatwave.The fires started in windy conditions that have caused them to spread quickly. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for parts of southern California through midday Friday, warning of gusts up to 50mph. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nine charged over alleged conspiracy to import tonnes of cocaine and meth via ‘mother ship’ in Australian waters 04. April 2026 (02:16) Police allege drugs were to be collected from a drop zone in Bass Strait and distributed across the nation using trucking connectionsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen a commercial trawler sank off Victoria with four crew members needing rescuing, police became suspicious about an alleged drug trafficking operation.Nine men are accused over a conspiracy to import tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine before distributing the drugs across Australia using trucking connections. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump requests $152m funding to restore Alcatraz as prison 04. April 2026 (02:09) Budget proposal released on Friday outlines president’s desire to revive former federal prison in San Francisco BayDonald Trump is asking for $152m to restore Alcatraz, a former federal prison off the coast of San Francisco, according to a budget proposal released on Friday for the 2027 fiscal year.Last May, Trump first called upon the Department of Justice, the FBI and Homeland Security to rebuild the prison. He heaped praise on Alcatraz’s reputation in a Truth Social post. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
A ‘masculinity crisis’ is brewing in UK schools, union says 04. April 2026 (01:01) Misogynistic abuse of female staff is increasing, leaving teachers feeling ‘traumatised’ and ‘humiliated’Teachers’ leaders have said a “masculinity crisis” is fermenting in schools across the UK, with misogynistic abuse of female staff on the increase, leaving victims “traumatised”, “demeaned” and “humiliated”.Almost a quarter of female teachers who took part in a union survey said they have been the target of misogyny from a pupil over the past 12 months – the highest proportion in the last four years of surveys. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘India is going to face a food crisis’: Farmers panic over fertiliser shortages amid Iran war 04. April 2026 (01:00) Ripple effects of oil and fertiliser shortage felt by farmers in India and Sri Lanka despite governments saying there is enough stock to go roundGurvinder Singh never thought the war in Iran would touch his quiet corner of Punjab.Yet looking out over his smallholding, where he alternates between wheat and rice crops in the state known as India’s breadbasket, the 52-year-old farmer can barely think of anything else. His anxiety over a conflict playing out thousands of miles away is crippling as he fears what will come of this season’s rice crop. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
