Prince William travelled to Wiltshire today to meet troops from 1 Mercian Regiment, using his role as Colonel-in-Chief to focus on the perspectives of women serving in the Army.Dressed in military fatigues, he took part in a roundtable with a female soldiers’ network and listened to their accounts of serving life and frontline duties.Women currently make up around 12% of the UK Regular Forces,...

A Los Angeles jury has found Instagram and YouTube deliberately designed to be addictive and negligent in protecting a young user, awarding $6m (about £4.5m) to the plaintiff known as Kaley.The woman told the court the platforms left her with body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts.Meta and Google say they will appeal — Meta argues a single app cannot be held solely responsible for a...

This Nowruz has a different feel: homes are being swept and prepared for spring, but celebration is muted by war, internet blackouts and a sense of danger.Families who would normally gather are cut off from loved ones and struggling to get news from the outside.Reporters working with people inside Iran have been sent accounts under strict anonymity for safety. The government has tightened online...

After eight years of talks, Australia and the European Union have finalized a wide-ranging free trade agreement in Canberra valued at roughly A$10 billion.The pact removes almost all customs duties between the two sides and also deepens cooperation on defence, supply-chain resilience and critical minerals — steps officials said are designed to withstand growing global uncertainty.Tariffs on...

A major trade agreement signed this week will send more Australian beef to Europe by removing most export tariffs and easing market access.The pact, negotiated over about eight years, is valued at roughly A$10 billion and was finalised on Tuesday.Nearly all EU duties on a range of Australian farm products will be eliminated, covering wine, fruit and vegetables, olive oil, seafood, most dairy, and...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will tell MPs how the UK plans to respond if the war in the Middle East pushes energy bills higher.Her Commons statement will cover three main areas: a short assessment of the economic fallout, measures to bolster energy security, and the principles that would guide any future household support.On energy security, Reeves will recommit the government to building more...

The United States has publicly claimed authorship of a controversial 28-point blueprint intended to end the war in Ukraine, after reports that the document was being characterised by some as favouring Russia. Senator Marco Rubio, who has been involved in discussions over the plan, insisted the proposal was produced by the US and incorporated feedback from both Russian and Ukrainian sources. His...

Albania's prime minister has accused the UK Home Secretary of ethnic stereotyping after she highlighted Albanian families while unveiling major changes to Britain's asylum system. Shabana Mahmood told MPs that roughly 700 Albanian families were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation despite having had their asylum claims refused, and argued the government must remove people who have no right...

A widely circulated leaked draft of a US-brokered peace proposal lays out 28 points intended to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The document contains a mixture of provisions that Kyiv might accept and others that would amount to major concessions to Moscow — notably territorial arrangements and limits on Ukraine’s military — but many details remain vague and contested. Territory...

Leaders from Europe, Canada and Japan have urged further work on a US-drafted 28-point plan intended to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, expressing serious reservations about several of its provisions. At the G20 summit in Johannesburg, officials from Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Germany and Norway — together with two senior EU...