A month of air strikes, economic collapse and harsh crackdowns has left many Iranians living on edge, sleepless and worried about survival.In Tehran a young woman — given a pseudonym for her safety — describes the moment the war came into her office: a violent blast, smoke on the skyline and instant panic as colleagues fled to the roof.Her employer closed the business that day and let staff...

The Met Office has issued yellow wind warnings for parts of the UK over the Easter weekend, warning that strong gusts could disrupt travel and cause local damage.The alert runs from 6pm on Easter Saturday until around midday on Easter Sunday and covers swathes of Scotland, Northern Ireland, North Wales and the north of England from Liverpool to Newcastle.Forecasters say a cold air mass from...

Britain faces a changeable weekend as the clocks spring forward, with winds, rain and pockets of freezing temperatures arriving as Daylight Saving Time begins.Saturday will feel mostly settled for many people, with spells of sunshine broken by showers.The wettest activity is expected in the far north‑west, while daytime highs could reach about 13C in some areas. After dark on Saturday, rural...

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...

Russian forces launched an unprecedented daytime drone assault across western Ukraine on Tuesday, hitting multiple cities and damaging a historic monument.Local officials in Lviv said the 16th-century Bernardine monastery, a UNESCO-listed landmark, sustained damage.Video shared by authorities shows flames spreading through the roof of a nearby residential building. The drone wave also struck...

France's Socialist incumbents held onto the country's four biggest cities — Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille — in local elections that offered a boost to established parties ahead of next year's presidential contest.The results suggested a retreat from political extremes in many urban centres, even as the far left and far right made selective advances in other areas.Parties across the...

A leading offshore trade group has urged the UK government to allow more North Sea oil and gas activity, warning that shrinking domestic output is leaving the nation exposed to volatile global markets.Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said recent supply shocks and rising crude prices have underlined the need for more home-grown hydrocarbons to reduce import dependence.The trade body pointed to...

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...

Postal staff around the UK have told the BBC that managers instructed them to remove or stash first-class letters so rounds appeared completed, a practice they say has helped mask missed delivery targets.The claims come from ten postal workers who spoke anonymously to BBC Your Voice.They described mail being put on trolleys or moved out of sight and returned the next day when inspections or...

Another surge in energy prices has jolted Europe, reviving memories of the 2022 shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.This time the trigger is instability in the Middle East, which has disrupted key shipping routes and sent markets into a fresh tailspin.The EU had vowed to end its heavy dependence on Russian fuels after 2022 and moved quickly: Russia now supplies almost none of the...