US officials say military operation carried out, without giving further details; Iran state media says air defences fired and airspace closed in some areas

• What we know so far about Israelas strike on Iran
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Itas 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Letas get a reminder of what we know so far:

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.

The Israeli military has told news agencies including Agence France-Presse and Associated Press: aWe donat have a comment at this time.a

Iranas state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the countryas official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.

Iranas Fars news agency reported athree explosionsa were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of Isfahan province, while Iranas space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said aseverala drones had been asuccessfully shot downa.

Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be acompletely securea, Iranas Tasnim news agency reported, citing areliable sourcesa.

Flights were suspended across swathes of Iran on Friday. aIranas air defence has been activated in the skies of several provinces of the country,a Tehranas official IRNA news agency said.

Mehr news agency reported that aflights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, and airports in the west, northwest and southwest have been suspended.a

Flight-tracking software showed commercial flights avoiding western Iran, including Isfahan, and skirting Tehran to the north and east.

There was no immediate comment from Dubaias Emirates airline, which was operating several of the planes.

Blasts were also reported in southern Syria, according to a local activist group. aThere were strikes on a Syrian army radar position,a said Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government website that covers news from Sweida province in the south, reports AFP.

Oil prices surged more than three per cent in early Asian trade on Friday after the reports of explosions.

Prime minister to express concern about aover-medicalisinga normal worries with diagnoses as mental health conditions

Rishi Sunak will today claim Britain is suffering from a asicknote culturea, as he warns there is a risk of aover-medicalisinga normal worries by diagnosing them as mental health conditions.

In a speech on how to reduce people being signed off sick from work, the prime minister will say the government is planning to trial getting awork and health professionalsa to issue fit notes, shifting away from GPs carrying out this role.

Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulations

The majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.

When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life.

Press Awards recognise newspaperas cross-platform Cotton Capital series amid wins for several Guardian reporters

The Guardian has won a diversity award at the prestigious Press Awards after its exposA(c) on its foundersa links to transatlantic slavery, as one of its reporters took home the award for news reporter of the year.

Judges at the Press Awards called the Guardianas cross-platform Cotton Capital series, encompassing news articles, long-form essays, podcasts, video, a magazine, a 15-part newsletter and social media content, a abreathtakingly honest mea culpaa.

Husband of Nicola Sturgeon was rearrested ain connection with the embezzlement of fundsa from party, say police

Peter Murrell, the husband of the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, has been charged in connection with embezzlement after being arrested for a second time by police investigating allegations regarding the funding and finances of the Scottish National party.

Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was first arrested and interviewed as a suspect by Police Scotland detectives in April 2023 at the home he shared with Sturgeon in Glasgow, but was released later that day pending further investigation.

First phase in worldas largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week period

Voting has begun in Indiaas mammoth general election, as Narendra Modias Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the countryas democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.

Indiaas elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with more than 969 million voters, amounting to more than 10% of the worldas population. The voting began at 8am on Friday, when polling opened at 102 constituencies across the country, and will continue over the next six weeks, in seven phases, until 1 June. All the results will be counted and declared on 4 June.

Campaigners express concern at new Ofcom figures, which also show that half of under-13s are on social media

A quarter of three- and four-year-olds in the UK now own a smartphone, while half of children under 13 are on social media, according to new data that comes as ministers consider banning all children under 16 from owning a mobile phone.

The figures, from the communications regulator Ofcom, show high and rising rates of online activity by children of infant-school age, with 38% of five- to seven-year-olds using social media, compared with 30% a year ago, and 76% of them using a tablet.

Which? says inconsistencies also found, with ameaninglessa labels making it hard for shoppers to make informed choice

aMisleadinga and ainconsistenta labels make it hard for shoppers to know where their food comes from, the consumer champion Which? has said, as it found supermarket chains were selling products with ameaninglessa statements on their packaging.

Retailers must supply the acountry of origina for specific foods including fresh fruit and vegetables, unprocessed meats, fish, wine and olive oil but the rules do not generally apply to processed meat or frozen or processed fruit and vegetables.

Paperwork filed shows the royal has informed British authorities that he has moved and is now ausually residenta in the United States

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has formally confirmed he is now a US resident.

The acknowledgment is said to underscore the princeas increasing estrangement from Britain, after he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, walked away from royal duties four years ago.

Doubling of related street, house and farm names since 1900 gives glimpse of flower aghostsa, says National Trust

Over the last century orchards and blossom trees have been slipping out of the British landscape at an alarming rate but the aghostsa of lost flowers are glimpsed in an increasing number of placenames recalling the vanished pinks and whites, researchers have found.

A National Trust study has discovered that the number of street, house and farm names relating to orchards and blossom has doubled across England and Wales since the turn of the 20th century, a period in which more than half of traditional orchards have disappeared.

Flights have been pushed back to summer after the House of Lords spoke out for Afghans and refugees a hereas what to expect over the coming weeks

Rishi Sunakas plan to fly people seeking asylum to Rwanda this spring appears to have been put back to the summer after House of Lords insisted on changes to the scheme.

On Thursday the prime ministeras spokesperson said the Lords were responsible for any delay after attaching unwanted amendments to the deportation bill.

The anti-growth coalition, Bank of England and the OBR are among those under fire from Liz Truss

Raw free-market economics is missing in action. Somewhere between its 1980s ascendancy and today, the media, politicians, civil service and even the corporate mainstream abandoned small government and low taxes.

At the heart of Liz Trussas new book, Ten Years to Save the West, the former prime minister reckons this is the reason for Britainas economic drift, alongside aunelected technocratsa overruling the awishes of the peoplea.

This was not Donald Trump the business mogul or Donald Trump the 45th president a it was Donald Trump the defendant

With Donald Trump just a few feet away, a potential juror in the criminal case against him summed up the experience in just three words. aThis is bizarre,a she said, with just a slight hint of a seasoned New York accent.

Bizarre it was. There was a potential juror who once spent the night at one of Trumpas lawyersa homes more than a decade ago (Trumpas team used one of its peremptory strikes to remove the juror). The microphones didnat work. The proceedings had to start over when Judge Juan Merchan realized that a court reporter hadnat been present first thing. And the temperature in the courthouse was so frigid that Todd Blanche, one of Trumpas lawyers, asked Merchan if it would be possible to turn up the temperature ajust one degreea.

(Republic)
Subtly detailed album splits the difference between 1989as glossy pop-rock and Midnightsa understatement a and lets her ex Matty Healy have it in no uncertain terms

The two cliches used to describe the new release by a major star are that itas long-awaited and eagerly anticipated. You could hardly describe Taylor Swiftas 11th studio album as long-awaited a itas barely 18 months since her last album, Midnights, a blink of an eye in the release schedule of a pop superstar. Sheas also put out another three hours of music in the interim, in the shape of bonus track-packed re-recordings of 2010as Speak Now and 2014as 1989. But The Tortured Poets Department is certainly eagerly anticipated. The torrential nature of Swiftas output is one reason behind her current position as not just popas biggest star, but a figure who dominates pop culture to such a preposterous degree you struggle for a historical comparison: we live in a world where her endorsement of a candidate is considered a potentially deciding factor in the US presidential elections and where the prime minister of Singapore is embroiled in a row with his Thai counterpart over exclusivity rights to the south-east Asian leg of Swiftas Eras tour.

Among the countless other factors in her rise to omnipresence a her keen understanding of todayas altered media landscape and a desire for collective experience in a music world obsessed with individualised experiences a is, of course, her music, which can dim in comparison to the media noise. Thatas a shame, because, as The Tortured Poets Department underlines, Swift is an authentically skilled songwriter: melodically gifted, thoughtful, witty and willing to take risks in a risk-averse era for pop.

Tech firm released early versions of its latest large language model and a real-time image generator as it tries to catch up to OpenAI

Meta Platforms on Thursday released early versions of its latest large language model, Llama 3, and an image generator that updates pictures in real time while users type prompts, as it races to catch up to generative AI market leader OpenAI.

The models will be integrated into virtual assistant Meta AI, which the company is pitching as the most sophisticated of its free-to-use peers. The assistant will be given more prominent billing within Metaas Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps as well as a new standalone website that positions it to compete more directly with Microsoft-backed OpenAIas breakout hit ChatGPT.

Thereas some low-stakes pleasure to be had in the first half of the gory new film from the team behind Ready or Not and Scream but things fall apart disastrously

Last yearas handsome gothic horror The Last Voyage of the Demeter and bombastic Nic Cage comedy Renfield allowed Universal the opportunity to present known IP as something fresh, at least on the surface, stories involving Dracula but told in ways we hadnat seen before. They represented a nifty marketing strategy for a back catalogue of classic monster movies but both worked better as loglines than finished films a Dracula on a boat, Dracula as a bad boss a and audiences proved as uninterested as critics, the stench of old property distracting from the promise of something new.

As the studio preps a new take on The Wolf Man with next yearas Christopher Abbott-led Wolfman and Robert Eggersa remake of the Dracula-inspired Nosferatu, here comes Abigail, a poppy reimagining of the little-remembered 1936 horror Draculaas Daughter. In the contemporary take, sheas a ballerina (Matildaas Alisha Weir) who gets kidnapped by a group of unaware criminals, hired to keep her locked in a grand old house for 24 hours while ransom money is obtained. But early on, recovering addict and single mother Joey (Melissa Barrera) figures out that something is up and starts to realise that the scared little girl in their care might not be so scared after all.

Vidya Balan shines in this witty remake that sees a married couple, both cheating on each other, on the verge of breaking up

The algebra of love is a multiple-choice conundrum in Shirsha Guha Thakurtaas debut, a witty remake of Azazel Jacobsa romance The Lovers starring Debra Winger. Transporting the original story of a disaffected American couple caught up in extramarital affairs to Mumbai, Do Aur Do Pyaar often heads to the cityas beaches, whose shifting tides bring to mind the unpredictable ebb and flow of long-term relationships.

In the film, the weight of marital distance is etched on to every frame. Twelve years into their marriage, Kavya (Vidya Balan) and Ani (Pratik Gandhi) have run out of affectionate words. Revolving around allergy medicines and bin bags, their daily conversations have gone terribly stale. At the same time Kavya finds comfort in the arms of handsome photographer Vikram, played by Heroes alum Sendhil Ramamurthy, while Ani is knee deep in a committed relationship with aspiring actor Nora (Ileana DaCruz). The film treats these romantic entanglements with a refreshing, nonjudgmental frankness, destigmatising the possibility of divorce and unshackling the concept of matrimony from its eternal promise; instead it depicts commitment as a perpetual work in progress.

Influenced by Korn and moving beyond their native Ireland, the band are ready to be one of the biggest in the world. They explain how panic attacks and parenthood came to bear on a bold new LP

Carlos OaConnell isnat merely excited about the release of Fontaines DCas new single. Heas agiddy for it. Iam giddy,a he emphasises, reclining in his dressing gown in a sunlit corner of his north London home. His attire is far from rock star loucheness: itas 9am and the guitarist has already been up for hours with his one-year-old daughter. aThereas no time to get ready!a His effusiveness doesnat feel like a stretch: the prospect of any new material from the celebrated Dublin band is thrilling enough; the fact that Starburster marks a wholly unexpected sidestep into antic, irreverent, Korn-inspired nu-metal is enough to make any interested parties come over slightly light-headed.

Yet later that afternoon, Fontaines frontman Grian Chatten is finding it difficult to muster the same enthusiasm. Perhaps because he canat quite bring himself to listen to the thing a or, in fact, any of the bandas forthcoming fourth album, Romance. He tells me this from a more stereotypical hot seat, a characterfully cluttered old-school pub in Camden Town, although heas not cleaving to rock cliche, either. We are on the Diet Cokes and the only pharmaceuticals around are his ADHD medication, which he remembers to take halfway through the interview. aWant one?a he offers, snapping the blister pack.

This super cute show about an animal hospital will have you crying happy tears from the off. And just wait till you meet the seal pups!

The late great critic Roger Ebert once said that amovies are like a machine that generates empathya a the idea being that when we sit down and watch dramas, comedies, documentaries or even horror films, they take us out of ourselves and force us to share in the pain and triumph of others. In short, they can make us better people.

Watching Wildlife Rescue, no one would call it a cinematic masterpiece, but Ebert would definitely approve as it generates such empathy for each of the wonderful people at South Essex wildlife hospital and all the gorgeous animals in their care.

Casual running clubs that give members the chance to exercise and socialise are popping up all over the UK. And each one is developing a style of its own

At just before 9am on a bright April morning in Greenwich, south-east London, runners gather in the shadow of the Cutty Sark. There are just a few at first, then more and more until the group numbers around 40. Itas a little awkward (for a first-timer like me, at least) as we shiver and make small talk. But soon we coalesce to form a big circle and run through a warm-up before doing a gentle 5km around Blackheath a weall be installed in a local cafe by 10am.

A version of this scene can be found up and down the country every weekend. Running seems to be more popular than ever a almost 580,000 people applied for this weekendas London Marathon, an increase of 120,000 on the year before a but recently there has been a boom in casual, community-focused running clubs that organise regular turn-up-and-run events for people looking to supplement their training, meet new friends, or simply get out of the house.

There may be ways to protect yourself from her negativity without jettisoning the relationship, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Start by creating boundaries

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I have a close friend of 15 years. When I met her, she was fun-loving and positive, but in the last few years she has gradually got more negative. We live in different countries and speak regularly, and every time I talk to her all she does is complain about her life and paint herself as the victim. She is a fellow therapist and I have encouraged her to get support to work through the patterns she is in, but she never does. It gets to the point where I get fed up with the moaning and frustrated that she isnat taking responsibility for her life. When this happens, I usually point out that nothing will change until she does. She responds by lashing out at me angrily, becoming defensive and giving me the silent treatment.

This has recently happened again and I am tired of it. It has occurred at a time that I am going through some difficulties. I have told her that I do not deserve to be treated like this and asked for an apology. I am very hurt that she hasnat apologised and her latest message put it all back on me. I also recognise that I need to accept she doesnat want help, but I find it very difficult to have a person like this in my life now. Part of me wants to use this latest rupture as an exit strategy. Should I?

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The mogul has taken these hacking allegations out of the public arena. Use this moment to craft reforms that can be trusted

True crime dramas, in which nobody wins but the lawyers, are not the kind of films that made Hugh Grant famous. His starring role in the long-running legal action against the Sun newspaper for phone hacking instead proves that real life is far more flawed and frustrating than film.

After more than a decade of leading a campaign against what he called the aworst excesses of the oligarch-owned pressa, Grant settled with Rupert Murdoch when offered such an aenormousa sum of money that to proceed would have seen him liable for even bigger costs.

The Scottish government is right to target smoking, drinking and drug misuse. But the root cause remains: deprivation

Every few years, headlines emerge about how Scots have the lowest life expectancy in western Europe. This was true in 2005, 2010, and most recently earlier this month, when Paul Johnston, the head of Public Health Scotland, highlighted that life expectancy stalled around 2014 to 2016, then declined in recent years. At the moment men and women in Scotland are expected to die just over two years earlier than those in England.

What exactly is happening in Scotland to explain this pattern, and are we (I say awea given that Iave lived in the nation for roughly a decade) really that different from other parts of the UK and Europe? The first issue to highlight is that life expectancy differs based on where you live. In Glasgow, life expectancy varies hugely between the richer and poorer parts of the city. In 2021, if you lived in Pollokshields West, life expectancy was 83 years, while in Greater Govan it was 65.4 a a gap of 18 years. Averages hide a deeper story linked to deprivation and inequality within Scotland. Where and how you live plays a crucial role in how long you live.

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Instead of stockpiling weapons and stoking fears of coming conflict, we should be focusing on keeping the peace

In our increasingly destabilised present, it is difficult not to see echoes of the run-up to the first world war. Back then, a standoff between two great power blocs led to a fatalism that a disastrous war was simply inevitable. If history does indeed repeat itself, that would be catastrophic for two reasons. First, because the mass slaughter turned out to be the warm-up act for worse in the rest of the 20th century. In many ways, we are still living in the aftermath. Second, because such a repetition would in fact prove the best case scenario; a nuclear inferno that devours human civilisation is a more probable outcome.

In two newspaper articles last week, Sir Keir Starmer committed Labour to retaining nuclear weapons and to hiking defence spending to 2.5% of GDP. Prevailing political wisdom would suggest this offers necessary distance from his predecessor, though it should be noted that Labouras 2017 and 2019 manifestos both promised to retain Trident and keep defence spending to at least 2%, the target Nato members are committed to reach.

The sale of the music fund ends its tumultuous years as a listed company a and that may be for the best, for it and its investors

So ends a stock market experiment that is unlikely to be repeated in a hurry: Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the music royalties company with songs by the likes of BeyoncA(c), Blondie and Chic, is to be sold to a US fund for less than its starting price in 2018 of 100p.

The immediate point is that 93p a share, or APS1.1bn, is a lot better than shareholders were looking at in recent months. The price went as low as 60p during the companyas bust-up with its own investment adviser, a suspension of dividends (unforgivable for a fund designed to turn royalties into income) and a writedown in the value of assets after a tortuous debate about valuation methodologies.

A new report shows how transformational the initiative was. But Keir Starmeras early-years plans lack the same vision

Sure Start did change the lives of children, a new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) told us last week. It not only improved educational outcomes for children, particularly kids from deprived areas, but also reduced later need for education, health and care plans for those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), and paid for itself. The confirmation that these centres for early years support were indeed a good thing was greeted by some as entirely surprising news that no one could have possibly predicted. If only wead known!

Gordon Brown, the then-Labour chancellor who introduced Sure Start in 1998, helped retrieve my eyeballs from the bit of my skull Iad rolled them into, with his analysis: aThese results tell us in detail what most parents already know. That if you provide a supportive environment to children in their early years and invest in their futures, the results will be life-transforming.a

Terri White is a journalist and the author of Coming Undone: A Memoir

My lifestyle is so attuned to that of my pets I sometimes feel our identities are fused

One of my dogs, Olive, turned five years old this week and, while every minute for her holds unfettered joy, love and promise, the birthday was burnished with a little melancholy for me.

Five!

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