Irish entry EMMY ready for lift-off with Laika Party

EBU/Ole-Martin Evensen Sandness Ireland’s Eurovision contestant EMMY says she thinks lessons were learned last year Thirty years ago Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry helped win the Eurovision Song Contest for Norway – could an astro-dog themed favour be returned this year? Enter EMMY, who will be flying the Irish tricolour in Basel, Switzerland, next week. But … Read more

Families of Hamas-held hostages share concerns

Lucy Manning Special correspondent Hostages and Missing Families Forum Twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman are still being held in Gaza Families of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza in the 7 October attacks have expressed their increasing concern about the fates of loved ones, as doubts grow about how many are still alive. One family … Read more

Indian cricket star who made batting look like art

Getty Images A dashing batsman, Sharma is widely regarded as a modern day great Rohit Sharma’s abrupt retirement from Test cricket has jolted Indian fans, leaving the team without its captain and most seasoned opener just weeks before a pivotal five-Test series starts in England. India haven’t won a Test rubber in England since 2007. … Read more

Your guide to all 37 Eurovision songs

Mark Savage Music Correspondent Alma Bengtsson Australia’s Go-Jo is one of 37 artists hoping to lift the Eurovision trophy in Basel, Switzerland The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest pops its cork on Sunday, with a “turquoise carpet” parade featuring competitors from all 37 nations. But the competition really begins on Tuesday, when the first semi-final will … Read more

First days may yield clues to leadership style

Laura Gozzi BBC News Reporting fromVatican City EPA Not long after greeting crowds from the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square on Thursday evening, Pope Leo XIV returned to the Sant’Uffizio Palace, where he had been living for the last two months. He was met by a jubilant group of staff and former colleagues, all eager … Read more

The Hollywood films made in the UK

Getty Images Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was partially filmed in Scotland “Lights, camera… tariff?” – that’s the question a scrambling movie industry has been asking this week after an unexpected intervention from US President Donald Trump. Writing on his Truth Social platform last Sunday, Trump announced … Read more

New Jersey mayor arrested for protesting at migrant centre

The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city has been arrested after allegedly trying to force his way into a migrant detention facility. Newark Mayor Ras Barak, who is running for New Jersey governor, “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings”, to leave Delaney Hall, a detention facility being run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according … Read more