No injuries and no damage reported in Wembley incident and Met says it is not being treated as terrorism

A teenager and two men have been arrested after an attempted arson attack at the offices of a Persian media organisation in north-west London, the Metropolitan police said.

Officers on patrol were told at about 8.30pm on Wednesday that an “ignited container” had been thrown towards the site in Wembley, landing in a car park where the fire immediately died out. There were no injuries and no damage was reported.

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Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassador

• Officials debate withholding Mandelson vetting documents from parliament

• Five key questions: Who overruled the decision to deny Mandelson security clearance?

Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting clearance but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office to ensure he could take up his post as ambassador to the US, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal.

According to multiple sources, Mandelson was initially denied clearance in late January 2025 after a developed vetting process, a highly confidential background check by security officials.

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The poet reconnects with the landscape of the May Day Mountains in Jamaica where he grew up in a personal story of migration, race and rural life

An award-winning poet living in Roundhay Park, Leeds, Jason Allen-Paisant spent his early childhood living with his grandmother in Coffee Grove, a hilly rural district of Jamaica which was cut off from basic amenities such as electricity and water. Seen through the eyes of a child, Coffee Grove was, he notes, “both a tiny place and a huge planet”. There he developed a close relationship with the local plant life through climbing trees, picking fruit and helping his grandmother harvest yams on the “grung”, the local name for their small plot of land.

Allen-Paisant later yearned for pastures new, moving first to Paris and then to Britain to study at Oxford. His dream of upward mobility had become a reality, yet in the UK he noticed his interactions with nature were few and far between. He came to realise “just how much class keeps people in Britain from the privileges of land and soil and also keeps them from the tenderness that comes with forming kinship with the earth”.

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Hasselhorn/Bushakevitz
(Harmonia Mundi)
The German baritone’s all-Schubert disc with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz is full of communicative diction and poetic phrasing

Now in his mid-30s, German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn is a major player in a veritable rat-pack of high-flying young lieder singers. His growing discography includes an ongoing series with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz, part of Harmonia Mundi’s Schubert 200 project to record all the composer’s songs, from 1823 onwards, ahead of the 2028 bicentenary of his death.

The year 1826 found Schubert in affirmative mood, a torrent of lieder reflecting a newfound sense of optimism. The album, appropriately entitled Hoffnung, the German word for hope, opens with a nuanced account of the expansive Im Freien. The combination of Hasselhorn’s communicative diction and Bushakevitz’s poetic phrasing brings a rapt intimacy to this six-minute celebration of nocturnal beauty.

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These digital security organizers bring the fight for online privacy to dance parties, wine meetups and reading groups

Imani Thompson shows up at Wonderville Bar in Brooklyn looking ready for a DJ set, or to drink, or to dance the night away with friends. While she’ll probably do the latter, she’s also a cybersecurity organizer leading the evening’s event.

Thompson is the host, along with the New York City-based tech organizing coalition Cypurr Collective, of Break Up With Google. Its purpose isn’t a mystery; the main goal is to help attenders understand how to mitigate their vulnerability to surveillance through major tech services. But it’s also important for people to have fun while they do it, Thompson said – hence the DJs playing until the wee hours of the morning.

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Pontiff denounces leaders who invoke religion to justify war, after US bishops offer him support after Vance remarks

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Pope Leo XIV has said that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war, in comments that will be seen as another sharp escalation in his almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran.

The first American-born pontiff did not mention Donald Trump by name, but used his speech in Cameroon on Thursday to denounce world leaders that invoke religion to justify violence against other nations.

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As she approaches her 44th birthday, we celebrate an actor who can move from dreamy psychodrama for Sofia Coppola to gritty angst for Jane Campion

An elegant, sun-soaked Patricia Highsmith adaptation with fine work from Viggo Mortensen as a con man and Dunst as his wife, holidaying in early 1960s Athens when they meet an American tour guide (Oscar Isaac). It seems tantalisingly unclear at first whether his designs are on the chirpy young bride or her shady older husband.

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• Austrian was capped 33 times for his national team

• Manninger won Premier League during Arsenal spell

The former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger has been killed in a road accident, his first club Red Bull Salzburg have announced.

The Austrian Bundesliga club said on Thursday that the 48-year-old had died, in a post on its official X account. It said: “We mourn our former goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who tragically lost his life in a traffic accident. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace, Alexander.”

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Footage of As Deep As the Grave screened in the US, featuring an authorised visual deepfake of the actor who died in 2025

A trailer has been released for the first film to star an authorised generative AI version of a major Hollywood actor.

Val Kilmer was cast in western As Deep As the Grave before his death in April 2025. Production delays meant he never shot any scenes, but the creative team worked with UK-based company Sonantic to create an AI speaking voice based on his old recordings.

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The semi-finals are set after a dazzling meeting between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. But there was plenty more to talk about in the last eight

Bayern Munich’s thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday, which gave them a 6-4 victory on aggregate and set up a semi-final meeting with PSG, was a stone-cold classic. If either of the semis is as good as Real and Bayern’s quarter-final, this season will have been blessed. Arda Güler showed off his brilliance on Wednesday, first with his presence of mind after Manuel Neuer’s mistake led to the opening goal and again from a free-kick in the 29th minute. Güler’s goals gave Madrid hope, but Harry Kane made another difficult finish look routine before Luis Díaz and Michael Olise’s late goals settled the tie. Bayern’s wing wizards were crucial in defeating the 15-time champions. This game had it all. That includes controversy, with a post-match scuffle set off by Madrid players enraged by Eduardo Camavinga’s dismissal for two quickfire yellow cards. Neuer, the hero of the first leg, had his blushes saved by his Bayern teammates, though one save from Kylian Mbappé was him at his best, combining reflexes with brute strength. Fine margins decided a battle of the giants.

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Een man en vrouw uit Capelle aan den IJssel zijn op woensdag 4 maart meer dan tienduizend euro kwijtgeraakt. Het echtpaar (71 en 72 jaar oud) dacht een mail van de apotheek te krijgen en later gebeld te worden door een bankmedewerker, maar werd in werkelijkheid opgelicht.

Een man en vrouw uit Capelle aan den IJssel zijn op woensdag 4 maart meer dan tienduizend euro kwijtgeraakt. Het echtpaar (71 en 72 jaar oud) dacht een mail van de apotheek te krijgen en later gebeld te worden door een bankmedewerker, maar werd in werkelijkheid opgelicht.

KLM schrapt de komende maand 160 vluchten van en naar Schiphol. Vanwege de stijgende kosten voor kerosine kunnen een aantal vluchten binnen Europa volgens de luchtvaartmaatschappij niet rendabel uitgevoerd worden. Het zou gaan om minder dan 1 procent van de vluchten van KLM in Europa.

NEW YORK (ANP) - De aandelenbeurzen in New York gingen donderdag licht omhoog na het bereiken van nieuwe recordstanden een dag eerder. Berichten dat de Verenigde Staten en Iran overwegen het staakt-het-vuren, dat volgende week dinsdag afloopt, met nog eens twee weken te verlengen, zorgden voor optimisme bij beleggers. Dat zou de partijen meer tijd geven om te onderhandelen over een vredesakkoord en een verdere escalatie van het conflict kunnen voorkomen.

De Dow-Jonesindex noteerde kort na opening van de markt 0,2 procent hoger op 48.576 punten. De brede S&P 500-index steeg 0,2 procent tot 7035 punten en de technologiebeurs Nasdaq ging een fractie omhoog tot 24.020 punten. Woensdag sloten de S&P 500 en de Nasdaq op nieuwe recordniveaus. Voor de Nasdaq was het de elfde winstbeurt op rij. De S&P 500 wist maandag al alle koersverliezen sinds het begin van de Iranoorlog weg te werken.

De Amerikaanse beurzen zijn de afgelopen dagen flink gestegen door de mogelijkheid van een vredesakkoord tussen de VS en Iran. President Donald Trump herhaalde woensdag in een interview met Fox Business dat de oorlog met Iran "bijna voorbij" is en dat Teheran "heel graag een akkoord wil sluiten".

Ook is het cijferseizoen op Wall Street inmiddels in volle gang. PepsiCo won 0,3 procent na publicatie van de resultaten. De snack- en drankenfabrikant boekte afgelopen kwartaal meer omzet en winst dan verwacht. De fabrikant van Doritos en Lay's zag de verkoop van zoute snacks weer aantrekken na recente prijsverlagingen. PepsiCo wil de groei van zijn divisie voor zoute snacks weer aanwakkeren na een langdurige dip, door de prijzen van zijn belangrijkste merken tot 15 procent te verlagen.

PPG Industries steeg bijna 6 procent. De concurrent van verfconcern AkzoNobel verhoogt de prijzen van zijn producten wereldwijd met maximaal 20 procent door de hogere kosten van grondstoffen, energie en transport door de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten.

Voyager Technologies won 3 procent nadat NASA het bedrijf de opdracht had gegeven om de zevende particuliere astronautenmissie naar het internationale ruimtestation ISS uit te voeren. Het is de eerste keer dat Voyager Technologies voor een dergelijke missie is geselecteerd.

Beleggers verwerkten ook nieuwe cijfers over wekelijkse werkloosheidsaanvragen in de VS. Die vielen iets lager uit dan verwacht.

TBILISI (ANP) - Naomi van Krevel heeft op de EK judo in het Georgische Tbilisi naast een bronzen medaille gegrepen in de klasse tot 52 kilogram. De 25-jarige judoka verloor in de strijd om het brons van de Spaanse Ariane Toro Soler, die eerder werd uitgeschakeld in de halve finale.

De Nederlandse judoka kwam na ruim een minuut een waza-ari achter tegen de Spaanse. Bij een tweede score van de Spaanse kort daarop, was het met ippon voorbij.

Van Krevel had eerder gewonnen van Sofia Asvesta uit Cyprus en de Spaanse Ayumi Leiva Sanchez. In de kwartfinale verloor ze van de Italiaanse Odette Giuffrida, maar in de herkansingen versloeg ze de Poolse Aleksandra Kaleta met ippon.

Vorig jaar

Bij de EK judo vorig jaar in Montenegro won Van Krevel brons in de klasse tot 52 kilogram.

Nederland sluit de eerste dag van de kampioenschappen af zonder medaille. Naast Van Krevel werd Amber Gersjes al in de eerste ronde uitgeschakeld in de klasse tot 48 kilogram.

Nederland neemt met negen judoka's deel aan de EK in Tbilisi. Op de vorige EK haalde Nederland drie bronzen medailles.

Hoge inflatie en geopolitieke onrust blijken voor veel grote bedrijven geen ramp, maar een kans om de winst verder op te voeren. Sinds het begin van de jaren 2020 zijn bedrijfswinsten in de Verenigde Staten naar een recordniveau gestegen, ondanks pandemie, handelstarieven, verstoorde toeleveringsketens en nu een oorlog rond Iran die energieprijzen opdrijft.

Uit gegevens in The New York Times, blijkt dat bedrijfswinsten als aandeel van de economie historisch hoog zijn, net als een belangrijke maatstaf voor winstmarges: het verschil tussen de kosten voor bedrijven en de prijzen die consumenten betalen. “Het is compleet schokkend,” zegt Josh Brown, topman van Ritholtz Wealth Management, die stelt dat bedrijven “praktisch ninja’s” zijn geworden in het managen van risico’s.

Economen zien dat veel ondernemingen externe schokken – van oorlog tot nieuwe importheffingen – aangrijpen om prijzen te verhogen, vaak meer dan strikt kostendekkend. Tijdens eerdere crises, zoals de Russische inval in Oekraïne en de verhoging van tarieven door president Donald Trump, wisten bedrijven de extra kosten grotendeels door te schuiven naar klanten, terwijl de marges opliepen. Ook nu verwachten analisten dat de winst van bedrijven in de grote Amerikaanse beursindex S&P 500 in de komende kwartalen met ruim 10 procent zal groeien, ondanks de oorlog en duurdere energie.

Consumentenwaakhonden waarschuwen intussen voor een nieuwe fase van “ greedflation”: prijsstijgingen die deels worden gedreven door winsthonger, geholpen door AI-gestuurde prijssoftware die razendsnel test hoeveel extra een klant bereid is te betalen. Oftewel: de inflatie op het kassabonnetje is vaak niets anders dan iemands anders extra marge.

Latest version points to a shift in how Microsoft thinks about IDEs

Visual Studio 2026 18.5 arrives with two headline changes – a smarter code suggestion system and an AI-powered debugger. Yet developer frustration over color contrast and forced updates continue to overshadow the improvements.…

DirtyGlassEye has added a photo to the pool:

Throughout the entire evening at Sagamiko the weather became increasingly unfavorable for photos rain was going off and on and my consistent wiping of my lens and attempt to keep it under an umbrella began to get to wet (before the God-like rainfall I experienced at the top of peak later) It's possible that some of my shots had humidity from my breath as I continued wiping my lens every 5 minutes, including this one.
There were multiple switchbacks on the south side of the slopes. As the nearly the entire natural light of the sky diminished I was around halfway down. I grew frustrated because of how I needed to constantly readjust and clean my camera, a lot of my shots after that AMAZIN tunnel shot were not turning out as well as I hoped. Then I got this one. Multicolored spires on a curve where I could get both paths, no matter what I ended up doing in editing the boundaries would remain soft because of the level of humidity.
I did one more ambitious edit, I had some ambient lighting cutting through the mist in the night, nothing new, but instead of just making hte sky darker like normal I wanted to try something new. I recolored it instead of getting rid of it, making any excess light you could see violet. figured it would compliment these small displays well. I'm wondering if I should upload my other tunnel shots from Sagamiko because nearly all of them are 10/10s already but the problem is they're all the exact frame, so it'll be a challenge to pull out other shots from this location like this. I'm conflicted.

As part of his Real Time series, artist Maarten Baas has created The People’s Clock, a timepiece that lives in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. To create the clock’s “workings”, Baas recorded more than 1000 volunteers moving as the clock’s hands over a 12-hour period. If you look carefully, you can see a single individual dressed in orange at the edge of the circle acting as the second hand:

Each of the installed clock’s faces is a looped video of that recording, synced to the current time. Here’s a quick behind-the-scenes video of how the clock was made:

See also Baas’s Sweeper’s Clock and Schiphol Clock.

Tags: amsterdam · art · clocks · Maarten Baas · time · video