UN says record numbers of people could face acute hunger if conflict continues

The world has become well versed in the importance of the strait of Hormuz to the world’s energy flows, but attention is increasingly turning to its vital role in another market – the fertiliser on which harvests depend.

A third of the global trade in raw materials for fertiliser passes through the maritime choke point, which is also the route for 20% of shipments of natural gas, which is required to make it.

We are at a critical point in the climate emergency and already struggling to meet emissions reduction targets. The UK government must hold its nerve

While the UK is only marginally involved in the war in the Middle East in military terms, the ramifications for this country are still potentially huge. And nowhere more so than in the energy sector. It isn’t a surprise, then, that commentary has focused on the impact potential policy interventions might have on the cost of energy to UK homes and businesses, and on whether the decisions the government takes will make the nation more – or less – energy-secure.

The usual suspects in Reform and the Tory party have used the war as an excuse to renew demands that the North Sea be sucked dry of its remaining oil and gas, in order – they say – to end reliance on fossil fuel imports and to guarantee energy security. More sensible heads have argued that the North Sea basin is a field that is way past peak production, and that has only limited amounts of oil and gas left, and that energy security can only be reached if we move further and faster on renewables. Extraordinarily, the real reason no further significant exploitation of North Sea oil and gas is planned seems to have been entirely forgotten, or at least set aside.

Bill McGuire is professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at UCL. His next book – The Fate of the World: a History and Future of the Climate Crisis – is published in May

Fabric that once defined Northern Ireland’s capital is at heart of its stylish revival, embraced by designers, royalty and heritage farmers alike

On a cobbled street in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, next door to a hipster coffee shop and opposite an ice-cream parlour that has a near-constant queue since going viral on TikTok, the elegant Kindred of Ireland boutique is doing a surprisingly brisk trade in artfully oversized butter yellow linen blouses and exquisite Donegal mulberry tweed jackets finished with a length of rose pink linen tied in a bow at the nape of the neck.

Half a century after the Troubles, Belfast is finding a new identity through an industry that once defined it. Linen – the fibre that built its wealth and earned it the name Linenopolis – is being woven into a story of renewal. Almost a century after the postwar collapse of an industry that, at its peak, employed 40% of the working population of Northern Ireland, linen is returning as a marker of identity.

With alumni in every F1 team, Oxford Brookes University’s Formula Student team is the most prestigious in the country

At the Oxford Brookes Headington campus, more than 100 students are busy building the fastest, best designed race car possible for this year’s Formula Student competition.

Oxford Brookes Racing (OBR) is the UK’s most prestigious Formula Student team. They’ve won more design awards than any UK university, and frequently occupy the international race’s top spots.

Find out how bad your mental mush is

How bad is your brain rot? Tally up your scores to see your results.

None 3pts

1-3 2pts

4-6 1pts

6+ 0pts

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Frequently 1pts

Almost always 0pts

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Watch TV 1pts

Doomscroll 0pts

Almost never 0pts

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At least once a week 2pts

2-3 times a week 3pts

Never 3pts

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Frequently 1pts

Basically always 0pts

7+ hours 3pts

6-7 hours 2pts

Less than 6 hours 1pts

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At least once a week 2pts

2-3 times a week 3pts

6+ hours 3pts

3-6 hours 2pts

1-3 hours 1pts

Less than an hour 0pts

Next to me, obviously 0pts

Somewhere else 3pts

Never 3pts

Occasionally, if it’s important 2pts

Pretty much every time 0pts

Vibrant seagrass meadows once flourished around the UK but most have been destroyed. Now, communities and scientists are working to restore them

“There’s not many jobs where you get to be a sea gardener,” says Dr Oliver Thomas, senior science officer at Project Seagrass. He’s looking for flashes of eel grass that have survived the winter in the wide golden sand of Penrhyn beach on Ynys Môn (Anglesey), in north Wales.

But growing a meadow in the sea is not an easy job. Vast swathes of the gorgeous underwater swards, vital nurseries for fish such as cod, have been wiped out around the UK in the past century. Up to 92% have been lost. Restoring them – and their water-cleaning, carbon-storing, coast-protecting benefits – is a colossal challenge.

Downing of fighter plane – the first shot down over Iran since start of war – prompts frantic US rescue effort

• Middle East crisis – live updates

A US F-15E fighter has been shot down over Iran, prompting a frantic US search and rescue effort for its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the start of the war.

Iranian state media released images of a tail fin and other debris early on Friday accompanied by an initial claim that a US F-35 had been hit by a new air defence system over central Iran and the pilot probably killed.

Footage shows US president saying UK ‘should be our best’ ally and accusing PM of prevarication over sending ships

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Footage has emerged of Donald Trump mocking Keir Starmer by claiming the prime minister said he would have to consult his team before deciding whether to send UK aircraft carriers to the Middle East.

In a new low for UK-US relations, Trump appeared to impersonate Starmer during an Easter lunch speech at the White House.

Boys aged 14 and 16 and 18-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder after shooting in Woolwich

Police have launched a murder investigation after a 14-year-old boy was fatally shot in Woolwich, south-east London. Three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Officers received reports of a shooting on Lord Warwick Street, Woolwich, at about 3.40pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan police said.

Richard Walker says a possible September rate rise should be scrapped to reflect increase in petrol prices

A cut to fuel duty should be extended to reflect the rise in petrol prices, the government’s cost of living champion has said.

Richard Walker, the executive chair of the supermarket chain Iceland, urged Keir Starmer not to raise the levy in September, in light of the conflict in the Middle East.