Key favours Kookaburra because 'you really work out who can bowl'

The early-season trial of the Kookaburra ball in the County Championship has been hailed as a success by Rob Key, with the England men's team director keen to make it a permanent fixture throughout the domestic first-class summer.

'For the first time in 10 years, I can just kind of be

Britain's Olympic sprint hope has rediscovered her mojo after a life-changing move to Texas to prepare for Paris 2024

Unemployment rate Jumps to 4.2% as cost of borrowing slows jobs market

The number of people out of work rose by more than expected in February, raising concerns that employers are beginning to lay off staff in response to high interest rates.

Superdry restructures to halt dive into administration

Superdry is to embark on a restructuring plan including rent reductions in stores and a fundraising, backed by its boss and co-founder Julian Dunkerton, and will quit the London Stock Exchange.

Belarus inmate smuggles out story of brutal prison time on toilet paper

A political prisoner in Belarus has shed light on the country's brutal prison system by smuggling out her story written on pieces of toilet paper.

‘A message of peace’: Olympic flame’s journey to Paris begins

A taste of the drama and beauty of this summer's Paris Olympics unfolded yesterday in the foothills of Greece with the lighting of the flame that will illuminate the world's biggest sports event.

Croatia's pro-western stance under threat as populist looks to make gains in election

Croatian voters are going to the polls today in a high-stakes parliamentary election that could significantly change the country's pro-western stance on issues including European support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.

Fifty potential jurors in Trump trial say they couldn't be impartial

Donald Trump arrived at the Manhattan courtroom yesterday morning for the second day of jury selection in his criminal trial over alleged hush-money payments to a porn star.

Kharkiv's mayor calls for support to prevent city being a 'second Aleppo'

Kharkiv's mayor has called on US politicians to vote through a fresh package of military aid to prevent the city suffering from Syrian civil war levels of destruction because it does not have the air defences to prevent long-range Russian attacks.

Art review Rage, violence, death and regret in an unmissable one-act drama

At the height of his fame in Rome, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is known to have owned at least 12 books. We don't picture Caravaggio as a reader. A street-fighter, a killer, yes - but not an intellectual.

Rat bites and sewage Schools on frontline of housing crisis that is making children ill

Some children living in dire housing conditions have been woken up by chesty coughs caused by damp, others by the smell of sewage leaking down their walls. One was woken by rats on his chest.

Where there's smoke... Critics' votes rekindle leadership talk

In his speech to the Tory faithful at the Conservative party conference in Manchester last year, Rishi Sunak declared that he wanted to ban smoking for future generations.

TV review Hammond gets tails wagging as she takes over from O'Grady

We are living through canine television's golden (retriever) era. Flick through the channels and it's odds on that you'll find a programme about dogs who need a home, or need to be better trained in the one they have.

Fresh DNA testing in rape and murder cases is a decade too late’

Andrew Malkinson has said that an announced rollout of fresh DNA testing for contested rape and murder convictions should have happened a decade ago when the science first became available, a move that would have spared him years in jail.

Study for portrait Churchill hated goes on show at Blenheim Palace

An intimate study of Winston Churchill that has been in private hands for seven decades has gone on show in the room at Blenheim Palace in which Britain’s most famous prime minister was born, before being auctioned in June.

Baby died after she was strapped face down to a bean bag at nursery, court told

A nursery deputy manager caused the death of a baby she placed face down, tightly swaddled and strapped to a bean bag for more than 90 minutes, a court has heard.

Artists make a stand Venice Biennale show shut until ceasefire deal agreed

The artists and curators of the Israeli national pavilion at the Venice Biennale have announced their decision not to open until “a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached” in the conflict in Gaza, on the opening preview day of the largest and most prominent global gathering in the art world.

‘A hole in my heart’ Dismay at fast-track for settlers’ homesin East Jerusalem

Israel’s government has accelerated the construction of settlements across East Jerusalem, with more than 20 projects totalling thousands of housing units having been approved or advanced since the start of the war in Gaza six months ago, planning documents show.

'Destabilising' US and EU mull widening of sanctions on Tehran

The US and the EU are considering rapid new sanctions against Iran in the wake of its large-scale air attack on Israel at the weekend.

Fire engulfs Copenhagen's historic stock exchange in city's 'Notre Dame moment'

Firefighters at Copenhagen's historic former stock exchange were yesterday battling a huge blaze that had engulfed the 17th-century building's roof, toppled its distinctive spire and threatened one of Denmark's most valuable art collections.

Stream of consciousness: Akomfrah's Britain comes to Biennale

Britain's national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, the world's largest and most prominent art event, begins with video of Holbein drawings from the Tudor court being washed over by the eddies of a stream - and ends with the death of a British-Nigerian man, David Oluwale, who drowned in a Yorkshire river after being beaten by local police in 1969.

High court rejects girl's call to be allowedto prayat school

A high court decision to uphold a prayer ban at one of the highest-performing state schools in England has been welcomed by Rishi Sunak and Kemi Badenoch, who described it as a \"victory against activists trying to subvert our public institutions\".

PM attacks rightwing conference shutdown

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, has rounded on Belgian authorities for closing a radical right wing conference in Brussels that was addressed by British politicians including Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.

Top Iranian aide warns west over 'total war'

Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK claimed yesterday.

Tory divisions exposed as Sunak smoking ban moves a step closer

Flagship bill passes but Badenoch and Truss lead sizeable revolt

LTA reveals plans for Queen's Club women’s tournament

The Lawn Tennis Association is in discussions to bring women’s tennis back to the Queen’s Club in Baron s Court, west London, for the first time since 1973 with a new high-profile event at the beginning of the grasscourt season.

Palmer's fantastic four piles misery on feeble Everton

On a night when Jordan Pickford's distribution deteriorated and Jarrad Branthwaite added to Sean Dyche's gloom by going off injured, nothing summed up the extent of Everton's collapse more than the fact that the players who tried hardest to stop Cole Palmer scoring were wearing blue.

How Scheffler kept the faith in pursuit of Masters glory

World No1, believing wrong shots and bad breaks were out of his control, trusted he had the almighty on his side

Musk to cut 14,000 Tesla jobs amid electric car slowdown

Tesla is laying off more than 10% of its global workforce, equivalent to at least 14,000 roles, as the electric carmaker reacts to slowing demand and pressure on prices.

"The city is a jail' Haitian journalists risk lives to report from Port-au-Prince

Each day, Makenson Rémy wakes in the early hours to tell the story of his shattered home town, Portau-Prince. Each day, he fears he might die.