Ukraine faces ‘critical’ period on frontline ahead of ‘Putin talks’

Ukraine’s Western allies have agreed a record £18 billion (€21bn) of military support for Kyiv, Britain has announced.

The UK’s defence secretary, John Healey, opened the meeting the the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) in Brussels with a plea to his fellow defence ministers to “step up our support for Ukraine in the fight”. Mr Healey added: “2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine, and this is the critical moment.”

It comes as top US diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff has travelled to Russia ahead of an expected meeting with Vladimir Putin, according to reports. The US says it is working to end the war as Mr Witkoff is expected to meet the Russian president on Friday, according to Axios.

Donald Trump has also pledged that US officials will look into evidence that Chinese mercenaries are fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine.

Hundreds of barbershops targeted in raids across the UK

Hundreds of barbershops have been targeted in a nationwide operation on money laundering and modern slavery, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

Operation Machinize, co-ordinated by the NCA, involved police and law enforcement officers visiting 265 businesses across England and Wales, including nail salons and vape shops. The NCA said the operation aimed to tackle “high street crime” and prevent criminal gangs from using cash-intensive businesses to conceal the proceeds of crime.

Ten shops have been shut down, with more closures expected, the agency added.

The crackdown resulted in 35 arrests, and 97 individuals suspected of being victims of modern slavery were placed under police protection.

“We know cash-intensive businesses are used as fronts for money laundering, facilitating some of the highest harm and highest impact offending in the UK,” said Rachael Herbert, deputy director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA.

“We have seen links to drug trafficking and distribution, organised immigration crime, modern slavery and human trafficking, firearms, and the sale of illicit tobacco and vapes.

“Operation Machinize targeted barbershops and other high street businesses being used as cover for a whole range of criminality, all across the country.”

During the course of the operation, which involved 19 different police forces and regional organised crime units, officers secured freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1 million.

They also seized more than £40,000 in cash, some 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 packs of tobacco, and more than 8,000 illegal vapes, the NCA said.

Officers also found two cannabis farms containing a total of 150 plants.

The NCA estimates that £12 billion of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year.

The agency said in a statement: “Cash-intensive businesses such as barbershops, vape shops, nail bars, American-themed sweet shops and car washes are often used by criminals to conceal the origins of illicit cash.

“Crime gangs use them to enter cash into the financial system, mixing legitimate funds with criminal profits to hinder subsequent law enforcement investigations.

“They are known to buy such businesses using the proceeds of crime, which provides them with a legitimate income and opportunities for money laundering.”

Security minister Dan Jarvis said: “High street crime undermines our security, our borders, and the confidence of our communities, and I am determined to take the decisive action necessary to bring those responsible to justice.

“This successful NCA-led operation highlights the scale and complexity of the criminality our towns and cities face and demonstrates our collective determination to make our streets safer, a key pillar of this Government’s Plan for Change.

“We will continue to support the NCA, and other law enforcement partners, as we make the UK an even more hostile environment for organised crime.”

Penguin in passenger seat causes helicopter crash in South Africa

An “unsecured” penguin kept in a cardboard box has been identified as the reason for a helicopter crash in South Africa.

The penguin created a “dangerous situation” when the box slid off a passenger’s lap upon takeoff and hit the pilot’s controls, an investigation by the South African Civil Aviation Authority found.

The incident took place on Bird Island off the Eastern Cape on 19 January, according to the official report.

The pilot of the Robinson R44 Raven II was unable to recover control and came down from a peak height of 15m. The main rotor blades struck the ground, wrecking the four-seat helicopter. No one on board was harmed during the accident, including the penguin.

The South Africa CAA in its report blamed “the lack of secure containment for the penguin” as being responsible for the crash.

Pictures from the incident included in the report showed that the helicopter was badly damaged and the bird’s enclosure was a cardboard box with holes. The report did not say why the penguin was being transported.

A pilot and three passengers on board along with the penguin were conducting an aerial survey flight in the afternoon and the specialist on board asked to transport one of the penguins back to Port Elizabeth.

“The pilot agreed to the request and the penguin was placed in a cardboard box,” it said.

“The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board.

“The passenger seated on the left front seat placed the cardboard box containing the penguin on his lap and secured it with his hands.

“Whilst transitioning and about 15m above ground level (AGL), the cardboard box slid off to the right and on to the pilot’s cyclic pitch control lever.

“As a result, the cyclic pitch control lever advanced to the far-right position. The helicopter rolled to the right and the pilot could not recover timeously.”

The report said that absence of a proper and secured crate meant that the “penguin’s containment was not suitable for the flight conditions”.

It added that the pilot “omitted to state in the risk assessment form the intention to transport the penguin in a cardboard box on-board”.

Mother who murdered her two young sons, 2 and 5, in the bath is jailed

A mother who murdered her two young sons has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Kara Alexander, 47, of Dagenham, east London, was found guilty of murdering Elijah Thomas, two, and Marley Thomas, five, in the bath at their home in Cornwallis Road in December 2022.

At Kingston Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Bennathan sentenced Alexander to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and 252 days.

This is a breaking story, more to follow…

The global event bringing fresh energy to planet-positive solutions

As we navigate significant environmental and social challenges, the return of ChangeNOW, the world’s biggest expo of solutions for the planet, is much needed to reinvigorate climate action. The 2025 edition, which will take place from April 24th to 26th, will host 140 countries, 40,000 attendees, 10,000 companies and 1,200 investors.

Visionary leaders, established businesses and start-ups alike will gather to showcase over 1,000 sustainable solutions and groundbreaking innovations in key sectors such as clean energy, biodiversity, sustainable cities and the circular economy.

The ChangeNOW 2025 summit will be held at the iconic Grand Palais in Paris, a nod to the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. Reuniting for the occasion will be guest speakers Mary Robinson, the former (and first female) president of Ireland, Laurent Fabius, former French prime minister, Patricia Espinosa, former UN climate chief and diplomat and Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, leading climate scientist and professor – all of whom were in the French capital a decade earlier to help shape the Paris Agreement at COP21.

There may have been obvious setbacks to environmental policy around the world of late, the United States’ recent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement being a notable one. However ChangeNOW 2025 intends to reaffirm the spirit of Paris, while serving as a catalyst for progress ahead of COP30 and the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC). “Ten years after COP21, ChangeNOW is where leaders and changemakers converge to accelerate the ecological and social transition,” states Santiago Lefebvre, founder and president of ChangeNOW. “Thousands of solutions will be showcased demonstrating that meaningful progress is within reach.”

His message of positive climate action will be supported by a multitude of world famous faces who will be in attendance at the auspicious event. Natalie Portman, Academy award-winning actress, director, author, activist, and producer; Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd and Ocean Conservationist; Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize and Olympic champion boxer and gender equality advocate Imane Khelif are just a few of the names set to appear at ChangeNOW 2025.

With over 500 speakers and 250 conference sessions exploring climate action, biodiversity protection, resource management, and social inclusion, ChangeNOW 2025 will also hear the insights of acclaimed corporate leaders from Accor, Bouygues, Henkel, Lidl, Nexans, and Saint-Gobain, who will explain how businesses can be the ones to drive real change.

And the event will not only be an opportunity for global policymakers to discuss next steps in climate action, it will also be a platform for nations to showcase local innovations through their country pavilions. Expect impactful solutions from countries including South Africa, The Netherlands, and Ukraine – demonstrating international collaboration on the topic of climate.

In addition to the packed program of speakers, workshops, exhibits and networking opportunities, ChangeNOW 2025 will host the Impact Job Fair on Saturday, 26 April, with over 150 recruiters and training organisations offering in excess of 600 roles. Dedicated to the public and young professionals, the interactive workshops, educational activities, and career opportunities in sustainable sectors on offer aim to inspire the next generation of changemakers.

The summit will also present the annual Women for Change conference and the accompanying portrait exhibition, which showcases 25 women who are set to have a significant positive impact on their communities, countries or on a global scale over the next 10 years. Created in 2021, the Women for Change initiative aims to platform and provide opportunities for women who are leading change around the world but require further recognition or investment to continue their work. The annual flagship event, which takes place on the afternoon of April 24th, offers women the chance to discuss new ideas, network with likeminded people, and also acquire funding to help solidify their leadership, and amplify their impact.

Step outside the Grand Palais and take a few steps to the Port des Champs Elysées, on the bank of the Seine, where the The Water Odyssey village awaits. One of the event’s standout features, the immersive 1,000 m² exhibition is open to the public and highlights solutions to maritime and river sustainability challenges – offering a mix of conferences, interactive displays, and sensory experiences to engage all ages.

For three days, ChangeNOW will transform Paris into the global capital of impact, bringing together policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and the public in the pursuit of sustainable progress.

Book your ChangeNOW 2025 ticket here

What Tony Blair told Keir Starmer about how to deal with Donald Trump

Keir Starmer needs an “even more powerful No 10 than it was in my day”, Tony Blair told students at King’s College London last week – the day after Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement. “When I was prime minister people wanted the system improved,” he said. “We did improve it. Public services got better. Today they want the system changed. That is a fundamental difference, and you’re not going to be able to do that without a really strong No 10.”

Voters are more impatient with politicians today, he said, and argued that new technology is the only way of meeting those demands: “Today you’ve got to have a strong centre, and you’ve got to be driving this application of technology to government and public services from the centre.”

He said: “You’ve got a choice today if you are in politics – you’re either a disruptor or you’re going to get disrupted.” It is a mark of his influence over the current prime minister that this phrase appeared in Starmer’s address to a special political meeting of the cabinet in February. “Right now you can see with the Doge experiment in the US: that is a disruption – you punch a hole in the wall and see what happens,” Blair said, referring to Elon Musk’s controversial appointment to head the Department of Government Efficiency.

Blair did not seem to think much of it – “Let’s see what happens with it” – but he went on: “If conventional politics wants to get traction today it needs to provide a way of really changing the system, and I think technology is the instrument to do that, but it has to be driven from No 10, an even more powerful [government] than it was in my day. And it was by the end of it quite powerful. A lot of people didn’t like it, but if you don’t drive it from the top it never gets done.”

Funnily enough, the official briefing to journalists of what Starmer told the cabinet on Tuesday sounded as if it had been dictated by Blair: “He [the prime minister] emphasised digital reform would be critical in transforming the state.”

However, Trump’s declaration of a trade war the day before the class complicated the advice that Blair offered his successor: “I don’t really understand the intellectual argument behind the tariff policy. But I think we have to wait and see how it settles down – if it does settle down…”

He appeared to echo Starmer’s “cool heads” approach: “For the UK we are going to have to decide whether to retaliate or not. Probably not. I don’t think it is in the UK’s interest to do that. The risk is if you end up with a trade war [involving] Europe, America and … countries of the far east, I don’t know where it ends. I’m hoping somewhere in there is a plan.”

Having dealt with the first Trump administration over the Abraham Accords (the normalisation of relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain in 2020) and over the Balkans, Blair reflected, “I have to say I found them very easy to deal with”. He said: “I made it my business to get with whoever was American president because that was part of my job. I also found getting on with the first Trump administration very easy. But obviously the tariff thing is going to be a disagreement.”

Answering students’ questions, Blair claimed to have foreshadowed Trump’s withdrawal of support for Ukraine. The former prime minister explained that a large part of managing the war in Kosovo in 1999 involved negotiating with Bill Clinton, “because the Americans did not want to get involved”.

He said: “It’s of contemporary interest that I began European defence with the French government at St Malo, after the Kosovo war, precisely because it became clear to me that we could never have done it without the Americans, and that 90 per cent of the assets were American. I took the view after that that, ‘This is crazy: what happens if the Americans decide they don’t want to be part of something? Then where do we go? We wouldn’t be able to do anything.’ But European defence got caught up in a whole lot of Eurosceptic arguments. So it didn’t go where it should have gone, which is how do we create the capabilities that are needed if for any reason America decides to step aside.”

While some of the lessons from his time in government are relevant today, others are now slipping into history. He was asked about the causes of the intelligence failures in Iraq. “People forget this,” he said. “There had been a huge build-up of intelligence about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction for a long time, and the first military action that I took was with Bill Clinton in Iraq in 1998. There were UN inspectors going in and out. It was the only country that had used chemical weapons since the Second World War, both in the Iran-Iraq war [and against its own people].

“The intelligence failures were a combination of the strong belief that people had that because he had used them he would use them again, and people feeding information out of Iraq because they wanted military intervention that would topple the dictatorship.”

He was also asked to give a “definitive answer” to a question that has engaged our students since Professor Jon Davis and I set up the course in 2008: did he really want to join the euro? “The definitive answer is this,” said Blair. “I wanted Britain to be at the heart of Europe, to be a key leader in Europe. I would have been happy to be part of the euro – provided that the economic case was what we used to call a compelling case.

“And the trouble was because the British economy moved in different synchronicity from the French and German economies, it was never clear that that compelling case was there. And I never thought that we could win a referendum. I didn’t think it was possible to take Britain into the euro without a referendum – and I didn’t think it was possible to win it unless you were able to say the economic case was overwhelming. Now, in time that might have changed. And in time it might have been that it became clear that it was in Britain’s interest to be part of the single currency. But I thought that what was important was that we were always in principle in favour of joining if the economics were right.

“So that is the situation. If the economic case had been there, so that we were able to go out and tell people that economically it’s clear that this is the right thing to do, a bit like the original case for joining the European community, we could have done it, and maybe even won it – although the reason for saying there should be a referendum was simply because I thought it was politically impossible to do it any other way. Do I believe that referendums are a very good idea in deciding things like that? No, frankly. But I couldn’t even have got it through cabinet if I tried to do it without a referendum.”

This account by Blair of his own views seems consistent to me with the analysis offered by Ed Balls – now also a professor at King’s – that Blair wanted to keep his options open, and had to appear to want to join if Britain was to be “at the heart of Europe”, but knew a referendum was unwinnable. The difference between Blair and Gordon Brown on the euro was therefore more about the difference between sounding positive or negative than it was about the issue itself (on that, Blair seems lukewarm: he would have been “happy” to have been part of the euro).

But Blair insists that there were policy differences between him and Brown, and that these hold a lesson for Labour today: “Historically, I have a very clear view of what the problem for Labour has been. Labour in government has usually been brought down by itself and by opposition to having to make difficult decisions, because all governments do. Labour now forgets that, thinking of some nirvana where no difficult decisions have to be taken. And opposition to the leadership is usually outside the tent.

“Gordon wasn’t ‘opposition’, but he was a focal point for a different approach, more traditional Labour than New Labour, or real Labour as people sometimes called it, and it was better it was him, highly intelligent, himself a very effective political force, inside, than it would have been if he had been outside altogether, or it had been someone else that had emerged and took that mantle and was constantly battering the government.

“And so, it was a coalition and we did more or less keep it together. It was difficult. Believe it or not, I didn’t resent it as much as a lot of the people around me – I thought, ‘It’s politics.’ But the difference between old and new Labour was important, and it was ultimately a policy issue, because my view was and is that it’s only a version of that political position that can win power sustainably.”

It was a coalition that did not survive Brown’s defeat in 2010. “What I’m absolutely sure about is that if Labour had chosen the other Miliband brother I don’t think Brexit would have occurred. Because we would have had a Labour Party that was a credible contender in the 2015 election,” Blair said. “Not that I don’t like Ed [Miliband], because I do – I think he showed a lot of character in the 2015 election, with all the attack he was under, but I think he was not in the right policy place to win.”

Blair argued that the position adopted by New Labour was and remains the only way to win, but accepted that the environment has changed, and that it has become harder for “conventional politics” to offer solutions that satisfy the voters. Part of this is the change wrought by social media, which he said “is really hard”. He mused that “maybe in the end, communication on social media is just the same thing, it’s just a different medium, but I do think that makes it a lot harder”. A problem of social media, he said, is the tendency to frame decisions “in terms of deception or conspiracy, rather than: you’ve got to decide what to do”, he said.

He traced the rising distrust of the motives of leaders back to the 1970s: “In my view, Watergate did a lot of damage. In the sense that it was bad enough but the sense of what happened was actually worse than what happened. And you ended up in a situation where for ever afterwards everyone wants to find a conspiracy.”

John Rentoul is a visiting professor at King’s College London; he teaches the ‘New Labour Years’ module with Dr Michelle Clement, as part of the MA in government studies under the leadership of Professor Jon Davis

Has your pension value dropped? Here’s why you shouldn’t worry

If you’ve avoided the news over the past week surrounding stock markets plummeting and then phoenix-like rises, you’ve done well.

An immediate consequence of greater-than-expected tariffs put in place by US president Donald Trump was a rapid fall in global equities. Trillions was wiped off the combined value of companies around the world in a matter of days before a sharp rise across Wednesday night and Thursday, following the announcement of a 90-day pause.

However, those who have investments in an ISA or other share-dealing account, would likely have seen a significant drop compared to even a few weeks ago – and the same goes for those who don’t actively invest themselves, but have been casting a worried eye over their pensions.

Given that workplace or private pensions (and Self-Invested Personal Pensions) will be invested in several of the markets which have been falling of late, it’s likely that the values within those pensions will have dropped plenty too. This can cause alarm or uncertainty for people who might not have been expecting to be affected by something as abstract as US-China trade relations.

The funds paid into pensions – such as from salary sacrifice, employer contributions – are put into different investments. Sometimes you can select which type of investments you want to focus on, others might leave them as they are when they join a company.

Regardless, the money will be invested in equities (stocks and shares in companies) and funds, in commodities (such as gold), in bonds (national debt which pays a dividend) and potentially other assets such as cash, property or others.

Over long periods of time, investing generally offers more reward, in exchange for taking on more risk, than holding cash does, which is how your pension pot grows. But it’s rarely a straight line and dips are part and parcel of it.

Pensions are a long-term game, as most investments should be.

While it’s natural to have jitters when you notice as much as a 10 per cent fall-off, you don’t need to be concerned that you’ll “miss out” on that money or that it has “disappeared”, particularly if you are still decades away from retiring.

For those whose job is investing, these falls in equity prices are often an opportunity to secure greater returns for the long haul, making them potentially beneficial to your pension pot. So you shouldn’t be looking to make sweeping alterations or selling your portfolio solely based on these drops.

Fergus McDonald, associate financial planner at Evelyn Partners, explained how much difference it can make between panic-selling and simply doing nothing.

“It’s best not to take too much notice of short-term swings in the market,” The Independent.

“When stocks plunge a natural impulse can be to hit the sell button or not invest, but the best market days often follow the biggest drops, so panic selling or waiting for a recovery can significantly lower returns for longer-term investors.

“Looking back at FTSE 100 market data over 26 years from December 1998 to December 2024, if an investor just simply bought and held the index over this period their return would be 246.6 per cent.

“However, if they missed the ten best days of market returns over nearly three decades of market data, their return would drop down to 74.5 per cent.”

There will always be significant falls in value and surges higher along the way. Big swings shouldn’t sway you into doing something dramatic or worrying over your retirement fund.

However, there are things you can do to maximise your chances of wealth building for the future. You should check you’re getting tax relief on pensions contributions and it’s also wise to assess your pension schemes periodically to ensure you aren’t paying over the top in fees.

It’s also important to note that this is all regarding personal pensions, not your state pension. The amount you get from that is unaffected by stock markets.

There is, of course, one notable exception to the above, which is if you expect to retire or call upon your pension fund soon.

If that’s the case there are several options. The most obvious, if it’s possible, is to delay it. While nobody can predict the future, including in markets, historically they have always recovered from recessions, crashes and other significant losses in value.

Take Covid, for example: most markets declined in excess of 20 per cent when nations went into lockdown and the future looked uncertain. Within two years, many had surpassed where they were before the pandemic. Investing during that lower period would of course have yielded even further gains, rather than merely waiting two years for portfolio values to get back to where they started.

If waiting isn’t an option, you can talk through alternatives with an advisor.

“Approaching retirement is a very good time to seek professional financial planning and investment advice, especially if you have amassed a significant pot,” Mr McDonald explained.

“This is because the balance of your portfolio in terms of asset allocation becomes crucial as you near the point where you want to start using your pension saving.

“Advice that carries on into retirement can be very reassuring to make sure your investments are fit-for-purpose – those close to accessing their pensions who have looked on with dismay recently will be largely those whose investments were not well diversified and not structured to take account of the fact that cash would soon be needed. It’s best to make preparations years in advance of pension access, ideally with the help of professional advice.”