Qatar says it has right to respond to Israeli attack on Doha

Qatar said it has the right to respond to Israel’s strike in Doha that targeted Hamas political leaders, which it decried as a “blatant attack”.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, described Tuesday’s attack as “state terrorism” that targeted the security and stability of the region.

“Qatar… reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack,” he told a late night press conference.

“We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment. There must be a response from the entire region to such barbaric actions.”

US president Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s airstrike that killed six people, saying it advances neither Israel nor America’s goals.

Trump called the strike on Hamas’s political wing “unfortunate” and said he had directed US envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar but it was too late to stop the strike.

Hamas said five of its lower-ranking members and a Qatari security official were killed in the airstrike, but that all its leaders survived the attack.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strike on Qatar was “entirely justified”.

Man charged with sexually assaulting woman as she sunbathed on beach

A man has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman as she sunbathed at a beach in Sussex.

The alleged attack on the woman in her 50s took place at Camber Sands, near Rye, on the evening of the bank holiday on 25 August.

On Wednesday, Sussex Police said they had charged a Mohammed Maatoug, 33, of Maidstone in Kent, with sexual assault by penetration, following his arrest on Saturday.

He appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, and will next appear at the same court on 7 October.

In a statement, the force said: “A woman in her 50s reported being sexually assaulted by a man as she sunbathed in the dunes at Camber Sands, Rye, around 5.30pm on 25 August.

“An investigation was launched and on Saturday, 33-year-old Mohammed Maatoug, of Boxley Road, Maidstone, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault by penetration.

“He was subsequently charged and remanded in custody at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Maatoug will next appear at a court to be confirmed on 7 October.”

Camber Sands, positioned east of Rye, is a two-mile stretch of sandy beach, which on warm days is a popular coastal resort for people living in London.

It is also regularly used by people doing windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Gregg Wallace launches legal action against BBC

Gregg Wallace has launched legal action against the BBC after being dismissed from his long‑standing role as MasterChef co‑host.

In November 2024, it was announced that Wallace, 60, would step away from his role on the BBC cooking show and all its spin-offs while historical allegations of misconduct were investigated.

No information about the suit, which has been filed at the High Court in London, has been made public yet.

The Sun reported that Wallace is requesting the release of over 200 internal documents which he believes could exonerate him. A source speaking to the outlet also added that he may pursue a disability discrimination claim and argue that the BBC failed to properly accommodate his autism.

“We have not been formally notified of any legal proceedings so at this stage we are unable to comment,” a BBC spokesperson told BBC News, which is editorially independent from the corporation.

The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.

Wallace’s MasterChef sacking came after an independent report substantiated 45 allegations against him, including claims of inappropriate sexual language and one incident of unwelcome physical contact.

He has apologised “for any distress caused”, saying the report into his misconduct cleared him of “the most serious and sensational accusations”.

His co-host John Torode was also the subject of an allegation about using racist language that was upheld as part of the Lewis Silkin review, but the TV star said he had “no recollection of the incident” and was “shocked and saddened” by the allegation.

The previously recorded final series featuring Wallace has been broadcast, albeit with some contestants like Sarah Shafi requesting to be edited out.

Upon announcing that the series would be shown, a BBC spokesperson said: “After careful consideration and consultation with the contestants, we have decided to broadcast the amateur series of MasterChef.”

The corporation acknowledged that “not everyone will agree” with what it recognised as a difficult decision.

MasterChef champion Thomas Frake, who won the series in 2020, and Greek chef Irini Tzortzoglou, who was crowned in 2019, have both said they support the BBC’s decision to air the controversial episodes.

“If I had gone through all that – the highs and lows – then somebody said to me, ‘Well actually, we may not show the three months of your life when you spilled your blood and guts to see how far you could go,’ I’d be very unhappy. I’m very thrilled to see it on our screens,” Tzortzoglou told The Independent.

There appeared to be fewer jokes from Wallace and Torode and fewer chats between the hosts and chefs in the first episode of the new series, which lost almost one million viewers compared with last year’s launch.

The BBC confirmed on Monday that Grace Dent and Anna Haugh will be replacing Wallace and Torode on the flagship version of MasterChef. Earlier in the month, TV host and chef Matt Tebbutt was announced as Wallace’s replacement on the next series of MasterChef: The Professionals, along with long-term hosts Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing.

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Rock acts lead the way on 2025 Mercury Prize shortlist

Rock bands Fontaines DC and Wolf Alice are vying with pop star CMAT, rock singer Sam Fender and newcomer Jacob Alon to take home the 2025 Mercury Prize.

The 12-album shortlist for this year’s awards show was announced today (Wednesday 10 September) on BBC Radio 6 Music by Lauren Laverne.

With a nod for their recent album, 2025’s The Clearing, Wolf Alice have now been shortlisted for all four of their studio albums; they won the prize in 2018 for their second record, Visions of a Life.

Interviewing the band for The Independent, critic Adam White noted how The Clearing felt like the band’s “most mature” record, “if only because the anxious and unsettled melancholy that underpinned albums one through three has been replaced by a sigh of acceptance”.

Irish rock band Fontaines DC are also familiar faces at the Mercury Prize, having previously been shortlisted for their 2019 debut, Dogrel. They are nominated this year for their fourth album, the critically adored 2024 record Romance, which shows them explore elements of synth rock, chamber pop and shoegaze.

Pop star CMAT is also back just a year after being shortlisted for her second album, Crazymad, for Me. She is now up for what many critics are regarding as her breakthrough record, Euro-Country, which topped the charts in her native Ireland and also made the No 2 spot in the UK.

Both Fontaines DC and CMAT will be considered strong contenders for the Mercury Prize, which has never been won by an Irish act before – a fact noted by Fontaines’ guitarist Carlos O’Connell back in 2019, during an interview with The Independent.

“There have been plenty of shortlisted acts – but in a self-deprecating way I wonder if there has to be a token Irish band each year,” he said.

Stadium rocker Sam Fender, meanwhile, will be another favourite to win with his third album, People Watching, which topped the charts on its release and received praise from a number of critics.

The 31-year-old – whose career has skyrocketed since he broke through with his 2019 debut, Hypersonic Missiles – recently completed a huge run of shows including three nights at the 52,000-capacity St James’ Park in Newcastle.

This year’s Mercury Prize is also being held in Newcastle, a stone’s throw from where the singer-songwriter grew up in North Shields. The 2025 ceremony will mark the first time it is being held outside of London, instead taking place on Thursday 16 October at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.

Influential folk artist Martin Carthy beats American jazz musician Pharoah Sanders’ record to become the oldest artist ever shortlisted for the award, aged 84, for his 2025 album Transform Me Then Into a Fish.

Sanders was 80 when Promises – the collaborative album by British electronic musician Floating Points – was nominated in 2021. It was also the final album Sanders released before his death the following year.

Remarkably, this is Carthy’s first time on a Mercury Prize shortlist in a career spanning 60 years and 19 studio albums. His daughter Eliza Carthy, with whom he has collaborated on a number of occasions, has been shortlisted twice: first in 1998, then again in 2003.

Instead of the usual “token jazz album”, two jazz records appear on this year’s shortlist. The first spot goes to Welsh pianist Joe Webb, for his technically impressive, well-humoured album Hamstrings and Hurricanes, while the second is taken by musical polymath Emma-Jean Thackray, whose 2025 record Weirdo melds jazz with rock, funk and hip-hop influences. In 2023, Ezra Collective became the first jazz act ever to win the prize in the show’s then 31-year history.

Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon is another Mercury Prize first-timer with their debut, Limerence, which explores themes of sexuality, romantic obsession and loneliness in the queer community. The honour comes barely a year after Alon gave a memorable performance of their debut single, “Fairy in a Bottle”, on Later… with Jools Holland.

In an interview with The Independent in January, Alon spoke about how, growing up in Fife, they didn’t believe a career in music was possible: “I think it’s quite a Scottish mentality, but especially in Fife, there’s a low ceiling on what you can dream for.”

Rounding off the shortlist is avant-garde pop artist FKA twigs and her album Eusexua, rapper and singer Pa Salieu with Afrikan Alien, Pulp with More – their first album in 24 years – and singer-songwriter and producer PinkPantheress, with her second mixtape Fancy That.

The shortlist is curated by an independent judging panel of music industry professionals, among them jazz musician Jamie Cullum, The Times’s chief pop and rock critic Will Hodgkinson, BBC Radio 6 presenter Jamz Supernova, and Radio 1 presenter Sian Eleri.

The full shortlist for the 2025 Mercury Prize is:

CMAT, Euro-Country

Emma-Jean Thackray, Weirdo

FKA twigs, Eusexua

Fontaines DC, Romance

Jacob Alon, In Limerence

Joe Webb, Hamstrings & Hurricanes

Martin Carthy, Transform Me Then Into a Fish

Pa Salieu, Afrikan Alien

PinkPantheress, Fancy That

Pulp, More

Sam Fender, People Watching

Wolf Alice, The Clearing

Last year’s Mercury Prize went to the Leeds-formed indie-rock band English Teacher, who won for their debut This Could Be Texas, beating acts including pop star Charli xcx and baroque-pop band The Last Dinner Party.

The Mercury Prize awards show takes place on Thursday 16 October at the Utilita Arena, Newcastle.

Thomas Skinner apologises after walking out of Strictly press event

Controversial Strictly Come Dancing contestant Thomas Skinner has apologised for picking up a journalist’s phone and leaving a Strictly press event on Tuesday.

The former Apprentice star, 34, exited the event at Elstree Studios after speaking to journalists who were interviewing him alongside fellow contestant former Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

In a post on Instagram, he said: “To set the record straight off the back of yesterday. During one of the interviews, a journalist placed their phone on the table to record the conversation. I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages – not about Strictly – but about a personal story from my past.”

He continued: “I’ve been through some difficult times in my life, which I’ve worked hard to move on from. In that moment, seeing it there caught me off guard. I felt it was best to step away and gather myself.“

“This had nothing to do with the interviews or Strictly itself. I’m sorry I picked up someone else’s phone and I don’t even know if the journalist realised their messages were visible, and I don’t want to suggest any bad intentions on their part.”

Skinner finished the post by reiterating how excited he was to be a part of Strictly this year and thanked fans for “the love, kindness and support I’ve been shown so far”.

Skinner and his fellow Strictly contestants were taking part in roundtable interviews, where celebrities speak to journalists for a few minutes at a time before swapping tables with other stars.

Mail Online reported that the social media star had objected to being taped and grabbed a reporter’s phone before walking out of the interview.

Skinner’s casting has proved controversial among Strictly fans, since his casting came just weeks after he was seen socialising with US vice-president JD Vance at a barbecue during his visit to the Cotswolds this summer, during which time he was pictured wearing a Maga cap.

Others have taken issue with Skinner’s recent X/Twitter posts, which state it is “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there any more” in London, saying the city is “hostile” and “tense”.

This week, BBC director general Tim Davie defended the decision to cast Skinner in the forthcoming series, telling MPs from the Culture, Media and Sport committee that the casting team chose contestants who they believe will be interesting to the audience.

Davie added: “Clearly, we wouldn’t take anyone whose views are just beyond the pale, or we would see as completely unacceptable or not suitable, racist views, all those things, we wouldn’t accept them.

“But that’s not the case here, from what I know, I’m not an expert on the individual, per se.”

Skinner rose to prominence on the fifteenth series of The Apprentice in 2019, from which he gained a significant social media following and developed his catchphrase “bosh”.

He now runs several businesses, such as a gym and a mattress company. In 2023, he released the self-help book Graft: How to Smash Life and in 2024, presented The Men’s Room mental health podcast with former footballer Neil Ruddock.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday 20 September.