Impressions of Keir Starmer, sketches about dodgy skincare products, and some ‘god-awful performances’ aside, the inaugural episode’s ambition was refreshing to see

In the end, it’s a feeling, isn’t it? You can tally up the laughs, work out the ratio of good lines to bad, sketches that fly, sketches that plummet straight into the mire – but in the end, a comedy show leaves you with a feeling that tells you whether it worked or not.

The general feeling, I think, will be that the inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live UK – Sky’s version of the famous 51-year-old American original founded and still overseen by the infamous Lorne Michaels – did work.

Leader of Arsenal’s defence ‘gives everything for the badge’ and hopes to shut out Manchester City at Wembley

There have been countless examples but if one action epitomised Gabriel Magalhães’s commitment to the cause it came against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League tie in Germany last week.

Jarell Quansah’s shot was heading like a rocket towards David Raya’s goal until the Brazil defender intervened with a combination of neck, chin and face. It has become customary for Gabriel to celebrate his blocks and last-ditch tackles by beating his chest in delight but even he needed a moment to come to his senses.

Tens of thousands gathered in Seoul to show that, after a four-year hiatus, they had still kept a place for the band in a very changed world

The Zubillaga family had come from Veracruz, Mexico. Julio and Miryam had brought their daughters, Renata, 15, and Fernanda, 11, as a gift, across 15 hours of flights to a city none of them had visited before.

They had tried for world tour tickets to see BTS in Mexico but they had been snapped up already, so they came to Seoul instead, joining the tens of thousands outside the gates, waiting for the music to reach them. “It’s beautiful,” Renata says of the new album, Arirang. Her favourite member, like her mother and father, is Jung Kook.

The Zubillaga family, (L-R) Julio (44), Renata (15), Miryam (43) and Fernanda (11), flew to South Korea from Mexico as a birthday gift for Renata.

In one corner, clean energy champion Ed Miliband. In the other, residents – and Reform politicians – outraged at plans for more large-scale solar farms in Lincolnshire than anywhere else in the UK

As night descends on the grand offices of Lincolnshire county council, everything appears orderly and calm. Paintings of long-forgotten councillors and dignitaries stare out into an empty drawing room. The council chamber is silent and dark. Bored receptionists glance at their phones while a handful of admin staff hunch over glowing screens. But a rebellion is brewing in the office of the council leader, Sean Matthews, who took charge last May, when Reform replaced the Conservative old guard. The affable former royal protection officer is plotting an apparently radical campaign of civil disobedience against a series of giant solar farms planned for Lincolnshire.

Despite a quarter of a century in the Metropolitan police, Matthews is willing to break the law to stop solar developers. He is planning to lie down in front of the bulldozers. “They can arrest me – I’ve arrested plenty of people,” he says, leaning forward on a sofa. “It’s much bigger than me and my criminal record. For goodness sake, it’s the future of the county, it’s the future of our land. I am passionate about that and I will do what I can.”

With major developments collapsing, pressure is growing on councils to concede on affordable housing and public amenities

Donald Trump has done his best to crush the green shoots of the global, post-pandemic economic recovery – nowhere more so than in the UK.

The US president’s vandalism can be seen across the economic landscape, especially in the property sector, which has become more sensitive to international events since the spread of Covid-19 disrupted long-established supply chains and sent the cost of raw materials soaring.

Sightings in Varginha in 1996 have been dismissed as hoax, but saga continues to draw people from around world

The skies over this far-flung coffee-growing hub went charcoal black, the heavens opened and one of Brazil’s greatest mysteries was born.

“It really was something unique,” recalls Marco Antônio Reis, a zoo director, who was at his ranch outside Varginha one stormy day in January 1996 when, he says, an otherworldly creature came to town.

US president says he will ‘obliterate their various power plants, starting with biggest one first’

Circling back now to Diego Garcia, Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean – but neither of them hit, according to news reports citing US officials.

The Wall Street Journal said one of the missiles failed in flight, and that a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, citing two US officials. It could not be determined if an interception was made, one said.

Israeli air defence systems fail to intercept at least two projectiles during attacks on cities of Arad and Dimona

• Middle East crisis live – latest updates

Iranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles.

Among the injured were a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, both reported to be in serious condition.

Some in cabinet in despair over possible impact of war begun by Donald Trump, who branded Nato allies ‘cowards’

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Donald Trump has branded the UK and other Nato allies “cowards” as anger grows among cabinet ministers that his war in Iran could jeopardise Britain’s fragile finances.

Senior members of the UK government are in despair about the potential effects on the economy, with experts warning of higher energy prices and increased mortgage and borrowing costs.

Many Iranians were determined to mark the Persian new year despite the bombing entering its fourth week

Heavy strikes echoed across Tehran during one of the country’s biggest holidays as Tel Aviv said it had “acted alone” in striking Iran’s South Pars gasfield, a move that further escalated the conflict.

Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations. He wrote on social media: “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives.”

People in Tehran shop for Nowruz at Tajrish Bazaar.