Head of IMF says Iran war will permanently scar global economy even if peace is reached

The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the Iran war will permanently scar the global economy even if a durable peace deal in the Middle East can be reached.In a speech delivered as the ceasefire in the conflict threatened to unravel, Kristalina Georgieva said the “scarring effects” caused by the war to date would mean slower global growth this year than first anticipated.Had it not been for the outbreak of the conflict six weeks ago, the IMF would have upgraded its global growth outlook for 2026, Georgieva said. “But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade. Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo

Lidl to open 50 UK stores in year ahead as part of £600m expansion plans

Lidl is to open 50 new UK stores in the year ahead as it aims to overtake Morrisons as the country’s fifth largest supermarket chain.The German-owned retailer, which now has more than 1,000 British stores, said it planned to invest more than £600m in UK growth, creating almost 2,000 jobs as it expands its warehouse and logistic network to supply its new outlets.The new locations include Abbots Langley near Watford, Warrington in Cheshire, and Thornbury in Gloucestershire, all of which will open this summer.The 50 store openings in the next 12 months compares with 40 in the year to February 2026 and just one closure. Lidl GB does not expect any closures in the year ahead

Britons warned about Russian hackers targeting internet routers for espionage

Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said.The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other devices on their home network such as phones and PCs, said Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey.The National Cyber Security Centre said on Tuesday the operations were “believed to be opportunistic in nature, with the actor targeting a wide pool of victims and then likely filtering down for users of potential intelligence value at each stage of the exploitation chain”.It follows a common pattern of cyber-actors targeting edge devices – hardware such as internet routers or internet-connected security cameras – that act as a bridge between users and the cloud.Woodward said: “It’s not the first time that warnings have come out about routers

The life-changing magic of wearing smartglasses | Letters

I read with sympathy the concerns of Elle Hunt in relation to privacy issues around Meta smartglasses (I wore Meta’s smartglasses for a month – and it left me feeling like a creep, 1 April). Clearly there needs to be ongoing development of technology and protocols that protect the public from ill-intentioned users. As the chief executive of a charity supporting people with a visual impairment, however, I would like to emphasise the point touched upon in your article: how transformative this technology is already proving for blind people.We are seeing significant numbers of our visually impaired staff and clients using Meta glasses in conjunction with their mobile phones to improve their ability to perform ordinary functions that most of us take for granted. A visual impairment can be disempowering and isolating

Gout and Kennedy renew rivalry, Hull eyes history as Australian athletics puts its best on show

Australia’s top sprinters lock horns again while the track queen is out to complete the set of middle-distance crowns at the national championships in SydneyAn array of exotic, well-trimmed dogs will parade around Sydney Olympic Park this weekend as part of the Royal Easter Show. The zoomies, however, will be across the road.Australia’s best athletes led by sprinter Gout Gout will dash around the newly laid blue track at the Athletic Centre, while others fly over bars or into sand.The immediate goal is a national title and selection for this year’s Commonwealth Games or World Junior Championships teams. But this meet arrives at a time when the sport is building towards Los Angeles 2028 and on towards Brisbane 2032, and a new crop of athletes is out to prove their era has arrived

Meet JJ van der Mescht, the 6ft 7in, 146kg Saint: ‘A fly-half trapped in a second-row’s body’

Cometh the hour, cometh the big man. There are certain situations when size matters on a rugby field and the 6ft 7in tall, 23 stone JJ van der Mescht is the larger-than-life proof. If spectators at the Rec on Friday feel the ground beneath them shake as Northampton run out to face Bath in their keenly awaited Champions Cup quarter-final, there will be a giant-sized reason why.Clearly Saints will also bring their razor-sharp running game but even Bath’s meatier forwards should brace themselves. There is invariably a major collision when the massive Van der Mescht thunders into contact and asks the direct questions that led South Africa to include their exiled lock in an alignment squad ahead of their July Tests against England, Scotland and Wales