Sam Konstas axed from Cricket Australia’s contract list for busy 2026-27 season

Australia’s Ashes-winning players have been rewarded with contracts for a bumper 2026-27 cricket season, but there was no room on the 21-man list for Sam Konstas and Glenn Maxwell.Paceman Brendan Doggett, who made his full international debut against England in November’s opening Ashes Test in Perth, earned his first national contract, while opener Jake Wetherald, who played all five Tests last summer, retained his upgraded contract despite averaging just 22.33 during the series.Bowler Michael Neser and spinner Todd Murphy were again handed full contracts, ahead of a crammed Test schedule over the next 12 months, which starts with a two-match home series against Bangladesh in August.That is followed by ODI tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where Australia will also play a three-Test series, before a home white-ball series against England and a run of 10 Test matches in 14 weeks, against New Zealand, India and the 150th Anniversary Test against England at the MCG

Two-thirds of UK hospitality businesses plan to cut jobs and one in seven will close, survey finds

Two-thirds of hospitality businesses are planning to cut jobs as a result of “suffocating” costs imposed by government, as new business rates and higher wage bills come into force.Many pubs, restaurants and hotel companies will see their costs increase significantly from 1 April after Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates and an increase in minimum wage thresholds announced at the chancellor’s November budget.An industry-wide survey of 20,000 hospitality businesses has found that as a direct result of the cost increases, 64% of firms plan to cut jobs, 42% intend to reduce trading hours and one in seven will be forced to close.“Hospitality businesses enter April facing billions of pounds in additional costs, which will force many to make heartbreaking decisions,” said bodies including UKHospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association, in a joint statement. “Hospitality’s tax burden – the highest in the economy – is suffocating the sector

The Voorhees law of traffic: when overtaken slow cars seem to always catch up at a red light

It is a situation experienced by many motorists: one driver overtakes another only to find the slower car is right behind them when they reach a red light. Now a researcher has used mathematics to reveal why the situation feels inevitable.Dr Conor Boland from Dublin City University has called his work “The Voorhees law of traffic”.The name is a nod to the character Jason Voorhees from the American horror film franchise Friday the 13th.“I always thought of him because he seems to just walk everywhere … His victims are running away, they’re sprinting, but he just catches them,” Boland said

Nigel Farage’s biggest problem? Donald Trump

By day 31 of the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage had become somewhat less vocal about the closeness of his relationship with Donald Trump.“Trying to read what’s really in the minds of people in the White House right at the moment is a mug’s game,” said the MP, as he unveiled his party’s latest “pledge” to cut the cost of living on Tuesday.Perched on a stool against the backdrop of departing flights, Farage had come to Heathrow airport to promote a plan to scrap taxes on short-haul journeys.Yet when the questions inevitably came about the conflict’s potentially catastrophic impact on Britain’s economy, the Reform leader was forced to grapple with what has suddenly become the primary barrier to people voting for his party: Donald Trump.The US president is now underwater in terms of his favourability even with Reform voters, who were previously the only set of UK party supporters who saw him positively, according to polling by More in Common

King’s state visit to US will take place in April despite calls to delay amid Iran war – UK politics live

The king’s state visit to the US is to go ahead next month as planned, Buckingham Palace has finally confirmed. The Press Association says:double quotation markCharles and the queen’s long-expected historic trip to see Donald Trump will take place in late April despite calls for it to be postponed because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to America for nearly 20 years, since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.Charles and Camilla will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, attend a glittering state dinner at the White House, and the king will address Congress, the Palace confirmed.But exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed

Head of NHS England ‘really worried’ about medicine supplies

The head of the NHS in England has said he is “really worried” about medicine supply issues.A number of experts have raised concerns about cost implications and supply disruption linked to the war in Iran.The NHS England chief executive, Jim Mackey, was asked during a phone-in on LBC Radio on Tuesday what contingency planning was in place because “the UK imports 75% of its medicine”. He said: “We are really worried about this. We’ve already had a couple of supply shocks in the last 12 to 18 months of key supplies