The Prison Officers Association (POA) said 28-year-old Hashem Abedi - the brother of Salman Abedi - threw hot cooking oil over the guards before stabbing them with homemade weapons. He was sentenced in 2020 to at least 55 years in prison after being found guilty of 22 counts of murder over the 2017 atrocity. The three officers were taken to hospital after the attack at category A Frankland prison, in County Durham, shortly before 11am on Saturday. A female officer is understood to have now been discharged. The POA said they suffered "life-threatening injuries" including burns, scalds and stab wounds. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on X: "I am appalled by the attack of three brave officers at HMP Frankland today. My thoughts are with them and their families. "The police are now investigating. I will be pushing for the strongest possible punishment. Violence against our staff will never be tolerated." The POA said the attack happened in a separation centre, a small unit sometimes referred to as a "prison within a prison", usually used to house dangerous prisoners and those deemed a risk of radicalising other inmates. The union's national chair Mark Fairhurst called for a review of the freedoms granted to those prisoners. "I am of the opinion that allowing access to cooking facilities and items that can threaten the lives of staff should be removed immediately," he said. "These prisoners need only receive their basic entitlements and we should concentrate on control and containment instead of attempting to appease them. Things have to change." General secretary Steve Gillan added: "This is a disgraceful and cowardly attack on prison officers at Frankland prison who were carrying out their duties." Durham police said: "An investigation is under way following a serious assault which occurred at Frankland prison, Durham today. "Three victims were taken to hospital to be treated where two remain with serious injuries and a third has been discharged." Read more from Sky News:Newcastle head coach admitted to hospitalSmartphones and laptops excluded from tariffs Hashem Abedi was previously found guilty, along with two other convicted terrorists, of attacking a prison officer at southeast London's Belmarsh prison in 2020. The officer was hit with a chair, repeatedly punched and kicked when he was set upon by Hashem Abedi, Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan and Muhammed Saeed, who spoke about carrying out a knife attack in London. Hashem Abedi was found guilty by a jury of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life over the Manchester Arena bombing. The court heard he helped source, buy, stockpile and transport the components for his brother's bomb using a number of phones, vehicles and addresses in preparation for the attack. Twenty-two people were killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated an explosive as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert at the venue. He died in the attack, while hundreds of others were injured.

In a statement, they confirmed the 47-year-old will miss the team's next match against Manchester United on Sunday "due to illness" after feeling unwell "for a number of days". "The Magpies' head coach was admitted to hospital late on Friday evening having felt unwell for a number of days," the statement said. "Medical staff kept Eddie in hospital overnight for further tests, which are ongoing. "He is conscious and talking with his family, and is continuing to receive expert medical care. "Everyone at Newcastle United extends their best wishes to Eddie for a speedy recovery, and further updates will follow in due course." The club said assistant Jason Tindall and coach Graeme Jones will lead the side at St James' Park on Sunday. Speaking when he stepped in to perform pre-match media duties on Friday, Tindall said: "He's been really poorly in the last couple of days but we've been in daily contact. "We've been speaking three or four times a day so it's not affected any of the preparations. We've still got a couple of days and I'm sure he'll be fine for the weekend." The assistant manager added "its not very often that's he unable to come to work", and that "it's a bit different" not having Howe around the training ground. Tindall also joked: "He's probably got a live feed there now, his attention to detail - he's top, and that's why he's one of the best managers that's out there." Read more:Relegated Southampton break unwanted Premier League recordStarmer's search for football watchdog chair goes into extra-time Howe, who has been tipped as a future England manager, ended Newcastle's silverware drought last month, leading them to a first domestic trophy in 70 years after beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. Currently sitting fifth in the Premier League table, the Magpies still have Champions League football next season firmly in their sights. They have won each of their last four games in all competitions, with league victories over West Ham, Brentford and Leicester either side of their Carabao Cup final success. Newcastle beat Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford in December and will run out eight places and 15 points better off than Ruben Amorim's men this weekend. But they have not completed a league double over the Red Devils since the 1930-31 campaign.

The new vessels cost quadruple their original price tag, one was delivered seven years late, the other is still being built, and both are too big to fit the main harbour for their daily journeys to and from the Isle of Arran. But in this latest chapter of the scandal, the unbelievable is very much part of the script. And, as Sky News has been hearing, the consequences are brutal. "It is completely and utterly nuts," one exasperated campaigner exclaims as we stand overlooking the deserted Ardrossan Harbour on Scotland's mainland. Ardrossan, on the Ayrshire coast, has been the main port for the ferry service to and from Arran for decades. It is the quickest, most efficient route. But the 30-year-old ferry serving the islands for generations is failing and two new bespoke-designed ones were ordered, with them due to enter service from 2017. The original £100m cost ballooned to £400m, the shipyard was bought by taxpayers amid financial crisis, one vessel finally started carrying passengers in January 2025 while the other is still being built. And to add insult to injury, both are too big for Ardrossan Harbour's jetty to cope with and require an £80m upgrade. In the meantime, services are being diverted along the coast to Troon. Protest as tensions rise in 'ghost town' Ardrossan was promised it would remain the primary port for connectivity to Arran. But now the community is in limbo and is fearing for its future. Christine Cowie, from Save Ardrossan Harbour, told Sky News: "It is completely and utterly nuts. "Why anybody would commission a ferry which doesn't fit the harbour for the route it is meant for is crazy. I cannot understand it at all. "Ardrossan is like an extension of Arran. A lot of people come here to the dentist and use other businesses they don't have on the island which are losing money since the ferries have gone away." A botched design process, mismanagement and a string of costly blunders have given the project the label of one of the biggest procurement disasters in the history of Scottish devolution. People from Arran are joining Ardrossan campaigners on the mainland for a protest on Saturday. Hundreds are expected to gather as tensions boil over. The group's chairwoman Frances Gilmour said Ardrossan has become a "ghost town". She said: "It is so quiet. It is spooky. It's frankly a disgrace. Businesses are suffering. "Economically, this is the route. This is the economic route. We have the infrastructure. We just need the berths fixed." The 33-year-old MV Caledonian Isles, which has been away over the winter for extensive repairs, is expected to return to Ardrossan next month. But locals question how reliable and sustainable that vessel is. On the edge of the once bustling harbour carpark is the Bute MOT garage. Manager Scott Revans says they rely on customers from Arran previously hopping off the ferry and leaving their car for repairs at their centre. He told Sky News: "The harbour is a ghost town. We'd get the passing trade doing whatever customers need from batteries to punctures. It has had an impact on us." Could taxpayers pick up the bill? Ardrossan Harbour is owned by private company Peel Ports. The Scottish government is currently exploring buying the port, but the talks are a secret, with campaigners feeling left in the dark. No one involved in the discussions would answer questions from Sky News about when they expect to alert communities to the next steps. Read more from Sky News:Delayed ferry formally begins sailingsFiasco-hit ferry removed from service A spokesman for the Scottish government agency Transport Scotland said: "We absolutely understand people and communities' views in favour of retaining Ardrossan as the mainland port and remain committed to ensuring the Arran ferry service is fit for the future. "The Scottish government has instructed officials… to explore options on purchasing Ardrossan Port. "We will of course update parliament once there is progress and an outcome to report, however, it would be inappropriate to get in the way of these complex and sensitive discussions." Jim McSporran, port director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: "Peel Ports Group welcomes the Scottish government's statement that it intends to explore the potential purchase of Ardrossan Harbour. "Regardless of the outcome of this process, our willingness to invest in the harbour remains steadfast. We take comfort that the port continues to operate this lifeline route and that it remains the port of choice for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan."

But why has it been so hot - and why is it about to come to an end? Extraordinary highs and lows The recent spell of fine weather was brought to us courtesy of high pressure. But no ordinary high pressure; a blocking high - the result of a stratospheric warming event. Ironically, it's the same weather set up that brought us the Beast from the East in 2018. This time, however, the positioning of the high pressure system brought almost cloudless skies and temperatures well above what we'd expect at this time of year. Check the weather forecast near you A blocking high pressure system, as opposed to ordinary high pressure, is one that sticks around far longer - which explains the days and days of blue skies and sunshine. It's notable though that the nights have been cold. On Thursday night, Aboyne in Scotland reached a daytime high of 22.8C (73F) from an overnight minimum of -3.2C (26.2F) - a lift of 26C night to day. And that wasn't an isolated station - many saw these huge discrepancies between night/day temperatures. That's quite extraordinary. All good things come to an end That high pressure is now sliding away to the near continent, which is opening the door to more unsettled conditions from the Atlantic. Also from the south, with the weather over Spain and Portugal having been shockingly bad. And, that again, is down to our prolonged period of fine weather. High pressure systems will block all incoming weather fronts, which have to go somewhere - either north or south around the high. So, as the beautiful spring of 2025 gives way to something more familiar, unsettled conditions spread up from the south courtesy of low pressure moving up from the Bay of Biscay. At the same time, Atlantic rain spreads in from the west introducing colder air. The two unite tonight and sweep eastward lowering our daytime temperatures by up to 10C in places. It's not all doom and gloom - but Europe's weather will be 'unsettled' That's not to say that we won't have sight of the sun until the height of summer. We'll have some bright and sunny spells, even over the next few days, despite them looking quite unsettled. But we'll also have classic British skies with cloud around to a greater or lesser degree, and temperatures more suited to our usual spring climate. Interestingly, the Azores high, which usually stabilises the southern Europe climate for which we pay expensive air fares, is not yet established. So those planning a holiday to Spain or Portugal don't have the usual reassurance of warm sunshine. Indeed, northern Italy is expecting some heavy rainfall over the next few days. There's also a fair signal that high pressure will return to the UK in the days after the Easter weekend. But as conditions remain mobile, unsettled and transient, accurate long-term forecasting becomes more difficult. Suffice to say, the next few days will be cooler, fresher and more unsettled. With the driest March on record behind us, rain will doubtless be welcome for farmers and gardeners alike.

The urgent legislation gives ministers the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open. The bill was rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords in one day, with MPs and peers being recalled from recess to take part in a Saturday sitting for the first time in over 40 years. Emergency bill becomes law - follow the latest reaction here After passing through both houses of parliament, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill was granted royal assent by the King. The bill gives the government the power to take control of British Steel - or any other steel asset - "using force if necessary", order materials for steelmaking and instruct that workers be paid. It also authorises a jail sentence of up to two years for anyone breaching this law. It will mean the steel plant in Scunthorpe will continue to operate as the government decides on a long-term strategy, and steelmaking in the UK more broadly. Officials from the Department for Business and Trade arrived at the site before the bill had even passed, Sky News understands. Earlier, staff from the plant's ousted Chinese owners Jingye were denied access, with police called over a "suspected breach of peace" - though officers found "no concerns". Ministers took the unusual step of recalling parliament from its recess to sit on Saturday after negotiations with Jingye appeared to break down. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the measures within the bill were "proportionate and necessary" to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open and protect both the UK's primary steelmaking capacity and the 3,500 jobs involved. The emergency legislation stops short of full nationalisation of British Steel, but Mr Reynolds told MPs that public ownership remained the "likely option" for the future. Read more:British Steel employees express fears over plant's futureWhy the hot spring weather is sliding away During the debate, several Conservative MPs, Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice and the Liberal Democrats' deputy leader Daisy Cooper all spoke in favour of nationalisation. MPs had broken up for the Easter holidays on Tuesday and had not been due to return until Tuesday 22 April. The business secretary accused Jingye of failing to negotiate "in good faith" after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe going. But the Conservatives said the government should have acted sooner, with shadow leader of the house Alex Burghart accusing ministers of making "a total pig's breakfast" of the situation regarding British Steel. The government was also criticised for acting to save the Scunthorpe plant but not taking the same action when the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot were threatened with closure.

The discussions on Saturday took place in Muscat, Oman, with the host nation's officials mediating between representatives of Iran and the US, who were seated in separate rooms, according to Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry. After the talks concluded, Oman and Iranian officials reported that Iran and the US had agreed to hold more negotiations next week. Oman's foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi tweeted after the meeting, thanking Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for joining the negotiations aimed at "global peace, security and stability". "We will continue to work together and put further efforts to assist in arriving at this goal," he added. Iranian state media claimed the US and Iranian officials "briefly spoke in the presence of the Omani foreign minister" at the end of the talks - a claim Mr Araghchi echoed in a statement on Telegram. He added the talks took place in a "constructive atmosphere based on mutual respect" and that they would continue next week. American officials did not immediately acknowledge the reports from Iran. Mr Araghchi said before the meeting on Saturday there was a "chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party [US] enters the talks with an equal stance". He told Iran's state TV: "Our intention is to reach a fair and honourable agreement - from an equal footing. "And if the other side has also entered from the same position, God willing, there will be a chance for an initial agreement that can lead to a path of negotiations." Reuters news agency said an Omani source told it the talks were focused on de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions in exchange for controlling Iran's nuclear programme. President Donald Trump has insisted Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons. He said on Monday that the talks would be direct, but Tehran officials insisted it would be conducted through an intermediary. Mr Trump also warned Iran would be in "great danger" if negotiations fail. "Hopefully those talks will be successful, it would be in Iran's best interests if they are successful," he said. "We hope that's going to happen." He added Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if the talks aren't successful, I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran". The comments came after Mr Trump's previous warnings of possible military action against Iran if there is no deal over its nuclear programme. Read more:Trump undergoes annual medical check-upPolish president backs Trump over Ukraine Saturday's meeting marked the first between the countries since Mr Trump's second term in the White House began. During his first term, he withdrew the US from a deal between Iran and world powers designed to curb Iran's nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. He also reimposed US sanctions. Iran has since far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes but Western powers accuse it of having a clandestine agenda. Mr Witkoff came from talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday, as the US tries to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.

US Customs and Border Protection listed 20 product categories in a notice to shippers, including the very broad 8471 code for all computers, laptops, disc drives and automatic data processing. It added that semiconductor devices and equipment, memory chips and flat panel displays would also be exempt. The move could help keep prices down for popular consumer items that are mainly produced in East Asian countries and China, which is the country hardest hit by Donald Trump's tariffs. In a statement to Sky's US partner network NBC News, White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said: "President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops. "That's why the President has secured trillions of dollars in US investments from the largest tech companies in the world, including Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia. "At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible." Tech firms, including Apple, Samsung and Nvidia, have struggled in the stock market since the levies were first announced. Earlier this week, the head of the trading floor at Currencies 4 You told Newspage Mr Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports "could significantly impact iPhone pricing globally". Prem Raja said analysts suggested "US prices might surge by up to 43% if Apple passes on the costs" to consumers. The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade dispute since the start of the month, as both countries ratcheted up tariffs on imports. After Mr Trump announced a 34% levy on China on "Liberation Day", Beijing responded by introducing tariffs of the same rate on American imports. Read more:Tariff war could be reaching stalemate, but more danger lingersPolish president tells allies 'stay calm' over tariffs The US president then added another 50% tariff atop the 34% and warned China not to retaliate. In turn, Chinese officials called the tariffs "bullying" and raised levies again to 84%. Mr Trump then raised levies on most Chinese goods to 145% as he paused tariffs higher than 10% for 90 days, prompting Beijing to raise their US import rates to 125%.

Ten years in office - a tenure spanning Donald Trump's first and current term - his admiration for the incumbent leader of the free world remains undimmed. As is his conviction that Ukraine's only chance of peace lies with the US leader. In an interview with Sky News in the presidential palace in Warsaw, President Duda described Mr Trump's tariff policy as "shock therapy", a negotiating tactic from a man "of huge business and commercial success" that he now brings to the arena of politics. That may not be what European politicians are used to, Mr Duda says, but Donald Trump is answerable to the US taxpayer and not to his European counterparts, and allies must "stay calm" in the face of this new transatlantic modus operandi. As for negotiations with Vladimir Putin, President Duda is sure that Donald Trump has the measure of the Russian leader, while refusing to be drawn on the competencies of his chief negotiator Steve Witkoff who landed on Friday in Moscow for further talks with Vladimir Putin - a man Mr Witkoff has described as "trustworthy" and "not a bad guy". Putting the kybosh on Nord Stream 2 in his first term and thwarting President Putin's energy ambitions via his state-owned energy giant Gazprom are evidence enough that Mr Trump knows where to hit so it hurts, Mr Duda says. Given the failures of Europe's leaders to negotiate peace through the Minsk accords, he believes the onus now falls on Donald Trump. "If anyone is able to force the end of Russia's war, it is most likely only the President of the United States," he says. "The question is whether he will be determined enough to do that in a way - because it is also very important here in Europe being a neighbour of Russian aggression against Ukraine - that the peace is fair and lasting." President Duda has just weeks left in office before the country votes for a new president in May. Originally from Poland's conservative Law and Justice party, one of the few points of alignment with the liberal and euro-centric prime minister Donald Tusk is the emphasis both place on security. Hopes for 'Fort Trump' base So did the announcement this week that the US would be withdrawing from the Jasionka air base near Rzeszow, which is the key logistics hub for allied support into Ukraine, come as a shock to the president, as it did to many Poles? Not at all, Mr Duda says. "We were warned that the change was planned. I have not received any information from [the US] about decreasing the number of American soldiers. Quite the opposite." He referred back to talks with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth in February, saying: "We discussed strengthening the American presence in Poland, and I mentioned the idea of creating a huge base of US troops. Then, we called it Fort Trump. I do still hope that this idea will be implemented." Read more:Eyewitness: Inside Polish NATO base on frontline with Russia Andrzej Duda has staked his legacy on close ties with Donald Trump at a time when many NATO allies are considering a form of de-Americanisation, as they consider new trading realities and build up their own defence capabilities. Poland has proven itself a model in terms of defence spending, investing more than any other NATO member - a massive 4.7% of GDP for 2025. But as the case of Canada shows, even the best of friendships can turn sour. The Canadian conservative party, once dubbed a maple MAGA, was flying high in the polls before Donald Trump decided to savage links with his closest trading partner. Now in the space of just a few months they are floundering behind the ruling liberal party. Is this a cautionary tale for Poland's conservative Law and Justice party? "For Canadian conservatives it is a kind of side effect of President Trump's very tough economic policy," Mr Duda says. "In Poland, this does not have such an impact. The security issues are the most important. That's the most important issue in Poland."

There were no reports of injuries after the blast next to Hellenic Train's offices in central Athens on Friday evening. An anonymous phone warning was reportedly made to a newspaper and a news website, saying a bomb had been left outside the railway company offices and would go off within about 40 minutes. Police forensics experts wearing white coveralls were pictured collecting evidence at the scene following the blast on Syngrou Avenue, a major road in the Greek capital. The male caller gave a timeframe of 35 to 40 minutes and insisted it was not a joke, local media outlet efsyn said. Police cordoned off the site, keeping people away from the building in an area with several bars and restaurants. A bag, described in local media as a rucksack, containing an explosive device had been placed near the Hellenic Train building. The explosion comes amid widespread public anger over the Tempe railway disaster in which 57 people, mostly university students, were killed in northern Greece. The government has been widely criticised for its handling of the aftermath of the country's deadliest rail disaster when a freight train and a passenger train heading in opposite directions were accidentally put on the same track on 28 February 2023. Unhappiness has grown over the last few weeks in the wake of the second anniversary of the tragedy. Safety deficiencies exposed The crash, which exposed severe deficiencies in Greece's railway system, including in safety systems, has triggered mass protests, led by the relatives of those killed, which have targeted the country's conservative government. Critics accuse authorities of failing to take political responsibility for the disaster or hold senior officials accountable. So far, only rail officials have been charged with any crimes. Several protests in recent weeks have turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police. Heated debate in parliament Earlier on Friday, a heated debate on the accident in the Greek parliament saw a former cabinet minister referred to investigators for alleged failures in his handling of the immediate aftermath of the crash. Hellenic Train said it "unreservedly condemns every form of violence and tension which are triggering a climate of toxicity that is undermining all progress". Read more from Sky News:MPs to debate British SteelMenendez brothers to be resentencedHow to complain at restaurants Greece has a long history of politically motivated violence, with domestic extremist groups carrying out small-scale bombings which usually cause damage but rarely lead to injuries.

The man is described as being Asian, around 50 to 60 years old, of medium build and having black hair. He was not injured and there is no evidence a third party was involved, West Midlands Police said. His body was discovered in the canal between Raboe Lane and Bridge Street in Smethwick at around 3pm on 30 November. He has a tattoo on his right hand similar to the Sikh symbol of "Ek Onkar". As well as speaking to members of the local community, detectives have contacted the Gurdwara (a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism) nearest to where the body was found, but have so far been unsuccessful. Read more from Sky News:Menendez brothers to be resentencedHow to complain at restaurantsBrothers to row across Pacific A force spokesman said: "We are appealing to the public to try and provide us with any information which may lead to his identification. "The man's body is being held by the coroner before it will be released for a funeral."