We hold power to account. Our journalists investigate, interrogate and report without fear or favour. | | Yuval Raphael sparked controversy after winning second place for Israel at this year’s Eurovision |  | Liam Kelly Senior Culture Writer | Organisers of Eurovision have always said that the song contest is above politics. Anybody who has ever watched it will know that is not entirely true – how many times has Cyprus given top marks to Greece, and vice versa?
Any pretence that Eurovision can be an impenetrable space free from what happens in the wider world has surely now been destroyed by arguments about the inclusion of Israel.
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands have said that they will boycott next May’s edition in Vienna because they think Israel should be expelled on account of how its government conducted the war in Gaza. (The BBC has said it will continue to take part, so Britain still has a chance of getting nul points in Austria.) Eurovision, which is set to mark its 70th year, has never faced a bigger crisis and it is difficult to see how these divisions can ever be healed.
Read Liam’s column in full here ➤ | | Daniel Martin Deputy Political Editor | Nigel Farage’s war with the BBC intensified on Thursday as he launched a tirade over the corporation’s “hypocrisy” on race issues.
During a highly charged press conference, he demanded an apology from the broadcaster.
Earlier in the day on the Today programme, presenter Emma Barnett had asked Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, about Farage’s “relationship when he was younger with Hitler”.
She went on to ask Tice about allegations in The Guardian that 20 people had accused Farage of racist or anti-Semitic behaviour when he was at Dulwich College, a private school in south London.
The Reform leader said questioning him on racism amounted to “double standards” because the BBC broadcast racist and homophobic sitcoms when he was at school in the 1970s.
He said the corporation could not lecture anyone when it had aired programmes featuring the racist character Alf Garnett, the comedian Bernard Manning, and The Black and White Minstrel Show.
The Reform leader also took aim at the sitcom Are You Being Served? for featuring homophobia and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum for blackface.
Farage said the BBC’s framing of questions was “despicable”, and accused it of “double standards and hypocrisy”.
He said: “I cannot put up with the double standards of the BBC about what I’m alleged to have said 49 years ago and what you were putting out on mainstream content. So I want an apology from the BBC for virtually everything you did throughout the 1970s and 80s.”
Read the full story here ➤ | | David Frost The Prime Minister’s reverse Midas touch could be what unravels the plot to bring us into ever closer union with Europe
David will be responding to your comments at 10am. Continue reading ➤ Hamish de Bretton-Gordon Putin has committed an act of war against Britain Continue reading ➤ Judith Woods Prince Harry’s toe-curling appearance on a US chat show made him look needy Continue reading ➤ | From Westminster to Washington… Follow trusted coverage of the stories that are shaping our world. | | There are few more intimidating grounds for a visiting cricketer than the Gabba – as England learnt on a steamy Friday afternoon.
After the triumph of Joe Root’s hundred, the tourists were brought back to earth with a bump. Jamie Smith dropped a simple catch as the England attack fed the strengths of Australia’s openers. The run-rate of six an over was Bazballian.
Fielders received a gobful from a feral, thirsty Friday crowd, one of whom broke onto the field during the drinks break. Every error was jeered from the stands. “You are garbage, Jacks,” shouted one wag, after the England spinner’s first ball. Meanwhile, Jake Weatherald’s maiden Test fifty received a standing ovation.
Ben Stokes’s side still have a great opportunity here, but nothing will come easy and the bowlers will need to readjust their radars.
Follow the latest updates here ➤
Plus, sign up to our Sport Briefing newsletter for a full review of the day’s action at close of play, every day.
Scorecard correct as of 7am | | Narendra Modi is walking a fine line when it comes to his public embrace of Vladimir Putin, who arrived in New Delhi on Thursday afternoon for a state visit. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, India has leaned closer to Moscow, securing Russian oil at knockdown prices. But these deepening ties have come at a cost to relations with the West. As Putin seeks to draw Modi further into his orbit, Memphis Barker, Senior Foreign Correspondent, questions whether India has lost its credibility on the world stage. Continue reading ➤ | | | Erica Crompton has been claiming Universal Credit for years. A combination of the current brutal job market, in which part-time work-from-home roles are scarce, and the fact that her benefits aren’t taxed mean that, for her, working isn’t worth it. Here, she explains more. Continue reading ➤ | | | It’s the culmination of a year’s worth of workplace stress and office politics: the annual Christmas party. And every year you’ll see the same people quietly coming out of the woodwork, from the awkward David Brent-esque boss to the mistletoe-lurking lustful lush. Here’s the definitive who’s who for this year’s bash – commit it to memory while there’s still time.
Continue reading ➤ | | | Tiffany, back in vogue thanks to I Think We’re Alone Now being featured in Stranger Things, had an image problem at the turn of the century. The singer’s solution was to pose naked for Playboy in April 2002, aged 30, with the coverline: “Teen queen Tiffany: all grown up and totally nude”. Ed Power talks to her about her new-found fame and about meeting Hugh Hefner to discuss that photoshoot. Continue reading ➤ | | | There are revered cultural statements that some of us, secretly, think overrated, writes Simon Heffer. Sometimes we harbour the deep, if cynical, suspicion that many praise them because everyone else does, and they fear being thought uncouth. Well, I couldn’t care less if I am thought uncouth: here are my dirty dozen. Continue reading ➤ | | | As Gianni Infantino prepares to take centre stage alongside Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in Washington today, his predecessor delivers an evisceration of the Fifa president’s antics. Sepp Blatter, cleared in criminal corruption cases this year after being engulfed by controversy a decade ago, had clearly been waiting for the call. In an exclusive interview, Blatter launches his most outspoken attack on Infantino, with his wooing of Trump, Cristiano Ronaldo and Saudi Arabia, and what he wants his own football legacy to be. Continue reading ➤ | | | Miranda Levy with her father, Lawrence, who has metabolic syndrome | When a parent has a health condition it brings up the question: am I destined to inherit this too? Miranda Levy – whose father Lawrence is managing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol (all now under control) – was keen to understand her risks and what she could do to minimise them. The good news, she found out, is that some heritable chronic conditions are preventable and reversible. Here are the main ones and how to catch them early. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more articles I hope you find helpful: - So many of us reach for Lemsip when cough or flu symptoms start, but does it really work? Our experts weigh in and suggest some cheaper alternatives.
- Looking for the secret to making your party outfits look more expensive? Here are Lisa Armstrong’s seven styling and shopping tips to do just that.
| | Callum Turner as Luke and Elizabeth Olsen as Joan in fantasy romcom Eternity | Film Eternity ★★☆☆☆ Choosing an afterlife – and which one of her two late husbands she might want to spend it with – is the dilemma facing Elizabeth Olsen in this strained fantasy romcom. One of those husbands is played by Callum Turner, who is strongly rumoured to be the next Bond. So what on earth is he doing in a film like this? There are jokes about being dead, and tear-jerking scenes that require a viewer to surrender. I struggled to do so. Funnily enough, Eternity drags.
Read Tim Robey’s verdict here ➤ Television The Sycamore Gap Mystery
Channel 4 ★★★★☆ There are two questions at the heart of this engaging two-part documentary which begins with the discovery that the Sycamore Gap tree had been felled under cover of darkness. Number one: who was responsible? The programme answers this by following the determined efforts of Northumbria Police to catch the perpetrators. And number two: why did people care so much?
Read Anita Singh’s full review here ➤ Books Your Name Here by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff ★★★★☆ Few living novelists are as critically beloved yet commercially unsuccessful as Helen DeWitt. The American-born writer’s first book, The Last Samurai (2000), was nominated for several prizes and initially sold more than 100,000 copies; but amid a series of disasters it would fall out of print for more than a decade. Nowhere has DeWitt confronted the circumstances of her career more explicitly than in Your Name Here, a thrillingly strange 600-page novel-within-a-novel-within-a-novel that she has co-written with the Australian journalist Ilya Gridneff.
Read the full review here ➤
Plus, The Telegraph is proud to be Oxford Literary Festival’s official media partner. The 2026 programme, running from Sat 21 March to Sun 29 March, has now been announced. Readers can save 20% on all tickets with the code 26TEL20 when booking online here. | Treat yourself Every weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
What are the little luxuries you refuse to live without? As someone who has always drawn much motivation from the prospect of treats, I was intrigued by this article on the “non-negotiables” that keep people going: high-end drinking chocolate, daily baths, black cabs, cocktails, £18 deodorants... For me, happiness will always be within reach if I have access to a Spotify subscription, some M&S snacks and a decent glass of Bordeaux.
And for Telegraph readers? “Good bread,” wrote Bel Grant. “Normally I’d make my own, but I can’t do that so easily now due to disability. I like M&S’s special rustic breads, and their sourdough baguettes too. I’d never go back to cheaper bread, which is so often packed with unnatural ingredients.”
Andrew Merrick added: “Good, freshly roasted coffee beans are my thing – expensive compared with supermarket prices, but well worth it. Break it down to price per cup and my morning ritual is actually quite reasonable (I need good coffee daily because murder is wrong).”
Julie Ryan, meanwhile, travels “up to an hour and a half to my hairdresser, who I’ve been going to for 48 years. She is incredible: 74 and still working, and also very reasonable. I pay £95 every 10-12 weeks. I could also not live without my false lashes. They help me feel so much better in myself, and as I’m currently fighting a rare form of cancer this is invaluable to me.”
Finally, Sophie Marette likes to collect “second-hands books (merci Vinted)”. She explains: “They feed the soul and provide great escapism when life is difficult.” What’s on your list? Send your responses here, and my favourites will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | Plan your day with the telegraph | Set your alarm to catch up with journalists on the Your Say page and listen to their analysis on our latest podcasts.
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Yesterday’s Panagram was ENIGMATIC. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor
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