US president says on Truth Social that ‘this is a great time to get rich’ despite China issuing a 34% tariff on all US goods

The Trump administration is taking aim at Brown University with threats to freeze $510m in grants, widening its promise to withhold federal funding from schools it accuses of allowing antisemitism on campus, according to multiple media outlets including Reuters and the New York Times.

University officials said they had not yet been formally notified, but the school was among dozens warned last month that enforcement actions could be coming as the administration seeks to crack down on academic institutions .

Actor and comedian charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, say police

The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault.

Brand will appear in court in London on 2 May, according to the Metropolitan police, which began investigating him in September 2023 after a range of allegations.

Union says the government should intervene directly and force the council to settle the dispute

Trump claims Starmer ‘very happy’ about tariffs

Downing Street has refused to confirm President Trump’s claim that Keir Starmer was “very happy” about the treatment the UK is getting under the new US global tariff regime. (See 9.32am.) Asked about the president’s words at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that the government had already set out its position yesterday and that it was “disappointed” by the US tariff policy.

Livia Tossici-Bolt has been sentenced at Poole magistrates’ court to a conditional discharge for two years for two charges of breaching a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, PA Media reports. See 11.22am.

Livia Tossici-Bolt given conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 costs in case that drew US state department concern

An activist whose case had been cited by the US state department over “freedom of expression” concerns in the UK has been convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic.

Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner, went on trial at Poole magistrates court last month accused of breaching a public spaces protection order on two days in March 2023 near to a clinic in Bournemouth. On Friday she was found guilty of two charges of breaching the order.

Joanne Sharkey admitted manslaughter after secret birth while she had postnatal depression after first child

A woman who killed her newborn baby 27 years ago while she had severe postnatal depression has been handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, as a judge said the case “calls for compassion”.

Joanne Sharkey, 55, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility over the death of her days-old son, whose body was found wrapped in bin bags in woodland in 1998.

Broadcaster wants to branch out with shows covering crime, history and sport and says he has investors lined up

Piers Morgan is planning to create a YouTube empire covering true crime, history and other genres, claiming to have “significant players” already lining up to invest.

Morgan said he was looking to branch out from his Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel and find a series of “mini-mes” to front other shows under the brand. He said his current show was already turning a profit since he broke away from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in January.

Brosnan, who co-stars with Mirren in new series MobLand, said ‘there’s always going to be conflict’ when it comes to the 007 spy series

Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in four films between 1995 and 2002, has said he has qualified sympathy for Helen Mirren’s feelings about what she called the “profound sexism” of the spy series.

Speaking last week, Mirren said she had “never liked James Bond” because the concept is “drenched and born out of profound sexism.”

• Belgian announces news via social media post
• Guardiola pays tribute to ‘one of the greatest’

Pep Guardiola lauded Kevin De Bruyne as “one of the greatest” players in Premier League history and said it was a “sad day” after the Manchester City captain announced he would depart at the end of this contract in June. The Belgian is the club’s most-decorated player, winning 16 major trophies, but was not offered an extension.

De Bruyne will be the final player to leave City who was in the first-team squad before Guardiola’s arrival. City signed him for €55m from Wolfsburg in 2015 and he has been an integral part of their success, winning six Premier League titles and helping the club lift the Champions League for the first time.

Plan to add 90 turbines to Rampion will create 4,000 jobs in construction and could power 1m homes

The government has approved plans to build an offshore windfarm capable of powering about 1m British homes before the end of the decade.

The plan to extend the Rampion offshore windfarm by adding 90 turbines off the Sussex coast is expected to add about 1.2 gigawatts of clean power for British households and businesses.

Shoppers also face more ‘shrinkflation’ as manufacturers ‘try to offset rising production costs’

Exchanging Easter eggs and tucking into a roast dinner are among the highlights of the spring holiday but Britons face paying more for this year’s celebrations after a sharp rise in the price of essentials such as chocolate, lamb and hot cross buns.

A leg of lamb joint now costs on average £13.94 a kilo in supermarkets, which is 10%, or £1.31, more than last year, according to the price analysts Assosia. Over two years, the jump is nearly 27%, or approaching £3 more a kilo, based on the pre-promotion price across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.