Heathrow shutdown causes flight chaos and leaves thousands stranded
Summary
Power should return to Heathrow Airport within hours, a National Grid source tells the BBC, after a fire at a nearby electrical substation forced Europe's busiest airport into shutdown
The fire is still burning, London Fire Brigade says, with no power at Terminal 2 and 4 as well as 5,000 nearby homes
Counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation into the fire, but the Met Police says there's currently no indication of foul play
Heathrow says no planes will fly today and warns of days of disruption
A source from the airport says back-up generators did spring into action, but they weren't enough to power the whole airport - an air industry boss says it leaves "serious questions"
Hotels and pubs near the airport are packed with stranded passengers desperate for news, our reporter Rich Preston writes
'Interim solution' in place to restore power to Heathrow - National Grid
The National Grid says it has found "an interim solution" to restore power to customers, including Heathrow Airport.
In its latest update, it says it has reconfigured the network from North Hyde substation, allowing all affected customers to be reconnected. This includes the ability to resupply parts of Heathrow Airport linked to the substation.
The National Grid stresses that this is only a temporary fix.
Soviet-era dissident given ‘draconian’ jail sentence in Russia for anti-war views
Alexander Skobov jailed for 16 years over social media post and alleged involvement in opposition group
Fri 21 Mar 2025 12.52 GMT
A Soviet-era dissident has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for his anti-war views, in a case that observers say highlights how the country’s repression now exceeds even parts of the Soviet period.
Alexander Skobov, a 67-year-old lifelong dissident, was sentenced on Friday by a military court in St Petersburg over a social media post supporting Ukraine’s 2022 strike on the Crimea Bridge, as well as his alleged involvement with the foreign-based opposition group the Free Russia Forum.
A self-described leftwing pacifist, Skobov published the dissident Soviet journal Perspektivy in what was then Leningrad, and spoke out against the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and later Russia’s the wars in Chechnya, and, more recently, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2014.
Israel's top court halts dismissal of security chief
The Supreme Court has blocked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government's attempt to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
Israel's Supreme Court on Friday ordered a temporary halt to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of Ronen Bar, the country's internal security chief, until his appeal can be heard.
Several groups, including opposition politicians, had petitioned the court against the dismissal.
The court's decision came after the Israeli government on Thursday voted "unanimously" in favor of Netanyahu's decision to fire Bar.
Syria's Latakia province reels after massacre of Alawites
Our Syria correspondents travelled to the country's western coastal province of Latakia, which was the scene of the shocking massacre of civilians from the Alawite minority between March 7 and 9. They bring us this exclusive report.
On March 6 in Syria, factions loyal to the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad launched an offensive against the new Islamist government's security forces. This led to several days of brutal violence, during which many Alawite civilians were targeted and summarily executed. Over 1,000 people were killed, according to NGOs. Bodies piled up and morgues were overwhelmed.
Sudan’s army retakes presidential palace in Khartoum, strikes blow to RSF
Sudan’s army and its supporters are celebrating across the country after troops recaptured the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum.
Friday’s victory is perhaps the army’s most symbolic since launching a key counteroffensive against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in September last year.
Why Indonesia’s new military law has sparked outrage: ‘We’re going backwards’
Contentious legal revisions giving the military an expanded role in government has sparked outrage in Indonesia and raised fears of a slide back towards the country’s authoritarian past.
The Indonesian parliament on Thursday voted unanimously to amend the 2004 Armed Forces Law to allow serving military officers to hold crucial civilian positions.
The amendments were pushed by the coalition government of Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and son-in-law of former dictator Suharto.
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