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👋 Good morning! It’s Saturday 28 March 2026. I’m Neil McIntosh, editor of The Early Line, and it’s great to have you here.
📣 You’re reading the weekend edition of The Early Line. Paying subscribers get the full version, with six talking points and film, TV and sporting recommendations for the weekend.
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Have a wonderful weekend, all!
🌦️ The weekend’s weather: It’s a complicated picture across the country. Today will be bright but breezy and showery for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. Tomorrow: not so bright, and a lot more wind and rain. London will be dry and bright until tomorrow evening. (Here’s the UK forecast).
SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Houthis’ barrage broadens the war | The Hot Cross bun’s hot moment | AI ‘friends’ a new tech addiction | Tiger’s latest crash | Time to find fibre | Elysium or solitude?
🍸 Your morning update on the war:
Yemen’s Houthis, backed by Iran, have entered the war by firing a barrage of missiles at Israel. This threatens an expansion of the war, including into the Red Sea, which would bring the vital trade route through the Suez Canal into the conflict. None of this would be good. (BBC)
Live updates: BBC | AP | CNN | Al Jazeera
Donald Trump continues to be angry at Nato for not supporting his war: now he’s considering backing out of the military alliance, or imposing new conditions on it. (Washington Post)
Israel is now rationing its best interceptor missiles, which means some Iranian missiles are starting to get through. (WSJ)
An interesting read on how oil markets move in sync with Trump’s announcements about the war. There’s a lot of speculation about who’s making money on all this. (BBC)
The war could prompt global shortages of some drugs (Guardian)
Pro-Iranian hackers say they've infiltrated the account of FBI director Kash Patel after posting his personal photos and documents online. Yes, really. (Sky News)
Upgrade to read the full Party Line, including the Hot Cross bun’s hot moment, how AI “friends” suggest a new tech addiction, just as we recognise the last one, Tiger Wood’s latest crash, the importance of fibre in your diet, and Elysium or solitude? Two properties will stun you, but for different reasons.
PLUS: find top TV, film and sporting picks for the weekend.
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