A bland courthouse corridor, a 16-page PDF and a brief shot of Donald Trump pushing open a door.
This was hardly the obvious television moment of the year but British media gave it the full works.
Mr Trump’s court date earned non-stop coverage from broadcasters including the BBC and Sky News as the world waited for news of his arrest.
Newspaper headline writers had some fun with “Donald in the dock” and “In the eye of the Stormy” as the drama dominated front pages.
From cameras in a courthouse to words like “district attorney” to the sight of a billionaire president in the dock, there was an air of Britain watching something alien.
UK leaders Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak may have been hit with police fines, but their offences were comparatively minor and carried more political than legal weight.
As Mr Trump remained out of view, the BBC had an explainer of terms like felony and arraignment that would sound strange or dated in a British case.
But British presenters had deeper questions: how serious were the charges, and how damaging for Mr Trump’s election prospects?
Names from the recent past appeared on the airwaves to offer answers.
There was Anthony Scaramucci, Mr Trump’s short-lived communications chief, saying pundits were being too clever by half if they thought the indictment would help the former president.
Then there was Michael Wolff, the author of tell-all books on the Trump White House, saying Mr Trump felt no sense of having done anything wrong as he sat in the courtroom.
The phrase “a sad day for America” was uttered several times as viewers were solemnly told Mr Trump was in the custody of the state of New York.
Another refrain was that hush money and dodgy receipts may not be the world’s most dire allegations but that Mr Trump might have more legal peril coming down the track.
Presenters barely knew what to say when the photo filtered through of Mr Trump in the courtroom. The image spoke for itself on the front of Tuesday’s Guardian, Daily Mirror and Daily Express.
TV channels scrolled through the 16-page charges once they were released by the Manhattan prosecutor, bringing such legalese as “to wit” and “the grand jury aforesaid” to British television screens.
One former MP found it all a bit much. “Does anyone in the UK really care that much, to justify this endless coverage, giving Trump exactly what he wants?,” asked former Middle East minister Alistair Burt.
Donald Trump appears in court - in pictures
Mr Trump is a disliked figure in Britain. He drew protests when he visited London as president and a poll in December found that 70 per cent in the UK had an unfavourable view of him.
But he found some defenders on the right-wing GB News channel, hosted on Tuesday evening by Trump ally and former Brexit campaigner-in-chief Nigel Farage.
While Mr Farage asked viewers to sympathise with Mr Trump, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg referred to “trumped-up charges” and a “kangaroo court”.
“The British judicial system is far superior to the American one, even though they tried to base it on ours,” said Mr Rees-Mogg.
Another right-leaning channel, TalkTV, summed up with a mixture of views at 8pm.
While pundits Russell Quirk and Jan Halper-Hayes thought the indictment would backfire on Democrats, left-wing consultant Mike Buckley thought it would hasten Mr Trump’s demise – “and that’s a good thing”.
Few editorials took Mr Trump’s side. The Daily Telegraph wrote of the return of the “Trump circus” and said the tawdry details of the scandal could damage Mr Trump’s standing among religious conservatives.
Writing in The Times, US editor David Charter said Mr Trump “remained strongly placed to be on the ballot” in 2014 despite his legal troubles and a “lacklustre campaign”.
The story remained at the top of the bulletin when radio listeners awoke to the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday.
By this point, Mr Trump had spoken from his Mar-a-Lago base and the BBC felt forced to add a disclaimer that his speech “contained many falsehoods and untruths”.
It was one more familiar taste of the chaos of Mr Trump’s 2017-21 presidency.
Bringing the bulletin to an end, presenter Nick Robinson reflected on Mr Trump’s warning that America was “going to hell”.
“If it is, historians may note that that journey began with politicians going to war with each other about whether people could trust their legal system and could trust the rules of their democracy,” he said.
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Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20has%20been%20moored%20off%20the%20Yemeni%20coast%20of%20Ras%20Issa%20since%201988.%3Cbr%3EThe%20Houthis%20have%20been%20blockading%20UN%20efforts%20to%20inspect%20and%20maintain%20the%20vessel%20since%202015%2C%20when%20the%20war%20between%20the%20group%20and%20the%20Yemen%20government%2C%20backed%20by%20the%20Saudi-led%20coalition%20began.%3Cbr%3ESince%20then%2C%20a%20handful%20of%20people%20acting%20as%20a%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ae%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiw2OfUuKr4AhVBuKQKHTTzB7cQFnoECB4QAQ%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.thenationalnews.com%252Fworld%252Fmena%252Fyemen-s-floating-bomb-tanker-millions-kept-safe-by-skeleton-crew-1.1104713%26usg%3DAOvVaw0t9FPiRsx7zK7aEYgc65Ad%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Eskeleton%20crew%3C%2Fa%3E%2C%20have%20performed%20rudimentary%20maintenance%20work%20to%20keep%20the%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20intact.%3Cbr%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20is%20connected%20to%20a%20pipeline%20from%20the%20oil-rich%20city%20of%20Marib%2C%20and%20was%20once%20a%20hub%20for%20the%20storage%20and%20export%20of%20crude%20oil.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%E2%80%99s%20environmental%20and%20humanitarian%20impact%20may%20extend%20well%20beyond%20Yemen%2C%20experts%20believe%2C%20into%20the%20surrounding%20waters%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia%2C%20Djibouti%20and%20Eritrea%2C%20impacting%20marine-life%20and%20vital%20infrastructure%20like%20desalination%20plans%20and%20fishing%20ports.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The%20Secret%20Kingdom%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Matt%20Drummond%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlyla%20Browne%2C%20Alice%20Parkinson%2C%20Sam%20Everingham%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
Winner: Syncopation, George Buckell, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
The%20Roundup
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
The five pillars of Islam
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
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Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
