In health

There are fresh warnings that patients in NHS hospitals and pupils in English schools could end up with smaller portions and poorer meals, as conflict-driven spikes in food, oil, gas, and shipping costs work through the supply chain. Suppliers say fixed public-sector contracts make it hard to pass on the higher costs, and industry groups are already talking about price rises of up to 10% by the end of the year.

On the brighter side, the FDA has approved the first gene therapy for a rare inherited form of deafness caused by an OTOF defect. In a study of 20 patients, most began hearing within weeks, and the early results have held up for at least two years. A rare piece of medical news that is not, unusually, about a queue, a shortage, or a spreadsheet.

In the Middle East

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned China’s Hengli refinery over purchases of Iranian oil, saying the operation has generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s military. It is the latest effort to squeeze Tehran’s oil revenue, which has proved stubbornly resistant to polite requests.

Meanwhile in the West Bank, skepticism is growing over whether local elections will change much at all. Frustration with both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupation has fed voter apathy, with many people doubting the vote will make a meaningful difference on the ground.

In U.S. politics and media

Donald Trump is expected to attend the White House correspondents’ dinner for the first time as president, which should make for an exceptionally warm evening, if by warm you mean awkward. The event is built around press freedom, while Trump’s White House has spent the last year cutting AP access, attacking reporters, and leaning on broadcasters and public media.

In UK crime

A serial fraudster, Simon John Turner, has been jailed for 10 years after admitting offences that spanned several years and several schemes. Police said victims lost more than £218,000 in scams including property fraud, romance fraud, and fake caravan sales.