Two things have just happened that we could have seen a mile off.
Events in the Middle East have followed the exact script for "what happens if you attack Iran", a scenario analysts have been predicting for decades.
If you take on the ayatollahs and threaten their future, they will take the gloves off and attack just about everybody. Check.
They will also make it effectively impossible to send shipping through the Strait of Hormuz by sinking tankers and forcing up the price of insurance to intolerable levels. Check.
The price of oil will soar. Gulf allies will warn of an apocalyptic collapse in energy supplies. Economists will predict the sky falling on our heads and a global economic calamity. Check, check, check.
And the pain for an American president facing midterm elections, if he allows them to happen, will just become too great. Check.
Experts have sat in TV studios predicting just that for years with maps and warnings about shutting off the world's jugular.
The second predictable outcome has become a constant of our time. Trump Always Chickens Out.
Robert Armstrong, the man who coined the term the TACO president, wrote in the Financial Times today: "It is, of course, utterly unclear whether the president's comments have anything to do with a change in balance of the war on the ground.
"What they did communicate clearly, to the delight of markets, was that Trump is looking for an exit."
Which is all the Iranian leadership needs to hear.
Trump wants out.
Whether it's this week or next or a bit longer, Iran's government just needs to hang in there.
America and Israel wanted regime change. If it is not changed, they will have failed and Iran's leadership will, rightly or wrongly, declare victory.
They may have lost every warplane and naval ship in their inventory. But they will remain in power, despite the yearning for change among so many of their people who had been promised help was 'on its way' by the US president.
Read more:
'The fighting feels like we're going to finish it - once and for all'
Energy prices ease amid hopes Trump will soon call halt to war
As for the Iranian nuclear programme, Trump will declare it obliterated. Again.
But as long as Iran has the scientists to rebuild it and the leadership committed to doing so, it can still rise from the ashes like a Persian phoenix.
What do future adversaries learn from all this?
In Beijing, they have been closely watching as they plan to seize Taiwan at some point during Xi Jinping's presidency.
They have a better gauge now of Donald Trump's tolerance for economic pain, a crucial factor as they game the invasion of their neighbour.
A president they always feared as unpredictable and mercurial has arguably become a little less so after what he called his recent 'short-term excursion' in the Middle East.
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: "A man has been charged with murder following an incident at HMP Frankland in Durham.
"Emergency services were called to reports of an assault in the workshop on the morning of Thursday, February 26.
"Ian Huntley, 52, was taken to hospital with serious injuries but died on the morning of Saturday, March 7.
"Anthony Russell, 43, of HMP Frankland, has been charged with murder and will appear via video link at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, March 11."
Huntley was convicted of the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002.
He killed them after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets, then dumped their bodies in a ditch.
Huntley was convicted of the murder of both girls in December 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Anthony Russell with murder following a police investigation into a fatal attack on Ian Huntley at HMP Frankland.
"Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
"We have worked closely with Durham Constabulary as they carried out their investigation."
The Met Office says while there may be sunny spells in the south and east of the country, many should brace for wintry conditions returning on Thursday.
Clouds, winds and outbreaks of rain are forecast, with downpours being the heaviest on western hills.
Blustery showers are expected to hit the northwest and there is a chance of snow on Scottish mountains.
Up to 50mm of rain could fall over the Lake District, with heavy rainfall possible further south.
On Friday, temperatures are expected to drop across the country.
Jason Kelly, chief operational meteorologist for the Met Office, said: "A notable shift in wind direction to a north-westerly flow will bring a markedly colder day nationwide on Friday, with the potential for a mixture of sunny spells, heavy showers, coastal gales, and snow over high ground.
"There's also the possibility of accumulations on lower hills too. The picture will become clearer closer to the time, so keep an eye on our forecast as the week progresses."
Read more from Sky News:
First subjects for new V-level revealed
New anti-Muslim hate definition announced
Joanna Robinson, Sky News's weather producer, said: "The next few days will generally see temperatures around average or slightly above, with highs reaching the mid-teens on Thursday.
"Rain moving through on Thursday will introduce colder air from the north, with temperatures widely below average on Friday and Saturday before recovering slightly.
"Friday will bring showers, with snow down to relatively low levels in the north, especially early on.
"There'll be fewer showers around on Saturday, and the snow risk will become increasingly confined to the highest hills.
"Frosty conditions overnight will bring the risk of icy stretches."
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was sentenced last week to a three-year youth rehabilitation and criminal behaviour order.
The teenager told police he wanted to emulate Axel Rudakubana, who killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class during the summer holidays in July 2024.
At Liverpool Crown Court on 5 March, the youngster avoided a custodial sentence after he pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person planning or committing an act of terrorism.
Read more: What we've learned from the Southport Inquiry
On Tuesday, the families of the three girls said via their legal team, that "it is unimaginable to be reading about circumstances so painfully similar" to the Southport stabbings.
The statement added: "Elsie, Bebe and Alice were failed at every possible point - failed by the very professionals and agencies who should have protected them.
"Had they acted decisively, our children would still be alive.
"Yet we now face the reality that a 17‑year‑old boy has admitted these offences, expressed ideologies aligned with AR - and still walks free.
"This is about repeated failures by agencies and professionals who knew better, and still did nothing. Our only hope through the inquiry was that no other families would have to endure what we have.
"But, the events relating to this teenager give us real concerns that changes that we were told have occurred, appear to fail again."
Teenager wanted to 're-enact Axel'
The 17-year-old told police last August that he wanted to "re-enact Axel", having collected four knives and bought a green hoodie similar to one worn by the killer.
The Southport families noted that the teenager was twice referred to the Government's anti-terror programme Prevent, but no action had been taken before his arrest.
During proceedings, Liverpool Crown Court heard the boy described Rudakubana as a "hero" with similar interests in "genocides and that".
Read more from Sky News:
Joey Barton charged over alleged assault
Man charged with murder of Ian Huntley
Chris Walker, director of serious injury at Bond Turner, the legal representative for the Southport families, also said in a statement that the details about the 17-year-old "are seriously alarming and we felt it was only right that we commented given the focus of the Southport Inquiry".
He added: "We are extremely alarmed at the extremely serious fascination with mass murder, admiration for the Southport killer, and the violent material and manuals reportedly found in his possession, including knives and content capable of assisting a planned mass murderous attack.
"Against this backdrop, we are aghast that a non-custodial sentence and a referral to rehabilitation services have been considered reasonable in circumstances of such serious risk and repeated missed opportunities.
"Given the information in the press, we can not fathom why a rehabilitation order is considered the best way to protect the public rather than a custodial sentence."
The Southport Inquiry, looking at the circumstances that led up to the killings, finished hearing the first phase of evidence in November.
Chairman Sir Adrian Fulford is expected to publish his report on this stage next month.
The magazine's latest rankings, dominated by the tech sector, placed the Tesla and SpaceX boss in the top spot with a net worth of $839bn (£623bn), followed by Google co-founders Larry Page on $257bn and Sergey Brin with $237bn.
Donald Trump also saw his wealth increase by 27% to $6.5bn off the back of his crypto dealings, and after his New York fraud penalty was thrown out, making the US president the world's 645th richest person.
Money blog: How to boost your retirement pot
Forbes's 40th annual world's billionaires list also saw some notable debuts, including rapper Dr Dre ($1bn), singer Beyonce Knowles-Carter ($1bn) and tennis star Roger Federer ($1.1bn).
The 390 newcomers also included Greg Abel ($1bn), Warren Buffett's successor as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, Mr Musk's brother Kimbal Musk ($1.4bn), and former vice-presidential candidate, and Mr Brin's ex-wife, Nicole Shanahan ($1.4bn).
In total, those on the list are worth a record $20.1trn, an increase of $4trn since last year as the wealth of the world's richest people continues to grow.
Last year's list featured 3,028 billionaires.
The number of people with fortunes of more than $100bn climbed to 20, up from 15 a year ago.
Forbes also estimated that crypto baron Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, is now richer than Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with a fortune of $110bn.
The six richest people on the billionaires list are all Americans, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($224bn), Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg ($222bn) and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison ($190bn) also ranking highly.
French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault and his family ranked seventh, with an estimated wealth of $171bn.
The top ten richest billionaires also included Nvidia founder Jensen Huang ($154bn), investor Warren Buffett ($149bn) and Spanish fashion mogul Amancio Ortega ($148bn).
Only a handful of Britons feature lower down in the rankings, including hedge fund manager Michael Platt. He is 120 on the list with an estimated net worth of $20bn.
Mr Musk also saw the biggest dollar gain, adding $497bn to his wealth.
Meanwhile, Lei Jun, the founder of Chinese electronics company Xiaomi, lost the most, with his wealth falling by $15.6bn.
Read more from Sky News:
Iran war: The outlook for your finances
Energy prices ease amid peace hopes
The average net wealth of the world's richest billionaires was also higher at $5.8bn on average, up from $5.3bn last year.
This year also saw 89 people fall off the list, including entrepreneur and NASA head Jared Isaacman and real estate developer Charles Cohen.
While men have traditionally dominated the list, 122 self-made women are included this year, with a net worth of $462bn.
The world's youngest billionaire is 20-year-old heiress Amelie Voigt Trejes, a Brazilian whose grandfather founded the industrial machinery firm WEG, who is worth an estimated $1.1bn.
The co-founder of AI hiring start-up Mercor, Surya Midha, is the youngest self-made billionaire at 22.
The American is one of 12 self-made billionaires under the age of 30 on the list.