A very different version of William Shakespeare showed up in the first episode of “SNL U.K,” appearing in a sketch that took comic aim at the biggest British film from this year’s awards season.

In “SNL U.K.’s” version of “Hamnet,” an increasingly Gen-Z hipster Bard returns home from staging plays in London to his doting wife (played by Tina Fey) and family.

“Dost thou not think I appear changed?” he asks on his first time back home. “I got a cunty little earring!”

Later returns to the family home see him on an electric scooter, brandishing a tote bag saying ‘Team Anne Boleyn,’ and proudly showing off “me slutty little chain.”

“London hath changed thee,” Fey’s Agnes Hathaway asserts.

“Thou art in Stratford upon Avon, and I’ve been in London upon ketamine,” says Shakespeare. “I’m like Charlie Xcx, sorry, Charlie 10 100 10. I’m in my glow up era, honey.”

In keeping with the plot of the film, Hamnet is seen falling ill, having “taken the powder” from a new purse. But as Shakespeare notes: “He’ll be fine. Tis but a K-hole.”

Following the “Hamnet” sketch, “SNL U.K.” poked fun at another beloved British institution in a skit in which a Paddington Bear immersive experience sees an actual bear let loose upon guests.

“That was amazing. I’ve lost half my face,” says one. “I always thought that three kids was a bit too many, and now I’ve got the optimum amount … none!,” adds another.

“In retrospect, maybe hot glue-gunning the hat to the bear’s head may have made it more angry,” explains Fay’s experience organiser. “I’m taking it to Broadway regardless”

Studiocanal, which has the rights to Paddington Bear and has its very own Paddington experience in London, has already sued the makers of comedy show “Spitting Image” over their depiction of the bear as a drug-taking, foul-mouthed podcast host. It’ll be interesting to see what they make of this one.

The Islamic Republic of Iran significantly escalated its war effort against the U.S. with its launch of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Friday toward Diego Garcia, a key U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean.

The targeting of Diego Garcia, roughly 2,500 miles from Iran, means Tehran’s missile capabilities appear to have exceeded previously acknowledged limits.

In the period leading up to Operation Epic Fury Feb. 28, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed, “We intentionally kept the range of our missiles below 2,000 kilometers so we don’t have that capability. And we don’t want to do that because we do not have hostility against the United States people and all Europeans.”

TRUMP VOWS TO HIT IRAN ‘VERY HARD’ AFTER OBLITERATING NEARLY ’90 PERCENT’ OF REGIME MISSILES

On Saturday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, “Just yesterday, Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers [2,500 miles] toward an American target on the island of Diego Garcia. These missiles were not intended to hit Israel. Their range reaches the capitals of Europe — Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range.”

IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani blasted the alleged Iranian deception on X, writing, “Just 3 days before the war, the Iranian regime said they don’t obtain long-range missiles. Today, their lies were exposed once again, when missiles were fired 4000km away from Iran. They hoped to lie their way into becoming a force that can terrorize the world. We didn’t buy it.”

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital, “The Trump administration, in citing Iran’s missile threat as a rationale for Operation Epic Fury, was therefore justified in its decision to undertake military action as Iran has consistently refused to negotiate over its missile program.

“It also shows how dangerous it is to solely rely on Iranian nuclear weapons fatwas and the supreme leader’s public rhetoric in formulating U.S. policy. As long as Iran retains the technical capability beyond public pronouncements, it is a threat.”

BEFORE-AND-AFTER SATELLITE IMAGERY OFFERS A RARE LOOK AT DAMAGE INSIDE IRAN

“I think it’s a message that the IRGC is in charge in Iran after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s death,” Brodsky said. “When Khamenei was alive, he limited the range of Iran’s missile program to 2,000 kilometers. Khamenei recounted in 2018 how he had rejected overtures from IRGC commanders seeking to increase the range to as much as 5,000 kilometers.

“But now that he has died, those voices in the IRGC seeking to increase the range are likely driving the agenda. The launch of the missiles was likely meant as a signal of the IRGC’s capabilities to threaten U.S. allies beyond the Middle East. For example, this threatens Europe.”

The two long-range Iranian missiles did not hit the base, but the attempted attack marked a significant expansion of Iran’s reach beyond the Middle East and toward a major U.S. strategic hub. One missile reportedly failed in flight, while a U.S. warship launched an SM-3 interceptor at the other, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether the interception was successful. The remote base is a critical launch point for U.S. bombers, nuclear submarines and other strategic assets.

Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, “The launch hammers home the president’s point about Iran being an imminent threat. It’s easy for casual observers to ignore, but the increasing maturity of Iran’s strategic programs, plural, has been exponentially expanding the threat that the Islamic Republic poses beyond the Middle East. 

“That is what Epic Fury is seeking to address. The administration believes, absolutely correctly in my view, that these types of capabilities cannot be left in the hands of a radical, predatory regime.

HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION

“Despite its public denials, it’s been clear that the Iranian regime has been working on expanding the range of its ballistic missile capabilities for years. The launch toward Diego Garcia confirms that it has made real progress toward that goal and is already able to put targets in the same range as Central and Eastern Europe at risk. Moreover, it’s clear that the regime is seeking still greater capabilities and that, if left intact, Iran’s ballistic missiles would attain intercontinental range soon.”

Berman, the author of “Iran’s Deadly Ambition: The Islamic Republic’s Quest for Global Power,” added, “The parallel development Iran has been carrying out on its space program is significant. The booster used to put payloads into orbit can be married onto a medium-range missile to create intercontinental range capabilities. Before the war, we were seeing a clear convergence of the regime’s strategic programs: its ballistic missile work, its space capabilities and its nuclear program.”

He warned about the serious Iranian threat to continental Europe. 

“Europe is absolutely at risk as the recent launch makes clear,” Berman said. “I wouldn’t say that a failure to recognize this to date has been due to a grand deception by Tehran, though. It is more attributable to willful blindness on the part of European elites about the extent of the threat that the Iranian regime poses as well as undue faith in diplomacy and arms control in containing it.”

On Saturday, the United Kingdom condemned the attack. 

“Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “RAF jets and other U.K. military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.

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“This government has given permission to the U.S. to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Published on
20/03/2026 – 14:39 GMT+1

French President Emmanuel Macron urged Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to step up enforcement of EU digital regulations to combat foreign election interference ahead of key elections in 2026 and 2027, according to a letter dated March 16 and seen by Euronews.

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The call comes as concerns grow in France about potential election meddling before next year’s presidential race. French security services have identified several interference cases —including from Russia— during the ongoing municipal campaign, with the second round set for Sunday.

“In a geopolitical context marked by a multiplication of hostile stances against the European model and its democratic values, it is crucial that the Union, and with it each Member State, prepare to ensure the integrity of civic discourse and electoral processes, the fairness of elections, and optimal protection against interference operations and information manipulation,” Macron wrote.

Eleven EU countries head to the polls in 2026, with further key elections in 2027 in France, Italy and Poland, where Eurosceptic parties are polling strongly.

Call for rapid EU action

Macron urged von der Leyen to update guidelines originally introduced ahead of the 2024 European elections, pressing platforms such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram’s X and Tik Tok to strengthen their efforts under the EU’s landmark content moderation framework, the Digital Services Act (DSA).

“It’s not about overhauling the DSA, it’s about ensuring it is fully enforced regarding the obligations placed on platforms—namely, assessing and mitigating systemic risks that could disrupt electoral processes,” a French official said.

The letter specifically calls for curbing the virality driven by algorithms, labelling content generated or modified by artificial intelligence, removing fake accounts and respecting transparency obligations for political advertising included in the DSA.

“The Commission must be able, on the basis of reports it receives, to take all the measures allowed under the Digital Services Act (DSA), from injunctions and safeguard measures to sanctions,” the same official said.

Under the DSA, online platforms face fines of up to 6% of global annual revenue.

Probes have already been opened these last years into suspected interference, including against Meta ahead of the 2024 European Parliament vote and against TikTok over its handling of election-related risks during Romania’s November 2024 presidential election.

In Romania, concerns over TikTok’s role in the first-round win of ultranationalist and pro-Russian Călin Georgescu led in 2024 to the annulment of the vote after declassified intelligence documents indicated he may have benefited from coordinated accounts and algorithmic amplification on the platform.

According to Emmanuel Macron, Brussels and EU capitals must be “able to build a genuine complementary strike force, capable of rapid action,” to prevent such foreign interferences.