Prince Harry had been pursuing a case against the Daily Mail Publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited, along with seven other high-profile claimants.

The Duke of Sussex had accused the publisher for acquiring private information via ‘unlawful’ means and had given a detailed testimony in the Royal Courts of Justice last month.

When asked why he hadn’t complained about some of the articles at the heart of his claim, Harry responded that “to a certain extent” he believed the information in the articles came from legitimate sources.

He also thought that “the institution” would not have allowed him to complain anyway.

While Harry’s case is still ongoing, a surprise Jeffery Epstein connection emerged in which the convicted paedophile claimed “the Palace” asked him to take legal action against a newspaper for alleged phone hacking.

In the email, dated July 12, 2011, Epstein was getting legal advice on how he should open the case against the New York Post, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Group in New York.

“If you have been following the issues of Rupert Murdoch, and News intl. He closed one of his newspapers in London, after it was caught hacking phone,” the email reads.

“Well, there is no love lost in the palace for him. They say they have evidence that the NY post hacked my phones, to get to Prince Andrew.”

It continued, “The palace has asked if i would bring an action in new york. a.) I am not a sympathetic figure, but the girl who accused Andrew is even less credible than Strauss Kahn’s maid b.) I’m not sure if I want the battle. c) I’m not sure if you would be conflicted.”

It is unclear what is being referred to as “the Palace” in the email. It could have been Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor or it could be the institution itself.

The email in question comes from the latest tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice. It was sent two days after News of the World closed down after its owners, News International, admitted to hacking for their work.

This appears to have a similar tone to Prince Harry’s lawsuit but it is possible that these two events could have a connection. It remains to be seen how things unfold in the case.

• Rubio has not closed door to running in 2028.
• Vance says will talk to Trump about possibility of running.
• Trump calls both Vance, Rubio of very high intelligence.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to take sides in the debate over whether his vice president, JD Vance, or his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, would most likely be his successor in the 2028 Republican presidential campaign.

Vance, a former Republican senator from Ohio, has said he will talk to Trump about the possibility of running after the November midterm elections.

There is also speculation among Republican insiders that Rubio, a former senator from Florida who ran for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016 and lost to Trump, could seek the presidency.

Rubio has not closed the door to running in 2028, but has praised Vance as a strong potential candidate.

Trump said he would “be inclined” to endorse a successor when asked about Vance and Rubio during an interview with NBC News, but added that he did not want to get into the subject now.

“We have three years to go. I don’t want to, you know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don’t want to have an argument with, or I don’t want to use the word ‘fight’ — it wouldn’t be a fight. But look, JD is fantastic, and Marco is fantastic,” Trump said.

Trump has often said the two men should run together on the same ticket. The 2028 election will feature a wide-open race on both the Republican and Democratic sides and crowded fields are expected.

In a possible nod to Rubio, the country’s chief diplomat, Trump said of the pair: “I would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other.”

He called them both men of very high intelligence.

“I think there’s a difference in style,” Trump said. “You know, you can see the style yourself. But they’re both very capable. I do think this: The combination of JD and Marco would be very hard to be beaten, I think. But you never know in politics, right?”

Trump in the interview also again appeared to toy with the possibility of seeking an unconstitutional third term. He had flirted with the idea last year, later abandoning the concept.

Asked if he saw “any scenario” in which he would still be president when the next president’s term begins in January 2029, Trump said: “I don’t know. It would be interesting.”

• Kasim says trying to travel to Pakistan but being “denied visas”.
• “Denying a prisoner treatment is cruel,” says Kasim.
• Statement comes amid controversy over Imran’s health.

Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan has alleged that he and his brother are trying to travel to Pakistan to see their father, but the government is deliberately refusing to process their visa applications.

In a statement issued on X, Kasim said Imran has been held in “solitary confinement” for 914 days, during which his health has deteriorated and he has been denied access to independent medical care. 

He said denying medical treatment to a prisoner was “cruel” and preventing his children from seeing him amounted to collective punishment. 

Kasim called on international human rights organisations and governments to speak out and act “before irreversible harm is done”.

The statement comes amid recent controversy surrounding Imran’s health.

He recently underwent an eye procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, where doctors confirmed that pressure in blood vessels had affected his vision. The PTI has accused the government of withholding details of his medical condition for several days.

It may be noted that Kasim and his brother Suleiman said in December 2025 that they had submitted visa applications and intended to visit Pakistan in January. 

Imran’s sons have repeatedly claimed that their father is being held in a ‘death cell’ at Adiala Jail under what they described as “awful” conditions, with prolonged restrictions on communication. They have said that court-mandated contact has not been consistently allowed.

Meetings with the PTI founder have remained a point of contention between the party and the government. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has confirmed that a blanket ban on meetings with the incarcerated politician has been in place since December 2025.

Kasim publicly highlighted his father’s imprisonment for the first time in May 2025. In June 2025, he took to X to express concern over Imran’s condition in jail. In a separate post, he criticised the incumbent government over what he described as his father’s imprisonment and “torture”.

The sons later said they feared authorities were concealing “something irreversible” about their father’s condition after more than three weeks without evidence that he was still alive.

The family had also sought access for Imran’s personal physician, who they say has not been permitted to examine him for more than a year.

However, the Adiala jail administration clarified that Imran is being provided all facilities available to ‘B-Class’ prisoners under the law, including tailored meals, healthcare, reading materials, exercise and walks.

Imran, 72, has been in jail since August 2023 after being convicted in multiple cases, which he says are politically motivated following his removal from office through a parliamentary vote in 2022.

His first conviction was linked to allegations of unlawfully selling state gifts, commonly referred to as the Toshakhana case. Subsequent verdicts added lengthy prison sentences, including 10 years for leaking a diplomatic cable and 14 years in a graft case related to the Al-Qadir Trust. Prosecutors allege the charity was involved in improper land deals.

Imran remains incarcerated as legal proceedings continue, with his conviction in the Toshakhana-2 case marking the latest setback. He faces dozens of cases filed since 2022, ranging from corruption to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges. He has denied all allegations, which his party says are politically driven.

The PTI maintains that the prosecutions are aimed at excluding Imran Khan from public life and elections.