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Raye's Independent Album Wins Mercury Prize

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Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second studio album "This Music May Contain Hope." She received the trophy and £25,000, beating 11 other nominees including Jade, Dave and Olivia Dean. The album is a 73-minute record blending big band jazz, pop, soul, blues and orchestral elements. It was released independently on March 27, 2026, through Human Re Sources. The judging panel praised "the scale, structure, ambition and sheer charm" of the record.

The win caps a career renaissance for Raye. After a public falling-out with her former major label in 2021 (over not being allowed to release an album), she went independent. Her debut "My 21st Century Blues" won six Brit Awards — still a record for a single ceremony. "This Music May Contain Hope" topped the UK charts and was met with universal acclaim from critics.

Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize on Thursday for her second album, "This Music May Contain Hope," beating 11 other nominees.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Emmanuel Macron of contradicting himself, citing Macron's 2018 speech to the U.S. Congress in which he said France would not leave the JCPOA. Macron said this week that France was resolutely against any form of nuclear activity in Iran. This is an opinion/observation about road safety measures in India versus the U.S., not a factual claim worth checking. POST 2113405442596430240: NOCLAIM This is a vague opinion post with no checkable factual claim. POST 2113405435344728474: NOCLAIM This is a sports fan's opinion about Celtic FC's European record and players, not a factual claim.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Raye won the 2026 Mercury Prize on Thursday for her second album, "This Music May Contain Hope," beating 11 other nominees.

Singer Raye wins Mercury Prize for 'This Music May Contain Hope' https://t.co/QebJrzLWQz https://t.co/QebJrzLWQz

Original post · @Reuters

BBC News, The Guardian

VERIFIED TRUE

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Emmanuel Macron of contradicting himself, citing Macron's 2018 speech to the U.S. Congress in which he said France would not leave the JCPOA. Macron said this week that France was resolutely against any form of nuclear activity in Iran. This is an opinion/observation about road safety measures in India versus the U.S., not a factual claim worth checking. POST 2113405442596430240: NOCLAIM This is a vague opinion post with no checkable factual claim. POST 2113405435344728474: NOCLAIM This is a sports fan's opinion about Celtic FC's European record and players, not a factual claim.

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of contradicting himself after he said Paris had always opposed any sort of nuclear activity in Iran. 🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/OfRqmPYxGH https://t.co/tITaBnVce5

Original post · Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)

Iran International POST 2113405446279057551: NOCLAIM

Sources

What the hosts said

BMoving on — Iran's foreign minister just accused France's president of a contradiction.
BRight. Al Jazeera reports that Abbas Araghchi went after Emmanuel Macron. His claim: Macron said this week that France was resolutely against any form of nuclear activity in Iran.
BWhich would be news to anyone who watched Macron in 2018, standing in the U.S. Congress and saying France would not leave the JCPOA.
BThat's exactly the contradiction Araghchi is pointing to. Same man, very different line, seven years later.
BWell, the world changed. The nuclear file looks very different now. Iran's enrichment program, the U.S. withdrawal, the regional strikes… I'm not sure holding a politician to a 2018 speech is the knockout punch the foreign minister thinks it is.
BBut it does highlight how much French policy has shifted. In 2018, Paris was trying to save the deal. Today it's talking about zero tolerance for any Iranian nuclear activity.
BThat's true. But there's a difference between supporting a diplomatic framework and endorsing the program. France supported the deal; that doesn't mean it supported enrichment.
BFair. Still, calling it a contradiction is fair too. It's a different stated position now. The question is whether the facts changed or the politics did.
BThe answer is both. But from Tehran's view, the old line was the one they were promised. That frustration is real.
BMeanwhile, Ukrainian officials say Russia is preparing a coordinated disinformation push today. They've named it 'Telemost' and say it's designed to accuse Ukrainian forces of crimes against civilians while hiding Russian ones.
BThis is the kind of thing that can spread before any official confirmation. The claim comes from Ukrainian government channels, and we have not independently verified it.
BRight. It's being framed as an 'information operation' timed for this afternoon. We'll watch to see whether it actually materializes and what evidence emerges.
BBecause if true, it's part of a pattern we've seen for years — use the fog of war to blur who did what.
BAnd if it's overstated, it's its own kind of information operation. Either way, the fog itself is the weapon.
BOne more swing at Washington. A Bluesky account called Republicans Against Trumpism posted this: 'Make up your mind, Donnie. Is it Iran or Ukraine?'
BIt's a little glib. But it captures a real thing listeners have asked us all week: what's the actual priority here?
BAnd the answer, so far, is that both crises are being run through the same small team, with decisions that look very different hour to hour. Starlink goes off, Starlink comes back. Iran gets threats, then negotiations are floated.
BThe frustration in that post is coming from the whiplash. But the message targets one person when the complexity is much bigger than that.
BTrue. But when one person is making the calls, the whiplash is also his.

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