Drugs such as semaglutide may be useful for mental health conditions associated with diabetes, authors say Diabetes drugs could prevent anxiety and depression from worsening, according to research. Type 2 diabetes affects more than 800 million people globally and research shows that those with the condition are about twice as likely to have depression as the wider population. Continue reading...

Mayor of London says returning to EU now more desirable because of economic instability caused by Donald Trump Labour should go into the next general election promising to rejoin the EU, Sadiq Khan has said. The mayor of London has repeatedly made the case for joining the customs union and single market, but went much further on Wednesday night by suggesting the party should promise full membership at next ballot. Continue reading...

Soho theatre, London In Sarah Power’s impressive play, a new arrival makes a disturbing revelation to a team of oddballs working at a sleepy castle Everyone is trying their best at the Pemfort Castle gift shop, where hundreds of years of history are smoothed down to plastic goblets and dragon slippers. Around designer Alys Whitehead’s carefully curated set of wooden swords and jars of jam, Sarah Power’s shattering new play uses a living history event to grapple with the stories we tell about – and to – ourselves, and question what happens when the past cannot be shaken off. “Medical leeching demonstration” is pinned optimistically to the ideas board for the sleepy castle’s forthcoming event, which accuracy-oriented Glenn (a serious, wonderfully pernickety Ali Hadji-Heshmati) desperately wants to be a success. He is outraged at the suggestion by scatty Uma (Debra Gillett, oozing warmth) that they lump together the dark stories of the castle’s past, out of time and context, while Ria (a buoyant Lydia Larson) is happy to go along with it, her mind half on the local deer she is in the process of befriending. At Soho theatre, London, until 18 April. Continue reading...

Teenager scores winner against Brighton on full debut United lose ground in title race after draw with West Ham Chelsea leapt above Manchester United to go second in the Women’s Super League table as the teenager Lexi Potter scored the winner against Brighton on her first senior start. The defending champions beat United in the League Cup final on Sunday and rubbed salt into the wounds by nipping a point ahead of them with a 2-1 victory at Kingsmeadow. Continue reading...

There has been the feeling at too many points of this traumatic season for Tottenham that they only play when the result is beyond them. This Champions League last-16 tie looked that way when Atlético Madrid went 4-0 up after 22 minutes of the first leg last Tuesday and nobody gave Spurs a prayer of overturning the final scoreline from the Metropolitano of 5-2. They played here. It was a strange evening because there were times when the hope did crackle. Spurs had massive chances for a two-goal lead on the night. Mathys Tel at 1-0 towards the end of the first-half; Pedro Porro at 2-1 on the hour. There was another in stoppage-time for Randal Kolo Muani at 3-2. It was surely too late by then. All of them went begging. Continue reading...

Corporation welcomes three-year settlement as it continues to push for government to take on all of service’s costs The BBC World Service will be given increased government funding as part of a three-year deal after ministers concluded it was needed to counter the rise of global disinformation. The Guardian understands that Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has agreed an additional £11m a year for the next three years on the government’s grant to the service. Continue reading...

A warm spring evening at Anfield, with a comeback required to salvage a European tie and perhaps a season, and Liverpool delivered once more. Arne Slot might have done many things wrong this season but losing that feature of Liverpool’s identity can not be added to the list after an emphatic victory over Galatasaray. Liverpool will be reunited with Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter finals of the Champions League, in a repeat of the last 16 tie that Slot often reminisces about from last season, thanks to a rousing and incisive defeat of distinctly average visitors from Turkey. Mohamed Salah recovered from missing a first half penalty to produce a superb second half display in which he made history in becoming the first player from Africa to score 50 goals in the Champions League. He, and Liverpool, got their in style. Continue reading...

Sergey Brin gives $25m on top of $20m he’s already given to Super Pac trying to blocking state’s proposed 5% wealth tax A Google founder has more than doubled his financial contribution to the fight against a proposed wealth tax in California. New filings with the state show that former Alphabet president Sergey Brin donated $25m to a Super Pac dedicated to blocking the tax on top of $20m he had already given. Brin is not alone among Google’s top brass in upping his financial stake in the campaign against the ballot proposal. The company’s former CEO Eric Schmidt donated $1.02m, adding to a previous $2m contribution. Continue reading...

BFI Flare festival, London Cavorting around the cross and sexualising the saviour, a group of queer drag nuns, performance artists and activists satirise the religious festival in Jennifer M Kroot’s documentary Jennifer M Kroot’s film Hunky Jesus, narrated by George Takei, is the opening event of this year’s BFI Flare, the festival of LGBTQ+ moviemaking. It is about an outrageous annual talent contest for the hunkiest Jesus-a-like, whose contestants are often oiled, with the kind of buttocks not mentioned in the New Testament, and sometimes engage in pole dance-type cavorting around the cross, declaring that they want to be nailed and rise again. It is organised every Easter in San Francisco as part of an exuberant, defiant celebration by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of queer drag nuns, performance artists and activists who, with great stamina and commitment, apparently never come out of character. And all in the cheeky spirit of Tom Lehrer’s comic song The Vatican Rag. Continue reading...

Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, and Alireza Farasati, 22, arrested after counter-terrorism investigation Two men have been charged with spying for Iran over alleged surveillance of the Jewish community in London, police said. Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual British-Iranian national, and Alireza Farasati, 22, an Iranian national, have been charged with engaging in contact that is likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 9 July 2025 and 15 August 2025, contrary to section 3 of the National Security Act 2023. Continue reading...

Club owner Marinakis has made it clear relegation is unacceptable Manager will rest players against Mitdjylland ahead of Tottenham Vitor Pereira has conceded it is a “pity” Nottingham Forest feel compelled to prioritise the Premier League over the Europa League, with the head coach saying the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, has stressed that domestic survival is king. The fiercely ambitious Marinakis targeted European silverware after the club returned to continental competition for the first time since 1995-96, but though Forest are attempting to overturn a first-leg deficit in the last-16 against Midtjylland, there is an acceptance that relegation to the Championship would be a disaster. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Resolution could pave way for full return to frontline politics, but allies stress she has no plans to directly challenge Keir Starmer For months there has been an apparently insurmountable obstacle to Angela Rayner going for the Labour leadership, should Keir Starmer find himself facing a contest. The investigation by HMRC into the former deputy prime minister’s tax affairs has hung heavily over her since she was forced to resign last September over underpayment of stamp duty on her seaside flat. Continue reading...

The British No 1 has made changes to both his racket and his serve, and reaped the rewards by beating Novak Djokovic Two and a half hours into one of the most unforgettable battles of his career, Jack Draper resolved to attack without hesitation, regardless of the outcome. On two pivotal points in his Indian Wells fourth-round match against Novak Djokovic, at 4-4 in the tie-break and then on match point at 6-6, Draper forced himself inside the baseline and unleashed two backhands, those shots driving him to victory. It would have been understandable for Draper to have played passive tennis in those decisive moments. Not only did Indian Wells mark his second ATP tournament back after sustaining a bone bruise to his left arm that forced him off the tour for seven months, the injury has forced him to make dramatic changes to his game. Continue reading...

There is growing confidence that the 20 people diagnosed with the illness have not infected anyone outside the area Health officials increasingly believe they have contained the fatal outbreak of meningitis in Kent, with no cases emerging that are not linked to the original cluster of 20. In another boost to efforts to contain the infection, the bug that caused it has been identified as a known strain of meningitis B, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Barcelona stormed into the Champions League quarter-finals with a thumping 7-2 victory over Newcastle at Camp Nou on Wednesday, sealing an emphatic 8-3 aggregate triumph in a compelling last-16 tie. Raphinha opened the scoring in the sixth minute after Fermín López led a swift counterattack, but Anthony Elanga levelled nine minutes later from Lewis Hall’s cross. Marc Bernal restored Barca’s lead from Raphinha’s free-kick before Elanga struck again in the 28th minute after Lamine Yamal failed to clear. Continue reading...

PM will consider exempting large numbers from proposed changes, which would leave people waiting 10 years for settled status Keir Starmer is hoping to soften the impact of his government’s changes to the immigration system after a backlash from Labour MPs and a dramatic intervention from his former deputy Angela Rayner. The prime minister is considering exempting large numbers of people from the proposed changes, which would make it harder to achieve settled status in the UK, as he attempts to keep his restive party onboard. Continue reading...

Glasses use verbal cues and floating text to assist wearers and are expected to be available in early 2027 AI software that can be embedded into smart glasses has won a £1m prize for technology to help people with dementia. Built into chunky, black-rimmed frames that have a camera, microphone and speakers, the tech – known as CrossSense – guides wearers through everyday life by means of a chatty assistant called Wispy. Continue reading...

New York Times report leads to multiple cancellations of events meant to celebrate the late labor organizer Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Lawmakers, union leaders and several community organizations expressed their dismay after allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior and abuse of young women or girls emerged against the late labor organizer César Chávez. The New York Times released an investigation on Wednesday detailing the allegations, which revealed that for years the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union had groomed and sexually abused girls who were involved in the movement. Continue reading...

Former Sinn Féin leader, who is being sued for symbolic damages, also denies any prior knowledge of the attack Gerry Adams has told the high court he was stunned by the 1996 Docklands bombing as he denied being at the nerve centre of the IRA’s operations. The former Sinn Féin leader also denied having any prior knowledge of the bombing of the commercial district of east London, which shattered a 17-month old ceasefire. Continue reading...

Campaigners have been fighting proposals to build traffic tunnel under the world heritage site since 1994 A controversial plan to build a tunnel under the Stonehenge site has been officially cancelled after millions were spent on the doomed project. Campaigners have been fighting proposals to dig a tunnel for cars under the location of the world heritage site since the idea was first proposed in 1994. Continue reading...

Updates from 8pm (GMT) kickoffs in UCL last-16 Get in touch: email Taha and follow us on BlueSky Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Spence, Simons, Sarr, Gray, Tel, Muani Subs: Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Udogie, Bergvall, Gallagher, Olusesi, Kyerematen, Rowswell Continue reading...

Psychologists at Cardiff University and King’s College London compared children given dolls with those given video games Playing along with dolls can help boys and girls develop more sophisticated imaginations and better social skills, compared with children who play on electronic devices, according to research. Psychologists at Cardiff University and King’s College London found that children given dolls gained a richer appreciation of other people’s beliefs and feelings, in contrast to those given a tablet loaded with video games. Continue reading...

The chancellor makes a compelling case for alignment with the EU, but her strategic analysis isn’t matched with political urgency in Downing Street In an age of attention-grabbing algorithms and amplified outrage on social media, politicians have few incentives to make arguments at any length. That makes Rachel Reeves’s Mais lecture earlier this week refreshing as a detailed exposition of the chancellor’s thinking. Ms Reeves returned to an argument she first made in opposition, about the growing need for government intervention to mitigate public anxiety and destabilising volatility in a dangerous world. She calls this “securonomics” and it is intended as a rebuttal to the laissez-faire, small-state theories that, as applied by Conservative governments, starved Britain of investment, amplified regional inequalities and created the fallacious case for Brexit. Continue reading...

In an age of demagogues and big tech, the work of one of Germany’s greatest scholars points the way to a new politics of the human In his later years, Jürgen Habermas was sometimes described as “the last European” – a reference to his passionate commitment to the ideals of the European Union (although not always its modern reality). The great German philosopher was also the last surviving exemplar of a generation of postwar intellectuals formed by the experience of the second world war. Like Jean-Paul Sartre in France, Habermas was as at home in the public square as the seminar room, debating the future of a continent that needed to be rebuilt ethically as well as physically. In the new age of unreason, where brute exercise of power is explicitly prized above the force of moral argument, the loss of any such figure is to be mourned. But Habermas’s death at the age of 96, as the US and Israel wage an illegal war of choice, and the far right is in the ascendant in France and Germany, feels particularly poignant. A member of the Hitler Youth as a boy, Habermas then made it his life’s work to philosophically ground the democratic values which are now under threat again. Continue reading...

‘Serious risk of major ecological disaster’ as vessel drifts for weeks after being struck by suspected drone attack A severely damaged Russian tanker carrying liquified natural gas that has been adrift in the Mediterranean for two weeks, raising concerns of a “major ecological disaster”, has floated into Libyan waters, Italy’s civil protection agency said on Wednesday. The Arctic Metagaz was part of a Russian “shadow fleet” used to circumvent sanctions imposed on the country’s oil and gas after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It was struck in a suspected drone attack close to Maltese waters earlier this month, causing a huge hole. The crew is believed to have been rescued between Malta and Libya. Continue reading...