International researchers find ‘very little evidence’ medical form of the drug can treat anxiety, anorexia and other disorders Cannabis is not an effective treatment for common mental health conditions despite the global surge in patients using it for that purpose, a review has found. Researchers concluded there was “very little evidence for its efficacy” in treating anxiety, anorexia nervosa, psychotic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder or opioid use disorder. Continue reading...

Researchers project that reduced activity could contribute to half a million additional premature deaths annually by 2050 Rising temperatures are making physical activity undesirable and even dangerous in many parts of the world, and as global heating worsens, it will further affect how much people are able to move. Researchers analysed data from 156 countries between 2000 and 2022 and modelled how rising temperatures may affect physical activity globally by 2050. Continue reading...

Afghanistan’s health ministry puts preliminary toll at 200 as Pakistan denies targeting facility for drug addicts Heavy casualties were feared in Kabul after Afghanistan accused Pakistan’s military of targeting a hospital that treats drug users in airstrikes on Monday. Pakistan dismissed the accusation, saying the strikes – which were also conducted in eastern Afghanistan – did not hit any civilian sites. Continue reading...

‘To be that precise, that’s something difficult to imagine’ Riccardo Calafiori praises 16-year-old but asks for patience Mikel Arteta believes Max ­Dowman’s emergence has inspired the rest of Arsenal’s players and will benefit their quest for silverware this season. Dowman became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history after coming on as a substitute in the 2‑0 win against Everton on Saturday. Arsenal stretched their lead at the top of the table over Manchester City to nine points. Continue reading...

Storm system dumps snow in midwest and threatens east coast with high winds and possible ‘long-track tornadoes’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A late winter storm continued a destructive, elemental march across the eastern US, with thousands of flights canceled or delayed as powerful winds combined with a partial government shutdown delayed travelers passing through airport security scanners. Flight delays and cancellations mounted at some of the nation’s largest airports, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. Flight delays within, into, or out of the US totaled 9,112 by late afternoon, with cancellations standing at 4,763, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. Continue reading...

When Igor Thiago, celebrating his first call-up to the Brazil squad and impending fatherhood, scored a fourth goal in four games, the second of their first-half stroll, Brentford were cruising to the shoulders of Chelsea and Liverpool. Instead, the club’s quest to reach European football for the first time in their history received a severe jolt. Wolves have gone 330 days without an away win, to remain the last of the 92 league clubs to not break their duck but showed continued signs of life, of fighting to rescue pride from impending doom. When Tolu Arokodare’s goal levelled the scores at 2-2, Wolves were much the likelier to win, and the same player soon headed against the crossbar. Brentford might have been within a point of Chelsea, only to lose their mojo against the team who, despite relegation being a near certainty, refuse to accept their fate. Continue reading...

Whistleblowers who once worked at Meta and X (until the guilt got too much) reveal the truth about the companies that increasingly rule our free time – and it’s even worse than you may have feared. Prep those bunkers now Sometimes it’s a real problem not being able to swear unreservedly in a national newspaper. I mean, I understand social convention and propriety ’n’ all that should be preserved and that, generally, as our parents and teachers told us, swearing is nothing but a sign of a poor vocabulary. But not always. Sometimes – and increasingly so, I think, as I look at the burning world around us – swearing might represent the mots justes. It might be the only fair response. Under certain circumstances, anything else begins to look like obfuscation – a veil being drawn over unpleasantness. We would be in a much better position if, to retool Mrs Patrick Campbell’s notes to George Bernard Shaw for this more brutal age, someone early on had told Trump, for example, to eff off, just once. But rules is rules and so I must shape with care my response to Inside the Rage Machine, a documentary about how social media is run. The shortest, most honest, most accurate review I could provide would read: “We’re doomed. We’re all doomed,” before advising you to start prepping a bunker now – use your last moments before pulling the plug on the internet to order supplies or buy an isolated homestead in Montana, then gather a go bag and … just go, people. Go. Continue reading...

The most startling performances of recent months have involved revitalised tennis from Medvedev and Djokovic In the uncertain early stages of his Indian Wells semi-final contest with Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev swiftly made his intentions clear. Having established a 3-1 lead, Medvedev chased down a trademark Alcaraz drop shot, then a lob, before slamming the door shut on the point by firing an ultra-flat inside-out backhand winner on to the edge of the line. This was a statement point and it predicated the most startling performance of the year so far. Few gave Medvedev a serious chance against Alcaraz, who had won their four meetings, conceding just one set. It took one of the best matches of Medvedev’s distinguished career to turn the tables on Alcaraz in only two sets. Continue reading...

Experts believe club would be lucky to escape with fine and suspended transfer ban but further penalties may follow The Premier League’s judgment against Chelsea for breaking football’s rules – during an eight-year trophy spree under Roman Abramovich – concludes that the club engaged in “deception and concealment”. The breaches, more than 30 of them, relate to at least £47m in off-book payments linked to landmark deals for star players, including Eden Hazard, Willian, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic. Continue reading...

British version of the topical US comedy show will air live on Sky One and will be written in the week before broadcast Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and Riz Ahmed have been named as the first three guest hosts of the UK spin-off of Saturday Night Live. The first episode of the long-awaited British version of the US late-night comedy show will air live on Sky on 21 March. Continue reading...

Bovino was demoted in January as head of controversial and deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Gregory Bovino of the US border patrol, who was demoted in late January as the public face of the controversial and deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, says he is retiring at the end of March. Bovino announced his retirement in an interview with Breitbart on Monday, weeks after federal immigration agents fatally shot 37-year-old US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good to death in separate cases in January. Continue reading...

Briton has post-viral symptons after February illness She is still without a permanent coach Emma Raducanu has sustained another significant setback as she opted to withdraw from the Miami Open due to illness. Raducanu struggled with a virus throughout February, suffering poor opening round losses in Doha and Dubai. She is said to still have post-viral symptoms. Raducanu had been due to compete in Miami as the 24th seed and she received a first-round bye, meaning she would not have played until Thursday or Friday. However, the 23-year-old decided not to wait until the last minute before making a decision on her participation. Continue reading...

Ten million people left without power in latest of outages that sparked violent protest last weekend Cuba’s national electric grid has collapsed, the country’s grid operator has said, leaving approximately 10 million people without power amid a US-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island’s already obsolete generation system. The grid operator, UNE, said on social media on Monday that it was investigating the causes of the blackout, the latest in a series of widespread outages that last for hours or days and that last weekend sparked a rare violent protest in the communist-run country. Continue reading...

Time is running out to find agreement on areas such as tuition fees EU citizens would pay in Britain and rules for food safety The EU is hoping to urgently reboot talks on the “reset” of relations with the UK as negotiations are in danger of foundering before a planned July summit. At a public meeting of the EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly in Brussels, the European Commission vice-president and trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, said both sides had to “change gears” now to ensure the deal got over the line. Continue reading...

The diversified Academy and a mutating industry have changed what many had come to expect from the stuffy, rule-following Oscars Last year, as the major fall film festivals took place around the world, it was hard to make out the sound of audience applause. It wasn’t an attendance issue or that booing was heard instead (that’s solely a Cannes response), it was that, for many, hands were too busy wringing to find time to clap. The trifecta of Venice, Telluride and Toronto was once seen as an inescapable fixture on a film’s road to the Oscars. Best picture winners such as 12 Years a Slave, Spotlight, Birdman, Moonlight, The Shape of Water and Green Book all rose within that circuit and cemented their reception at festivals and world premieres and often felt judged for awards potential over quality. But over the past few years, as the Academy has changed and diversified its voting body and as the industry has changed in so many other ways, something has shifted. Winning films have come from Cannes, Sundance, SXSW and, most shockingly, no festival at all … Continue reading...

‘We can create many chances in minutes’ Rüdiger believes he can keep Haaland quiet Pep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City require a “perfect game” to overturn Real Madrid’s 3-0 lead in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday. Álvaro Arbeloa’s team are firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals after their victory at the Bernabéu last week when Madrid’s captain, Federico Valverde, scored a first-half hat-trick. Continue reading...

PM refuses to be drawn into wider conflict as Germany and Italy defy Trump’s call to help reopen strait of Hormuz Middle East crisis – live updates Keir Starmer insisted on Monday that the UK would not be drawn into the wider war in the Middle East as European leaders ruled out sending warships to the strait of Hormuz. In his clearest signal yet of the UK’s divergence from Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, the prime minister said he would stand firm in the face of US pressure despite the decision being “difficult, there’s no hiding that”. Continue reading...

Heat warnings are in effect across region as record-high temperatures are forecast in California, Nevada and Arizona Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Millions of people in the western US are preparing for extreme heat as unprecedented temperatures are forecast across California, Nevada and Arizona. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a heat advisory for California’s Bay Area and central coast regions as temperatures are expected to reach up to 90F (32C). Continue reading...

⚽️ Updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽️ Live scores | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email Will Pre-match reading. Brentford (4-3-3): Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Damsgaard, Henderson, Jensen; Outtara, Thiago, Ouattara Subs: Valdimarsson, Pinnock, Yarmoliuk, Nelson, Ajer, Donovan, Furo, Bentt, Shield Continue reading...

As protracted negotiations enters ninth month a framework of proposals to save utilities firm still remains sketchy It is two years since the shareholders of Thames Water threw in the towel, declared the company “uninvestible” and accepted their shares were worthless. Yet the water torture goes on and on. We are now in the ninth month of negotiations between Thames’s senior creditors and the regulator, Ofwat, on a rescue deal – and still an outcome is thought to be weeks away. Monday’s updated sketch of the proposal contained a few new details. The amount of fresh equity that would be injected into Thames has increased from £3.15bn to £3.35bn. The day-one debt facility has been boosted by a billion pounds to £3.25bn. Ofwat also appears to have insisted creditors underwrite a further £3.3bn debt facility in case Thames, circa 2028, can’t raise borrowings from the market on commercial terms by then; that precaution is probably wise. Continue reading...

Effective closure of strait of Hormuz also affecting Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, which have brought in crisis measures Sri Lanka is introducing a shorter four-day working week to preserve its shrinking fuel and gas reserves, as the Middle East conflict continues to severely disrupt energy supplies in the region. Countries across south Asia are facing crippling shortages of fuel and LPG gas, which are used for everything from home cooking to cremating bodies, as most supplies have been held up in the Gulf since the US and Israel began bombing Iran. Continue reading...

‘No one cares about you,’ says Lancashire all-rounder The 32-year-old alleges England group is too cliquey Liam Livingstone has given a scathing account of his handling by the current England regime, claiming “no one cares about you”. The Lancashire all-rounder has exactly 100 caps for his country across all three formats but has not featured in more than a year and seems resigned to things staying that way. In an interview with Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was highly critical of interactions with the director of cricket, Rob Key, and described his time at the Champions Trophy last year as “the worst experience I’ve had playing cricket” and said he did not miss being part of the recent T20 World Cup. Continue reading...

The US has overwhelming military power. Yet the battle has moved to oil routes, alliances and domestic politics – where Tehran is testing western unity Donald Trump would like you to know that he is winning the war with Iran. So comprehensively, in fact, that he now needs Nato’s help. The western alliance, he warns, will have a “very bad” future if its members refuse. Germany’s defence minister had a brisk reply: this is not our war. Meanwhile, tankers pile up outside the strait of Hormuz as Britain promises, in an understated way, to keep “looking” at its options. Mr Trump has found out that starting a war without a coalition of the willing is easier than finishing one with it. Along with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, the US president started with an illegal attack on Iran in which the country’s supreme leader was assassinated. American forces have established overwhelming military superiority. By hitting military targets but sparing key oil facilities on Kharg Island, Mr Trump is sending a blunt signal: the US can wreck Iran’s economy. It just hasn’t decided to – yet. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Huge vehicles are popular with drivers, but their wider impacts on road safety and the environment must be tackled No one who walks, cycles or drives around London, or many of the world’s big cities, could fail to notice the vastly increased size of the typical car. A type of vehicle once associated with rural settings and outdoor lifestyles is now ubiquitous. Heavily marketed as sports utility vehicles (SUVs), supersize cars are among the key consumer trends of recent decades. In 2022, they accounted for 46% of global new car sales. For manufacturers, these vehicles are big earners due to higher profit margins. For those inside them, they offer more space and a higher vantage point. But for those on the outside, SUVs have obvious downsides. The threat that they pose to pedestrians is one. Research shows that children are 77% more likely to die if struck by an SUV compared with other cars, due to their size and structure – particularly their raised bonnets. This finding was highlighted in an announcement from the London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, that such risks are being scrutinised as part of a wider review into SUVs’ environmental impact. This evidence will provide the basis for policy proposals that are expected to include higher charges for owners. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Abbas Araghchi demands clarification on reports Saudi crown prince had urged Donald Trump to ‘hit the Iranians hard’ Middle East crisis – live updates Some Gulf states hosting US forces may be covertly encouraging the slaughter of Iranians, Iran’s foreign ministerclaimed on Monday in a thinly veiled attack on Saudi Arabia. Abbas Araghchi demanded clarification on reports that Mohammed bin Salman was in regular private conversations with Donald Trump urging the US president “to continue hitting the Iranians hard”. Continue reading...