Atlético have been paired with their Madrid neighbours Real on five previous occasions in Europe’s most prestigious club competition. The 1959 semis. The 2014 final. The 2015 quarters. The 2016 final. The 2017 semis. Real have prevailed on each and every occasion. If history is any guide, Diego Simeone’s side may as well turn it in now.
Recent form won’t give them any succour either. Real won the first leg of this tie 2-1, despite an underwhelming performance at the Bernabéu last week. Then in La Liga at the weekend, Real won 2-1 at home to Rayo Vallecano thanks to first-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior, while Atléti conceded in the 88th and 92nd minutes to go down 2-1 at Getafe.
Health secretary, under fire for his response to the measles outbreak, attacked seed oils in Sean Hannity interview
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary, appeared with a cheeseburger and fries in a nationally televised interview on Fox News – a highly unusual move for a federal health official.
The appearance, in which he endorsed the decision of burger chain Steak ‘n Shake to cook its fries in beef tallow, comes as Kennedy has attacked seed oils and made claims about the measles vaccine that lack context.
Authorities are preparing for flooding and debris flows after recent wildfires have stripped vegetation from hillsides
California is bracing for a powerful atmospheric river storm that is expected to drench large swaths of the state with rain and bring several feet of snow to the mountains.
Much of northern California was under a winter storm warning because of the gusty winds and heavy snow in the forecast that the National Weather Service (NWS) said would lead to “difficult to impossible travel conditions”.
Blood tests on migratory chicks fed plastics by their parents show neurodegeneration, as well as cell rupture and stomach lining decay
Ingesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage “akin to Alzheimer’s disease”, according to a new study – adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.
Analysis of young sable shearwaters, a migratory bird that travels between Australia’s Lord Howe Island and Japan, has found that plastic waste is causing damage to seabird chicks not apparent to the naked eye, including decay of the stomach lining, cell rupture and neurodegeneration.
Israel Katz reaffirms IDF will continue holding Mount Hermon area beyond contested Israeli northern borders
Israel’s defence minister has reaffirmed the country’s intention to occupy a swath of Syria territory beyond Israel’s contested northern borders for an “unlimited amount of time” during a visit to the strategic Mount Hermon.
“The IDF is prepared to stay in Syria for an unlimited amount of time. We will hold the security area in Hermon and make sure that all the security zone in southern Syria is demilitarised and clear of weapons and threats,” Israel Katz said on a visit to the peak on Wednesday.
Canadian government says it will follow ‘dollar-by-dollar’ approach and institute 25% tariffs on US imports
Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on nearly $30bn worth of American imports after US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect Wednesday.
The Canadian government said it will be following a “dollar-by-dollar” approach and institute 25% tariffs on American imports, including steel, computers and sports equipment.
Trinidad and Tobago has described Britain’s new visa requirement for tourists from the twin island state as a disproportionate and disappointing response to the issue of false asylum applications.
Trinidad and Tobago nationals previously could visit the UK without a visa, only requiring the electronic travel authorisation (ETA), which was introduced in January for all visa-exempt nations.
The Bear actor called Musk a fascist and an idiot after his reaction to a post from a rightwing account that claimed she was replacing Johnny Depp
Ayo Edebiri, the actor best known for her Emmy-award winning work on The Bear, has said she received “insane death threats” after Elon Musk shared a fake news report about her being cast in a film.
On her Instagram, Edebiri recalled the furore that met Musk’s reposting of a story by “Unlimited L’s”, a rightwing account with no apparent Hollywood connection or insight, that she was to replace Johnny Depp in a reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Photographers’ Gallery, London The photographers up for the £30,000 prize show work that ranges from the spiritual and scintillating to the smug and glib
The Deutsche Börse photography foundation prize is back, with four shortlisted artists, each nominated for a solo exhibition or book presented or published in the last year. It’s a quiet, solemn and laconic show ranging from lyrical, captivating portraits of Versace-clad Black cowboys in the American south to a woman hugging rocks.
The show begins with the least interesting work. Cristina de Middel, a former photojournalist and now president of Magnum, is nominated for the second time. Here, a slice of her vast exhibition Journey to the Center, staged in a spectacular 15th-century church during the Arles festival last year, is re-created. The installation tries to be dynamic – a bright orange wooden framework cuts through the middle of the space; photographs are placed next to blown-up versions of Mexican Lotería cards – but it can’t cover up the blandness of De Middel’s work.
Break in talks comes as Trump escalates trade war with Canada and threatens its sovereignty
The United States has paused negotiations with Canada on a key water-sharing treaty as Donald Trump continues both his threats to annex his northern neighbour and to upend major agreements governing relations between the two counties.
British Columbia’s energy ministry said officials south of the border were “conducting a broad review” of the Columbia River Treaty, the 61-year-old pact that governs transnational flood control, power generation and water supply.
Oil giants retreat on climate pledges, embrace Trump-era fossil fuel policies at CERAWeek in Texas
At a major oil and gas conference in Texas this week, companies publicly retreated from their flashy climate pledges of years past, redoubling their commitment to planet-warming fossil fuels.
The withdrawals illustrate the companies’ allegiance not to ordinary Americans, but to their shareholders and the climate-skeptical Trump administration, advocates said.
As the US ramps up enforcement, scenes of family separation and despair from Trump’s first term are repeated
The United States has resumed placing immigrant families in detention, re-embracing harrowing operations where scenes unfold such as toddlers learning to walk under the supervision of private prison corporations and children marking their birthdays at government facilities they can’t leave.
If the Obama and first Trump administrations are anything to go by, parents will have to watch their little ones go hungry without familiar foods, the kinds families cook if their children aren’t stuck in so-called “baby jails”.
‘It look so artistic under the water,’ staff at Washington state aquarium says of Pepper
A baby sea lion toting an artificial kelp strip was filmed performing intricate rhythmic gymnastics-style circles through the waters of an aquarium in Washington state.
Although only nine months old and still reliant on her mother’s milk, Pepper has become the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s most acrobatic sea lion, said Noelle Tremonti, a staff biologist for the aquarium.
Ukraine’s agreement to support a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its war against Russia’s invasion has focused attention on what Moscow may or may not agree to, and what pressure can be brought to bear on Vladimir Putin by the Trump administration.
While the question has frequently been asked over the last few years as to what leverage Putin might have over Trump, the question here is what leverage Trump might have to persuade Putin.
SXSW film festival: The star of I Think You Should Leave brings a similar brand of comedy to this strange and genuinely funny film about a friendship breakup
Few adult experiences sting as much as a friendship breakup, a rejection in some ways more personal, hurtful and confusing than that of a romantic partner. And few actors are better equipped to mine the weird vulnerabilities, fixations and feelings of a platonic split like the cult comedy king Tim Robinson, co-creator and star of the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave (ITYSL). Over three seasons, Robinson has built up a devoted in-the-know following for his situational comedy, generationally playing unrepentant characters with no impulse control or allegiance to social scripts, people whose untidy feelings derail otherwise normal situations into absurd tangles.
In other words, not the type of people to take rejection well. With Robinson as the unfortunate half of a buddy dump, Friendship, writer-director Andrew DeYoung’s strange and hilarious debut feature, spins comedy gold out the straight male loneliness epidemic. Robinson goes for broke as Craig, a typical ITYSL character: pathetic, awkward, estranged from social rituals, an oddball at once sweet and a little creepy. A guy baffled by the ease of other men and desperate for their approval, whose face displays the big emotions – anger, love, jealousy – in amusingly bold, bright primary colors.
US state threatens removal and at least one year in prison for lawmakers who support ‘sanctuary city’ ordinances
Tennessee is known for taking a stricter line on immigration enforcement than many other US states. Now it has taken a step that has Democrats raising the alarm: threatening a minimum of one year in prison for lawmakers who vote the so-called wrong way on immigration policy.
In January, the state general assembly passed legislation, by about a three-to-one majority, to make it a felony for a local lawmaker, such as a school board member or a city councilperson, to vote affirmatively on a local ordinance that adopts any “sanctuary city” policy of noncompliance with federal immigration law enforcement officials.
Zahra Tabatabai’s Back Home Beer features select Middle Eastern flavors, and she’s looking to expand its reach nationally
Business heats up for Zahra Tabatabai in March, the month of Nowruz, the 13-day Persian new year festival, which begins this year on 20 March. The Iranian American Brooklynite’s craft beers are infused with Middle Eastern flavors such as sumac and sour cherry, and packaged in design-forward cans featuring poetry in intricate Farsi lettering.
Tabatabai’s grandfather used to make his own beer with ingredients from his garden in Shiraz, before the Iranian government instituted a ban on alcohol consumption in 1979. More recently, her grandmother longed to taste her husband’s beer again, so Tabatabai set out to satisfy her yen. During the Covid-19 pandemic, while working as a freelance writer and overseeing the home schooling of her son, who is now 11, she started looking at recipes and enrolled in a home-brewing class, and began watching YouTube videos about the art of making beer.
As investigators look into how two modern ships collided in seemingly calm weather, this is what we know so far
The collision between two large shipping vessels in the North Sea raises questions about how such an event could occur – and what its effect might be. Here we set out what we know so far.
Cameron is pulling out all the stops to promote Avatar: Fire and Ash, by telling the world that it reduced Suzy Amis Cameron to tears for four hours
Can you feel it? If you’re paying enough attention, and you have your spirit tuned to the frequencies of the planet, then you’ll be able to sense that the old Avatar machinery is starting to crank up again. The third instalment of the series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set for release in December. And this means that James Cameron finds himself saddled with a familiar task; in just nine months he has to try and motivate people to see a film from a franchise that they’ve already forgotten about twice before now.
The bad news is that these are incredibly expensive films to make. So expensive, in fact, that Cameron previously stated that the second film needed to be the third highest grossing movie of all time just to break even. And, just to compound things, that film was such an incomprehensible mishmash of confused mythology, nondescript motivation and vague characterisation that this one needs to be something really special to get bums on seats.
It stars a roaming shapeshifter – and a cat-faced soldier fighting a zombie in a swamp. We go behind the scenes of The Stimming Pool, the first ever feature film to be made by autistic directors
Do you know how many autistic people there are in the UK? The answer is an estimated 700,000. Yet until now, there has never been a single feature-length film directed by autistic people. Or at least not one that has secured a theatrical release in the UK and slots at festivals worldwide.
The film is The Stimming Pool, an experimental feature shot over just 12 days that puts on screen the interests, passions and perspectives of its five young autistic creators. They worked alongside Steven Eastwood, professor of film practice at London’s Queen Mary University, funded initially by the Wellcome Trust. “We asked why autistic people are always required to explain or illustrate their experience,” says Eastwood. “What about just having neurodivergent authors behind the cameras, doing the creativity?”
Omer Wenkert says he was held mostly in darkness – and his mistreatment was often sparked by events in war
An Israeli hostage freed by Hamas last month has described the distressing conditions and abuse he says he endured during 505 days held in Gaza.
In an interview on Israeli television, Omer Wenkert, 23, said he had hidden in a bomb shelter with a close friend when it became clear the Nova music festival was under attack by Hamas and other militants from Gaza on 7 October 2023.
Former president was surrendered to The Hague amid a row between his family and that of the current president
Few expected things to move so quickly. Supporters of the Philippines’ former president Rodrigo Duterte barely had time to protest before he was jetted off to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his country’s so-called “war on drugs”. According to activists, this bloody crackdown has seen as many as 30,000 people killed since 2016.
The charges brought against the former leader are the culmination of years of work by activists, lawyers and victims, who documented abuses committed under his government, often at great personal risk. But Duterte arguably would not have been surrendered to The Hague if it weren’t for his family’s dramatic feud with that of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the current president.
There is no ‘ideal’ aim for sexual compatibility. If you feel there is something amiss, talk about it
As a sex educator and author, my job – my purpose in life – is teaching women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies. My latest book, Come Together, is all about the science (and art!) of sex in long term relationships.
Since I published the book, one of the biggest topics I’m asked about in email and at events is sexual incompatibility. Here’s what I think people should know.
Remains are of an adult member of an extinct species who lived up to 1.4m years ago, researchers say
Bone fragments unearthed at an ancient cave in Spain belong to the oldest known human face in western Europe, researchers say.
The fossilised remains make up the left cheek and upper jaw of an adult member of an extinct human species who lived and died on the Iberian peninsula between 1.1m and 1.4m years ago.
Austrian’s work with Eagles attracts Bundesliga interest
Jean-Philippe Mateta trains in Marbella after head injury
Crystal Palace have opened talks with Oliver Glasner over extending his contract in an attempt to ward off potential interest from RB Leipzig.
The Austrian celebrated his first anniversary as manager last month and Palace are 11th in the Premier League after Saturday’s win over Ipswich, having recovered from a poor start. They have also reached the last eight of both domestic cup competitions. Palace lost to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and face Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the end of this month.
Key figure in pro-Palestinian campus protests arrested by Ice known for kindness and skill for de-escalation
Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia University graduate who was detained by Ice on Saturday night, was linked by Donald Trump, without evidence, to “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity”. But for those who know him, Khalil was a student, a steady negotiator and a leader whose activism placed him at the center of a national movement for Palestinian solidarity.
Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder who is currently in immigration detention in Louisiana, was a lead negotiator for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a role that thrust him into the spotlight during the pro-Palestinian encampment protests last spring – long before his high-profile arrest. He gained a reputation among fellow protesters as a principled and strategic organizer, earning praise for his ability to de-escalate tense situations.
Following last week’s smash-and-grab victory by Liverpool at the Parc des Princes, Football Daily’s expected fun (xF) threshold going into Tuesday night’s second leg at Anfield was extremely high but caveated by several questions. Would Paris Saint-Germain be able to play as well again? Was there any chance Liverpool could be as bad? After Alisson’s heroics in the French capital, would he again be called upon to singlehandedly repel PSG’s attacking hordes? And while it’s OK for PSG fans to finally like Luis Enrique’s exciting team of apparently ego-free young whippersnappers, is it OK for neutrals who disapprove of nation states buying up football clubs in blatant attempts at image-laundering to row in behind them as well? And the answers … Not quite. No, up to a point once it got to penalties. And probably not but they’re so much fun to watch.
We’re going into eight weeks of your life now where you sacrifice everything – you’re not shopping tomorrow, you’re not bowling, your diet’s good … if your wife or girlfriend wants to go shopping, wants to do that, they have to make the sacrifices, it’s a massive sacrifice for us to achieve something because you can’t now go to Bluewater tomorrow walking around high-fiving and going Costa Coffee when you should be resting and all those things, now we have to be at it, now the professional has to be paramount, and everyone’s sacrificing, everyone’s family is sacrificing for the greater good if you like” – Nathan Jones does not appear to have become any less rambling or entertainingly intense since joining Charlton. A 1-0 win at Crawley leaves them fourth in League One.
Re: Stuart Pearce (yesterday’s Quote of the Day). From the man who walked away from a collision with a dustcart (at Newcastle) and tried to run off a broken leg (West Ham), I’m surprised the word ‘pain’ is in his vocabulary” – Paul Griffin.
Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. The proposed New Trafford Enormodome has three pylons, spires, or whatever you call them that are apparently inspired by the devil’s trident on the club badge. Are these the only three points home fans are guaranteed to see?” – Derek McGee.
Since you’re using the wisdom of Sebastian Coe to explain the rationale of Big Sir Jim’s Big Tent, does this mean New Old Trafford will host two games and then lie idle until West Ham move in on a peppercorn rent?” – Declan Hackett.
I know I will definitely not be the first of 1,057 readers to congratulate Ed Taylor on trying again and successfully winning letter of the day yesterday with exactly the same letter as he sent in for publication on Wednesday 5 March that didn’t. The only thing less surprising than a c0ck-up [intentional reader-baiting, no? – Football Daily Ed] with a tea-time email was Alan Shearer still not understanding the new offside law change as evidenced in his commentary on Liverpool v PSG” – Andy Morrison (and 1,056 others).
United manager says criticism of his players is fair
Yoro and Maguire ruled out of Real Sociedad second leg
Ruben Amorim has stated that Sir Jim Ratcliffe was correct to criticise Manchester United players, saying he and they are “underperforming”.
On Monday Ratcliffe claimed that the squad was overpaid and not good enough, referencing Casemiro, Rasmus Højlund, André Onana, Antony and Jadon Sancho when doing so.Amorim was asked about the comments from the club’s co-owner.
Alan Jones somehow straddled the riotous noise of the Sex Pistols, the fetishism of Vivienne Westwood and the hedonism of disco and gay clubs. A new book tells his story
In the mid-70s, Alan Jones was performing a particularly exquisite balancing act. A habitué both of Vivienne Westwood’s London boutique Sex and the gay clubs, he was on the frontline of two seemingly opposed cultures: punk and disco. Each camp might have thought the other completely incomprehensible – tuneless noise or vacuous hedonism – but for him it was quite natural: as he says, “They blended together in my mind. It was all about going out and having a good time; the music was interchangeable. And once Vivienne began her fetish clothing lines, it fitted both arenas.”
Nevertheless, there were pinch points. In April 1976, Jones DJed for the Sex Pistols when they played a Soho strip club, El Paradise. Arriving with his “new best friend” John Paul Getty III – fresh from his kidnapping in Italy – Jones decided on a disco set.
As the new league year gets underway, we take a look at the best and worst moves heading into the 2025 season
The Vikings letting Sam Darnold walk was the headline-grabber, but they had more intel on him than any other franchise and were happy to turn the keys over to JJ McCarthy rather than bring back the former Jets quarterback on what would have been a manageable contract. It’s the team’s work elsewhere that’s most intriguing, though. The Vikings retained starting cornerback Byron Murphy and fortified both sides of the line of scrimmage with tasty, affordable signings. They brought in center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries from the Colts. The duo are one of the most switched-on, savvy interior tandems in the league. They never bust a protection and will give McCarthy a semblance of security during his first season as starter.
Harlequin returns at full-back for England in Cardiff
Freeman picked at centre and Roebuck earns debut
Marcus Smith has been recalled to the starting lineup for England’s Super Saturday clash with Wales while Henry Pollock is in line for a debut from the bench with Steve Borthwick rolling the dice as his side seek an unlikely Six Nations title.
Smith returns to the side at full-back with Elliot Daly switching to the left wing while Tommy Freeman is deployed at outside centre and Tom Roebuck earns a first start on the right wing. Ben Curry and Luke Cowan-Dickie also come into the side while on the bench Borthwick has included the 20-year-old Northampton flanker Pollock as well as George Ford, who is in line for a first appearance of this year’s championship and a 99th cap.
The shocking tale of a Mormon family YouTuber who was imprisoned for child abuse distils thousands of hours of footage to genuinely push the story forward. It’s as sensitive as it is out-there
Ruby Franke turned her life into content for years, so there is a bleak irony in her content being repurposed now to reveal the extent of her crimes. As a vlogger, she and her husband, Kevin, made a living from YouTube, posting videos on the popular channel 8 Passengers, now defunct, about Mormon family life and parenting their six children in the picturesque city of Springville, Utah. But in 2023 Franke was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. The astonishing three-part documentary Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke tells the story, from the beginning of the family’s internet fame in 2015 all the way to Franke’s imprisonment.
It starts with the now infamous and distressing doorbell-camera footage of one of the Franke children, a 12-year-old boy – the documentary blurs the faces of the four youngest children and does not name them – who turns up on a neighbour’s porch, asking to be taken to the nearest police station. He is evidently injured and emaciated. Later, we see more from that day and witness the neighbour sobbing when he realises the state the child is in. The boy has escaped imprisonment from the house of a woman called Jodi Hildebrandt. It is the spark that lights the inferno.
Daniel Noboa, who is seeking re-election, announced the partnership with Erik Prince, a supporter of Donald Trump
Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, has announced a “strategic alliance” with the Donald Trump-supporting founder of the private military firm Blackwater to supposedly reinforce his controversial “war” on crime.
Noboa, the rightwing heir to a South American banana empire, announced the partnership with Erik Prince on social media on Tuesday night.
Once again, the American economy is under the gun and under a microscope
In 2016, voters in the UK opted to leave the European Union hoping that the day after would deliver something better. Nearly nine years later, Britain’s growth remains anemic, its economy continues to underperform. A parade of prime ministers came and went. Along the way, a head of lettuce outlasted a hapless and clueless Liz Truss.
Blood and soil economics exacts high a price. Fittingly, Nigel Farage, the godfather of Brexit, was on hand for Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. On account of the cold, he was not seated. Still, Farage left his mark. America now endures a Brexit moment of its own.
‘When time is right I’ll have no problem standing aside’
American multi-major winner set to miss rest of season
As Tiger Woods begins his recovery from yet another injury, Rory McIlroy has firmly dismissed any notion of his own career stretching into his 50s.
The 49-year-old Woods ruptured an achilles while training at home on Tuesday morning. McIlroy believes Woods will not feature in any of the 2025 majors. “It sucks,” McIlroy said. “He doesn’t have much luck when it comes to injuries and his body. Obviously he was trying to ramp up to get ready for Augusta and achilles surgeries aren’t fun.
It was an emotional afternoon as Marine Nationale and Jazzy Matty – winners for late jockey Michael O’Sullivan in 2023 – both won again at Cheltenham
Preview: 2.40 The Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle, 2m 5f
This is always one of the fiercest betting heats of the week, and also one of the trickiest of all the races to solve, with just two successful favourites this century and winners at 50-1, 33-1 (twice) and 28-1 in the last dozen years alone. Dan Skelton fields the likely favourite in Be Aware as he attempts to complete a three-timer in this race, following victories for Langer Dan in each of the last two runnings, and while the old warrior in not in the field this time around, Henry de Bromhead’s Ballyadam, the three-and-a-half length runner-up 12 months ago, is back for another crack. Be Aware, a hold-up horse who is certain to get a strong pace to aim at, has run well in handicaps at Cheltenham and Ascot on his two previous starts this season, but his run-style means he will need some luck in running and punters are, frankly, spoiled for choice if they are looking for an alternative. JP McManus’s colours will be aboard a couple of very live runners in Impose Toi and Comfort Zone, while Tony Bloom, another owner who likes a punt, will have high hopes of Bunting, seventh home behind Majborough in last year’s Triumph Hurdle. Harry Fry’s Beat The Bat also seems sure to appreciate a return to this trip after an eye-catching run in the William Hill Handicap Hurdle last time and is possibly the pick of the prices at around 12-1.
Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Ice agents on Saturday, part of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protesters
Mahmoud Khalil’s wife, who is now eight months pregnant, issued a statement on Tuesday night after the Columbia University graduate student and activist was arrested in New York by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as part of the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke his green card and have him deported.
“I am pleading with the world to continue to speak up against his unjust and horrific detention by the Trump administration,” Khalil’s wife, who is a US citizen, said in her statement, remaining anonymous for fear of harassment.
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