© Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times
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Down break point at 0-2 1-2, Darderi locates an ace, but he must soon handle another, Sinner dashing in to put away a volley having cracked a forehand to the corner. But a netted return restores deuce and from there he closes out the game before celebrating by petulantly throwing down a towel next to his coach. Meantime, Swiatek is doing all she can to prevent Inglis getting on the board, an overhead dispatched with prejudice saving game point at 3-0.
Swiatek breaks Inglis immediately for 2-0 and though, as she seeks to consolidate, she’s taken to deuce, she eventually prevails. She can play a lot better than this – and if she wins, against Rybakina, she’ll have to.
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© Photograph: Ella Ling/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Ella Ling/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Ella Ling/Shutterstock
Commons seat campaign by Greater Manchester mayor mid-term would drain resources, says Douglas Alexander
Labour’s decision to bar Andy Burnham from standing in a Westminster byelection was about “focus than about factionalism”, so the party would not be distracted ahead of vital elections in May, Douglas Alexander, the Scotland secretary, has said.
Defending the decision by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) to block the Greater Manchester mayor from being a candidate for the Gorton and Denton byelection, Alexander said this was not because Keir Starmer was scared of a leadership challenge.
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© Photograph: Jon Super/AP
© Photograph: Jon Super/AP
© Photograph: Jon Super/AP
Britain is losing more jobs than it creates owing to artificial intelligence, Morgan Stanley research suggests
The UK is losing more jobs than it is creating because of artificial intelligence and is being hit harder than rival large economies, new research suggests.
British companies reported that AI had resulted in net job losses over the past 12 months, down 8% – the highest rate among other leading economies including the US, Japan, Germany and Australia, according to a study by the investment bank Morgan Stanley.
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© Photograph: PhotoAlto/Alamy
© Photograph: PhotoAlto/Alamy
© Photograph: PhotoAlto/Alamy
Today’s rumours are fixing a hole
The thing about the transfer market that a few people forget is that not every deal comes off. Andy Robertson’s move to Tottenham from Liverpool, a head scratcher for many, seems to be OFF. It appears that Liverpool have pulled the plug over a lack of defensive options, with Saturday’s loss at Bournemouth helping them come to that decision. A long-term option, this summer, to the left-back conundrum, is said to be Antonee Robinson of Fulham.
Another factor in Liverpool’s slide this season, though some fans may only admit this through gritted teeth, was the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold. To compound the misery on that score, there’s talk that Manchester City, without a senior right-back, might attempt to loan “Trent” from Real Madrid. Or even buy him this summer. That’s a move that might set the Mersey to boiling over.
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© Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
© Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
© Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
The Seattle Seahawks quarterback has endured a rocky NFL career. But in the biggest game of his career, he delivered the performance of a lifetime
Moments after clinching a Super Bowl berth, Sam Darnold strolled over for his obligatory television interview. He was thrilled; the Seahawks had just toppled the Rams in a 31-27 thriller. But he was also measured. Unlike receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who would follow and was teeming with emotion, Darnold simply spoke about his love for his teammates. And when asked about his improbable journey, he replied, “I haven’t really thought about it that much.”
He may not have, but the rest of us have. And whether Darnold likes it or not, his comeback story will be the prevailing storyline of Super Bowl 60. How can it not, especially after the quarterback saved what may have been the best performance of his life for Seattle’s third, and most important, tilt with the Rams this season.
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© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
© Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
While there may be benefits to the treatment, anti-ageing probably isn’t one of them – which is something better left to the professionals
‘Red light therapy, where LED lights are shone on your skin, has been around for a while,” says Afshin Mosahebi, a professor in plastic surgery at University College London. But what was once an expensive treatment you’d go to a professional to receive is now becoming widely available in the form of light-up masks you can wear at home.
“Reasonable reports show that the treatment is good for wound-healing,” says Mosahebi. This is why it is recommended for inflammatory skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis and psoriasis, as it increases circulation, decreases inflammation, and improves cell regeneration.
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© Illustration: Becky Barnicoat/The Guardian
© Illustration: Becky Barnicoat/The Guardian
© Illustration: Becky Barnicoat/The Guardian
Singer-songwriter Sam Amidon had just three weeks to make the two stars sound like seasoned balladeers. He recalls their charged harmonies in the little shed at the bottom of his garden
I was brought into The History of Sound as the music adviser, my main job being singing coach for the cast, especially Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.
My parents were folk educators. I grew up in New England, singing and playing all kinds of different folk including Appalachian fiddle tunes, as well as songs from the British Isles. My parents’ favourites were legendary Yorkshire singing family the Watersons. I now live in London and it was amazing how close History of Sound’s musical world matched my own. Ben Shattuck – who wrote the original short stories and the screenplay – made a playlist of all these different types of music so everybody could get a sense of the film’s world.
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© Photograph: Photo credit: Neon and Focus Features/© Fair Winter LLC. All Rights Reserved.
© Photograph: Photo credit: Neon and Focus Features/© Fair Winter LLC. All Rights Reserved.
© Photograph: Photo credit: Neon and Focus Features/© Fair Winter LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Casemiro is thriving under Michael Carrick, Newcastle look short of ideas and Sean Dyche takes aims at … towels?
Casemiro will depart Manchester United this summer. His four years in English football have been mixed but he may yet go out on a high. At one point in his first season, such as his performance in the 2023 League Cup final, he was hailed as the club’s best signing since Eric Cantona. He never lived up to that billing, the accusation that United had overpaid for someone who left his legs in Madrid. At the Emirates in 2026, just as against Manchester City the previous week, he showed his muscle memory endures. Kobbie Mainoo is a project player for Michael Carrick. Mainoo can learn much in his remaining months alongside Casemiro, who completed the 90 minutes at Arsenal and retained his influence. United are linked with younger midfielders in Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson. They may now have something to live up to. John Brewin
Match report: Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United
Match report: Newcastle 0-2 Aston Villa
Match report: Burnley 2-2 Tottenham
Match report: Manchester City 2-0 Wolves
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© Composite: Guardian Picture Desk/REX/Shutterstock/Getty
© Composite: Guardian Picture Desk/REX/Shutterstock/Getty
© Composite: Guardian Picture Desk/REX/Shutterstock/Getty
Swirling force of subcontinental politics and a governing body lacking in credibility has led to a far from joyous situation
The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo may be hosting a one-day international series at the moment, but the real show begins in less than two weeks. The venue has been dressed with branding for the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India: a banner hangs out the front, an image of the trophy accompanied by a simple tagline: “Feel the thrill”.
This, of course, is how it should be as you approach a global tournament, a real buzz as the world is welcomed on to an island. Spotted in the stadium during Sri Lanka’s second ODI against England on Saturday was a poster reading: “We will repeat 2014”, a nod to their tournament victory 12 years ago, a crowning moment for the departing Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. With Italy among the 20 teams competing, the upcoming showpiece looks like a genuinely global event unlike the more exclusive 50-over version.
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© Photograph: Abhijit Addya/Reuters
© Photograph: Abhijit Addya/Reuters
© Photograph: Abhijit Addya/Reuters
Multi-club owner’s Women’s Champions Cup sponsorship creates a conflict of interest, whatever her motivation
You can imagine the meltdown across social media, if Stan Kroenke, Todd Boehly or the Glazer family were to enter into a partnership with the Football Association. Well, women’s football in the United States already took a similar unusual step in November 2024 when US Soccer announced “a historic gift” of $30m (£22m) from Michele Kang, the owner of one of the country’s biggest women’s clubs, Washington Spirit, over a five-year period.
US Soccer labelled the donation as philanthropic – the largest women’s football in the country had ever had – and “non-profit”. Then, in December 2025, US Soccer unveiled the Kang Women’s Institute, a platform “designed to accelerate advancements in the women’s game through science, innovation, and elevated best practices”, and there was surprisingly little public condemnation. Overwhelmingly, the women’s game around the world appeared to celebrate the businesswoman’s generosity rather than questioning this arrangement, because of Kang’s repeatedly stated aim of trying to grow women’s football.
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© Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images
© Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images
© Photograph: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Getty Images
Makoko’s waterfront stilt settlements were razed with little warning amid government claims that the move was essential for sanitation and security
It was 12.30pm when amphibious excavators escorted by armed police roared through Makoko, crushing wooden shacks built on stilts. “It was the second time this year,” says Augustine Agpoko, 42, a fisher and father of eight whose six-bedroom bungalow was demolished on 16 January.
Like many of his neighbours, Agpoko was already dismantling his home piece by piece in an attempt to save some of the materials before the machines arrived. “I was removing my roofing sheets, trying to salvage materials from my house when the bulldozers began demolition,” he says. “When they started firing tear gas into the air, I had to quickly evacuate my family to safety in a neighbouring community, because one of my two wives is in her second trimester.”
Makoko waterfront community before the demolitions
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© Photograph: Valentine Benjamin
© Photograph: Valentine Benjamin
© Photograph: Valentine Benjamin
The distractions of daily life can make writing a book a frustrating task, so I sought boltholes offering creative support and solitude in inspiring landscapes
The idea for my novel came in a rush: as I walked over the Thames on the Golden Jubilee Bridge in central London, the scene at the heart of it leapt out of the deep blue dusk and clung on to me until I committed to writing it into existence.
A few months later, it became depressingly clear that the half-hour snatches of writing at the end of my working day just weren’t going to get me over the finish line.
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© Photograph: PR
© Photograph: PR
© Photograph: PR
A delightfully leftfield new interview show takes Jason Williamson to dig up rusty old nails. Plus, Ant and Dec launch their first ever podcast
In this offbeat interview show, producer and host James Deacon takes a ramble through green space with a celebrity, as they attempt a spot of metal detecting and intimate chat with themed questions (“What’s one piece of gold you’ve found in your life?”). Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson is the first guest for an hour of introspection and digging up rusty nails. Works better as a visualised, rather than audio, podcast. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly
© Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
© Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
© Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage
Raúl Capdevila Murillo’s debut documentary follows the director’s journey back to his farming family, whose way of life is newly endangered
Raúl Capdevila Murillo’s debut documentary has all of the components of a thrilling retro western. Set to a rousing score, the opening titles feature giant letters in bold yellow, splattering over the horizon of a dusty landscape. Then we get the return of the prodigal son, fresh from the hubbub of the so-called civilised big city. The son is, in fact, Capdevila Murillo himself, and instead of gunfight, Los Saldos – or Remainders – is about a different kind of struggle, that of the film-maker’s own family, farmers unsettled by industrial changes.
Shot in widescreen, the film lends a majestic quality to ordinary life in Binéfar, north-eastern Spain. We observe José Ramón, the director’s father, on his daily rounds, driving around in his pickup truck, tending to his crops and animals. The rhythm is slow and languid; even the mere discussion of a new water tank results in protracted discussion between José Ramón and his neighbours who, like him, are the remnants of a vanishing line of work. Meanwhile, a major meat-product company is planning a macro abattoir in the area. The news lingers in the air like a bad smell, as news reports and political discussions unspool on radio and TV.
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© Photograph: True Story
© Photograph: True Story
© Photograph: True Story
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