The level will have to rise when Newcastle return to London with designs on ending their long wait for silverware this weekend. This scrappy performance is unlikely to have sent a shiver down Liverpool’s spine before the Carabao Cup final, although there were positives for Eddie Howe to dwell on after his side boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification with a forgettable win over West Ham.

It was vital that spirits were lifted after the blow of exiting the FA Cup a week ago. The avoidance of further injuries was welcome and Howe could take satisfaction from a first clean sheet in over a month before Newcastle attempt to keep Mohamed Salah quiet. Liverpool, though, will presumably pose more questions than a cautious, limited West Ham attack managed here. Newcastle, who were clearly holding back at times, were comfortable after Bruno Guimarães scored the goal that lifted them two points off fourth place.

Policy would apply to those seeking asylum as well as anyone who had been charged with or convicted of immigration offences

All foreign nationals in the UK who receive a criminal conviction would be deported under a new Conservative party policy. The Tory plan would introduce an amendment to the government’s borders bill that would remove the current threshold, in which foreign criminals are only removed after being handed a prison sentence of one year.

The party hopes this amendment, which would need support from Labour MPs, would also make it easier for the government to deport foreign offenders by ending exceptions that had been granted by the European court of human rights.

Foreign minister says legalisation of main ingredient of cocaine is only way to stop drug trafficking and violence

Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, is a vocal critic of the US-led war on drugs, has urged the UN to remove coca – the main ingredient in cocaine – from a list of harmful substances.

Used not only for cocaine, the coca leaf is also chewed as a stimulant in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, or brewed into a tea thought to combat altitude sickness.

Judge denies Edward Kelley’s motion to dismiss separate charges of plotting to kill federal agents investigating him

A man pardoned by Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection who also was convicted of plotting to kill federal agents investigating him is still legally liable for the plot, a judge ruled on Monday.

Edward Kelley was pardoned by Trump for his role in the US Capitol riot, but he remained in prison on separate charges. The Tennessee man had developed a “kill list” of FBI agents who had investigated him for the Capitol attack.

Latest medical update for 88-year-old pontiff said he was responding well to treatment in hospital

Pope Francis is no longer in immediate danger and is responding well to treatment in hospital, the Vatican has said, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.

Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks. He was admitted on 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment.

• Co-owner backs Ruben Amorim to stay for ‘long time’
• He admits not sacking Erik ten Hag in summer was error

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has launched a blistering attack on Manchester United players, stating some are “not good enough” and “overpaid”, referencing Casemiro, Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Højlund and André Onana when doing so.

In a series of interviews, Ratcliffe, the club’s co-owner, also said that Ruben Amorim would be the head coach for a “long time”, and admitted that not sacking Erik ten Hag last summer was an error.

Very public squabble between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe has been a joy to witness – even if predictable

These past few weeks have been grim. The world hasn’t felt less safe in decades. European leaders desperately scrabbling to secure a peace in Ukraine that isn’t a capitulation to Russia. A US manchild president who is giving a convincing impression of a Russian asset. Vladimir Putin struggling to believe his good fortune.

So a big thank you to Reform for providing so much comic relief. Never has the UK needed a good laugh more than now. Which isn’t to say that the very public squabble between Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe was in any way unexpected. Given enough time away from dissecting the niceties of the Nazi salute – these things matter to supporters of Reform. Strictly arm out to the front, not the side – Nige can usually manage to fall out with anyone. Apart from Richard Tice. Dicky only exists as an echo to Farage. Without a mind of his own. His tragedy has been to be born a man of limited intellect and charisma.

Billionaire owner claims ‘attack’ may have originated in Ukraine after site unresponsive for many users

Elon Musk claimed on Monday afternoon that X was targeted in a “massive cyber-attack” that resulted in the intermittent service outages that had brought down his social network throughout the day. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, had been unresponsive for many users as posts failed to load.

“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” the platform’s CEO posted. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”

Sue Perkins does her best presenting this show that pits embarrassingly named stars like the Unruly Knight and the Chess Princess against each other … but even she can’t get around the fact that chess is the least telegenic thing ever

Appropriately enough, I suppose, what Chess Masters: The Endgame is doing in the television schedules is a bit of a puzzle. The Queen’s Gambit, the adaptation of Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel about a chess prodigy that became an unexpected hit for Netflix, made a star out of Anya Taylor-Joy and brought the game to wider public attention. But that was five years ago. The flurry of interest it roused in the subject has long since fallen back to normal levels. Chess Masters has no moment to capitalise on, except for what it assures us is “Britain’s booming chess community”, 12 of whose “rising stars” compete over eight episodes to, well, beat the other 11 at chess.

This has clearly presented the producers of the show with a number of problems, none of which has been successfully solved. There is the question of how you make an essentially silent, cerebral game telegenic and accessible. They have hired a presenter with glasses to acknowledge the intellectualism of the pursuit, but made it Sue Perkins to try to give warm, Bake Off vibes too. But it is still inescapably people frowning over an abstract strategy board game, not constructing model cities out of profiteroles or coaxing clouds of pistachio and rose-flavoured cakes out of the oven like culinary gods.

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all down by at least 2% and Tesla shares fall 15% for worst day since September 2020

The US stock market continued to drop on Monday as the White House denied that Donald Trump’s trade policies were causing lasting chaos within the economy.

The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the Dow Jones dropped 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4% as investors sold shares in the so-called “magnificent seven” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla. Tesla’s shares had their worst day since September 2020, falling 15%.

• Head coach ready for second-leg showdown at Anfield
• Luis Enrique says winners of last-16 tie will make final

Arne Slot believes Liverpool must produce their best performance of the season to finish off “a complete” Paris Saint-Germain team that gave him sleepless nights after the Champions League encounter last week.

Liverpool take a 1-0 lead into the last-16 second leg at Anfield but Slot rates the tie at “50-50” on the evidence of PSG’s display at Parc des Princes. “The result was ours, the performance was for them,” he said.

The health secretary will shrink NHS England’s workforce to save money and avoid ‘duplication’

NHS England will lose half its staff and a huge swathe of its senior management team as part of a brutal restructuring under its new boss.

Its workforce will shrink from 13,000 to about 6,500 as entire teams are axed to save money and avoid “duplication” with officials at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

In a win for US justice department, judge rules ex-leader of Russian oil and gas company lacks plausible claim to yacht

A US judge on Monday ruled that a former chief of the Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft does not have a plausible claim to own a $300m superyacht that US authorities seized in 2022, in a win for the US Department of Justice.

US district judge Dale Ho’s decision boosts federal prosecutors’ bid for a forfeiture of the 348ft (106-meter) Amadea, which could be sold at auction.

Actor tells libel trial against Guardian that female accusers were ‘lying’ and ‘seeking attention’ in their claims

Women began discussing Noel Clarke’s past sexual misconduct in response to the #MeToo movement, the high court in London has heard, as he began giving evidence in his libel claim against the Guardian.

Cross-examining Clarke for the Guardian, Gavin Millar KC told the actor he had begun to panic because the movement “began to catch up with you”.

Poll takes place against backdrop of threats by Donald Trump and growing calls for independence

Greenland’s prime minister said voters face a “fateful choice” as the Arctic island prepares to go to the polls in a pivotal election closely watched by Europe and the US.

The vote on Tuesday has attracted global attention after Donald Trump’s repeated assertions about acquiring the autonomous territory, using military and economic force if necessary.

Number of animals affected by neurological toxin increases in past week as experts warn of impact from climate crisis

The number of marine mammals in California affected by a neurological toxin from algae has surged in the past week, in what could be another deadly year for animals such as sea lions, seals, dolphins and larger whales.

According to the Marine Mammal Care Center, a rescue facility based in Sausalito, California, the facility is treating more than 30 animals affected by a toxic algal bloom, with eight animals admitted on Wednesday. The algae bloom off the California coast has been on the rise in recent years, producing a neurological toxin called domoic acid.

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Russell Martin, the former Southampton manager, is the guest pundit on Sky Sports tonight, here in the UK. I wonder where he might end up. Many will be put off by the way that Southampton played in the Premier League this year, but many feel that the Saints have got worse since his departure. I would suggest that he didn’t have the players good enough to fit his system, although he is not without fault.

Remember the season previous, Burnley were relegated under Vincent Kompany, who had a similar tactical evangelism. And the Belgian got the Bayern job. I’m not suggesting that Martin will be manager of a European giant anytime soon but I wonder if a European club might take a punt. There are other British coaches, such as Liam Rosenior and Will Still, doing well abroad.

First official meeting since disastrous Trump-Zelenskyy encounter comes as Russia intensifies attacks

Senior US and Ukrainian officials have arrived in Saudi Arabia for high-stakes meetings on Tuesday aimed at repairing a severely damaged relationship that has left embattled Kyiv without Washington’s support.

Ukraine’s delegation, led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, will meet the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and other senior White House officials on what is seen as neutral ground in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

• Quarterback will replace Geno Smith in Seattle
• Jets move on from Aaron Rodgers era
• Khalil Mack set to re-sign with Chargers

Quarterback Sam Darnold has agreed on a three-year, $110.5m contract with the Seattle Seahawks, according to multiple reports.

Darnold had the best season of his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, leading the team to 14 wins and a playoff appearance. He replaces Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders last week. Darnold’s deal is reported to include $55m in guaranteed money.

Nathan Hochman says he would consider support only if pair ‘fully accept complete responsibility’ for 1989 killings

The Los Angeles district attorney has said he is opposed to the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been in prison for decades for the 1989 killings of their parents, and said the brothers first needed to acknowledge and fully accept responsibility for the murders.

Nathan Hochman said at a press conference on Monday that he would ask the court to withdraw the resentencing motion filed in the case by his predecessor George Gascón. The new DA, who took office in December, said last month that he did not believe the brothers should receive a new trial.

Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades

The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment.

The analysis estimates that between 4% and 14% of the world’s staple crops of wheat, rice and maize is being lost due to the pervasive particles. It could get even worse, the scientists said, as more microplastics pour into the environment.

Surviving aid to be administered by state department in radical narrowing of definition of US national interest

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The Trump administration has taken an axe to US foreign aid, eliminating 83% of programs run by the US Agency for International Development (USAid) in a sweeping six-week purge that has done away with entire categories of development work that took decades to build up.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio announced the massive cuts on Monday, posting that roughly 5,200 of USAid’s 6,200 global programs have been terminated. The surviving initiatives – less than a fifth of America’s previous aid portfolio – will be absorbed by the state department.

More than 1,000 people are believed to have died so far in fighting between security services and Assad loyalists

Clashes between Syrian security services and fighters loyal to the ousted Assad regime erupted on Wednesday, kicking off five days of still-ongoing fighting which has killed more than 1,000 people, including 745 civilians, according to a war monitor.

The clashes, some of the deadliest in the country since the beginning of its civil war in 2011, were the biggest challenge Syria’s new authorities faced since taking power in December.

Former central banker won landslide victory in Liberal party race as trade war with US hastens transfer of power

Canada’s incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, has met with Justin Trudeau as the pair discuss a transfer of power after the former central banker’s landslide victory at the Liberal party’s leadership race.

The meeting on Monday sets the stage for an imminent federal election and gives Canada a fresh leader to square off against the United States president, with the two countries locked in a bitter trade war provoked by Donald Trump.

Police said they had identified Morgan Harris, 39, and had also found more remains of another person

Canadian police have identified the remains of a murdered Indigenous woman at a landfill and found more remains from another person, after a months-long search demanded by the families of victims targeted by a serial killer.

Police said in a statement they had confirmed that human remains found in the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, had been identified as those of Morgan Harris, who was 39.

President says in post his administration ‘will not tolerate’ actions of protesters at Columbia and other US universities

Donald Trump said on Monday that the arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests last year, was the “first arrest of many to come”.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” the US president wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Adam Boehler says Hamas proposed a ceasefire and prisoner exchange in negotiations that did not involve Israel

A US envoy has said Hamas proposed a five-to-10-year ceasefire and a full prisoner exchange during backroom talks that have provoked angry responses from the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu and his conservative backers in Israel and the US.

Adam Boehler, the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, told Kan News, an Israeli public broadcaster, that he “does believe” Hamas would eventually lay down its weapons and leave power in Gaza. While he said the series of interviews was meant to explain the US position, he also defended the talks by saying that Washington is “not an agent of Israel”.

Authorities warn more fatalities expected as a year’s worth of rain falls on Bahía Blanca in eight hours

Rescue teams in Argentina are searching for two girls, aged one and five, who were swept away by severe floods that ripped through Buenos Aires province, killing at least 16 people.

A year’s worth of rain fell on the city of Bahía Blanca and the town of Cerri on Friday, rapidly inundating neighbourhoods and destroying homes, bridges and roads. The rainfall – 400mm (15.7in) recorded in just eight hours – was more than twice the city’s previous record of 175mm (6.8in) set in 1930.

President suspended implementation of law ordering app to divest from its Chinese owner ByteDance or face US ban

Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring TikTok, with the Chinese-owned app facing an uncertain future in the country.

A US law has ordered TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or be banned in the United States. Asked on Sunday if there was going to be a deal on TikTok soon, Trump told reporters: “It could be.”

• Team admitted cheating by employing altered suits
• Coach and equipment manager both suspended

The Norwegian ski federation has suspended a ski jumping coach and an equipment manager over their alleged role in a cheating scandal which shook the world championships this weekend.

The federation said coach Magnus Brevig and equipment manager Adrian Livelten were suspected of modifying ski suits by sewing in an extra seam in an attempt to create more lift in the air. Norway is one of the traditional powers within ski jumping, and the scandal at its home world championships has caused a massive outcry in a country that prides itself on its winter sports prowess.

Premier Doug Ford says province ‘won’t back down’ until US president retracts duties on Canada

The Canadian province of Ontario is imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota in protest against Donald Trump’s tariffs, the premier, Doug Ford, said on Monday.

“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the US economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” Ford said in a statement.

SXSW film festival: Meghann Fahy lands a killer star vehicle with a fun, seat-edge piece of pulp entertainment, playing a woman tasked with killing her date

I have a special place in my heart for a movie that knows what it is, doesn’t mislead and delivers accordingly in a tight 90 minutes. Drop, as indicated by title and trailer, is a one-room thriller for the digital natives: what would happen if your phone was barraged by mysterious AirDropped memes telling you to kill your date, or your family dies? It’s a simple premise familiar to anyone who has received an unwanted dick pic on the subway, and one that writer/director Christopher Landon drills into with fresh and invigorating precision.

And one elevated by two well-cast leads in Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar, who both keep their cards just close enough to their chests. Sklenar, recently in It Ends With Us, once again convincingly plays the nice, understanding guy to a woman who has survived domestic abuse; sweet and self-effacing, he’s more “fuck” or “marry” material than “kill”. But this is Fahy’s movie as Violet, a therapist for survivors of domestic violence and a single mother to a five-year-old son. She is no stranger to it; the film opens with a scene one could assume is a flash forward, with a bloody and bruised Violet crawling limply away from her late husband, who brandishes a loaded gun.

• City are fourth in WSL but in Champions League last eight
• Former manager Nick Cushing named interim manager

Manchester City Women have sacked their head coach, Gareth Taylor, just five days before the club’s appearance in the League Cup final. Nick Cushing, whom Taylor succeeded in 2020, will return as interim manager for the remainder of the season.

The news comes with City fourth in the Women’s Super League, 12 points behind the leaders Chelsea, and was announced 24 hours after they booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup by beating Aston Villa on Sunday.

Lowe’s online presence, helped by Elon Musk, dwarfs that of Nigel Farage, but may not bring him new Reform voters

If you were looking for answers as to why Rupert Lowe, a relatively little-known Reform UK MP, thinks he can lecture Nigel Farage about running a party and winning an election, there is one place you should probably start: X.

In person Lowe can sometimes resemble a slightly embarrassing uncle at a wedding, but on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, the Great Yarmouth MP is a big name – and by some metrics, a notably bigger one even than his party leader.

Ruth Marcus dissented from paper’s new opinion policy of supporting only ‘personal liberties and free markets’

Washington Post associate editor and top political columnist Ruth Marcus is reportedly resigning following the decision by the CEO, Will Lewis, to kill her opinion column critical of the billionaire owner Jeff Bezos’s latest changes to the paper.

“It is with great sadness that I submit my resignation as columnist and associate editor of the Washington Post,” Marcus wrote in a letter addressed to Lewis and Bezos and posted on X by a New York Times media reporter.

‘Multiple explosions’ rupture cargo tank of MV Stena Immaculate, with jet fuel reportedly released

The crews of an oil tanker and a cargo ship are “safe and accounted for” with one person taken to hospital after the vessels collided in the North Sea, with jet fuel reported to have been released, a maritime company has said.

Crowley, the shipping company that manages the MV Stena Immaculate, said there were “multiple explosions onboard” when the oil tanker suffered a ruptured cargo tank.

Swansea Building Society Arena
Fresh from Taylor Swift’s endorsement, Justin Hawkins and his hard-riffing band can still strut and peacock with the best – so it’s a shame about the bad sound mix

Midway through the deliriously profane Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Justin Hawkins demands that the crowd claps along. Before you know it, the frontman is standing on his head and joining in by slapping together the heels of his pointy white shoes. There has already been bountiful swearing and ripping guitars, and now there is showing off. All is right in the Darkness’s world.

Hawkins has never misplaced his desire to peacock in front of an audience, and yet his acrobatic high spirits do appear to be supercharged at an interesting moment in the group’s long career. Fresh from becoming a side quest for Taylor Swift’s legion of fans due to her admiration of their 2003 hit I Believe in a Thing Called Love – a song dispatched here with undimmed bombast – the Darkness have a new record out shortly that, if Hawkins’ pumping of the faithful for pre-orders is to be believed, might return them to the top of the charts.

Republican faces backlash for saying Democrat shook ‘his pimp cane’ at Trump during congressional address

The extremist Republican US House member Lauren Boebert has been accused of racism, ableism and hypocrisy in one fell swoop after criticizing a Black Democrat for “shaking his pimp cane” at Donald Trump during the president’s recent speech to Congress.

“Al Green was given multiple opportunities to stand down, to sit down, to behave, to show decorum,” Boebert told Real America’s Voice, a far-right outlet, while discussing the Texas Democratic congressman’s ejection from the House chamber for shouting about Trump’s threats to social benefits spending on 6 March.

The favourite has seen off every challenge in all his races, but could be facing his sternest opponent so far

Constitution Hill has seen off every challenge with ease in winning all 10 of his races to date, but he could be facing his sternest opponent so far in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle and Brighterdaysahead (4.00) can also boast the strongest recent piece of form in the field.

The Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting was set up for Brighterdaysahead by a front-running stable companion, while State Man, the defending champion on Tuesday, was clearly not at his best and finished a long way behind Gordon Elliott’s mare.

The Last Week Tonight host looks at Trump’s ‘largest deportation operation’ campaign and the dangerous state of facilities used to house immigrants

John Oliver took aim at the immigration detention system in the US and the many problems that come with it.

The Last Week Tonight host spoke about how Donald Trump has centered deportation as a main element on his presidency and recently made “a big show of having Ice conducting immigration raids” which have largely been ineffectual.