It’s time to open up your big fat mouths and push back against fatphobia
A strange paradox about being fat is how, at the same time as people can’t seem to see past your fatness, you can also somehow be invisible. For some, your fatness becomes the only thing about you, the only quality you have. My fatness causes adults to laugh or sneer or hurl abuse in the street, or to say horrible depraved things online. Strangers hate my extra flesh so much that they can’t help but regularly inform me about it as I’m tweeting, walking home, standing in a mall, ordering a drink at a bar – or once, entering my own front door.
I can’t remember every one of the numerous public incidents but I do remember the first time it happened. I was a (lonely) 14-year-old waiting for the bus with a bunch of other kids at 8:30am, and men drove past and shouted “WHALE” at me. It was humiliating, it was stupid (I am clearly a land animal), and in my memory it was the sharp beginning of my life in a fatphobic world. It was the beginning of fatphobia fundamentally changing who I was, who I was growing into, planting seeds that would affect me for decades. Shortly after that, I stopped being able to do public speaking, and even now I have to drug myself, my body going into flight mode when I put her in front of a crowd.
Dequenne, who won best actress at Cannes for her first role in the Dardenne film Rosetta, died of a rare adrenal cancer on Sunday
Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne died of a rare cancer on Sunday in a hospital just outside Paris, her family and her agent confirmed. She was 43 years old.
She revealed in October 2023 that she was suffering from adrenocortical carcinoma, a cancer of the adrenal gland.
Russian president ‘accepts the philosophy’ of US’s Ukraine ceasefire terms, says US envoy; Musk’s popularity falls – key US politics stories from Sunday at a glance
US president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he expected the US president to speak with Vladimir Putin this week, adding that the Russian president “accepts the philosophy” of Trump’s ceasefire and peace terms.
Witkoff told CNN that discussions with Putin over several hours last week were “positive” and “solution-based”. He declined to confirm when asked whether Putin’s demands included the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk; international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized by Russia as Russian; limits on Ukraine’s ability to mobilise; a halt to western military aid; and a ban on foreign peacekeepers.
Defence minister says Ukraine ‘systematically transforming’ its military; Macron says allied security force does need Russia’s blessing. What we know on day 1,118
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has appointed Andriy Gnatov as chief of the general staff of the armed forces, replacing Anatoliy Bargylevych, who has been moved to chief inspector of the defence ministry. “He [Gnatov] is a combat guy,” Zelenskyy said. “His task is to bring more combat experience … Everything that our brigades have learned from the war should be implemented 100% at the planning level.” Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, posted: “We are systematically transforming the armed forces of Ukraine to enhance their combat effectiveness. This involves restructuring the command system and implementing clear standards.”
Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv, its mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said early on Monday, adding that Ukrainian air defence units were responding. Reuters said its witnesses heard blasts that sounded like air defences in action. On Sunday, Kyiv said Moscow had launched 90 Iranian Shahed drones on to nine Ukrainian regions.
Emmanuel Macron has said France, the UK, and other nations providing security guarantees for Ukraine after any eventual ceasefirewould not be aiming to deploy a “mass” of soldiers but instead could send contingents of several thousand troops to key locations in Ukraine without needing Russia’s permission. From Paris, Angelique Chrisafis writes that the French president insisted: “Under no circumstances can the Ukrainians make territorial concessions without having any security guarantees.” Macron said Russia “does not give the impression it sincerely wants peace”; on the contrary, the Russian president was “escalating the fighting” and “wants to get everything, then negotiate”.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expected this week to discuss the ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine, write Edward Helmore and Shaun Walker. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said he thinks “the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week”, and Trump “really expects there to be some sort of deal in the coming weeks, maybe, and I believe that’s the case”. Moscow said the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. “Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio agreed to remain in contact,” the Russian foreign ministry said, with no mention of the proposed ceasefire. Witkoff claimed Putin accepted the “philosophy” of the ceasefire. However, Putin has been vague about what terms he would demand or accept.
Late on Sunday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken with Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney. “The prime minister made the right points about how we need to step up pressure on Moscow,” Zelenskyy said. “The shadow fleet, the banking sector. We must impose all-out sanctions on everything that provides Russia with funding for its war. Only then can we force Putin to a just and lasting peace.” Carney is due in France on Monday for talks with Emmanuel Macron that will cover the war in Ukraine, before travelling to London to meet Keir Starmer, the British PM.
Lithuania on Sunday backed an EU proposal to pledge up to €40bn in military aid for Ukraine this year and said a similar amount would also be needed in future years. While some EU countries have responded cautiously to the initiative, Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys, said long-term military support for Ukraine should not depend on the outcome of any peace talks as it was already clear Kyiv would need to maintain strong “deterrence forces for Russians not to return”. Lithuania spent 2.85% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to Nato estimates, and has committed to raising that figure to 5% to 6% between 2026 and 2030.
Russia would demand that Nato members exclude Ukraine from membership and that it will remain neutral in any peace deal, Alexander Grushko, a Russian deputy foreign minister, has told the Russian media outlet Izvestia.
Portions of eastern US under watch for dangerous winds and tornadoes as storm moves out on Sunday
Portions of Pennsylvania, New York, and mid-Atlantic and south-east states were still under a National Weather Service watch for damaging wind and tornadoes, as the death toll from weekend storms rose to 36 people across six states.
In a White House statement, Donald Trump said he was monitoring the tornadoes and storms, adding that “36 innocent lives have been lost, and many more devastated”.
Chancellor will meet regulators after calling for action to restrict their scope in bid to save businesses billions
Rachel Reeves will meet UK regulators on Monday after calling for more action to restrict red tape and spur economic growth.
The chancellor argued that government plans would reduce costly delays and disputes, saving businesses billions, and said regulators must accept a more streamlined decision-making process.
Players Championship to be settled over three holes
Leading pair back on Monday after weather delay
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship will rumble into a fifth day. He may well be grateful for that; in the final meaningful act of day four, the little-known JJ Spaun came within a couple of ball rotations of snatching the PGA Tour’s marquee event from McIlroy’s grasp. How that would have stung the Northern Irishman. The pair will instead return on Monday morning for a three hole playoff. McIlroy is the clear favourite but Spaun, with nothing to lose, carries menace.
As with so much involving McIlroy, this proved dramatic stuff. He was four shots adrift of the lead before a shot was struck on Sunday. Inside five holes, he was tied at the top. A four-hour weather delay ensued; when McIlroy birdied the 12th upon return, he led by three. McIlroy played the closing six in one over as Spaun birdied the 14th and 16th to force extra time.
In the aftermath of the most brilliant win of his career, a grimy, gutsy three-set triumph over Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper had less than 24 hours to compose himself and refocus in order to close out an extraordinary series of performances with the title he craved.
One of the toughest mental challenges for a professional tennis player is to back up a monumental win, yet on Sunday afternoon in California, Draper cleared that obstacle with ease. He closed out his incredible run in the desert with his most dominant performance of all, completely overpowering the 12th seed, Holger Rune, 6-2, 6-2 to win at Indian Wells for the first time.
Barcelona fought back from 2-0 down to top La Liga
Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal also on target in victory
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win over La Liga title rivals Atlético Madrid in a pulsating clash on Sunday that took Hansi Flick’s side back to the top of the table.
The hosts took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Julián Alvarez after Antoine Griezmann broke quickly and found Giuliano Simeone, who curled a precise pass for the former Manchester City forward to score his 11th league goal of the season.
Much like the problems of the show’s deplorable characters, the White Lotus effect cannot be escaped. After the writer-director Mike White’s second season of the black comedy was released, tourists flooded its Sicilian coastal setting of Taormina, and its luxe backdrop of the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace was booked out for six months straight post-filming.
The new season of The White Lotus is upon us, or rather it’s upon Thailand. Hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to descend on the paradisiacal setting of Koh Samui, while cashed-up guests at the island’s Four Seasons are already requesting upgrades to the $10,000-a-night villas featured in the show. For a country that already struggles with overtourism, Thailand is bracing for impact. Local environmentalists are feeling uneasy and quite rightly too – the Thai government closed Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi for four years in 2018 after boat anchors and propellers, sunscreen contaminants and sewage destroyed the corals and marine life off the white-sand bay after it went mainstream in the 1999 movie The Beach.
PM faces backlash over plans to tighten eligibility, potentially leaving more than 600,000 claimants £675 a month worse off
Keir Starmer is to defy growing anger by driving through welfare cuts for some of the UK’s most severely disabled people, with an overhaul that could see more than 600,000 benefit claimants lose out on an average of £675 a month.
Ministers are set to ditch plans to freeze personal independent payments (Pip) amid a backlash. But they will still tighten eligibility criteria for the benefit under big changes to be set out by the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, on Tuesday.
The star on her new TV series Dope Girls, the benefits of intimacy coordinators and the joys of moving to the English countryside
Julianne Nicholson, 53, was born near Boston, Massachusetts, and worked as a model before training as an actor in New York. Her screen credits include August: Osage County, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Ally McBeal, I, Tonya and Boardwalk Empire. In 2021, she won an Emmy for her role as Lori in Mare Of Easttown. She recently played Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond in Disney+ political thriller Paradise and is now starring as nightclub owner Kate Galloway in BBC One’s period drama Dope Girls. Nicholson recently moved to the UK with her husband, British actor Jonathan Cake, and their two children.
YourDope Girls character is loosely based on real-life roaring 20s nightclub ownerKate “Ma” Meyrick. What drew you to the role? The story is such a fascinating look at that period. Normally when we see the post-first world war years on screen, the men are returning home, the women are ecstatic and life moves forward. It wasn’t quite as straightforward as that. Women had taken control in the men’s absence. Now they had to readjust or rebel. And I loved playing a gang boss. Who wouldn’t?
The only locally born starting player for either side proved the catalyst on a day where classic cup final magic won out
Sometimes football just can’t help itself. Even now, in its glazed and managed state, plaything of propaganda machines and sharp-fanged hedge funds, it will still give you these moments, will follow its own gorgeously hammy storylines.
Here it gave Newcastle a story that couldn’t have been more perfectly styled and finished: a Dan Burn day for a Dan Burn team at a Dan Burn Wembley, and a moment before half‑time that seemed to paint the entire world a deep rich shade of Dan Burn.
Jamie Vardy rolled the ball into the Manchester United net to huge cheers and about 10 minutes later, amid swirling rain, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s name echoed around this stadium. The only problem for Leicester was Vardy sent the ball over the line during a break in play while Ayden Heaven, forced off early in the second half, received treatment, and it was the United supporters singing about Van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman took charge of United in the reverse fixture in November, signing off from his spell in interim charge with a 3-0 victory, but this time he was on the receiving end of the same scoreline.
That four-match unbeaten run with United must feel halcyonic for Van Nistelrooy, who has now lost 13 of his past 14 league matches. The numbers make grisly reading: Leicester have not scored here since early December and after firing blanks in this defeat they recorded unwanted history, becoming the first Premier League team to lose seven home matches in a row without scoring. Leicester are nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves and have a vastly inferior goal difference.
Refugee Council analysis of figures released by MoJ shows there are 41,987 cases in backlog of tribunal courts
The number of asylum seekers left in limbo as they appeal against a rejected asylum application has risen by nearly 500% over two years, putting renewed pressure on the taxpayer, an analysis by the Refugee Council has found.
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that at the end of 2024 there were 41,987 asylum appeals in the tribunal courts’ backlog, up from 7,173 at the start of 2023.
Delivery driver said he was disfigured when improperly secured drink spilled after he picked it up at a drive-through
A delivery driver was awarded $50m in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show.
A Los Angeles county jury found on Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled just after he collected it on 8 February 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
Prime minister's move against Shin Bet’s Ronen Bar will prompt further accusations of authoritarianism
Benjamin Netanyahu has announced he will seek to dismiss the director of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, through a cabinet vote later this week, in a move that will prompt further accusations of authoritarianism.
The Israeli prime minister said in a video statement on Sunday that “ongoing distrust” made it impossible for him to continue to work with Ronen Bar, who has led Shin Bet since 2021.
The photo shows the pope, bare-headed, seated in a wheelchair and wearing a white robe and purple shawl, in front of a simple altar with a crucifix on the wall.
Page honoring Charles C Rogers for his Vietnam war service is now defunct with letters ‘DEI’ added to website address
The US defense department webpage celebrating an army general who served in the Vietnam war and was awarded the country’s highest military decoration has been removed and the letters “DEI” added to the site’s address.
On Saturday, US army Maj Gen Charles Calvin Rogers’s Medal of Honor webpage led to a “404” error message. The URL was also changed, with the word “medal” changed to “deimedal”.
Government declares seven-day period of mourning after fire in eastern town of Kočani kills at least 59
North Macedonia has declared a seven-day period of mourning after a fire in a nightclub that left at least 59 dead and scores injured, as authorities detained 15 people for questioning and the interior minister said a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper licence.
At the end of a day in which the small Balkan country grappled with a disaster not seen in decades, its interior minister Panche Toshkovski said the venue in the eastern town of Kočani where the pre-dawn blaze occurred appeared to be operating illegally.
The black-and-white-clad hordes had turned up wondering if it would finally be the day. There was optimism and yet massive apprehension, too. The Newcastle United support had lived on the ends of their nerves since advancing to this Carabao Cup final. When you last won a domestic trophy in 1955 – the FA Cup victory against Manchester City, the goals from Jackie Milburn, Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah going down in folklore – it was going to be this way.
But it was the day, one when new legends were born. Above all, it was just a giant Newcastle party. Yes, there was tension at the end, of course there was when the board went up to show eight additional minutes and Federico Chiesa, on as a Liverpool substitute, ran through to make it 2-1, the goal given after a review showed he was onside.
25-year-old was competing in only his second marathon
Tejinesh Tulu of Ethiopia takes women’s title
Matt Richtman won the 40th annual Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first American man to take the title in 31 years.
The 25-year-old set a personal-best time of two hours, seven minutes and 56 seconds over a course that began at Dodger Stadium and went through downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Brentwood before ending in the Century City neighborhood. It was just Richtman’s second marathon, following his debut last year at the Twin Cities Marathon, where he recorded a time of 2:10:47 to finish fourth.
Jumbo-Visma star seals glory on Promenade des Anglais
US countryman Magnus Sheffield claims final-stage win
The American cyclist Matteo Jorgenson won the week-long Paris-Nice race for the second straight year on Sunday.
On a good day for US cycling Jorgenson, who rides for the Jumbo-Visma team, finished runner-up in the eighth and final stage claimed by his countryman Magnus Sheffield of the Ineos-Grenadiers team.
Jorgenson became the 10th rider with consecutive titles in the Race to the Sun, joining the likes of cycling greats Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Raymond Poulidor. Sean Kelly holds the record for most consecutive wins – seven from 1982 to 1988.
Sheffield went solo in the Col des Quatre Chemins climb with 12.5km left and crossed the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais with a 29-second lead over Jorgenson.
Florian Lipowitz, of Germany, was second overall, one minute and 15 seconds behind Jorgenson. The Dutch rider Thymen Arensman completed the podium, 1:58 off the pace. Sheffield was fourth in the general classification.
Man United come into this game with an unfamiliar feeling. They can look back on their last performance with great satisfaction.
Against Real Sociedad on Thursday, they weren’t flawless (until the 87th minute, they led only by virtue of some over-zealous refereeing), but by the end they were dominant. And the word “electrified” was even used of them.
Victim, 45, hospitalized and in stable condition as police unable to say if attack was random or targeted
A 45-year-old man was set on fire in the middle of Times Square overnight on Sunday, according to police, three months after a woman was killed on a subway car in an arson attack.
Footage from the scene captured the moments the man, shirtless and severely burned, was rushed by authorities into an ambulance after the flames were extinguished.
Coaches set to miss out for second straight Lions tour
Andy Farrell looks likely to overlook England’s assistants when selecting his British & Irish Lions coaching staff, with Steve Borthwick revealing he has not been approached about members of the backroom team.
After England rounded off their Six Nations campaign with a record win against Wales to secure second place, Borthwick said he wanted as many of his players selected for the Lions tour as possible when Farrell names his squad on 8 May. Borthwick also endorsed Maro Itoje for the captaincy.
Strikes began on Saturday with the aim of punishing Iran-backed armed group for attacks on Red Sea shipping
US officials have said airstrikes launched against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis will continue indefinitely, after a first round on Saturday killed at least 53 people and injured almost 100 more.
The strikes, which aim to punish the Houthis for their attacks against Red Sea shipping, are Donald Trump’s first such use of US military might in the region since he took power in January.
Singer, dancer and member of the 1980s pop group Five Star along with his four siblings
Stedman Pearson, who has died aged 60 while undergoing dialysis treatment for diabetes, was the eldest of the five siblings who made up the British pop group Five Star. Frequently compared to the Jackson 5, both for their all-family lineup and the fact that they were managed by a controlling and overbearing father, Five Star emerged from Romford, east London, and became a pop phenomenon in the mid-1980s with a string of hit singles and albums.
The group was a project involving the entire Pearson family. Stedman was in effect Stedman Pearson Jr, since though his father was widely known as Buster Pearson, his actual first name was Stedman.
New evidence of particles damaging crops strengthens the case for an international plastics treaty
New and concerning findings from environmental scientists about the impact of microplastics on crops and marine algae add to a growing body of evidence about the disruption caused to living systems by plastic pollution. The results, from a team led by Prof Huan Zhong at Nanjing University, China, are not definitive and require corroboration. But analysis showing that plastics could limit photosynthesis (the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy) must be taken seriously. If the researchers are correct, and staple crops are being reduced by about 12%, there are huge implications for global agriculture and food supplies. This could inject new urgency into efforts to tackle plastic pollution.
There is no single route by which microplastic particles inhibit plants from growing. The overall effect is attributed to a combination of blocked sunlight and nutrients, and damage to soil and cells. This can lead to reduced levels of chlorophyll – the pigment enabling photosynthesis. When the researchers modelled the crop losses caused by an effect of this size, they found Asia was hardest hit, potentially contributing to food insecurity and worsening hunger.
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Trump invoked 1798 law previously used to detain Japanese Americans in second world war to justify deportations
The US deported more than 250 mainly Venezuelan alleged gang members to El Salvador despite a US judge’s ruling to halt the flights on Saturday after Donald Trump controversially invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law meant only to be used in wartime.
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, said 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 had arrived and were in custody as part of a deal under which the US will pay the Central American country to hold them in its 40,000-person capacity “terrorism confinement centre”.
Mikel Arteta had promised that Arsenal would not give up on their title dream easily and, although they remain 12 points behind the champions-elect Liverpool after one of the most comfortable 1-0 win you will see, there remains hope in this part of north London.
Mikel Merino’s first-half goal from a corner – Arsenal’s 11th of the season but first since mid-January – proved enough to see off a toothless Chelsea side who looked badly short of inspiration without their talisman Cole Palmer and secure a first win in four league games.
Some areas forecast to have warmer weather than Ibiza and Corfu on Thursday’s spring equinox
Parts of the UK are expected to be warmer than Ibiza and Corfu this week on the first official day of spring.
This Thursday marks the spring equinox and temperatures could reach 19C (66F) in the south of England. The Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said that was 8C hotter than the average for the time of year.
Exclusive: Doctor Who writer says he feels ‘a wave of anger heading towards us’ and hostility in UK as well as US
Russell T Davies has said gay society is in the “greatest danger I have ever seen”, since the election of Donald Trump as US president in November.
Speaking to the Guardian at the Gaydio Pride awards in Manchester on Friday, the Doctor Who screenwriter said the rise in hostility was not limited to the US but “is here [in the UK] now”.
Arsenal secured their first league win in over a month thanks to a first-half Mikel Merino header
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Arteta says this is a big game and the players are focused on that. They’re excited to face Real Madrid and the international break is coming next so they need to play well and hopefully get some players back afterwards.
Where is the game? Arsenal will fancy Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to run off James and Moises Caicedo, while their left flank of Lewis-Skelly and Leandro Trossard will surely target Jadon Sacnho, unrenowned for his physicality or relentlessness, and Wesley Fofana, a centre-back playing out of position.
Hamza Igamane drove in a glorious late winner as Rangers beat Celtic 3-2 in a thrilling Old Firm match at Parkhead.
Nico Raskin headed the visitors in front from a corner in the fourth minute before Mohamed Diomande added a second in the 37th minute and Barry Ferguson’s side should have been further ahead at the interval.
Steve Witkoff says US discussions with Russian president ‘positive’ and ‘solution-based’ and leaders likely to speak
Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he expected the US president to speak with Vladimir Putin this week, saying that the Russian president “accepts the philosophy” of Trump’s ceasefire and peace terms.
Witkoff told CNN that discussions with Putin over several hours last week were “positive” and “solution-based”. He declined to confirm when asked whether Putin’s demands included the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk; international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized by Russia as Russian; limits on Ukraine’s ability to mobilize; a halt to western military aid; and a ban on foreign peacekeepers.
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