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Empty seats at the Etihad: What next for Man City and their fans?

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Manchester Evening News

Manchester City have seen empty seats at the Etihad in the last few weeks, and what happens next matters to supporters.

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It wasn’t just Pep Guardiola who suffered from post-Christmas Blues. As his Manchester City team walked into an injury crisis that saw their Premier League title challenge falter, supporters have been hit by the most congested spell of home games for a decade with nine matches at the Etihad in the first two months of 2026.

Everyone has pulled through, with the team advancing in four competitions and the club selling more than 440,000 general admission tickets in this spell. But there have also noticeably been empty seats in four recent matches across three competitions, shooting to the surface grumbles from fans that have been going on for months and even years.

We are not at the level of anger that has turned into official protests over the last few years. Last year’s walkouts during games helped to visually highlight the discontent of fans and helped to secure a season ticket price freeze and cheaper matchday tickets from the club as a result.

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That should at least get the club some credit, especially at a time when other clubs are asking more and more. Not only did Arsenal announce a 3.9 per cent increase in season tickets at the Emirates for the 2026/27 season, they are also adding even more tiers to their matchday pricing that could see a single game cost £168; the most expensive at City this season costs £60.

Nevertheless, relocating 500 fans in the North Stand to make way for a new hospitality area has seen protests at the Etihad and even where there isn’t anger among City fans for an increasing number there is – just as dangerous – apathy setting in: the feeling that, as it gets more difficult to watch their team, it simply isn’t worth bothering with anymore – either at all or as much as they used to.

Helped no doubt by the fact that they have seen Guardiola’s side win the lot in recent years, some fans have had enough and in a recent survey of around 3,000 by 1894, a fan group focused on matchday atmosphere, over 200 said they were considering giving up their season ticket for next year.

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Adam had been a season ticket holder for close to 40 years and joined the original City Matters committee when the official fan representative groups were introduced across the Premier League. It only served to accelerate his exit from matchdays and after giving up his season ticket in 2021, he has pretty much stopped going to any games.

“I just find the atmospheres are pretty lame these days at most games. But you know, but also VAR’s a big thing, the petty officiating and just general modern football really on the pitch. But also, I got to 40 years old thinking I’d never seen my team play at Wembley and now I wouldn’t even contemplate going back to Wembley. I’ve been however many times I went, but there’s no way I would pay that sort of £300 day out anymore for that experience,” he told the Manchester Evening News.

“There is the life journey element there as well I think after 2023. I was lucky enough to go to all of those, all of these trophies in 2023 [when City won the Treble] and the analogy I used after that was it’s like if you’re a mountain climber and you just did Everest, do you wake up the next day and want to go and climb a hill? That was a natural breaking point as well, I guess, for me.

“I have a big group of friends in the South Stand. They have season tickets and they come from far and wide. So there’s literally always tickets available out of that group. Even after I stopped my season ticket, I would still go to most matches. But now I don’t even take advantage of these free tickets that are always going, I just don’t go at all anymore.”

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Fatigue is natural, and even with the price freezes or reductions going to multiple games quickly becomes expensive – especially when the team is as successful as City is; Salford at home was the 21st game at the Etihad this season, more than Manchester United will have at Old Trafford in the entire campaign. The club have sold more than 99 per cent of tickets for Premier League games but must still ask themselves why other games are less attractive.

A League Cup semi-final when City are already 2-0 and you may be thinking about another trip to Wembley for the final, a Champions League dead rubber where the team’s defeat to Bodo/Glimt could force another home game for the play-off, and FA Cup ties against lower league opposition are all examples where fans may simply prioritise saving their cash. Even measures such as the loss of free parking around the ground in the last two years has been enough for some to drop a cup scheme, or decide it isn’t worth the price of a ticket and a 30-minute walk in the rain.

The same goes for the £35 that it costs for matchday membership, allowing fans to buy tickets. For casual fans wanting to attend a few games a season or if existing members want to introduce somebody new, that fee can become a hefty percentage add-on to a ticket or two.

There have also been tweaks to season tickets this season that were brought in to alleviate one major concern but have proven hugely unpopular for another reason. The first is a new minimum attendance policy whereby season ticket holders must attend 10 games personally to guarantee that they keep their ticket.

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It has never been said that not attending 10 will definitely mean somebody loses their ticket for next season – the club showed with Flexi Gold tickets (another debate entirely) that they can adapt when they introduce something – and there was a promise that the club would be accommodating for a change that is ostensibly to get rid of people who buy a season ticket and either never go or just go to the big games. How accommodating they will be though, with many thousands of tickets held by those who live in another city or country and are at the mercy of broadcast companies rearranging kick-off times, remains to be seen.

That quota has followed on from Flexi Gold to further ask the question of what a season ticket fundamentally is and what an owner should be able to do with it, but attendance has also been challenged by a clampdown on transferring tickets. Where fans used to be able to send their ticket to any other season ticket holder, now it is only a select few pre-designated members that each one can choose.

Prominent City fans who appear on official club channels have been publicly critical of this, with Big Steve making the changes a major factor in empty seats when he spoke recently: “There’s been a massive change in the ticket policy at Manchester City. If you’ve got a season ticket now and you want to give it to your mate or you want to give it to your son or your pal to take his lad, it’s literally impossible to do that.

“You used to be able to transfer your ticket to a season ticket holder, now you can’t. You’ve got to be on your registered list of people you can transfer to, and how do you know who’s available for what game? You can’t transfer it to a season ticket holder and they’re just making it difficult.

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“The other night I was in corporate and I had three tickets spare. I literally couldn’t transfer them to anyone to give them away, so the seats are going empty. They want me to sell the ticket back to the club but then the ticket ends up on Viagogo and all of a sudden your group of mates are sat there and three guys turn up who have paid a load to get there. City have got it all wrong and this is not going to be the end of it.”

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Both minimum attendance quotas and the tightening of ticket transfer were brought in by the club with the intention of boosting the atmosphere and clamping down on safety fears – the number one concern highlighted by fans in the 1894 survey last year. Limiting the unknown people who could get a ticket or flog it on seems a good idea, but the reality has in fact been reducing the number of City fans who feel like they can go to matches or introduce their friends or family to games.

Fans having to use burner phones that just have tickets on to be able to pass around physically because they can no longer electronically send on their ticket is an awfully long way to have travelled from five to ten years ago when the former CEO was talking of how easy he wanted to make it to build as big and wide a fanbase as possible and get 60,000 bums on seats ever week.

And while fans may feel safer, the resentment towards third party ticket sellers will only grow while the club has nine official websites that it uses and others are still able to buy up chunks of tickets for basically every game. City say that there is no guarantee that the unofficial sites actually have the tickets they claim to, but unless or until it becomes more transparent, fans will be suspicious.

When loyal fans such as Sean Riley are being knocked back in their efforts to represent the fanbase on the City Matters panel, a club that is getting more and more support globally still has plenty to do to stop its local core from getting fed up. The next few months have to be spent wisely because they could make an impact for years – especially with the expanded North Stand representing the final major expansion of the stadium.

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If the last two months have brought these problems to a head, they are likely to retreat beneath the surface again for the rest of the season. The business end of the campaign starts in March, the weather gets warmer, there are more people around, and there are more than enough Blues wanting to fill the stadium to support the team as Guardiola repeatedly calls for.

The club have already been in dialogue with City Matters about more tweaks to ticket transfer and will look at how the introduction of attendance requirements has gone. They will also be well down the road with setting prices for next season that will have to be competitive and reasonable, not least with 6,000 extra tickets to sell for every match.

City are swimming against the tide, with more and more supporters of all clubs being put off attending games by changes in the matchday experience including VAR, kick-off times moved at short notice, pricing, and atmosphere. It is not just the Etihad where there have been empty seats.

But at the same time, the club have to make sure they are doing everything possible not to add to those issues for their own supporters. The last few weeks have highlighted that a full house every week is not guaranteed if City do not pay attention to what some of their most loyal fans are saying.

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Fleeing tourists accuse Dubai Government of trying to ‘cover up’ impact of war on UAE

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Daily Record

One Brit who escaped said: “We watched the rockets in the skies and then saw the official accounts from the Government. They were simply not right and did not match reality. You realised it was part of the propaganda war.”

Tens of thousands of British workers and tourists have fled the UAE since Iran retaliated following Israel and the United States launching surprise attacks last month.

But the Dubai Government has been accused of trying to “cover up” the war’s impact on the city by putting strict rules in place in a bid to “protect its image”.

Tourists, influencers and social media commentators are not allowed to show any footage of Iranian rockets as it faces losing billions of pounds in tourism revenue.

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The World Travel and Tourism Council predicted visitor spending in the UAE would reach £46bn in 2025. Dubai recorded almost 19.6 million visitors in the year leading up to February 2026, a five percent increase.

A 60-year-old from London was one of 21 people of various nationalities arrested for filming missiles in the sky.

The campaign group ‘Detained in Dubai’ is helping them.

Ben Keith, an international human rights barrister who has represented many of those arrested in Dubai, said: “They want to show that the UAE is safe for foreign tourists and workers.

“They do not want to show any images of the missiles getting through. They will do anything to protect the image of Dubai.”

One Brit who escaped over the desert with his family to Oman told the Mirror: “We watched the rockets in the skies and then saw the official accounts from the Government.

“They were simply not right and did not match reality. You realised it was part of the propaganda war.”

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UAE’s defence systems stopped more than 90 percent of 1,700 Iranian projectiles. But military installations and the Fairmont Hotel, located on Dubai’s famous tree-shaped island, were dramatically hit.

The airport, one of the busiest aviation hubs in the world, had to close.

Attacks on two data centres briefly left Dubai residents unable to use their phones for digital payments. British financial giant Standard Chartered evacuated its entire staff from the prestigious Dubai International Financial Centre after an Iranian threat to target economic and banking interests linked to the US and Israel.

Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard listed the tech giants Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle among targeted US companies, warning people to stay at least a kilometre away from banks. But any foreigner, including holidaymakers, who causes “reputational harm” to Dubai can face fines of up to £200,000, as well as a decade or even life in prison. And that includes any footage of Iranian attacks.

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Campaign groups report that WhatsApp video and voice calls are banned because their encryption makes them harder for the regime to ‘spy on’.

The Gulf Cooperation Council has refused US offers to enter the conflict, as one Dubai businessman stated that ‘reckless American decisions plunged the region into war.’ And the crisis has not only impacted Dubai tourism. It has hit all of the Gulf states, including 2022 World Cup host Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which will hold the 2034 tournament.

A mum and daughter from Falmouth, Cornwall, who did not want to give their full names before they were back home, enjoyed a holiday in Oman and elected to stay on even after the missiles hit. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Bella, 33, said: “We feel so sorry for the locals. Our guide kept taking calls from people who were cancelling trips. It is their livelihoods, and yet it has nothing to do with them.”

Mum Virginia, a retired scuba diving instructor, added: “One holidaymaker went to the airport, but returned when her flight to Australia was cancelled. It has been terrible for so many here.”

Jamie Mallon, 54, a financial advisor from Southampton, was convinced that the World Trade Centre of Abu Dhabi was a target for Iran because of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York. Jamie and his daughter, Izzy, 27, were caught in the terrifying spread of the war in the Middle East within minutes of arrival. One security alert on his phone told him 1,184 drones were fired at Abu Dhabi in one day along with eight cruise missiles.

Like thousands of UK nationals, they fled across the desert to fly home from Oman. Last week, 168,000 Brits had registered their presence across Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

More than 12,000 Brits were repatriated from the UAE on Government chartered aircraft and scheduled flights.

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Why Pep Guardiola is not on the touchline for West Ham vs Man City Premier League clash

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Manchester Evening News

Manchester City No.2 Pep Lijnders will be the leading man in the dugout for the Blues at West Ham on Saturday night

Pep Guardiola was not allowed to be in the Manchester City dugout for the Premier League game with West Ham. The Blues boss must serve a second suspension of the season after picking up his sixth yellow card last week.

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City’s manager picked up yellow cards in Premier League games with Arsenal, Forest, and Brighton earlier in the campaign to mean he had to sit out the FA Cup game with Exeter. And he has since picked up three more to mean he must now miss two games.

The rules cover both the Premier League and FA Cup but not the Carabao Cup or Champions League, meaning Guardiola will be allowed on the touchline for games next week against Real Madrid and Arsenal. However, for the West Ham game and the Liverpool FA Cup match next month he will only be able to communicate with his staff from the stands, with Pep Lijnders taking charge.

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Guardiola was fortunate not to get a red card at Newcastle last week, only picking up a yellow despite remonstrating on a number of occasions about the officiating both during the game and after it.

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Asked about the incidents afterwards, he said: “When Jeremy Doku dribbles past (Kieran) Trippier and goes alone to the box and is being pulled form behind, I’m not asking for a yellow card but please – it’s a foul.

“I will defend my team. We have all the records in this country -all of them. Despite everything, we have all of them. And we have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I have always wanted this record and now I have it. Two game banned now and I will go on holidays.”

As the following question began, Guardiola pressed on: “Oh my God. Oh. My. God. There are things that still after 10 years I cannot understand. Review the action, review the action. Of course I’m going to defend Doku, and all my teams. They continue to do it.”

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Three things we learned from Chelsea FC loss as Liam Rosenior trend gives cause for concern

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Three things we learned from Chelsea FC loss as Liam Rosenior trend gives cause for concern

Chelsea searched for an equaliser after the break, but Newcastle held on for a precious three points.

Liam Rosenior’s attack confounded

One of the key themes of Rosenior’s reign has been Chelsea’s ability to sustain and take advantage of attacking pressure.

For the first time tonight, though, Chelsea looked stifled in attack as they failed to score in the league for just the third time this season.

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Despite having 67 per cent of the ball, Chelsea recorded fewer shots on target than Newcastle, who made the most of their rare forays forward.

This was a frustrating performance and a huge setback for Chelsea, who could take positives, even in defeat, from their display against Paris Saint-Germain.

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Chelsea were well off the pace as Newcastle perfectly executed their game plan at Stamford Bridge

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Away to the Champions League holders, Chelsea looked confident, unafraid to take risks in possession, and crucially, were sharp when presented with opportunities.

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By contrast, they were toothless as Newcastle came to west London, soaked up pressure and came away with a rare three points.

This will be a hard lesson for Rosenior to take. Unlike in previous games, this was a performance utterly devoid of positives to build on.

Chelsea stumble in Champions League race

Chelsea were the first of the Champions League-chasing sides to play this weekend. Tonight was a great opportunity for the Blues to lay down a marker.

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Meghan Markle’s former love interest worlds away from Suits

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Daily Mirror

Patrick J Adams has opened up about his new role in The Madison, a modern Western series created by Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan

Meghan Markle’s former co-star Patrick J Adams is a far cry from Suits in the new Paramount+ contemporary Western series, The Madison.

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Conceived by Yellowstone genius Taylor Sheridan, the six-part series tracks the Clyburns, a wealthy New York family who are abruptly compelled to move to rural Montana following a tragic loss.

Michelle Pfeiffer heads up the series as matriarch Stacy Clyburn, who relocates to her husband Preston’s (played by Kurt Russell) picturesque ranch house by the Montana River with her two daughters, Paige (Elle Chapman) and Abigail (Beau Garrett).

Suits actor Adams takes on the role of Russell, the city-dwelling investment banker spouse of Paige, who grapples with adjusting to the rigours of life in the wilderness.

Speaking exclusively to Reach at The Madison’s London premiere, Adams reminisced: “My first impression was how cool it is that he’s there for this journey. Because, at first I was like, this seems like a guy who’d probably be like ‘I’m gonna stay home and work. You go do your thing in Montana’”, reports the Express.

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“So I was just really impressed that he showed up no matter what, to be this uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment.

“But never is there a doubt that he’s gonna do it, because he loves these people and he’s gonna show up for them. Whatever the seed of that was, I had a lot of respect for that.”

In the first three episodes, released today (Saturday, 14th March) on Paramount+, Russell and Paige strive to solidify their bond whilst courageously navigating the challenges of their new surroundings, often with comical outcomes.

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This is a stark contrast from Adams’ portrayal of the suave, unlicensed solicitor Michael James Ross in the USA Network drama Suits, where he starred alongside Meghan Markle as Rachel Elizabeth Zane for seven series.

Reflecting on his time on the show, he revealed: “I shot a show for years in a studio on the outskirts of Toronto, so now, every day, to drive through the most beautiful state in the world and just be by this river all day, it’s unspeakably beautiful.”

He added: “And inspiring, it does so much of the work for you. If you ever feel uninspired or you’re not sure how you feel, you just look around and look at the sky and look at the mountains and watch the sun go down. That’s all you need, it’s a magical place.”

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Numerous fans are poised to be captivated by Sheridan’s expansive new family drama, with another trio of episodes arriving in a week’s time.

Viewers also have reason to rejoice as The Madison has already been renewed and even filmed its second series, so anticipate the Clyburns’ saga to resume imminently.

The Madison continues next Saturday on Paramount+.

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what a new study says about menopause treatment

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what a new study says about menopause treatment

Hormone therapy is widely used to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats. But scientists have long debated whether it affects dementia risk.

A new study adds another piece to this puzzle. It suggests that an Alzheimer’s biomarker may help identify which women are more vulnerable to dementia with certain hormone therapies.

Researchers analysed blood samples from 2,766 women recruited into a clinical trial in 1996 to 1999. They then followed participants until 2021 to examine whether levels of plasma p-tau217 at the start of the study were linked to people developing dementia, and whether this relationship differed depending on whether participants had used hormone therapy.

Plasma p-tau217 is a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, a measurable biological signal of the condition. Higher levels in the blood are linked to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s.

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Differences between a healthy and Alzheimer’s affected brain,
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The study compared women who received a placebo or two types of hormone therapy. One was combined hormone therapy containing oestrogen and progesterone, usually prescribed for women who still have their womb. The other was oestrogen-only therapy, typically given after hysterectomy.

Women with higher levels of the Alzheimer’s biomarker had a substantially greater risk of developing dementia. In the study’s main analysis, higher baseline p-tau217 levels were associated with about three times the risk.

However, the relationship differed depending on the type of hormone therapy used. Among women assigned to combined hormone therapy, higher biomarker levels were linked to roughly four times the risk of dementia. This pattern was not seen among women using oestrogen-only therapy.

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The association was strongest in certain groups, including women aged over 70, white women and those carrying the APOE4 genotype, a genetic variant that increases a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists think the difference between therapies may relate to how hormones interact with Alzheimer’s biology. Oestrogen may help protect brain cells and influence how the brain processes amyloid and tau proteins that accumulate in Alzheimer’s disease. Progesterone may modify these effects in ways that are not yet fully understood.

Colleagues and I earlier found that carriers of this genetic risk factor who used hormone therapy also had worse dementia-related biomarkers than those not using hormones or not carrying the genetic risk.

Earlier evidence

Data for the new analysis came from the Women’s Health Initiative studies, a large programme of clinical trials examining the long-term health effects of hormone therapy.

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One component of this programme, the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study, examined whether hormone therapy influenced dementia risk. The 2003 study found that combined hormone therapy roughly doubled the risk of dementia among women aged 65 and older. The wider hormone therapy trial was later stopped earlier than planned because overall risks, including breast cancer, stroke and blood clots, outweighed the benefits.

These findings applied to women who began hormone therapy after age 65. At the time, hormone therapy was often prescribed long-term to prevent conditions such as osteoporosis. Today it is usually started earlier, around menopause, which occurs at about age 50.

After these results were published, many women stopped taking hormone therapy, including those near menopause.

Later research suggested a more nuanced picture. Follow-up analyses of women who started hormone therapy between the ages of 50 and 54 found no evidence that treatment affected cognitive function when assessed six to seven years after the trial ended.

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The 2003 WHIMS study linked combined hormone therapy to dementia risk in women over 65. The findings led many women to stop HRT, even though most begin treatment around menopause.
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Similar findings have been reported in other clinical trials of relatively healthy women who began hormone therapy close to menopause. These studies suggest that up to ten years of combined hormone therapy appears generally safe but does not provide measurable cognitive benefits.

The picture looks different when hormone therapy is started later in life.

Different results in older women

Among women who began hormone therapy after age 65 in the Women’s Health Initiative studies, overall cognitive performance declined when tested around age 70. This decline was particularly noticeable in women who already had lower cognitive function at the start of the study.

Further evidence came from a 2010 analysis of the same group of women. Eight years after joining the study, MRI scans showed trends towards smaller volumes in the hippocampus and frontal lobes among older women using combined hormone therapy.

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Shrinking in the hippocampus is commonly seen in Alzheimer’s disease and may indicate that combined hormone therapy could worsen existing brain vulnerability in some older women.

New findings

The new analysis adds further evidence and is consistent with meta-analyses by my colleagues and me of national registry data showing increased Alzheimer’s risk in older women using combination hormone therapy but not oestrogen alone. A smaller increase was also seen in women nearer menopause when treatment lasted more than five years.

Menopausal symptoms themselves may also play a role. Severe hot flushes and night sweats have been linked to a higher risk of dementia when they occur later in life. Women with these symptoms are also more likely to use hormone therapy, making the effects of symptoms harder to separate from treatment.

Symptom severity is also associated with other dementia risk factors, including smoking and obesity, poor sleep, and stress and alcohol use.

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What does this mean for women?

Importantly, this study does not show that hormone therapy itself causes dementia. Instead, it suggests that biological risk markers may help identify women who could be more vulnerable when treatment begins later in life.

Overall, the relationship between hormone therapy and dementia risk appears to depend on when treatment starts, whether someone already has underlying risk factors, and how long therapy is used.

Starting combined hormone therapy later in life, particularly after age 65, may increase the risk of cognitive decline in some women. But studies have generally not found the same risks when treatment begins around menopause and is used for shorter periods.

Taking hormone therapy for five years or less when started around menopause has not been linked to increased cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trials or in most national registry studies.

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Because most women use hormone therapy for a limited time to manage menopausal symptoms, it is unlikely to increase dementia risk when started around menopause.

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Wales player ratings v Italy as new stars come of age amid captain’s courage

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Wales Online

This was a much better performance from Wales who claimed their first win in the Six Nations since March 2023

Wales won a Six Nations game for the first time in three years as they claimed a 31-17 victory over Italy at the Principality Stadium.

Steve Tandy’s side scored four tries in total with Aaron Wainwright (twice), Dewi Lake and Dan Edwards touching down. Edwards also contributed 11 extra points from the kicking tee, including a 40-metre drop goal.

Here are the Wales player ratings.

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15. Louis Rees-Zammit 7

The Wales full-back looked very threatening with ball in hand linking up very well with both Ellis Mee and Josh Adams.

Rees-Zammit was also strong under the high-ball.

14. Ellis Mee 8

Mee was excellent under the high ball, and he chased very well. The Scarlets man looked physical in contact and made a couple of incisive breaks.

He also got his body underneath an Italian player to stop a try in the second half.

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13. Eddie James 7

The 23-year-old put in some huge hits and made some excellent reads in defence. James carried very well getting over the gain-line while his distribution was also very good.

12. Joe Hawkins 7

The Scarlets centre carried well while his distribution helped cut open the Italian defence.

Hawkins’ partnership with Eddie James has also improved over the past four Test matches.

11. Josh Adams 7

The experienced winger was as solid as ever under the high ball and defended well as usual.

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Adams also looked a threat with ball in hand and seemed more like his old self.

10. Dan Edwards 8

The Ospreys man controlled the game and kicked well out of hand.

Edwards was a threat with ball in hand showing his pace to score his second international try while he also got the backline moving well.

He plays with so much confidence and even kicked a drop goal from 40 metres out.

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9. Tomos Williams 7

The 31-year-old was a constant threat with ball in hand keeping the Italy backrow honest throughout.

He kicked well out of hand and put in a tremendous try-saving tackle on Tommaso Allan.

8. Aaron Wainwright 8 (Star man)

Wales’ best player throughout the course of this Six Nations and it was no different in the final round.

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Wainwright hit a superb angle to power his way over the line for Wales’ opening try.

7. James Botham 8

The Cardiff backrower put in another huge shift making 15 tackles while he also carried very well.

His work at the breakdown was his main attribute ensuring Wales got clean ball at the ruck while also effectively slowing Italy’s down.

6. Alex Mann 7

It was another huge shift from the Cardiff backrower who put in 11 tackles and was also very effective at the breakdown.

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One of Wales’ most improved players.

5. Ben Carter 8

The Dragons lock has come of age over the course of the Six Nations and is now a first choice player.

Carter was given the responsibility of calling the lineouts, an area of the game in which Wales excelled against the Azzurri.

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4. Dafydd Jenkins 7

The Exeter Chiefs lock has been consistently excellent for Wales throughout the Six Nations.

Jenkins got through a mountain of unseen work yet again, making 12 tackles while he was also very effective at the set-piece.

3. Tomas Francis 7

At the start of the Six Nations Tandy said Francis was one of the first players he spoke to upon taking the job.

The Wales coach knows the importance of a strong scrummaging tighthead and Francis has been worth his weight in gold.

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He only lasted 37 minutes this time around due to injury but in that time he was excellent.

2. Dewi Lake 8

The Ospreys star led from the front making 13 carries and consistently got Wales over the gain-line.

Lake has improved immeasurably since the opening round defeat at Twickenham and has been nothing short of outstanding in his courageous leadership.

1. Rhys Carre 8

The Wales prop was outstanding yet again carrying extremely well and even winning a penalty at the breakdown late in the first-half.

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Carre also scrummaged very well as Wales took the Italians to the cleaners in this area.

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Replacements

16. Ryan Elias 6

The Scarlets hooker carried well and was solid at the lineout.

17. Nicky Smith 6

Smith scrummaged well and got through a lot of work.

18. Archie Griffin 5

The Bath prop was busy around the park but blotted his copybook when he got sent to the sin bin.

19. Adam Beard 5

Solid if not spectacular.

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20. Olly Cracknell 5

Solid with a few strong carries.

21. Kieran Hardy N/A

Not enough time.

22. Jarrod Evans 5

Solid.

23. Blair Murray N/A

Not enough time.

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Interstate rivalry heats up as Chicago Bears flirt with leaving Soldier Field for Indiana

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Interstate rivalry heats up as Chicago Bears flirt with leaving Soldier Field for Indiana

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A turf war over a football team is developing between two Midwestern states with a sometimes-discordant history.

The storied Chicago Bears want to leave historic Soldier Field, where they’ve played for half a century. Indiana lawmakers are attempting to lure them from the Windy City with a plan to finance and build a domed stadium in Hammond, Indiana, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from their current home on Lake Michigan’s shore.

The Illinois General Assembly has responded with legislation that would give tax breaks to so-called megaprojects of at least $100 million, a plan that would encompass the Bears’ proposal to build a complex in the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, about the same distance from Soldier Field as Hammond.

Critics complain it’s a bad deal for Illinois, where property taxes are already among the highest in the nation — especially when taxpayers still owe hundreds of millions of dollars on a Soldier Field renovation from two decades ago.

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Here’s a look at what’s shaping up to be a showdown.

Why the big deal?

The Bears, one of only two remaining NFL founding members, are legend. Their nine championships, including a Super Bowl win, are second only to the rival Green Bay Packers — though recent decades have brought mostly heartbreak. The franchise carries an $8.9 billion price tag, among the most valuable of the NFL’s 32 teams, according to Forbes.

Born in the central Illinois city of Decatur in 1920, the Bears have called Chicago home for 105 years. Losing them to the Hoosier State would be a major thumb in the eye.

What’s wrong with Soldier Field?

With 61,500 seats, it’s the NFL’s smallest. The Bears have always rented their facilities — the Cubs’ Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970, and Soldier Field, maintained by the Chicago Park District, since. Like most teams, they want to own a stadium, giving them control over operations, scheduling and revenue streams from ticket sales, concessions, parking, naming rights and more.

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And Soldier Field is open air. An enclosed facility would allow for other marquee sporting events: Super Bowls, NCAA Final Fours or WrestleMania, for instance.

Why the imbroglio between the states?

Along with the states’ established cultural and economic differences and an intense college basketball rivalry, the political fissure between Democrat-dominated Chicago and conservative Indiana has widened. It amped up last year when Indiana adopted a commission to study changing the state’s boundaries to include some central Illinois counties whose voters have approved ballot measures calling for secession from Chicagoland.

Arlington Heights, back to Chicago, to Hammond

The Bears have threatened to leave Chicago previously. When they broached moving in 1975, then-Mayor Richard J. Daley replied, “Like hell they will.”

But the City of Big Shoulders heaved an anxious sigh in 2023 when the Bears paid about $200 million for a 326-acre (132-hectare) former horse-racing track in Arlington Heights. They have envisioned a $5 billion, taxpayer-assisted development for a domed stadium and campus of housing, hotels, entertainment and retail space.

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In 2024, the Bears offered a $5 billion plan, partially taxpayer-funded, for an enclosed stadium next to Soldier Field, which garnered little interest in the capital of Springfield. Late last fall, the team turned to Indiana.

Where the proposals stand

Indiana’s lure creates the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance, construct and lease a domed stadium near Wolf Lake in Hammond. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed it into law on Feb. 26. The Bears would agree to a 35-year lease. Borrowed state money would cover the as-yet-unknown cost of construction, repaid by increased local hospitality taxes.

In Illinois, majority Democrats have advanced legislation in the House that would provide incentives for any so-called megaproject of at least $500 million — or less, down to $100 million, depending on the number of jobs created. Developers would pay property taxes frozen at the parcel’s pre-construction value for as long as 45 years. During that time, they would make annual payments in lieu of taxes negotiated with local governments. There would also be a sales tax exemption on building materials for up to 15 years.

Critics claim weakness in Illinois plan

Opponents say the Illinois legislation, with its decades-long property tax freeze, would simply mean increased taxes for homeowners and other businesses — the payment in lieu of taxes would be a bonus.

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Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who supports the plan, last week countered that the proposal would encourage development on land that isn’t producing property taxes while ensuring increased revenue for local governments.

Meanwhile, a substantial debt remains on the last accommodation. Taxpayers in 2001 put up $399 million to finance a $587 million renovation of Soldier Field. With interest, the remaining tab is $467 million, according to the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

The Bears’ $7 million annual lease runs through 2033. Breaking it would cost the Bears a $10.5 million penalty for each year left on the agreement.

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Love Island host Maya Jama ready to move on from presenting as she eyes up new career

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Daily Mirror

TV personality Maya Jama has reportedly decided she would like to go back to her first choice of career, acting, despite giving up after becoming ‘disheartened’ as a teenager

Love Island host Maya Jama has admitted she “is ready to move on” from presenting, as she eyes up a new career in acting. Drama was actually the TV star’s first love, with Maya, 31, auditioning for Channel 4‘s hit teen series Skins when she was just 15.

Despite getting to the final stages, she didn’t make it into the cast, which launched the careers of the likes of Nicholas Hoult, Dev Patel and Daniel Kaluuya. And now the Bristol-born star, who is in a relationship with Man City footballer Ruben Dias, is ready to leave presenting to go back into acting.

Speaking to the BBC, Maya revealed she got “disheartened” after having to many unsuccessful auditions as a teen, leading her to give up on her dream. But now, after filming has wrapped for the upcoming release of the second season of Netflix crime thriller The Gentlemen, Maya’s love for the art has been reignited.

She told the broadcaster that her “dream role” would be to play a villain, but she “naturally fell into presenting roles” after starting out on YouTube. After a few years on social media, she made the move to TV to co-host ITV game show Cannonball, as well as MOBO Awards in 2017.

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The year after she booked to host reality show The Circle and then ITV2 panel show Don’t Hate the Playaz. Of course, Jama’s big break came in 2022 when she replaced Laura Whitmore as the host for hit ITV reality dating show, Love Island.

Maya added: “I always remember when I started being like ‘how on Earth am I going to get on primetime TV as a girl from Bristol doing YouTube videos’ – it seemed like a massive reach.”

She added: “I naturally fell into presenting when I was young because I got to be myself on camera and I’m interested in humans”, adding: “Now it just feels like the doors opened up again [to get into acting]”. Maya said she is “ready to do something else after presenting for so long.”

Maya reportedly plays the glam wife of a friend of lead character Eddie Horniman, alongside the likes of Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone. She spent time in 2025 filming at Gloucestershire’s Grade II listed building Badminton House, which is Eddie’s home.

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The TV personality soft-launched her new gig with the streamer on social media at the start of last year. She teased her followers on Instagram when she posted a snap of a cast list with the Netflix logo on it.

She also shared a peek of a Netflix script, and posted a photo of her and Skins star Kaya, who plays mob boss Susie Glass in the show. Further adding to the speculation around what is next for Maya, she posted a photo of a Netflix mug, with fans then certain she was working on something big.

A source told The Sun : “Maya is over the moon to land a role in such a massive show with Guy Ritchie at the helm. The Gentlemen was one of 2024’s biggest series and it’s such a glossy, sexy show. It’s a perfect fit.”

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‘Dangerous’ Welsh coast path closed as walkers relive hairy moments

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Wales Online

Two sections of the Wales Coast Path have been closed due to dangerous conditions, with walkers saying they ‘literally nearly died’ on paths covered in mud and water above steep drops to the sea

Two stretches of the Wales Coast Path have been shut in Gwynedd due to “dangerous conditions”. Walkers had reported dangerous areas along the route on the northern Llŷn Peninsula.

The affected sections are between Traeth Towyn and Porth Ychain near Tudweliog; and from Porthor to Anelog slightly further west. Alternative routes are in place.

On social media, a walker reported the footpath has been “slowly slipping for a while”. Another said it was “where we literally nearly died”. A third remarked: “Can’t believe we made it round.”

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In late January, a wooden walkway was engulfed by a large sinkhole in the same location, between Trefgraig Plas and Bodferin near Llangwnnadl. Members of the public were urged “not walk past under any circumstances”, reports North Wales Live.

The recent closures followed accounts that Pen Llŷn sections were submerged in mud and water above a precipitous drop to the sea. Cyngor Gwynedd said they were shut for safety purposes. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

A spokesperson said: “This decision has been made to protect the path users, and we kindly ask that the public avoids the area and uses the alternative route for the time being.

“Cyngor Gwynedd’s Wales Coast Path team are monitoring the situation closely, and they will provide an update in the coming weeks.”

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A succession of closures have impacted the 870-mile route following a winter of persistent rainfall. Eighteen sections are presently inaccessible.

While some are connected to construction projects, the bulk have resulted from erosion and landslides.

Among the most recent incidents was a significant landslip at Porth Swtan, Llanfaethlu. Also on Anglesey, a landslide affected the coastal path at Traeth Lligwy, requiring a diversion along road and footpath connecting to Porth y Môr.

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Love Island’s Alex Bowen undergoes vasectomy after Olivia’s ‘very scary close call’

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Love Island star Olivia Bowen has opened up about how scary the birth of her second child was and how that has affected not only her parenting, but whether or not she would have more children

Olivia Bowen has said a “close call” during the birth of her daughter left her “anxious as a mum” and explained how her pregnancy led to her husband’s vasectomy. The Love Island star gave birth to her second child, Siena, August 2025.

The star, who shares her children with fellow Love Islander Alex Bowen, had already suffered heartbreak during the pregnancy, as she was originally expecting twins but suffered a miscarriage at eight weeks. As such, she only carried Siena to term. Olivia has now explained that the birth was difficult and that caused her and husband to decide not to have more children. They already shared a son called Abel.

READ MORE: Too Hot To Handle stars reveal they are expecting twins in sweet pregnancy postREAD MORE: Alex Bowen devastated by friend’s suicide as he makes desperate plea

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“I had a really bad haemorrhage during the birth,” Olivia told Fabulous. “It was a close call, so it was very scary for both of us.” She added that she felt the her “close call” changed her parenting.

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“I think those things have made me a bit more anxious as a mum. I don’t think I was like this with Abel – I remember being more laid-back,” she said. “But if Siena’s got the smallest of snotty noses or a bit of a cough, I’m Googling it as I get so nervous.”

She went on to say that she and Alex decided they did not want anymore children. This was for a variety of reasons, including losing Siena’s twin, as Olivia felt she couldn’t “do that again”. To make sure they do not have anymore children, Alex underwent a vasectomy.

Olivia added that there was something “bittersweet” about knowing she would not be having anymore children. She said she didn’t want to stop breastfeeding Siena too soon as it “feels sad” that she “will never do it again”.

Alex’s vasectomy is not the only major parenting decision the two have made recently. Olivia and Alex also decided to move their whole family to the UK as “it feels scary” to raise their children in the UK.

Olivia told Fabulous that she is “scared to raise a son” and that it feels “heavy to be a parent in the UK”. This prompted their move to Alicante in Spain, especially as Abel enjoys being outside.

She said that the “lifestyle” in Spain makes sense for their family and that they are looking at schools in Marbella. Abel is due to start school in September, but Olivia explained that she and Alex were thinking about deferring him until January so that they could “get him used” to Spain.

Olivia and Alex first met in Spain. The two met when they both appeared on series two of Love Island in 2016, where they spent weeks in a villa in Mallorca. As that series’ winners, Nathan and Cara Massey had a brief split in 2017 before getting back together and getting married, Olivia and Alex are Love Island’s longest-lasting couple.

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If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at the Miscarriage Association. You can call them on 01924 200799 or email info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk

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