President Donald Trump adores the sound of the ongoing renovations at the White House, but the same cannot be said for first lady Melania Trump, the president told reporters on Friday.

“It makes me happy,” he said of hearing the project take shape. “My wife doesn’t love it,” he added.

The Independent has contacted the first lady’s office for comment.

Heavy machinery has been active on the White House grounds since October, when the president unilaterally began construction on his planned $400 million ballroom complex.

That’s music to the former real estate developer’s ears.

“I love the sound of concrete,” Trump added on Friday. “I love the sound of pile drivers.”

To build the 22,000-square-foot ballroom, the president demolished the East Wing, the site of the first lady’s offices.

“She loved her little tiny office,” the president told Fox News in November, though he added that Melania thinks the new designs for the East Wing are “great.”

Privately, the first lady has reportedly sought to distance herself from the renovation.

She has expressed concern about the East Wing teardown and has told associates it wasn’t her project, The Wall Street Journal reported last year, citing unnamed administration officials.

The privately-funded ballroom build-out has generated widespread criticism from architects, preservation groups and members of the public, who sent in thousands of negative comments before a National Capital Planning Commission meeting about the project earlier this month.

The commission, chaired by a Trump ally, has a final vote on the ballroom project scheduled for April 2.

The project continues to face legal scrutiny.

While hearing a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a federal judge this week accused the administration of offering “shifting” justifications for what gave it the authority to begin the renovation project without consulting Congress or federal planning bodies.

The Justice Department claims the president already has authority under federal law to make improvements and alterations at the White House, reasoning that Washington, D.C., federal Judge Richard Leon appeared to doubt.

Calling the new compound a mere alteration of the White House “takes some brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary,” he reportedly said.

The ballroom project could also face legal challenges due to the officials that Trump has appointed to the National Capital Planning Commission, who lack the required experience in city or regional planning to serve on the body, according to some watchdog groups.

“Those appointments were not just a crude political power play,” Jon Golinger of the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen told commissioners at a meeting earlier this month. “They were unlawful, and they destroy the credibility of the vote on this project if those individuals vote for it.”

As the fate of the East Wing hangs in the balance, Trump allies are reportedly pushing to alter other elements of the White House design.

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., a Trump appointee who chairs the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews public projects in the capital, told The Washington Post he is proposing to replace the columns on the north facade of the White House.

“Corinthian is the highest order [of column], and that’s what our other two branches of government have,” he told the paper.

“Why the White House didn’t originally use them, at least on the north front, which is considered the front door, is beyond me,” he added, noting he hadn’t discussed the idea yet with the president.

In a rare check on the administration’s ever-expanding construction agenda, the Commission of Fine Arts recently delayed a vote on a new screening center development for White House visitors, reportedly as commissioners sought substantial design changes because the proposal called for too large of a building.

Chronic pain has long been known to be associated with depression.

Among adults with chronic pain, around 40% exhibit clinical symptoms of depression. But why is it that only some people with chronic pain develop depression?

Researchers have long been wondering why this happens – and what goes on in the brain. If we can answer this question, we may be able to prevent depression from developing.

Our recent article, published in Science, suggests the answer to this question does indeed lie in the brain.

To conduct our study, we analysed neuroimaging brain scans from 14,462 participants from the UK Biobank cohort. We compared the following groups of participants: people with chronic pain for at least seven years who did not have symptoms of depression, and people with chronic pain who also developed depressive symptoms.

For the latter, the depressive symptoms were present either for the entire seven-year period, or they developed after two years or four years. This enabled an analysis of the development of depression associated with chronic pain, using brain imaging.

These neuroimaging analyses revealed something surprising was taking place in the brain – specifically in a structure called the hippocampus. The hippocampus has important functions in learning and memory.

In the participants who reported chronic pain without depressive symptoms, they showed modest increases in hippocampal volume and improved memory performance. This is consistent with the brain attempting to cope with the stress of the pain.

In contrast, people experiencing both chronic pain and depression exhibited reduced hippocampal volume and impaired cognitive performance. Further analyses of these scans suggested these changes developed progressively over time. This indicates that the hippocampus may initially adapt to persistent pain, but it gradually becomes vulnerable when pain continues over long periods.

Importantly, similar patterns were observed across multiple categories of chronic pain – including back, stomach, knee and hip pain, as well as headaches. This suggests that the findings were not specific to a single type of chronic pain condition.

We then studied how these brain changes unfolded in people with chronic pain by using rodent animal models. This research found that in animals there was a similar sequence of changes in the volume of the hippocampus, accompanied by increased neural activity. Moderate improvements in cognitive functioning occurred initially, but this was then followed by anxiety-like behaviour, which later transitioned to depressive-like symptoms and poorer memory.

The hippocampus has long been known to be involved in emotional memories and is highly susceptible to chronic stress. The hippocampus’s plasticity (the ability to form new nerve cells) is known to be involved in coping with chronic stress.

Chronic stress has also been implicated in exacerbating apoptosis (nerve cell death) and suppressing adult neurogenesis – the process of producing new nerve cells in the hippocampus.

We found that a region of the hippocampus known as the dentate gyrus – one of the few areas where new brain cells continue to form in adulthood – emerged as the critical regulatory hub and the pivot for the transition from chronic pain to depression.

Early in the pain process, newly generated neurons in the dentate gyrus showed increased activity – suggesting the brain initially mounts a protective response to persistent pain. Over time, however, immune cells, known as microglia, became abnormally activated and disrupted normal neural signalling in the hippocampus.

This abnormal microglial activation appeared to mark the tipping point at which the brain’s initially protective response to pain began to fail.

Importantly, an antibiotic treatment, minocycline, suppressed abnormal microglial activation and reduced depression-like behaviour in the animal models. This treatment also preserved the structure of the hippocampus and cognitive function.

Treating pain and depression

Our findings suggest that a treatment such as minocycline could help prevent depression in people living with persistent pain — particularly if treatment is introduced early.

Of course, other psychosocial, socio-economic and genetic factors play a role in the perception of pain. Therefore, it’s likely that in some people these factors will exacerbate chronic stress and the experience of pain.

However, there are other evidence-based ways to reduce the risk of depression. In another collaborative study between Fudan University and the University of Cambridge, it was shown that seven healthy lifestyle factors, including good sleep, exercise and diet, could reduce the risk of depression by 57%. Importantly, these lifestyle factors were also associated with increased hippocampal volume, consistent with our new study.

Mindfulness training may be another strategy. This focuses on being present in the moment and minimising distraction from competing thoughts and memories. The practice is shown to improve working memory and increase hippocampal density.

À lire aussi :
How mindfulness therapy could help those left behind by depression treatment

A recent review showed that mindfulness meditation experts have increased brain grey matter, including the hippocampus. Mindfulness meditation training was also shown to lead to increased hippocampal volume.

Mindfulness practice has also been found to be beneficial for improving quality of life – not only when coping with chronic pain – and for reducing symptoms of stress and depression.

Our discovery has answered an important question that has long puzzled researchers. We showed the key role the brain’s hippocampus plays in why some chronic pain sufferers develop depression. This discovery also points to potential treatments that may prevent depression in people with chronic pain.

The brain’s coping mechanisms that we discovered may also apply more generally to other conditions where the brain has to cope with chronic stress – such as in psychological trauma.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that the man was conscious they arrived at the scene and subsequently taken to hospital.

A spokesperson for GMFRS said: “Just before 6.40pm this evening (Thursday 20 March), fire crews were called to reports of a person being struck by a train near Daisy Hill railway station in Westhoughton.

“One engine from Atherton Community Fire Station and the Technical Rescue Unit from Leigh, quickly attended the scene alongside colleagues from the British Transport Police, North West Ambulance Service and Network Rail.

“One man was conscious and breathing when crews arrived and has been taken to Salford Royal Hospital for further treatment.

“Firefighters remained in attendance for around three hours.”

Trains between Wigan and Salford have been cancelled, with disruptions expected to last until 9pm.

British Transport Police and the North West Ambulance Service have been contacted for comment.

Manchester United were left furious about “astonishing” and “baffling” refereeing decisions as two penalties were awarded and one was not in their thrilling 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

Harry Maguire’s special day – following his England recall – was spoiled by his sending off at Vitality Stadium, but it was the performance of the officials that had United fuming.

Maguire, who will return to the England squad for the first time in almost two years for upcoming friendlies with Uruguay and Japan, was sent off for pulling back Evanilson inside the box as Manchester United led 2-1 with 10 minutes to go.

Junior Kroupi subsequently scored the penalty but the decision not to award Manchester United an earlier spot-kick left interim manager Michael Carrick furious – especially after his side had been awarded a penalty for what he deemed to be a similar challenge earlier in the match.

The penalty the visitors were not given came when Amad Diallo appeared to be pulled back inside the box by Adrien Truffert, with Manchester United leading 1-0 after Bruno Fernandes’ penalty.

Carrick, who described the decisions made as “baffling”, said: “My first [thought] is he definitely got one of them wrong, because he’s given one penalty for the same thing that he’s not given one as a two-armed grab.

“So the Matheus Cunha one, he gives, the second one on Amad he doesn’t, which is, I think, almost identical, really, two hands on someone in the box, and they go over and they’re in control of the ball.

“Massive moment and I don’t understand how you can give one and not the other – it’s crazy. It’s as obvious as you can get.

“It’s clear, if that’s what he believes is a penalty to start with then the second one has to be. I don’t understand how you can’t give that. And then the goal and after that it was chaos. It’s astonishing.”

Manchester United captain Fernandes, meanwhile, felt that if Bournemouth‘s penalty was given for a foul by Maguire, then so should one for the Diallo incident.

“I think we could have gone 2-0 up, and then we ended up conceding a goal, not getting a penalty and then we get a penalty against, where more or less it’s the same situation as Amad,” he said.

“One is awarded as a penalty, the other one not. I know it’s difficult for the referee to give two penalties in the same game for the same team but what I don’t understand is why VAR doesn’t get involved in that situation.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed a new lawsuit Friday against Harvard University, saying its leadership failed to address antisemitism on campus, creating grounds for the government to freeze existing grants and seek repayment for grants already paid.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, is another salvo in a protracted battle between the administration of President Donald Trump and the elite university.

“The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures,” the Justice Department wrote in the lawsuit. It asked the court to compel Harvard to comply with federal civil rights law and to help it “recover billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies awarded to a discriminatory institution.”

The lawsuit also asks a judge to require Harvard to call police to arrest protesters blocking parts of campus and to appoint an independent monitor, approved by the government, to ensure the university complies with court orders.

In a statement, Harvard said it “cares deeply about members of our Jewish and Israeli community and remains committed to ensuring they are embraced, respected, and can thrive on our campus.”

“Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies,” the statement read.

In a pair of lawsuits filed last year by the university, Harvard has said it’s being illegally penalized for refusing to adopt the administration’s views. A federal judge sided with Harvard in September, reversing the funding cuts and calling the antisemitism argument a “smokescreen.”

Trump’s year-long battle with Harvard

The government’s new lawsuit comes after negotiations appear to have bogged down in the year-long battle, which has tested the boundaries of the government’s authority over America’s universities. What began as an investigation into allegations of campus antisemitism escalated into an all-out feud. The Trump administration slashed more than $2.6 billion in Harvard’s research funding, ended federal contracts and attempted to block Harvard from hosting international students.

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, a major association of colleges and universities, accused the administration of launching a “full scale, multi-pronged” attack on Harvard. Friday’s lawsuit, he said in an email, is just the latest attempt to pressure Harvard to agree to changes favored by the administration.

“When bullies pound on the table and don’t get what they want, they pound again,” Mitchell said.

The Trump administration’s aggressive tactics toward Harvard mark an extraordinary departure from how previous administrations have enforced civil rights law at American colleges. In the past, the government investigated allegations of civil rights violations, produced findings and typically reached an agreement with the college to bring it into compliance. Occasionally, the government levied fines and could threaten to pull federal funding. The process typically took months or years.

In contrast, Trump had been in office fewer than three months before he had frozen billions of dollars in grants to Harvard, including money for medical research. He has since tried to press the school to pay the government to end the standoff.

“The administration appears to have filed this new lawsuit to make an end run around its loss in the district courts and the pending appeal, and its failed settlement negotiations with Harvard,” said Anurima Bhargava, former chief of the Educational Opportunities Section at the U.S. Department of Justice and a senior adviser for the group Stand for Campus Freedom.

At issue: Civil rights and First Amendment rights

The Trump administration’s case has centered on allegations of discrimination against Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli students during and after pro-Palestinian demonstrations related to the Israel-Hamas war.

Officials concluded Harvard did not adequately address concerns about antisemitism that some students said kept them from going to class. During protests of the war, Trump officials said, Harvard permitted students to demonstrate against Israel’s actions in the school library and allowed a pro-Palestinian encampment to remain on campus for 20 days, “in violation of university policy.”

In its lawsuit Friday, the Justice Department also accused Harvard of failing to discipline staff or students who protested or tacitly endorsed the demonstrations by canceling class or dismissing students early.

“Harvard University has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus,” White House press secretary Liz Huston said Friday on X.

Harvard, in turn, has said the government is violating its First Amendment rights, after it defied federal demands that it limit activism on campus and change some practices for hiring and enrollment.

“The tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” attorneys for Harvard said in a lawsuit over the funding freeze.

Negotiations with Harvard have frayed

Despite their bitter dispute, Harvard and the Trump administration have held some negotiations, and the two sides have reportedly been close to reaching an agreement on multiple occasions. Last year, they were reportedly approaching a deal requiring Harvard to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and end the investigations. Several months later, Trump upped that figure to $1 billion, saying Harvard has been “behaving very badly.”

At the same time, the administration was taking steps in a civil rights investigation that could jeopardize all Harvard’s federal funding.

Last June, a federal task force said its investigation had found the university was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and faculty. The task force threatened to refer the case to the Justice Department to file a civil rights lawsuit “as soon as possible,” unless Harvard came into compliance.

When colleges are found in violation of federal civil rights law, they almost always reach compliance through voluntary agreements. Friday’s lawsuit by the Justice Department points to an extraordinarily rare impasse.

Harvard has said it strongly disagrees with the government’s civil rights finding and is committed to fighting bias.

Harvard President Alan M. Garber says the school formed a task force to combat antisemitism. The university also hired a new provost and new deans and reformed its discipline policies to make them “more consistent, fair and effective,” Garber has said.

Since he took office, Trump has targeted elite universities he believes are overrun by left-wing ideology and antisemitism. His administration has frozen billions of dollars in research grants, which colleges have come to rely on for scientific and medical research.

Several universities have reached agreements with the White House to restore funding. Some deals have included direct payments to the government, including $200 million from Columbia University. Brown University agreed to pay $50 million toward state workforce development groups.

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AP Education Writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

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Editor’s note: Previous versions of this story had incorrect timing for a federal judge’s order that reversed the Trump administration’s funding cuts at Harvard. The judge ordered the cuts reversed in September, not December.

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The presenter was quick to apologise to BBC viewers after the incident unfolded on Comic Relief.

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Presenter Davina McCall addressed people watching Comic Relief on Friday night (March 20) over Nick Mohammed’s strong language.

During the BBC show, which saw Catherine Tate reprise her role as Nan, Celebrity Traitors star Nick was given the challenge of solving eight Rubik’s Cube in one minute.

Assisting him on stage was his friend and former Celebrity Traitors co-star Joe Marler, who was dressed to impress in drag attire.

When the timer began, it was clear the comedian was flustered as at one moment he was heard remarking: “F**k” before later commenting “s**t”.

However, Nick failed to successfully solve any Rubik’s Cube at all before revealing he had been making a pattern instead.

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He said: “Ok, right. I was a little bit distracted. But, in all honesty, I was still feeling a little bit guilty for betraying Joe all those months ago.

“So, instead of actually solving the Rubik’s Cubes, I actually just had something that I did want to say to Joe.”

As he turned the items over, the red colours on the blocks spelt out the word ‘sorry’, which earned a huge round of applause from the audience, along with a hug from Joe.

However, Davina quickly addressed the explicit curse words Nick had said during his 60 seconds. She commented: “Before we go any further, we just want to apologise if anybody heard any bad language there. It was a very high-stress situation.”

Nick seemed unaware that he had sworn on live TV as he asked whether or not the ‘bad language’ Davina was referring to was down to him. The BBC star added: “I’m not sure, let’s not go over it again!”

Throughout the fundraising evening, Davina was joined by multiple to help her co-host. At first, viewers saw Joel Dommett and Catherine Tate as Nan.

Nick later joined her for the second stint of the programme before she was finally joined by Katherine Ryan to finish the event.

During the programme, Davina welcomed Greg James to reveal the final amount he had raised over the past eight days on a mammoth cycle challenge. She told the radio star he’s raised a total of £4,225,939 as the crowd erupted into applause.

He remarked: “Wow! Thank you to everyone who donated, wow.” As he stood speechless, the audience started to chant his name in support.

Comic Relief: Funny For Money is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Both sides emerge from the tunnel after a lights show at the Vitality Stadium and we are just moments away from kick-off on the south coast. Here is a reminder of how the two sides line up tonight:

Bournemouth: Petrovic; Jiménez, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Christie; Adli, Tavernier, Rayan; Evanilson.
Substitutes: Mandas, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Smith, Diakite, Kroupi, Ünal, Tóth, Milosavljevic.

Manchester United: Lammens, Dalot, Yoro, Maguire, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Diallo, Fernandes, Cunha, Mbeumo.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Fredricson, Heaven, Malacia, T. Fletcher, Mount, Ugarte, Sesko, Zirkzee.

NEW YORK (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been designated a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as federal prosecutors in New York probe his alleged ties to drug traffickers, according to people familiar with the matter and records seen by The Associated Press.

DEA records show Petro has surfaced in multiple investigations dating to 2022, many based on interviews with confidential informants. The alleged crimes the DEA has investigated include his possible dealings with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and a scheme to leverage his “total peace” plan to benefit prominent traffickers who contributed to his presidential campaign. The records also suggest the use of law enforcement to smuggle cocaine and fentanyl through Colombian ports.

The “priority target” label is reserved for suspects DEA deems to have a “significant impact” on the drug trade. It’s unclear when the DEA gave Petro that designation.

Petro denied all ties to drug traffickers and maintained he never accepted their funds during his campaign. Writing on X Friday, he argued that U.S. legal proceedings would ultimately dismantle accusations from the Colombian far right, a group he claims is actually the one involved with traffickers.

Colombia’s Embassy in Washington downplayed what it called “unverified” and anonymous reports of preliminary law enforcement investigations against Petro.

“The reported insinuations have no legal or factual basis,” the embassy said in a statement.

The inquiry

In recent months, prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan have been questioning drug traffickers about their ties to Petro and specifically about allegations the Colombian president’s representatives solicited bribes to block their extradition to the United States, according to one of the people who weren’t authorized to discuss the ongoing inquiry and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The person said it wasn’t clear whether federal prosecutors have implicated Petro in any crime.

The investigation is focusing at least in part on allegations that representatives of Petro solicited bribes from drug traffickers at the Colombian jail La Picota in exchange for a promise that they not be extradited to the U.S., one of the people said.

Petro has consistently denied allegations of drug trafficking, particularly after Trump labeled him an “illegal drug leader” and the Treasury Department sanctioned him in late 2025 for alleged ties to the trade without offering evidence.

U.S. federal prosecutors declined to comment. The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The federal inquiry was reported earlier Friday by The New York Times.

The inquiries into Petro are in the early stages, and it is not clear whether they will result in charges, according to another person familiar with the matter, adding the White House has had no role in the investigations.

The DEA records reviewed by the AP are based in part on tips from confidential sources that point to Petro’s possible involvement with a range of criminal groups that have dominated the South American drug trade for years. Those include Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel as well as the Cartel de los soles, or Cartel of the Suns, a term used to describe a loose network of corrupt, high-ranking military officers in neighboring Venezuela.

The records also cite a 2024 interview with an unnamed source who claimed Petro is utilizing former campaign aides and officials from state-run oil company Ecopetrol to launder presidential funds into foreign countries for Petro’s use upon completion of his presidency.

Ecopetrol President Ricardo Roa vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to AP, saying they “lacked all reality or logic.”

Family members under scrutiny

Petro, a former rebel leader, soared into office promising to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and reallocate state resources to addressing entrenched poverty.

A leftist politician known for winding sometimes incoherent speeches, he has regularly criticized the Trump administration over its support for Israel, bombing of drug boats in the Caribbean and likened the White House migration crackdown to “Nazi” tactics.

After one such outburst, at a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, Trump retaliated by revoking Petro’s U.S. visa. He also briefly slapped high tariffs on Colombia over Petro’s refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.

But more recently the two have shown signs of getting along. After a meeting at the White House in February, Trump described Petro as “terrific.”

Colombian authorities have for years been investigating members of Petro’s family for possible criminal acts.

His son, Nicolás Petro, was charged in 2023 with soliciting illegal campaign contributions from a convicted drug trafficker to fund a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars and homes. The younger Petro has pleaded not guilty and his father has said none of the money was used to fund his campaign.

The president’s brother, Juan Fernando Petro, has also been implicated in secret negotiations that allegedly took place with imprisoned drug traffickers to shield them from extradition to the U.S. in exchange for their disarmament.

Politics and cocaine

Politics in Colombia have long been tainted by cocaine, of which it is the world’s largest supplier. In the 1980s, drug lord Pablo Escobar was elected to the country’s Congress with the support of one of Colombia’s most traditional parties. A decade later, his rivals from the Cali cartel flooded the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper with illegal donations.

The now defunct urban guerrilla group Petro belonged to, the 19th of April Movement, has long been suspected of taking money from Escobar’s Medellin cartels as part of its deadly siege of the Supreme Court in 1985. Petro did not participate in the attack, which left several guerrillas and around half the high court’s magistrates dead. Leaders of the group have always denied any links to the cartel.

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Goodman reported from Miami. Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Mike Sisak contributed from New York and Astrid Suárez from Bogotá, Colombia.

Defending champion Jeremiah Azu narrowly missed out on a medal in “one of the best 60m races of all time” at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland.

Twelve months after claiming the first global title of his career with world indoor gold in China, Azu missed out on a return to the podium by just 0.01 seconds as he clocked 6.46 seconds in Torun.

The 24-year-old always faced fierce competition as he sought to defend his title but displayed his medal credentials by improving his personal best to 6.45 in the semi-finals – a time which moved him to second on the British all-time list behind Dwain Chambers.

But American Jordan Anthony, who arrived at the championships as the fastest man this year, ran the joint-fourth fastest time in history as he improved to 6.41 to take gold ahead of Jamaica’s Olympic and world 100m medallist Kishane Thompson.

Thompson and American Trayvon Bromell both finished in 6.45 to complete the podium and deny Azu in a thrilling conclusion to the opening day of action.

“They didn’t let us down. These guys did what we expected them to do,” two-time world 110m hurdles champion Colin Jackson said on BBC TV.

“An electric performance – we’ve witnessed one of the best 60m races of all time so that’s a very special thing in itself, and Jeremiah Azu was in the mix.

“Azu got out very sharp – he’s one of the fastest starters in the world – but Anthony was out a little bit ahead and did what was necessary.”

Azu told BBC Sport: “It’s tough. I was very vocal about defending that World Athletics Indoor Championships 2026: Jeremiah Azu narrowly misses out on 60m medal and I fell short.

“It’s track and field – you win some you lose some. I’m still able to use this gift to try and inspire people. But it’s tough to take right now.”

Earlier on Friday, Olympic champion and indoor world record holder Keely Hodgkinson controlled her women’s 800m heat from start to finish to win in two minutes 00.32 seconds and reach the semi-finals, where she will be joined by team-mate Isabelle Boffey.

Ben Pattison, winner of world 800m bronze in 2023, won his heat in 1:47.48 to advance to the semi-finals of the men’s event, which also take place on Saturday morning.

Olympic and world medallist Georgia Hunter Bell secured her place in the women’s 1500m final by placing first in 4:12.09, but Jemma Reekie missed out after finishing fourth in her race.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading any further

Firefighters were called to a road in a Cambridgeshire village after receiving reports about a fire breaking out yesterday (Thursday, March 20). Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called at 3.34pm to a building fire on John Bends Way in Parson Drove.

Crews from Wisbech and March as well as the north roaming fire engine attended to the scene. Firefighters arrived to find a car on fire. It had already spread to nearby gardens and houses. Large clouds of black smoke could be seen in the village.

Crews used hose reels to stop the fire from spreading further and extinguished it. Crews had returned to their stations by 5.40pm. The cause of the fire has been confirmed to have been accidental.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue said: “At 3.43pm on Thursday (19) crews from Wisbech, March and the north roaming fire engine were called to a building fire on John Bends Way in Parson Drove.

“Firefighters arrived to find a car on fire that had spread to nearby gardens and houses. The crews worked hard using hose reels to stop the fire from spreading further and extinguish it.

“The crews returned to their stations by 5.40pm. The cause of the fire was accidental.”

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