“Hasslers,” or people who repeatedly “create problems or make life more difficult” for you, can literally age you, a new study published in PNAS found.

Stating that relationships like these are “not rare,” the researchers added that they are “disproportionately experienced by individuals facing greater social and health vulnerabilities, and consequential for ageing”.

And the more of these sorts of relationships, the worse the health outcomes seem to be.

This research showed that for every “hassler” in a person’s life, biological ageing sped up by 1.5%, or nine months.

The authors think this could happen because negative interactions chronically strain the body’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which helps to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

And, they posit, the chronic stress of talking to “hasslers” leads to lasting inflammation, which is linked to ageing if it lasts when the body doesn’t need it.

This could, they say, be an example of allostatic load; a form of “wear and tear” that happens when we try repeatedly to adapt to ongoing stress.

That might be why people with more “hasslers” fared worse, on average, on measures like self-reported health, psychiatric symptoms, epigenetic inflammation scores, and waist-to-hip ratio.

Almost 30% of us have one or more in our lives, the paper stated.

But some people are more likely than others to have “hasslers”.

This study looked at kin and nonkin hasslers as well as spouse hasslers.

In this research, only the first two were found to affect participants’ biological ageing.

“Ties characterised by obligation, shared space, or structural interdependence, such as parents, children, coworkers, or roommates, are more likely to be hasslers than voluntary, self-selected ties such as friends, church members, and neighbours,” the paper reads.

Kin hasslers are the most linked to accelerated ageing, while nonkin hasslers seemed to affect mortality-sensitive metrics the most.

Donald Trump has decided to ease oil sanctions after a one-hour call with Vladimir Putin about the Iran war.

The US president announced on Monday that while the US had sanctions on “some countries”, he would “take those sanctions off until the strait [of Hormuz] is up”.

While he did not specify which countries he was referring to, Trump’s declaration came shortly after he had a lengthy chat with the Russian autocrat – who has been trapped under heavy trade sanctions ever since invading Ukraine in 2022.

After the US-Israel strikes on Iran, Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz which carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Oil prices have started to rise as a result and there are fears of a global economic shock.

Only on Sunday, Trump said the soaring cost of oil was a “very small price to pay for peace”.

But on Monday evening, he effectively undid years of united work in the west by easing sanctions around Russia’s oil industry, which fuels its war machine.

It is the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holds the world’s biggest reserves of natural gas.

Doing a deal with the US while it tears the Middle East apart is an eyebrow-raising move from Russia, too.

Tehran has been an ally to Moscow for years while it’s been isolated on the world stage, even providing weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine.

Putin also condemned the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war, just over a week ago, as “murder”.

Evidently, Putin has decided to look past that indiscretion so he can benefit from Iran’s decline.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the conversation between Trump and his Russian counterpart was “frank and businesslike”.

He claimed Putin had “voiced a few ideas aimed at a quick political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict after speaking to Gulf leaders and Iran’s president.

Meanwhile, Trump offered his assessment of the situation “in the context of the ongoing US-Israeli operation”, according to Ushakov.

They had a “specific and useful” exchange of views and discussed Venezuela “in the context of the situation in the global oil market”.

Trump kidnapped Venezuela’s president and Putin’s ally Nicolas Maduro in January and has since sent US companies in to “restore” its oil industry.

Putin also suggested Russia was prepared to supply oil and gas to Europe.

Trump already gave Moscow a boost last week by granting India a temporary waive to purchase some oil from Russia while its usual supply from Iran is disrupted.

The president also touched on Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, claiming they spoke about the “never-ending fight” in the “positive call”.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that Kyiv is ready for US-backed peace talks with Russia “at any moment.

However, Ukrainian officials have pointed out that the US is now distracted with the conflict in the Middle East right now.

The conflict is also expected to reduce the number of weapons available to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia.

A Labour row has erupted as Keir Starmer prepares for a backbench rebellion over the government’s plans to scrap most jury trials.

MPs will vote on the second reading of the Courts and Tribunals Bill tonight.

It contains plans to end jury trials in cases that carry a likely sentence of less than three years, which would instead be heard in front of a lone judge.

Ministers say the drastic move is necessary to clear the huge backlog of cases in the court system.

But critics say jury trials are a fundamental right and should not be scrapped under any circumstances.

Up to 80 Labour MPs were reported to be ready to vote against the policy, potentially putting the government’s huge Commons majority at risk.

HuffPost UK has learned that a deal was done on Monday night between justice secretary David Lammy and Karl Turner, the chief critic of the proposals, which will see most of the rebels either abstain or vote with the government.

Turner, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, said the government has agreed to a “meaningful review” of the new system to assess whether it is working in practice.

But he said: “After the meeting with Lammy, that lasted for more than an hour, I’m even more convinced than ever that these proposals won’t work.

“Ministers won’t answer the questions because they don’t have answers to them.”

Turner said he was “more confident than ever” that the government will be defeated when the bill reaches report stage in the Commons.

He said: “I think this is going to die a death. We’re going to be able to amend the worst excesses out of it at report stage.”

But a government source said: “The fact that Karl Turner is now not voting against the government on juries shows one thing – he was completely unable to persuade a critical mass of the Parliamentary Labour Party. This has been clear for some time now, despite media reports.

“Constant assertions that the government definitely could not get this through second reading were wide of the mark, and that there would be resignations. It is the dog that didn’t bark.”

The BBC’s top Middle East expert has demolished Donald Trump’s latest claims about the war in Iran.

Jeremy Bowen, the broadcaster’s international affairs editor, said there was “no evidence” for some of the things the US president is saying.

Bowen said Trump had been “rather spooked by the economic consequences thus far of the war” after a spike in oil prices raised fears of a global crisis.

“He’s trying to calm the markets a little bit, he’s shaping the victory he’s going to claim,” said Bowen.

“He’s still actually claiming erroneously that Iran was a few weeks away from getting a nuclear weapon – there’s no evidence for that.

“He’s also said that Iran has Tomahawk cruise missiles that could have destroyed that girls’ school where so many were killed. There’s no evidence for that either because they’ve only sold them to Britain and Australia.”

Bowen also disputed Trump’s claims that the war is “very complete, pretty much”, and warned that the potential consequences for the whole Middle East are huge.

He said: “In terms of the wider region, if what’s happening subsequently causes chaos and breakdown in Iran, and right now the regime appears to be surviving, that will be immensely dangerous regionally.”

Iran has also disputed Trump’s claims that the war is nearing its end.

A spokesperson from the IRGC – Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – said: “It is we who will determine the end of the war.

“The equations and future status of the region are now in the hands of our armed forces; American forces will not end the war.”

If you missed your window to see the critically-acclaimed British drama I Swear in cinemas, movie fans can now stream the film from the comfort of their living rooms.

Based on the life experiences of Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson, I Swear was released in the autumn of 2025, and stars newcomer Robert Aramayo in the lead role alongside Maxine Peake and Shirley Henderson.

The film received rave reviews – resulting in a rare 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and an average of 4.3 stars on Letterboxd – and was also a big hit at the Baftas last month, where Robert beat stiff competition from the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B Jordan to pick up the Best Actor prize.

As of Tuesday morning, I Swear is finally available to stream on Netflix UK, meaning users of the service can now check out the film for themselves.

I Swear’s official synopsis says the film is “inspired by the life of John Davidson” and charts “his journey from a misunderstood teenager in 1980s Britain to a present day advocate for the understanding and acceptance of Tourette Syndrome”.

“Diagnosed aged 15, John navigates his way against the odds through troubled teenage years and into adulthood, finding inspiration in the kindness of others to discover his true purpose in life,” the description continues.

Robert also picked up the Rising Star title at the 2026 Baftas off the back of his work in I Swear, which was also awarded the Best Casting prize, having scored five nominations in total in the lead-up to the ceremony.

Of course, the film also became one of the most-talked about following this year’s Baftas after John experienced a number of involuntary tics while attending the awards show with the cast and crew.

Although most of these tics were not included in the BBC’s final broadcast, one – in which he shouted the N-word while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage – did make its way into the national broadcaster’s coverage, which aired on a two-hour time delay.

The following day, the BBC removed the Baftas broadcast from its iPlayer service, apologising for what was later described by a spokesperson as a “genuine mistake”.

Following Delroy Lindo’s comments expressing disappointment with how Bafta handled the incident, the organisation issued a statement accepting “full responsibility” for what transpired.

John later said in his own statement: “Whilst I will never [apologise] for having Tourette syndrome, I will apologise for any pain, upset and misunderstanding that it may create.

“This past week has been tough, and has reminded me that what I do, raising awareness for such a misunderstood condition, there is still a long way to go and I will keep on keeping on until this is achieved.”

Donald Trump’s claim that the war in Iran might soon be “over” has been dismissed by the country’s regime.

Amid rising oil prices and a turbulent energy market, the US president told CBS News his offensive “is very complete, pretty much” ten days after he and Israel initiated strikes on Iran.

“They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” he said.

Trump suggested that the conflict would end before the initial four-week time frame he previously laid out.

Bizarrely, he also said: “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough.”

The White House’s initial war aims remain unclear so it’s hard to predict when American forces will decide it’s time to withdraw.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday his forces were looking for regime change.

Trump also threatened Tehran on Monday, warning of a major backlash if Iran were to block the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway which transports a fifth of the global oil supply.

But the Iranian military rejected all of Trump’s “nonsense”.

A spokesperson from the IRGC – Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – said: “It is we who will determine the end of the war.

“The equations and future status of the region are now in the hands of our armed forces; American forces will not end the war.”

The IRGC also claimed they would not allow any oil to be shipped out of the Middle East if the strikes continue.

That claim evidently did not deter the US president, who doubled down on his warnings in a later Truth Social post.

He said: “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said his country was unlikely to continue talks with the States after three rounds of failed negotiations over capping Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

Speaking to PBS, he said: “Still, they decided to attack us. So I don’t think talking to the Americans anymore would be on our agenda any more.”

A BBC expert has called out Donald Trump’s attempts to “play down” the global oil supply crisis triggered by his decision to go to war with Iran.

Around a fifth of the world’s oil supply is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, but that has virtually stopped since the war began.

That has led to a massive spike in oil prices, threatening a global economic crisis.

In a post on Truth Social last night, the US president threatened Iran with “death, fire and fury” unless it is opened up again.

He added: “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”

But on Radio 4′s Today programme this morning, BBC Africa editor Barbara Plett-Usher said that was an attempt by the president to create “a distraction” from the consequences of his own actions.

She said: “He started by musing that the US was thinking about taking over the Strait of Hormuz – ‘we could do a lot’, he said. Then in his [press conference] he said the US attacks could rise sharply if Iran tried to blow up tanker traffic – ‘we’ll hit them so hard’ etc etc.

“Then Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded and said we’re not going to let one litre be shipped through if you and the Israelis continue to attack, and we will determine the end of the war.

“Then Trump escalated in his Truth Social post, in caps, saying if they stop the oil we’ll hit them 20 times harder then they’ve hit thus far.

“All of this is a distraction to the fact that the flow of oil has stopped and Trump is trying to play that down.

“He’s said it’s not really affecting Americans, it won’t last that long, but in effect it’s shut, only a trickle of boats getting through. And it’s difficult to see it opening as long as this hot conflict goes on.”

Plett-Usher also cast doubt on Trump’s explanation for why he started the war, and his claim that other Middle East countries are grateful that he did.

She said: “He suggested that the war was a pre-emptive strike because he said Iran was preparing to launch strikes against its neighbours and potentially a nuclear weapon at Israel.

“He said ‘if we didn’t hit them first they were going to hit our allies first’. He said ‘the countries in the Middle East, very rich countries, are very, very lucky that I’m here’.

“I don’t think any of the Arab countries are feeling particularly lucky that President Trump made the decision he did. They lobbied very hard to try to prevent it and they didn’t expect Iran to attack them unless the Americans and Israelis attacked Iran first.”