‘It’s absolutely open to abuse’: web awash with weight-loss drug offers

After Andy King was told he was not eligible to receive weight-loss jabs on the NHS, he turned to the internet to order them privately. But before long, he was inundated with promotions.“Every other advert on my social media feed is an offer to have a Black Friday deal on the drugs,” he said.In a video call with the Guardian, King, a 59-year-old leisure management consultant and coach, demonstrated what happens when he looks for such medications.Opening a search engine, he typed three words: “Weight loss drugs

Bouncing back: UK soft play centres recover after Covid closures

“It will go all the way up there, with four floors, and a net maze,” says Jonathan Laznik, the owner of Gambado, pointing to the 10-metre-high ceiling in Forest Hill’s Capitol theatre, which is the venue for the company’s newest soft play venture.Built as a silent cinema in 1929, the Grade II-listed art deco building, which once sat 1,600 cinemagoers, has also served as a bingo hall and, until last year, a Wetherspoon’s pub.Novelty Guinness hats emblazoned with “Happy St Patrick’s Day!” still hang behind the bar, which Laznik says will be demolished to make way for children’s party rooms next year, if he secures planning permission.With three other sites in Brent Cross, Chelsea and Finchley, Laznik is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs who have entered the soft play market in recent years.After 10% of operators went out of business during the coronavirus pandemic, there are signs of recovery, with some providers including Laznik buying multiple sites

There’s no reason for older people to fear smartphones | Letters

In wishing to ban smartphones, Tim Watson (nearly 94) throws the baby out with the bathwater (Letters, 20 December). Being of a certain age myself, I remember when nobody in my close family even had a landline.Smartphone use can become misuse but, used intelligently, the smartphone is one of the greatest modern inventions. With mine, I can call people on the other side of the world cheaply or even at no cost; I can use it as a satnav; I do not have to speak to everyone because I can simply send them a text; I can store important information and use any number of apps.I agree with banning smartphone use during school hours – and appropriate use and misuse should be part of education today because, of course, there are dangers

Older music has been getting a second life on TikTok, data shows

This was the year that gen Z had their “Brat summer”, or so we were led to believe.Inspired by the hit album by pop sensation Charli xcx, the trend was seen to embody all the messiness of modern youth: trashy, chaotic and bright green.But on the teenager’s social media platform of choice, TikTok, a more sepia music trend has been taking root.Despite having an endless amount of music to pair with their short, scrollable videos, TikTok users have been raiding the back catalogues of artists from yesteryear including Bronski Beat and Sade to soundtrack their posts.This year set a new high for use of old tracks on British TikTok posts, with tunes more than five years old accounting for 19 out of its 50 top tracks this year

Australia v India: fourth men’s cricket Test, day one – as it happened

Konstas’s joyous, impudent 65-ball 60, a debut innings like no other, gave Australia a grip on the game that they may not relinquish. India loosened it slightly during the last session, when they reduced Australia from 237 for 2 to 299 for 6, but overall it was Australia’s day. And it was undeniably Sam Konstas’s day.86th over: Australia 311-6 (Smith 68, Cummins 6) A swinging yorker from Bumrah is played well by Cummins, who clips it into the leg side for a couple. Those are the last runs of a terrific day’s play, one that will be forever associated with the audacious brilliance of Sam Konstas

Teen tearaway Sam Konstas rewrites red ball cricket recipe in fearless Boxing Day debut

The first attempt by Sam Konstas at a ramp shot did not go well. In the windy heat of the MCG on Boxing Day, a swing and a miss was met with a wry grin from Jasprit Bumrah. At the non-striker’s end, Usman Khawaja – 38 a week ago – cracked a smile.When Konstas failed to connect on a second try minutes later, the writing was on the wall. In a critical moment of a Test series that will define this generation of Australian players, selectors had taken a risk