Wednesday briefing: The study that says semaglutide can do much more than help you lose weight

In today's newsletter: A new study suggests semaglutides reduce not just obesity but risks to your heart too. What will that mean for their availability on the NHS?

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Good morning. If you hear brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy and think of suddenly gaunt A-listers posing on the red carpet, it is surely now time to think again. There has already been substantial evidence that as well as in their initial role as a diabetes treatment, semaglutides - the kind of drug in question - can have a real impact on obesity for people for whom nothing else works. Now a new study has found that they don't just help those people lose weight - they have a major effect on their heart health, regardless of how much weight they lose.

Obesity affects more than a quarter of adults, and nearly as many children - and those numbers are only going up, which brings serious consequences for public health, especially among the most deprived. So this is hugely significant news, which study author Prof John Deanfield says heralds a class of drugs as powerful as statins, that could equally transform many chronic diseases of ageing".

Georgia | Tbilisi has been warned by the US not to turn towards Russia as its parliament defied mass street protests to pass a Kremlin-inspired" law. A US official said that the foreign agents" bill, which takes aim at civil society groups with funding from abroad, could jeopardise support from Washington for the former Soviet state if we are now regarded as an adversary".

France | Elite French police are searching for gunmen who attacked a prison van in Normandy, killing at least two prison officers and freeing the high-security inmate being transported. The fugitive prisoner was named as Mohamed Amra, who was convicted last week of aggravated robbery and charged in a case of abduction leading to death.

Education | There is no evidence of widespread abuse of the UK's graduate visa route, a major report has concluded, despite claims from Conservatives that it is being exploited to enter the jobs market. The government is expected to decide next week whether to remove the scheme, a move which would mean financial turmoil for the sector.

US | Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen has testified in Manhattan court that he submitted phoney invoices for legal services to cover up what were reimbursements for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. In a second day of evidence, Cohen repeatedly identified Trump as the driver of the Daniels payoff scheme.

Manchester | After a series of humiliating setbacks, the 450m Co-op Live music venue finally opened its doors on Tuesday, with a concert by Elbow that had been meant to be the 15th event on its schedule. The venue's boss, Tim Leiweke, claimed that it would be the greatest arena ever built".