By Manas Mishra The rising popularity of highly-effective obesity drugs is weighing on demand for robot-assisted bariatric surgeries,

A businessman and football club owner convicted of fraudulent trading has lost a civil court fight with a council involved in investigating allegations of mis-selling. Andy Pilley, owner of League One side Fleetwood and chairman of BES Utilities, had been involved in High Court litigation with Cheshire West and Chester Council. BES Utilities and a number of other utility firms based in the Fleetwood and Blackpool areas of Lancashire had sued the council. They made a number of complaints – including an allegation of misfeasance and an allegation that search warrants were obtained unlawfully. Council bosses denied all allegations and a High Court judge has ruled in their favour. Mr Justice Freedman has dismissed claims made against the council. The judge said the case involved “non-domestic energy suppliers based in Fleetwood/Blackpool, Lancashire” working in the “small to medium-sized enterprise business market”. He said the litigation concerned “allegations about mis-selling” which had “brought about a criminal investigation”. Pilley, 52, was found guilty last week of fraudulent trading, fraud by false representation and being involved in the acquisition, retention, use or control of the proceeds of fraudulently mis-sold energy contracts following a trial at Preston Crown Court and will be sentenced on July 3. Three other people were also convicted. Mr Justice Freedman had overseen High Court hearings in London in late 2021 but had ruled that his findings could not be revealed until the crown court trial concluded in case jurors were influenced. The judge released his findings on late on Thursday following the conclusion of that trial. Pilley has been the chairman and owner of Fleetwood for 20 years and has overseen their rise from non-league status to the English Football League. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Chiedozie Ogbene and Alan Browne in race to make Ireland’s Euro 2024 clashes Erling Haaland aims to cap stunning debut season with Man City by winning treble Izzy Christiansen calls it a day – Thursday’s sporting social

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By John Irish PARIS Azerbaijan and Armenia could sign a peace settlement in their decades-old conflict over the

Joachim Andersen’s equaliser secured Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw against unbeaten Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. A first-half stunner from Kevin Schade gave the Bees an early lead before Andersen levelled in the 76th minute. After a dominant 3-0 win away at Fulham last week, Thomas Frank’s men failed to put the game to bed which allowed the Eagles to claim a point in west London. After a quiet start from both sides, Palace burst into life through the creative Eberechi Eze. The midfielder, recently linked with a move to Manchester City, hustled to win back the ball before feeding the marauding Odsonne Edouard who was dispossessed before testing Mark Flekken. But it was the Bees who struck first in the 18th minute. Schade picked up the ball on the left hand side before driving at the Palace backline and producing a spectacular curled strike into Sam Johnstone’s top-left corner, recording his first goal for the club. Not long after, the heavens opened and the greasy surface favoured the elegant Mathias Jansen who sprayed the ball into attacking areas before a 38th-minute header from Yoane Wissa sailed over the bar. Palace had looked flat all game and it was clear their only hope was through the dangerous Eze, who after 54 minutes slalomed his way through a wall of home defenders before being denied a penalty by referee Peter Bankes when he was brought down. Soon after Edouard’s dipping free-kick tested Flekken, who was forced to make a stretched save to deny the striker. And the Dutch keeper’s heroics continued in the following sequence when he denied Jefferson Lerma’s header from close range before Brentford scrambled to block Jordan Ayew’s rebound. Palace’s persistence was rewarded 14 minutes from time. Andersen played a one-two with Ayew before driving into the box where he beat Flekken to the ball with his sliding effort. Brentford searched for a winner during five minutes added time but the Bees struggled to find the final pass. Read More Manchester City secure winger Jeremy Doku from Rennes on five-year deal Football rumours: Manchester City turn attention to Palace’s Eberechi Eze Bernardo Silva signs new Manchester City contract Las Palmas sign Manchester City midfielder Maximo Perrone on loan Manchester United receive interest in Mason Greenwood Mikel Arteta suggests stopwatch may be needed for consistency on time-wasting

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr qualified for the Asian Champions League group stage after they secured an injury-time victory against Shabab Al...

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Leigh Wood will try to regain his world title from Mauricio Lara this weekend, just three months after losing the WBA featherweight belt to the Mexican. Wood, fighting in his hometown of Nottingham, was stopped by Lara late in Round 7 in February, in what proved to be a controversial finish. The Briton was ahead on the scorecards before being dropped by Lara, 25, and Wood’s coach Ben Davison threw in the towel after his fighter had beaten the referee’s count. Most observers believed that Wood, 34, would have made it to the end of the round, and some believed that he should have been given time to recover. Others, however, defended Davison over his decision to protect his fighter. Here’s all you need to know about the rematch. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is it? The fight will take place at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 27 May. The main card is set to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 10pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET). How can I watch it? The event will be streamed live on Dazn, a subscription to which is available at three different price points: Monthly Saver (£9.99 per month, with a 12-month commitment), Flexible (£19.99 per month, and can be cancelled at any time), and Annual Super Saver (£99.99 as a one-off payment). Odds Lara – 4/11 Wood – 11/5 Draw – 14/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Mauricio Lara (C) vs Leigh Wood 2 (WBA featherweight title) Jack Catterall vs Darragh Foley (super-lightweight) Terri Harper (C) vs Ivana Habazin (WBA women’s super-welterweight title) Danny Ball vs Jamie Robinson for (vacant English welterweight title) Aqib Fiaz vs Costin Ion (super-featherweight) Campbell Hatton vs Michal Bulak (super-lightweight) William Crolla vs TBA Aaron Bowen vs TBA Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More ‘Daylight robbery’: Vasiliy Lomachenko’s team plan to appeal Devin Haney defeat Katie Taylor’s long reign as boxing queen over despite heroic last stand Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones How to watch Wood vs Lara online and on TV this weekend Devin Haney edges past Vasiliy Lomachenko to remain unbeaten and undisputed ‘Daylight robbery’: Vasiliy Lomachenko’s team plan to appeal Devin Haney defeat

Petra Kvitova on Saturday reached her 42nd tour final in Berlin where she will face Donna...