Islam Makhachev has demanded a ‘thank you’ from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of their rematch at UFC 294, where the latter is challenging the Russian on 11 days’ notice. Volkanovsi is replacing Charles Oliveira in Saturday’s main event in Abu Dhabi, bidding for revenge against Makhachev after losing a narrow decision to the lightweight champion in February. Volkanovski, who holds the featherweight title, was fighting on home turf in Perth, Australia, on that occasion, whereas Makhachev will have the majority of the support at the Etihad Arena. “I feel great. All the people, they’re all on my side now,” said a grinning Makhachev, 31, at the UFC 294 press conference on Thursday (19 October). “Last time in Australia... everything has changed, brother, everything has changed,” he added, looking at Volkanovski, 35. Volkanovski replied: “Islam needs all the advantages he can get, that’s all he thinks about. I don’t need none of that; I’ve got these [my hands], that’s all I worry about. I rely on my skills – not crowds, not nothing.” “Everybody knows what you need: just money, that’s it,” Makhachev fired back. “He’s just come to make money. I put my win streak, I put my belt [on the line].” Volkanovski took issue with the Dagestani’s claim, saying: “I don’t know what mentality or mindset he has; I want to avenge my losses. It burns me. I didn’t get my hand raised, that hurts me. Now I have to do it on [11] days’ notice, and I’m okay with that. I accept that, and I’m ready to put on a show.” Mateusz Gamrot was the planned back-up fighter for UFC 294’s original main event, but the lightweight contender was overlooked in favour of Volkanovski, whom some fans believe should have been declared the winner against Makhachev in February. “You have to say thanks to me,” Makhachev told the Australian on Thursday. “I can choose any other opponent. We have Gamrot, we have [Dustin] Poirier, everybody is ready to fight for the belt. But I give you for the second time a chance. Just say ‘thank you’, that’s it.” The champions also paid respect to each other, however. “Of course he is good,” Makhachev said. “If you want to beat him... he never gives up, he’s gonna fight five rounds, it doesn’t matter how many days’ notice. We will show the best fight again for all the people [who were] waiting for it. “I tried [to finish him], brother, but this guy’s so tough. I landed many good punches, but this time... maybe some choke or something,” the Russian laughed. Makhachev’s victory over Volkanovski extended his win streak to 12 in a row, dating back to 2016. Meanwhile, that result marked Volkanovski’s first defeat since 2013. The Australian bounced back with a TKO win against Yair Rodriguez in July, beating the Mexican to retain the featherweight title. Volkanovski has reigned as featherweight champion since 2018, defending and retaining the title five times. Meanwhile, Makhachev won the vacant lightweight belt by submitting Oliveira at the Etihad Arena last October. The Russian’s rematch with the former champion was due to take place 364 days after their first bout. In the co-main event of UFC 294, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman replaces Paulo Costa on 10 days’ notice, making his middleweight debut against rising contender Khamzat Chimaev. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC 294 LIVE: Volkanovski vs Makhachev fight updates and results tonight Volkanovski vs Makhachev gamble shows the best and worst of the UFC Alexander Volkanovski admits it’s ‘crazy’ to fight Islam Makhachev on short notice Major UFC title fight undergoes dramatic late change Back-up fighter revealed for tantalising UFC title fight Alexander Volkanovski reacts to scorecards after loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284

Messer SE has sealed an investment from GIC Pte that values the industrial gas maker at more than

Ever look down at your phone and see the weather forecasting “30 percent chance of rain”? Well, it turns out that for many people, those percentages don’t quite mean what they thought they did. You might assume a 30 percent chance of rain means there is a 30 percent chance that it will rain in your area. But what it actually means is a combination of a) how high the chance of rain is over any given area, and b) how much of the area it is expected to cover. “The probability of precipitation forecast is one of the least understood elements of the weather forecast,” the US National Weather Service explains. “To summarize, the probability of precipitation is simply a statistical probability of 0.01 inch [0.025 centimeters] or more of precipitation at a given area in the given forecast area in the time period specified.” It comes after an account on X/Twitter, posted a viral picture of somebody saying: “Am I the only one who thought 30% chance of rain meant it’s a 30% chance it’s gonna rain?” What actually happens is as follows. To calculate the precipitation probability, forecasters multiply how much of an area they believe will receive this much rain, by how confident they are in their prediction that rain will fall in that area. The NWS gives the following examples, which both lead to a prediction of a 40 percent chance of rain via very different weather scenarios: “(1) If the forecaster was 80% certain that rain would develop but only expected to cover 50% of the forecast area, then the forecast would read ‘a 40% chance of rain’ for any given location. “(2) If the forecaster expected a widespread area of precipitation with 100% coverage to approach, but he/she was only 40% certain that it would reach the forecast area, this would, as well, result in a ‘40% chance of rain’ at any given location in the forecast area.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

FRANKFURT Volkswagen will start selling battery-powered versions of its VW bus in North America from 2024 onwards, the

The battery-powdered purr machines are part of the library's collection of unusual items available for lending.

Aston Villa missed the chance to climb into the Premier League’s top four after a 1-1 draw at Wolves. Pau Torres’ equaliser, just two minutes after Hwang-Hee Chan’s opener, saw them come from behind at Molineux. Mario Lemina was sent off in stoppage time for a second booking and Ollie Watkins hit the post with the final touch of the match. Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Brighton opened the door for Villa to move into the Champions League spots but they never did enough for victory. Wolves earned another solid point following last week’s swashbuckling 2-1 win over Manchester City to continue their progress under Gary O’Neil. The manager would have been encouraged by another gritty performance and with better finishing from Pedro Neto it would have been another victory. It was Villa, though, who started the brighter as Torres miscued a header and Jose Sa turned Matty Cash’s angled effort behind before John McGinn twice fired off target. It preceded a good spell for Wolves, the hosts attempting to stamp their authority on the game without ever testing Emi Martinez. Their final ball continued to elude them until Hwang crossed for Rayan Ait-Nouri to steer wide after 33 minutes. Yet it was the hosts’ one decent chance of the half and they needed Lemina to rush out and block Douglas Luiz’s shot just before the break. Villa’s start to the season, which had lifted them to fifth, was their second best in the Premier League but there were signs of tiredness and the visitors’ decision to resort to gamesmanship early belied the quality they have. They emerged for the second half sharper, though, and Jose Sa turned over when Watkins directed McGinn’s pass goalwards. It was a brief spark from Villa but there was little surprise when Wolves grabbed the lead after 53 minutes. Douglas Luiz was caught by Hwang with the ball worked wide to Neto who ran at Torres. He engineered enough space to cross low for Hwang to poke in his fifth league goal of the season from close range. But the celebrations were cut short just two minutes later when Villa hit back. The hosts failed to clear from Douglas Luiz’s free kick and Watkins’ cute cross was turned in by Torres. It raised hopes the scrappy and, sometimes, ill-tempered game would take a step up in quality but neither side were able to ram home an advantage. Wolves wanted a penalty when Neto tumbled under pressure from Boubacar Kamara while Villa failed to threaten Sa again. With 12 minutes left, Neto should have settled the game when Sasa Kalajdzic’s excellent cross found Wolves’ star man, only for him to blaze over from 10 yards. The hosts then had to see out eight of the 12 minutes of stoppage time – during which Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Nicolo Zaniolo went close – with 10 men when Lemina was dismissed for a second yellow card, after tugging back the Italian forward. Watkins almost snatched it with the final touch of the game when his header smacked the base of the post. Read More Lewis Dunk’s goal denies Liverpool come-from-behind victory at Brighton Sub Mohammed Kudus earns West Ham a point with late equaliser against Newcastle Jake Jarman takes vault gold at World Gymnastics Championships Stuart McCloskey banishes retirement thoughts to enjoy memorable World Cup debut It’s some turnaround – Leigh Wood relishing late career resurgence Diogo Dalot urges Man United to make Brentford fightback a ‘turning point’

TikTok and Reddit combined have been left stunned by one man's revelation about his wife who has asked if she can sleep with another man despite her husband helping her through her cancer battle. In a post shared on the off my chest subreddit a man shared the trauma that he has gone through while helping his wife through uterine cancer. In the viral post, he wrote: "My wife and I have been married since 2001 and together since 1999. She is the most intelligent, thoughtful, caring, loyal person I know, and I have always thought of myself as fortunate to have met and married her. She is, even today, aesthetically beautiful and men have told her this throughout our marriage. She has always shot them down. "Earlier this year, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer, stage 1 and had a full hysterectomy. I was never concerned about the cancer, it was diagnosed early, dealt with quickly and she made a full recovery. I took time off work to look after her after the surgery and all seemed well. There were some to-be-expected emotional instances on her part and although I am not an emotional person, we dealt with them together." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter After helping her through her recovery, the couple vowed to 'live their life to the fullest' and began taking trips to places such as the UK, Spain, Portugal and Belize. She even began to take up yoga, swimming and healthy cooking classes but things soon turned sour between the pair. He continues: "Last week she came home from work and told me she wanted a “hall pass”. A one-time opportunity for her to have sex with someone else besides me. She said that since her cancer diagnosis her outlook on life has changed and she doesn’t want to be handcuffed from doing things she wants do. "She explained that there is this guy at her work that she has always had some attraction to. He is leaving the company and she will never see him again, so this is the perfect opportunity to sleep with someone else. She said that I could say no of course but that she would “be mad/disappointed at me for an indeterminate amount of time and that it would be confirmation of my male toxicity and insecurity. "I don’t consider myself to be toxic and if not wanting your wife of 20+ years to have sex with someone else is insecure than I guess I am insecure. I told her that I appreciated her talking to me about this but approval via coercion is not approval. I also said that I do not appreciate her language in describing my, as of yet, unknown reaction to this very large issue that could affect the rest of our marriage/life." His wife eventually apologised for making him make the decision and instead decided for herself that she was going to go through with it and booked out a hotel room where her co-workers were having a sending-off party for the other man in the equation. She told her husband that she hoped he would still be there when she returned and that she would be willing to answer any question he had about the night. He concluded: "Part of me thinks, at least she has been honest with me and she has been through a lot since finding out she had cancer so maybe I should just let it happen. I certainly have no concept of what she went through so I cannot dismiss how this affected her mental state/outlook on life. Part of me wants to put my foot down and say this is not going to happen and deal with those consequences when they happen. Her BFF called me callous for even suggesting that I wouldn’t let it happen, because I have no idea what she went through. I find it hard to believe that she is OK with the possibility of throwing away 20+ years of marriage over some guy that she has had no relationship with outside of work and that I should just call her bluff. Maybe she thinks similarly that I won’t throw away the marriage because of one encounter. I just don’t know what to do. I empathize with her and then an instant later I am angry with her. "Part of me wants to know who this guy is? What does he look like, what has he got that is so enthralling for her. Is he just a safe option? Is he married? Does his wife know? Would I be a callous asshole for saying No? What can I do besides walking away?" @creekyquestions I stuck with my wife through her battle with cancer, and now she wants a hall pass. #creeky #minecraftparkour #reddit #redditstories #redditreadings #askreddit As you can imagine, the man's predicament has stirred quite a debate with many people feeling a great deal of sympathy for the man and offering their own advice. One Reddit user wrote: "You're not callous or insecure - changes to the marriage requires two yesses, and if there's one no, either that item doesn't happen or you get divorced. Unfortunately, your wife has decided that she wants to be single and is doing this so you will leave but she won't take the blame of being the one choosing to end the marriage because she gave you a heads up first. That's why her friends are on her side about it." A second added: "This will only be the first of many. Leave now. She clearly doesn’t want to be in a relationship; she basically told you I don’t care what you say or think I’m having sex with this man. Your marriage as you knew it is over. Time to move on." A third said: "My dad was diagnosed with Cancer last year. Instead of wanting a hall pass from my mom, his wife of 30 years, he wanted to spend time with family more. Just because she got a diagnosis doesn’t excuse this. If she is asking for a “hall pass”, I would “expelled” her and move on from my life. She is gaslighting you by saying she is “disappointed”. If she is speaking this into fruition, she WILL do it. She gave you a heads up. I’m sorry." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Lando Norris snapped back after a reporter labelled Max Verstappen the British driver’s “BFF.” Norris and Verstappen are good friends and are regularly seen chatting and joking with one another in the paddock. Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races in the 2023 season while Norris – still searching for his first F1 victory – finished on the podium seven times without securing that elusive win. However, the McLaren driver reacted frostily when a journalist hinted after Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that his relationship with the three-time world champion was closer than it actually is. “He’s not my BFF (best friend forever), don’t ever say that again,” said Norris. “We respect each other and we get along, kind of friends away [from the track], but that’s it. We just have a lot of respect for one another.” Norris has been linked with the second seat at Red Bull, though has a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2025 season. Sergio Perez has a contract at Red Bull which expires at the end of next season. Red Bull boss Christian Horner admitted in September that Norris was one of many drivers who the team are “keeping an eye on.” “Lando’s a great driver,” said Horner. “He’s a big talent, big personality and of course he’s one of those drivers that you keep an eye on. “But there’s many drivers that you keep an eye on as well. There’s a generation of drivers out there at the moment that have got a huge amount of talent.” The 2024 F1 season starts on March 2 with a Saturday night opening race – the Bahrain Grand Prix. Read More Carlos Sainz’s personal trainer links up with F1 rival Lewis Hamilton: ‘I had asked Mercedes for changes and they weren’t done’ Mercedes team member miraculously finds wedding ring in Abu Dhabi marina Michael Masi could return to F1 despite 2021 Abu Dhabi finale ‘Sexism, please! Do they have anything else?’ FIA boss denies misogyny accusations F1 fans spark chaos and launch bottles of prosecco in Abu Dhabi brawl

This Friday is arguably the best day of the year: It's National Coffee Day.

Movie insiders say that Universal Pictures have started early development on a new installment of the 'Bourne' franchise with Edward Berger in talks to direct.

People ducked under desks and tables in California and around the world for an annual drill practicing ways to stay safe during earthquakes

Previewing the pre-season friendly between Arsenal vs Man Utd, with TV & live stream details, team news, predicted lineups & score prediction.