Sheffield United assistant manager Stuart McCall said he was bored watching his side’s Carabao Cup defeat to League One Lincoln. The Premier League side suffered a 3-2 penalty shoot-out loss at Bramall Lane after a drab 90 minutes ended goalless. Defeat continued a poor start to the season for the Blades, who have lost their opening three Premier League games. They made nine changes for this match, but McCall said none of those players who came in pushed their case. “A poor flat performance has given us a poor result, there’s no getting away from it,” he said. “Credit to Lincoln, they made it difficult to play against, but we never moved the ball quick enough and got into areas we wanted to. “If I’m being honest, we were bored ourselves watching it, we needed more impetus. We didn’t do enough to win the game. It seemed quite flat. “We have to move on to a huge game on Saturday against Everton. “There’s no excuses, the side we put out there should perform better. Take nothing away from Lincoln but we were pretty dull. “We were desperate to win tonight and we put a team out that we believed we could do that. “We were just boring really, we had no thrust. That is not what we want to be at Bramall Lane. Hugely disappointing throughout the night from start to finish. We can’t afford many of them.” Lincoln were worthy of victory, which came after Lukas Jensen saved spot-kicks from Louis Marsh and Benie Traore to send his side through. Boss Mark Kennedy was in philosophical mood after a first victory at Bramall Lane in 40 years. “There’s only two things human beings fear when they’re born, that’s noise, and falling,” he said. “All the other fear some idiot puts in your head. There’s nothing to fear but fear itself. “So go and embrace the moment, go and enjoy the day. “And it’s nights like this that me personally and the players…live for. That’s what you get up for in the morning, win, lose or draw. “You want to get your head out there, stick your chest out and sometimes you win and the rewards are incredible, the highs are high, the lows are so low, but for me that’s what you get up for, that’s what I come to work for every day.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Burnley counting cost of Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest Brydon Carse targets red-ball cricket with England after impressing in T20 win Beto and Arnaut Danjuma spare Everton’s blushes in late cup win at Doncaster

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Ebay is facing a fine of nearly $2 billion for allegedly enabling the sale of ‘rolling coal’ devices and other deliberately polluting equipment that violates environmental laws. The US Department of Justice alleges that the online retailer sold more than 343,000 so-called defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act, with each sale the subject of a $5,580 fine. Rolling coal has become a form of anti-environmentalism protest in the United States, involving the modification of a diesel engine in order to emit black clouds of sooty exhaust fumes. Online video compilations show drivers of pickup trucks deliberately rolling coal as they pass cyclists and electric vehicles. Until recently, the devices required to perform it were relatively easy to find through online retailers, costing between $200-500. The Justice Department wrote in its complaint, which was filed on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a federal court in New York, that the rolling coal devices “defeat motor vehicle emission controls” set out in the Clean Air Act. “Aftermarket defeat devices significantly increase pollution emissions – including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and nonmethane hydrocarbons – that harm public health,” the complaint stated. The EPA criminalised the practice, which appears to be mainly confined to the US, in 2014, with some states warning of fines of up to $5,000 for anyone caught doing it. Several companies who sell coal rolling equipment have already been forced to pay fines of up to $1 million for breaking the law. “Our nation’s environmental laws protect public health and the environment by prohibiting the unlawful sales of defeat devices; unregistered, misbranded and restricted use pesticides; and unsafe products containing toxic chemicals,” David Uhlmann from the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said following the Justice Department’s latest action against eBay. “The complaint filed demonstrates that EPA will hold online retailers responsible for the unlawful sale of products on their websites that can harm consumers and the environment.” Ebay described the lawsuit as “entirely unprecedented”, claiming that sales of such devices were banned and that it was actively policing its site against their sale. “Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace for our global community of sellers and buyers is a fundamental principle of our business,” the company said. “Indeed, eBay is blocking and removing more than 99.9 per cent of the listings for the products cited by the DOJ, including millions of listings each year.” Read More World’s first solar powered hybrid truck tested on public roads Why is Elon Musk obsessed with the letter X? How Elon Musk’s Twitter became a haven for fake news and misinformation Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake

“And just like that, it’s gone”, 75-year-old Elpida Voyatzisaid said softly, standing outside her home in Kiotari – a town left devastated by the wildfires that raged for 10 straight days on the island of Rhodes. Where once stood land devoid of all but a single tree, Elpida and her husband have spent the past 20 years nurturing a bountiful farm, its acres of trees and vines bursting with grapes, olives, pomegranates and figs. While the flames stopped just a few metres short of her home and holiday apartments, behind her lay the burnt-out husks of close to a dozen houses overlooking the beach – the final point in a path of destruction forged by the fire at terrifying speed. The inferno’s rapid advance forced the mass evacuation of British tourists from resorts in the island’s southeast – with accounts of holidaymakers fleeing for miles along beaches in the middle of the night leading tour operators to cancel thousands of people’s trips this week. But with the blazes now largely under control, and the damage confined to just a handful of hotels, the fear for many residents is that tourists could be unnecessarily hesitant to visit the island – whose economy is almost entirely fuelled by the summer holiday trade. For those in the few villages hit by the fire, such as Kiotari, the impact is clear. “What a disaster,” said Elpida, adding: “We told [our rental apartment visitors] not to come, because what are they coming to? To see what sights? It’s going to be depressing for them. The tourist season is over for us.” Her daughter, Fedra, who emigrated from Canada with her husband to take over the farm just months ago, hopes that with regenerative practices it could take five years – rather than another 20 – to regrow. Her other income stream, a school she opened on the farm to teach locals lessons in English and outdoor education, has also been destroyed in the fire. “People’s livelihoods, they’re literally in ashes,” said Nicole, a 44-year-old wedding planner, whose home was among those in Kiotari reduced to rubble and embers by the fires. “If you have money, you can regain everything. If you don’t have money, I don’t know where you will start.” Pointing to the three months of €534 in support for those impacted by the fire announced by Greek labour minister Adonis Georgiadis, Nicole said of the wider community in Kiotari: “So we’re going to live on €1,500 euros for a family of five.” “We’re grateful for any help,” she added, “but it won’t sustain what people have lost.” Because of the mass evacuation and decision by tour operators to cancel holidays this week, those living in areas untouched by the fire are also feeling the squeeze, and are anxiously hoping visitor numbers will bounce back rapidly. Most businesses make their money for the year during the six summer months, with July and August the season’s peak, and those spoken to by The Independent in towns in the south of Rhodes without exception feared a difficult winter could lie ahead. “Rhodes is a huge island, but everyone is reliant on tourism,” said Antonis Chatzimichalis, a 21-year-old University College London Master’s student from the town of Archangelos, who had been volunteering at the evacuation centre set up there for displaced tourists and locals. “It’s like a chain – the suppliers, the local people, restaurants, everyone” needs tourism. Argedis and Katarini Ganotakis, aged 63 and 56, have owned hotels in nearby Pefkos since 2002, and run a restaurant in the picturesque cliffside village of Lindos, where British tourists were evacuated last week. While Lindos was untouched by the fire, the week’s cancellations had cost the family “a lot”, he said, adding: “If the lack of customers lasts five to 10 days, we can keep our staff. But longer – it’s a problem. If we go longer than 10 days without people in our hotels, the business cannot keep them on … [it] must close. Then everybody loses.” The owner of one of several gift shops in Lindos said her sales had fallen 70 per cent this week, while Mariana Nefeli, who has owned a neighbouring restaurant for 34 years, added: “After Covid it was two years without work, and now this happens again.” Eirini Kousoulini, a restaurant owner in Malonas, a village narrowly saved from the fire, said “everybody” is worried about a hit to tourism. The winter will be hard, she added, “because everything is very expensive – life, the supermarkets, electricity, everything … I have to work 18 hours here every day.” But Rhodes deputy mayor Konstantinos Taraslias was sanguine about the impact on those in areas not hit directly by the fires and cancellations. “The loss is in this area,” he said, circling the evacuated region on a map on his office desk. “Everything else is okay.” Other areas will only see a knock-on effect if “the tourists don’t book to come to Rhodes because they think it is a disaster [zone]”, he said, adding: “Of course that would be a catastrophe for the economy.” Pointing to the fact that just 10,000 of Rhodes’ 220,000 hotel beds are in the affected area, he insisted that some damaged hotels will reopen in just one or two weeks’ time, with hopes to extend this year’s tourist season until November. “We will lose seven days. Seven days is no problem,” he said. “Yesterday I was talking with the local Jet2 agent, and they said: ’Starting from Monday, business as usual.’ That’s a very good message, it’s very important.” Alongside the €534 payments, those who have seen their property and livelihoods destroyed by the fire “won’t have to pay taxes for a long time”, and the regional authorities will work to rebuild the surrounding area, Mr Taraslias said. But anger at the regional government is running high in Rhodes, with many blaming a sluggish initial response to the fire and poor forest management spanning decades for how far the blaze was able to spread. Alongside trained firefighters, the heroes of the hour are deemed across Rhodes to be the thousands of civilians who have fearlessly taught themselves to beat back the fires over 10 consecutive days and nights. “If we didn’t have all the volunteers, all of the island would have been burnt, that’s for sure,” said Stavros, a 48-year-old teacher from the northeastern city of Rhodes, as he rested in the frontline village of Vati between trips into the hills to douse new flare-ups with his 18-year-old son. As well as their homes and livelihoods, civilian firefighters in Rhodes have been fighting to protect the animals with whom they share the island, and whose charred carcasses were visible from the roadside earlier this week. Among them is the Dama-Dama deer, a protected species unique to Rhodes and viewed as a symbol of the island. Some had been taken to safety by volunteers, who left the animals bowls of water and food among the smouldering hills. Pantelis Saroukos, a volunteer firefighter, drove The Independent through nearby hills where he – along with many other beekeepers – had brought his hives each summer for the past five years, due to the abundant thyme growing there, now irrecoverably scorched by flames. “This is the worst sight to see,” he said, gazing at all that remained of the precious herbs. While Pantelis, aged 45, was able to rescue his hives before the fire reached them, a fellow beekeeper several kilometres away near the village of Asklipio was not so lucky. “If I was this beekeeper, I would not bring my bees back here ever in my life,” said Pantelis, lamenting that it would take 25 to 30 years for the landscape to regrow. “Maybe his grandchildren can.” He mused: “Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was proud to say no lives were lost before the Canadair crash [which killed two pilots near Athens this week]. But I don’t know if someone told him about the deer, donkeys, tortoises ... thousands of animals have been killed.” A fish farmer by trade, Pantelis expressed concern over the toxic impact of the fire debris upon the fish and other aqautic life as it washes into the rivers and sea. He is not alone in fearing what autumn’s rains will bring – with several locals warning that the first heavy rainfall on drought-parched and fire-scorched earth could cause floods and landslides, hitting towns and villages, as happened after last year’s huge fires in Evia, near Athens. Work is under way to prevent flooding with irrigation channels to steer rainwater away from settlements, the deputy mayor said, stressing the importance of properly clearing the area of debris and carefully planning how the forests should be regrown. Noting that a discussion around better forest management must take place, Mr Taraslias criticised a belief among officials that preserving nature meant not cutting a single more tree than necessary. “We must find a way to clean the forests” rather than allow them to become dense with flammable pine needles, he said. But some of the island’s residents, encouraged by the huge community push to fight this month’s wildfires – and who currently risk breaking the law by cutting down trees to create firebreaks – are eager to ensure that Rhodes does not suffer such a tragedy again. “We have to better protect the forests … for our children, for our futures,” said Pantelis, driving through the incinerated landscape as embers smouldered and firefighting planes flew in the skies above. “We cannot wait for the government. We should take our future into our own hands.” Read More The climate crisis will irrevocably change how we holiday: Here’s what the future of travel looks like Britons face ‘absolute nightmare’ trying to get refunds for Rhodes holidays Winds fuel fire flare-ups in Rhodes as state of emergency declared across island More than 40 people killed as wildfires rage in nine Mediterranean countries in record heatwave