Fertile Cuba relies on food imports as farmers lack seeds, fuel
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2023-10-12 05:46
Tony Awards 2023: How to watch Broadway's big night
The 2023 Tony Awards, which honor theatrical productions and performances, will take place Sunday at the United Palace Theater in New York City.
2023-06-11 20:57
I know what you did on Feb 21, 2001: Chrissie Bixler drops bombshell on Ashton Kutcher
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2023-09-10 15:49
Young Boys 1-3 Man City: Player ratings as Haaland braces seals another Champions League win
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2023-10-26 05:29
Thanks to DQ, Chase Elliott tries to defend NASCAR win at Pocono earned without leading a lap
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2023-07-23 01:23
Men’s football can learn a lot from women’s game in terms of inclusivity
Women’s football is continuing to set the standard for inclusivity in the sport as the men’s game lags far behind, according to a player from the London Unity League. While several of the big-name players preparing for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand are openly gay or bisexual, the lack of LGBTQ+ representation in the men’s game is in stark contrast. Joshua Day, a 30-year-old striker for London Titans in the LUL – a league set up to give members of the LGBTQ+ community a safe environment to play competitive football – had previously been in a professional club’s academy. He quit, largely due to casual homophobia within the dressing room, and has since come out as gay and found his home in the LUL. A Chelsea fan, who has previously left matches when homophobic chants have been heard, Day believes the men’s game has a long way to go to catch up with the inclusive nature of their female counterparts. On Thursday, a Fulham supporter was fined and banned from football for three years after admitting a public order offence relating to homophobic chanting during a match at Stamford Bridge – the latest in a string of similar incidents. “I think there’s a lot that the men’s game can learn from the women’s game at the minute in terms of inclusivity,” Day told the PA news agency. “Fans can learn a lot more from fans in the women’s game, too. There is a better vibe, more inclusivity, more acceptance and that is something we need in men’s football. “Women’s football has players at the very top of the game who are open about their sexuality but that shouldn’t be the catalyst for change in men’s football. “For me, personally, I’m not even sure that (a top-level men’s player coming out) would change things. “If you look at the trans movement at the minute, trans people are under so much scrutiny by being more visible and fighting for their rights much more out in the open – that has brought more trans hate than a decade ago. “Football and sport fits into society and, until we get to a point in society where LGBT people in sport is being much more normalised – and I think that’s why the LUL is really important – I’m not 100 per cent convinced that would mean fans chanting or tweeting homophobic abuse would stop.” Day was part of a Nike advertisement campaign ahead of the Women’s Euros won by England last summer – it was the first time the company had included a gay kiss in an advert, with the online backlash against Day and Nike leading to the comments section being disabled on the post. Rather than having players come out, Day feels having more visible allies for potential LGBTQ+ professionals is key. For me, personally, I'm not even sure that (a top-level men's player coming out) would change things Joshua Day “Players could do more in the men’s game,” added Day. “You see the odd interview saying ‘we’d have no issue with players coming out’ but they are few and far between. “I think if we had more players come out in support of LGBT players, even in lower leagues, the fans are behind players and if players are visibly on board, that’s what I think might help fans change the way that they look at LGBT people in sport. “I remember my first Chelsea game when I was 13 – at that age, I knew that I was gay, I was just not out and I can remember hearing the chant, and just feeling so withdrawn in myself, and I felt so uncomfortable. “I never, ever wanted to feel like that again. No-one should feel like that at a football stadium and eventually that fight for equality will be won.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Barcelona looking to reunite with Thiago Alcantara Denise O’Sullivan not shying away from Republic’s momentous World Cup debut Rory McIlroy returns to Hoylake looking to end nine-year major drought at Open
2023-07-14 16:28
Liverpool thought they’d bought the future – but two wrong moves left them counting the cost
As their soon-to-be former teammates formed a guard of honour on Saturday, there were four presentations in all, two for men in tracksuits, two for those who have distinguished themselves in Liverpool shirts over the last eight years and who wore them at Anfield for a final time. The scorer Roberto Firmino and James Milner, the thirty-somethings who are veterans of over 300 Liverpool appearances apiece, had bowed out as influential substitutes. For the younger duo of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a watching brief felt sadly fitting. It is how they have spent much of their Liverpool careers: sometimes watching on from the bench, often from the stands. Neither has reached 150 appearances in all competitions, even including outings as a substitute. Keita has started 49 league games since his £52m move, or 26 per cent of those in his five years at Anfield, Oxlade-Chamberlain 46 in six, which is just 21 per cent. This season, the Englishman has played 335 Premier League minutes – just 10 per cent of Liverpool’s – and the Guinean 294, or 8.9 per cent. They have had spells as ever-presents on injury bulletins. They were both omitted from Liverpool’s Champions League squad in the autumn, even if the medical team’s pessimism about Oxlade-Chamberlain proved excessive, eventually rendering him fit but ineligible. “Four legends,” Jurgen Klopp had said, but it felt a generous description. Firmino qualifies; so, too, Milner, an unglamorous and often uncelebrated figure, belatedly got his own banner in the Kop. “Ribena for my men – we ride at dawn,” it read, a fine salute to a teetotaller defined by his physical power, willing spirit and leadership qualities. Liverpool, Klopp feels, will miss his mentality. “He sets a high, high bar,” said his manager. But there were heartfelt tributes and a sense of what might have been. The departing quartet fall into two categories: a pair who realised their potential and a duo who did not. It is not entirely their fault. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s Anfield career can be divided into two, though certainly not at the half-way point. He was electric for three months before suffering a cruciate ligament injury against Roma in the 2018 Champions League semi-finals, the dynamic, explosive attacking central midfielder he had always wanted to be. Though he had a fine 2019-20 season, he never recaptured that zest. Keita’s terrific debut against West Ham in 2018 proved a false dawn. He was sporadically excellent thereafter – by and large, he had an impressive 2021-22 season – but Klopp’s assessment last year that of his first 100 games, 80 of them were “really good” was not shared by many supporters. For some, Keita’s time on Merseyside was summed up by his shot in last season’s Champions League final: skied, it was a missed opportunity. For others, it may be epitomised by the Twitter thread of the five strangest reasons for his frequent absences, from getting hurt walking, to being injured on a plane, to a military coup. There was a farcical element but Liverpool could count the cost of two moves that went wrong. They have never had the margin for error that the Manchester clubs possess in the transfer market. For years, they got nearly all of their major signings correct, sometimes spectacularly. But Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain cost a combined £87m and will leave on free transfers. Each is in his twenties and, while it was not stated explicitly, was not offered a new deal. Klopp is a master of eloquent compliments, but Liverpool gave up on both. For years, camouflaged by the excellence of their elders, it mattered less than it might have done until, suddenly, it proved crucial. Six years after Liverpool agreed to sign both – they wanted Keita so much they waited a year for him to actually arrive – they were supposed to be the future of Liverpool’s midfield and the future arrived. Liverpool’s many midfielders this season fell into three categories: the thirty-somethings, the youngsters and the trio at their supposed peak, in their late twenties. But Fabinho has had an awful campaign and Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain were bit-part players, making a combined total of seven league starts, none before Boxing Day, none after February, none where they played 90 minutes, only two of which Liverpool won. Without them, it has been a season of makeshift midfields, of problems at the heart of the side. With Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson ageing, perhaps the plan was for this to be the season of Naby Keita: instead it ends with him being released. Liverpool lost the generation game; the next group, whether Stefan Bajcetic, Harvey Elliott or Curtis Jones, all had periods that showed their promise but those who were supposed to represent the present either regressed or simply were not available. A consequence is that much of Liverpool’s summer budget will be devoted to midfielders; with a need to split it to get more than one – which may not have been necessary had Keita flourished and earned a new deal – they won’t get Jude Bellingham. Their outlay could stretch into nine figures; in a sense, they will be looking to regenerate, to shape Klopp’s second side. In another respect, they are seeking to replace Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, to find players of the quality they were supposed to show more often. But whether their eventual arrivals are Mason Mount and Alexis Mac Allister or Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Gallagher, the first ability they need to demonstrate is one Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have lacked too often: availability. And preferably for at least 50 games a season. Read More Liverpool will still attract top talent across ‘exciting’ and ‘intense’ summer, Virgil van Dijk believes Roberto Firmino ends glorious Liverpool career with imperfect goodbye Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool have not been good enough for top-four finish
2023-05-22 15:16
Vodafone, Three execs tell lawmakers their UK merger will benefit 5G, jobs
LONDON Executives from Vodafone and CK Hutchison's Three UK unit said their 15 billion pound ($18 billion) merger
2023-10-17 19:24
A$AP Rocky calls Rihanna 'my beautiful wife' as she attends his concert flaunting baby bump
He not only referred to the pregnant singer as his 'wife', but also dedicated the song 'Sundress' to her
2023-06-22 16:53
China's answer to Boeing and Airbus, the C919, takes first commercial flight
China's first large homegrown passenger jet made its inaugural commercial flight on Sunday, flying from Shanghai to Beijing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
2023-05-28 13:24
Rail whistleblowers fired for voicing safety concerns despite efforts to end practice of retaliation
Lawyers and unions representing rail workers say there is a clear pattern across the industry of railroads retaliating against workers who report safety violations or injuries on the job
2023-08-19 12:26
Internet denounces 'The View' as 'out-of-touch' hosts promote show's return with ticket sale
'The View' tickets for live studio audience are officially on sale, but not everyone wants them
2023-08-30 10:27
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