Everton winger Demarai Gray became the latest player to join the exodus to Saudi Arabia after signing for Al-Ettifaq on Thursday on the final day of the country’s transfer window

The town of Rye is one of my happy places. I go there at least once or twice a year to visit in-laws and its charm never fails to make me smile. It’s all twisting alleys and cobblestone and centuries-old houses. Retail and restaurant chains haven’t got the same hold here as they do in every other town in the UK – there’s a Boots and a Waterstones, but no Primark, H&M, Pret or Caffé Nero. There isn’t even a Costa. It’s a place that takes pride in its independent shops and restaurants. Some are quirky – a shop that sells antique French confit pots for hundreds of pounds, for example, or a pub called the Waterworks that renovated and refurbished the old, unused public toilets and now sells local beers and ciders. It’s very historic, too; the oldest hotel, The Mermaid Inn, was built in 1156 and is said to be haunted. I’m inclined to agree as my partner and I received a phone call just after falling asleep during our one night there, but no one was on the other side. Spooky indeed. But I’ve always thought there was one thing that the town desperately needed: a Nice Restaurant. Before Covid brought the restaurant industry to its knees, there used to be a family-owned Italian, Tuscan Kitchen. I never got the chance to visit for one reason or another, but my in-laws sang its praises all the time. But a couple of years ago, it closed when the family packed up and went back to Italy, understandably tired of life in the UK. Since then, the only other place to go if you didn’t want to cook and you didn’t want fish and chips has been Mahdi Lounge. It’s good, but the town has been gasping for something different. Then came The Union Rye. Previously The Union Steakhouse, the restaurant was taken over by Rajh Siva, who also runs The Plough, located closer to Winchelsea, and has since overhauled the menu to focus on modern British cuisine. The building was built in 1401 and is a rustic, relaxed space with cosy open fireplaces, exposed brick and wooden furniture. The warm and welcoming restaurant is headed by chef Ben Dafforn, previously of J Sheekey and Simpsons on the Strand in London. I visited The Union Rye recently while on a weekend away with friends, excited at the prospect of trying a new Nice Restaurant in my favourite small British town. I was first alerted to its existence by Marina O’Loughlin, former restaurant critic for The Times, and had been keen to try it for months. The four of us swept in on a Sunday night, and while it was rather empty, we hardly minded – it almost felt like having the entire restaurant to ourselves. Though I hope being empty at dinnertime won’t be an issue for it for much longer, as it truly deserves a visit. Resisting the urge to order the entire menu, we opted for lots of dishes to share. The seasonal menu changes on a daily basis as the chefs work with whatever fresh local produce is available, but this is exciting for me as it means trying new dishes and flavours each time I go. We started with marinated anchovies with caper berries that were simultaneously fresh, sweet and tart, and got very into a plate of ham knuckle croquettes that were fatty and rich, accompanied by a creamy aioli. We also had a rather unusual sweet and savoury granola dish, which comprised of cottage cheese-like curds with granola flavoured with fennel seeds and a jam to cut through the almost bitter, herby flavours. It was imaginative and surprising, which I took great pleasure in. Large fried sardines arrived with their heads still intact, opaque eyes and all, to be covered in burnt lemon. Fat, juicy scallops and their bright orange tongues with samphire on toast. Fried, caramelised mushrooms with hazelnuts and plenty of butter. A succulent pork chop with syrupy charred fruit. A burnt basque cheesecake to share among friends. Oh, how we feasted. The Union Rye is the Nice Restaurant that the town deserves. The dishes are bright and refreshing, but comforting at the same time. I highly recommend going with a group of family or friends so you can order plenty of dishes. It was certainly a night to remember, and I’ll be back there soon, I’m sure. The Union Rye, 8 East Street Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7JY | 01797 229289 | www.theunionrye.co.uk Read More Forest Side: Heavenly Cumbrian produce elevated to Michelin-starred proportions Papi: Pandemic troublemakers’ restaurant is a fun, flirty hit I tried the food at Idris Elba’s restaurant – he should stick to wine

The pressure campaign and threats against two Georgia election workers figured prominently in this week’s indictment of former President Donald Trump

A New Jersey con man who was pardoned by former President Donald Trump has been arrested and is accused of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein was charged alongside four others with a number of crimes, including conspiring to defraud investors of more than $35m and conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to a statement from the office of the US attorney for New Jersey. Each of the five defendants was charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Mr Weinstein was given a 24-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of two separate investment fraud schemes — one that ran from 2004 through 2011, the other from 2012 through 2013 — across both of which he defrauded investors of roughly $230m, according to a court document. On 19 January, 2021, after Mr Weinstein had served less than eight of the 24 years, Mr Trump pardoned him. Shortly after his release from prison, Mr Weinstein started up a new scheme, the statement said. “We allege Mr. Weinstein took part in a new scheme to rip off investors by hiding his real identity,” Special Agent in Charge James E Dennehy of the Newark FBI said. Mr Weinstein allegedly used the alias “Mike Konig” in this new scheme outlined by the FBI. Mr Weinstein allegedly said in a “surreptitious audio” obtained by investigators August 2022: “We collectively did not tell everyone who I was, no one would ever give you a penny if they knew who I was . . . because I have a bad reputation.” He worked with four others, the court document states: Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg , Joel Wittels, Shlomo Erez, and Alaa Hattab. The men were accused of taking “tens of millions of dollars from investors” through the firm Optimus Investments Inc. Most of these investors were “family, friends, or close associates,” the document said. Mr Weinstein, Mr Bromberg, and Mr Wittels received a large portion of the money through Tryon Management Group LLC — another company that was owned and operated “by two other conspirators” — which promised investors opportunities to invest in deals involving Covid-19 face masks, “scarce baby formula,” and first-aid kits “bound for Ukraine,” according to the statement. However, unable to pay the investors with legitimate investment returns, the men decided to combine the funds from both Optimus and Tryon investors and “use it to make monthly payments to other investors in a Ponzi-like fashion” starting in February 2022, the document states. “Once the Tryon owners learned that Mike Konig was actually Weinstein, they agreed with the defendants to continue concealing Weinstein’s identity from investors and to raise additional money to pay off existing Tryon investors, all in an effort to stop the Ponzi scheme from falling apart and to cover up the fraud,” the statement said. The men are also charged with obstructing justice after allegedly “hiding Mr Weinstein’s assets” — $200m in restitution — owed to his previous victims, as well as allegedly “concealing his myriad business activities, which were expressly prohibited by the terms of his supervised release,” according to the court document. If convicted on both charges, each of the five men face a maximum of 25 years in prison and fines of “either $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest,” according to the statement. On top of this, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil complaint against the men and two other individuals “based on the same and additional conduct,” the statement said. Mr Weinstein was one of the 143 people pardoned by former President Trump in the final hours of his term. Read More Donald Trump is the first former president arrested on federal charges. Can he still run in 2024? An inmate was pardoned by Oregon’s governor. Two years on he’s a person of interest in four suspicious deaths Egypt pardons jailed activists, including two prominent rights defenders, official reports say

Mikel Arteta made a point of praising the officials and VAR as 10-man Arsenal beat Burnley on Saturday afternoon (11 November) to move level with Premier League leaders Manchester City, Fabio Vieira was sent off late on for a high challenge on Josh Brownhill, who had earlier cancelled out a brave Leandro Trossard opener. But Arsenal had already secured the points by the time Vieira was dismissed, William Saliba heading them back in front before Oleksandr Zinchenko secured the points with an acrobatic volley.

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One commentator stated, 'bro training for absolutely nothing'

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 5, 2023--

China sees both extreme heat and devastating floods, including in areas where flooding was unheard of.