List of All Articles with Tag 'a'

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON U.S. Federal Reserve officials are in "uncharted waters" with no clear historical guide as

By Brendan Pierson A federal appeals court on Thursday will weigh lifting a Louisiana judge's order limiting the

U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday ahead of key inflation data later in the day that could

Athletico Paranaense CEO Alexandre Mattos has insisted that Vitor Roque will not join Barcelona until January 2024.

Juventus fans invaded the training pitch to protest a possible move for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku.

As the curtain went down on last season, one of the clubs facing most uncertainty over the immediate direction they would, or indeed could, take was Tottenham Hotspur. It was clear that their second interim manager of the campaign, Ryan Mason, wouldn’t be in charge; who was to take over and try to - yet again - restructure and rebuild the underperforming team was a mystery. It was clear that a new sporting director had to be appointed given Fabio Paratici’s ban and departure; who they would land to fill the void was unclear. And above all, it seemed that both captain and vice-captain would move on from tthe playing squad: Hugo Lloris’ last involvement saw him subbed midway through the drubbing at Newcastle and he was outspoken over summer over his “desire” to depart, while star striker - and most valuable asset in every sense - Harry Kane has just a year left on his contract and many suitors keen on his talents. And yet, in what can only be described as very Tottenham-esque fashion, both Lloris and Kane remain at the club on the eve of the new season, new boss Ange Postecoglou handed the task of rebuilding a team without fully knowing if the spearhead of it will in fact remain past the next few weeks. With regards to the goalkeeping situation at least, there’s an expectation rather than a reality of clarity now. The Australian manager confirmed Lloris opted out of joining Spurs’ pre-season tour to explore transfer opportunities, with summer addition Guglielmo Vicario the new No.1. Kane, meanwhile, is described as “invested” in the team by his latest boss but Bayern Munich’s interest, in particular, isn’t going anywhere. While Postecoglou tries to integrate the England captain into yet another Spurs vision, it’s perhaps Daniel Levy’s approach which is hampering how fast his newest appointment can put matters on track. On the one hand, there’s a reputation and an expectation to acknowledge: Levy, when conducting transfer business for Spurs, is known to be tough to deal with, standing firm on valuations and expecting others to match them if they want a player. On most occasions, that might well be the right, or at least a beneficial, approach. But perhaps this time, this summer, with this player’s situation, rapidly concluding negotiations would by far outweigh the benefits of standing firm on payment terms, or holding out for the extra few percent. Recent reports suggested a £10m difference between the clubs; while not an insignificant figure, consider the difference between getting £90m now and absolutely nothing just ten months down the line. And more than that, consider the year-long delay in allowing Postecoglou to bring in the type of striker he wants to lead the line and work with and have others play off, run off, link with, create for: not just removing Spurs’ own ability to pay for that striker, but holding up the start date on integrating them into the system. Keeping Kane and hoping he’ll recant and sign an extension is an obvious attraction, but given the lack of ability to compete at the top or have a cohesive, consistent approach to improvement over the last few years - throughout the club, not just on the pitch - it would appear to be optimistic in the extreme for Levy and the board to focus on that possibility. Meanwhile, a late-summer sale would only mean that at best Spurs get perhaps a couple of goals or games out of Kane, but then face time pressures to find a replacement - and don’t have a longer-tearm starting striker for the first games of the season, and even when one is signed, he has missed out on a crucial pre-season of bedding in. And so to what Postecoglou can control, rather than what he cannot. A long list of club and country positions have shown his capacity for organisation, for commanding the respect of his squad and for producing at-times excellent football, without sacrificing an ability to be pragmatic when called for. Aside from the aforementioned Vicario and the loans-turned-permanent deal for Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski, Postecoglou has been gifted Micky van de Ven at the back and James Maddison in attack. Manor Solomon adds depth, but well over £150m of total outlays have not been offset by sales - just Harry Winks and Lucas Moura have departed, the latter on a free. Getting the best out of Maddison will be a crucial aspect of the new Spurs, be it as a No10 or in a more fluid, floating role. Too often, too long it has been a case of relying on Kane and Son Heung-min, and the latter endured a torrid campaign in 2022/23. Adding aggression, work rate, organisation and far, far better mental resilience when matters get tough after the whistle goes will all have been high on Postecoglou’s must-do list this summer. All of that can be done with or without Kane, and the evidence of it should be seen very quickly into the new term compared to some of the debacles under Antonio Conte and those who, briefly, followed. But when it comes to the regular winning of matches, rather than the not losing of them, that requires understanding. That requires time. That requires cohesion, fine-tuning and a consistent message to a consistent group. Spurs’ own approach this summer hasn’t removed enough of that original uncertainty for them to be absolutely sure yet what path they are following and what they want to become. It makes them an incredibly interesting side to watch heading into 23/24, but they - as much as anyone else - might still be unsure exactly what they’ll be getting. Read More The ‘incredible’ Micky Van de Ven trait that Tottenham want to weaponise Inside Trent Alexander-Arnold’s new role: ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ Fantasy Premier League: 30 players you must consider for 2023/24 season Defender Micky van de Ven joins Tottenham from Wolfsburg on six-year deal Dejan Kulusevski vows to ‘do everything’ to keep Harry Kane at Tottenham Postecoglou aims ‘deadline’ dig at Bayern over Kane transfer saga

RAMALLAH, West Bank Israeli forces killed a Palestinian militant in a clash in the occupied West Bank on

The list of gifts and hospitality Justice Clarence Thomas has received from wealthy friends is more extensive than previously known, according to a new ProPublica report.

Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich have finally reached an agreement over the transfer fee for Harry Kane after a summer of back and forth. According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, a proposal from the Bundesliga side believed to be worth more than €100m (£86.4m) was accepted by Spurs on Wednesday. The England captain will now have to decide whether he wants to stay in north London or move to the German giants. Meanwhile, Premier League managers are preparing for the new campaign that gets underway on Friday evening with a number of their final pre-season press conferences scheduled for Thursday to provide all-important team news. Fans who are finalising their Fantasy Premier League line-ups will be eagerly anticipating updates as the likes of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Vincent Kompany at Burnley, Sean Dyche at Everton and Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest all speak to the world’s press today. Elsewhere, the transfer carousel continues to spin with news that West Ham and Monaco are emerging as main competitors for Folarin Balogun as they are currently the only two clubs capable of meeting Arsenal’s £40m-plus asking price. The young striker’s preference had been to go to one of the Milan clubs, with Inter looking likeliest, but the Champions League finalists cannot get close to the fee. Follow all the latest news below: Read More Fantasy Premier League: 30 players you must consider for 2023/24 season West Ham enter race for Folarin Balogun as Arsenal set transfer price Chelsea make Moises Caicedo breakthrough over structure of Brighton transfer

By Nandita Bose SALT LAKE CITY President Joe Biden will visit a Utah veterans' medical center on Thursday

Germany will continue to face a risk of severe gas shortages until early 2027 unless it adds more

Female workers who produce Fifa merchandise for events such as the Women’s World Cup have endured pay below minimum wage, verbal abuse, unpaid overtime and threats of job loss if they fall pregnant, according to a new report by human rights researcher Equidem. Equidem has criticised Fifa for not taking action on a situation that seems to go against the advances the tournament has been responsible for, and president Gianni Infantino has been urged to extend “that progress to addressing the harms its women workers experience”. Equidem has put its report into the context of the litany of migrant labour abuses that occurred due to the men’s World Cup in Qatar and asked why there has been no update from a human rights subcommittee that was supposed to be set up to assess the legacy of that event, raising questions about Fifa’s expressed commitment to improving working conditions. The report features interviews with women workers in factories in Bangladesh that make official merchandise for Fifa events, and involves distressing testimonies including verbal abuse and the illegal denial of worksite childcare and maternity leave. Equidem heard several stories of women denied freedom of association. “We have a daily target to reach,” one worker said. “The supervisor fixes our daily target. I make 60-80 pieces per hour. I can only go to the restroom after finishing my hourly target. When a lot of work piles up, they don’t let us go anywhere. They verbally abuse us. I work for 10-12 hours a day at my sewing machine. Today, my supervisor told me to give 80 pieces per hour, but it was quite difficult to make 80 pieces. I made 60 pieces per hour. He shouted at me several times. “I can’t keep my son with me. I work between eight and 12 hours every day. Who will look after him? I searched for someone to leave my son with when I went to work, but I did not get anyone. We don’t have a childcare room in our factory. My son lives in Dhaka with my mother-in law and father-in-law.” Workers described a common practice of being told they would lose their jobs if they became pregnant during the first two years of employment. One woman employed as a sewing machine operator explained: “When I started working here, the factory doctor told me not to have babies for the first two years. I was told that after completing two years, I can have children. If I get pregnant before that, I will have to resign. They will not give me any leave.” Some workers spoken to by Equidem reported that they did not get paid any maternity leave at all, even though they are supposed to be legally entitled to four months, making it a clear violation of Bangladeshi law. Equidem’s CEO Mustafa Qadri states: “After the Men’s World Cup this past year in Qatar, FIFA pledged to set up a human rights subcommittee that would assess the legacy of the 2022 tournament, although there has been no further update as to the status of that assessment, nor its learnings. Equidem urges FIFA to extend its expressed commitment to improving working conditions to women workers in their apparel supply chains. "Yet, the world has seen significant advances in pay parity for women players, including making the Women’s World Cup more professional, ensuring equal regulations and conditions, and fair distribution of prize money to players. The United States team, after years of negotiations, public battles, and court filing won an equal pay deal that makes them one of the best-paid national teams in the world. "The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 brings with it many positive improvements for its players, and it is crucial that FIFA extends that progress to addressing the harms its women workers experience. FIFA has the power, money, and resource to address this at the systemic level, and we will keep monitoring their global supply chains until it does. “This movement toward gender parity within FIFA, signals a heightened commitment within the organisation to fair conditions for women players—on par with their male counterparts. This should extend to all women, not just those under the stadium lights.” A Fifa spokesperson said: “FIFA has stringent labour rights requirements for companies producing FIFA-licensed goods and takes any allegation of labour rights abuse in its supply chain very seriously. FIFA is in contact with both Equidem and the respective companies to further investigate the matter.” Read More Fifa urged to make human rights key consideration for World Cup 2030 host ‘Matter of when not whether’ UK hosts Women’s World Cup – sports minister Kevin De Bruyne says new approach to added time ‘doesn’t make any sense’ How much added time? Football’s new guidelines and the impact they will have Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines