Ukraine war: Blood stains visible in the soil as village of Hroza mourns
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko says every family in Hroza has been affected by Thursday's missile strike.
2023-10-06 21:50
Erik Ten Hag knows Man Utd have ‘dropped in levels’ and need to improve fast
Erik Ten Hag admits Manchester United’s level of play since winning the Carabao Cup has been unacceptable. The Red Devils take on Brentford on Saturday looking to avoid a run of three successive defeats for the second time this season. But results had already tailed off at the end of the last campaign, with Ten Hag’s win percentage dropping from 69 per cent prior to the victory over Newcastle at Wembley to around 50 per cent since. The positivity that had accompanied the Dutchman’s first season in charge has rapidly evaporated, and he said: “We dropped in levels. We have to get back to those levels. “There are reasons for it but still it’s not acceptable and we have to fight against it. Every team we put out has to be on one page and the routines are not always there. They have a good foundation in the way they play, keep the foundation, support each other and we will do better.” United have endured another miserable week, with a Premier League loss to Crystal Palace followed by a 3-2 home defeat by Galatasaray in the Champions League, where goalkeeper Andre Onana again struggled. Ten Hag believes his side are being punished for lapses, saying: “Consistency, that is the problem we are struggling with. “In parts of the game, I will say in big parts of the game, we do a lot of things right but then there are moments where we are struggling and in such moments we can’t survive. “In this moment, you have to do the right things, so be consistent and do the job, be consistent in the communication, and when you do that you keep the right organisation and do it like before. “Definitely you can mark such a moment as when we score a goal or concede a goal and when decisive moments go against us, we lose a bit as a team. Over big parts, in 95 per cent of the game, we are a team, so keep going all the way through and we have to step up. “Most important in such moments is you keep on one page and it starts with communication.” Rasmus Hojlund’s double against Galatasaray was the bright spot but Marcus Rashford again struggled. The England forward has gone seven matches without a goal for club and country, with his only effort so far this season coming against Arsenal at the beginning of September. Ten Hag has no doubt it is just a blip, though, saying: “It’s normal you are not always right at the same levels. Everyone knows the qualities of him and if Rashy does the things right and the team does, it’s up to him. “We have seen in the last weeks he is coming in good positions, he is struggling, but it will pass. Everyone knows the qualities, everyone at Man United backs him, the whole team supports him and believes in him, I am sure with that it will change and this will pass. “Strikers, when they don’t score for a moment, they need one goal, then they step over. When he is doing the right things, and he is doing the right things, the momentum will come and he will be on fire.” Antony could make his return to Premier League action having coming off the bench against Galatasaray but Jadon Sancho remains out of the picture. Read More Going through or going home? – Ireland v Scotland talking points Newly-introduced VAR guidelines to be in use in the Premier League this weekend Jonny May determined to sign off England career in blaze of glory at World Cup Jurgen Klopp: We haven’t looked for Alexis Mac Allister’s best position yet Willie Peters wants Hull KR to become established top-four Super League club James Lowe insists Ireland are far from ‘invincible’ ahead of Scotland showdown
2023-10-06 21:46
5 teams who are already regretting their 2023 NFL Draft picks
Despite being just at the quarter point of the NFL season, many teams probably wish they had a time machine to go back to April. Here are the teams with the most regret.
2023-10-06 21:24
Jordan Henderson plays the tool on road to Saudi Arabia’s inevitable World Cup
You may have seen the video of Jordan Henderson promoting Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup. It is a moving watch. There’s his giant face plastered across the screen, while wearing the famous green and black colours of Al Ettifaq FC. “Very excited about the announcement,” Henderson says in his excited voice. “Go Saudi Arabia 2034.” It is important to note that his World Cup promotional work is voluntary. We know this because he said so in an interview with The Athletic. So when we see raw emotion like this on social media, we know we are getting real Henderson, authentic Henderson, out there backing the bid. Not a paid ambassador, just a boy who fell in love with a gulf state. Henderson is having one of his all-time great seasons: four assists in eight games as captain of Steven Gerrard’s Ettifaq outfit; still in the England squad despite no discernible superior attributes to James Ward-Prowse; all while getting the chance to grow the Saudi Pro League, one of his big motivations for moving there. He is not the only one excited. Gerrard described the prospect of a Saudi World Cup as “potentially one of the best shows the world’s seen”. Al-Ittihad striker Karim Benzema was stunned, tweeting: “Wow! Amazing news.” Al-Ahli winger Riyadh Mahrez was relieved the world will finally get to see the country’s “passion and love of the game”. If it sounds like they think the bid is already won, that’s because it might be. To catch up on a whirlwind week at Fifa HQ, it was announced on Wednesday that six countries across three continents would host the 2030 World Cup. That satisfied the confederations of Europe, Africa and South America. And barely an hour later, Saudi Arabia publicly launched its bid for 2034. Things have fallen into place quite nicely. Fifa’s rules on rotating the World Cup around the globe mean there are only two possible federations left to stage the 2034 World Cup: Oceania and Asia. That doesn’t leave a lot of competition. What’s more, Fifa gave any rivals to the Saudi bid a 25-day deadline for submission. Australia has hinted at joining the race, but a cynic might conclude it would be the tortoise chasing a wealthy and well-prepared hare that’s already crossed the finish line. The World Cup is a logical endpoint to something much bigger. Sport is a mirror to the world order, and Saudi’s emergence in football is both a consequence and a signal of a gravitational shift. As Rory McIlroy put it recently, upon accepting the increasing influence of Saudi Arabia on the game of golf: “You see everything else happening in the world, you see big private equity companies in America taking their money, the biggest companies in the world … if this is what’s happening, then the way I’ve framed it is that the world has decided for me.” There is an inevitability to all this. Even so, given the rapid emergence of an oppressive dictatorship in the world of football, it might have been nice for even just one press conference with Fifa’s dear leader, Gianni Infantino, to scrutinise this flurry of announcements that appear to pave the way for Saudi 2034. This, remember, is an organisation whose “corruption” section on Wikipedia is longer than this article. Infantino has himself taken on the distinct air of a dictator in recent years. He was sworn in for another term as Fifa president in March after winning an election unopposed, annointed to obedient applause at a ceremony in Rwanda. Fifa presidents are supposed to serve a maximum of three terms, but Infantino recently “clarified” that his first three years in the job didn’t count as he was only filling in for the deposed Sepp Blatter. It seems likely he will serve until the bitter end in 2031, capping a 15-year stint as the most powerful man in football. Infantino and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have a friendship of sorts and have been pictured at various matches together, most notably in Qatar last year. The 2034 World Cup might be the first tournament after his reign ends, a parting gift to Bin Salman, like a prime minister handing out one last peerage to an old ally. The road to 2034 will no doubt be smoothed by Saudi’s many levers of soft power. It will host the Fifa Club World Cup in December, and will continue to invest heavily in the Saudi Pro League. Lionel Messi remains an ambassador and Cristiano Ronaldo is its marquee player. The league is set to go after more big, bright stars closer to their prime, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah a high priority. All that will lay the groundwork for the ultimate goal, hosting the World Cup, a platform like no other to project Saudi Arabia’s global standing. So as Henderson put his enthusiastic support behind the message, emitting slight hostage energy, perhaps one day he might reflect that he was just a tool. Read More Jurgen Klopp: We haven’t looked for Alexis Mac Allister’s best position yet Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen make England return but Raheem Sterling left out Harvey Elliott hails team spirit after Liverpool’s new look midfield impresses Paul Pogba faces lengthy ban after anti-doping failure confirmed Liverpool’s new double-act are surprising even Jurgen Klopp Erik Ten Hag has endless problems, but Man Utd have a way out of toxic mess
2023-10-06 21:22
US job growth soared in September, adding 336,000 positions
The US job market surged in September, adding more jobs than expected for the second consecutive month, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2023-10-06 20:55
10 Facts About Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios
In the weeks leading up to Halloween, the family-friendly characters that normally populate Universal Studios are replaced with killer clowns and chainsaw-wielding maniacs.
2023-10-06 20:28
Carlo Ancelotti admits Luka Modric 'is not happy' amid Real Madrid exit speculation
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted Luka Modric 'is not happy' with his current role at the club, though insisted he will not leave in the January transfer window amid links to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.
2023-10-06 20:26
Rock legends Manic Street Preachers and Suede announce 2024 UK and Ireland co-headline tour
The iconic rock groups will hit the road next June and July and take turns closing the concerts.
2023-10-06 20:21
Trend hedge funds come out winners in bond market rout
By Nell Mackenzie LONDON A fresh rout in government bonds has sparked alarm across world markets, battering equities.
2023-10-06 20:17
Chevron Australia LNG workers back strike threat in second meeting, no talks
By Lewis Jackson (Reuters) -Workers at Chevron's two liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia voted to restart strikes
2023-10-06 19:56
Brits reveal advice they would give their younger selves - including investing in property
Brits have revealed the advice they would give their younger selves – including investing in property as early as possible, taking more photos and not being afraid of rejection when asking someone out. A survey of 2,000 adults found 58 per cent would love nothing more than to give the younger version of themselves some good tips. Those surveyed said they would look after their physical health more, avoid wasting their time on negative people and learn from their mistakes. The top 20 list also included recommendations to save 10 per cent of your wages every month, spend more time with your parents and celebrate the little wins. But while 67 per cent would offer financial words of wisdom, 82 per cent felt positive knowing every decision they’ve made has led them to the point where they are now. And the same percentage (82 per cent) wanted to live their life with no regrets. AXA UK commissioned the study as part of its ‘Future You will thank you’ campaign which looks at how our future selves will thank us for the good choices we make today and reveals the decisions people are most thankful for. Scarlette Douglas, former A Place in The Sun host and I’m A Celebrity contestant, is taking part in the campaign discussing the forks in the road which led her to a career in television. She has contributed to an eBook revealing more of these insights from celebrities and the public. Scarlette said: “I had been performing in musicals for eight years when I made what I feel was a great decision at that point in my life, which was to move away from theatre and pursue a different career in television presenting. “I finished my last musical in 2014 and in 2015 I landed an amazing job as a presenter for A Place in The Sun – I had my first presenting role on a Channel 4 show. “I’ve now been in television for eight years and if I didn’t take a leap of faith and make that decision to leave musical theatre and pursue television, I would never be where I am now.” The study also found buying a house as soon as possible, getting married and heading off abroad were some of the things people are most grateful to their young self for. But when it came to regrets, 39 per cent had at least one big one in their life. Of those, 56 per cent said these were romantically linked, while 35 per cent had health-related regrets. Others spoke about how they wish they got to know parents and loved ones better before they passed away. Although 27 per cent had learnt from some of the regrets their parents had experienced. Architect and TV presenter George Clarke is also involved with the campaign and spoke about his first home. He said: “When I bought my first ‘grown-up’ house it was a wreck and definitely a building project. “We had to live in it while we did the work bit by bit over the course of three years – it was a major project and at the time we didn’t have a lot of money, so it was work, earn, do building work... repeat. “It was a major refurbishment and what made it even harder was our child was born during the build too. All of it was a big risk, especially a financial one. “The house looked amazing when we completed it, and although we loved it the financial pressure and the length of the build took its toll and we made the decision to sell. “We were very lucky with the sale and we were able to buy another house just a few hundred yards from the one we’d sold – that project began the journey of setting ourselves up for life.” The research also revealed that dropping a phone down the toilet, having to pay hefty vet bills and having their home flooded were the situations where people regretted not getting insurance. There was a desire among those surveyed, by OnePoll, to say yes more often, with people wanting to experience new travel and holiday destinations (46 per cent), new social activities and plans (35 per cent) and new friendships (34 per cent). Jason Fox, TV broadcaster, former UK Special Forces soldier and Royal Marines Commando, is also taking part in the initiative. He said: “When I left the marines after 20 years of service, I suffered from PTSD and had to learn to look after my mental health. “I realised I could also be useful in the civil world, by showing others that mental wellbeing is a strength, not a weakness. “When I was able to, the best decision I made was to invest in my mental health initiative and organisation ‘Rock 2 Recovery’ to support others in similar situations.” Tara Foley, AXA UK’s CEO, said: “Every decision we make impacts our future, from the biggest life choices to the smallest. “The findings show most people are pretty happy with the majority of decisions they’ve made, but they wouldn’t be averse to going back and giving their younger self a bit of guidance to influence how things turned out further down the line. “It’s encouraging that so many people say they aren’t living their life with regrets and it’s good to see a real desire to experience new things and push the boundaries, such as visiting far-flung places or trying new activities. “Making sure you’re always covered for every eventuality – whether it’s car, home, business or health insurance – means you can take on whatever life throws at you without worrying about unforeseen consequences or unexpected financial challenges.” Top 10 pieces of advice many people wish they could tell their younger self: 1) Be more confident 2) Try not to care what other people think 3) Don’t let opportunities pass you by 4) Look after your physical health more 5) Don’t waste time with negative people 6) Learn from your mistakes 7) Save 10 per cent of your wages every month 8) Eat healthily as it will pay dividends down the line 9) Go on all the holidays you can 10) Invest in property as early as you can 11) Don’t just settle for things 12) Just relax and enjoy the ride 13) Look after your mental health better 14) Spend more time with your parents 15) Celebrate the little wins 16) Take more risks 17) Don’t be afraid of rejection when asking someone out 18) Always be there for your mates 19) Take more photos 20) Be disciplined with your time Read More Brits are so fed up with emails that retail giants now send reminder letters Adults are eager to explore the world alone over the next three years, study finds Study finds more people are moving into high flood zones, increasing risk of water disasters Chris Hemsworth shares big life changes after ‘shocking’ health warning How to get rid of bedbugs: Signs and symptoms amid threat of UK invasion I have felt the shame of infertility – it’s why I started a club for women like me
2023-10-06 19:49
FPL Gameweek 8: Top captain picks
The top Fantasy Premier League captain picks for FPL Gameweek 8, including Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. Powered by Fantasy Football Hub.
2023-10-06 19:48
