List of All Articles with Tag 'b'

Jodi Jones was wooed by Malta on Instagram and now he is looking for a picture perfect finish against England. The Bow-born forward is ready for Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Gareth Southgate’s side and he has been ready for some time. Three cruciate ligament injuries in just over three years at Coventry put his career on hold and thwarted a move to Leeds. His injury despair also delayed international recognition with Malta, who initially made contact with Jones via social media four years ago. But, having made his debut in last year’s Nations League loss to Estonia before winning promotion to the Football League at Wembley with Notts County this season, Jones is ready to make up for lost time. “I remember getting messages on Instagram. Obviously, I didn’t know if they were genuine but then they started contacting my family regularly,” he tells the PA news agency. “It was the president (Bjorn Vassallo) who reached out to me on there, then he got my number and was calling me a lot. It's got my love for the game back. It's been a great experience, playing international football, even just little things on a shirt like a badge that says Euro qualifiers Jodi Jones “I played against Luke (Gambin, Sutton’s Malta international) and he messaged me on Instagram saying they were asking about me out there. “Then they reached out to me not too long after that with a proper phone call and contacted the club, that’s when I thought, ‘oh, yeah, obviously this is genuine’. “I was injured at the time so I wasn’t really interested, not because I didn’t want to do it, I was interested but I just wanted to focus on getting back fit. As soon as I was and I thought I was back to my best I thought, ‘now’s the perfect time’.” A seventh appearance came in Friday’s 1-0 win in Luxembourg, a victory which may not resonate worldwide but against a team 80 places above them in the FIFA rankings it suggests quick progress in Michele Marcolini’s three games in charge. “It’s got my love for the game back. It’s been a great experience, playing international football, even just little things on a shirt like a badge that says Euro qualifiers,” says Jones. “As a kid when you get a football kit you want it to have everything on. I remember Arsenal kits when I was younger, I wanted the Champions League badge on it, I wanted the Premier League badge. I’m still like a kid when I see things like that. “It’s got my name back out there as well, which I really needed because if you mentioned my name, people say, ‘well, he’s done his ACL three times’. “Now, if you say my name they’ll say, ‘he did his ACL three times, but he’s still playing, he’s just been promoted with Notts County, he’s an international and is playing against England’. So the positives have overtaken now. “I just enjoy the little things, like just being able to play. I know how quickly things can change, especially with what I’ve been through.” The support of his family – and godparents Terry and Geraldine – has been crucial in helping Jones return from despair but it took dad Jay to remind him of how far he has come. “My godparents, they’ve sacrificed a lot for me. From the age of six they’ve taken me to football because my parents were very young when they had me,” said the 25-year-old, who made just two appearances for Coventry between November 2018 and August 2021 because of injury. “Without them I definitely wouldn’t be a footballer. I can’t thank them enough. For my parents and my partner I’d say it’s more they’re just relieved to see me back playing. “My dad said to me the other day, ‘for all you’ve been through you’ve still played at Wembley twice, you’re going to be playing against England, you’ve been promoted two or three times’. “He said for someone to have missed so much you’ve also achieved so much. “Being from England and watching England when I was a kid, playing against them would mean just a little bit more. It’ll just be a massive thing. “I’m just really excited my family can come and watch me play. I want to be able to be a role model to them, just show them to follow your dreams and they can come true.” Jones has Maltese connections on both sides of his family but more on his father’s side with Jay and mum, Frances, flying out. His partner Zoe, children and godparents will be at the Ta’ Qali Stadium for the Group C game. He also remains close with James Maddison, remaining in a WhatsApp group with former Coventry team-mates with the ribbing about trying to keep up with the Leicester star ongoing. Friday will cap his comeback season after Notts County’s dramatic National League play-off promotion. Last month, Jones’ first goal since October 2018 sent the Magpies to Wembley after his last-minute extra-time winner capped a thrilling 3-2 semi-final victory over Boreham Wood before a penalty shoot-out win over Chesterfield in the final. Jones, who made his senior debut at 16 for Dagenham in 2014, scored in the shoot-out and knows how special one more goal on Friday would be. “I’ve pictured it loads of times, whether it’ll happen is another thing,” says Jones, who joined the Magpies permanently this month after leaving Oxford. “I believe in my ability and I know if I get one chance I will take it.”

The summer transfer window is officially open ahead of the 2023-24 Premier League season and there are already plenty of news and rumours ahead of what promises to be a busy few weeks for clubs, players and agents. Having signed Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool are keen to bring in at least two more top players, with Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram and Inter’s Nicolo Barella top of the shopping list, according to the Mirror. The same paper also reports that Paris Saint-Germain have opened preliminary talks with Tottenham’s Harry Kane. PSG are likely to be the big focus of the window with Kylian Mbappe’s future up in the air. The France forward will be a target for Manchester United, according to the Metro, should Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim buy the club. Meanwhile 90min reports Declan Rice is moving closer to Arsenal, with the Gunners preparing a bid higher than £100m for the Hammers’ captain. Follow all the latest transfer news and rumours below. Read More Football rumours: Man United, Real Madrid and Chelsea fight for Kylian Mbappe Kylian Mbappe breaks silence after speculation over PSG exit

Donald Trump has now claimed that the boxes of classified documents discovered in his possession actually contained clothes in his first speech since he was arrested and arraigned on federal criminal charges. In remarks at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Tuesday night, Mr Trump insisted that he wanted to hold onto the boxes because “they were containing all types of personal belongings – many, many things, shirts and shoes, everything”. He insisted he wanted to sort through the boxes but had been “busy” as he went on his usual unsubstantiated narrative that he is the victim of political persecution. His speech came hours after he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse on 37 charges over his handling of classified national security documents after leaving the White House. Miami officials had braced for protests outside the courthouse but much of the Maga army of supporters failed to show up as expected. One anti-Trump protester jumped in front of the former president’s motorcade. After the hearing, Mr Trump stopped by the famous Cuban restaurant Versailles where supporters sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ ahead of his 77th birthday today. Read More Desperate deflections, revenge plans – and a supplicant Fox News: What we learned from Trump speech Defiant Trump accuses ‘corrupt’ Biden of undermining democracy with ‘evil and heinous’ federal charges Trump addresses reason he refused to give back boxes saying they contained ‘shoes and shirts and everything’ Tucker Carlson blasts ‘filthy and decadent’ Trump aides who exploited his need for flattery

Greenpeace activists scaled Deutsche Bank's headquarters in Frankfurt Wednesday and strung up a large yellow banner to protest against the climate investment policies of the German lender and its asset management company DWS.

Schwarzenegger's shopping trip turned into a mob scene as fans and onlookers swarmed to catch a glimpse of the legendary action star at Walmart

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced £50 million in funding to develop trustworthy and secure artificial intelligence (AI) that can help solve major challenges. The investment, which will bring experts across different fields together, was revealed during this year’s London Tech Week. As part of the package, £31 million has been awarded to a group called Responsible AI UK (www.rai.ac.uk), led by the University of Southampton. Its aim is to create a UK and international research and innovation ecosystem for responsible and trustworthy AI that will be responsive to the needs of society. AI tends to be looked at by the tech community as AI that has been thoroughly tested Professor Gopal Ramchurn Led by Professor Gopal Ramchurn, the consortium will help people understand what responsible and trustworthy AI is, how to develop it and build it into existing systems, and the impacts it will have on society. Explaining what trustworthy AI means, Prof Ramchurn said: “Trustworthy AI tends to be looked at from a very technical perspective – ie it is tested and validated in well-defined settings. “However, that doesn’t mean it will be trusted by the public, government, and industry.” He added: “AI tends to be looked at by the tech community as AI that has been thoroughly tested. “It can be AI that is trustworthy by the technical functionality of the application and the particular closed environments it has been tested in, but it is not trusted because maybe it uses personal data, you know, uses your personal data in ways that you would not want it to do.” In addition, £2 million will be awarded to 42 projects to carry out feasibility studies in businesses as part of the BridgeAI programme. These will speed up the adoption of trusted and responsible AI and Machine Learning (ML) technologies. The projects will look at developing a range of tools to facilitate assessment of AI technologies, and successful ones will go on to receive a share of an additional £19 million to develop these solutions further. A further £13 million will be used to fund 13 projects to help the UK meet its net zero targets. Universities across the UK, from Edinburgh to Aberystwyth, and Leicester to Southampton, will lead these projects. The UK’s expertise in the field of AI is a major asset to the country and will help develop the science and technology that will shape the fabric of many areas of our lives Kedar Pandya, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council UKRI has also awarded two new Turing AI World Leading Researcher Fellowships, to Professor Michael Bronstein and Professor Alison Noble, both based at the University of Oxford. Kedar Pandya, executive director, Cross-Council Programmes at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, said: “The UK’s expertise in the field of AI is a major asset to the country and will help develop the science and technology that will shape the fabric of many areas of our lives. “That is why UKRI is continuing to invest in the people and organisations that will have wide-ranging benefit. “For this to be successful we must invest in research and systems in which we can have trust and confidence, and ensure these considerations are integrated in all aspects of the work as it progresses. “The projects and grants announced today will help us achieve this goal.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘Last Beatles record’ was created using AI, says Paul McCartney Put ‘public good’ at heart of AI and new tech, Starmer to say Ukrainian schoolboy to buy home for his mother after selling Minecraft server

Scarlett Johansson has a secret she really hopes her children won’t find out

Eminem's adopted daughter Alaina exchanged vows with Matt Moeller in a beautiful ceremony where her sister Hailie Jade served as the maid of honor

London’s West End is seeing strong demand for space, even against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty — at

Global oil demand growth will taper off over the next few years as high prices and Russia’s invasion

'Asteroid City' is getting a limited release in the United States on June 16, to be followed by a wider release on June 23

UBS Group AG initially plans to take on the bulk of Credit Suisse private bankers in Asia Pacific,