China Puts Evergrande’s Billionaire Founder Under Police Control
Hui Ka Yan, the billionaire chairman of beleaguered property developer China Evergrande Group, has been placed under police
2023-09-27 15:24
Ozzy Osbourne plans 'one more album' and another tour in 2024
Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne is planning to record "one more album" before heading back on tour in 2024.
2023-09-27 15:19
Kalvin Phillips must seize rare chance to move away from being Man City’s decorated substitute
Pep Guardiola confirmed one starter and it was the player who never starts. When Rodri, in a moment that felt out of character, tried to throttle Morgan Gibbs-White, the main beneficiaries were not Nottingham Forest, who lost at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday anyway, but Kalvin Phillips. For much of his time at Manchester City, the supposed Yorkshire Pirlo has been the Yorkshire Sergio Gomez, belatedly brought on when victory has long been secured. Yet it has been worse: Gomez was hired as a largely unknown left-back, Phillips as one of the players of Euro 2020, a footballer transformed by Guardiola’s managerial hero Marcelo Bielsa. Yet when a defensive midfielder secured City the Champions League, it was Rodri, not Phillips. When a defensive midfielder was named the competition’s player of the season, it was Rodri, not Phillips. With the Spaniard now suspended, the Englishman is guaranteed that rarest of things – an appearance in the initial XI – at Newcastle on Wednesday evening. It will be just the fifth match he will begin for City: Rodri has started 61 in that time. He had only played eight minutes of football for City this season; after Rodri’s red card, he got 39 on Saturday. There could be 90 on Wednesday. If, for Phillips, it is a belated chance to kickstart his City career: perhaps a brief one, too, as Mateo Kovacic is on the comeback trail, should feature for some of the match at St James’ Park and, if Guardiola does not trust the Englishman, might take on the holding midfield duties at Wolves and Arsenal. But perhaps a chance in the Carabao Cup is a reward for Phillips’ obstinacy. He had the chance to leave in the summer, to admit defeat when West Ham came calling as they looked for a replacement for Declan Rice. City might have been willing sellers. Phillips was unwilling to go. “He decided to stay,” Guardiola said. “The club spoke with him. He doesn’t have much minutes, but he said: ‘No, I want to stay.” It is okay, it is perfect, he is a lovely person.” Being a likeable figure does not necessarily make him Guardiola’s idea of a central midfielder. The City manager said that “of course” it meant a lot that Phillips was willing to stay and fight for his place. That position, however, tends to elude him. The reality is that both of his league starts in their colours came after they had already won last season’s title. Since he joined City have lost two of the four games he has started and only five of the 66 he has not. He began last season’s Carabao Cup tie at Southampton. That scarcely counted in his favour. “It was the worst game I played as manager of Man City by far, so I didn’t recognise anything about that,” Guardiola said. It formed part of an awkward start for Phillips. He had shoulder surgery before the World Cup and was omitted after it when Guardiola deemed him unfit. If Bielsa’s idiosyncratic tactics, with man-marking all over the pitch, meant Phillips was reinvented from a decent Championship box-to-box midfielder to a seemingly world-class holding player, perhaps he has had to be deprogrammed from the Argentinian’s unique gameplan. Certainly Guardiola accepted he has got less from Phillips than the former Leeds manager. “Marcelo gave Kalvin the best of Kalvin in his career,” he said. “I’d love to have done with Kalvin what Marcelo has done to him. It is what it is. We have our own specific way to play. He sometimes struggles in a few things while the previous one was perfect. But he is open-minded and always wants to learn.” Rodri may be the ideal tutor, the player who has perfected the role in front of the back four for Guardiola, who occupied it himself for Johan Cruyff at Barcelona. “Rodri has been missed and his consistency is really important, he knows everything in the game,” Guardiola said. “Of course being outside, sitting [on the bench], seeing players in training sessions and what we are looking for in the training sessions and the meetings helps a lot. But every player has his own specifics. We bring Kalvin here for his quality. There are no twins in football. Everyone has their own personality. He has to be Kalvin Phillips.” Being Kalvin Phillips must have been a strange experience in the last 14 months. He has become one of football’s most decorated substitutes, winning everything, but with a watching brief. The two best performances of his time at City have come for England: in March’s away win in Italy and this month’s victory over Scotland in Glasgow. He has been the £45m afterthought, the player Guardiola usually only turns to long after the outcome is decided. And now, perhaps for one night only, perhaps for the crucial clash at Arsenal, the Yorkshire Pirlo has to prove he can be the Yorkshire Rodri. Read More Manchester City hit by travel headache ahead of hectic fortnight Kalvin Phillips to start in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup clash at Newcastle Pep Guardiola jokes he could play for much-changed Man City in Newcastle cup tie
2023-09-27 14:58
New video of ‘dead’ Russian Black Sea fleet commander raises doubts over Ukraine’s claim
A top Russian naval officer who Ukraine claimed was killed in a missile strike has been seen in a new video released by Russia, sparking confusion among the war-hit country’s officials. Ukraine’s special forces on Monday had claimed Russian admiral Viktor Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in a missile strike carried out on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol in Crimea. The video released by Russia’s defence ministry on Tuesday, however, showed Black Sea Fleet commander Sokolov appearing on a video conference call with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. It remains unclear when the video was recorded. While it is not clear how Ukraine counted casualties in the Sevastopol operation, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, had earlier posted the admiral’s name and photo on social media. Ukraine now says it is working to “clarify” earlier reports. Russia has not issued any direct rebuttal of Ukraine’s claims, which is consistent with its stance of maintaining silence on significant battlefield losses. “As is known, 34 officers were killed as a result of a missile attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Available sources claim that among the dead was the commander of the Russian Army. Many still have not been identified due to the disparity of body fragments,” Ukraine’s special forces said on their official Telegram channel. “Since the Russians were urgently forced to publish an answer with an apparently alive Sokolov, our units are clarifying the information,” it said. The video from Tuesday showed defence minister Shoigu talking about a drill he claimed Russia’s Pacific fleet had completed a day earlier, as several top officers appeared on a big screen in the room. Admiral Sokolov is also seen in a video screen but in a different location, with only a flag seen in the backdrop behind him. He is also not heard speaking in the video. While this appears to be a signal from Moscow that the admiral is still alive, Russia has not released any details to prove when the video conference took place. In its earlier update on the Sevastopol strike, Ukraine’s special forces said the air force fired 12 missiles on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters as it targeted areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. Two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit, special forces said. It was a rare direct claim of responsibility from Ukraine for an attack on either Russian soil or a target in Crimea, which Russia has occupied since its illegal annexation in 2014. Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol are reported to be taking extra defensive measures in the face of Ukraine’s increased attacks on Crimea in recent days. Sevastopol is a critical region providing a platform from which Russia has launched many of its air attacks on Ukraine in the 19-month-long war. Read More Russia remains silent as Ukraine claims Black Sea Fleet commander among 34 officers killed Putin’s Black Sea fleet commander ‘killed in navy attack’ as Ukraine breakthrough triggers ‘panic’ Russia’s Lavrov rubbishes Ukraine peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’
2023-09-27 14:54
Football rumours: Arsenal step up interest in Ivan Toney ahead of January window
What the papers say Arsenal are rumoured to be keen on signing Brentford forward Ivan Toney, the Mirror reports. The Gunners have been eyeing the 27-year-old and are said to be stepping up their interest ahead of the January transfer window, with Toney currently banned from all football activities until mid-January for gambling offences. The Daily Mail reports that a sensational return to Chelsea could be on the cards for Tammy Abraham after two years at Roma as part of a swap deal for Romelu Lukaku, who is currently on loan at the Serie A club. Manchester United may have their eyes set on German international forward Serge Gnabry from Bayern Munich, the Daily Mail reports. The Premier League club currently lack firepower without Antony and Jadon Sancho. Social media round-up Players to watch Aston Villa continue talks to extend Ollie Watkins’ contract, aiming to finalise a new deal for the England international by January according to 90min. Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, 26, may be gearing up for a move to Nottingham Forest or Barcelona, with interest being shown by both clubs for the Leicester midfielder. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-09-27 14:49
Qatar Airways executive says invasive gynecological examinations of passengers won't be repeated
A senior Qatar Airways executive has told an Australian Senate inquiry that there would be no repeat of an incident at Doha’s international airport in 2020 in which female passengers were subjected to invasive gynecological examinations
2023-09-27 14:49
DNA testing leads to exoneration of California man imprisoned nearly 3 decades on kidnapping and sexual assault convictions
After a California man spent nearly three decades in prison for kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery convictions, new DNA testing has revealed he was innocent of those crimes, a prosecutor announced.
2023-09-27 14:48
Mariners taken aback by fan throwing ball on field and grazing pitcher George Kirby
There was an unexpected moment of anxiousness for Seattle starting pitcher George Kirby and the Mariners in the sixth inning of their 6-2 win over the Houston Astros after a foul ball hit into the stands behind the third base dugout was thrown back by a fan and grazed the pitcher
2023-09-27 14:47
Hillary Clinton mocks Putin over Nato expansion: ‘Too bad, Vladimir. You brought it on yourself’
Hillary Clinton mocked Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for his concerns about Nato’s expansion and said the Russian president “brought it on himself” with his invasion of Ukraine. "Defending democracy in Ukraine, expanding Nato – just as an aside, too bad Vladimir, you brought it on yourself," the former US secretary of state said, prompting laughter and applause. Ms Clinton was speaking at the State Department where she unveiled her official portrait and addressed current and former officials in the ornate Benjamin Franklin State Dining room. "We always said, ‘people are not forced to join Nato. People choose and want to join Nato,’" she added. The top leader also took shots at the policies of Republican former president Donald Trump, who defeated her in the 2016 US presidential election. She added that there may have been questions raised on Washington’s ability to gather support for its aid for Ukraine to fend off Russian invasion due to Mr Trump’s legacy of alienating allies. "People might have doubted that because we had burned so many bridges with our allies and our friends," she said. "Reinstating a foreign policy... that actually brings people to us, not pushes them away, would have been thought to be extremely difficult. And indeed it was, but it was accomplished," she said and thanked her successor secretary of state Antony Blinken for "helping to restore America’s standing". Ms Clinton said the current Biden administration pursued many of the priorities of the Obama administration, in which she was the top US diplomat. Talking about the common Biden and Obama priorities, she described the mutual concerns of "expanding Nato, facing down Russian aggression and managing the challenges from China" as she took a dig at the Russian president who has long complained of Nato’s expansion in Europe and blamed it as a motive for his invasion of Ukraine. The top former official joked that it had been a long time since she had seen the portrait, which depicted her gazing into the distance against the backdrop of an enlarged American flag. "Between Covid, between not wanting to finish it during the prior administration," she said with a meaningful glance at the audience, drawing laughter, "it’s been a while. And I am going to be probably as surprised as all of you". Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’ Ukrainian forces ‘enjoy success’ near Bakhmut as Putin deploys reserves Hillary Clinton makes quip about Trump administration as her portrait is unveiled Donald Trump’s play for union votes leaves the GOP in a confusing spot once again
2023-09-27 14:46
Powerball jackpot of $835 million -- which would be the game's fourth-largest -- is up for grabs Wednesday night
Powerball players will vie for an estimated $835 million jackpot during Wednesday night's drawing.
2023-09-27 14:29
George Kirby twirls 6 shutout innings, Mariners snap 4-game losing streak beating Houston 6-2
George Kirby escaped an early bases loaded jam to throw six shutout innings, Seattle took advantage of three Houston errors, and the Mariners snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Astros
2023-09-27 13:59
S Jaishankar: India asks Canada for information on Sikh leader's murder
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said India was open to looking into any "specific" details on the killing.
2023-09-27 13:58
