'I had soap in my eyes': Garth Brooks recalls 'showering' with Steven Tyler at Billy Joel concert
'I had soap in my eyes and I look around and there's Steven Tyler, and he's showering too,' Brooks revealed on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'
2023-05-19 15:22
Academics weigh in on how BOJ's Ueda can exit easy policy
By Leika Kihara TOKYO As inflation has run past the Bank of Japan's 2% target, governor Kazuo Ueda
2023-05-19 15:21
Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘now the second-richest person in the UK’
Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now the second-richest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times Rich List, with the list’s compilers placing his wealth at almost £30billion. Ratcliffe, the chief executive of the INEOS chemicals company, has bid to take a controlling stake in United. He faces competition from Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim, who made an improved fourth bid to buy 100 per cent of the club earlier this week. That move was interpreted as an attempt to seize the initiative from Ratcliffe, whose bid is reported to be structured to allow two members of the Glazer family which currently owns the club to keep a combined 20 per cent stake. Ratcliffe, born in Failsworth in Greater Manchester, was ranked 27th on the 2022 Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of £6.075bn, but has jumped up to second in the 2023 list with wealth now believed to be £29.688bn, an increase of almost 400 per cent in 12 months. Robert Watts, the compiler of the Rich List, told PA: “This year we have new information about the full scale of INEOS’ profits and that has made us confident that INEOS is now worth at least £40bn. “We have also learned more about the personal assets that Jim has accumulated over the past 25 years.” Ratcliffe topped the Rich List in 2018 when his personal wealth was estimated at £21.05bn. INEOS already owns French club Nice and Swiss side Lausanne. The Reuben family, which includes Jamie Reuben who bought a minority stake as part of the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle in October 2021, drops from third to fourth on the list despite their overall fortune increasing by £2.134bn to £24.399bn. The Coates family, which founded the bet365 betting company and owns Championship club Stoke, remains 16th in the list with a combined fortune of £8.795bn, an increase of £158million compared to 2022. Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich dropped off the list altogether, having been in 28th place last year. The list compilers believe his fortune remains largely intact despite sanctions imposed by the UK and other governments following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but he is not on the 2023 list because he does not have British citizenship or live in the UK. The Sunday Times identified golfer Rory McIlroy as the richest active UK sportsman with a fortune of £200m. Also contained within its list of the wealthiest 35 people under the age of 35 were boxer Anthony Joshua (£150m) plus footballers Gareth Bale (£70m), Raheem Sterling (£61m) and Harry Kane (£51m). :: Further information on the Sunday Times Rich List can be accessed via the following link: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list Read More Sheikh Jassim makes bigger last-ditch bid in Man United takeover saga Ineos ‘optimistic’ over Man United purchase after increased contact What would a Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover mean for Manchester United Jon Rahm faces day two battle to make the cut at US PGA Championship Rumours: Man United ‘shock’ Mane move and Arsenal talks to sell Xhaka How Manchester United experiment with No. 10s - and where it goes wrong
2023-05-19 15:21
Out of bailout spotlight, Greeks feeling recovery pains at election
Greeks will head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country’s economy for the first time in over a decade
2023-05-19 15:20
'Giving you 102 reasons to be excited for summer!' Jamie Lynn Spears shares Zoey 102 update
Jamie Lynn Spears has given fans "102 reasons to be excited" as she teases the 'Zoey 101' reunion movie as she shares an update to the reboot of her classic 00s TV show.
2023-05-19 15:17
How Manchester United experiment with No. 10s - and where it goes wrong
Erik ten Hag isn’t quite Erik ten tens. But in a season when Bruno Fernandes has started 54 of United’s 58 games and when, as the de facto captain, he has become even more pivotal, the Manchester United manager has shown an experimental streak, seeking to reinvent others as No. 10s and using the Portuguese in a variety of other roles. If one conclusion may merely echo an opinion at the start of the season – that Fernandes is by far and away United’s best option in the position – Ten Hag’s other gambits have offered intrigue. 1. The Ajax No. 10 Given Donny van de Beek’s excellence for Ten Hag’s Ajax, it was easy to assume his United career could be revived by the appointment of an old ally. Even before the Dutchman’s season was curtailed, however, he had been a bit-part figure. He only made two league starts: one ineffectually in defeat at Aston Villa when Fernandes was suspended and the other against Bournemouth when he suffered a knee injury. The instructive element is that Fernandes operated off the right wing then; it has been a recurring theme. 2. The winger as a No. 10 Jadon Sancho’s outings have tended to come on the flanks but, particularly when he returned to contention in February, Ten Hag showed a willingness to use him in a central area. When Sancho scored against Leicester, with a goal Fernandes set up, it was notable the Portuguese provided the ball from the right for the Englishman in the middle: there was a seeming role reversal then, with Fernandes playing as a winger. Then Ten Hag argued United’s ability to play higher up the pitch would help Sancho; certainly using him in the middle capitalises on his ability between the lines whereas, for a winger, he can lack raw pace. Sancho also operated as No. 10 against Nottingham Forest, Barcelona and Southampton, though Casemiro’s early red card forced a change of plan then. If a striker is signed in the summer and Marcus Rashford can spend all of next season on the left or Alejandro Garnacho kicks on, perhaps Sancho’s future may have to lie more in the middle. 3. The No. 10 who sometimes doesn’t play as a No. 10 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fielded Fernandes almost exclusively as a No. 10. Ralf Rangnick famously, if unsuccessfully, used him as a false nine in a Manchester derby and occasionally tried him off the left, but largely put the Portuguese in his preferred position. It was, nevertheless, a time of diminishing returns from Fernandes, previously hugely productive. Statistically, Fernandes has been less effective as a scorer under Ten Hag, with a mere six league goals, but he has excelled otherwise, fashioning the joint most big chances in the division and ranking top for shot-creating actions; largely as a No. 10, but also in a variety of different ways. Fernandes has exerted an impact when coming off the right, sometimes permitting Ten Hag to field three central midfielders; there are points when he has played more as a No. 8, particularly when Christian Eriksen was injured. Most remarkably, his passing range was used as a quarterback when Casemiro was suspended, especially in victory against Everton. The problem for Ten Hag, perhaps, has been that he ideally needed two Rashfords – one as a left winger, one a centre forward – and two Fernandeses, one as a No. 10 and the other in a deeper or wider role, so he has been compromising. But Ten Hag has appreciated having a risk-taker as a No. 10, a player prepared to lose the ball in a bid to make something happen. If Fernandes has proved more versatile than expected, he has nonetheless remained United’s preeminent fantasista. 4. The defensive midfielder as a No. 10 It didn’t work. Ten Hag rearranged his midfield at Newcastle, putting Scott McTominay at the tip of it, partly to use his energy and tackling prowess to halt Bruno Guimaraes. United produced one of their worst performances of the season. But McTominay believes he is an attacking midfielder and there was greater evidence of the general concept working, albeit with the Scot as a No. 8, when he burst forward to score against Everton, while Fernandes played at the base of the midfield. He has been sidelined since then but the use of McTominay against Newcastle has the feel of a one-off. 5. The loanee as a No. 10 Marcel Sabitzer was hastily borrowed from Bayern Munich when Christian Eriksen was injured. His United career nevertheless peaked, albeit eventually in vain, in Fernandes’ position. A seven-minute, excellent brace against Sevilla seemed to position United to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League. The Austrian was altogether less effective in the return fixture, when Fernandes was suspended. Sabitzer does have a background as a scorer when he has got licence to attack – he struck 16 times for Leipzig in 2019-20 – and, against Sevilla, he showed ability to run in behind defences. 6. The strangest No. 10 in Manchester United’s history Few get to start as a No. 10 at the Nou Camp and Anfield in the same season. Fewer still do so in a United shirt, and the logical assumption is that they must be a celebrated talent. Instead, and rather oddly, a status often reserved for the most inventive player in the squad has been granted to Wout Weghorst. A non-scoring striker has largely been a non-creative creator, sometimes offering a nuisance value with the pressing Ten Hag values – to the extent he once praised his fellow Dutchman for his “backwards pressing” – and, all arms and legs, bringing a disruptive element. But if Weghorst’s lack of goals – and, given his height, lack of aerial ability – have attracted attention, it is also notable he has a lone assist in the Premier League. While Weghorst did a decent job against Barcelona, the sight of him as 10 felt an indictment. 7. The No. 10 who hasn’t played as a No. 10 For much of his career, Christian Eriksen has seemed a quintessential No. 10, even if, for much of his time at Tottenham, he was drifting infield to create from a starting role on the right. He adopted a deeper role for Inter Milan and, after a deceptive debut as a false nine in defeat to Brighton, has established himself as Casemiro’s regular partner. Sometimes Eriksen has played more as a No. 8 in what can be a lopsided triangle in midfield. But Eriksen’s diminishing goal return – just one in the Premier League – and shot numbers, compared to his Spurs days, are signs he has been reinvented. He is the former No. 10, now more of a central midfielder. Read More Manchester United’s Charlie Savage wants to make his own name in the game Man United eye Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel amid David de Gea contract talks Bruno Fernandes warns Alejandro Garnacho he cannot relax at Manchester United Christian Eriksen pleased to see Man Utd deal with extra pressure against Wolves ‘Huge talent’ Alejandro Garnacho backed to play key role in Man Utd’s run-in Ten Hag finally within sight of matching a past United great... no, not that one
2023-05-19 14:59
South Korean nurses strike after Yoon vetoes bill on pay, working conditions
SEOUL Thousands of South Korean nurses went on strike on Friday after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed a
2023-05-19 14:58
UK targets grain theft and energy sector with new Russian sanctions
LONDON Britain announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia on Friday, targeting companies connected to the theft
2023-05-19 14:58
Syria's Assad to attend Arab summit, bringing isolation to an end
By Aziz El Yaakoubi JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in Saudi Arabia on Friday to
2023-05-19 14:58
Vin Diesel almost did not play Dominic Toretto in 'Fast & Furious' series
Timothy Olyphant was offered the role of Dominic Toretto before Vin Diesel
2023-05-19 14:58
Taylor Swift fans write open letter criticising her 'relationship' with Matty Healy
Fans of Taylor Swift have written an open letter to the pop star asking her to distance herself from The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Titled #SpeakUpNow, a play on Swift’s album Speak Now, set to be re-released July 7th, has sparked conversation from both sides on Twitter. The letter, first posted by account @SpeakUpNow_13, expressed ‘disappointment’ with Swift’s recent sightings with Healy. Healy has been spotted at multiple of Taylor’s shows as she embarks on a US tour, igniting dating rumours after Swift’s recent split from her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Healy has faced multiple controversies for his actions in the past, accused of ‘engaging in racist remarks and making offensive jokes’ are some of the issues Swift’s fans, known as Swifties, have raised in the letter. They write: ‘your voice holds tremendous power and right now your silence is palpable,’ adding, ‘we urge you to reflect on the impact of your own and your associates’ behaviour.’ The original account has since be deleted following criticising from fans and others accusing the user of having a ‘parasocial relationship’ with the singer. A term often used to describe the relationship between fans and celebrities, who have no idea the fan exists. Some quoted previous statements made by Swift about having people ask invasive questions surrounding her personal life and accused the fan of crossing boundaries. Others said those sharing the hashtag are ‘chronically online’. Others rose to the defence of the letter, saying you’re allowed to hold someone accountable. One Taylor Swift fan account wrote it’s disappointing to see ‘a lot of hate and comments ridiculing this,’ adding, ‘it’s okay to love an artist and speak up when you are disappointed or disagree with them.’ Some fans announced they had cancelled their pre-orders of Swift’s latest re-release, saying they don’t feel comfortable giving her money whilst she supports Healy and remains silent on his controversies. People of colour have shared the hurt they feel from Swift’s association with Healy, who made comments on a podcast earlier in the year about watching porn that humiliated and dehumanised black women. Swift and Healy have not made any public comments on the letter. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-05-19 14:56
'Overwatch 2': xQc slams developers for prioritizing cosmetic Updates over PvE mode
'If they are not working on PvE and they're not doing it anymore, then where is all the time spent then?' asked xQc
2023-05-19 14:55