List of All Articles with Tag 't'

Tsuruha Holdings Inc. is exploring a sale that could value the Japanese pharmacy chain at about $4 billion

Thailand plans to borrow 500 billion baht ($14 billion) in phases to finance a cash handout program to

“If you don’t improve I’m selling you.” A young Jess Carter is sat in the middle of a white-walled room at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, a tactics board behind her, a fleet of analysts and fitness staff, all armed with laptops, positioned on the outside, quietly looking in. Carter is chewing gum and looks bored, frustrated to have been hauled aside to hear the same old message. Facing her is Emma Hayes. “I want you to show every f***ing day that you give a f*** about yourself,” Hayes says. “It’s up to you to decide your future.” Four years later, it is clear what future Carter decided to choose. Now 26, the Chelsea defender is an established England international, having just played a key role in the Lionesses reaching the World Cup final this summer. When Carter first arrived at Chelsea, Hayes found a player who struggled to keep herself fit or follow a regimented diet. Chelsea’s fitness staff were exasperated and Carter’s confidence was on the floor: she did not think she was good enough to play for her country, but Hayes saw and believed in her potential and, crucially, how it could be brought out. What followed won’t be included on Hayes’s list of honours or medals when the manager leaves Chelsea at the end of the season. “Highly decorated” does not even begin to cover what Hayes has achieved at Chelsea, or the legacy she will leave behind after the shock news that this season will be her last at Stamford Bridge and Kingsmeadow, with the glamour of the USA job calling. Under Hayes, the days of triumph and glory Chelsea have celebrated since her appointment in 2012 have been unrivalled, stretched across an unprecedented decade of dominance. Yet if the dynasty Hayes built can be measured in titles, its foundations are in success stories like Carter’s – and the manager who set the environment where she could become the player she is today. “If you sleepwalk your way through life, you won’t survive,” Hayes goes on to say in the DAZN documentary One Team, One Dream. Certainly, it reveals some insights into the ruthless trophy-winning machine that has dominated women’s football in England over the last decade, claiming six Women’s Super Leagues, five Women’s FA Cups and two League Cups, and which in recent years has barely given anyone else a sniff. That could change now Hayes will be leaving the WSL, heading towards a position that is outside club football altogether. The 47-year-old will take up the vacancy at the United States women’s national team, with the four-time World Cup winners appointing her as successor to Vlatko Andonovski after their disastrous last-16 exit from this year’s tournament. Hayes was said to be US Soccer’s first choice for the job and reports in the US suggest she will receive an equal salary to the men’s head coach Gregg Berhalter, at £1.3m per year – making her the highest-paid women’s football coach in the world. Given Hayes’s record in women’s football, such an offer from US Soccer should only be considered the minimum. The English manager is the outstanding club coach in the women’s game and the only area that Chelsea have fallen short in has been in their pursuit of a first Champions League title, after reaching the final in 2021 and the semi-finals last season. It would be fair to include this as a criticism, given how Hayes has been backed by Chelsea and the resources available to the club. After all, it was that support that led to Chelsea signing Sam Kerr, the striker who took Hayes’s side to another level and whose taste for the big moments came to mirror their own sense of inevitability. But in dominating the domestic scene, Hayes created a culture where the values of graft and grind were placed on a pedestal. Over the years, much of their trophy procession felt self-fulfilling. It came from the top, where Hayes reinforced the message and stamped out complacency at the start of every season, sustaining Chelsea’s superiority in a league that was so often decided by fine margins. If the history of team sports shows there are often natural, unavoidable drop-offs in performance and motivation following periods of success, there has been little hint of that at Chelsea in recent years. Which is what makes Hayes’s move to the USA so fascinating. “Arrogance” and “complacency” were the very words used to describe how the USA ceded their position as the dominant force in international women’s football, as illustrated by their disastrous defence of their World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand. Their performances up to and including that last-16 defeat to Sweden highlighted a squad that was long past its best, and a system where players had the power and were picked based on their reputations. Naturally, many of the issues that Hayes inherits will lie below the surface and could take years to resolve, primarily how the US has fallen behind Europe in the production of young talent. Hayes’s previous experience before arriving at Chelsea is set to be beneficial, given she started her coaching career in the US college system in the early 2000s and landed her first professional managerial position with the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women’s Soccer League. As Hayes will remain with Chelsea until the end of the season, there is time to assess what is required ahead of what would be her primary goal of recapturing the World Cup in 2027. But it is in the dressing room where Hayes’s immediate targets and her strictest standards will be made clear – just like she told Carter all those years ago. “Get better or I’ll get someone else.” Perhaps the USA have not heard enough of that in recent years. Now a team in need of a reset will be charged with the ultimate cultural makeover. Before then, though, there are more trophies with Chelsea to win. Read More Emma Hayes: Winning Champions League would be fairytale end to time at Chelsea The ‘crazy’ debate once again at the heart of the Women’s Champions League Chelsea defeat Everton in WSL as Manchester City slip up against Brighton Emma Hayes says ‘time is right’ to move on from Chelsea after 12 years Emma Hayes to take charge of USA after final season at Chelsea Candidates to take over as Chelsea boss after Emma Hayes decides to move on

Poland is expected to access some additional European Union financing by the end of the year, as opposition

Apple will give iPhone 14 and 15 owners another free year of satellite communications, answering one of the big questions around its recent models. Apple released its Emergency SOS via Satellite feature with the iPhone 14, last year. It allows the devices to call for help through satellites, letting people contact the emergency services even if they are out of traditional phone coverage. But when it released the feature, it said that it would only be available for free for one year, and gave no information about what it planned to do afterwards. That led to fears that customers could get stuck in perilous situations and be left without the coverage if they had not paid for it. Now Apple says that it will give iPhone 14 users another year of coverage. Once again, it did not explicitly say what would happen when that year is up. Apple said that “many lives” had been saved with the feature, pointing to a range of examples where people outside of usual connections are not available. “Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world. From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles, to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. “We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free.” The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature was first launched in the US and Canada on 15 November, meaning that Apple’s announcement comes on the first day that anyone would be otherwise out of coverage. iPhone 14 users must have activated their device before today to be given the extra free year. The service is not free for Apple, since it must pay satellite operators for connections and also operates relay centres that pass on text messages from people’s phones to emergency service calls centres. It has not said how much the infrastructure to run the emergency SOS tool costs. As well as allowing people to contact the emergency services, iPhone users can also update the Find My app through the satellite signal. With the release of the iPhone 15, Apple also announced that satellite users would be able to get in touch with car breakdown services in the US. Read More You can finally use one feature of the Apple Vision Pro headset – sort of Setback for Ireland as EU legal adviser recommends revisit of Apple tax case Apple just released an iPhone update you should download right now

European Central Bank Governing Council member Mario Centeno said there are concerns over whether the euro-area economy will

(Reuters) -JD.com on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue below estimates, but posted a surge in profit as supply chain challenges eased.

India skipper Rohit Sharma has won the toss and decided to bat first against New Zealand in the first of the Cricket World Cup semifinals

German professional football’s governing body is launching a third attempt to sell a stake in the league’s media

Global oil refiners will suffer a “soft patch” next year as new capacity in Mexico, Africa and the

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc has appointed Jeremy Darroch as its new chairman replacing Chris Sinclair who will step

In a nutshell: Around the corner from London’s Drury Lane, Hotel Amano in Covent Garden offers a pre-theatre sophistication with an encore of late-night decadence. Its location is hard to beat if you’re a culture vulture, with the West End and all the entertainment, shopping, drinking and dining it has to offer right on your doorstep. The neighbourhood Hotel Amano Covent Garden is tucked right behind the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which means you’re also a stone’s throw from some of London’s cultural and historical heavyweights. Take a stroll along Embankment before ducking into Somerset House or the Courtauld to admire the latest art exhibitions. From there you can check out the Strand on your way to Trafalgar Square, taking your pick of any number of afternoon teas at the Ritz, the Savoy, the Langham or the Dorchester. Work up an appetite before an evening of dinner and the theatre with a walk around Hyde Park, perhaps stopping to admire Buckingham Palace on your way back. The vibe Despite being smack bang in the heart of London’s flashy, bustling West End, the Amano’s facade is surprisingly dignified. Without the guests walking in and out with their luggage, you could confuse the interior with the entrance of some ultra-exclusive spa. Impressive, yes, but it also feels as though designers Woods Bagot missed a trick, particularly given the hotel’s restaurant, Penelope, is based around the vibrant Israeli-Spanish heritage of Amano co-founder Ariel Schiff. Instead, rooms are business-like and modern, all grey walls and grey felt headboards, with dark wood accents and gold fixtures, along with unremarkable prints of moody women on the walls. For an extra injection of glitz, in the Goldy rooms you’re also treated to a freestanding gold bathtub; bath salts and oils are provided (though some bubble bath wouldn’t go amiss). The rooftop terrace and restaurant are more of the same – classy and elegant, yes, but somewhat lacking in character and originality. Service is mixed. While the reception desk is warm, helpful and efficient, the rooftop staff take some time to attend to a drink spillage, after not one but two requests for napkins. Yet the restaurant team are a delight, with maître d’ Paolo a warm and effusive personality who makes the experience of dining at Penelope feel like you’re visiting a friend’s home. Bed and bath The Hotel Amano has 141 rooms, including its five Goldy suites. Sizes range from “Cosy” to “Roomy Plus” – the former is certainly compact, but still comes with a queensize bed. All the other rooms, from “Comfy” to “Roomy”, have a king bed, coffee and tea station, and plenty of smart storage space. Bathrooms are kitted out with full-size toiletries, including a delightful exfoliating handwash from German brand Daluma. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the corner-set Goldy bedrooms are impressive, sure, but you have to edge around the bathtub in order to close the curtains (the window isn’t made from privacy glass, so unless you’re planning on flashing the cast of Frozen, we’d advise on doing so). Food and drink Penelope has potential to become the crown jewel of the Amano Covent Garden, perhaps after a touch of fine-tuning. Here, the dark and moody decor contributes to the decadent atmosphere set by much of the menu, put together by Shimon Peretz, head chef at Amano’s Mani restaurant in Berlin, and Penelope’s executive chef Fezile Ozalgan, formerly of Barboun, Shoreditch. Start with a pre-dinner cocktail – the intriguing Psichee with tequila, mezcal and squid ink, or the smoky, spicy Pasión de Malaga – before perusing the restaurant’s excellent wine selection. The small plates are a little hit and miss, but winners include the tuna ceviche and rough taboon bread served with green harissa, spicy yogurt and whipped cod’s roe. The main dishes of chicken shawarma with mujaddara and the hake with haricot beans are remarkably salty, which is a shame as both (small) portions are well-cooked. At £25 and £32 a pop, you’d expect a slightly more generous serving. We’re won over by the sinfully rich baklava cheesecake, with its crisp pastry soaked in honey syrup and generous scattering of pistachios. You can find more cheesecake on the rooftop bar menu, along with Israel-style meze, snacks, and mains including a Hereford sirloin, whole seabass and paella. The compact but inventive cocktail list, along with extensive wines, champagne and digestifs, is also available, while the staff are happy to whip up an off-menu (but classic) espresso martini. Breakfast is served in the same space as Penelope, with either a classic continental spread of pastries, breads, fresh fruit, yogurt and cheeses, or hot options including a brilliantly spicy shakshuka (a single egg, as opposed to the plural baked “eggs” advertised on the menu), buttermilk pancakes with figs and orange cream, or smashed avocado and poached eggs. Public areas If you’re looking for a hotel with built-in entertainment, you’re likely to be disappointed. The Amano Covent Garden doesn’t offer amenities outside of the rooftop bar and restaurant, so you’re out of luck if you prefer your hotels to include a spa or gym. But, with so much of London’s best bits on offer within walking distance, it’s hard to imagine you’d feel bored during your stay. Nuts and bolts Room count: 141 rooms including five “Goldy” suites. Freebies: Tea and coffee station, bottle of water. Wifi: Free. Disability access: Accessible rooms come with large wet rooms with benches, while the corridors and lifts can accommodate wheelchairs. Pet policy: Dogs are welcome, with a £10 per night fee per pet. Service animals are exempt from fees. Bottom line Best thing: The location, which is about as close to the action as you could want while still offering a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, and the glamour and fun of the restaurant. Worst thing: For the prices, the dinner menu needs a little work, while the decor could also use a rethink to make it feel more in-keeping with its excellent location. Perfect for: A sophisticated stay for well-heeled couples, or for those looking to be within easy reach of London’s culture while in town on business. Not right for: Families, or those who like to include a morning workout or spa treatment in their hotel stay. Instagram from: The rooftop terrace, either with the surprisingly real-looking floral arrangements in the background, or views towards the South Bank. Read more on best London hotel reviews Read More The best luxury hotels in London for a stylish city break The best spa hotels in London for pampering and indulgence Best boutique hotels in London 2022 How a corner of Whitehall became a playground for the super-rich The Landmark London review Where to watch this year’s Notting Hill Carnival