Author: James Martin
In the summer of 2007, Freddy Adu had reached a crossroads.He was on his way back from the 2007 Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Canada, at which he’d played the best football of his career – a career now almost four years old, despite the fact he’d turned 18 just a month earlier, and one comprised first of immeasurable hype and latterly of disappointment.The US had reached the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Austria. It was a modest run for a talented squad. But Adu has shone brightly throughout, captaining the side as he scored a hat-trick against Poland…
The billionaire brothers who own the Asda supermarket chain borrowed millions of pounds from their petrol forecourt company to repay the debt taken on to buy two private jets, it has emerged.Corporate filings revealed that Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who bought Asda in 2020, used their EG Group, which runs thousands of petrol stations in the UK and overseas, to lend $7m (£5.6m) to two private jet companies they owned in 2022.The filings, seen by the Financial Times, show more than $5m (£4m) handed to one Issa-owned company, which controls a Bombardier Global 6000 plane, while the remaining $2m (£1.6m)…
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureRussia’s air defence systems destroyed nine Ukraine-launched drones over Russia’s Belgorod and Voronezh regions, as well as over the Black Sea, RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday.It cited the Russian defence ministry.Opening summaryGood morning and welcome to the Ukraine live blog. We start with news that Ukrainian armed forces have destroyed the large Russian landing ship Tsezar Kunikov off occupied Crimea in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said on Wednesday.“The Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with the Defence Ministry’s intelligence unit, destroyed the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov.…
“See, just me saying this, I can see my mates saying: ‘You’ve changed, man.’” Kieran Tierney starts laughing. He knows but he can’t help it and if they were where he is, they wouldn’t either, he’s sure of that. The defender is talking txuleton, the Basque T‑bone. “I’m not big on taking pictures of food but every time I get one of those, I do: it’s different class. And there’s a dish that’s rice and clams,” he says, which is when he checks himself and cracks up, imagining pals back in Scotland shaking their heads. “Rice with clams?! You never…
Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureIsraeli delegation leaves ceasefire talks in CairoA delegation led by Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea left Cairo on Tuesday, Israeli and US media reported.Barnea met CIA director William Burns in the Egyptian capital for talks on a Qatari-brokered plan to temporarily halt fighting in Gaza.The Wall Street Journal citing officials familiar with the talks, reporting that Barnea’s delegation had departed the Egyptian capital “without closing any of the major gaps in the negotiations”.Egyptian state-owned television channel Al Qahera reported citing a senior Egyptian official that the talks would continue…
The Tigers secured a big three points on the road on Tuesday night Source link
Education experts say “alarm bells” should be ringing for state and federal governments after data revealed the percentage of children enrolled in public education has fallen to a record low.The annual schools data, released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), found the proportion of students enrolled in government schools has dropped by four percentage points in two decades, from about 68% in 2002 to 64% last year.There were 2,614,094 students enrolled in government schools in 2023, representing a total increase of just 0.7% in the past five years.During the same time period, independent schools recorded an increase…
What a cold and heartless way to end things. You might feel this way if you have ever been dumped via text message. But what if your ex took it a step further and used an AI chatbot to craft their goodbye? Would you even be able to tell?Story continues below advertisementStory continues below advertisementLarge language models, like the ones touted by AI companies like OpenAI, have quickly transformed the way we communicate. One area where they’re less convincing, though, is emulating expressive writing.It’s easier to show than tell. So let’s do that. Some brave Washington Post readers have submitted…
An elderly man has died from Alaskapox, the first known fatality from the recently discovered virus, Alaskan state health officials have said.The man, who lived in the remote Kenai Peninsula, was hospitalised in November last year and died in late January, according to a bulletin issued last week by public health officials.The man was undergoing cancer treatment and had a suppressed immune system because of the drugs, which may have contributed to the severity of his illness, the bulletin said. It described him as elderly but didn’t provide his age.Alaskapox, also known as AKPV, is related to smallpox, cowpox and…
The world’s biggest single day election has begun in Indonesia, with more than 200 million people eligible to vote across the archipelago in a race that will determine who will succeed popular outgoing President Joko Widodo.Defence minister Prabowo Subianto, a former special commander under the Suharto dictatorship, has maintained a clear lead in pre-election surveys after rebranding his past fierce image and securing the tacit support of the outgoing president, whose policies he has promised to continue. Prabowo’s running mate is Widodo’s eldest son.However, it’s not clear if Prabowo, a controversial figure, will secure more than 50% of votes on…