His pairing in central defence is one of the key decisions facing Scotland head coach Steve Clarke in Saturday's friendly against Japan, writes Tom English.
His pairing in central defence is one of the key decisions facing Scotland head coach Steve Clarke in Saturday's friendly against Japan, writes Tom English.
Do we really need a McDonald’s CEO fronting ads or a Gianni Infantino Panini sticker? No. But in the age of Trump, the boss class feels emboldened A few weeks ago, the CEO of McDonald’s appeared in a video sampling the chain’s new “Big Arch burger”. In the clip, Chris Kempczinski, or “Chris K” as he casually calls himself, labelled it a “product”, matching the sterile tone of the review – all hars...
Do we really need a McDonald’s CEO fronting ads or a Gianni Infantino Panini sticker? No. But in the age of Trump, the boss class feels emboldened A few weeks ago, the CEO of McDonald’s appeared in a video sampling the chain’s new “Big Arch burger”. In the clip, Chris Kempczinski, or “Chris K” as he casually calls himself, labelled it a “product”, matching the sterile tone of the review – all harsh lighting, corporate office backdrop and an awkward man talking and eating while wearing a shirt fitting uneasily under a light wool V-neck. Why would McDonald’s, with its huge marketing budget and commercial success, choose to platform this guy? His stilted efforts were mocked and memed, with executives at Burger King and Wendy’s posting their own versions – what fun. Inevitably some market watchers claimed it drove engagement and sales. But to me, it seems to be just the latest flagrant example of CEOism: when CEOs/founders/heads of organisations centre themselves in the action – just because they can. Larry Ryan is a freelance writer and editor Continue reading...
Portugal head coach, who describes the country as a ‘football school’, explains why he is ready to take risks in pursuit of World Cup glory ‘You get there and the mountain is so big, you have no objective other than survive.” It was summer 1995, Roberto Martínez was 21, he had made one brief appearance for Real Zaragoza and just completed military service while playing regional football back in hi...
Portugal head coach, who describes the country as a ‘football school’, explains why he is ready to take risks in pursuit of World Cup glory ‘You get there and the mountain is so big, you have no objective other than survive.” It was summer 1995, Roberto Martínez was 21, he had made one brief appearance for Real Zaragoza and just completed military service while playing regional football back in his home town of Balaguer. A complete unknown, he was heading to Wigan, wherever that was, and didn’t speak a word of English. He was also heading to the Third Division, where whatever they played it wasn’t football, not as he knew it. “There is fear: ‘No,’” he says. “But my attitude was always: ‘Why not?’”. Martínez now stands in the hallway at the Portuguese federations’s base in Oeiras near Lisbon, arms out in a warm welcome. Trophies sit in cases, the Nations League the latest addition. Only one cup is not there, which is why Martínez is. Seventy-five days until the World Cup starts , he takes Portugal into their final pre-tournament international break with matches against two of the co-hosts, Mexico and the United States . The man whose favourite goal was against Scunthorpe at Springfield Park leads a team who are among the favourites to triumph this summer, willing to dream precisely because he never dreamed any of this. Continue reading...
Club’s financial crisis meant exclusion from the RFL Championship this season, and it could be a long way back for one of the sport’s storied names Sunday afternoon in Featherstone. The first shoots of spring are creaking through the skyline and the Railway pub is bustling with rugby league supporters as the town’s pride and joy, Featherstone Rovers, prepare to face Swinton Lions. Or at least, tha...
Club’s financial crisis meant exclusion from the RFL Championship this season, and it could be a long way back for one of the sport’s storied names Sunday afternoon in Featherstone. The first shoots of spring are creaking through the skyline and the Railway pub is bustling with rugby league supporters as the town’s pride and joy, Featherstone Rovers, prepare to face Swinton Lions. Or at least, that is what should have happened last weekend. Instead, streets of this West Yorkshire town built on coal mining were deserted. The Railway, just a few hundred yards from Rovers’ Post Office Road home, was largely empty and the gates of the stadium chained shut. Continue reading...
Hours before the world learned that a US missile had hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, parents were already searching the rubble for their sons and daughters. In this exclusive report, four families describe the events of 28 February When Marzieh heard the first bang, an almighty crash that rattled the room, her first thought went to her youngest son, Mohammad. He must have got out on to the balcony a...
Hours before the world learned that a US missile had hit Shajareh Tayyebeh school, parents were already searching the rubble for their sons and daughters. In this exclusive report, four families describe the events of 28 February When Marzieh heard the first bang, an almighty crash that rattled the room, her first thought went to her youngest son, Mohammad. He must have got out on to the balcony and discovered a new game, she thought: using all of his small might to smash its sliding doors closed. Marzieh stood up from where she was working at her sewing machine, and shouted for him to stop. Continue reading...
Members of the UK public join the search after specialist dog units and thermal drones have yet to locate her Barely 24 hours after nine-month-old capybaras Samba and Tango were brought to Marwell zoo near Winchester, they had made a break for it through a hole in their temporary enclosure. The siblings were transferred to Hampshire from Jimmy’s farm and wildlife park in Suffolk on 16 March after ...
Members of the UK public join the search after specialist dog units and thermal drones have yet to locate her Barely 24 hours after nine-month-old capybaras Samba and Tango were brought to Marwell zoo near Winchester, they had made a break for it through a hole in their temporary enclosure. The siblings were transferred to Hampshire from Jimmy’s farm and wildlife park in Suffolk on 16 March after being outshone by other capybaras. Tango was quickly found, but her sister Samba remains at large, and the mission to find her has attracted national and international coverage. Continue reading...
Britain’s heavyweight prospect puts his unbeaten record on the line against Jermaine Franklin on Saturday Moses Itauma might represent the glittering future of heavyweight boxing but right now he is locked in the present. In the back seat of a car, while being driven from one swanky hotel to another in Manchester, the 21-year-old turns to me and says: “Let’s get going.” I know how much Itauma disl...
Britain’s heavyweight prospect puts his unbeaten record on the line against Jermaine Franklin on Saturday Moses Itauma might represent the glittering future of heavyweight boxing but right now he is locked in the present. In the back seat of a car, while being driven from one swanky hotel to another in Manchester, the 21-year-old turns to me and says: “Let’s get going.” I know how much Itauma dislikes interviews and so the only sensible option is to resist this blunt invitation to rush through our 45 minutes together. On Saturday night, in Manchester, Itauma fights Jermaine Franklin, the tough American who should provide his first notable test after he has won all 13 professional fights so far, with 11 ending in brutal stoppages. So he nods, just a little grudgingly, when I suggest we wait until we are sitting face to face. Continue reading...
A prominent Chinese political scientist has cautioned Southeast Asian countries against leveraging China-US tensions for short-term benefits, saying this strategy could backfire. Speaking on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia on Friday, Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said that in the context of South China Sea sovereignty...
A prominent Chinese political scientist has cautioned Southeast Asian countries against leveraging China-US tensions for short-term benefits, saying this strategy could backfire. Speaking on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia on Friday, Zheng Yongnian, dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said that in the context of South China Sea sovereignty disputes, the key challenge lay in how countries interpreted the China-US rivalry. “Many countries...
The HX-2 AI Strike Drone made by Helsing, a German defence start-up that develops artificial intelligence (AI) and software to enhance the capabilities of military hardware, during the "Enforce Tac" trade fair for security and defense in Nuremberg, southern Germany on Feb. 25, 2026. Photographer: Daniel Karmann/AFP/Getty Images
The HX-2 AI Strike Drone made by Helsing, a German defence start-up that develops artificial intelligence (AI) and software to enhance the capabilities of military hardware, during the "Enforce Tac" trade fair for security and defense in Nuremberg, southern Germany on Feb. 25, 2026. Photographer: Daniel Karmann/AFP/Getty Images
The last big story right before the war in Iran started was the collapse in the relationship between the Pentagon and Anthropic, with the latter objecting to any potential use of its models in either fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. Of course, this story immediately become more relevant with the start of the war, and the reporting that Anthropic’s technology was in fact utilized ...
The last big story right before the war in Iran started was the collapse in the relationship between the Pentagon and Anthropic, with the latter objecting to any potential use of its models in either fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. Of course, this story immediately become more relevant with the start of the war, and the reporting that Anthropic’s technology was in fact utilized at the start of hostilities. But what does that mean? How are these models used? And what would a fu