Tony Cowell, 73, who wrote Simon Cowell’s autobiography, ‘I Don’t Mean to be Rude, but...’ was diagnosed with stage II bladder cancer

The Astros are at risk to not win the AL West this year. They're going to need to part ways with these players if they want to take it from the Rangers.The Houston Astros have seen a bit of a regression from their 2022 World Series team to their second place in the AL West 2023 team. The As...

Photo Mode is the major new feature of the latest patch update for 'Dying Light 2'.

Spain head coach Jorge Vilda batted away questions about his country’s absent stars on the eve of their World Cup final clash with England. Vilda has guided Spain to their first final amid a backdrop of controversy and rows over the treatment of the team. The showpiece game in Sydney takes place on Sunday morning, less than a year after 15 players staged a mutiny. The arguments, which broke out in September last year, threatened to derail Spain’s hopes before an uneasy peace was brokered ahead of the World Cup. Dubbed ‘Las 15’, the players who walked away were Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Mapi Leon, Mariona Caldentey, Sandra Panos, Claudia Pina, Lola Gallardo, Ainhoa Moraza, Nerea Eizagirre, Amaiur Sarriegi, Lucia Garcia, Ona Batlle, Leila Ouahabi, Laia Aleixandri and Andrea Pereira. If an accommodation has been reached, it appears to be a delicate one. Only three members of the 15 – Bonmati, Caldentey and Batlle – were included in Vilda’s squad for the finals. Despite the unrest and uncertainty, Spain have made it through to the final following a late win over Sweden in the last four. What we want to do tomorrow is to be the best in the world and we'll do this by winning the final Jorge Vilda Asked early on at his pre-match press conference about the relations between himself and some of his players, Vilda replied: “Next question please.” Pushed on whether not having some key players in Australia made him “sad”, Vilda seemingly ignored the line of questioning. “What we want to do tomorrow is to be the best in the world and we’ll do this by winning the final,” he said. Spain lost 2-1 to England after extra-time at the quarter-final of the Euros last summer as the Lionesses went on to lift the trophy on home soil, with Sarina Wiegman and her players looking to add further silverware on Sunday. “It was a game that we know we were on top, but the result is what counts,” Vilda said of the loss at the Amex Stadium, “Games against England really require our best. She (Wiegman) is a trainer that with her results has shown the fruits of her work, it’s not easy what she has achieved. “You don’t achieve this without excellent preparation and star players. It will be a tactical match and it’s a final that we’re going to fight with everything.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On This Day in 2017: England win first day-night Test to be held in UK Steve Cooper feels Nottingham Forest showed a new side to them with late winner Manchester United’s new-look midfield must click quickly – Erik ten Hag

Nintendo will build a new, research-focused building at its Kyoto headquarters.

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When John Green’s book, The Fault in Our Stars, was first published in 2012 it rose to the top of bestseller lists. The love story about two cancer stricken teenagers won the hearts of teenagers globally and was soon turned into a movie starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Now the book, a favourite of older teenagers, has been moved to the adult section in a library in the suburbs of Indianapolis. Green took to X, formerly called Twitter, to voice his frustrations. “This is ludicrous. It is about teenagers and I wrote it for teenagers. Teenagers are not harmed by reading TFIOS. This is such an embarrassment to the city of Fishers,” he said. “I only have a small voice in these decisions, of course, but you won’t catch me alive or dead in Fishers, Indiana until these ridiculous policies are revoked,” he added. “Which I guess means no Top Golf or IKEA for a while.” At the local library, staff have spent hours rummaging through books and moving those that don’t comply with the board’s policy to the general section from the young adult section. Books have been targeted for language about sexuality and reproduction, profanity and criminal acts. This isn’t the first time one of Green’s books has irked administrators and parents. His book Looking for Alaska, also aimed at older teenagers, has become a regular feature on the American Library Association’s top 10 most challenged books, making the list in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2022, for being sexually explicit. In 2008, the author filmed a YouTube video titled “I Am Not A Pornographer” explaining that a school in Buffalo, New York was planning to teach Looking for Alaska to 11th graders. But some people, he said, found the book controversial so the school administrators gave parents the choice: their children could read the book or find an alternative. “But there were a few people who weren’t happy with this solution,” Green said in the clip. “These people didn’t actually have kids in the 11th grade, but no matter. They think that my book is pornographic, and that it will cause immoral thoughts and actions in children. These people believe that no one should be allowed to read the book, even those people whose parents signed the permission slip.” And now with book bans on the rise across America (2022 saw the highest number of attempted book bans), Green told The Independent earlier this year that these parent groups have rallied “to take over America’s school systems”. “There are attempts not just to ban books, but to ban entire subjects from high school curricula,” he said. “There are attempts to rewrite American history to better fit contemporary narratives around America’s purported greatness.” The book, a coming of age story with themes of loss and forgiveness, features a scene in which the main character Miles, receives oral sex from Lara, a friend. A few pages later, in a highly emotional scene, Miles kisses another character, Alaska. By juxtaposing the two scenes, Green said in the YouTube video, he attempts to show “that physical intimacy can never stand in for emotional closeness.” Yet, it’s these very scenes that have led to some seeking to ban the book. “It’s always a bummer to have your work read in bad faith,” Green told The Independent in an interview earlier this year. “It’s always a bummer when people read your work to find out what they hate about it, because that’s not, of course, why anyone writes.” Having this specific section read out of context, he adds, is “especially troubling,” because “removed from its context, it can’t do its work – which is to point out that the romantic encounter that Miles and Lara have is awkward and unfulfilling, precisely because they don’t have the emotional connection they need to have a fulfilling romantic encounter.” Read More John Green on book bans, bad faith, and the ‘history of folks trying to control what other folks can read’ Book bans in US schools increased by 28 per cent in the first half of the school year, says new report Texas county moves to restrict ‘explicit’ and ‘objectionable’ books at public libraries Tennessee educators file lawsuit challenging law limiting school lessons on race, sex and bias Jacqueline Wilson says censorship of children’s books is ‘a huge worry’ Biden reelection campaign offering joint meeting with Obama as ex-president enters 2024 fray early Biden wants to compensate New Mexico residents sickened by radiation during 1945 nuclear testing Trump campaign runs ad attacking Georgia DA who’s expected to indict him

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