Many millions of Chinese tourists are expected to travel within their country, splurging on hotels, tours, attractions and meals in a boost to the economy during the 8-day autumn holiday period that began Friday

FIFA must make sure equal conditions are in place for all players involved in qualification for the next Women’s World Cup, world players’ union FIFPRO has said. A FIFPRO report published on Tuesday found huge variance in conditions across the qualification events run by each of the six global confederations, with some found to be “not up to the standards of elite international football”. World Cup qualification should also be a standalone event across all confederations, rather than being achieved via performance in other tournaments such as the Copa America, FIFPRO said. FIFPRO has praised FIFA for “listening to the voice of players” in ensuring that players at the finals in Australia and New Zealand this summer will benefit from the same playing and preparation conditions as their male counterparts did in Qatar last year. However, it believes it is now vital that conditions are equalised for all female players involved in qualification. “During qualification the conditions that the players are exposed to and expected to deliver in, during some of the biggest competitive moments of their lives, are not up to the standards of elite international football, putting both the players and the sport at risk,” the foreword to the Qualifying Conditions Report co-signed by FIFPRO president David Aganzo and general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann read. “In highlighting these conditions and the status of players across the globe, FIFPRO firmly calls on the industry to take a closer look at the qualification processes in each of the six confederations. “This is so we all can commit to meaningful changes that look at the overall opportunities the FIFA Women’s World Cup can deliver to a greater number of players than those that just appear at the final tournament in July and August this year.” A survey of 362 players hailing from all six FIFA confederations found 29 per cent were not paid at all for participating in their qualification events. Fifty four per cent did not receive a pre-tournament medical examination, 70 per cent did not receive a pre-tournament ECG and 39 per cent did not have access to mental health support. Two-thirds of the players surveyed had to take leave or unpaid leave from another form of employment to participate in these tournaments, the report found. Thirty-one per cent said training pitches were not of an elite standard, while 32 per cent said match day pitches and stadia were not of an elite standard. Two-thirds said recovery facilities were either not of an elite standard or not provided at all, while 70 per cent reported that the gym facilities were not of an appropriate level. “Any stat that’s below 100 per cent in terms of access to important medical checks and things like that is completely unacceptable,” FIFPRO director of global policy and strategic relations for women’s football Sarah Gregorius said. “We just want to work with whoever wants to work with us, particularly FIFA and the confederations, to understand why that is the case and how that can be prevented (from happening again) because that is certainly not something that should be acceptable to anybody.” The PA news agency understands the report has been shared with FIFA and the confederations. FIFA has declined to comment on it directly, but would point to the steps it has taken to close some of the gaps which exist in the women’s game, both in enlarging the World Cup to 32 teams and increasing compensation to players and national associations. The women’s international calendar was agreed on by all confederations on the FIFA Council after an extensive consultation process, while qualification criteria and tournaments are defined by the confederations rather than FIFA. FIFA has also sought to improve investment in the women’s game by challenging broadcasters and sponsors, with president Gianni Infantino threatening a World Cup blackout in some countries if broadcasters did not increase their offers for the rights. A deal with some major European markets, including the United Kingdom, was agreed last week. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Conor Gallagher backs Bukayo Saka to get even better for England Chelsea complete signing of France forward Christopher Nkunku for reported £63m Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists Manchester City will not stop growing

Ties between Wimbledon and the royal family go back a long way. To 1907, to be precise, the first year that the Prince and Princess of Wales (who would become King George V and Queen Mary) attended the famous Championships. King George V later became patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a role now held by the current Princess of Wales. Kate’s outfits are pored over almost as much as the action on court, and looking back at royal appearances at the tournament we can see how fashion has evolved throughout the decades. As the iconic Championships begins on July 3, a fashion expert talks through some key looks and what they tell us about the style of the era… King George V and Queen Mary During the first Wimbledon Championships after a four-year hiatus due to World War I, the 1919 women’s final was attended by King George V – who was known to dislike contemporary fashion – and Queen Mary. “When George arrived at Wimbledon, the hub of fashion inspiration for trendy Brits going into the Twenties and Thirties, he stood out like a sore thumb,” says Rosie Harte, author of The Royal Wardrobe. Queen Mary wore a fringed dress with a loose coat, hat and gloves, and carried an umbrella. “She, like other members of the royal family, felt pressure to fall in line with George’s conservative fashion preference,” Harte continues. “And so appears here dressed in a slightly dated, soft and cluttered outfit at odds with the trim tailoring and sleek silhouettes beginning to emerge in women’s fashion.” Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II became patron of the All England Club in 1952, but only visited the Championships a handful of times. The first was in 1957 when she attended the women’s singles final, wearing a floral midi dress with white accessories. “Unlike the celebrities of their day, the most dutiful of Wimbledon-bound royals have often avoided pandering to the tennis aesthetic when styling themselves for an appearance,” says Harte. “Even as a young Queen at Wimbledon, Elizabeth was always more fond of an outfit that read homely British romance rather than the wardrobe of the modern woman.” The monarch returned to the tournament in 1977, donning a pink coat dress and hat, and in 2010, wearing a similar ensemble in aqua blue. “Each appearance followed the rubric of the Queen’s royal uniform which, as the years went on, became more and more regimented,” Harte says. “Whether she was on the green or sat in a sea of spectators, the eye needed to be drawn to the Queen through the use of vibrant colours that do not typically feature in the Wimbledon setting.” Diana, Princess of Wales Tennis fan Diana attended Wimbledon more than a dozen times during the Eighties and Nineties, during which time her personal style evolved considerably. “Going into the Nineties, the Princess of Wales was under no illusion that her marriage was the fairytale it had initially been framed as,” suggests Harte. “Consequently, the frothy, fairytale elements of her wardrobe, inspired by the traditional looks of more senior royals, began to disappear.” Floral frocks and roomy sailor dresses made way for more structured and tailored looks. Harte says: “Her white pleated skirt in 1991 embodied an elevated tennis skirt, and in 1995, her pale suit jacket with sunglasses folded over the collar set her apart as a sleek modern woman.” The Princess of Wales Another big tennis fan, Kate has been snapped in the audience at Wimbledon as far back as 2007, but her first memorable fashion look came in 2012, a year after she married the Prince of Wales. Kate donned a seemingly tennis-inspired knitted dress from Alexander McQueen (the label that made her wedding dress) with a drop-waist and blue accented cuffs and hem. “She radiated the essence of the iconic pre-war tennis star – an aesthetic largely rejected by the royal family,” says Harte. Taking over from the late Queen as patron in 2016, Kate has continued to reference tennis colours over the years with green and white dresses, and in 2022 opted for vintage-inspired looks. “Last year saw her attending Wimbledon in various outfits that used cut, colour and accessories to reference the fashions of the daring, modern woman who emerged in the 1920s and Thirties,” says Harte. “Her bright yellow Roksanda Ilinčić frock was the most subtle of these, but the vibrant colour was uncompromising, making her an unavoidable figure at the event.”

No, the Padres are not trading Juan Soto.

Coaches Becky Hammon and Sandy Brondello friendship goes back to their days in San Antonio

Everyone enjoys a Meal Deal from time to time – everyone except Spanish police, it seems, who took aim at Tesco to remind people to not eat the paella sandwich. In a viral post to X/Twitter, the Guardia civil force encouraged people to celebrate World Paella Day with the nation's favourite dish – and "not those things they sell out there". The tweet included a photo of the limited-edition sandwich with "prawn, chicken and chorizo on sun-dried tomato bread". It didn't take long for fellow X users to chime in with their takes, with one writing: "As an Englishman, I apologise for any offence caused by my country." Another said: "A paella…sandwich? The Spanish police are correct. The end times are upon us. I’m American and even I understand how wrong this is." Meanwhile, a third person wrote: "I’m not of any Spanish or Latin descent, but I have to agree that a paella sandwich is unequivocally the Devil’s work." It comes after the popular pizza joint Domino's created pizzas based on national dishes earlier this year using AI. Spain's dish featured paella with clams and prawns – finished with a sprinkle of spring onions, while France had Coq au Vin braised chicken, with diced potatoes and rosemary garnish. The UK was given a Beef roast dinner speciality pizza, including potatoes on a bed of gravy, covered in horseradish sauce. A Domino’s spokesperson previously said: “Passing the reins to AI, pizzas generated varied from a somewhat delicious looking Roast Dinner to Carbonara and a clam and prawn loaded Paella pizza. “Signature dishes were also generated for host nation Ukraine in the form of Chicken Kyiv pizza. “And Australia, to see what the country that has competed in the competition since 2015 – to everyone’s bewilderment – would serve up. “And it’s Fairy Bread pizza. “A country and party staple of bread spread with margarine and covered in hundreds and thousands.” Sam Wilson, AI mastermind at Domino’s said: “Pizza brings everyone together, just like Eurovision. “So we challenged AI to generate the perfect pizza for each nation. It’s no surprise the classic Sunday Roast was Britain’s pizza of choice, but we didn’t expect Fairy Bread for Australia. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

With news that Robert De Niro has become a father for the seventh time aged 79, there's been a huge debate on GMB this morning (10 May) over whether he's too old. "It's irresponsible and selfish to the child", Tru Powell argued, saying he could be dead by the time the child reaches 'major milestones'. However, mum blogger, Lucy Baker, wasn't having the remark, and quipped back: "I don't know if the marker of being a good dad is whether you can run a sports day race." Click here to sign up for our newsletters

The National Drug Authority found anti-retrovirals in pork and chicken in 2014 but didn't tell the public.

This comes after Donald Trump received a boisterous welcome at the highly anticipated rivalry football game in South Carolina on November 25

As Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan inches closer to securing the speaker's gavel, he has been working to allay concerns from the more establishment wing of the GOP about how his speakership could hinder their ability to raise campaign cash and keep the House majority next year.

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

Turkey's biggest clubs lured established stars including Mauro Icardi, Hakim Ziyech and Wilfried Zaha to the Super Lig in the transfer window with a spending spree that leaves...