Give your Christmas tree a custom touch with an ornament from Uncommon Goods that displays your first or last name in a wooden snowflake carving.

When Brazilian soccer player Paulinho scored a goal at the Tokyo Olympics, he celebrated by pointing an imaginary arrow at the flashing cameras as homage to a deity in his persecuted Afro-Brazilian faith

A few months ago, Manchester United felt this summer would be quieter than last. They purchased five players in their first transfer window under Erik ten Hag. The aim was for a mere three major buys this year. They ended up adding four players on deadline day. They made more signings than in 2022. Typical United, always needing more players? Perhaps. But it is an indication plans can change. Sergio Reguilon, the fifth player through the door, could be seen as Tottenham’s fifth-choice left-back or a former Atletico and Real Madrid defender who was an astute recruit, given the lack of time and limited funds when Luke Shaw joined Tyrell Malacia on the injury list. Altay Bayindir’s aptitude for the role of Andre Onana’s deputy remains to be seen, but for now United know they have emerged in profit from a trade, selling Dean Henderson for an initial £15m – and when it seemed as though a loan with an option to buy was more likely – and replacing him for £4.3m. There was a pragmatism and a cost-conscious element to re-signing Jonny Evans, too, acquiring defensive cover on a free transfer. The signing of the 35-year-old, who first played for them in 2007 and was relegated with Leicester last season, nevertheless invited ridicule. It added to the sense United were patching up their squad on the cheap. With a different position, past and profile, Evans could be this window’s Wout Weghorst. All of which left the last deal of the day to feel like the defining one, for three months of trading to come down to the final few hours. Getting Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina brought in the defensive midfielder their first three league games of the campaign underlined they needed. It seems like a fine piece of negotiating: one of the outstanding players in last year’s World Cup was acquired on loan, albeit for a €10m (£8.6m) fee. It also means United will need to pay €20m plus a further €5m in add-ons to buy him: if United had to advance some of this year’s budget to get Antony last summer, now an option to buy means some of 2024’s funds may have to be spent on the Moroccan. It also suggested that United got their priorities in the wrong order, with a pivotal position left until last and when the budget was drained. But United showed the creativity to get a deal done. But, to rewind a few months, two major requirements were evident: a centre-forward and a central midfielder. Harry Kane was the most obvious option but United were swift to rule out an offer, factoring in the difficulties of dealing with Tottenham chair Daniel Levy, perhaps realising they could not afford him while splitting their funds three ways, and maybe not expecting the England captain to go to Bayern Munich. Yet if Rasmus Hojlund was designed as the cheaper, younger alternative, United ended up paying £64m, rising to £72m, for potential, not proven performance, and the young Dane arrived injured. He could debut at Arsenal after the transfer window closed. The feeling at Old Trafford is that Ten Hag got his three major targets, and all relatively early. Yet the combined cost could reach £180m, including add-ons, thus rendering it impossible for United to make a fourth major buy – unless they made more significant sales. As loyal as they were to Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire, they perhaps ought to have done more to usher either or both towards the exit, and they have started the season looking like a team scarcely transformed by hefty investment. Each of the three main recruits has confounded expectations: Hojlund when many presumed Kane would come; Mason Mount instead of a more conventional midfielder; Andre Onana when David de Gea was long on the brink of staying. United’s change of heart came at a price – an initial £43m for a player who joined Inter on a free transfer last summer – but at least reflected Ten Hag’s ethos and ended the uneasy compromise with De Gea. Perhaps there was an ideological element to Mount’s arrival, too, looking to add more attacking incision to the midfield. Yet it was notable that last summer’s principal target, even before Casemiro, was Frenkie de Jong; the initial sense was that United might look for a player, such as Amrabat, who was more comfortable in a deeper role. Instead, the flagship signing has been deployed in a role he rarely occupied for Chelsea. And so Amrabat came to assume a greater importance. There was something anomalous in his presence in the second group of signings, the end-of-window assortment of loans, free transfers and cut-price deals to fill the gaps in the squad, rather than the expensive figures who were the cornerstones of the recruitment policy. United made a little go a long way in the final 24 hours. With a requirement to keep their net spend to around £120m, they needed to. “I think we have done good business,” said Ten Hag, before the signings of Reguilon, Evans and Amrabat were announced, though when he had in effect confirmed the Spaniard’s arrival. The squad now features 12 of his signings. But the eventual verdict on this summer’s splurge may come down to how three fare: not Onana, given the need to move on from De Gea. But Hojlund, who has to deliver the goals expected of a £72m striker; Mount, who has to justify Ten Hag’s decision to reinvent him; and Amrabat, the coup who could add solidity and has the potential to rescue United’s window. The last of them may be the best. Read More Erik ten Hag says Manchester United looking forward to ‘fight’ with Arsenal Mason Greenwood will begin to rebuild career with loan move to Getafe Mason Greenwood leaves Manchester United on loan Sofyan Amrabat ‘will put everything’ into playing for Manchester United Manchester United complete loan deal for World Cup star Deadline deals and Ricky Gervais plays hide-and-seek – Friday’s sporting social

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SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2023--

An ancient egg-laying mammal named after Sir David Attenborough that was thought to be extinct is actually alive and well, scientists have proved. Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, which is thought to have been around since the dinosaur era, was caught on camera by an Oxford University expedition to Indonesia. The spiky, furry, beaked creature has been described as a “living fossil” because of how long it has been walking the Earth, about 200m years. Until the video, scientists had relied on a dead, decades-old museum specimen of the creature, as evidence that it was still around. Dr James Kempton, who led the expedition, said: “I was euphoric, the whole team was euphoric.” “I’m not joking when I say it came down to the very last SD card that we looked at, from the very last camera that we collected, on the very last day of our expedition.” Dr Kempton said he had been in touch with Attenborough about the rediscovery, and that the broadcaster was “absolutely delighted”. The expedition also discovered new species of insects and frogs on the trip, which took them through previously unexplored stretches of the Cyclops Mountains, a steep, high-altitude area of Papau, Indonesia. Scientists were twice affected by earthquakes over the course of their expedition, and had to climb narrow ridges with cliffs either side, often in heavy rain. Dr Kempton added: “You're slipping all over the place. You're being scratched and cut. There are venomous animals around you, deadly snakes like the death adder. “There are leeches literally everywhere. The leeches are not only on the floor, but these leeches climb trees, they hang off the trees and then drop on you to suck your blood.” He said he hopes the rediscovery will help promote conservation efforts in the Cyclops Mountains. The species is not currently protected in Indonesia, and scientists don’t know how many there are. “Given so much of that rainforest hasn't been explored, what else is out there that we haven't yet discovered? The Attenborough long-beaked echidna is a symbol of what we need to protect - to ensure we can discover it.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to 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.

TikTok creators worldwide are uploading their interpretation of the viral TikTok trend based on the lyrics of the 1964 song 'The Girl from Ipanema'

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