David Sedaris is publishing his first children’s book, a collaboration with Ian Falconer conceived decades ago and finished shortly before the “Olivia” creator died in March

Max Verstappen put down an early marker in his bid to win 10 consecutive races by setting the fastest time in practice for the Italian Grand Prix. The double world champion edged out Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by 0.046 seconds in Monza with Sergio Perez third in the other Red Bull. Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari at the Italian team’s home event, one place ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton ended the opening running of the weekend in eighth. Verstappen has dominated Formula One this season – winning 11 of the 13 rounds so far – and will make history on Sunday if he racks up another victory. The Red Bull driver – already 138 points clear in his pursuit of a third world championship – is level with Sebastian Vettel on nine wins and, on the evidence of practice, is poised to land yet another win and set a new record. Hamilton ended his long-running contract saga in the build-up to this weekend’s race by putting pen to paper on a new £50million-a-year deal. But the seven-time world champion ended first practice six tenths back from Verstappen and a tenth adrift of team-mate Russell. Ferrari have endured a poor season, but showed early promise in front of their fanatical supporters at the Temple of Speed with Sainz and Leclerc second and fourth respectively. Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso, who finished runner-up to Verstappen at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, took sixth for Aston Martin, one place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Second practice gets under way at 5pm local time (4pm BST). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

A former limousine company manager has been sentenced to at least 5 years in prison for his role in a crash that killed 20 people in rural New York

These intercultural collaborations tell a unique story, from adapting a plate of chow mein for European palates in the early 20th century to combining Korean barbecue with Mexican tacos nearly 100 years later.

Volunteers who wanted to distribute food to the homeless on Thanksgiving claimed that Phoenix's authorities obstructed them from entering 'The Zone'

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier remains “part of this team” despite his absence from Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford. Dier was one of several senior players left out of the Spurs squad along with Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele. Postecoglou has been honest about the need for Tottenham to offload players during the final weeks of the transfer window, but he suggested nothing should be read into Dier’s absence. Reports on Sunday which linked Dier with a move to Saudi Arabia were later shut down and he trained at Hotspur Way earlier that day, but he may have to assess his playing options now he seems to be fifth choice at centre-back. “Eric is part of this team. We left a few out,” Postecoglou said. “We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players. “Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection. “My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.” Dier was a regular under Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte and made 42 appearances last season. The summer arrival of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg has pushed Dier down the pecking order and despite featuring in pre-season, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez appear to have also moved ahead of him. Dier joined Spurs in 2014 but was snubbed for the captaincy roles with Son Heung-min named skipper and James Maddison and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero listed as vice-captains. Romero was part of a new-look defence at Brentford with debuts handed to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Van de Ven and left-back Destiny Udogie. Postecoglou added: “Obviously we had Micky, Destiny and Vic, three of our back five, making their debut for the clubs and anyone will tell you when it comes to the defensive side of the game, the more understanding you have, the better you are. “We obviously took a bit of a gamble throwing them all in but I thought all three handled themselves really well. It is not an easy place to come, you get put under pressure with balls coming into the box and I thought they all handled themselves really well. Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He's working hard in training and available for selection. Ange Postecoglou on Eric Dier “Micky has only had three sessions with us so I could have waited to put him in there, but my feeling is he will be a very good footballer for us and the quicker we introduce him to Premier League football the better he will be.” Sunday marked the start of the post-Harry Kane era for Tottenham, but his departure to Bayern Munich on Saturday night did not alter the plans of Brentford too much. Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “No, that is the short answer. Of course he is a different type to Richarlison. He is the England number nine compared to the Brazilian number nine. “That we know and the only tweak would have been that if Kane drops down deep, we would have needed to be aware of his fantastic passing skills and get closer to him. “Richarlison is more about the runs but our game plan is our game plan with the things we believe in.”

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to dissolve parliament days before his term expires at the end

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 29, 2023--

Two-time Women’s World Cup winner Julie Ertz played her final match for the United States, an emotional 3-0 victory over South Africa in an exhibition at Cincinnati

Mike Pence says Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis do not grasp the broader implications of their call for limited military assistance to Ukraine

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Three West African nations led by military juntas met this week to strengthen a newly formed alliance described by some analysts on Friday as an attempt to legitimize their military governments amid coup-related sanctions and strained relations with neighbors. In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Niger’s junta leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings Thursday with his Mali and Burkina Faso counterparts. During their meetings, the leaders pledged security and political collaborations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a partnership the three countries announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert. The alliance provides a “path of sovereignty” for the countries and for their citizens, Gen. Tchiani told reporters after his meeting with Malian leader Col. Assimi Goita. “Through this alliance, the peoples of the Sahel affirm that … nothing will prevent them from the objective of making this area of ​​the Sahel, not an area of ​​insecurity, but an area of ​​prosperity,” Tchiani said. In reality, though, the partnership "is in part an effort to entrench and legitimize (their) military governments” more than to tackle the violent extremism which they have limited capacity to fight, said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The violence across the Sahel has contributed to a recent surge of coups in the region and militaries that claimed they took over power to help tackle their country's security challenges have struggled to do so. On Thursday, Gen. Tchiani partly blamed the violence on foreign powers, repeating claims his government has often made against France — which had been influential in the three countries before being forced out after their militaries took over — and against West Africa’s regional bloc of ECOWAS, which has heavily sanctioned Niger as a measure to reverse the surge of coups in the region. The new partnership also offers the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger an opportunity "to say, ‘we are not internationally isolated and we actually have partners that share our ideology and philosophy’,” said James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute. Some analysts, however, believe that by pooling their resources together, those countries are able to reduce individual reliance on foreign countries and tackle the security challenge with one front. “The merit of this new alliance, despite its limited means and capabilities, lies in its initiation by concerned members," said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel. "Its long-term success depends both on the resources that member countries can mobilize and the support that Africans and the broader international community could provide,” he added. In the Malian capital of Bamako, 35-year-old Aissata Sanogo expressed hope that such a partnership could be useful. “It’s important that we take charge of our own security,” said Sanogo. “That’s what I’m expecting from this alliance.” ____ Associated Press journalist Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali, contributed to this report. ____ Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa Read More Victims in Niagara Falls border bridge crash identified as Western New York couple Mexico's arrest of cartel security boss who attacked army families' complex was likely personal Argentina and Brazil charged by FIFA after fan violence delays World Cup qualifying game at Maracana Germany's economy shrank, and it's facing a spending crisis that's spreading more gloom NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week Putin to boost AI work in Russia to fight a Western monopoly he says is 'unacceptable and dangerous'