BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO said on Wednesday it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia's

Manchester City were often described as the best team in the world, even before the Champions League that had long eluded them gave them a greater claim to that title. It was more contentious when their chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, called them “the No 1 football brand in the world”. The alternative argument is that City are not even the leading football brand in Manchester. But at a point when Manchester United is up for sale and the Glazers want $6 billion, it was notable that Al Mubarak described the value of the City Football Group as over $6 billion. The picture he painted in his end-of-season address was of financial and footballing success with some of the world’s best executives, scouts and sporting staff. Certainly that description applies to Pep Guardiola. And yet this could not simply be the celebration of a transformation, a 15-year journey from a team who were in the relegation zone at Christmas a few months after Sheikh Mansour’s takeover to one who demolished Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, to the situation where Erling Haaland signed a contract and told Al Mubarak he would win him the Champions League. “To show you where Erling is going, this is the beginning,” Al Mubarak said. “And the scary part, this is just the beginning for him.” In a way, it is just the beginning for City, too: just not quite in the same respect. Al Mubarak said it was “very frustrating” the treble has come against the backdrop of 115 charges by the Premier League. The Emirati promised a “very blunt” response, but only when the legal process has happened. The question if these are tainted, tarnished titles will linger; perhaps forever, certainly until a case is finally heard. Some might argue there is an irony there. Al Mubarak had claimed Sheikh Mansour has given “passion to the club”; that the Champions League final was just the second game the owner had seen in the flesh might suggest he has a different way of showing it but, with his billions, he has been the architect of a rise. But if sportswashing is intended to launder reputations, City instead find their achievements and character impugned. The issues, however, do not surround the all-conquering 2022-23 season as much as how City got here; how they constructed the platform that took them to such heights and whether the financing that allowed them to build to this point amounted to repeated and deliberate breaches of regulations. On the pitch, City attract admiring glances. Al Mubarak claimed that, at a Uefa dinner the night before the Champions League final, he was asked what was special about City. “The winning mentality,” he replied, and that is not something that can simply be bought. He reflected on the hunger of Haaland, who reacted to his five-goal salvo against RB Leipzig by thinking he should have scored seven or eight, and the humility of the World Cup winner Julian Alvarez. He talked about how City have executives that rival clubs are trying to hire and the excellence of their medical staff. “Unheralded heroes,” he said. There was a point to the praise. There is a misconception that City can call upon a vast pool of players. “We have a high-quality small squad,” Al Mubarak countered. “But it’s not what I think is the perception, which is that we operate with a huge squad; that is not the case.” It is partly Guardiola’s preference but they are operating with around 18 top-class options, some of them very expensive, not a cast of thousands, like Chelsea. “People will throw at us, ‘the biggest spenders’, ‘you have the biggest squad,’” he said. Yet City should have few problems with Financial Fair Play now. “Look at our net spend figures,” Al Mubarak added. In a summer when they signed Haaland, they made a transfer-market profit, partly because of the departures of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, partly because they banked around £50 million by selling four youth-team products to Southampton. There were years of vast outlay. Now City has become a business with revenue streams. “We have a commercial machine that is one of the best in the world,” Al Mubarak said; some may disagree – many of their sponsorships come from the United Arab Emirates, some from companies connected to Sheikh Mansour – but City’s problem is not the present or the future, but the past and how they got here. For now, they have Guardiola tied up for another two years – Al Mubarak said he was “never concerned” before the Catalan extended his contract – an outstanding team and the opportunity to strengthen it. The outlook should be sunny but there are still clouds on the landscape. Read More Man City chairman vows to give ‘very blunt views’ on FFP charges once concluded Saudi Arabia can help Chelsea solve headache — but talks raise more questions than answers Sportswashing is about to change football beyond anything you can imagine

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Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou admits he is “not relaxed” by the uncertainty over the future of Harry Kane and wants the issue sorted as soon as possible. England captain Kane has emerged as a prime transfer target for Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich this summer. The 29-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season but, while Bayern continue to push to secure his services and have reportedly lodged two bids for the forward, Spurs’ stance remains the same, they have no intention of selling Kane. Tottenham’s record goalscorer has also been offered a new contract that is a significant increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms, the PA news agency understands, although reports claimKane will not sign a fresh deal this summer. Postecoglou, who was appointed as new Spurs boss ahead of the new campaign, conceded the situation is not a welcome one. He told reporters, via football.london: “Fair to say I am not relaxed about it! “It’s not something you go: ‘Ah, well, you know if it does or doesn’t happen!’ I mean it’s a very important part of this football club, not just the team, but the football club. “So, you’ve got to deal with it, and I think, for everyone concerned, we don’t want to be doing it for too long. I don’t think that is good for anyone. I don’t think it is good for Harry, I don’t think it is good for the club, because as laser focused as we want to be, you end up sort of repeating yourself along the way. “But the flip side of that is I don’t want to put a deadline on it, because that adds even more pressure. You want these things to happen for the right reasons. The reality of it is he’s still a contracted player at our football club, so that’s the way I see him. “It’s not like his contract is ending on the 12th [of August] and he’s got to make a decision, he’s got another year.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Ange Postecoglou has cited the early part of Manchester City’s journey under Pep Guardiola as a reason why he has total conviction in his ideas at Tottenham. Spurs have hit their first real rough patch under the Australian with three straight defeats coupled with a list of absentees which has reached double figures. Postecoglou remains determined to stick with his attacking approach and could again line up with no recognised centre-back or defensive midfielder at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. While many would adopt a more pragmatic style against City, the Tottenham boss will double down on his philosophy and believes the best clubs stick to the plan when faced with hurdles. “I’m sure the players are thinking ‘is this really going to work against Man City?’ And those are justifiable questions that they need to ask,” Postecoglou explained. “My role is to show them that this is still the way forward for us as a group. If we’re ever going to bridge that gap to being a successful side, we have to believe in the football we want to play. “Even though the last few results haven’t been great, I don’t think the players have felt like they struggled out there. “They still felt there were parts of the game when we were dominant, so they can see when we’re on it and we’re doing things right, even with so many absences, we’re still a very good football team. I don’t feel like it’s at a point where I’m losing people. “There are plenty of coaches that coach very differently to me, but they’re at that club for four or five years and they have that success. That’s what I’m talking about with a plan. “It’s not about just playing one way or having a clear identity. Having a plan means getting the right people involved in the club who you believe will take you where you want to go. “Then you invest in them, in the club, in the squad and you stick to that plan. It doesn’t mean that’s just exactly the same as anyone else. “City are different to Arsenal, Arsenal are different to Liverpool, Liverpool are different to both of them but as far as I can see they have the same managers and they’ve gone through tough times. “They saw something in them. You have to show something, it’s not just about blindly appointing someone and saying you’ve got five years, but those managers have shown they have a plan and the club have said ‘let’s back these people.’” Postecoglou is no stranger to difficult periods, especially at the beginning of his tenures after exiting the Champions League at the start of his Celtic reign, while he faced a relegation battle with Yokohama. When I lay my head at night, I just believe in it. I get up the next day thinking I feel strongly about it. Maybe I’ll end up in a heap, mate, I don’t know, because there are no guarantees. But my gut tells me that I won’t. I enjoy it Ange Postecoglou He reiterated how much he enjoys these challenges ahead of this weekend’s trip to last season’s treble-winners. Postecoglou added: “I think I enjoy it after when you come out the other side! Nah, I love it, mate. I love it. I don’t think anyone goes into management, or anything you do in life, thinking it’s going to be smooth. “There’s going to be some rough moments and you’ve got to be prepared for that, you’ve got to enjoy that. The alternative is I’m not in a job and I’m sitting on my couch with no pressure on me and no one questioning anything. “I’m at a fantastic football club, I’m in the best league in the world, getting challenged every week. Why wouldn’t I be enjoying it? The reason I think I really relish them is because my belief gets tested on a daily basis, whether internally or externally. “Even internally people will always ask those questions, ‘can you do this? Are you able to continue playing this way?’ or ‘is it working or is it not working?’ All those kind of things. “When I lay my head at night, I just believe in it. I get up the next day thinking I feel strongly about it. Maybe I’ll end up in a heap, mate, I don’t know, because there are no guarantees. But my gut tells me that I won’t. I enjoy it.” Read More Erik ten Hag backs under-fire Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana Mauricio Pochettino understands reason behind early struggles for Moises Caicedo Vincent Kompany feels increasing diversity at boardroom level the key to change Burnley belief still burning bright for Vincent Kompany Tiger Woods says fatigue to blame for dropped shots in closing holes Phil Vickery and Gavin Henson among ex-players named in rugby concussion lawsuit

It’s that time of the year in Scandinavia when the wind turns colder, the days get shorter and academics in Stockholm and Oslo grab the world spotlight as they announce the winners of the Nobel Prizes

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 6, 2023--

Pressure in rising on General Motors as the lone holdout in a strike targeting all three big Detroit automakers after a tentative contract agreement with Jeep maker Stellantis was reached with the United Auto Workers union over the weekend

The oversight board for Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms on Thursday said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen should be suspended from the social media site for six months for posting a video violating rules against violent threats.