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Shirley Ballas regrets her previous style choices and admits she didn't look after herself properly when she was younger.

Former Sunderland and Ipswich striker Marcus Stewart feels both his old clubs can put themselves in the Sky Bet Championship promotion picture this season. The Mackems reached the play-offs last season, losing out to Luton, while Ipswich came up from Sky Bet League One. Sunderland host Ipswich at the Stadium of Light for their Championship opener on Sunday, with the televised fixture set to support the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation. A programme of activity is scheduled to raise awareness for motor neurone disease and help generate donations, including a pre-match talk-in with Stewart, whose own diagnosis came after 12 months of testing and was revealed in September last year. Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray was Stewart’s captain when at Ipswich, while another former Town team-mate Mark Venus is assistant head coach. Stewart played for Sunderland between 2002 and 2005, helping Mick McCarthy’s side win promotion to the Premier League in his final season. It is a target which Stewart feels Mowbray’s men can also now have in their sights once again. “Sunderland pushed on last year and got into the play-offs, probably unexpectedly with a young squad,” Stewart told the PA news agency. “They have added a bit of experience with summer signings like Bradley Dack, so I expect them to be up there again. “It is probably a different kind of pressure they have now, because that expectancy level has gone up a bit. “The fans there are passionate, ruthless and brilliant all in one. If you are not pulling your weight, they will let you know about it – but on the flip side, if you are doing brilliant, then they are the best fans in the world. “You have got to be able to handle the pressure up there, the good and bad times which every player gets during the season. “But Tony is a calm man and will take everything as it comes. He will not get too excited and not get too down when results are going well or bad for them, which will happen during the season. “It is just how to get through those spells (of bad results), which will happen, and then promotion is on the cards.” Ipswich have also supported Stewart’s fundraising efforts, making donations from a new kit launch in July, which was the inspired by Suffolk club’s shirt in the 1999-2000 promotion campaign. After winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley, Stewart’s 19 Premier League goals helped George Burley’s team finish fifth and secure qualification for the UEFA Cup. Former Town frontman Stewart, 50, feels the Tractor Boys can use momentum from a fine League One campaign under Kieran McKenna to make an impact on their long-awaited return to the second tier. “Ipswich are riding a crest of a wave at the moment, there is a feel-good factor about the place,” said Stewart. “How they are doing things there from the top can only benefit the club and they have a good young manager who got promotion in his first full season. “Like most clubs, you want to get off to that good start. It is all about being in touch and then the recruitment come January will be really important.” MND is a degenerative condition which affects the brain and nervous system. It is a life-shortening disease and there is no cure. Although it will progress, symptoms can be managed to achieve the best possible quality of life. Currently head of player development at National League South club Yeovil, another of his former clubs, Stewart, supported by his wife Louise, hopes to continue to front charity campaigns while he is able. In May, Bristol Rovers hosted a charity match between a South West Legends side and an All-Star XI, with the weekend’s events raising a grand total of just over £110,000. Stewart’s family and friends will also be undertaking the #TEAMSTEWART254 Cycle Challenge in October, which will see fundraisers travel over 900km to seven of his former clubs. Stewart has lost grip in his left hand since being diagnosed and has a weak arm, but continues to hold a positive outlook. “I am not a person who likes to be in the limelight to be honest, but I have embraced it,” said Stewart, who also had spells at both Bristol clubs as well as Huddersfield and Exeter, playing in every tier of the English professional game. “With the start of a new season it is the start of a new campaign to raise awareness and a new opportunity for clubs to step up, like Sunderland and Ipswich have.” :: The Stewart family are raising funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation at justgiving.com/team/teamstewart254. Donations can also be made by texting DRMND followed by the amount to 70085.

India is requiring licenses for the import of computers from laptops to tablets, the latest in a series

Former NFL star Tom Brady has become a minority owner of Championship club Birmingham City. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, recognised as one of the sporting greats, has partnered with the club’s holding company Knighthead Capital Management LLC and becomes chairman of a new advisory board. The club say Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club, including working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, wellness, and recovery systems and programs”. He said on the club’s official website: “Birmingham is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me. “BCFC is built on teamwork and determination and I’m excited to work alongside the board, management and players to make our second-city club second to none. “I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham.” Brady has partnered up with Knighthead Capital on several other ventures and new Blues chairman Tom Wagner is looking forward to Brady’s “direct impact”. He said: “Tom Brady joining the Birmingham team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world class. “Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise. As chair of the advisory board Tom will have a direct impact on the club. The men’s, women’s, and academy teams are going to benefit from the knowledge. “The goal that Tom has committed to own is to make Birmingham a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness, and recovery across the world of football. “A commitment to Blues fans was made on Monday May 8 2023, to add experts from the world of sport and football to the team, putting in place the building blocks for future success. With Garry Cook as CEO, Hope Powell as women’s technical director and now Tom Brady we are off to a fast start. “Success does not come overnight. It takes time. But when you have great leaders in place everything becomes possible.” Read More A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market Liverpool left with midfield muddle – but Reds have reason for optimism A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market Liverpool left with midfield muddle – but Reds have reason for optimism

Kylie Jenner's Bratz collaboration launched on August 1 has sparked internet skepticism as it transforms her into a Mini Bratz doll

Most of us have been guilty of doing a huge number of crunches in the hope of making our tummies trimmer. Then, two weeks later, we’re disappointed nothing seems to have changed. “Think abs and we tend to think ‘six-pack’ (visible or not) – the long muscle that extends along the front of the abdomen,” says PT and fitness expert, Laura Williams. “This often makes crunches our go-to move when it comes to the tum. But the abdominal muscles also include your waist muscles – your obliques – and one of your main core muscles, the transversus abdominis.” Targeting these areas, she says, with a variety of exercises, will help to strengthen all the important muscles of the abdominal area, as well as those in the upper back and hips, helping with everything from a stronger core to preventing injury. 1. Heel Tap Why: Works core muscles. How: From a lying position with legs bent above hips, lower one heel towards the floor, then lift back up. Change sides. Do a total of 12 lowers. Tip: Try to keep your back flat on the mat. 2. Seated Sprinter Why: Works the waist, hip and thigh muscles. How: From a seated position, with both legs off the floor, extend one leg out in front of you and bring the opposite arm towards your inside knee. Repeat on the other side. Do a total of 12 twists. Tip: Keep your torso lifted throughout. Place feet on the floor to make this easier if needed. 3. Pulsing Side Plank Why: Works the shoulder, hip, thigh and waist muscles. How: Lying on your side, raise your body into the air with your weight on the side of your foot and your bottom arm. Rest your top arm on your bottom shoulder and lower your body a short way to the ground before pushing back up. Do 15 pulses. Change sides. Tip: Reduce your range of movement if you fatigue. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Twiggy: I did not plan to get into modelling ‘Women short-changed as 65% of weekly working hours ignored in official data’ How to wear the casual tailoring look in summer

HONG KONG Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group's cloud computing unit released two open-sourced artificial intelligence (AI) models on

Infineon Technologies AG shares dropped the most in more than two years after the company’s fourth-quarter outlook raised

Former NFL star Tom Brady has become a minority owner of Sky Bet Championship club Birmingham. The seven-time Super Bowl champion, recognised as one of the sporting greats, has partnered with the club’s holding company Knighthead Capital Management LLC and becomes chairman of a new advisory board. The club say Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club, including working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition, wellness, and recovery systems and programs”. He said on the club’s official website: “Birmingham is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honour for me. “BCFC is built on teamwork and determination and I’m excited to work alongside the board, management and players to make our second-city club second to none. “I’ve been part of some amazing teams in my day, and I’m looking forward to applying my perspective to create that same success here in Birmingham.” Brady has partnered up with Knighthead Capital on several other ventures and new Blues chairman Tom Wagner is looking forward to Brady’s “direct impact”. He said: “Tom Brady joining the Birmingham team is a statement of intent. We are setting the bar at world class. “Tom is both investing and committing his time and extensive expertise. As chair of the advisory board Tom will have a direct impact on the club. The men’s, women’s, and academy teams are going to benefit from the knowledge. “The goal that Tom has committed to own is to make Birmingham a respected leader in nutrition, health, wellness, and recovery across the world of football. “A commitment to Blues fans was made on Monday May 8 2023, to add experts from the world of sport and football to the team, putting in place the building blocks for future success. With Garry Cook as CEO, Hope Powell as women’s technical director and now Tom Brady we are off to a fast start. “Success does not come overnight. It takes time. But when you have great leaders in place everything becomes possible.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Manchester United enter race to sign Southampton’s Romeo Lavia On this day 2014: Lizzie Armitstead and Geraint Thomas celebrate road race gold Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus to miss start of season after knee surgery

New faces, same issues. Pre-season is not the proving ground, more the moment to set the tone of what’s to come and, where needed, prune and alter approaches. For Liverpool, this summer is shaping up to be more of a change than manager Jurgen Klopp had expected, but perhaps just enough of the same remains to serve as a reminder that alterations were required before and that is still the case now. On the one hand, that isn’t unexpected. Defensive issues plagued the season in 2022/23, even among the improvement of the final third of the campaign, and while the new in-possession shape has brought definite improvements on the ball, it was still jarring and lacking cohesion by late May. Fast forward a few mostly meaningless games and that same mix of output remains on show – and that’s all the more the case after a totally new midfield trio looks to be in place once the 23/24 Premier League season starts. Wednesday’s friendly 4-3 defeat with Bayern Munich showed the good and the bad of the past few months, in the most relevant and difficult encounter of the summer for the Anfield club: great interplay at times, plenty of players in goalscoring areas, ragged running back against transitions and a mix-up in responsibilities inside the defensive third. New signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister look increasingly likely to start the campaign as the two advanced midfielders, left and right-sided respectively. The former appears to have brought more of his A-game so far, showing good ball-carrying and chance creation, but sheer numbers probably dictate they’ll both be in the line-up anyway – six senior midfield options have left since last season, with just those two through the door so far. Behind them, Curtis Jones once more operated as the No.6, the stand-in replacement for the departed Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, having starred for two or three months last term in the left-sided role now occupied by his new Hungarian teammate. Between the trio, the build-up approach, playing from deep and manipulation of the ball around a press can at times look exceptional. Jones in particular can be seen taking more risks in individual movements than his predecessors did, but against that comes his lack of natural positional awareness and lesser tenacity in ball-winning. Certainly, the latter is a big trait currently missing in the Reds’ heart of operations, along with aerial ability and overall aggression to get goal-side against counter-attacks or direct balls over them from deep. Of more importance remains the ability for the team to organise itself after Trent Alexander-Arnold roves centrally or beyond the midfield line, in his still-new, impactful style. Two of Bayern’s goals came in this regard while he was still on the pitch; one more came down that side after the new vice-captain departed. It’s clearly an area that Klopp and his coaches have not yet reached a consensus on, or else been able to transmit to the players who is responsible for each area according to different phases of play: the person covering centre-back if the right-sided defender is pulled across, where Alexander-Arnold himself is most effective getting back to and where the left-back needs to track if runners are both centrally and on his side. Andy Robertson has been a victim of this indecision and lack of clarity more than once, and the same proved true against Bayern, missing a tackle and tracking a runner in the wrong area before a goal ends up being scored from his side of the box. And yet so much of this is a knock-on from the No.6, the defensive midfielder. Jones has impressed on the ball and has the diligence to fight for a place in the team, yet again, and his summer with the England U21 team saw him get game-time in that role. But runners surging past him, still-to-improve tackling technique and just the natural inclination to be in place against the best central passers and runners are, naturally, not going to be his forte. Should he remain in place for the opening league match of the season, Chelsea vs Liverpool could be an epic opener for the top flight: both have clear attacking excellence, but neither have secured the ball-winner in the middle they desire. It could be that Romeo Lavia or an alternative arrive at Anfield between now and then, leaving Klopp to decide between the lack of cohesion between three new signings who have never played together – but one has natural defensive tendencies – or three players who are new to their roles in this team, but one who at least has had a regular role over the past few months. Either way, it won’t be perfect. And either way, the set-up doesn’t yet look fully prepared for the rigours of bigger challenges ahead– just as was the case three months ago, albeit with very different faces in place. Read More Jurgen Klopp wanted a midfield change at Liverpool – instead he got a revolution Man United join Romeo Lavia chase as midfield transfers look set to shape the market Klopp hits out at the Saudi Arabian transfer window length: ‘Not helpful’ Man United join Lavia chase as midfield transfers shape the market A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League Liverpool transfer news: Lavia, Andre, Doucoure, Thiago and more

The chair of Parliament’s influential energy committee said he wants to investigate a report that Drax Group Plc

Six people have died in religious violence that broke out in Haryana state this week.