West Ham fans fight riot police in Prague after Europa Conference League win
West Ham fans clashed with riot police in Prague after setting off flares as they celebrated winning the Europa Conference League on Wednesday night. Fans poured into the streets of the Czech capital following the Hammers’ victory over Fiorentina, with many already in the city centre after thousands of supporters travelled from the UK without tickets. But a scuffle broke out after police officers tried to confiscate a lit flare as fans gathered in the Old Town area of the city. Riot police stormed a group after they lit a second flare, with fans responding by pelting the officers with bottles and missiles. Earlier in the day Czech police said they had detained at least 16 Italian fans after they attacked West Ham supporters outside a bar, with videos shared on social media showing chairs and fireworks being thrown. Celebrations were initially good-natured after the match, with revellers hugging and kissing each other and dancing on tables in bars. Chants of “2-1 to the cockney boys” and “Irons” also broke out as the Londoners welcomed the club’s first trophy in more than 40 years. The final took place at the Fortuna Arena, which has a capacity of around 19,300, with West Ham receiving an official ticket allocation of 5,000, although many more travelled from the UK to be in the city during the game. Supporters watched in bars around the city, including a group who went wild at McCarthy’s Pub in the Old Town area from the moment Jarrod Bowen gave the team the lead in the final minute of the second half. West Ham fan Aaron, 18, said it felt “unreal” to win. “(I’ve) never felt like it in my life,” he said. He said his plan for the rest of the night was to “stumble back to the hotel”. “How we get there I don’t care,” he added. It came hours after West Ham fans were attacked by Italian supporters in the city centre, prompting police to detain 16 people. Czech police said three people were injured during the incident, with one police officer being attacked. One witness said fans of the Italian side were armed with “chains and belt buckles”. There was also controversy during the match as Cristiano Biraghi of Fiorentina was seen bleeding from the back of the head after he appeared to have been hit by an object thrown from the West Ham stand. Shortly before the end of the match, the English club put out a statement condemning the behaviour of a “small number of individuals”, adding: “These actions have no place in football, and do not in any way represent the values of our football club and the overwhelming majority of our supporters, who have behaved impeccably in Prague this week and throughout our last two seasons in European competition.” The club said it would work with police to review the incident and take action against offenders, including implementing lifetime bans. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Newcastle join Manchester United in bid to sign Kim Min-jae On this day 2011: England’s Matt Prior reprimanded over smashed window at Lord’s Denver stars rewrite the record books as Nuggets take series lead
1970-01-01 08:00
EU’s Fastest Inflation Slows More Than Seen on Hungary Recession
Hungarian inflation slowed more than estimated in May as a deepening recession limited the room for further price
1970-01-01 08:00
Singapore Ruling Party Stalwart Tharman Runs For President
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1970-01-01 08:00
Football rumours: Newcastle join Manchester United in bid to sign Kim Min-jae
What the papers say Newcastle have emerged as late contender to sign defender Kim Min-jae, 26, from Napoli, according to The Sun. The South Korea international, whose £42million release clause is triggered on July 1, had been reportedly close to signing for Manchester United. The Red Devils are also among a host of clubs tracking Chicago Fire midfielder Brian Gutierrez, 19. But according to the Daily Mirror, the Premier League club and Rangers face an additional hurdle to European rivals in obtaining a work permit for the American youngster. Villareal’s Pau Torres, 26, has emerged as a major target for Aston Villa. According to the Daily Mirror, Villa have made an offer for the Spain defender. Arsenal striker Folarin Bolagun is a target for city rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan, reports the Daily Mail. The 21-year-old American-born forward impressed on loan at Reims last season and is poised the leave the Emirates in the summer. Social media round-up Players to watch Josko Gvardiol: Manchester City are reportedly close to a bid for the Croatia defender, 21, from RB Leipzig. Axel Disasi: Monaco’s 25-year-old France defender has emerged as a potential target for Manchester United. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
1970-01-01 08:00
StanChart Trimming More Than 100 Roles as Part of Cost Cuts
Standard Chartered Plc is embarking on selective lay-offs of employees across its Singapore, London and Hong Kong hubs,
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Wizz Air Sees Return to Profit after Post-Pandemic Travel Surge
Wizz Air Holdings Plc said it will return to profit this year as the peak summer travel season
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Landlord SBB Sinks Further Into Junk Territory in S&P Downgrade
The company at the center of Sweden’s property crisis was sent even further into junk territory by S&P
1970-01-01 08:00
New York is choking on smog. But for these cities, it's just another day
For days, images of New York choking in smoke have stunned the United States, as residents struggle to deal with the unfamiliar challenge of severe air pollution.
1970-01-01 08:00
Malaysian Inflation Isn’t Misbehaving, Central Banker Says
Malaysia’s inflation currently isn’t misbehaving, giving the central bank room to keep up its “conditional pause,” according to
1970-01-01 08:00
I tried anti-bloating pills for two weeks, and now I know the gassy truth
Our bellies have always been the target of derision and ire. Long have they been poked and prodded. Sighed at and sucked in. Reprimanded and insulted. But ever since social media became the new WebMD for chronic self-diagnosers, it’s been open season on every little bodily function. Every involuntary twitch, skin bump and mood shift has been analysed to death – but none more so than the dreaded bloat. Stomach bloating can happen for all sorts of reasons. Often the main culprit is a big meal. It’s that feeling of being uncomfortably full and needing to undo the top button of your jeans, as if you’ve just had a particularly heavy Sunday roast. Unless you have real food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or the symptom is caused by hormonal changes, bloating is the body’s normal reaction to eating a little too much. It usually subsides after a few hours. But this is 2023. A bit of bloating is no longer something you can just wait a few hours to get rid of – social media dictates that it needs to be gone immediately, and if it doesn’t then there must be something wrong with you. And not to stop there, either. You should also be cutting 10 different types of foods out of your life, doing five simple exercises 200 times a day and taking an assortment of supplements and pills because God forbid your stomach be round for the next two hours. According to Dr Tamara Alireza, a functional medicine specialist at Skinfluencer London, bloating should be taken seriously if it doesn’t come and go with food. If it becomes a chronic problem, or is accompanied by other symptoms such as persistent stomach and pelvic pain, changes to bowel habits, unexpected weight loss, fatigue and fever, vomiting, or bleeding, it may be something different entirely. “Excess bloating can be linked to IBS, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and coeliac disease, but also to more serious conditions,” she says. But we are a society obsessed with quick fixes, and anti-bloating pills have become a popular “cure” for the woes of a distended belly. Last month, fitness influencer Sam Cutler took it to new heights when she provided the pills for her wedding guests during the meal. Some viewers of her TikTok video – which sparked so much horror that it rapidly went viral – claimed that the pills were essentially “laxatives”. The glut of brands that have emerged in recent years would disagree, though. Many claim to use all-natural ingredients to “speed up digestion” and reduce gas without a laxative effect. Admittedly, curiosity got the better of me. I am lucky enough not to suffer from any particularly gut-churning conditions, but I do have eyes bigger than my stomach. It means I regularly end up regretting wearing trousers to a meal, cursing myself as my belly strains against the waistband. Could these pills really make me feel more comfortable after a big dinner, or would they just lead to some unfortunate toilet habits? I am kindly sent a couple of packs by Wild Dose, which lists extracts of ginger, liquorice, fennel seed, turmeric, peppermint leaf and dandelion root alongside a “proprietary enzyme complex” and a probiotic blend in each brown pill. They smell very herbal and are a rather unappealing greenish-brown colour – it initially makes me wonder if it’s an omen for what my guts are about to experience. After two weeks of taking them daily, I found that they did make a slight difference in my post-meal stupor and I feel comfortable quicker than before. However, the change has been marginal and, if anything, they made me more gassy, to the chagrin of my significant other. The medical community is reluctant to support the efficacy of similar supplements, as there remains little clinical research to back up their claims. Dr Alireza describes anti-bloat pills as a “Band-Aid on a fire hydrant” for people who have genuine problems with their gut. “I generally would not recommend taking any pills to counteract the bloating,” she says, “rather I would be keen to first determine the source of the issue.” She points to her practice, which aims to determine the root cause of symptoms and treat it – instead of providing temporary fixes. But I think the real reason behind social media’s obsession with bloating has nothing to do with #guthealth. Instead, it is our inherent fatphobia and fear of fatness that fuel this battle against the bloat. Are we so afraid of looking fat for even a couple of hours that we flock to pills and exercises with such abandon? Given the way people have fallen over themselves to get their hands on Ozempic, a drug intended to help diabetes patients but which has made a name for itself as a weight-loss miracle, it appears the answer is yes. It’s no mistake, either, that women are the primary targets for anti-bloating content online. Studies show that women are twice as likely to experience it as men, particularly during menstruation and menopause because of hormonal fluctuations. But the expectation for women to maintain at least the illusion of thinness at all times is also much higher. Many of us learned at an early age how to suck in our stomachs and – even as adults – keep them sucked in pretty much all day. As I write this, I realise that I’ve been subconsciously engaging my core muscles despite sitting behind a desk. No wonder the promise of no more bloating is so appealing, if it makes looking mildly smaller less of a chore. Joanna Dase, fitness expert and operations director of female-focused health clubs Curves, says that any medical conditions should be diagnosed by qualified professionals rather than social media. She acknowledges that while bloating can affect body image, no one should worry about your normal, natural responses to digestion. “If you have a professional opinion and there is no health problem related to it, then you just need to have an actual understanding of your body and its natural functions, and being OK with yourself. It’s just how your body breaks down food.” Read More Wellness gurus claim your hormones are out to get you – but is it just another scam? ‘Thanks Pfizer’: The weird world of shakes, health anxiety and illness online A One Direction fan claimed she had a brain tumour. 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1970-01-01 08:00
Joran van der Sloot, accused in the US of defrauding Natalee Holloway's mother, is expected to be flown from Peru to Alabama Thursday
FBI agents are expected to transfer Joran van der Sloot on Thursday to the US, where he is accused of extorting money from the mother of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who was last seen with the Dutch national and two others 18 years ago in Aruba.
1970-01-01 08:00
'Super shady towards each other': 'RHOC' fans unmask Gina Kirschenheiter and Heather Dubrow's 'on-camera' friendship
Fans question the authenticity of Gina Kirschenheiter's friendship with Heather Dubrow in 'RHOC' Season 17 premiere
1970-01-01 08:00
