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LONDON Credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar put its rating for the United States on review for a downgrade

Mark Robins has praised Coventry for being “one game away from achieving a dream” at the end of a season in which he accepts he might have been sacked. Coventry meet Luton in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final on Saturday with a Premier League place and the millions of pounds that come with such status at stake. Yet Coventry – who played seven of their opening nine league games away from the CBS Arena this season after the Commonwealth Games’ Rugby Sevens wrecked the pitch – were bottom of the Championship on October 19 and still in the relegation zone as November began. “We are one game away from achieving a dream and changing the club’s future very quickly,” said manager Robins. “This season has been exceptional in terms of the start we were handed and all the well documented issues that we had. “The fact I remained in post when others didn’t. Bottom of the league in October, it’s generally unacceptable. “That’s been something you look back on and say, ‘OK, that could have happened but it didn’t’. “We managed to navigate our way through a really difficult period and come out the other side. “The supporters understood the situation and really backed it, and without them it wouldn’t have happened. “That’s why it makes it so special because, for me, the biggest achievement since I came through the door is the reconnection between players and supporters and long may that continue.” Robins’ second Coventry spell – he spent five months there before leaving for Huddersfield in February 2013 – began in March 2017 with the Sky Blues bottom of League One and doomed to relegation. Coventry claimed promotion the following season with a Wembley play-off final victory over Exeter, and Robins repeated the trick in the Covid-hit campaign of 2019-20 as the club returned to the second tier of English football for the first time since 2012. Success was more notable as it was achieved against the backdrop of playing in Birmingham between 2019 and 2021 due to a rent dispute. A sense of calm did not arrive until January when Doug King completed a full takeover of the club, while last month’s agreement of a five-year deal to continue playing at the the CBS Arena has provided further stability. “I’ve had so much turbulence here that my first job at Rotherham stood me in good stead,” said Robins, recalling the 2008-09 League Two season when the Millers were deducted 17 points and Luton lost 30 for breaching Football League insolvency rules. “The game is one for the romantics because of the journeys both clubs have been on. “Luton dropped out of the league when I started my managerial career and found it very difficult to come back from that position. “It took them five years to get back in and they have had a phenomenal run ever since.” The game is one for the romantics because of the journeys both clubs have been on Coventry manager Mark Robins Coventry lost only once in their final 17 games to finish fifth in the Championship and they edged out highly fancied Middlesbrough in their play-off semi-final. But Robins said: “We are under no illusions Luton are going to be made favourites because they finished 10 points ahead of us in the division. “Luton are a really good team with some good technical players and have the power to go with that. That’s why they finished third. “They are a year ahead of us in their development (Luton were play-off semi-finalists last season) and are expected to go up. No one expected us to be in this game. “But the change of ownership has accelerated our five-year plan by five years. We’ve got to try and and finish this off, but to be in a position to do that is in itself incredible.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Marc Skinner bemused at lack of praise for Man Utd as they fight for WSL title Pep Guardiola: Disallowed Haaland ‘goal’ proves Man City success is on own merit Sale skipper Jono Ross hoping to finish career with ‘special day’ at Twickenham

Kanye took 'wife' BIanca Censori for ice cream as the latest season of 'The Kardashian' premiered

Citigroup Inc. spent 16 months preparing its Banamex unit for a sale that ultimately fizzled after meddling by

Khloe Kardashian has candidly shared how she struggled to connect with her newborn son who she had through surrogacy. In the teaser for the hotly anticipated new season of The Kardashians, the mother of two called the process a "mind f**k," nodding to Scott Disick when he asked whether she felt less connected to Tatum than her daughter, True. "I felt really guilty that this woman just had my baby," the reality star and Good American founder shared in a confessional. "I take the baby and I go to another room and you’re sort of separated. It’s such a transactional experience 'cause it’s not about him." While she disclaimed that surrogacy isn't a bad thing, she went on to add that she wished "someone was honest about surrogacy and the difference of it." "It’s still great, it’s just very different." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It comes after the star jokingly admitted she was fed up with people confusing her with her "hot as f**k" sister, Kourtney Kardashian. In a string of Instagram stories last week, she wrote: "I totally understand how we look like identical twins so this might be challenging for some but hopefully this presentation will help." She then launched into a mini Instagram project, sending her millions of followers into hysterics. "This is my sister Kourtney. She's pretty fabulous, gorgeous, hysterical… So I get how people mix us up." She then noted that "a few ways to tell us apart is that 99% of the time Kourt is a brunette, whereas I am 99% of the time a blonde." "I get it she is hot as f***... Again, maybe this is where people blending us together because we are fucking identical in the way we look," she joked. It comes after Kourtney was called "Khloe" at her Las Vegas wedding ceremony with Travis Barker. An Elvis impersonator, who officiated the day, mistakenly referred to her as her younger sister. Recently, reporters and fans called Khloe "Kourtney" outside the Ritz-Carlton in New York. 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.

Sam Smith described feeling "heartbroken" after "vocal issues" caused them to stop their Manchester concert last night, just four songs into the set. The singer took to the stage at AO Arena on Wednesday (May 24) and earlier teased fans on social media that there would be a "special surprise" near the end of the gig - they earlier shared a brief clip to social media, hinting at a collaboration with Madonna. However, after performing their 2017 song 'Too Good at Goodbyes', the lights went out at the venue as the show suddenly stopped. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter At first confused fans at the show speculated there was a "power cut" after the lights went dark for approximately 20 minutes but were later informed the show was cancelled due to Smith having "vocal issues". But Smith posted a statement to Instagram to explain the reason their concert was abruptly cut short. "Dearest sailors, I don’t know what to say honestly. I fought off a virus a few weeks ago and since then we have travelled across Europe and had such incredible shows. "Today in soundcheck I felt fine and was so excited to give Manchester an amazing show tonight, with a special surprise at the end," they wrote. "During my third song, I noticed something wrong with my voice. I prayed it was just my voice waking up for the show but into the fourth song I could feel something was really wrong." They added: "I came off stage and have tried everything to get my voice back in gear but it won't. I am honestly heartbroken I couldn't finish the show tonight for you all. I love you all. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Since then fans have expressed their disappointment on Twitter, believing Smith should have cancelled their Manchester show earlier. While some described the "anxiety" in the crowd as it was the sixth anniversary of the terror attack at Manchester Arena just days before on May 22. While others wished Smith well, hoping that their voice was okay. Earlier this year, Smith achieved their third UK number one album, with Gloria. 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.

Marc Skinner is bemused at the lack of praise for his Manchester United side even though they head into the last Women’s Super League game of the season with an outside chance of winning the title. United head to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon two points behind league leaders Chelsea, who will be crowned champions for a fourth successive time if they defeat relegation-threatened Reading. However, even if the final day unfolds as anticipated and United settle for a runners-up spot, it would still be their highest top-flight finish, in a season where they reached the FA Cup final for the first time. Just five years after being reformed, Skinner believes United gate-crashing the established order of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal should be more widely recognised by those following the game. “We’ve been exceptional this year and I don’t think we get enough credit, I really don’t,” said the United boss. “There’s always a caveat as to why we’re successful. That is other teams’ injuries, other teams maybe not having the run they wanted and having Champions League and I get that. It’s a factor we will have to look at but I just feel the players have been exceptional this year. “It’s not about where we finish in the league right now, that’s not the over-riding factor. We’re growing up in front of the public eye whereas other teams have already done that. I feel this team in a pressure cauldron not only have performed well but won games of football. “We’re still in contention to win and if we don’t we finish second but to do that and disrupt the historical top-three, that is a big, big season regardless of what’s happened elsewhere. “I want people to give this team and the players the credit they deserve.” Aoife Mannion will miss out this weekend after tweaking her knee while blocking a shot in training although Skinner is confident the Republic of Ireland defender will be fit for the World Cup. “We’re hoping so, that’s the plan,” said Skinner, who will also be unable to call upon Maria Thorisdottir because of the Norwegian’s foot injury. “There’s nothing structurally wrong. She won’t be in at the weekend but we’re hoping in a few weeks, she’ll be back.”

(Reuters) -Best Buy Co Inc on Thursday beat quarterly profit estimates, as its promotional programs aided higher sales even as

Best Buy Co. topped profit estimates as it navigated a long sales slump in consumer electronics and household

Turkey’s central bank extended its interest-rate pause for a third month as it tries to keep the lira

Angus T Jones, 29, quit acting almost a decade ago after undergoing a religious awakening and denouncing the hit show as 'filth'

Pep Guardiola believes the perceived injustice of Erling Haaland’s disallowed goal in Wednesday’s thrilling 1-1 draw at Brighton proves Manchester City are Premier League champions on their own merits. City top scorer Haaland looked to have claimed a late winner at the Amex Stadium but his close-range header from Cole Palmer’s cross was ruled out after VAR spotted a shirt pull on Levi Colwill. Guardiola was visibly angered by the decision after seeing a replay on the big screen inside the ground and was later shown a yellow card by referee Simon Hooper for his ongoing protestations. The City boss claims 36-goal striker Haaland has endured similar physical contact from defenders all season and feels the incident shows his side have not benefited from favourable refereeing calls during their charge to the title. “If it’s disallowed, every action to Erling Haaland by all central defenders is a fault,” he said. “Every action. And we saw one or two (on Wednesday). “It’s a goal because he’s bigger, he’s stronger, he won the position (from Colwill) and it was an incredible action from Cole Palmer and the goal should be given. “But that proved that what we won on the pitch belongs to us, not anyone gave us anything. “He has bruises on all of his body after the games. If he’s faulting in the disallowed goal, every action to him is a fault and never happens.” Haaland, who squandered two excellent first-half chances, nodded home 11 minutes from time in front of the travelling fans after Julio Enciso’s stunning strike cancelled out Phil Foden’s opener. A gripping south-coast contest halted City’s top-flight winning streak at 12 games but mattered little in the context of their season. that proved that what we won on the pitch belongs to us, not anyone gave us anything. That proved that what we won on the pitch belongs to us, not anyone gave us anything. Pep Guardiola Guardiola’s men enjoyed alcohol-fuelled celebrations after lifting the Premier League trophy following Sunday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea and are bidding to complete the treble with FA Cup and Champions League glory. Following Sunday’s visit to Brentford, City face rivals Manchester United at Wembley on June 3 before attempting to become European champions for the first time against Inter Milan in Istanbul a week later. Guardiola has defensive issues moving towards the two finals after Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Manuel Akanji missed the trip to Sussex. Jack Grealish was also absent, while John Stones and Foden were withdrawn during the game as a precaution. “Phil had a knock in the first half and problems in his leg and the doctor told me that in this position it is dangerous so we don’t take a risk,” said Guardiola. “John at the end was a little tight but he didn’t feel anything and is fine, he told me, but we didn’t want to take a risk because we had just one central defender with John. “The others are injured so hopefully they can recover as soon as possible. “We sustained no injuries for a long time but the moment we get near the Champions League final, four or five players get little niggles – important ones – and we have to recover them.” Sixth-placed Brighton cemented their spot in next season’s Europa League with the midweek point. Pascal Gross, the Seagulls’ first signing following promotion to the top flight in 2017, told his club’s website: “I’m so proud of the boys, what an achievement for us. “We can’t wait for the Europa League. What a season ahead.” Paraguayan Enciso’s spectacular equaliser followed another goal of the season contender from the 19-year-old in last month’s 2-1 win at Chelsea. “He can have it (goal of the season),” said Gross. “Two incredible goals. “What I like more, he’s getting better and better. It’s not easy coming from far away abroad with no English. “But he’s improving speaking English, he’s improving adapting to the group, a good guy and I think there’s much more to come.”