List of All Articles with Tag 'ing'

Warning: You might be shocked to learn what kinds of germs are stuck to the bottoms and even the insides of your favorite shoes.

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski reveals plans to overtake Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham in La Liga's scoring charts.

Cheryl has revealed that the late Sarah Harding gave Girls Aloud her blessing to reunite and tour again before she passed away from breast cancer in 2021.

A former Rockstar Games developer has moved to shut down a blog that had revealed some insider information about game development at the company in the 2000's following feedback from Rockstar North via email. Former Rockstar North technical developer Obbe Vermeij opened up in a blog about the development secrets behind Grand Theft Auto 3, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas and GTA IV. Vermeij, who worked for Rockstar between 1995 - 2009, revealed the development of a GTA 2.5 (to follow the 2D GTA 2) as well as a zombie survival-horror successor-of-sorts to GTA: Vice City, based off of the code of that game. However, before the blog could continue, a post discussing the games was deleted yesterday after Vermeij was contacted by Rockstar: "Today (22 Nov 2023) I got an email from R*North," wrote Vermeij. Apparently some of the OG's there are upset by my blog. I genuinely didn't think anyone would mind me talking about 20 year old games but I was wrong. Something about ruining the Rockstar mystique or something. Anyway, This blog isn't important enough to me to p**s off my former colleagues in Edinburgh so I'm winding it down." Vermeij added further clarity to the situation on X and stated that Rockstar North did not force him to close the blog down, just that it was disliked by former colleagues. There is no telling as to what specifically Vermeij's former colleagues found umbrage with, but Vermeij discussed a lot about the development of early GTA games as well as the cancelled Agent PS3 exclusive and the aforementioned zombie project in a post entitled 'Distractions: Agent & Z.' Rockstar Norther spent a while pogressing the idea of their zombie game - Z. The game, (pronounced zed), would've been built using code from Vice City, based on a push from artists at the company who were fascinated with zombies. Z would've been sent on a Scottish Island with the player repelling constant attacks from the undead, using vehicles to explore. Why didn't it go ahead? Well those working on Z - according to Vermeij - found the idea depressing and focused work on GTA: San Andreas instead. Vermeij also talked about aspects behind the development of GTA 3 and Vice City, and touched on the potential of a GTA 3 LAN game to add multiplayer to the open-world map, an idea that would gestate until it was realised fully in GTA IV. It's a shame that Vermeij has closed his blog posts on the GTA games, as it was genuinely interesting, and the posts that remain aren't as perhaps 'gossipy' in that they don't reveal unknown information, but they still touch on deeper aspects of game development at Rockstar. For those who are interested, you can find it here. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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

LONDON Amazon workers came out on strike at multiple locations across Europe on Friday as protests against the

By Siddharth Cavale and Amina Niasse NEW YORK The battleground for  retailers this U.S. holiday season is over

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Arsenal have confirmed to David Raya their future plans for him, with the Gunners retaining a £27m purchase clause in their loan agreement with Brentford.

When Katie Taylor fought Chantelle Cameron in Dublin in May, Conor McGregor was ringside – an Irish fighting icon watching from the front row, as another went to war in the ring. McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout also sponsored the event, where 37-year-old Taylor suffered the first loss of her professional career – a remarkable career, in which the Irishwoman has been a pioneer for female boxing. Forged Irish Stout is also sponsoring Taylor’s rematch with Cameron on Saturday, when the boxers return to the 3Arena, where Cameron retained her undisputed super-lightweight titles against the undisputed lightweight champion six months ago. Earlier this week, Forged Irish Stout even erected a 14ft statue of Taylor in her hometown of Bray, 20 miles south of Dublin. McGregor, 35, is expected to be ringside again on Saturday, supporting Taylor who is an altogether different personality than the former UFC champion. “We have different personalities, but he’s obviously a very proud Irishman as well,” Taylor told Behind the Gloves in May. “He definitely is crazier, [but the sponsorship] is amazing. “Conor McGregor’s obviously a big name here, so it’s great to get the support off him for this event as a whole. It’s super!” Meanwhile, McGregor, who has not fought since breaking his leg in July 2021, had this to say of his compatriot in May: “Katie’s a super woman – for God and for country, that’s what she is. She stands by her beliefs, she called her shot, and I’ll always back Katie – all the way. “[She] brought big-time boxing back to the capital! [Katie,] you are a credit to the nation of Ireland, and the sport of boxing is indebted to you forever! Let’s go! With you all the way! Proud to back you.” Read More Katie Taylor: ‘I hate these press conferences, there’s nothing to say!’ ‘She’s not an athlete, she’s a deity’: Katie Taylor and a nation in awe Katie Taylor: ‘Failure is where all your growth happens’

Real Madrid are ready to offer a new contract to manager Carlo Ancelotti, despite the Italian having an initial agreement to take charge of the Brazil national team.

By Katherine Masters NEW YORK Retailers are hoping forecasts for a cool, dry Black Friday across much of

I remember seeing her move with my naked eye for the first time. I was like: ‘What in the name of God is this?’” Peter Carroll, a combat-sports journalist and Dublin native, is recalling his first time meeting Katie Taylor. “She was 2-0. Me and maybe five other media guys are called to this tiny boxing gym in rural Ireland,” Carroll tells The Independent, leaning over a raised table in the foyer of Dublin City Convention Centre. “The gym’s roof is leaking, it’s this run-down spot, there’s room for the boxing ring and nothing else.” That’s all Taylor has ever needed. Four corners, three ropes, one canvas on which to physically plant her feet and figuratively paint a pioneer’s legacy. Born in Bray, 20 miles south of Dublin, Taylor was raised by her mother Bridget Cranley and father Pete Taylor – a former boxing champion who would coach Katie for some years. Early in her boxing journey, Katie was a girl pretending to be a boy, just for the chance to compete; now 37, she is a queen of combat sports who has carried women’s boxing on her back for over a decade. As an amateur, she claimed Olympic gold for Ireland in 2012, after carrying her nation’s flag at the opening ceremony in London. She won five consecutive world titles and took six European crowns. As a professional, she has reigned atop two weight classes, ruling the lightweight division as undisputed champion. She has headlined Madison Square Garden and earned the first seven-figure payday in women’s boxing. Until May, she had never been beaten as a pro. But this is to tell Taylor’s story as an outsider. Ireland, however? Ireland will tell you stories about Katie Taylor. “My first time hearing about Katie would have been before the 2012 Olympics,” says Mel Christle, who will be supervising Taylor’s rematch with Chantelle Cameron on Saturday, as the chairman of the Boxing Union of Ireland. “There was this little ‘legend’ – but a true one – that she was boxing teenagers and grown adults when she was young. I also heard what a talented footballer she was. I’ve no doubt that, if not for her boxing, she would’ve gone on to play for Ireland – at senior level, not just juniors. She’s just a special athlete.” Or something more. “She’s like a deity, she’s not like an athlete,” Carroll says. “I don’t think anyone has meant as much to Ireland as Katie.” Christle, Carroll and other Dublin locals are speaking to The Independent two days out from Taylor vs Cameron 2. Six months ago, Cameron stepped off a plane from England, strode into the 3Arena, and outpointed Taylor. In truth, she outworked Taylor to do so. With that, Cameron retained the undisputed super-lightweight titles, but this weekend, Taylor has another chance to take those belts from the first woman to beat her as a pro – and to become an undisputed champion in a second division. “I think what happened was, all week we celebrated the icon and forgot about the competitor,” Carroll says of the first fight. “Immediately after the event, we’re face to face with the competitor, when [her promoter] Eddie Hearn is like: ‘She wants to do the exact same thing again.’ We’re thinking, ‘Oh, my God.’ I personally think she’s the greatest Irish athlete ever, and that won’t change if she loses on Saturday. People will bring up GAA [Gaelic football] players and rugby players... Where are the world titles? I want to see you leaving this island and doing something magical.” Carroll mentions former rugby union captain Brian O’Driscoll and retired jockey Ruby Walsh as Irish athletes who “might be held in that regard”. But? “I don’t think anyone comes near Katie Taylor. I’ve never heard anyone go, ‘You know what? Katie Taylor really p****s me off,’ and she’s been around since I was a child! You can’t even compare Conor McGregor to her,” Carroll adds, referencing the former two-weight UFC champion, who once held a nation’s adoration in the palm of his 4oz gloves. “His achievements are overlooked in Ireland now, based on what he’s done outside of the cage. “The thing with McGregor was: He became a massive sensation over the space of three years, then it went away. He’s not beloved by everyone in Ireland anymore, but he was what we are. Katie Taylor is what we want to be. That’s why she’s taken on this saintly aura to Irish people. She’s the definition of Irishness for a lot of people, and when she fights and represents us, we come away feeling good.” And crucially, you don’t need to be immersed in boxing to feel that effect – the Katie Taylor effect. “She is a deity, she’s brilliant,” says Tony Coleman, a sightseeing guide in Dublin. “She put boxing on the map for every woman in Ireland, for every woman in the world. Everybody looks up to her, all the kids around Ireland look up to her. She’s not a show-off. She wouldn’t walk by a person on the street without saying hello. She’s not one of these people like Conor McGregor, coming out and shouting at people; she’s a beautiful person. You can tell that just by the way she goes on. She’s a lovely woman.” Christle echoes that sentiment. “If I could sum it up for you in one word: Humility,” he says emphatically. “She never boasts or brags. If you’re nine years old or 90, she’ll afford you the same respect.” Taylor’s commitment to her religion also contributes to her stark connection with a Catholic country. “Sports fans love Katie, and priests like Katie! She’s pure,” Carroll says, while Christle concurs: “She’s a religious soul to her core. She’s a very principled person, whether or not you believe in the same principles as her.” A patron at The Storyteller on Grand Canal Street is also quick to acknowledge that element of Ireland’s affinity with Taylor: “She believes in a higher power. The good Lord is looking down on her.” So, when Taylor fights, God looks down and Irish children look up. Everybody looks on. At 10.30pm on Saturday, Dublin and its people will stop in their tracks, having sought out the nearest TV or laptop screen – if not a seat at the 3Arena. “We’ve shown every one of her fights,” says Paul Lynch, assistant manager at the River Bar on Burgh Quay. “There’s always more people, it’s packed. It’s standing room only. And all our doormen are boxers or did MMA.” Carroll adds: “I think everybody’s always aware it’s happening. For instance, I’ll be at the fight on Saturday night, and my missus will be at home with all her mates, watching Katie fight.” Christle, meanwhile, will stop by Taylor’s locker room before the deity appears before the worshipping masses in the 3Arena. Even in the moments after Taylor’s defeat by Cameron, the mood around Ireland was positive. “It wasn’t so bad, she still did everybody proud,” Lynch says, while Carroll recalls: “All the press were saying, ‘Regardless of the result, thank God this event happened and she got to walk out in front of the Irish people and be embraced like an icon.’ We had a moment.” The mood in Taylor’s locker room, however, was altogether different. Christle insists that something was not right, just as Taylor has stated over the last two weeks. She is adamant, however, that things will be different this time. Already, she says, she “feels” different. On Saturday night, Ireland will hold its breath – a nation in awe of an athlete who has transcended far beyond that label. Read More Katie Taylor: ‘I hate these press conferences, there’s nothing to say!’ Katie Taylor: ‘Failure is where all your growth happens’ Who is fighting on the Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron undercard this weekend? What time does Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron start this weekend? How to watch Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron online and on TV this weekend Why Katie Taylor’s rematch with Chantelle Cameron has all the makings of a classic