Top Taiwan Presidential Candidate Lai to Stop in US Next Month
Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te, a top candidate for president, will stop in the US next month en
1970-01-01 08:00
7 techniques for getting people to actually listen to what you're saying
At the heart of humanity is an intrinsic need to feel loved and cared for.
1970-01-01 08:00
Tepid China data, Richemont pull down European shares
European shares fell on Monday as China's lacklustre economic data knocked down commodity-linked stocks, while luxury group Richemont
1970-01-01 08:00
Harry Maguire’s fall from grace shows the Manchester United captaincy is a hospital pass
In some respects, it was merely a confirmation of the inevitable; in another, an indication of the dramatic pace of change Erik ten Hag has brought to Manchester United. Harry Maguire had barely returned to pre-season training when he was informed he was being stripped of the captaincy. Which, as he finished last season as the fifth-choice centre-back, behind not just Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane but also Victor Lindelof and left-back Luke Shaw, may simply feel logical. Especially as United are open to offers to Maguire, as Gareth Southgate has warned he needs to play to retain his England place and as there is little prospect of him upturning the pecking order at Old Trafford. It may have been another way of ushering him towards the exit. Yet it completes a two-year unravelling: Maguire had been the endearing underdog, the former Sheffield United and Hull player who had become an unlikely national hero – ‘Slabhead’, the ungainly surprise star of a run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, then the world’s most expensive central defender, then an anointed successor to Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Nemanja Vidic. After the rapid rise came the precipitous fall from grace. Ten Hag often praised Maguire’s attitude; off the field, he was a fine ambassador last season. On the pitch, however, he lost his place after August’s 4-0 embarrassment at Brentford; just when it seemed Maguire may at least rehabilitate himself as a decent deputy, he was horribly culpable for United’s Europa League exit at Sevilla. As with David de Gea, another supposed talisman who was at fault then, this summer has brought an end to an era. Maguire’s problems arguably date back to the summer of 2021; a few weeks earlier, he had reached a personal peak, named in the team of the tournament for Euro 2020, he had excelled for England. If Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival altered the trajectory of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign at Old Trafford, so, too, for the Norwegian’s chosen captain. The sense was that Ronaldo saw himself as a more fitting skipper. Maguire’s form fell off a cliff; he came to look more clumsy and cumbersome, haunted and hapless. He was sent off in Solskjaer’s final game, the thrashing at Watford; a few weeks earlier, he was terrible on his return to Leicester. He was not aided by the manager rushing him back when semi-fit; just as he had done when fast-tracking Maguire to the captaincy after only a few months at Old Trafford, Solskjaer seemed to overestimate him. It may have made Keane’s criticism more vitriolic; certainly Maguire was not flattered by comparisons with predecessors. The status of the United captaincy and the size of the club and his £80m price tag configured a pressure that, ultimately, felt too much. There was, though, something sad about the way he became a figure of fun. The United captaincy has felt something of a hospital pass in recent years. Maguire at least prospered for much of his first 18 months with the armband, if not the last two years. Before him, United’s official skipper tended to be injured, ageing or otherwise sidelined: Michael Carrick made just five appearances in 2017-18, Antonio Valencia just nine the following season and Ashley Young lost his place after inheriting the mantle from the Ecuadorian. Go back to 2016-17 and Wayne Rooney spent much of the second half of the campaign outside Jose Mourinho’s preferred side. Maguire’s powers waned, too, but at a younger age. If United have spent large swathes of the last 16 seasons being led by vice-captains and senior professionals, now Maguire has had two terrible seasons: one in the team, one outside it. Now, too, a team who have looked rudderless at times, especially in the torrid 2021-22, seem to have several leaders: Bruno Fernandes, the de facto skipper for much of last season, Varane, who wore the armband against Leeds last week, the charismatic Martinez, the hugely experienced Casemiro. The probability is that Fernandes will become Maguire’s full-time successor: an automatic choice who appears immune to injury and takes responsibility, he has a compelling case, despite his occasional petulance. It is apparent Ten Hag felt the situation with Maguire was unsustainable. He acted decisively. And in the process, he has pushed Solskjaer’s United further into the past. Read More Harry Maguire dropped as Manchester United captain by Erik ten Hag The stumbling block in Manchester United’s pursuit of Sofyan Amrabat David de Gea, Sir Alex Ferguson’s last player, ends 88 years of Manchester United history
1970-01-01 08:00
Man Utd reach £46m agreement with Inter to sign Andre Onana
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Inter for the transfer of goalkeeper Andre Onana, worth in the region of £46m.
1970-01-01 08:00
European Stocks Decline on China Data; LVMH Leads Luxury Lower
European stocks fell on Monday as weak economic data from China hit risk sentiment, while investors turned to
1970-01-01 08:00
Fans swoon over Stanley Tucci cooking dinner for Robert Downey Jr at ‘Casa Tucci’
Robert Downey Jr was lucky enough to get an invitation for dinner at Stanley Tucci’s house over the weekend. The Iron Man star, 58, sat down with Tucci in “Casa Tucci” and was treated to an Italian feast of pasta and the seafood dish cod alla livornese, which comprises of cod in a tomato sauce with capers, kalamata olives and garlic. Downey Jr shared a video on Instagram showing the Big Night star cooking up a storm in his kitchen. The clip also showed Downey Jr eating and closing his eyes in satisfaction, before giving Tucci a kiss on the cheek after the meal. The Oppenheimer actor also praised Tucci’s wife Felicity Blunt, whose sister is his co-star Emily Blunt, for welcoming him into their home. He wrote in the caption: “Dinner @ Casa Tucci – Truly a gem of a fella and Felicity made me feel like family. Check out Stanley Tucci in Searching for Italy.” Tucci also posted his own video about the dinner and revealed he threw the dinner party for 11 more people. He gave fans a short rundown of all the ingredients in the cod alla livornese and showed off the finished product before serving up. Fans reacted adoringly to Tucci and Downey Jr enjoying one another’s company at dinner, ahead of the release of Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan. The film, about the making of the atomic bomb, is out on Friday 21 July. “My brain may have stopped functioning because [Robert Downey Jr] and Stanley Tucci, two of… Just… I can’t,” one fan wrote on Twitter. Another said: “Stanley Tucci and Robert Downey Jr?? This is everything to me!! I’m in tears, look at them.” One person even tried out the recipe that Tucci cooked for themselves and was effusive about how tasty it was. “I’ve been eating a lot of meat lately, so decided to opt for fish for lunch. I never cook cod, but Stanley Tucci posted a video of himself cooking [cod alla livornese] for friends and I got inspired to try something new. Y’all, this is one of the best thing I’ve made in a minute.” Tucci has many fans who love his recipe videos for dishes and cocktails on social media. One of his most popular videos, posted in 2020 during the Covid lockdown, showed the travel show host demonstrating how to make his favourite cocktail, a negroni. Earlier this month, Tucci admitted that he tried to break up with his now-wife Felicity because of their 21-year age gap and said he was “afraid” to get into a relationship because he “didn’t want to feel old for the rest of my life”. “But I knew this was an incredibly special person,” he told Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. “Felicity has been so incredible taking on a widower and three children. That’s a huge thing, at a very young age too. If anybody made things better for all of us, it’s her. She’s the one.” Before marrying Felicity, Tucci was married to Kate Spath-Tucci for 14 years and shared twins Isabel and Nicolo and daughter Camilla. Kate died from stage 4 breast cancer in 2009. Tucci and Felicity share two children, Matteo Oliver and Emilia Giovanna. They met a year-and-a-half after Kate’s death and married in 2012. Meanwhile, Downey Jr recently teased that John Krasinski, who is married to Emily Blunt, might have a cameo in Oppenheimer. He shared a photograph with his castmates, including Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon, on social media last weekend. Read More The dish that defines me: Alex Outhwaite’s Vietnamese bun cha American travellers spark backlash after claiming that Europeans ‘don’t believe in water’ while on trip abroad From Brad Pitt to Ariana Grande: All of the celebrities spotted at the Wimbledon final Stanley Tucci tried to break up with Felicity Blunt over 21-year age gap The dish that defines me: Alex Outhwaite’s Vietnamese bun cha What to know about vinho verde, Portugal’s effervescent bargain wine
1970-01-01 08:00
Global rules leave crypto firms with no place to hide, says G20 watchdog
By Huw Jones LONDON Globally agreed rules leave crypto firms with no option but to introduce basic safeguards
1970-01-01 08:00
Saudi Arabia’s Neom Seeks $2.7 Billion Loan to Build Futuristic City
Saudi Arabia’s Neom, the company developing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship megaproject, is looking to raise a
1970-01-01 08:00
De Silva’s hundred helps Sri Lanka to 312 in the first cricket test against Pakistan
Pakistan’s pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi shared six wickets between them while Dhananjaya de Silva posted his 10th hundred before Sri Lanka was bowled out for 312 by lunch on Day 2 of the first cricket test
1970-01-01 08:00
Paul King gained 50 pounds scoffing chocolates on Wonka set
Wonka director Paul King has confessed he gained 50 pounds while working on the movie because he was scoffing sweets which had been specially made for the chocolate factory set
1970-01-01 08:00
Christopher Nolan's daughter is a nameless burns victim in Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan's eldest child, daughter Flora, makes a cameo in the forthcoming flick.
1970-01-01 08:00
