Manchester City are just three games away from winning the Treble and many believe that if they secure this then they could be anointed as the best club team in history. Manchester City’s 2022-23 team, if they are to achieve the Treble, would surpass Guardiola's Barcelona of 2010-11, which won the league, cup and Champions League with Lionel Messi at its core. Meanwhile, various reports have also suggested that the 1999 Manchester United team or the late-eighties AC Milan could be named the greatest team of all time. Others have argued that Guardiola's Barcelona team between 2008 and 2011 was the best to have ever played for its ability to marry endless flair and artistry and intuition within the context of Guardiola's carefully honed system. This enabled them to hoover up all six trophies available to them in their first year together - a feat unmatched in football history.
Leaders of the G7 nations, including the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Japan, have met to discuss tougher sanctions against Russia over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Economic coercion by China was also on the agenda, with the group looking at ways to reduce strategic dependence on imports and diversify supply chains and markets. Discussions also centred on tighter regulation and a range of new measures on Moscow's roughly $5bn annual trade in diamonds. The three-day summit continues today and includes representatives of the European Union.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, has maintained Italy's Ukraine policy of arming Ukraine and promoting support for the country in Europe, despite its controversy among some Italians. Meloni's stance risks alienating Italy’s partners, including France, which disagree with its hardline policy on illegal migrants and have criticised her party's nationalist origins. However, it offers Meloni the opportunity to prove her political strength and consolidate domestic popularity by adopting uncompromisingly conservative policies, such as opposing the LGBT community.
Actress Emma Watson and Brandon Green have split up after an 18-month romance. Watson, who rose to fame in the Harry Potter franchise, was photographed hand-in-hand with fashion mogul Green in Venice last year. Green, the son of businessman Sir Philip Green, is also rumoured to have dated American model Chloe Green. Watson, who has previously been romantically linked to tech executives Brendan Wallace and William “Mack” Knight, split from Los Angeles businessman Leo Robinton in 2021.
Bruce Springsteen faced criticism in Italy after he held a concert in Ferrara, despite widespread flooding in the north of the country which has killed at least nine people and evacuated thousands. Fans took to social media to urge the singer to reschedule as a mark of respect for the victims, but the local mayor Alan Fabbri defended the decision to proceed with the show. The Formula One Grand Prix has been cancelled because of the floods.
Despite increasing calls from critics to cancel a Bruce Springsteen concert within a region of Italy devastated by floods which has already claimed 14 lives, the gig remains scheduled to go ahead. Organisers of the concert, which is to take place in Ferrara and is expected to be attended by 50,000 fans, has defended itself by arguing that Italy’s meteorological service did not place the area within a 'red zone' related to serious weather danger.
Anne Hathaway fans are defending the actress after a TikTok video appeared to show her skipping over Priyanka Chopra Jonas to greet Zendaya at Bulgari’s fashion event in Italy. Although some viewers claimed Hathaway had snubbed Chopra Jonas for Zendaya at the fashion event, others pointed out that Zendaya arrived late to the fashion event and Hathaway had already greeted Chopra Jonas. All three are brand ambassadors for Bulgari, who celebrated the launch of Bulgari’s new jewellery collection at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice.
From Renaissance ideals to Ebenezer Howard's Garden City, architects and urban planners have created some of the most famous cities with specific ideals in mind. The author mentions an 8th century Kyoto, which had a grid system modeled from China's Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), long before Manhattan existed; a scaled-down version was made of Nara, the capital before it; the city had temples, shrines, and delicate gardens to the city's backdrop of mountains. 15-minute cities were polarizing in the UK due to their association with low-traffic neighborhoods; Blooming with parks, temples and huge statues, Ramesses II's Pi-Ramesses, was built on the banks of a now-dry branch of the Nile, but was little more than a lost city buried under Egyptian fields for 3,000 years. In the wake of Europe's Black Death, Renaissance idealists harked back to Roman and Greek settlements, developing the concept of the Ideal City. Architects such as Maverick Filarete named his pioneering, star-shaped prototype the Sforzinda. Lastly, urban planner Ebenezer Howard sought a way for normal working-class families to escape the city, leading to garden cities such as Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City that influenced the capital cities of New Delhi and Canberra.
Car rushes Vatican gate, is fired on by gendarmes; driver apprehended after reaching courtyard
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 20:53
A car being driven by a person with "psycho-physical" problems breached Vatican security last night, driving fast past Swiss Guards before being stopped in a courtyard within the compound. Vatican gendarmes reportedly fired at the tyres of the car which managed to continue on to reach the courtyard. Once there, the driver was apprehended. It is unclear whether Pope Francis was present at the time of the incident, however, it is known he lives on the far side of The Vatican compound at the time. This is the second security breach at the location this year.
Six months after announcing a $20bn energy transition deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions and reach net-zero targets a decade early, Indonesia remains in a stalemate with its partners, voiced its frustration with their perceived lack of commitment and received nothing more than a loan from the US for a refinery. The Export-Import Bank, a government agency that assists US goods and services exports, will lend $99.7m to help fund the expansion of Pertamina’s refinery in East Kalimantan province, a move that counteracts the US pledge to end funding fossil fuel projects abroad. The loan also risks increasing Indonesia’s reliance on fossil fuels at the expense of its environmental ambitions. Indonesia was the fifth biggest greenhouse gas emitter worldwide due to deforestation and coal plants, which generated 61% of the country’s power, and renewable energy accounts for only 12% of national power capacity. Ministers from Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Norway, Denmark, and the EU were among the partners in the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
The UK plans to announce a ban on Russian diamonds and imports of metals from Russia, including copper, aluminium and nickel, to support Ukraine, as well as targeting an additional 86 people and companies from Russian President Vladimir Putin's military industrial complex. The announcement comes ahead of the G7 summit, where advanced democracies are poised to sanction Russia and debate the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. On Monday, the UK pledged to give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy long-range drones, as part of an effort to secure new weapons for the country's counteroffensive against Russia.
The G7 summit in Hiroshima is particularly important given the current geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and tensions between China and the US. President Biden is keen to coordinate with democratic allies to deal with both issues. Observers will be watching for a convincing show of unity from the G7 on both China and Russia, and to see if that unity extends beyond rhetoric. The American emphasis on the G7, rather than the G20, marks a shift from a period dominated by economics and globalisation to a new era defined by politics and strategic rivalries.
Argentina will host the Under-20 World Cup after replacing Indonesia, which was forced to withdraw as a participant and organiser due to protests against hosting the Israel football team. The late switch of venues was a dramatic race to the start line for participants and organisers alike. The competition, involving 24 international teams, started on May 20 in four Argentinean cities. Argentina, which failed to qualify initially, will participate as host. Other contenders are continental champions England, Brazil and Senegal, who had a perfect qualification campaign in Africa. The top two teams of each of the six groups and the four best third-place finishers will advance to the round-of-16. European teams have won the most recent four editions of the Under-20 World Cup, staged for the 23rd time.
More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have decreased in size since the early 1990s, with climate change being the leading cause, according to a new study published in the journal Science. The decline has been driven by unsustainable human water consumption, temperatures rising and resulting in greater water loss to the atmosphere, dam construction, changes in rainfall and run-off, and sedimentation. Climate scientists had anticipated that dry areas would become drier and wet areas would become wetter with climate change, but significant loss of water is also being experienced in more humid areas. The researchers based their findings on satellite data collected between 1992 to 2020 of nearly 2,000 large lakes across the globe.
A group of Conservative members gathered in Bournemouth for the formal launch of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), founded by allies of Boris Johnson who want to hand Tory decision-making powers to members. However, the conference was more notable for member complaints about the direction of the party. Compounding such complaints is a sense of uncertainty following the Conservative’s local election results earlier this year. With members seen as the bedrock of the party’s activist base, it’s unclear what the party will do to coalesce with a broad coalition voter base while listening to increasingly divergent concerns from members. While some party members blamed the Conservatives’ state on a “bloated bureaucracy” and taxes, one key issue raised was discontent over the government’s immigration and Brexit policies. The CDO was a haven for many “disgruntled Conservative supporters” with its central calls for party reform. Meanwhile, a separate three-day National Conservatism Conference in London hosted a broader range of right-wing speakers, with the notable absence of the Conservative party present.
Although the Tory party’s leadership appears united, there are worries over how long this could last, with some speculating about the possibility of replacing Sunak before the next election, while more discussions have generated speculation on whether the Conservatives can maintain its current coalition voter base. With polls indicating an average 17-point lead for Labour, there is concern among Conservative members about what the party should be offering up as its core vote-winning policy. Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, who opened the CDO conference, raised eyebrows by noting that “I look around colleagues myself and think, you belong in the Lib Dems, actually”. Former home secretary Priti Patel suggested the local election results “is a moment to recalibrate”.
Despite the issues facing the Conservatives, there was one unifying theme across the two right-wing conferences – a vehement criticism of political correctness and a pivot toward more traditional conservatism/populism. Attendees such as Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger have cited "reproductive rights” and “sense of family values” as central tenets of their politics. Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that a change of leadership once more would make the party look “ridiculous”. Nonetheless, the unease and increased discussions among party members could lead to a fracturing if they perceive that the party is shifting too far from its traditional base.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the G7 summit in person, with new sanctions against Russia expected to be announced at the event. The UK plans to ban Russian diamonds and many imported metals, while the US is expected to add 70 new entities to its export blacklist. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces claim to have repelled day-long attacks by Russia in the city of Bakhmut. Russia reportedly increased its forces in the area, while Ukraine claims its forces advanced by up to 1km. Explosions in Ukrainian cities were reported last night as millions of people were warned of an anticipated counteroffensive.
Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Haughey has won a double victory in the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in Barcelona. Haughey claimed wins in the 50m and 200m freestyle, completing a clean sweep of the three events she entered at the tour. Her 50m result was only 0.11 seconds slower than her performance at the first leg in France, which smashed her Hong Kong 50m freestyle record and met 'A' qualifying standards for next year's Paris Olympics. With Olympic qualifying standards met over four distances, Haughey will compete in the Mare Nostrum tour in Monaco this weekend, before a training camp in Israel and further competitions in Italy.
The G7 group of industrialised nations have ensured that Ukraine will be provided with the necessary level of budget support until the early part of 2024 after leaders renewed their commitment to providing military and financial assistance. The G7 members are currently meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, with international pressures exerted over concerns including Russia’s activities in Ukraine and increasing international standing, and issues relating to China. The leaders stated they were engaging with other countries to prevent the flow of goods and technology into Russia through third parties, and sought to crack down on sanctions circumvention providing Russia a profit boost.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have pledged to provide Ukraine with financial and military support, renewing their commitment in the face of Russian aggression. Speaking at a summit in Hiroshima, the G7 said that it specifically ensured Ukraine had the budget support it would need in 2016 and early 2017. The group’s members also stated that they were engaging with other nations in a bid to prevent goods and technology flowing to Russia via third European countries, thereby undermining sanctions.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima is expected to highlight the Ukraine war, the growing power of China and the threat to Taiwan. Leaders from India, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia will also be attending the summit, which opens today. Discussions will also focus on matters involving supply chains, economic and energy security. The Indian presence at the summit is expected to create a focus on the developing world within the G7, while the recent overtures of Russia and China towards Central Asia are also set to feature prominently. Yesterday, the G7 leaders released a statement ahead of the summit stressing their support for Ukraine which “will not waver”, and detailing “new steps” to be taken to ensure Russia's aggression fails. Sanctions imposed on Russia are also likely to be discussed, as well as their impact on trade of agricultural, medical and humanitarian products.
