Host countries restricted to five ‘foreign’ matches a season
Bar raised for clearance and Fifa would have right of veto
Domestic leagues would be limited to staging one game a season in foreign countries under Fifa proposals that significantly raise the bar for controversial “international matches” to be approved.
A new protocol, developed by a Fifa working group set up almost two years ago, would bring in clearer regulations to police the divisive issue and introduce strict limits.
Continue reading...Six women who stayed in flats in capital have since accused disgraced financier of sexually abusing them, says BBC
Jeffrey Epstein housed some of his alleged abuse victims in flats in London after police in the UK decided against investigating him, according to reports.
The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of four flats in Kensington and Chelsea in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six women who stayed in the properties have since accused the late financier of sexually abusing them, the broadcaster said.
Continue reading...An internal watchdog will review the agency’s handling of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, including whether relevant documents were properly redacted
A majority of Americans blame Donald Trump for surging gasoline prices, which is weighing on his Republican party ahead of November’s congressional midterm elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Some 77% of registered voters in the poll, which concluded early this week, said Trump bears at least a fair amount of responsibility for the recent rise in gas prices, which was sparked by his decision to launch a war on Iran along with US ally Israel.
Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act.
Alleged victims of sexual abuse by Epstein have complained that DOJ repeatedly failed to redact photos and other details that could reveal their identities and did not make public all the information prosecutors have about Epstein associates who were allegedly aware of his crimes or conspired with him but were never charged.
Lawmakers have made similar complaints and have said they suspect DOJ has not released some relevant documents.
The Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana, more than four months after Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
Trump, apparently abandoning his attempt to frighten Iran’s leaders into negotiating by channeling Richard Nixon’s “madman” theory, ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in his conflict with Iran.
Trump has decided to invite wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in December at Trump’s Doral golf resort, the Washington Post reports.
Trump confirmed that the government is considering a plan to bail out or ‘“just buy” Spirit Airlines, but confused Barack Obama with Joe Biden, and Jet Blue with People Express, which has been defunct since 1987.
India’s foreign ministry denounced comments from the rightwing US commentator Michael Savage, posted on social media by Trump, which argued against awarding birthright citizenship to the US-born children of immigrants “from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet”.
Continue reading...A change from a summer slate to a fall-to-spring schedule would align the league with much of global soccer, but it may not be what’s best for players and fans
Long before professional soccer broke through in the American landscape, the sport was a staple of summertime.
For decades, soccer has been among the United States’ three biggest draws for youth participation, just behind basketball and the combined pull of baseball and softball. Broadcasters and marketers caught on, making “the summer of soccer” a now-trite bit of branding whenever major tournaments or events occupy a smattering of weeks in the hottest months of the year. Those days have also been popular for domestic professional leagues, a chance to bring in families while school is out, with special ticketing packages and Fourth of July matches among their biggest draws.
Continue reading...The political gap between US evangelicals and Catholics is widening. And Trump won’t tolerate authority outside his own
“Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Henry II was reputed to have muttered. His knights heard his pointed remark as an order. They rode to confront Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, who spoke too freely and critically about the king. When they failed to intimidate him into silence, they murdered him. Absolute rule demanded absolute fealty.
The representative of the holy trinity could not be allowed to stand above the unitary executive in 1170.
Continue reading...An internal watchdog will review the agency’s handling of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, including whether relevant documents were properly redacted
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog will review the agency’s handling of records related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, including whether all relevant documents were disclosed and properly redacted.
Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act.
Alleged victims of sexual abuse by Epstein have complained that DOJ repeatedly failed to redact photos and other details that could reveal their identities and did not make public all the information prosecutors have about Epstein associates who were allegedly aware of his crimes or conspired with him but were never charged.
Lawmakers have made similar complaints and have said they suspect DOJ has not released some relevant documents.
The Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana, more than four months after Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
Trump, apparently abandoning his attempt to frighten Iran’s leaders into negotiating by channeling Richard Nixon’s “madman” theory, ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in his conflict with Iran.
Trump has decided to invite wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in December at Trump’s Doral golf resort, the Washington Post reports.
Trump confirmed that the government is considering a plan to bail out or ‘“just buy” Spirit Airlines, but confused Barack Obama with Joe Biden, and Jet Blue with People Express, which has been defunct since 1987.
India’s foreign ministry denounced comments from the rightwing US commentator Michael Savage, posted on social media by Trump, which argued against awarding birthright citizenship to the US-born children of immigrants “from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet”.
Continue reading...The gambling crisis ‘demands a public health response’ and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert says
Gambling addiction is spiraling “out of control” in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.
The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, “demands a public health response”, according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene.
Continue reading...Genki Kawamura’s eerie new film expands on a haunting video game that leaves players lost in endless subway tunnels. He explains how this makes viewers and players face their worst fears
Genki Kawamura is something of a polymath. A bestselling author, film-maker, script writer and producer – he is also a lifelong gamer who grew up playing and being inspired by the games of legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto. His latest project Exit 8, now in cinemas, is a fascinating adaptation of the Japanese horror game, developed by a lone coder based in Kyoto, operating under the name Kotake Create. “I was captivated by its game design and the beauty of its visuals,” says Kawamura. “At the same time, I watched many streamers play it. As I did, I realised that although the game is incredibly simple, each player creates their own story, and each streamer brings their own unique reactions. It felt like a device that could reveal something fundamental about human nature.”
The concept behind Exit 8 the game is simple. The player finds themselves trapped in an endlessly looping section of a Tokyo subway station. Viewing the narrow, brightly lit corridors in first-person, you pass the same posters, the same silent commuter, the same locked doors over and over again. The only way to escape is to spot anomalies each time you pass through – maybe the eyes on a poster start following you, maybe the commuter stops and smiles – at which point you have to double back the way you came. Complete eight runs without missing an anomaly and you get to leave through the eponymous way out. There’s no story, no reason for it at all. The mystery is part of the appeal.
Continue reading...President accuses Britain of trying to ‘make an easy buck’ from American tech firms, weeks after warning UK–US trade deal can be changed
Donald Trump has threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.
The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several big US tech companies.
Continue reading...Meta said it would cut 10% of it employees while Microsoft will offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of workers
Meta and Microsoft are trimming their workforces by thousands as they make heavy investments in AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting their companies’ productivity needs.
Meta told staff on Thursday that on 20 May it would cut some 10% of its personnel – just under 8,000 employees– to boost efficiency, part of a layoff plan made months ago. The company is also closing about 6,000 open roles. The same day, Microsoft announced to employees, for the first time, that it would offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of its American workforce of roughly 125,000.
Continue reading...More than 200,000 have signed petitions urging the government to break contracts amid concerns about the company’s ‘supervillain’ manifesto
More than 200,000 people have called on ministers to break contracts with Palantir in an apparent groundswell of public concern about the US tech company’s role in the NHS, police, military and councils.
Two petitions have attracted 229,000 signatures, one calling for the government to end all public contracts with the company, the software of which is used by Donald Trump’s ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, and another urging the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to cancel its £330m patient data contract with the NHS.
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