Andy Street’s West Midlands defeat shows the heavy baggage of brand Tory

Running as a ‘pseudo-independent’ in a region in which Labour faced its own hurdles was not enough to keep Tory mayor in office

After a nail-biting finale, Andy Street has become the most high-profile victim of tanking Tory support in May’s elections.

With the Conservatives shedding seats across the country on Friday, all eyes were on the West Midlands on Saturday to see if he could cling on by sheer will of personality – or “Brand Andy” as he calls it.

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Eric Cantona hints he would be interested in role at Man Utd under Jim Ratcliffe

Ratcliffe has completed a deal to buy a 27.7 per cent stake in United and Cantona is confident the club will be challenging for major honours again. from The Independent Sport https://ift.tt/98meQju via IFTTT

despite their heroic victory against Honduras, Les Bleuets are eliminated for a small goal

After a disastrous start to the competition marked by two defeats against South Korea (2-1) and Gambia (2-1), Les Bleuets faced Honduras. A decisive match for Landry Chauvin’s players who played their survival during this third and last day of the group stage of group F of the U20 World Cup which is currently taking place in Argentina. While the two teams went blow for blow with hot situations on both sides of the field, Ousmane Camara was sent off just before the end of the first quarter of an hour following a foul on Daniel Carter. The young French shoots were therefore already at ten after only 15 short minutes of play (13th). After this fault and the expulsion of the French defender, Honduras had a good free kick full axis near the French surface. What’s next after this ad Odin Ramos then sent a missile into the right corner of Thimothée Lo-Tutala, beaten (15th, 1-0). Les Bleuets took a real blow on the head with this opener and it was necessary to wait several minutes before...

Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 723

Ukraine troops reinforce Avdiivka as some defenders withdraw to better positions; lack of US aid already affecting battlefield, says Nato chief See all our Ukraine war coverage US congressional delaying of fresh military aid for Ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield, Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has warned at a defence ministers’ meeting. Jens Stoltenberg said he still believed Congress would eventually approve the stalled $60bn (£50bn) package. Ukraine has said its economy should be rebuilt using frozen Russian assets after a report showed the cost of reconstruction increasing to almost $500bn . An estimated $300bn of Russian assets have been frozen since the war started. The EU, US and western allies are debating how they can be used to benefit Ukraine. Ukraine is conducting a manoeuvre in Avdiivka to withdraw troops in some areas to “more advantageous positions”, a military spokesman said. At the same time, Ukraine has brought in reinforceme...

Australian women’s football: a century ago they fought for the right to play – and 10,000 people turned out to watch

After secret training sessions in a dimly lit gym, the Reds and the Blues set a crowd record that lasted 96 years The Gabba is better known for hosting Ashes Tests , the Brisbane Lions, and the odd Adele concert . But on 24 September 1921, the Brisbane cricket ground hosted one of the most significant fixtures in Australian women’s football history – the first representative match. The Queensland Football Association (QFA), the tightly clenched men’s state governing body, had taken no small amount of convincing to include women’s teams on their match-day card. However, funds raised from the estimated turnout, newspapers report about 10,000, certainly eased their torment. That would remain a record crowd for a women’s match in Australia for nearly a century, when the Matildas defeated Brazil at a sold out Penrith stadium with 17,000 watching on in 2017. The women got a cut of gate takings too – their £90 share is the first recognised income for women’s football in Australia. Continue...

PSG wants Mbappé its confirmed

Learning that Kylian Mbappé did not want to extend to PSG made the Parisian leaders sweat. A player agent has just confirmed it. The showdown would therefore be very real between Kylian Mbappé and PSG. The leaders of the French champion club would have been surprised at the decision of their best player not to extend beyond June 30, 2024. ” I spoke with people close to the Qatari family who run the club and they told me they were very angry confided Marco Kirdemir to brand in comments reported by RMC Sports. They had confidence in the fact that he was going to extend. The emir is very upset . » Read also – PSG: Mbappé in Liverpool, the crazy offer at 300 million Two weeks ago, this players’ agent assured that Mbappé would wear the Real Madrid shirt next season. This same Marco Kirdemir conceded, still to brand that the Spanish club was not the only one in the ranks. The attitude of the Parisian leaders had already been reported by the French press two weeks ago, in the hour...

PSG: Surprise, four transfer offers for Messi?

Lionel Messi could be leaving PSG and could return to FC Barcelona. He would also wait for the concrete offer from Barça while he would have another from a European club in addition to those from Saudi Arabia and Inter Miami. The contract of Lionel Messi will end on June 30 at PSG. And as announced in the press, the Argentine world champion will not extend his lease for a third season in Paris. And now ? Tuttosport recently affirmed that the absolute priority of Lionel Messi was to find his club of hearts of the FC Barcelona . The main alternative being Major League Soccer. Messi awaits Barca’s official offer And according to the RAC1 , Lionel Messi would have received an oral offer of 25M€ gross for one season with an additional option. However, the clan Messi would not have received the official offer yet and would wait for that before deciding. The Argentinian is said to be keen to make a final decision next week, not wanting to drag things out. PSG: The last chance...

Richard Wilkins reveals why he doesn't think Taylor Swift will add more Australian shows: 'She's in the box seat'

Taylor Swift is the name on everybody's lips this week. The pop star's wildly popular and highly-anticipated Eras Tour is coming to Australia in February 2024 and it seems everyone with a pulse is a fan: including, of course, Richard Wilkins. Nine's Entertainment Editor has interviewed the Style singer, 33, many times throughout her album cycles and watched in awe as his colleagues and friends feverishly attempted to score tickets in the pre-sale today. Wilkins tells 9Honey Celebrity he is astonished by the intense demand for her tickets, describing Swift as a "once in a generation" artist. "Plenty of artists tour Australia but this is a once in a generation demand for tickets, it's really unprecedented," Wilkins says. READ MORE: Aussie Swifties pulling from housing deposit funds for tickets READ MORE: Frenzy as more than one million Taylor Swift fans fight for less than 450,000 Aussie tickets "It's a huge tour and she's ...

PSG: Mbappé at the heart of an improbable clash its heating up!

Graduated from the School of Journalism in Paris. Specialized in football, and more particularly on the transfer window. Fan of PSG and Stade Français. Very close to Achraf Hakimi for two years now at PSG, Kylian Mbappé has forged a very special bond with the Moroccan right side. However, the agent of the latter attacks in a rather virulent way the mother of Mbappé, triggering a clash of clans for the less unexpected at PSG. Recruited at a high price by the PSG during the transfer window summer 2021 from Inter-Milan (68M€), Ashraf Hakimi quickly befriended Kylian Mbappe , and the two men are very close. A relationship that reached its climax during the World Cup in Qatar last winter, on the occasion of the shock France-Morocco in the semi-finals, during which Mbappe And Hakimi had not concealed their emotion in the confrontation. But an earthquake may come to upset the relationship between the two stars of the PSG . Mbappé – PSG: It’s confirmed, Qatar wants to compl...

Deadly cancer treatment delays now ‘routine’ in NHS, say damning reports

Studies sound alarm at state of cancer care with hundreds of thousands waiting months to start essential treatment Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to wait months to start essential cancer treatment, with deadly delays now “routine” and even children struck by the disease denied vital support, according to a series of damning reports. Health chiefs, charities and doctors have sounded the alarm over the state of cancer care in the UK as three separate studies painted a shocking picture of long waits and NHS staff being severely hampered by a worsening workforce crisis and a chronic lack of equipment. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/zjCTq1V via IFTTT

Ukraine war briefing: Bomb shatters historic landmark in Kharkiv

Prized Derzhprom building in Kharkiv damaged in attacks injuring 19; North Korean foreign minister heads to Russia as Nato chief says Kim Jong-un’s troops are in Kursk. What we know on day 979 See all our Ukraine war coverage A Russian guided bomb attack on Kharkiv on Monday shattered much of the Derzhprom building, one of the most celebrated landmarks in Ukraine’s second city , dating from the 1920s and noted by Unesco. Six people were injured in the 9pm strike, adding to 13 wounded in an earlier overnight bomb attack on the city. Eight were hurt in a rocket attack in the city of Chuhuiv just to the south-east, officials said. In the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, a Russian missile struck a three-storey residential building, killing one person and wounding at least 11 . Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, deplored the attack on his home town, as well as on Kharkiv, and called for renewed efforts to force Vladimir Putin to halt the war. In the southern Kherson reg...

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Everton boss David Moyes admits Wolves were the better team during stalemate