Published on
17/01/2026 – 17:58 GMT+1

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday hailed the choosing of “fair trade over tariffs” as the European bloc signed a major trade deal with South America’s Mercosur nations that has been 25 years in the making.

“We choose fair trade over tariffs, we chose a productive long-term partnership over isolation,” Von der Leyen said at the ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay.

European Council head Antonio Costa said the deal sent “a message of defense of free trade, based on rules, of multilateralism and international law as the basis for relations between countries and regions.”

He said it stood in contrast to “the use of trade as a geopolitical weapon.”

Negotiated over 25 years, the Mercosur agreement would create a free-trade zone of roughly 700 million people, gradually eliminating about 90% of tariffs across the industrial, services and agricultural sectors. The European Commission estimates that EU companies would save more than €4 billion a year in customs duties. Mercosur countries have also pledged to open their public-procurement markets to European firms on the same terms as domestic competitors.

The deal provides for the recognition of 344 “geographical indications”, protecting European products from imitation, and is also intended to secure supplies of critical minerals, reducing the EU’s dependence on China.

The agreement has crystallised divisions within the bloc.

Supporters – led by Germany and Spain – argue the EU needs new trade ties as the US closes its market and China pursues an increasingly aggressive trade policy. Opponents, spearheaded by France, say the deal threatens European farmers by exposing them to unfair competition from Latin American imports.

The ball is in the European Parliament’s court

Paris ultimately failed to assemble a blocking minority to stop the signing, losing the decisive support of Italy at the last minute. Rome backed the deal after securing funding for its farmers from 2028 and an exemption from the EU’s carbon border tax on fertilisers.

Despite opposing the agreement, France secured a safeguard clause allowing tariffs to be reintroduced if imports from Mercosur rise by more than 5% in sensitive sectors.

The deal also caps tariff-free access for key agricultural products. Annual beef imports will be limited to 99,000 tonnes at a reduced tariff of 7.5%, equivalent to 1.5% of EU production. Poultry imports will be capped at 180,000 tonnes a year, or 1.3% of EU output.

According to Commission estimates, EU exports to Mercosur countries are expected to rise 39% (€48.7 billion) by 2040, while imports from Latin America would increase 16.9% (€8.9 billion).

However, as French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X last week, “the signing of the agreement does not mark the end of the story.”

With the deal now signed, the ball is in the European Parliament’s court. Ratification requires lawmakers’ consent, and MEPs remain split largely along national lines, even as supporters hope backing from EU governments will sway undecided colleagues.

Opponents are set to test that support as early as next week, when lawmakers vote on a resolution calling for the agreement to be challenged before the EU’s top court.

Jonbon’s trainer, Nicky Henderson, admitted he had not expected the 10-year-old to take victory as they approached the final stretch of the Grade One two-miler, but he believed stamina helped him.

Speaking to ITV, he said: “I came in here thinking his record of never being out of the first two was under big threat. I really did fear that.

“He was amazing. That was an end-to-end gallop. It seemed to test them all. I thought he was beaten three out, but then he keeps going.

“He was a very fast horse. Now he’s not as fast as he was, but his stamina kicks in. He’s got older legs, but he’s brave, he jumps.

“You’ve got to be proud of him. That was a brave boy to come and do that.”

He was unsure, though, when asked whether Jonbon would now be a Cheltenham Champion Chase contender.

“I’d love to be trying him over further [distances], but things have invariably gone wrong [when I have],” Henderson said.

Gidleigh Park pulled up with six fences to go, but a fall for Il Etait Temps proved a bigger shock.

Ridden by Paul Townend, the grey had beaten Jonbon in their previous two encounters.

Jan. 16 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s push to apply artificial intelligence to defense is moving from slogans to implementation with the launch of a new collaboration platform linking policy, technology, security and talent development, organizers said.

The Defense Innovation Technology Security Association, the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association and KT said they launched the Defense AI Leaders Forum on Thursday at the Defense Convention Center and signed a three-party memorandum of understanding.

More than 150 representatives from government, industry, academia, research institutes and the military attended the event, according to organizers.

Organizers described the forum as a standing platform meant to connect policy with field needs and technology with operational demand, rather than a one-time seminar.

The forum set out five goals: helping shape defense AI policy and strategy, proposing key AI technologies and application models to enhance combat capability, building training and education systems for AI personnel, establishing a trusted defense AI system emphasizing security and safety and fostering an innovation ecosystem across the military, industry, academia and research institutes.

Co-chair Yang Yong-mo, a former chief of naval operations, said the forum is intended to boost both defense AI innovation and the country’s broader AI competitiveness by linking government, the military, industry, universities and research organizations.

Kim Seung-joo, chairman of the Korea Defense Innovation Technology Security Association, said defense AI “cannot be achieved by technology alone,” adding the association would work to connect policy and field operations and security and industry.

Kim Hyun-chul, president of the Korea Artificial Intelligence Association, said the priority is linking member companies’ AI technologies to real-world defense use cases and developing viable business models where technology meets demand.

KT Vice President Ahn Chang-yong, who heads the company’s enterprise division, said applying AI in defense requires understanding the security environment and building an ecosystem in which industry, academia, research institutes and the military work as one team. He said KT would support defense development through its AI and communications capabilities and experience in public and defense projects.

Jeon Jun-beom, director of the Defense Artificial Intelligence Planning Bureau at the Ministry of National Defense, said AI is already reshaping defense by increasing combat efficiency and speeding decision-making. He said defense AI must be “safe, responsible and trustworthy,” not only fast and powerful.

At the forum, Shim Seung-bae, head of the defense and security subcommittee under the Presidential Committee on National AI Strategy, presented what he called a defense AI action plan focused on governance reform, AI infrastructure and expanding the defense AI ecosystem. Shim said the aim is to build a smarter military that collaborates through data and AI as South Korea adapts to changes such as troop reductions and evolving battlefield conditions.

Organizers said the forum’s next test will be whether it delivers sustained outcomes such as practical application models, policy recommendations and measurable results.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

As the U.S. is reportedly moving at least one and perhaps more aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East ahead of a potential future attack on Iran, open-source tracking is beginning to show some U.S. Air Force assets may be heading that way as well. As we have seen in the past, large numbers of cargo flights and surging fighters into the region, as well as other aircraft, is a common occurrence when a crisis is brewing in the region, and there have been plenty of them in recent years.

You can catch up with our previous coverage of unfolding events in the Middle East here.

All this comes as President Donald Trump is mulling what to do next after reportedly calling off some kind of operation against Iran. Trump repeatedly threatened the regime over its brutal crackdown on anti-government protestors that has left thousands dead, but relented after being told the killings would stop. He also promised protesters that help was on its way. However, the administration at the moment appears to prefer a diplomatic solution. U.S. military planners have reportedly asked for more time to prepare, while Trump has come under intense pressure from Israel and the Gulf states not to attack over fears of regional instability. It should be remembered, though, that the U.S. was also negotiating with the regime ahead of last June’s Operation Midnight Hammer attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The lack of forces in the region, for both effective offensive operations and especially defensive ones, likely impacted his decision to hold off.

Trump on Friday acknowledged he called off the attack, but denied anyone pressured him to.

“Nobody convinced me, I convinced myself,” he told reporters outside the White House when asked if Arab and Israeli officials convinced him not to attack Iran. “You had, yesterday, scheduled, over 800 hangings. They didn’t hang anyone. They cancelled the hangings. That had a big impact.”

A military operation may be off the table for now, but Trump has not categorically ruled out striking Iran in the future. Should he decide on a kinetic operation, his options run the gamut from surgical strikes on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) forces and their Basij paramilitary troops killing the protestors to a decapitation strike on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to again striking nuclear facilities. Going after Iran’s air defenses and short-range standoff weapons could be another option in order to make future operations less risky.

Iran, for its part, has threatened to attack U.S. bases in the region, potentially much more severely than the one on Al Udeid Air Base last year in response to Midnight Hammer. Israel too, is a factor. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged Trump not to attack Iran in part because of the large expenditure of air defense munitions during the 12-Day War last June, leaving Israel vulnerable to potential Iranian barrages.

Regardless, even though the U.S. has tactical aircraft, six warships and some 30,000 troops in the region, it does not appear to be prepared for any major sustained operations against Iran that could radically alter the status quo, or the expected barrage of missiles and drones that would follow. This is a point we made last night.

“There are not enough assets in the Middle East to execute a sustained campaign that will accomplish anything of huge consequence in Iran, TWZ editor-in-chief Tyler Rogoway posted on X. This was never a question. 

Yes, the limited U.S. tactical airpower in the region can do some damage, but you need a complete, fully packaged force in order to really get in there and make a big dent. This requires a huge array of capabilities (see what one major night over Venezuela took) to cover contingencies etc. Even TLAMs are limited in the region, with just three destroyers there and possibly a submarine. Yes, bombers flying global airpower missions could play a significant role, B-52s and B-1s with JASSMs and B-2s could potentially go after hardened regime targets, possibly to decapitate the regime, but those sorties would be very low in number. And if a decapitation strike wasn’t successful then what? Huge contingencies need to be in place for what could come after. 

Above all that, there is not enough capability to robustly deal with the aftermath of U.S. strikes, which could include massive barrages of short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. These systems were left far more intact after the war with Israel as they did not threaten Israel. This continues to be a reality many do not realize. Additional ground based air defenses and fighters would be needed to deal with a major response, as well as naval assets. 

Bottom line here is all this takes time to move and get into place in preparation for something like this. Just in order to mount a major defense, not an offensive operation, it requires a lot of movements. We saw absolutely no movements that indicated such a force was being deployed. We still don’t see those indications. So if an attack was slated to occur, it would have been very limited in nature and would have likely left Iran in a place to respond massively, which we are not ideally prepared for.

Is there room for a very surgical operation likely focused on the regime’s upper echelons, yes, but even then, you need contingencies and capabilities in place if things don’t go right. Very much balancing the risk vs reward.

Taking out some targets using cruise missiles/standoff weapons etc. is certainly doable, but what do you achieve and at what potential cost from a retaliation? What does it actually achieve in real terms on the ground?”

A former high-ranking U.S. military official confirmed our analysis.

“It would be massive,” said the official of the scale of what it would take to attack Iran. “First, we have to get forces there; then we would need to stage and employ them; then we need to sustain them … and we would have to be prepared to do all that for a long time. It would dwarf anything we have likely done in the recent past.”

Clearly, the reported movement of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the region would boost U.S. striking power when it arrives, likely sometime next week. It’s embarked CVW-9 Carrier Air Wing consists of eight squadrons flying F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, CMV-22B Ospreys and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks. Its escorts, Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 bring a large number of missile tubes that could be used to strike Iran. These vessels could also be used in the defense of U.S. targets and those of its allies during a reprisal.

There are also unconfirmed claims that the George H.W. Bush Carrier group is also headed to the region, which would add similar additional capabilities. The carrier left its homeport of Norfolk on Jan. 13. The Navy declined to comment about any ship movements while CENTCOM has declined to talk about any movements of assets to the region.

These five true crime programmes are guaranteed to make your jaw drop

The cold January nights continue to drag on and many people may be looking for the perfect TV show to binge watch this weekend.

Whether you are looking for a cosy rom com or a trustworthy period drama, there are many options out there to choose from, which can at times be overwhelming. We’ve all at some point continued to scroll before giving up and watching nothing, right?

Many TV fans are turning their attention to true crime shows, which are arguably perfect for curling up on the couch with during these colder evenings. As a TV writer, here are five true crime series that you do not want to miss, all guaranteed to make you squirm.

24 Hours in Police Custody

Dubbed the “best show ever”, 24 Hours in Police Custody is available to stream online on Channel 4. The jaw-dropping documentary follows a local police force as they are plunged into serious crimes that rock the community.

Channel 4 teases: “The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.”

Just this week (January 13), a brand new episode dropped, with another instalment set to land on January 20 at 9pm, which will examine the probe into Zombie Knives. It follows from December’s “haunting” episodes which left fans “horrified” as police investigated a harrowing case involving a double murder of a father and son.

Police Suspect No.1

There are five series currently available on Channel 5, with the broadcaster having released its fifth instalment just this month. Police Suspect No.1 follows police officers and detectives in a race against the clock as they investigate crimes in their local areas.

The first episode of the brand new season returned on January 12, with another on the way next week, but all episodes are available to stream on Channel 5 online.

The brand new season has already plunged viewers into the deep end as they were left feeling “disgusted” following the brutal watch – which saw chilling bodycam footage of a savage attack on a police officer.

Catching a Killer

Catching a Killer on Channel 4 has been dubbed a “gripping” watch as it gives viewers an extraordinary insight into the inner workings of a police force. With episodes released sporadically, the latest instalment was released this month titled ‘Buried Truths’.

Delving into the chilling case of Cumali Turhan who was reported missing after being lured into a bar by his “love rival”, the brutal watch is guaranteed to make your jaw drop with the chilling revelations made by detectives.

One fan who watched the latest episode said: “Was that the one where they put him in the bin, not to mention cutting off his privates? Honestly it sickened me to the core, that poor man.”

All five episodes are available to stream on Channel 4 online as viewers eagerly await news of a new release.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish

Just this month, the BBC has dropped a brand new documentary that has been branded an “absolutely crazy” watch by fans. It delves into the twisted world of an online catfish who betrayed several women.

The Beauty Queen and the Catfish follows the real-life story of beauty queen Abbie Draper when she received a Facebook friend request that would change her entire life.

She was contacted by someone claiming to be her grandad’s doctor, and despite seeming to have it all, Abbie soon uncovered a web of lies and deceit. The three episode series aired on the BBC earlier this month, but all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

One fan said: “On Ep2 wow that’s wild! For one how does someone have the time to do all this! Absolutely madness and scary!”

Twisted Sisters

Twisted Sisters: Madness and Manslaughter is a true crime documentary exploring the horrific story of twin sisters who repeatedly ran into traffic on a busy motorway.

Released last month on Channel 5, viewers at the time admitted the harrowing watch gave them “chills” as one person said on social media: “What you see in the first five minutes of this show, it’s absolutely brutal. You won’t believe your eyes.”

Channel 5’s synopsis teases: “The strange story of twins who repeatedly ran into M6 traffic in an apparent suicide pact.”

The mini series is available to stream on 5 online.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Noah Goldberg, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Ever since the Jan. 7 wildfire incinerated much of Pacific Palisades, residents have pressed city leaders to do more to speed the recovery.

Fire victims have pushed Mayor Karen Bass to weigh in on mortgage relief. They have asked city leaders for help with their insurers. And they have sought clearer answers about the city’s timeline for putting utility lines underground.

Now, Palisades residents are on the verge of a major victory — wide-ranging relief from the permit fees charged by the Department of Building and Safety and several other agencies during the rebuilding process.

On Friday, the city’s top budget official issued a reworked proposal, recommending that the City Council waive the fees for every type of building destroyed in the fire.

In his nine-page report, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo recommended fee relief for single-family homes, duplexes, condominium complexes, townhouses, apartment buildings and commercial businesses.

That is a departure from the approach Szabo and other city officials initially favored. In October the council’s powerful Budget and Finance Committee sought to limit the relief to two types of buildings — single-family homes and duplexes — after expressing fears about the hit to the city budget if the program were more expansive.

Dozens of Palisades residents showed up at City Hall last month to denounce that narrower approach. Among them was Roseanne Landay, whose two-bedroom condominium was destroyed in the fire.

Landay said she didn’t understand why council members were treating residents of her building differently from other Palisades homeowners.

“We pay taxes. We vote. And these are our homes,” she said at the time. “We lost everything, just like our neighbors who happened to be lucky enough to live in a different structure, a different building.”

The boisterous protests helped spur the council to take another look. On Tuesday the budget committee is set to take up Szabo’s revised plan. From there it would head to the full council for a vote.

Szabo’s change in strategy was immediately welcomed by Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes the Palisades.

“If we are going to rebuild and recover, it needs to be holistic, and that includes all of the properties,” she said in an interview.

The push to waive building permit fees in the Palisades has become a thorny political issue for Bass, who first announced the idea during her State of the City address last spring. Some in the Palisades said Bass did too little to shepherd the fee relief through the council’s approval process, allowing it to drift for much of the year.

Asked about Szabo’s propsoal, Bass said she would keep working to help Palisades residents “rebuild and return home.”

“I look forward to signing the ordinance into law to waive these fees and provide this much-needed relief that survivors deserve,” she said in a statement.

In April, days after her State of the City speech, Bass issued an emergency order temporarily suspending the payment of permit fees by wildfire victims until the council enacted a law making the fee relief permanent.

Weeks later, Landay and the group she founded, Pali Condo Captains, pressed Bass to expand her order to include townhouses, condominiums and other multiunit buildings. Bass did so in May.

The council’s ad hoc committee on wildfire recovery, which is chaired by Park, endorsed Bass’ proposal in June. But things got bogged down from there.

In October, council members on the budget committee voiced alarm about the potential loss to the city budget caused by forfeiting the permit fees, which cover the cost of city staff time. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield drew a link between the plan for fee relief and reduced services in other parts of the city.

During one hearing, Szabo warned that the cost of waiving the permit fees could reach as high as $278 million, which could wreak havoc with the city budget.

Palisades residents blasted that estimate as overinflated, pointing out that it assumed that every fire victim who lost a property in the Palisades would rebuild at 150% of the structure’s original size.

By December, it was clear that many had decided against rebuilding and planned to sell their properties instead — rendering them ineligible for the relief program. Under the proposal, fee waivers would not be provided to buyers of burned-out properties.

Szabo, in the report released Friday, said he reworked the numbers after reviewing the assumptions underlying the original cost figures presented to the council. Based on the revised numbers he now expects the cost of waiving the fees to reach about $90 million.

That estimate assumes the city will cover property owners who rebuild at 110% of the size of their original buildings. Property owners who build larger than 110% would have to pay a portion of the additional fees, Szabo said.

Landay, the Palisades condo advocate, said she’s happy to see a more inclusive relief plan and hopes the council will support it. From the beginning she argued that condo owners, many of whom are elderly, are among the community’s most economically vulnerable members.

At the same time, Landay wished she and her neighbors hadn’t had to spend so much time pressuring the city to act.

“I would much rather have spent this past year healing and recovering and rebuilding, instead of having to battle various government offices for assistance,” she said.

State of play

— CARUSO OUT: In a Friday evening news dump on social media, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso announced he will not run for mayor or governor. “Though my name will not be on a ballot, my work continues,” he said.

— HERE COMES THE TAXMAN: L.A. labor unions began gathering signatures this week for a ballot measure to raise taxes on companies whose top executives make at least 50 times more than their median employee. “It’s high time the rich paid more taxes,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel employees.

— WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO? Under the tax proposal, 70% of the proceeds — about $350 million per year — would go toward the development of housing for working families. Business groups denounced the proposal, saying it would drive companies out of the city.

— TAXES, PART TWO: Bass publicly threw her support behind a half-cent sales tax hike planned for the November ballot that would raise money for the fire department. The firefighters union recently began collecting signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

— MOVING ON: Meanwhile, L.A.’s new fire chief said in an interview that he won’t try to find out who was responsible for watering down the LAFD’s after-action report on the Palisades fire. Jaime Moore made those remarks one week after he publicly confirmed that the after-action report was rewritten to shield top brass from scrutiny.

— PLENTY OF POTHOLES: Since Christmas Eve, L.A. street crews repaired more than 3,800 potholes as they respond to a deluge of road repair complaints. The pothole problem comes amid a rainy season that has dumped more than 14 inches of precipitation on downtown L.A. between October and last week — roughly 99% of what the city typically sees by the end of March.

— WORDS GET IN THE WAY: The long-running legal battle between the city of Los Angeles and the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights over homeless services has devolved into a fight over definitions of specific words, The Times reports.

— BACKING BASS: Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and City Councilmember Tim McOsker spoke at a fundraiser for the mayor’s reelection campaign in San Pedro on Thursday. Bass is seeking a second four-year term in the June 2 primary election.

— POSITIONING PARK: Park, who is running for reelection in her Westside district, has raised more than $1 million for her campaign, spokesperson Michael Trujillo said this week. About half the donations came from within Park’s district, which includes coastal neighborhoods stretching from LAX to Pacific Palisades, according to her team.

On Monday, while speaking at the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum, Park made clear that she would rather concentrate on her council duties.

“It’s really more of a nuisance, having to focus on the campaign,” she said. “I have a lot of very, very serious, heavy work that we are in the midst of.”

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program went to the area around Venice Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue in the Pico Union neighborhood, which is represented by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez.
• On the docket next week: The council’s budget committee takes up the issue of Palisades rebuilding fees, as well as the mayor’s push to continue hiring police officers.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

I CLOSE my eyes as the platforms of London’s Euston train station fall back into the distance. 

Upon later opening my peepers, and pulling up the window blind, a picture-postcard landscape of rolling hills, trees and blue sky is revealed. 

The Caledonian Sleeper has worked its magic overnight, delivering me to Fort William in the heart of the Scottish Highlands in just 12 hours. 

And the ride in itself was nothing ordinary – in fact, quite the opposite. 

My indulgence began at Euston, before even boarding the train, as I relaxed to the max in a stylish lounge with complimentary drinks and chocolate brownies. 

Once on the train, its corridors’ forest-green walls and plush carpets beckoned me toward my snug cabin – it really does feel like Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express.  

GREAT SCOT

I swapped sunny Australia for Scottish island with no shops – it’s much better

RIDE AGAIN

I spent the night at the historic pub just three minutes from Thorpe Park

My en-suite Club cabin had a comfy bunk bed – which I had to myself – complete with squishy duvet, reading light, charging points and all the essentials for a night’s sleep – eye mask, earplugs and bottled water.  

Every feature of the cabin was super-practical – the back of the door boasted a full-length mirror and the sink was tucked neatly beneath the window.  

The en-suite bathroom, complete with a toilet and shower, made the cabin feel like a hotel-on-rails.  

With the Club cabins you also get entry to the Club Car – a gorgeous dining spot complete with tartan placemats whose colours represent the different stations the Sleeper serves.  

For my sumptuous three-course dinner, I was treated to a salmon quiche (£8) followed by a delicious harissa-and-honey chicken dish (£14) then salted caramel tart (£10). 

As for a tipple, there is plenty of choice, from gins to classic wines. 

Snugly tucked up in bed later, I felt the gentle rock of the train but the eyemask and earplugs helped me to drift off. 

The experience’s real magic emerges in the morning though.  

Waking up in sunny Scotland, with mighty mountains and sparkling lochs whizzing past my window was an experience to remember. 

Sliding on my slippers and shuffling off to the Club Car once again, I am once more awe-struck as the vast glass windows reveal a fully immersive experience of the glorious Scottish countryside.  

Whilst more expensive than flying, who wouldn’t want to swap airport stress for waking up amid the beauty of the Scottish wilderness? 

The morning menu, from warm pastries to a full Scottish breakfast, and fresh juices to hot drinks, is impressive. 

The doughy pancakes with fresh fruit leave me comfortably full as I “ooh” and “ahh” at views through the window.  

The Caledonian Sleeper runs multiple routes from Euston, including to Edinburgh and Glasgow – and this week, its services expanded to include its first ever from Birmingham.  

Whilst more expensive than flying, who wouldn’t want to swap airport stress for waking up amid the beauty of the Scottish wilderness? 

Sean McVay, taking a cue from quarterback Matthew Stafford, will don an upper-body neoprene undergarment. Perhaps a heated vest. And his gelled hair spike will be covered with a beanie.

The Rams’ coach does not need any weather-related distractions on the field or on the sideline when his team plays the Chicago Bears on Sunday in an NFL divisional-round game at Soldier Field, where the wind-chill factor could fall below zero.

“What do you think, I’m going to dress up like the Michelin Man or something?” McVay said when queried about his planned sideline attire. “And now that I’m not being too stubborn about throwing a beanie on after my mom and my wife ripped my ass, I’ll be in good shape there too.”

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Gary Klein breaks down everything you need to know heading into the Rams’ NFC divisional playoff game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Rams are aiming for a better ending and warmer feeling than they experienced the last time they played a divisional-round game in cold weather.

Almost exactly one year ago, the Rams traveled to Philadelphia and lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles in the snow.

The Rams could have avoided being on the road for the playoffs this year had they held onto the top seed in the NFC, but they lost three of their last six games and fell to No. 5.

So here they are again.

The Rams are coming off a 34-31 wild-card victory over the Carolina Panthers, a win that followed a familiar script: The Rams led early, allowed the opponent to get back into the game with lulls and costly errors, and then pulled out a victory.

“Are we looking for consistent execution for a full 60 [minutes]?” McVay said this week, “No doubt about it. We’re going to continue to strive for that. Maybe this week is the week.”

Stafford played 12 seasons for the Detroit Lions in the NFC North, so he is accustomed to playing in cold weather.

Stafford suffered a sprained right index finger against the Panthers but has said the finger felt “great” and he was a full participant in practices this week.

Stafford faces a Bears defense that led the NFL with 23 interceptions and recovered 10 fumbles.

Under first-year coach Ben Johnson, and with second-year quarterback Caleb Williams having made huge strides, the Bears won multiple games with comebacks, including their 31-27 divisional-round victory over the Green Bay Packers.

“You have to give them a lot of credit,” Stafford said. “They have a quarterback, a team, a coach that all believe in each other and as they should. They’ve proven it a bunch of times this year.”

The Rams are buoyed by the return of right guard Kevin Dotson, who was sidelined for three games because of an ankle injury. Dotson adds a layer of protection for Stafford to connect with receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and he could be pivotal if McVay opts to go with three tight ends and a run-heavy approach that highlights running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.

“If we throwing the ball, we running the ball, we screening the ball — it don’t matter,” Williams said. “I’m going to be ready for it. … Whether it’s a 100 mph-wind and we got to run that ball, or if it’s no wind and we’re just going to throw the ball, it don’t matter.”

The Bears rely on running back D’Andre Swift to set up a passing game that features called and off-schedule plays by Williams.

“The key to not being too cold out there on the field is to not let them sustain super-long drives,” defensive lineman Kobie Turner said. “So how about let’s get some three-and-outs and get back to the heat of the benches.”

Rams center Coleman Shelton played last season for the Bears. He experienced multiple cold-weather games. Keeping hands warm between snaps is key.

“Hand warmers, whatever you’ve got to do to keep the feel so your hands don’t go numb,” he said.

The Rams got experience in cold-weather games last season against the New York Jets and the Eagles. Players said they were not affected by the elements when action was happening on the field.

“It’s when you get TV timeouts and all that,” offensive lineman Steve Avila said. “That’s when you’re like, “Awww, this sucks.”

The Rams, however, are not complaining.

They got a good week of practice in sunny and warm weather.

If they defeat the Bears, they will advance to the NFC championship game against the winner of Saturday’s game between the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks and the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers.

“We’re playing for our lives here,” Turner said, “so it doesn’t matter if we’re playing in the middle of a parking lot, it doesn’t matter if it’s snowing or how hot it is out here at practice.

“Wherever the ball drops, we’re locked in.”

United kick off interim manager ‍Michael Carrick’s ‍second stint in charge with an impressive 2-0 derby victory.

Michael Carrick got off to a flying start as Manchester United’s interim manager with a dominant 2-0 derby win over Manchester City in the Premier League.

Taking charge of his first game since his appointment this week, Carrick immediately lifted the gloom over Old Trafford with a victory on Saturday that will likely live long in the memory of United fans.

The former United midfielder has only signed a deal until the end of the season and has 17 games to convince the club’s hierarchy to give him the job on a permanent basis after Ruben Amorim was sacked last week.

And Carrick could not have made a better first impression with a superb performance against City manager Pep Guardiola in the 198th Manchester derby.

Second half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu sealed the win that had United fans singing in full voice and drowning out their fierce cross-city rivals.

And the victory could have been even more emphatic, with United twice hitting the woodwork, forcing a string of saves from City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and having three goals ruled out for offside.

Not only did the win give United local bragging rights and boost the team’s chances of Champions League qualification, but it also delivered another blow to City’s title challenge.

United dominated the chances before and after half-time.

Harry Maguire headed against the bar inside three minutes and United saw two goals chalked off by VAR for offside before the break.

In the second half Donnarumma denied Amad Diallo, Casemiro and Mbeumo before the deadlock was finally broken in the 65th minute.

It came from another swift United attack with Bruno Fernandes leading the breakaway after a City free kick came to nothing.

Racing into the City half Fernandes slipped a pass into the run of Mbeumo and the Cameroon forward unleashed a first-time left footed shot low into the far corner, sending the home fans into raptures.

It was the least Carrick’s team deserved after a performance full of attacking intent.

Dorgu doubled the lead in the 76th, converting from close range after beating Rico Lewis to substitute Matheus Cunha’s cross.

Diallo then hit the post as United looked to press the advantage and there was still time for another substitute, Mason Mount, to find the back of the net with his first touch in the 89th, only for it to be deemed offside.

By that point, it mattered little. The day belonged to United and Carrick, who had a beaming smile on his face as he congratulated his players after the final whistle.

Up in the stands, watching on was managerial great Alex Ferguson, whose smile was as broad as anyone’s inside Old Trafford.

United defender Lisandro Martinez told Sky Sports that his side had heeded Carrick’s call to use the energy of the fans.

“We showed who we are. Today was the best moment to do it. The team, bench and staff – everyone was together,” he said.

“One important thing that Michael Carrick said is to use the energy of the [fans], and today we did it.”

Carrick praised his players and said that it was a “special” day, but added that he was not getting carried away after one game.

“I couldn’t ask for any more. The boys took everything on tactically and dealt with it emotionally,” he said. “I said yesterday it was a magic place and it certainly was today.”

City’s captain Bernardo Silva lamented his side’s “bad performance” and said that it would be hard to catch Arsenal at the top of the table.

“They deserved to win today. They had more energy and intention. It always felt like they were close to score and we were never there,” he told Sky Sports.

He added: “It is a big gap [with Arsenal], we won’t lie and say it isn’t a big gap, it is. We will fight until the end.”

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s second caption reads: 

07 October 2024, Brandenburg, Freudenberg: Hans-Jürgen Herget, organizer of guided tours of the former GDR Ministry of the Interior’s command bunker, stands in the underground facility. The former command bunker of the GDR Ministry of the Interior near Freudenberg (Märkisch-Oderland) will be open to visitors next weekend (12 and 13 October 2024). “In the event of war, public life in the GDR was to be maintained from this bunker,” explains Hans-Jürgen Herget. According to Herget, around 400 telephone lines led from the facility to the police, the National People’s Army and the State Security, as well as to companies and fire departments. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Prime Directives!

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

There’s something refreshingly 19th century about Patrick Page’s traveling Shakespeare seminar, “All the Devils Are Here,” which opened Thursday at BroadStage in Santa Monica.

The show, a touring tutorial he created and performs solo, allows Page the opportunity to animate with barnstorming crackle a rogue’s gallery of Shakespearean scoundrels. Villains come quite naturally to this stage veteran, who might not smack his lips when impersonating evil, but he certainly doesn’t stint on the flamboyant color. An American Shakespearean who can hold his own with the Brits, he combines mellifluous diction with muscular imagination.

Page received a Tony nomination for his performance in the musical “Hadestown,” in which he played Hades, ruler of the underworld, with a sexy, tyrannical malevolence and a voice so deep it resonated as darkly as Leonard Cohen’s. And he’s had prior success creating outlandish villains on Broadway with the Grinch and, from “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.

But Shakespeare has long been a touchstone. He’s dedicated himself to the work, as was evident in his triumphant turn in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2023 production of “King Lear” in Washington, D.C., directed by Simon Godwin. The producers of which had the good sense to stream worldwide for all of us outside the nation’s capital who wanted to experience the thunderclap of Page’s Lear.

Godwin, the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and an associate director of the National Theatre in London, leaves little distance between Page and the audience in his staging of “All the Devils Are Here.” The direct-address simplicity of the production serves the fluidity of Page’s performance. The actor transitions from talking about the characters to becoming them with just a shift in his posture and vocal tone.

Proximity is the point. Shakespeare’s bad guys, with a few notable exceptions, are quite like you and me, which is to say they are human. Their worst deeds are the product of desires and fears that aren’t foreign to any of us. We might not be capable of atrocities, but in our dreams we’re all occasionally raving lunatics, giving vent to feelings we keep buried away in the light of day.

Page makes the tendentious claim that Shakespeare invented the villain, then walks it back to explain exactly what he means. His thesis is that Shakespeare early in his playwriting career followed the prevailing models of villainy. These vicious and vindictive antagonists tended to be outsiders, Jews (in the case of Christopher Marlowe’s “The Jew of Malta”), Moors (such as Aaron the Moor in Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus”) or the physically deformed (most notably, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who first appeared in Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” and proved to be such a hit that he was given his own play, “Richard III”).

We get a taste of these Machiavels, who have none of the misgivings about vengeance that will plague Hamlet. Page portrays them without much introspection. They tell you what they’re going to do and then they bloody well do it. They can be scathingly ironic, alert to every hypocrisy that corroborates their cynical worldview, and even seductive in a perverse, power-mad way.

For these reasons, they are, like the arch-villains of “Batman,” the most entertaining characters in their stories. This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.

Iago, one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains, is an updated version of this stock character. Page consults Martha Stout’s book “The Sociopath Next Door” to understand the character’s lack of empathy and remorse. But then he enacts the scene in which Iago subtly poisons Othello’s mind into believing that his wife is having an affair with a handsome lieutenant. Sociopaths like Iago may be an empty shell of evil, but they can also be ingenious manipulators. Shakespeare put all his understanding of human nature into Iago’s brainwashing master class.

But before Page reaches Iago, he spends time with Shylock from the “The Merchant of Venice.” Shakespeare humanizes the Elizabethan stage stereotype of the villainous Jew by giving Shylock ample reason for wanting to get back at his Christian persecutors. Marlowe treats Barabas in “The Jew of Malta” as a farcical demon, but Shakespeare has Shylock ask, “Has a Jew not eyes? … If you prick us, do we not bleed?”

Yes, Shakespeare is having his cake and eating it too. But Page’s portrayal, perhaps the most complete in his gallery, makes a convincing case of the playwriting leap forward.

From “Hamlet,” Page gives us Claudius on his knees praying for pardon he knows he doesn’t deserve. (“May one be pardoned and retain the offense?” he asks himself, already knowing the answer.) Here we see that even the most sealed-off conscience can be invaded by second thoughts.

Lady Macbeth has no such qualms when she’s summoning evil spirits to unsex her in “Macbeth.” She knows conventional morality is a liability and begs these forces “to stop up the access and passage to remorse” so that nothing will impede the murderous plot that’s brewing within her.

To establish the right note of terror on a fog-strewn set by Arnulfo Maldonado that resembles the private chamber of a writer or madman, Page begins with Lady Macbeth’s chilling incantation. He returns to the tragedy later in his survey after guilt has alienated the Macbeths from each other and they find themselves trapped in a nightmare of their own making.

King Lear mournfully wonders, “Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts?” Shakespeare can’t explain evil, but he can look at it directly. And what he sees, Page argues, is our own reflection — humanity, in all its fractured and flailing self-destructive foolishness.

The case Page smoothly makes is a convincing one. He is a pliant enough actor to daub each portrait with just enough psychological color. It’s not easy to do justice to such complex roles in quick succession. The genius of these troubling characters is embedded in their full dramatic contexts, requiring more than rhetorical flourishes and vocal modulations to bring them to life.

But by collectively presenting them in such a vivid and intelligent manner, Page urges us to see these devils for what they are — an inextricable part of our collective story, as any perusal of the day’s political headlines will disturbingly attest.

President Bush said that he did not live “in a bubble” and that he was well aware of what was going on outside the White House, rejecting critics’ claims that he was out of touch with public opinion.

“I don’t feel in a bubble,” Bush said in an interview on “NBC Nightly News.”

“I feel like I’m getting really good advice from very capable people, and that people from all walks of life have informed me and informed those who advise me. And I feel very comfortable that I’m very aware of what’s going on,” Bush said. “Every morning, I look at the newspaper.”

A HUGE family hotel in Germany has been called ‘insane’ for how much there is for kids to do there.

Ulrichshof Nature and Family Hotel in the Bavarian Forest is set across huge grounds with both indoor and outdoor attractions for kids and parents.

One attraction is the Indoor Adventure Land, which is spread across six floors spanning 10,000sqm in total.

Inside, visitors will find trampolines, a multi-storey climbing course, a teens lounge with a PS5 and X-Box and even a movie theatre and an escape room.

There are also a number of bouncy castles in the Adventure Land too.

Parents can sit back and relax while kids play though, as there is a coffee lounge in the play attraction, that opened earlier this year.

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Also inside, visitors will find a bumper car track, where up to eight vehicles can race at a time.

The hotel even has its very own dwarf-like guardian spirits, which are known as ‘Schrazel’.

The hotel’s website states: “According to legend, Schrazel were small earth dwellers who lived in the Bavarian Forest in long tunnels and caves underground.

“Cute to look at, they hid there from humans and used to have fun with them from their caves.”

Families can explore the Schrazel’s home, which is spread across 400sqm, that has a number of different play structures, two slides, a Bobby Car race track and lots of secret passages.

There is also a themed baby lounge with miniature seesaws and cribs.

The hotel has a bowling alley as well, ideal for when the weather isn’t too great.

Or if your kids are a little more sporty, head to the indoor basketball court.

On the other hand, if the sun is shining then you can head to the Waldspielplatz (forest playground) which has a climbing tower and a pirate ship water playground.

Here, visitors can hire e-bikes, bikes, golf cars and sledges too.

Or if your kids are wanting to feel a little more grown up, they can even have a go at driving mini land rovers around.

Animal lovers can head to the stables as well, where there are pony rides and small animals.

In the winter, snow is common and just 20 minutes from the hotel is a skiing area with six kilometres of slopes and two toboggan runs.

The hotel has a few water attractions as well, such as Felsen-BAD and Wald-BAD and the Natur-BAD in the Eltern-SPA.

At Felsen-BAD there is a blue lagoon baby pool, indoor children’s pool, adventure pool with an 81 metre water slide, pirate ship, rock wall and waterfall, a whirlpool and a children’s outdoor pool with a water cannon.

Then at Wald-BAD there is a sports pool, indoor pool and outdoor pool with massage jets.

Eltern-SPA then features a number of areas for ultimate relaxation such as a Finnish panoramic pond sauna heated to 80C, a bio sauna with increased humidity, a herbal steam bath, aroma steam bath, infrared cabin, relaxation rooms where you can lie on a waterbed and a fire lounge to cosy up in.

Mini.Jetsetter on Instagram, commented: “This is hands down the most insane family hotel we’ve ever stayed at!”

The hotel has three main shops for guests to use, including Lifestyle-BOX, UH-BOX and Beauty-BOX, which sell everything from unique clothes to everyday items such as newspapers.

When it comes to finding a spot to eat, visitors won’t be short for choice either, with spots such as Garten Eden, which is located in an old Bohemian vault of a former farmhouse.

Parents wanting a tipple can head to the Crazy Horse Saloon as well and have a go on a mechanical horse or get competitive in the games room.

The hotel also offers childcare everyday, between 9am and 8pm.

Family suites start from €233 (£203.98) a night, but there are basic rooms, luxury suites and suites with pools too.

The closest airport to Ulrichshof is Munich, which is about a two-hour drive away.

For other family-friendly hotels, is this the best one in England – with as many pools as a foreign resort and a huge kids play centre.

Plus, English hotel named the best for families in the UK that has ‘milk butlers’, film screenings and cookies at bedtime.

Sam Kerr scored twice as holders Chelsea put five goals past WSL2 side Crystal Palace to reach the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup.

Millie Bright found an early opener for Sonia Bompastor’s side, nodding in a corner at the back post to take the lead in the 13th minute.

The Blues made it 3-0 by the half-hour mark, with Kerr coolly rolling the ball under Shae Yanez after being slipped through by Erin Cuthbert before Guro Reiten converted from the penalty spot.

The 32-year-old Australian added another in the 52nd minute when she headed in a Reiten cross, before Alyssa Thompson provided Chelsea’s fifth.

Sunderland, the other WSL2 side in action on Saturday, were also unable to cause an upset as they were beaten by London City Lionesses.

London City were dominant throughout but managed to produce few chances against a Sunderland side who set up well at the back and reduced the available space.

With open-play opportunities being limited, it took a set piece for the visitors to find the game’s only goal in the 50th minute as Wassa Sangare met a corner at the near post and sent a headed effort over Grace Moloney.

The draw for the fifth round will take place on Monday, 19 January.

YouTube content creator Suitcase Monkey took a tour of a country he described as the ‘best’ destination in Europe that has stunning castles and an ‘iconic’ lake

A stunning European country with flights starting at just £43 is being hailed as one of the continent’s “most overlooked” destinations. From thrilling adventures to rich history and world-class wines, Slovenia offers something for every type of traveller.

The small nation, with a population of just over 2 million, experienced a tourism surge last year, with visitor numbers climbing nine per cent. Around 7.3 million international tourists booked overnight stays in Slovenia in 2025, with nearly one million arriving during July alone.

YouTube travel creator Paul Taylor, better known as Suitcase Monkey, described his Slovenian adventure as “packed but peaceful”. His six-day journey began in the capital Ljubljana, which he praised for being “so central” that it served as an ideal starting point.

In his video, Paul, who dubbed Slovenia the “best most overlooked country”, explained: “Home to just 300,000 people, its river walk is the obvious highlight, but its many offshoots and compact nature make it perfect for finding on foot.

“Whilst walking anywhere in the city it is impossible to miss its most dominant centrepiece and it was our first stop. Ljubljana Castle is worth a visit.”

The magnificent castle can be accessed either via a challenging uphill walk from the city centre or by taking its dedicated funicular railway, which whisks visitors to the historic landmark in approximately two minutes. Paul was particularly impressed by a 4D film at the castle that chronicles the building’s fascinating history.

Paul was particularly fascinated by Slovenia’s recent history. The nation has only existed in its present form since 1991, having formerly been part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Paul and his wife Chiaki subsequently explored Lake Bled, which boasts an ancient church and “iconic views”. He remarked: “Just watching the world go by from various locations was magical.

“Especially on the more remote western side and this peace and quiet is what I’ll remember.”

Slovenia also features the breathtaking Postojna, a network of underground caverns forming part of the Classical Karst UNESCO World Heritage Site. Those visiting these spectacular caves can embark on a 90-minute train journey weaving through the rocky corridors.

After exploring the impressive cave system, Paul noted: “This is the world’s first underground railway. With almost 4km of track it acts as the grand entry point for Postojna cave, a massive network of passages, tunnels, and an ancient gift shop.

“Although its arrival may grab the headlines, it’s the 120m deep, 24km cave system that makes up the majority of the time for any visit. The caves are full of intricate stalactites and stalagmites.”

Beyond its picturesque landscapes, Slovenia also appeals to thrill-seekers, with the gorgeous Soca River frequently used by rafting enthusiasts. The mountainous landscape is equally popular among canyoning fans.

Flights to Slovenia depart from several UK locations including Heathrow, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh. Bargain flights can be found on SkyScanner for as little as £43 from Gatwick.

Who: Senegal vs Morocco
What: Africa Cup of Nations final
Where: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco
When: Sunday, January 18, at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT, in advance of our text commentary stream.

Morocco hosts Senegal in the final of the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, ending a four-week tournament that showcased the continent’s best football.

A win in the men’s showpiece on Sunday would end a 50-year wait for the kingdom’s second Africa Cup title and bring validation of sorts for the huge spending spree. But the pressure is immense.

Senegal, the 2021 winner, is also going for its second title, but the build-up has been overshadowed by complaints about their treatment going into the final.

It’s a duel of lions, between the Atlas Lions of Morocco and Teranga Lions of Senegal.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the final of the 35th edition:

What is Senegal’s complaint against Morocco before the AFCON final?

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the local organising committee to “immediately take every corrective measure to guarantee respect for the principles of fair play, equal treatment, and security indispensable for the success of this celebration of African football”.

Senegal’s players travelled by train from Tangier to Rabat on Friday, but found what the federation said was a “clear lack of adequate security measures” upon their arrival.

FSF issued a statement in the early hours of Saturday morning in which it criticised an alleged lack of security arrangements for the team’s arrival in Rabat, problems with the team’s accommodation, issues with the training facilities, and difficulties getting a fair ticket allocation for its supporters.

“This deficiency exposed the players and technical staff to overcrowding and risks incompatible with the standards of a competition of this magnitude and the prestige of a continental final,” the federation said.

How do Morocco and Senegal shape up for the AFCON final?

It has been a tournament of few surprises, and no one will be shocked to see the two top-ranked African teams contest the final – world No 11 Morocco vs No 19 Senegal. Both are likely to climb in the FIFA rankings when the next update is issued on Monday.

Both teams have played all their six games so far in the same stadium, with Morocco buoyed by vociferous home support in the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which is also hosting the final.

For Senegal, which played every game in Tangier, it will be its first match of the tournament in another stadium, potentially a further complaint of fairness for the Teranga Lions should the final not go in their favour.

Who have been Senegal’s key players at AFCON 2025?

Senegal’s Sadio Mane has created 18 chances, the most in the tournament. The two-time African Footballer of the Year (2019, 2022) scored against Egypt in the semifinal – his 11th Africa Cup goal.

Mane led Senegal to victory in 2021 and will want to sign off with another win in what is likely his last game in the competition.

Edouard Mendy has been a rock in goal, while midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye brings a wealth of experience to the centre of the park, but the rumour is that this could also be the last AFCON for both of those players.

The pressure on Mane in attack has been eased by Iliman Ndiaye’s growing importance, as well as Paris Saint-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye, who has also been an emerging talent at this tournament.

Who have been Morocco’s key players at AFCON 2025?

Forget Achraf Hakimi, the 2025 African Footballer of the Year – the undisputed star of the tournament so far has been Morocco’s No 10, Brahim Diaz, who scored in each of the team’s first five games.

If Diaz scores again in the final, he would join Ahmed Faras as Morocco’s joint-top scorer at an Africa Cup. Faras, the 1975 African Footballer of the Year, is the country’s top scorer altogether, with 36 goals.

To be fair to Hakimi, he missed the team’s first two games as he recovered from an ankle injury, going on as a substitute in the third. He has since played every game in the knockout stage and created 10 chances, the most for a Moroccan player.

When did Senegal win AFCON?

Senegal’s only AFCON title came in 2022, and Mane was the main man for the Lions of Teranga as they beat Egypt on penalties in the Cup of Nations final in Yaounde.

Having missed a penalty during normal time that night, Mane stepped up to score the decisive kick in the shootout, and Senegal – World Cup quarterfinalists in 2002 – were African champions for the first time.

In that moment, a huge weight was lifted off the shoulders of the boy from a small town on the banks of the Casamance River in southern Senegal.

There have also been plenty of lows for the two-time African footballer of the year, including the defeat in the final against Algeria in Cairo at the 2019 edition and missing the 2022 World Cup with injury.

When did Morocco win AFCON?

Much has been written about Morocco’s wait for their second AFCON crown. This edition marks the 50th anniversary of the Atlas Lions’ solitary continental title.

It is undoubtedly a huge underachievement by the north African nation, but the pressure is now greater than ever.

Morocco became only the fourth African nation to reach a World Cup quarterfinal at Qatar 2022 and went on to become the first nation from the continent to reach the semifinals.

Success did not follow at the 2023 AFCON, so – in front of their own fans – the expectation is that the wait, since that solitary title in 1976 in Ethiopia, must now come to an end.

Stat attack – Senegal

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has conceded only twice at this edition – against Congo and Sudan – and the Teranga Lions have not let in more than one goal in a game since a 2-2 draw with Algeria in 2017. In its last 22 Africa Cup games, Senegal has kept a clean sheet in 15 of those matches.

Stat attack – Morocco

Morocco has conceded only one goal in the tournament so far – a penalty scored by Mali’s Lassine Sinayoko in the group stage.

They are also unbeaten in two years, since going out of the last AFCON in Ivory Coast in the last 16 to South Africa.

Are Morocco and Senegal going to the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Both teams have qualified for the World Cup this year. However, Senegal supporters are unsure whether they can attend the team’s first two games in the United States because of a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration.

The Teranga Lions play their first match against France in New Jersey on June 16, four days before facing Norway in the same stadium. Senegal will face a playoff winner between Bolivia, Suriname and Iraq in Toronto for its final group game on June 26.

Morocco is in Group C with Brazil, Haiti and Scotland. Moroccan fans will not be affected by the travel ban.

Will Morocco host the 2028 AFCON?

Morocco will hope that it provided the best playing facilities, stadiums and infrastructure in the history of the tournament on the continent as it continues its preparations to be a 2030 World Cup co-host.

It’s likely it will get another dry run before the global showpiece as host of the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations, brought forward a year from 2029 to allow the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to switch the competition to a four-year cycle that brings it in line with FIFA’s calendar.

Few countries in Africa would be able to host the event at such short notice. Morocco, which has invested heavily in football and transport infrastructure, is also hosting three Women’s Africa Cup tournaments in succession, with the third beginning March 17.

The next AFCON is due to take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Head-to-head

The nations have played each other 31 times, with Morocco winning 18 of the encounters and Senegal winning six.

A number of their encounters, including the last, have come at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) – a tournament where only players that play their club football on the continent can compete.

This, incredibly, will be their first meeting at an AFCON.

Senegal team news

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly is out because of an accumulation of yellow cards. It’s his second suspension of the tournament after a red card in the group stage, and it will be the second final he misses through suspension after the 2019 final, which Senegal lost to Algeria. Koulibaly’s semifinal was cut short by injury, so it’s uncertain if he could have played.

Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra is also suspended because of yellow cards. He was booked in the semifinal win over Egypt for arguing.

Senegal predicted starting lineup

Mendy; Diatta, Sarr, Niakhate, Diouf; Diarra, I. Gueye, P. Gueye; Ndiaye, Jackson, Mane

Morocco team news

Azzedine Ounahi has missed the entirety of the competition with a calf injury, and the midfielder is expected to be absent once again for the final.

Romain Saiss picked up a muscle injury in Morocco’s opening match against Comoros and remains absent.

Morocco’s predicted starting lineup

Bono; Hakimi, Aguerd, Masina, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui; Diaz, El Khannouss, Saibari, Ezzalzouli; El Kaabi

Museveni, 81, secured 71.65 percent support, electoral commission says, after contentious election campaign.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected to a seventh term, the country’s electoral commission has announced.

Museveni, 81, won with 71.65 percent of the vote, the commission said on Saturday.

He defeated his main challenger, 43-year-old Bobi Wine, who received 24.72 percent of the vote, according to the official results.

Museveni’s widely expected victory comes after an election campaign that the United Nations said was marred by “widespread repression and intimidation”, including a crackdown on opposition rallies.

Thursday’s election also unfolded amid a nationwide internet blackout that drew widespread criticism.

Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had claimed on social media on Election Day that “massive ballot stuffing” was also taking place.

Bobi Wine said earlier on Saturday that he had escaped a police and army raid on his house.

“Currently, I am not at home, although my wife and other family members remain under house arrest. I know that these criminals are looking for me everywhere, and I am trying my best to keep safe,” he said.

Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, has been accused of overseeing a years-long crackdown on his political opponents.

He said in the run-up to this week’s vote that he expected to easily win re-election with about 80 percent support.

A Coronation Street star made a return to the world of acting after stepping away from showbiz to become a pub landlord

Coronation Street’s Rupert Hill is barely recognisable as he announces his comeback to acting. The 47-year-old soap star is best known for his role as Jamie Baldwin on Corrie from 2004 to 2008.

The star left the limelight to manage Manchester pubs such as Castle Hotel, Gulliver’s and the Eagle Inn, which he co-owns with his wife Jenny Platt.

However, he has recently been making a return to the acting scene, with his short film Operation Magpie now available on YouTube.

Rupert collaborated with fellow Corrie veteran Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper, for the film in which he starred and co-directed.

Earlier this month, Rupert also graced the stage in the Christmas show Tinsel at The Edge theatre in Manchester. His recent theatrical work includes The Fire Raisers at the Hope Mill Theatre in September, and he also directed the tour of Mike Bartlett’s play COCK.

This comes after he took a step back from acting to focus on his career as a pub landlord. Last year, he announced the opening of his Manchester bar on Instagram, writing: “Taking over #lloyds in Chorlton with @jbfotografick.

“Opening this Thursday with a big refurb scheduled for September. Going to create a beautiful drinking venue with an incredible live music and events space! More details coming soon.”

Rupert is no stranger to the bar industry, having previously taken on and renovated The Parlour in Manchester. He once told the Manchester Evening News: “From day one, we’ve found this shared passion for taking weary and underperforming pubs with bags of potential.

“And breathing new life into them, bringing them back into the community, creating places that people love to be in. It’s always felt like a worthwhile endeavour.”

After his stint on Coronation Street, Rupert fell so in love with Manchester, the city where the soap is filmed, that he decided to make it his home.

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He set up residence in the city’s trendy Northern Quarter, an area renowned for its vibrant street art, bustling eateries, bohemian bars, and independent record shops.

Rupert is married to his former Corrie co-star Jenny, who portrayed his on-screen love interest Violet Wilson. His character Jamie, son of Bradley Walsh’s Danny Baldwin, was known as a heartbreaker and was embroiled in a controversial storyline involving an affair with his step-mother Frankie, played by Deborah Stephenson.

Last month, he shared a throwback photo of his character on social media, captioning it: “This young whippersnapper just made his first appearance (again) on the cobbles in #classiccorrie. I think he might get up to some mischief!!#jamiebaldwin.”

In 2008, Rupert featured in a four-part special series of The Bill titled Gun Runner, playing the role of Kieran Wallace, a small-time criminal. He has also made appearances in Hollyoaks and Midsomer Murders.

Coronation Street is on ITV1 weeknights at 8.30pm and on on ITVX

The plastics industry is not happy with California. And it’s looking to friends in Congress to put the Golden State in its place.

California has not figured out how to reduce single-use plastic. But its efforts to do so have created a headache for the fossil fuel industry and plastic manufacturers. The two businesses are linked since most plastic is derived from oil or natural gas.

In December, a Republican congressman from Texas introduced a bill designed to preempt states — in particular, California — from imposing their own truth-in-labeling or recycling laws. The bill, called the Packaging and Claims Knowledge Act, calls for a national standard for environmental claims on packaging that companies would voluntarily adhere to.

“California’s policies have slowed American commerce long enough,” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) said in a post on the social media platform X announcing the bill. “Not anymore.”

The legislation was written for American consumers, Weber said in a press release. Its purpose is to reduce a patchwork of state recycling and composting laws that only confuse people, he said, and make it hard for them to know which products are recyclable, compostable or destined for the landfill.

But it’s clear that California’s laws — such as Senate Bill 343, which requires that packaging meet certain recycling milestones in order to carry the chasing arrows recycling label — are the ones he and the industry have in mind.

“Packaging and labeling standards in the United States are increasingly influenced by state-level regulations, particularly those adopted in California,” Weber said in a statement. “Because of the size of California’s market, standards set by the state can have national implications for manufacturers, supply chains and consumers, even when companies operate primarily outside of California.”

It’s a departure from Weber’s usual stance on states’ rights, which he has supported in the past on topics such as marriage laws, abortion, border security and voting.

“We need to remember that the 13 Colonies and the 13 states created the federal government,” he said on Fox News in 2024, in an interview about the border. “The federal government did not create the states. … All rights go to the people in the state, the states and the people respectively.”

During the 2023-2024 campaign cycle, the oil and gas industry was Weber’s largest contributor, with more than $130,000 from companies such as Philips 66, the American Chemistry Council, Koch Inc. and Valero, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Weber did not respond to a request for comment. The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Plastic and packaging companies and trade organizations such as Ameripen, Keurig, Dr Pepper, the Biodegradable Plastics Industry and the Plastics Industry Assn. have come out in support of the bill.

Other companies and trade groups that manufacture plastics that are banned in California — such as Dart, which produces polystyrene, and plastic bag manufacturers such as Amcor — support the bill. So do some who could potentially lose their recycling label because they’re not meeting California’s requirements. They include the Carton Council, which represents companies that make milk and other beverage containers.

“Plastic packaging is essential to modern life … yet companies and consumers are currently navigating a complex landscape of rules around recyclable, compostable, and reusable packaging claims,” Matt Seaholm, chief executive of the Plastics Industry Assn., said in a statement. The bill “would establish a clear national framework under the FTC, reducing uncertainty and supporting businesses operating across state lines.”

The law, if enacted, would require the Federal Trade Commission to work with third-party certifiers to determine the recyclability, compostability or reusability of a product or packaging material, and make the designation consistent across the country.

The law applies to all kinds of packaging, not just plastic.

Lauren Zuber, a spokeswoman for Ameripen — a packaging trade association — said in an email that the law doesn’t necessarily target California, but the Golden State has “created problematic labeling requirements” that “threaten to curtail recycling instead of encouraging it by confusing consumers.”

Ameripen helped draft the legislation.

Advocates focused on reducing waste say the bill is a free pass for the plastic industry to continue pushing plastic into the marketplace without considering where it ends up. They say the bill would gut consumer trust and make it harder for people to know whether the products they are dealing with are truly recyclable, compostable or reusable.

“California’s truth-in-advertising laws exist for a simple reason: People should be able to trust what companies tell them,” said Nick Lapis, director of advocacy for Californians Against Waste. “It’s not surprising that manufacturers of unrecyclable plastic want to weaken those rules, but it’s pretty astonishing that some members of Congress think their constituents want to be misled.”

If the bill were adopted, it would “punish the companies that have done the right thing by investing in real solutions.”

“At the end of the day, a product isn’t recyclable if it doesn’t get recycled, and it isn’t compostable if it doesn’t get composted. Deception is never in the public interest,” he said.

On Friday, California’s Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced settlements totaling $3.35 million with three major plastic bag producers for violating state law regarding deceptive marketing of non-recyclable bags. The settlement follows a similar one in October with five other plastic bag manufacturers.

Plastic debris and waste is a growing problem in California and across the world. Plastic bags clog streams and injure and kill marine mammals and wildlife. Plastic breaks down into microplastics, which have been found in just about every human tissue sampled, including from the brain, testicles and heart. They’ve also been discovered in air, sludge, dirt, dust and drinking water.

Tennis stars travel globally more than any other group of athletes due to the international nature of the sport.

With tour-level tournaments held in 29 countries across five continents, men’s players travelled a combined 2.3 million km across the 2024 season, according to ATP data.

Every player knows the importance of getting over jetlag quickly and has their own method of attempting to regulate their circadian rhythm.

Novak Djokovic, known for meticulously fine-tuning his body, tries to “over-hydrate” on his flight, adding lemon, mint, and salt to his water.

“When I arrive at the hotel, I ground myself with bare feet on natural ground as soon as possible, followed by a hot bath with Epsom salts,” the 24-time major champion told Travel + Leisure magazine, external.

“Then on the first morning, I try to watch the sunrise, to reset my brain.”

Natural herbal tablets, often containing plant-based ingredients like valerian, hops, chamomile and passionflower are a popular coping strategy, while many players have turned to melatonin as a sleep aid.

Taking the hormone, which your brain produces in response to darkness and therefore helps you sleep, has led to serious repercussions for some leading players, though.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek was banned for one month in 2024 after failing a doping test because the melatonin she took to avoid jetlag was contaminated.

In 2023, Greece’s then-world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas blamed the tablets for a sluggish performance in his French Open quarter-final thrashing by Carlos Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic ready to turn back clock at Australian Open despite falling behind Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Novak Djokovic can still crack a joke when discussing the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rivalry that for two years has prevented him from becoming the most decorated tennis player ever.

“I lost three out of four Slams against either Sinner or Alcaraz in 2025,” he said in reference to the rivalry dubbed “Sincaraz” as he spoke on Saturday, on the eve of the Australian Open.

“We don’t need to praise them too much,” he added, smiling. “They have been praised enough! We know how good they are, and they absolutely deserve to be where they are. They are the dominant forces of the men’s tennis at the moment.”

Djokovic is starting a third season in pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam singles title, and has refined his approach for the Australian Open.

He withdrew from his only scheduled tuneup tournament, knowing he is lacking “a little bit of juice in my legs” to compete with two young stars at the end of the majors and that he has to stay as pain-free as possible.

Djokovic worked out how to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the established rivals, before he turned it into the Big Three and then surpassed them both.

A winner of 24 major championships – a record for the Open era and tied with Margaret Court for the most in the history of tennis – the 38-year-old Djokovic is doing everything to keep himself “in the mix”.

Djokovic last won a major title at the 2023 US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz have split the eight since then. Sinner has won the last two Australian titles, and Alcaraz is in Australia, determined to add the title at Melbourne Park to complete a career Grand Slam.

Despite being hampered by injuries, Djokovic reached the semifinals at all four majors last year. A torn hamstring forced him to quit his Australian Open semifinal after ousting Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

By reminding himself that “24 is also not a bad number,” Djokovic said he is taking the “now-or-never type of mentality” out of his every appearance at a major, because it is not allowing him to excel at his best.

“Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now from everybody else. That’s a fact,” Djokovic said, “but that doesn’t mean that nobody else has a chance.

“So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here.”

The 10-time Australian Open champion starts Monday in a night match on Rod Laver Arena against No 71-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain. Seeded fourth, he is in the same half of the draw as top-ranked Alcaraz. That means they can only meet in the semifinals here.

Djokovic has not played an official tournament since November.

“Obviously took more time to rebuild my body, because I understand that in the last couple of years, that’s what changed the most for me – takes more time to rebuild, and it also takes more time to reset or recover,” he said. “I had a little setback that prevented me to compete at Adelaide tournament … but it’s been going on very well so far here.”

He said there’s “something here and there” every day in terms of aches and pains, “but generally I feel good and look forward to competing.”

Djokovic cut ties earlier this month with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded, saying “my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organisation.”

Djokovic and Canadian player Vasek Pospisil launched the PTPA in 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.

“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was … overused,” he said.

“I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organisation, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning.”

He said he is still supporting the concept.

“I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for a 100% players-only representation organisation existing in our ecosystem,” he added.

The U.S. Army has confirmed to TWZ that it plans to start fielding its new MV-75 tiltrotors in 2027. This is some five years earlier than originally planned, at least, and three years earlier than what the service was targeting just 12 months ago. The Army has been pushing for some time now to accelerate this program, which it sees as especially critical for any future high-end conflict in the Pacific region.

Bell, a Textron subsidiary, is developing the MV-75, which is based on its V-280 Valor tiltrotor, under the Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. The service announced Bell had won the FLRAA competition in 2022, at which point the expectation was that the first examples would begin entering service in the mid-2030s. By the start of last year, the target in-service timeline had moved to 2030. The Army subsequently disclosed it was looking to push that further to the left to 2028.

“We’re going to get the MV-75 this year. The acquisitions strategy calls for testing this year and fielding next year,” Col. Dave Butler, an Army spokesperson, has now told TWZ. “We’re getting the best capability for our Soldiers, as fast as we can.”

It is worth noting here that construction of the first MV-75 is underway now and that it has yet to fly. However, the V-280 demonstrator has been extensively flight tested since it made its maiden flight back in 2017. Eventually, the Army plans to replace a significant portion of its H-60 Black Hawk helicopters, including a segment of the special operations MH-60Ms assigned to the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), with MV-75s.

Bell V-280 Valor Multi Domain Operations

TWZ had reached out to the Army for clarification and more details about the MV-75 program schedule after U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George had highlighted efforts to accelerate it at a town hall at Fort Drum in New York on January 12. Fort Drum is home to the 10th Mountain Division. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, is one of the units the service has designated to spearhead service-wide modernization efforts.

“We have a new tiltrotor aircraft, and it was supposed to be delivered in 2031-2032,” Gen. George told soldiers at Fort Drum. “And we said, ‘No, we need it very quickly.’ At the end of this year, we will actually have those flying and out in formations, in both Compo 1 [the active duty component] and Compo 2 [the Army National Guard], and in our SOF [Special Operations Forces] formations.”

Gen. George begins talking about the MV-75 at around 18:20 in the runtime of the video below from the recent Fort Drum townhall.

ASL SITREP | What’s the latest with quality of life, warfighting, and other Army priorities?

The MV-75 promises a major boost in airmobile assault capability for the Army. The service expects the tiltrotors to offer roughly twice the range and speed of existing Black Hawks. Greater reach and being able to cover those distances faster would be particularly relevant in future operations in the Indo-Pacific region, where operating locations and objectives are likely be dispersed across large areas with limited options for making intermediate stops. The improved performance could also be very valuable in support of a wide variety of mission sets globally. The 101st Airborne Division, the Army’s premier air assault unit, has already been working to get ready to receive its first MV-75s for years now.

There are also plans for a special operations-specific variant of the MV-75. The 160th SOAR has been heavily involved in the aircraft’s development to help get that version into service faster, which has contributed to an increase in the weight of the baseline version, as you can read more about here.

In a report released last summer, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a Congressional watchdog, included a warning about the potential negative impacts of the MV-75’s increasing weight.

“The preliminary design review also stated that the aircraft’s weight growth is putting certain planned mission capabilities, particularly regarding payload, at moderate risk,” the report says. “While the review noted that FLRAA has a plan to reduce approximately 270 pounds of weight, this falls short of the 2,000-pound reduction needed to reduce the payload risk from medium to low. Program officials stated that they are planning to conduct a system-level critical design review in late fiscal year 2025.”

The GAO report, which had a cutoff date of January 31, 2025, also raised questions about Army efforts at that point to accelerate the program’s overall schedule.

“FLRAA transitioned to the MCA [Major Capability Acquisition] pathway in July 2024 and started system development. However, officials reported that the program’s critical technologies were not fully mature at that time. The program plans for the technologies to be fully
mature at production start – a date that program documentation targets for the first quarter of fiscal year 2029, but also indicates could be as late as the third quarter of fiscal year 2030,” the report explained. “According to our best practices for technology readiness, programs should fully mature all critical technologies in an operational environment by the start of system development. We previously found that MTA [Middle Tier of Acquisition] programs transitioning with immature technologies may risk costly and time-intensive redesign work for the overall effort.”

“DOD’s Office of the Under Secretary of Research and Engineering conducted a system-level preliminary design review and a schedule risk assessment for FLRAA in March 2024,” the report continued. “The review stated that the program is at high risk to meet its planned milestone dates due to various delays, but allowed the program to progress into detailed design. Schedule risk analysis showed that delays for the program’s start of production and initial operating capability could be approximately 18 and 11 months, respectively.”

The GAO report also noted that, at least when it was written, the Army expected to “complete testing of system-level integrated physical prototypes in an operational environment in fiscal year 2028.”

Exactly what the Army has done to be able to shift the MV-75 program schedule so significantly, and what may have been traded in the process, is unclear. The service has touted the use of digital engineering tools, including fully virtualized ‘digital twins’ of the design, as well as open-architecture systems, as having helped reduce developmental risk. In the past, Army Col. Jeffrey Poquette, the FLRAA program manager, has also been open about risks and potential willingness to accept them to a degree in order to accelerate work on the new aircraft.

Historically, tiltrotor designs have been defined by high cost and complexity, in general. At the same time, the inherent combination of capability benefits they offer – point-to-point helicopter-like flexibility together with the range and speed of a fixed-wing turboprop – has led to continued efforts to develop them globally. Companies in China are now actively working on at least one crewed tiltrotor design, as well as two uncrewed ones.

When it comes to the Army, FLRAA has notably survived a major shakeup in aviation priorities in recent years that has seen the cancellation of other major programs. There was talk for a time that the MV-75 might be at risk of being truncated or worse, but the trend line has been very much in the opposite direction in the past year.

“We used to talk about ‘Hey, we got to change by 2030.’ And 2030, in our view, was that arbitrary timeline. And it was based on all these POM [Program Objective Memorandum] and budget cycles and all of those things,” the Army Chief of Staff also said during the recent town hall, speaking more generally. “I think we’ve proven … that we can change more rapidly. We are talking about how we can get better in the next four months, the next six months, and making sure that we are moving as rapidly as possible.”

“You know, I’ve been in the Army, came out of high school in 1982, so a couple of days [after that], and it was always frustrating to me to see tech that was out there and wondering why we had shit that was a decade old when the stuff was out there on the streets,” George added.

It will be an important demonstration of the Army’s ability to more rapidly acquire and field major new capabilities if it can keep to its highly aggressive timeline for MV-75.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com