criticism

“It’s actually so sad to see that the tournament directors and the tournaments not protecting us as players. They just care about their [sales], about their tournament and that’s it.

“I’m not sure if I ever want to go there after his comment. For me it’s too much.”

Sabalenka won the Indian Wells title on Sunday, her first tournament since losing the final of the Australian Open in January.

“Going into this season, we decided… to prioritise my health and make sure we have these little gaps in the schedule where I can reset, recharge, work and be better prepared for bigger tournaments,” said Sabalenka, who will attempt to defend her Miami Open title this week.

“I feel like the scheduling is going crazy and that’s why you see so many players injured, always taped and not delivering the best quality matches because it’s almost impossible.”

American two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff said: “Iga and Aryna have played that tournament so many times and it wasn’t anything personal to it.

“It’s tough. We’re trying our best to play the calendar. I completely understand why she would feel like that because the comments were unnecessary.”

Players have regularly voiced concerns about the congested tennis calendar, which stretches across 11 months of the year for the top players.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to spend $19 million promoting California and dispelling “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric” in a marketing campaign that would run through the final months of his administration as he weighs a potential run for president.

The new contract, which is in the bidding process, comes as Newsom’s political future and national standing are closely tied to how voters view California’s economy, crime and quality of life — issues that have become central to attacks from President Trump and conservative media outlets.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is seeking a contractor to design a statewide taxpayer-funded “California Brand Campaign,” with two-thirds of spending under the proposal to be used for paid advertising and media placements. Bidding on the contract opened Feb. 24 and is expected to end March 13.

The solicitation frames the campaign as an effort to push back on what Newsom has often described as misleading narratives about California. The campaign would launch during a period of financial uncertainty for the state, with Newsom’s January budget projecting a $3-billion deficit next fiscal year.

“California and its business climate have been falsely and maliciously maligned for years, and the state has a right to tell the true story — California is a great place to do live, work, invest and visit,” said Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos. “Setting the record straight will benefit every business, worker and resident of this state.”

Newsom is contemplating a run for president in 2028 and says he remains undecided about whether he will pursue the Oval Office.

State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), who is vice chair of the Senate budget committee, said the language of the proposal request is concerning. He said it would make it easier to stifle criticisms of policies that he says make it difficult to do business in California.

“This is clearly part of the Gavin Newsom for President campaign, but what is most troubling to me is that this is a program to be developed by some private-sector contractor to define what is acceptable speech in the state of California,” Niello said. “That scares the stuffing out of me.”

The negative image of California — homeless encampments lining the streets, smash-and-grab robberies at malls and an exodus of residents and businesses fleeing high taxes and nanny-state governance — could be a liability for Newsom if he runs for president.

Newsom has seen his popularity surge in the last year after his fight-fire-with-fire approach to countering Trump’s rhetoric. The two-term governor has used his expanding platform, including a podcast and nationwide book tour for his recently released memoir, to repeatedly push back on Trump’s criticisms of California. He argues that California remains one of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies and the envy of other states.

The tone of the marketing campaign bid request itself echoes that message, with its introductory paragraph pulled directly from Newsom’s State of the State speech in January.

“California has never been about perfection,” it reads. “It’s about persistence. The courage of our convictions and the strength to embody them. That’s the California Way.”

Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who runs the research nonprofit Latino Working Class Project, said scrutiny of the campaign will depend on whether the ads veer into politics or overtly promote Newsom in the way federal border security ads showcased the now ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“You have to ask why now?” Madrid said of Newsom’s timing for the California ad campaign. “He’s in the eighth inning of a nine-inning baseball game. Timing and tone are everything when considering the appropriateness.”

The use of taxpayer dollars to combat negative publicity about the state and the governor isn’t new under the Newsom administration.

Newsom tapped an employee in his communications office to serve as his “deputy director of rapid response” in 2024. Staff member Brandon Richards, who made $136,000 last year, is tasked with quickly dispatching responses to information the governor’s team deems inaccurate or misleading that is spread on social media and in the media.

When right-wing accounts claimed in February that Newsom allows dogs to vote in California, Richards responded with a CBS News article reporting that a woman was charged with five felonies for registering her canine. Richards and the governor’s office pushed back on false assertions that Newsom and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were stealing money from the state through her office that same day.

Newsom’s frustration reached a boiling point over claims about the state’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires last year. President Trump publicly blamed Newsom and “his Los Angeles crew” for the disaster, though the Republican’s claims that a lack of water in Southern California led to a shortage for firefighters were widely debunked.

Newsom’s political team launched a website in January 2025 to fight misinformation about the L.A. fires, which he said at the time would “ensure the public has access to fact-based data.” The site, www.californiafirefacts.com, no longer appears to exist.

At one point, however, it redirected viewers to the redistricting campaign website for Proposition 50, according to internet archives. Newsom championed the successful redistricting ballot measure to add more Democrats to California’s congressional delegation, a direct response to Trump urging Texas and other Republican states to reconfigure their congressional boundaries to elect more Republicans to Congress.

Newsom adopted an even more aggressive social media strategy last summer after Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to California during federal immigration sweeps. The governor directed his team to match the brash communication tactics emanating from the White House. His aides continue to shoot down criticism and launch their own snarky assaults on Trump and his allies.

The new ad campaign appears to be an extension of his work to refute the anti-California narrative.

The request for bids says “some look at this state and try to tear down our progress. They attack our values and caricature our culture. They distort the data to diminish our accomplishments.”

March 4 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s prosecution service is facing criticism from legal experts after abandoning appeals in several major cases, including those involving President Lee Jae-myung and figures from the ruling party.

Legal analysts say the trend raises concerns about the erosion of prosecutorial independence amid pressure from the government and political circles.

Prosecutors declined to appeal the first-instance ruling in the Daejang-dong development corruption case involving President Lee in November last year. Reports later suggested that senior leadership at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office overruled recommendations from the investigation and trial teams to pursue an appeal.

The decision also effectively halted efforts to recover approximately 780 billion won ($585 million) in alleged illicit profits from developers linked to the Daejang-dong project.

Prosecutors also chose not to appeal a similar case involving alleged corruption in the Wirye new town development project.

Appeal decisions have also drawn attention in other politically sensitive cases.

In the first-trial verdict related to the 2020 West Sea shooting of a South Korean fisheries official, prosecutors filed what observers described as a “partial appeal” against former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon and former Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee.

In a separate case involving allegations of illegal political funding tied to former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, prosecutors did not file an appeal to the Supreme Court even after the appellate court overturned the earlier ruling and issued an acquittal.

Prosecutors also declined to appeal rulings involving current and former Democratic Party lawmakers connected to a National Assembly fast-track legislation dispute. Officials said the decision was based on a judgment that further appeals would have “limited practical benefit.” Prosecutors likewise did not appeal convictions involving lawmakers from the opposition People Power Party in the same case.

Under South Korean law, prosecutors are required to perform their duties independently. However, some legal experts argue that recent decisions suggest political pressure may be influencing prosecutorial discretion.

President Lee previously criticized prosecutors during a cabinet meeting in September last year, saying prosecutors sometimes file indictments even when cases lack legal grounds and pursue appeals after acquittals to avoid responsibility.

Lee also ordered an internal inspection after prosecutors staged a collective walkout during the trial of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young.

Following those developments, lawmakers from the ruling party introduced legislation to revise disciplinary procedures for prosecutors and pushed for amendments to the Criminal Act aimed at punishing judges and prosecutors who intentionally distort legal interpretation or misjudge facts during investigations or trials.

The ruling party has also formed a parliamentary group advocating for the withdrawal of charges against President Lee and for a national investigation into what they claim were politically motivated indictments.

Cha Jin-ah, a professor at Korea University Law School, said prosecutors appear increasingly reluctant to challenge the administration.

“Prosecutors who might once have pursued investigations or maintained indictments against the government with conviction are now watching the political climate,” Cha said. “This risks subordinating prosecutorial decisions to political power.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260304010000994

Williamson has been listed as 6-foot-6, 284 pounds since New Orleans selected him out of Duke with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft. His weight and fitness level have been regularly criticized, and the amount of time Williamson has missed because of injuries hasn’t helped (including all of the 2021-22 season following offseason right foot surgery).

After playing only 30 games last season because of a left hamstring strain and a lower back injury, Williamson reported for 2025-26 looking trim and in shape. He told reporters that he and Pelicans trainer Daniel Bove had come up with a strategy to address his fitness while rehabbing his hamstring and that he stuck to it.

“I haven’t felt like this since college, high school,” Williamson said at the time, “where I can walk in the gym and I’m like just, ‘I feel good.’”

Williamson has played in 46 of the Pelicans’ 63 games this season, already the third-most games he has played in his seven NBA seasons. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Williamson addressed how the past criticism affected him mentally.

“I would say the most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot, and there was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game, etc.,” Williamson said. “But … while people were saying what they’re saying — and everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, it is what it is — I’m in Portland rehabbing, not knowing if my foot’s gonna heal, and it was frustrating. It was very frustrating.

“I was low. I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to play the game I love, but every time you turn the TV on, every time I check my phone, it was nothing but negative criticism, man. At the time, it did a lot, like I said, it did a lot, but it was a blessing in disguise, and I learned from it and I grew from it.”

Arteta and Arsenal now have to hold the nerve we have all questioned.

But it does seem somewhat contradictory to slate Arsenal for their style when they fall short, then carp when they reach March in firm contention for all four major prizes.

This is what Arteta means when he talks about the “noise” surrounding title races, especially if your club has not won one since 2003/04.

And is the criticism of Arsenal‘s systematic style actually fair?

Arsenal have scored more goals (58) and conceded fewest (22) in the Premier League. Their goal difference of +36 is the highest.

Predictably, Arsenal are way ahead on goals scored from set pieces, including penalties, with 21 compared to Manchester United‘s 15 in second.

They have scored 27.6% of their goals this season from corners, with 16. Spurs are top of that particular table have scored 13 of their 38 goals from corners – a total of 34.2%.

The Gunners have had more touches in the opposition box (981) than any other team. Liverpool are second with 939. They are second with Brentford, as measured by OPTA statistics, on creating big chances. They have 87 compared to City’s 89.

This points to efficiency and success – so far – this season, even though Arteta himself accepts things must be better than the panic-stricken conclusion to the Chelsea win.

He said in the immediate aftermath: “It is certainly something we will discuss as we have to improve it and do better.

“I’m trying to stay calm, but we weren’t getting the control we wanted, especially against ten men.

“You see with every team that is winning games that everyone is suffering and the margins are so small. But it’s good.”

City have suffered similarly stressful conclusions to their two most recent league wins against Newcastle United and Leeds United, but is this not what champions – or those wishing to be champions – do?

Are Arsenal also paying the price for the elite level football served up by Pep Guardiola’s City as they won six titles under the Catalan, and their closest rivals Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, who won one before his successor Arne Slot repeated the feat in his first season?

Guardiola’s style has become the purists’ template, while Klopp’s explosive “heavy metal football” provided a thrilling counterpoint.

Arteta has made Arsenal more pragmatic in the attempt to finally bring that elusive crown to Emirates Stadium.

There is more than one way to win a Premier League title – and if Arteta’s earthy approach ends that 22-year wait, there will not be one person of an Arsenal persuasion who will care what the critics say.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has warned she could take possible legal action following comments from right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk, accusing her of ties to cartels.

At her morning news conference on Tuesday, the president was asked for her response to Musk’s statements a day prior. Musk had described her as being beholden to the cartels.

“Well, we are considering whether to take any legal action,” she began. “The lawyers are looking into it.”

She then proceeded to describe the allegations that she leads a “narco-government” as “absurd” and demonstrably false.

“It falls apart all on its own,” she said, dismissing the accusation as hackneyed. “They don’t even know what to invent any more, right? Honestly, it’s laughable.”

Sheinbaum has faced criticism for her national security policies following a spate of cross-country violence over the weekend.

Killing of El Mencho

The violence erupted after the death on Sunday of a top cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known by the nickname El Mencho.

The Mexican military had tracked El Mencho to the town of Tapalpa in central Mexico. He died while en route to medical care after being shot by authorities.

Members of El Mencho’s criminal organisation, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, responded to the news of his death with road blocks, arson and clashes with security forces. Dozens of people were killed in the violence.

Musk was among the online commentators criticising Sheinbaum’s handling of Mexico’s security in the aftermath of the attacks.

His posts came in response to a video clip circulating on social media, showing Sheinbaum advocating for alternatives to the militaristic “war on drugs” approach.

“She’s just saying what her cartel bosses tell her to say,” Musk wrote in response to the video.

“Let’s just say that their punishment for disobedience is a little worse than a ‘performance improvement plan’.”

A vocal critic of left-wing governments like Sheinbaum’s, Musk is closely aligned with United States President Donald Trump, who has likewise pushed for more military action against cartels.

In September, for instance, Trump’s State Department listed Mexico as an area of concern for drug-trafficking and outlined steps it expected to see to address the issue.

“Much more remains to be done by Mexico’s government to target cartel leadership, along with their clandestine drug labs, precursor chemical supply chains, and illicit finances,” the State Department wrote.

“Over the next year, the United States will expect to see additional, aggressive efforts by Mexico to hold cartel leaders accountable and disrupt the illicit networks engaged in drug production and trafficking.”

Trump himself has accused Sheinbaum of inefficacy in her campaign to crack down on illicit drug trafficking.

“She’s not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump told Fox News in the hours after launching a January 3 military operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“She’s very frightened of the cartels. They’re running Mexico. I’ve asked her numerous times, ‘Would you like us to take out the cartels?’”

Sheinbaum has repeatedly refused the prospect of unilateral US intervention, arguing it would violate Mexican sovereignty. Still, Trump has repeatedly warned that the US is considering military strikes on Mexican soil.

“Something’s going to have to be done with Mexico,” he told Fox News.

Upping the pressure

Sheinbaum, however, has defended her administration’s track record. Faced with US tariffs in February 2025, she deployed nearly 10,000 members of Mexico’s National Guard to the country’s northern border to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.

She has also taken targeted military actions against cartels, though she has argued that the process should be focused on prosecuting criminals, rather than killing them in law enforcement operations.

Her administration has also overseen the extradition of dozens of Mexican nationals suspected of crimes in the US. In January 2025, for instance, 37 people were sent to the US. In April and August, groups of 13 and 14 suspects were transferred, respectively.

Sunday’s capture and killing of El Mencho was the fulfilment of a decades-long goal for the Mexican government, which has long sought his arrest.

Still, on Monday, Trump briefly posted a message on his Truth Social platform indicating that he expected Sheinbaum to do more.

“Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs,” he wrote in a post that was later removed.

Sheinbaum, meanwhile, used Tuesday’s news conference to dismiss the criticism as out of touch with what was happening in Mexico. She added that what matters to her is the opinion of the Mexican people, not Musk.

“The vast majority of people recognise the work of the armed forces and the work we are doing every day, not only in security, but for the good of the country, for the wellbeing of all Mexicans,” she said. “That is what will guide us.”

F1’s bosses agreed at a meeting of the F1 Commission rules-making body on Wednesday they would assess data from this final test at a further meeting to decide whether action needed to be taken in the short term.

Concern arises from the fact the new engine rules have tripled the power provided by the electrical part of the engine but left the batteries more or less the same size as last year, and removed one of the devices used to recover energy.

This had led to cars that are energy starved and forced the teams to find new ways to harvest sufficient electrical energy to produce the best performance. The rules governing energy recovery are also highly complex.

That in turn has required drivers to perform behaviours that have been described as “counter-intuitive” to optimise lap time.

These include not going flat out put of the final corner before a qualifying lap, lifting and coasting on a qualifying lap, and even not accelerating at full power at the end of a lap because it was more advantageous to use the energy elsewhere.

However, drivers have generally been positive on the handling characteristics of the new cars, and a number of top drivers all told BBC Sport they are still driving to the limit of grip, and driver ability will still be as crucial as ever.

Domenicali said: “Don’t be worried about the energy management. We’re going to solve that. If we need to solve it, by the way.”

He has spent his time in Bahrain having a series of discussions with individual drivers about the sport, including Verstappen.

And he added: “Max wants and does care about Formula 1 more than anyone else. He has a way of putting the point that he wants to say in a certain way.

“Max will be part of the future of Formula 1 and of course it’s very important that we listen to him and all the top drivers that are very important in this sport.”

Domenicali also said F1 was looking at introducing new sporting elements on Fridays, expanding on the approach that led to sprint-race weekends, which feature two qualifying sessions rather than one, and a shorter race on the Saturday in addition to the grand prix on Sunday.

He has already previously said F1 is considering increasing the number of sprint events beyond the current six.

Domenicali added: “Feedback from the fans, from the people attending the track, the promoter, [is] that people want to see action, real action during the three days.

“People want to see already on Friday something that is sporting – qualifying, points, whatever it is.

“So, it is true that there is the trend to go in the direction of, even if it is not a sprint every weekend.”

SheGulls, representing fans of WSL club Brighton & Hove Albion, had suggested seeding “elite level teams” would only widen the gulf in quality across the game.

“The sporting merit in our game is slowly being eroded in favour of ‘super matches’ between elite level teams,” the fan group wrote on X.

“The rich will only get richer and teams up and down the pyramid will fade into obscurity with the knowledge that without tens of millions of pounds, they won’t even sniff the big time.”

Fulham Women Supporters’ Club, whose side play in the fourth tier, labelled it a “ridiculous idea” and added: “[It] goes against all the principles of the FA Cup. I’d like to see WSL teams actually come in a round early.”

“And there goes the magic of the FA Cup! Subway Cup [League Cup] is a farce, now this?” added Everton Women’s Official Supporters Club.

“All about the money. Didn’t take long to ruin the women’s game too did it…”

The Women’s FA Cup currently follows the same format as the men’s competition, with a draw following each round.

There is a preliminary round and three qualifying rounds featuring teams from tiers four to seven of the pyramid, with Women’s National League teams entering in the first-round proper, WSL2 teams in the third round and sides from the top division a round later.

The proposals came to light less than a fortnight after a major revamp of the Women’s League Cup was announced, with the competition set to get a new name and follow the format of the Champions League from the group stage next season.