A dozen years before he charted a bold, new path for the USC football program, Chad Bowden was living on the pull-out couch of a cramped studio apartment in Hollywood with no clue where his life was headed.
Bowden couldn’t have dreamed up the role he’d one day occupy a few miles down the street at USC, where as the Trojans football general manager, Bowden has infused the program with new energy while putting together the top recruiting class in America.
So how did Bowden rise from that couch to being held up as one of the most consequential arrivals at USC since Pete Carroll himself?
Bowden thought that he might play college football. A few small schools had offered him opportunities to play linebacker coming out of high school in Cincinnati. But Bowden’s father, former baseball general manager Jim Bowden, didn’t think it was the right move. He worried about how his son would handle the rest of the college experience.
“He felt like it was best for me, from a maturity standpoint, to go right into working,” Bowden says.
USC football general manager Chad Bowden looks across the field during preseason camp.
(William Liang/For The Times)
Which is what led him to the tiny apartment off Highland Avenue. He split the place with Jac Collinsworth, his close high school friend, the two of them packed like sardines into a single room that doubled as the kitchen and dining space. Neither seemed to mind the close quarters. Everything became a competition, with each of them pushing the other.
“Both of us were highly motivated guys,” says Collinsworth, whose father is the famed commentator, Cris Collinsworth. “Plus we had [Chad’s] dad in our ear.”
So every morning, they would wake before sunrise to race each other to L.A. Fitness. After, they’d race back up the hill to devour the usual breakfast of egg whites — sometimes mashing in bananas for sweetness. Some days, they’d throw in a motivational video on YouTube to get the blood pumping again, before racing off to try to be the first in the office.
They were both staying up late, getting up early, grinding all day in between. But after a while, it felt to Bowden like he was running in place. He’d tried an internship with a sports agency, only to realize the agency life wasn’t for him. Then he sold Google ads for a company called Linktech, whiling away his days cold-calling strangers who weren’t exactly happy to hear from him. It gave him perspective, he says. But not much else.
It was important to Bowden to find his path as soon as possible. He’d always planned for success at a young age, Jac Collinsworth says. His father, after all, was hired by the Cincinnati Reds as the youngest GM in baseball history back in 1992, and Bowden had practically grown up in that Reds clubhouse. He rode in Ken Griffey Jr’s Lamborghini. He was in the draft rooms, the trade talks, the contract negotiations. Once, he even called out a Reds player’s lack of hustle on the basepaths — and ended up stuffed in a garbage can.
His childhood was intertwined with the game. Even dinnertime could turn on a night’s result. When the Reds won a game, father and son would go out to a local steakhouse for dinner. When they lost, Chad says, they would only eat Triscuits and cheese.
“[Chad] knew that he was going to have to work twice as hard to get that respect from his dad,” Collinsworth says.
As hard as he was working, Bowden didn’t seem to be getting any closer to finding his way in L.A. Evan Dreyer was worried about him.
Dreyer had coached Bowden as a freshman football player at Anderson High in Cincinnati, and they’d stayed in touch since. So when Dreyer was out in L.A., he checked in on his favorite former player.
“Chad needed somebody to look him in the eye and say, ‘What the hell are you doing?’” Dreyer says.
He called Bowden back soon after and offered him a job as his defensive coordinator at Western Brown High, back in Ohio.
Bowden was just 20 years old. He had no coaching experience, aside from filling in for a few weeks as an assistant baseball coach for Dreyer at 14. But Dreyer knew how much Bowden loved football. And he had no doubt that Bowden was bound for great things. He saw it in Bowden even before high school, as early as the fifth grade, when all of the kid’s energy was zeroed in on being the best possible water boy he could be. He sprinted full speed down the sideline to retrieve a loose ball. He didn’t care for school, but memorized the stats of opposing players. It was clear he took pride in the job.
USC general manager Chad Bowden, center, attends a team practice.
(USC Athletics)
But that was when football first swept Bowden up. Now, years later, Dreyer was offering him a chance to get his foot in the door.
“He called me and was like, ‘What are you doing with your life? Football is everything to you.’” Bowden says. “I just kind of sat there and said, ‘What am I doing?”
So took Dreyer up on the offer. The only problem? He had no idea what he was doing as a defensive coordinator.
The team went 1-9. The next year, he followed Dreyer to another high school, and it didn’t get much better. He dialed up blitz after blitz, just hoping for the best. One night, his defense gave up almost 80 points, and a frustrated Bowden was ejected from the game.
Still, he wasn’t one to sit idly by, waiting on a problem to solve itself. Even if there was no obvious — or rational — solution. One week, when his defense gave up over 400 rushing yards, he responded by buying huge tubs of peanut butter, convinced more sandwiches could be the key to bulking up his defensive front.
Once, he babysat for Dreyer’s 3-year old daughter and upon finding out she loved school buses, set out to stop one in the street in order to give her a ride.
There were no half-measures with Bowden, on or off the football field. He preferred to take matters into his own hands if he had to.
“That’s the best way to understand Chad,” Collinsworth said. “He will move a mountain to make something happen.”
He seemed to be in constant motion, attending school at the University of Cincinnati in addition to coaching.
After two seasons coaching high school football, Bowden decided to try a new direction. A friend of his father helped hook him up with an opportunity to shadow the senior vice president of the Miami Dolphins, who eventually helped connect him with Brian Mason, the new recruiting coordinator at Cincinnati.
Mason hired Bowden as a student intern, helping out with Cincinnati’s recruiting. It didn’t take long for him to make an impression on the rest of the staff.
Some staffers, Mason says, were admittedly “thrown off a little bit by his energy” when they first met him. But there was no doubting Bowden’s work ethic as an intern. When Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell gave him a task, coaches remember Bowden sprinting down the hallway to complete it.
“We had to tell him to leave the office, even as a student intern,” Mason said. “He’d go 100 miles per hour to get things done.”
Mason played a critical role helping Bowden focus that energy. He surrounded him with structure and taught Bowden how to be better organized without tamping down his enthusiasm.
“I owe a lot of what happened in my life to Brian Mason,” Bowden says. “Brian did such a great job of understanding that I was crazy. But he also saw the good in me.”
Mason connected Bowden with Marcus Freeman, who at the time was Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator. Bowden asked if he could sit in on meetings with Freeman and Fickell to absorb as much knowledge as he could.
Bowden didn’t stay quiet in those meetings for long. “I never shut up after that,” he says.
It was out of that back-and-forth banter that Bowden and Freeman formed a close bond. Both, according to their fellow coaches, seemed uniquely suited for keeping the other in balance. Where Freeman was the more measured and thoughtful of the two, Bowden was bold and daring. He would push the envelope, and Freeman would rein him back in if need be.
“Like yin and yang,” said Mason, who also worked with both at Notre Dame.
Bowden quickly rose through the ranks at Cincinnati, from defensive quality control assistant to recruiting director. Along the way, there was “tough love” from Freeman that, Bowden says, was exactly what he needed to hear.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and his team line up to enter the field against USC at the Coliseum on Nov. 30.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“He gave me what I needed to be the best version of me,” he said. “‘If this is what you want to be, this is what you need to do.’”
When Freeman left in 2021 to be Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, he brought along Bowden, who took a lesser role in South Bend. A year later, Freeman was promoted to head coach and Bowden became his recruiting director and right-hand man.
The recruiting operation quickly took on Bowden’s personality.
“We were flying fast,” says Chris O’Leary, who coached safeties at Notre Dame. “Whether it was offers, calling kids, it was rapid fire all the time. Every day was life or death.”
When it came to talking to recruits, Gerad Parker, who coached tight ends at Notre Dame, likened Bowden to “the crazy uncle at the birthday party.” During official visits, he orchestrated NBA style entrances for recruits and their families. Sometimes he showed up in costume. He memorably dressed up as a leprechaun, another time as an FBI agent.
A leprechaun costume at Notre Dame might seem silly, but Parker said Bowden owned it.
“It’s like going into character when you’re working at Disney,” Parker said. “Those people don’t roll their eyes because they’re in a Cinderella costume. They are Cinderella.”
Of course, not all of his ideas got past the cutting room floor. For one, Freeman refused Bowden’s request to jump out of a helicopter to impress recruits.
“He might bring a list of five ideas, right? And four of them are crazy,” Mason said. “He brought up helicopters on multiple occasions.”
Whatever others thought of his methods, Bowden’s approach was working. He was relentless in building relationships. Recruits raved about his impact. Notre Dame pulled in a trio of top-12 classes that would serve as the bedrock of a run to the national title game.
Michigan had already pursued Bowden to be its general manager before that 2024 run. He turned it down, in order to continue on with Freeman.
By the following January, Bowden decided to change directions. Four days after Notre Dame lost to Ohio State in the national championship, he was named USC’s new football general manager.
At the time, Bowden called the decision “a no-brainer.” While talking with reporters in March, he said “some things that were out of my control” at Notre Dame.
But to those who once worked with both Freeman and Bowden, it was unexpected..
“That had to weigh heavy on Chad,” said Parker, the Irish tight ends coach.
“[They were] like brothers,” said O’Leary, the safeties coach. “I know there’s a lot of layers behind it. But yeah, I was surprised to see him leave Notre Dame.”
By choosing USC, Bowden was once again striking out on his own, walking away from the world he knew best for the promise of building something bigger and better. Fittingly, it would bring him back to the city where his search for a career began.
In seven months at USC, he has completely revamped the front office operation with his hand-picked staff, repaired relationships with local coaches and power brokers and reinvigorated USC’s entire recruiting strategy. The Trojans’ 2026 class has soared to the top of the national recruiting rankings, with 32 commitments and climbing. And boosters are buying in, once again crowding the sidelines of football practices.
Staff members will tell you that Bowden’s impact in that short time at USC runs deeper. That his energy and his willingness to test limits and challenge norms has set a tone for the entire department.
When USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen approached Bowden during a recent football practice, she found him busy scribbling down notes.
“He had 15 things from that practice that he noticed or ideas that he had,” she said.
“He’s the eyes and ears of a program in a way that really takes the pressure off of everyone. He’s just been great within the university community, within the athletic department, with donors, with former players. We could not be more pleased with the progress that he’s made and his team has made and the impact that he’s having on USC football.”
In just a few years, Nvidia has become the most valuable company in the world, and also one of the most profitable.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are hovering around all-time highs. A big part of the rally is investor excitement for sustained artificial intelligence (AI)-driven growth and adjustments to Federal Reserve policy that open the door to interest rate cuts.
While investor sentiment and macroeconomic factors undoubtedly influence short-term price action, the stock market’s long-term performance ultimately boils down to earnings.
Nvidia(NVDA 1.10%) will report its second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Aug. 27 after market close. Here’s why expectations are high, and why the “Ten Titans” stock could single-handedly move the S&P 500.
Since the start of 2023, Nvidia added roughly $4 trillion in market cap to the S&P 500. But it also added over $70 billion in net income — as its trailing-12-month earnings went from just $5.96 billion at the end of 2022 to $76.8 billion today. That’s like creating the combined earnings contribution of Bank of America, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and Costco Wholesale in the span of less than three years.
Nvidia’s value creation for its shareholders, and the scale of just how big the business is from an earnings standpoint, is unlike anything the market has ever seen. But investors care more about where a company is going than where it has been.
Nvidia’s unprecedented profit growth
Expectations are high for Nvidia to continue blowing expectations out of the water. Over the last three years, Nvidia’s stock price rose after its quarterly earnings report 75% of the time. Analysts have spent the last few years flat-footed and scrambling to raise their price targets as Nvidia keeps raising the bar. It looks like they aren’t making that mistake any longer — as near-term forecasts are incredibly ambitious.
As mentioned, Nvidia’s trailing-12-month net income is $76.8 billion, which translates to $3.10 in diluted earnings per share (EPS). Consensus analyst estimates have Nvidia bringing in $1 per share in earnings for the quarter it reports on Wednesday and $4.35 for fiscal 2026. Going out further, analyst consensus estimates call for 37.8% in earnings growth in fiscal 2027, which would bring Nvidia’s diluted EPS to $6 per share.
Based on Nvidia’s current outstanding share count, that would translate to net income of $107.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and $148.5 billion in fiscal 2027. Unless other leaders like Alphabet, Microsoft, or Apple accelerate their earnings growth rates, Nvidia could become the most profitable U.S. company by the time it closes out fiscal 2027 in January of calendar year 2027. These projections strike at the core of why some investors are willing to pay so much for shares in the business today.
The key to Nvidia’s lasting success
Nvidia can single-handedly move the stock market due to its high weighting in the S&P 500. However, its influence goes beyond its own stock, as strong earnings from Nvidia could also be a boon for other semiconductor stocks, like Broadcom. But the ripple effect is even more impactful.
In Nvidia’s first quarter of fiscal 2026, four customers made up 54% of total revenue. Although not directly named by Nvidia, those four customers are almost certainly Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms. So strong earnings from Nvidia would basically mean that these hyperscalers continue to spend big on AI — a positive sign for the overall AI investment thesis.
However, Nvidia’s long-term growth and the stickiness of its earnings ultimately depend on its customers translating AI capital expenditures (capex) into earnings — which hasn’t really happened yet.
Cloud computing hyperscalers are spending a lot on capital expenditures (capex) as a percentage of revenue — showcasing accelerated investment in AI. But eventually, the ratio should decrease if investments translate to higher revenue.
Investors may want to keep an eye on the capex-to-revenue metric because it provides a reading on where we are in the AI spending cycle. Today, it’s all about expansion. But soon, the page will turn, and investors will pressure companies to prove that the outsize spending was worth it.
The right way to approach Nvidia
Almost all of Nvidia’s revenue comes from selling graphics processing units, software, and associated infrastructure to data centers. And most of that revenue comes from just a handful of customers. It doesn’t take a lot to connect the dots and figure out just how dependent Nvidia is on sustained AI investment.
If the investments pay off, the Ten Titans could continue making up a larger share of the S&P 500, both in terms of market cap and earnings. But if there’s a cooldown in spending, a downturn in the business cycle, or increased competition, Nvidia could also sell off considerably. So it’s best only to approach Nvidia with a long-term investment time horizon, so you aren’t banking on everything going right over the next year and a half.
All told, investors should be aware of potentially market-moving events but not overhaul their portfolio or make emotional decisions based on quarterly earnings.
Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Background / Context The 2015 Iran nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The agreement has largely unraveled since the U.S. withdrawal in 2018, and with key provisions set to expire on Oct. 18, France, Britain and Germany ,the so-called E3, have warned they may trigger the reimposition, or “snapback,” of U.N. sanctions unless Iran resumes compliance.
What Happened Senior Iranian and E3 officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Tuesday.
The E3 have set conditions: a resumption of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), accounting for Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, and renewed diplomatic engagement.
They have said they will decide by the end of August whether to revive sanctions, though a short extension remains possible if Iran shows progress.
The talks come after U.S. and Israeli strikes in June destroyed or damaged Iranian enrichment sites. Iran has since barred IAEA inspectors, citing safety concerns, and the status of its uranium stockpile remains unclear.
Why It Matters The outcome could determine whether Iran faces the return of broad U.N. sanctions, deepening its economic isolation, or whether limited diplomacy revives the stalled nuclear framework. Western officials fear Tehran is edging closer to weapons-grade enrichment. Iran, while denying it seeks a bomb, had enriched uranium to 60% and held enough stock for several potential weapons before the strikes.
Stakeholder Reactions
E3 official: “We are going to see whether the Iranians are credible about an extension or whether they are messing us around. We want to see whether they have made any progress on the conditions we set.”
Iranian official:“Due to the damage to our nuclear sites, we need to agree on a new plan with the agency and we’ve conveyed that to IAEA officials.”
Western diplomats: Privately suspect Tehran is buying time and dragging talks out.
Tehran: Warned of a “harsh response” if sanctions are reimposed.
IAEA: Says it cannot confirm Iran’s program is peaceful, but has no credible indication of a coordinated weapons effort.
What’s Next The Geneva talks will test whether Iran is prepared to resume inspections and engage diplomatically or risk a snapback of sanctions before the Oct. 18 deadline. The E3 are expected to decide by the end of this week whether to move forward with sanctions, grant a short extension, or continue talks.
Seoul, South Korea – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is set to meet United States President Donald Trump for the first time in a high-stakes visit to his country’s closest and most important ally.
After a one-day meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo, Lee arrived in Washington, DC, on Sunday ahead of an official working-level meeting at the White House with Trump.
It will be the first time the two heads of state meet.
Their summit follows a trade deal in July in which Washington agreed to cut its reciprocal tariff on South Korea to 15 percent from an initially proposed 25 percent.
The meeting is crucial for South Korea, whose engagement with the Trump administration was disrupted by domestic political turmoil, ignited by the brief declaration of martial law announced in December by the country’s impeached former president, Yoon Suk-yeol.
Discussion will focus on ironing out details of the unwritten July trade deal, which involves South Korea agreeing to buy $100bn in US energy and invest $350bn in the US economy.
On top of those dizzying sums are direct investments in the US, which are expected from South Korean companies, and which Trump has mentioned will be decided during their talks.
Accompanied by first lady Kim Hea-kyung, Lee will lead a delegation formed by the heads of South Korean top conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, SK Group, Hyundai Motor and LG Group.
The four companies alone are already known to contribute approximately 126 trillion won ($91.2bn) in direct investments to the US, according to the South Korean daily Maeil Business Newspaper.
Choi Yoon-jung, a principal research fellow at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said Lee needs to be deliberate and direct with Trump in the talks, as “South Korea is in a tough predicament in terms of trade with the US compared to the past”.
“It will be important for President Lee to explain how investments will be designed to serve US national interests and to remind Trump that the two nations are close trading partners who went through large ordeals to realise their Free Trade Agreement over two decades ago,” Choi told Al Jazeera.
Mason Richey, a professor of international politics at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), said the direction of the talks on investments is likely to be “unpredictable”.
“Not only are the current 15 percent tariffs overwhelmingly likely to stay on, but the investment part of the deal is likely to remain unclear and subject to unpredictable adjustment by the White House,” Richey told Al Jazeera.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers under construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering facility on Geoje Island, South Korea, on December 7, 2018 [Ahn Young-joon/AP]
Analysts say shipbuilding is one area where Trump clearly desires to have South Korea as a key partner to play catch-up to China’s naval fleet, which leads in terms of sheer numbers and is also making technological advancements.
Officials in Seoul have previously stated that a key component of the tariff deal with Washington would include a partnership worth about $150bn to assist in rebuilding the US shipbuilding industry.
To that end, after visiting the White House, Lee will head to Philadelphia to visit the Philly Shipyard, which was bought by the South Korean company Hanwha Group last year.
Analysts also say that battery production and semiconductors are some other sectors where Trump has set clear objectives to increase US capacity, and where South Korea has shown willingness and interest in being that partner.
“The South Korean government is also willing to actively participate in the ‘modernisation’ of its alliance with the US, that could include increasing contributions to upholding the region’s security and development,” said the Sejong Institute’s Choi.
Another major discussion point will be Seoul and Washington’s defence posture regarding the growing threats from North Korea, as well as the development of a strategic alliance to address the changing international security and economic environment.
“The pressures for the role of US forces on the Korean Peninsula to evolve has been growing for years,” Jenny Town, the director of the Washington, DC-based research programme 38 North, told Al Jazeera.
This evolution was especially so with great power competition increasing from China, Town said.
“The Trump administration is focused on how to maximise resources for US interests and priorities, so it is likely that some changes will be made during this term,” Town said.
“How drastic or dramatic those changes will depend on a number of factors, including the state of the US domestic political infrastructure that provides checks and balances to executive decisions,” she said.
A US Senate defence policy bill for fiscal year 2026 includes a ban on the use of funds to reduce the number of US Forces Korea (USFK) troops to below the current level of 28,500 service members.
“This makes it unlikely that there will be an immediate change in troop deployment numbers in South Korea,” Choi said.
“So, the big point of contention will be the job assignment of the troops to match US interests. I think there’s a possibility of Trump asking South Korea to take on a bigger role in regional security, such as taking part in the conflict involving Taiwan.”
Financial negotiations between Trump and Lee may also tip into security details, as the US president has regularly called for South Korea to pay more for the US troops stationed on its soil.
Trump has made that same call since his first presidential term.
In addition to providing more than $1bn for the presence of USFK forces, South Korea also paid the entire cost of building Camp Humphreys, the largest US base overseas, situated 64km (39 miles) south of Seoul.
Trump has said that he wants defence spending to reach closer to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for all US allies.
Today, South Korea’s defence budget is at 3.5 percent of GDP.
Transfer of wartime operational command – referring to the transfer of control of South Korean forces during wartime from the US to South Korea – has long been a point of discussion between Seoul and Washington.
Under the Lee administration’s five-year governance plan, Seoul hopes to have the transition happen by 2030.
US President Donald Trump visits the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2025 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP]
The Trump-Lee meeting also comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister recently dismissed Washington and Seoul’s stated desires to restart diplomacy aimed at defusing Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
Kim Yo Jong said that Seoul could never be a “diplomatic partner” with Pyongyang.
For Town, there were “interesting nuances” in Kim Yo Jong’s statements.
“While rejecting any kind of denuclearisation narrative as the basis of negotiations, her statements did create an opening for the US to engage North Korea to improve overall relations,” Town said.
“Kim suggested that there’s a reason for two countries with nuclear weapons to avoid confrontational relations. This begs the question of whether the US is actually interested in building a different relationship with North Korea that is not hinged on denuclearisation, and how US allies would see such an agenda,” Town said.
For Richey, the HUFS professor, the possibility of “Trump bypassing Lee in diplomacy with North Korea” poses a serious risk for South Korea down the road, in terms of influence and security.
In contrast to today’s lack of contact between Washington and Pyongyang, Trump’s first presidential term featured a suspension of US military exercises with South Korea and three separate meetings between the US president and North Korea’s Kim.
His desire to earn a Nobel Peace Prize could also offer another set of motivations for Trump to extend a US hand of friendship to Kim.
The South Korean president’s White House visit also coincides with annual, large-scale South Korean and US joint military exercises, which run for 11 days.
During a visit to North Korea’s most advanced warship last week, Kim denounced the drills as rehearsals for an invasion of North Korea and “an obvious expression of their will to provoke war”.
Also, last week, Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, unveiled an undocumented North Korean missile base about 25km (15.5 miles) from the border with China, which likely has intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the US.
Town added that Russia could also play a cameo role in this summit.
“Lee may bring up the issue of how Russia’s relations with North Korea, especially their military cooperation, poses potential dangers to the alliance’s security interests,” she said.
“Talks could wind up to consideration of whether Trump’s relationship with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin may help mitigate the situation,” she said.
North Korea’s recent dealings with Russia adds another dimension to these inter-country relationships, as reciprocal exchanges of military troops for the receipt of food, energy, cash, weapons and technology have created a stable strategic bond between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Furthermore, North Korea has shown an interest in strengthening ties with another of the US’s biggest rivals – China.
“Ultimately, I believe Trump will continue to make overtures toward North Korea,” Choi said.
“He may seem to be pushing an isolationist strategy, but the matter of fact is that the US continues to be in the middle of negotiations and talks whenever a big conflict arises in the world,” she said.
“Joga bonito” is a phrase used by Brazilians to describe how the game of football should be played.
“Joga” is the verb “to play” in Portuguese, while “bonito” means “beautiful”. The philosophy revolves around individual skill, creativity and a mindset to attack.
Football is not just a game in Brazil, it is ingrained in culture, with more than two million registered players.
Rugby, on the other hand, still remains an unknown sport among the majority of the people from the South American country, even with Brazil making their debut at the Women’s Rugby World Cup against South Africa on Sunday.
Brazil, who are the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup in 25th, have only played 16 Tests of XV-a-side rugby and celebrated their first win in 2023 over Portugal.
Despite the vast difference in player pool, resources and global triumphs, the rugby-playing mindset remains the same as that in football.
“They have absolute speed and are at their absolute best when they are decisive and read what is happening in front of them and react in the moment,” Brazil women’s sevens coach Crystal Kaua told BBC Sport.
“I always say it is like driving in Sao Paulo [which has 12 million inhabitants]. With the motorbikes, if you see space then you have to take it. They aren’t big so they must make smart and fast decisions.”
To qualify for the World Cup, Brazil had to defeat Colombia in the South American play-off – a hurdle they had failed at six times previously.
With the women’s sevens team thriving on the World Series, the decision was made to push for qualification by bringing in their sevens stars for the play-off game, resulting in a comfortable 34-13 victory.
Among the 32 players selected for the World Cup, 11 have competed in at least one Olympic Games.
Fly-half Raquel Kochhann, who has only six caps in XVs, was one of those players that head coach Emiliano Caffera approached to help seal qualification.
Like the vast majority of teenagers in Brazil, Kochhann’s dream was to play professional football, but injury ended her hopes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss an end to the more than three-year war in Ukraine, hours after Trump’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a concrete deal.
In a post on his Truth Social platform after holding phone conversations with European Union and NATO leaders, Trump said the talks with Putin “went very well”.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Trump’s pitch for the peace agreement, analysts say, came after no deal was announced in the Alaska talks. Prior to the meeting, Trump had threatened Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow, said there has been an atmosphere of success in Moscow.
“Trump’s remarks on the need for a larger peace agreement fall in line with what Putin has been saying for the last few months,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader and his European allies, who have been seeking a ceasefire, welcomed the Trump-Putin talks on Saturday but emphasised the need for a security guarantee for Kyiv.
Zelenskyy, who was publicly berated by Trump and his officials during his last Oval Office meeting, said, “I am grateful for the invitation.” The Ukrainian leader said he had a “long and substantive conversation with Trump”.
“In my conversation with President Trump, I said that sanctions should be tightened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia evades an honest end to the war,” the Ukrainian leader said.
He said that Ukraine needed a real, long-lasting peace and not “just another pause” between Russian invasions.
“Security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term, with the involvement of both Europe and the US,” he said on X following his call with the European leaders.
Zelenskiy stressed that territorial issues can only be decided with Ukraine.
Trilateral meeting
In his first public comment after the Alaska talks, Zelenskyy said he supported Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US, and Russia, adding that Kyiv is “ready for constructive cooperation”.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” the Ukrainian president posted on X.
But Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said on Russian state television on Saturday that a potential trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy has not been raised during the US-Russia discussions.
“The topic has not been touched upon yet,” Ushakov said, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Trump rolled out the red carpet on Friday for Putin, who was in the US for the first time in a decade, but he gave little concrete detail afterwards of what was discussed.
Trump said in Alaska that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” after Putin claimed the two leaders had hammered out an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said Trump has been heavily criticised by the US media over the meeting in Alaska.
“They are concerned about what has been described as far more of a conciliatory tone by Trump towards Putin, without coming out of that meeting with even a ceasefire,” he said.
Stratford said that the eyes are now on the meeting in Washington as Zelenskyy and Trump try to set up a trilateral meeting with Putin.
“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin,” the US president said.
During an interview with Fox News Channel after the talks, Trump insisted that the onus going forward might be on Zelenskyy “to get it done,” but said there would also be some involvement from European nations.
Meanwhile, several European leaders on Saturday jointly pledged to continue support for Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia until the war in Ukraine ends.
Europe’s stance
In a statement, EU leaders, including the French president and German chancellor, outlined key points in stopping the conflict.
They said: “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to the EU and NATO, the statement said. “It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.”
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Brussels, said reaching a ceasefire in Ukraine is the priority of European leaders.
“They believe that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire before reaching a comprehensive deal on the future of Ukraine,” he said.
“Then they seek to provide security guarantees by deploying their own forces to make sure Russians will not violate the terms of that agreement,” our correspondent stressed, adding that European countries reject the notion of changing the borders by force.
In his first public address, Pope Leo XVI said: “We want to be a synodal church, a church that moves forward, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.”
Since that fateful day, the new pontiff has dived headfirst into his holy tenure and is wasting no time to implement change.
On 14 August, the Vatican announced that eight representatives from We are Church (WAC) will participate in a Holy Year meeting of synodal teams and participatory bodies – describing it as “a first for the international church reform movement.”
The landmark Jubilee celebrations are scheduled to take place from 24 October to 26 October.
Shortly after the news was announced, Christian Weisner of We are Church expressed excitement over the group’s inclusion while speaking to Vatican Radio.
“We were pleased that this meeting of synodal teams and bodies of the World Synod will also take place in the Vatican as part of the Holy Year, and that the invitation was open,” he said.
“After two major synodal assemblies in autumn 2023 and autumn 2024, it is important that the synodal spirit and synodal networking remain alive and become even more visible and tangible. This is what we hope for from the meeting, and are happy to contribute to it.
“Our patient work over 30 years, during which we have often been present in Rome at bishops’ synods, council commemorations, papal elections, and other events, may have contributed to this. I also see the passage through the Holy Door as a sign for the church as a whole: to leave mistakes behind and to set out again and again in Christian hope.”
Founded in 1995, WAC has committed itself to “the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.”
The equality group, which is represented in more than twenty countries and has presence in or is cooperating with similar groups, has committed itself to five goals: Shared decision making, full equality for all genders, free choice between a celibate and non-celibate lifestyle, positive evaluation of sexuality and good news instead of a threatening message.
For more information about the LGBTQIA+ and women’s equality group, click here.
US President Donald Trump is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, but the White House is signalling that major agreements are unlikely. Trump gives the talks a 25 percent chance of failure, while European Union leaders and the Ukranian leader worry he could concede too much.
DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin are just hours away from holding a historic one-on-one meeting which could shape global politics.
The world’s eyes are poised on Alaska today as leaders of both superpowers prepare to sit down in a peace summit that could decide the fate of Ukraine.
10
Trump is reportedly planning to make a bombshell offer to Putin to crack a ceasefire dealCredit: Reuters
10
Dozens of civilians in Sloviansk woke up to their homes being bombed in Russian drone strikes just hours before the meetingCredit: Getty
10
The summit could mark the beginning of the end of the bloody warCredit: AP
10
On Thursday afternoon, Trump likened the high-stakes talks to a game of chess as he warned there is a 25 per cent chance it could end in failure.
Trump and Putin are set to meet one-on-one at Elmendorf-Richardson base near Anchorage at 11.30am local time (8.30pm UK) — under extraordinary security.
Putin, who rarely travels abroad since launching his full-scale invasion, will arrive with his feared “Musketeers” bodyguards.
They are notorious for coming armed with everything from armour-piercing pistols to the infamous nuclear briefcase — and even a “poo suitcase” to stop any analysis of Vlad’s health.
The Cold War-era military base has been locked down by US and Russian forces since the meeting was announced last week.
Over 32,000 troops, air defences, and electronic jamming systems are all in place waiting for today’s link up.
The crunch talks will be followed by a joint press conference by both leaders.
The main topic of the meeting will be crisis in Ukraine with Trump pushing to strike a deal with the Kremlin to end the bloodshed.
Also on the agenda will be trade and economic cooperation, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov added.
Russia punches through frontline & deploys 110k troops days before Don talks
Trump and Putin will also have a wider meeting with delegations from Washington and Moscow.
They will then attend a working lunch with their security entourage.
For Trump, the meeting stands as a chance to bring peace to war-torn Ukraine and end a conflict which he said would never have started if he were the president back in 2022.
And for Putin, the meeting will decide how much territory he can grab before ending his bloody assault.
The Russian leader, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were “unchanged”.
One major sticking point for Moscow is the annexation of more Ukrainian territory – one of Putin’s long-term demands.
It is understood that Trump will try to convince Putin to make peace by offering him deals and concessions.
10
Trump and Putin shake hands during a meeting in 2017Credit: AFP or licensors
10
A Russian airstrike on Sloviansk, Ukraine came just hours before the historic meetingCredit: Getty
10
Though Washington has said that it will not engage in any agreement on a final peace deal without Ukraine’s formal involvement in the negotiations.
Trump has insisted a deal won’t be made without Ukraine’s blessing with a second meeting set to be arranged soon.
He hinted at a more “important” second round of talks taking place “very quickly” — this time with Volodymyr Zelensky and “maybe some European leaders” in the room.
Putin has tried to sweeten the mood, praising Trump’s “sincere efforts” for peace, even as Zelensky warns he is “bluffing”.
If Putin agrees to a possible ceasefire, both leaders will reach the next stage of peace-making, where they are expected to hold a trilateral meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump has vowed “very severe consequences” if this turns out to be the case.
Zelensky, fresh from meetings with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK PM Sir Keir Starmer, has warned that any talks without Ukraine risk disaster.
The deal will include opening up Alaska’s natural resources to Moscow and lifting some of the American sanctions on Russia’s aviation industry, The Telegraph revealed.
DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin last met in person at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.
It was during Trump’s first term as the president of America.
The meeting is widely remembered for a moment where Trump, with a smile, publicly warned the Russian leader: “Don’t meddle in the election, please.”
Their private discussions reportedly touched upon arms control, trade, and regional security issues
More than anyone else, the meeting will be key to European leaders who have long supported Ukraine and warned against future Russian aggression.
Zelensky and European leaders are likely to reject any settlement proposals by the US that demand Ukraine give up further land.
They want to freeze the current frontline as it is – giving away the territory already being held by the Russians.
Zelensky has reiterated that Ukraine will not cede any further territory to Russia.
But it may not be up to the embattled leader if he is presented with a take it or leave it offer in the latter stages of the peace process.
Trump announced on Friday that the only way to resolve the issues is for both sides to accept losses of land.
He said: “It’s complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It’s very complicated.
“We’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
The MAGA president said he would try to return territory to Ukraine.
10
European leader met with Zelensky ahead of the talks with Trump and PutinCredit: PA
10
Starmer talks with Zelensky in the garden of 10 Downing StreetCredit: AFP
Don added: “Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory.
“We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
After Trump held a call with the European leaders on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that Trump reaffirmed that Trump would not negotiate territorial issues with Putin.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron will not be engaging in any “schemes for territory swaps” during the summit.
The summit is set to take place at Elmendorf-Richardson base, one of the most strategic locations in the Arctic.
Bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves, it is a symbolic location for both the US and Russia.
Russia says both sides affirm intention for Putin-Trump meet in Alaska on Friday, where Ukraine war set to be discussed.
The top diplomats from Russia and the United States have held a phone call ahead of a planned meeting this week between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a post on Telegram on Tuesday, the ministry said Sergei Lavrov said the two sides had reaffirmed their intention to hold successful talks. The US Department of State did not immediately confirm the talks.
But speaking shortly after the announcement, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt revealed that Trump would meet with Putin in the city of Anchorage. She said the pair would discuss ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“On Friday morning, Trump will travel across the country to Anchorage, Alaska for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Leavitt told reporters.
She added that Trump “is determined to try and end this war and stop the killing”.
On Monday, Trump told reporters he was “going to see” what Putin “has in mind” when it comes to a deal to end the fighting.
Trump also said he and Putin would discuss “land swapping”, indicating he may support an agreement that sees Russia maintain control of at least some of the Ukrainian territory it occupies.
Kyiv has repeatedly said that any deal that would see it cede occupied land – including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – to Russia would be a non-starter.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30 percent of the Donetsk region that Ukraine controls as part of a ceasefire deal, saying the position had been conveyed to him by a US official.
He reiterated Ukraine would not withdraw from the territories it controls, noting that such a move would go against the country’s constitution and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
Moscow has maintained that any deal must require Ukraine to relinquish some of the territories Russia has seized since 2014. He has also called for a pause to Western aid for Ukraine and an end to Kyiv’s efforts to join the NATO military alliance.
Friday’s planned meeting will be the first time Putin has been in the US since 2015, when he attended the UN General Assembly.
The pair met six times during Trump’s first presidency, including a 2018 summit in Helsinki, during which Trump sided with Putin – and undermined the US intelligence community – by saying Russia did not meddle in the 2016 election.
The airline is currently looking to hire 17,300 people, equivalent to a mid-size town or the seating capacity of 58 Airbus A350 aircraft, across 350 roles, which include pilots, IT professionals, engineers, and cabin crew
Emirates is looking for new flight attendants(Image: Marika Mikusova)
Emirates Airlines is hiring new flight attendants, but applicants must meet strict criteria.
The airline is currently looking to hire 17,300 people, equivalent to a mid-size town or the seating capacity of 58 Airbus A350 aircraft, across 350 roles. Emirates hasn’t said how many of those job openings are for flight attendants, but it is likely to be within the hundreds, if not thousands.
Flight attendant Marika Mikusova has offered some insight into the Emirates application process(Image: Marika Mikusova)
Emirates has said that new recruits are required for some roles, including cabin crew, pilots, engineers, commercial and sales teams, customer service, ground handling, catering, IT, HR, and finance. Separately, Dnata is looking to hire more than 4,000 cargo, catering, and ground handling specialists.
Some of the benefits included with Emirates jobs are profit share eligibility, comprehensive medical and life insurance cover, travel benefits including flight tickets and membership cards that provide discounts at hundreds of retail, hospitality, and lifestyle outlets.
Although the airline has not advertised wages as part of this recruitment drive, Aviation A2Z reports that the average annual salary of an Emirates flight attendant working in the United States at approximately $47,000 (£34,000) as of last year.
While the salary and benefits appeal, Emirates is particular when it comes to what it is looking for in new recruits. They must be:
Be fluent in both written and spoken English (additional languages are an advantage)
A natural team player with a personality that shines
At least 160 cm tall (5’2”)
Able to reach 212 cm high
Able to meet the UAE’s employment visa requirements
Have at least one year of hospitality/customer service experience (desirable)
Have a minimum of high school (grade 12) education
Have no visible tattoos while in Emirates cabin crew uniform
“Irrespective of nationality, Emirates look for a positive attitude, confidence, flexibility, maturity, a friendly disposition and a genuine passion to help others to provide quality service. As the job can be physically demanding, it is imperative you demonstrate resilience and a determination to continually perform well”, the job requirements add.
Marika Mikusova, a flight attendant with Emirates, shared her recollection of the application process. “For example, I would definitely advise against wearing unnatural hair or nail colour! I personally attended open days twice. The first time I didn’t even pass the first round of the interview. I assume it was because of what I was wearing,” she explained.
Marika also had some, perhaps slightly more traditional advice for those angling for a job with Emirates. “So I would advise women to put on blazer and pencil skirt and style their hair in a bun. I would highly recommend putting a lipstick and heels on!”
For men, Marika suggested that they arrive clean-shaven or with a moustache only, and dressing in a suit.
“Mind your body language! Put on a gentle smile and present yourself in a calm manner. Do not cross your arms during interview as you would look unapproachable or even angry,” she added.
Marika even recalled a time when she attended her Prague Emirates Open Day, where several Korean women hoping to become flight attendants had flown in from other continents just to attend the Emirates Open Day.
“In fact, the interview was conducted entirely in English and was not limited by the nationalities of the candidates, the number of participants, or how many times each candidate attended Open Days in the past. So you can try multiple interviews outside your country,” Marika concluded.
Those aspiring to join the Emirates Group can apply for the various roles and keep a lookout for open days and recruitment events worldwide at www.emiratesgroupcareers.com.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan was ‘highly conflicted’ because of his ties to Chinese firms.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is due to visit the White House after United States President Donald Trump last week called for his removal.
The executive of the tech giant was set to meet the president on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.
Neither Intel nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
Tan is expected to have an extensive conversation with Trump while looking to explain his personal and professional background, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which broke the news on Sunday, adding that he could propose ways Intel and the US government could work together, the paper said.
Tan hopes to win Trump’s approval by showing his commitment to the US and guaranteeing the importance of keeping Intel’s manufacturing capabilities as a national security issue, the WSJ added.
Last week, Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” due to his ties to Chinese firms, comments that raised doubts about Tan’s plans to turn around the struggling US chip icon.
It was a rare instance of a US president publicly calling for a CEO’s ouster, and sparked debate among investors.
Tan said he shared the president’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security.
Reuters reported exclusively in April that Tan invested at least $200m in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.
Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American business executive, was also the CEO of Cadence Design from 2008 through December 2021, during which time the chip design software maker sold products to a Chinese military university believed to be involved in simulating nuclear explosions.
Last month, Cadence agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $140m to resolve the US charges over the sales.
Intel’s stock surged ahead of the meeting. The company, which trades under the ticker INTC, is up more than 7.5 percent for the day as of noon in New York (16:00 GMT).
Aug. 9 (UPI) — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to meet Friday in Alaska and might invite Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky to join them.
It will be the first in-person meeting between Trump and Putin since the G20 summit in Japan in 2019 during Trump’s first term.
Putin on Thursday said he opposed meeting with Zelensky, saying “for this to happen, certain conditions must be created. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”
Trump announced the meeting on Friday night on Truth Social.
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump posted.
The presidents also considered meeting in the United Arab Emirates and Rome.
Because the United States does not recognize the International Criminal Court, it does not have to abide by a warrant issued in 2023 for Putin’s arrest on allegations he was involved in the abduction of children from Ukraine during the war. Had the meeting been held in Rome, there were concerns officials would attempt to arrest Putin.
On chances for a deal, Trump told reporters this week that he thinks “we have a shot at” achieving a deal and refused to call the meeting a last chance.
“I don’t like using the term ‘last chance,” he said.
Trump has floated the idea that a peace deal with Ukraine may require the European nation to give up territory — something Zelensky and many European leaders oppose.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for 3½ years with — you know, a lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians have died,” Trump said. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
Ukraine currently controls around 4 square miles of Russian land in the western Kursk region, while Russia has one-fifth of Ukraine’s sovereign territory — including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Enerhodar, which is the largest generating station in Europe.
Ukraine had also seized around 500 square miles in August 2024 but later retreated.
Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and four other regions in eastern Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — and Putin has proposed Crimea be formally recognized as Russian sovereign territory.
“We’re looking at that, but we’re actually looking to get some back and some swapping. It’s complicated. It’s actually nothing easy, [and] it’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” Trump told reporters when asked if Ukraine will need to give up territory in a peace deal.
Trump also said that the self-imposed deadline for Putin to agree to a cease-fire or face “secondary sanctions” against nations that buy oil from Russia would “be up to him. We’re going to see what he has to say — it’s up to him.”
On Wednesday, he signed an executive order that doubled the tariff against India to 50% over the Asian nation’s imports of Russian oil. The order followed a 50-day ultimatum Trump gave to Putin to reach a truce with Ukraine, and later moved the deadline up to 10 days.
After a three-hour meeting with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, Putin said told Witkoff that he would agree to a cease-fire if Ukraine withdrew from the Donbas region.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Putin for the first time provided “concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war.”
On Saturday, Zelensky reiterated his opposition to giving up land.
“Ukrainians are defending their own. Even those who are with Russia know that it is doing evil. Of course, we will not give Russia awards for what it has done. The Ukrainian people deserve peace. But all partners must understand what a worthy peace is. This war must be ended, and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, not listening to any deadlines, and this is the problem, not something else,” he said in Ukrainian in a video posted on Instagram.
He also “Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything,” Zelensky added in a post on X.
Zelensky also said he spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday and he was “grateful for his support.”
He said they both see the danger of “Russia’s plan to reduce everything to a discussion of the impossible.”
The meeting between Trump and Putin was confirmed by Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin official.
“The economic interests of our countries intersect in Alaska and the Arctic, and there are prospects for implementing large-scale, mutually beneficial projects,” he told reporters, according to state-run TASS. “But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”
Saturday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance will attend a summit of national security advisers in Britain that includes Ukraine and other European allies.
A top Kremlin foreign policy aide said Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet “in the coming days.” The White House has not confirmed such a meeting and a day earlier said a summit including Ukraine’s president was on the table.
Israel’s security cabinet is meeting on Thursday to decide on whether to order a complete military takeover of the Gaza Strip – a move the UN says would risk “catastrophic consequences”.
Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees this as the only way to destroy Hamas and free hostages still held by the group following the breakdown of ceasefire talks.
Reports, though, say the head of the military and some ministers disagree, amid warnings such a move could be disastrous for the hostages and Palestinian civilians.
Top UN official Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council earlier this week that it would be against international law and was a “deeply alarming” prospect.
The Israeli military currently controls about three-quarters of Gaza. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has already been displaced by the war and many more would be uprooted if the army takes over remaining areas.
The security cabinet of top government ministers is scheduled to meet at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.
According to Israeli media, tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers would need to be sent to Gaza to carry out the takeover.
Reports say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, relocating its one million residents further south. Forces would also take control of refugee camps in central Gaza and areas where hostages are thought to be held.
Reports say a second offensive would follow weeks later in parallel with a boost in humanitarian aid.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Fox News there would be a significant scaling up of distribution sites operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The GHF has been strongly criticised by the UN and aid agencies, who have accused it of being chaotic and forcing hungry Palestinians to travel long distances in perilous conditions to try to get food.
Hundreds have been shot dead in or around the four sites run by GHF since it began operating in May. The Hamas-run health ministry and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of being responsible. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has denied targeting civilians, saying soldiers have fired warning shots to keep crowds back or in response to threats.
The war has created a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, most of which UN-backed experts say is at the point of famine in terms of food consumption. The territory is also experiencing mass deprivation as a result of heavy restrictions imposed by Israel on what is allowed in – something it says is aimed at weakening Hamas.
Netanyahu is reported to have decided in recent days on the conquest of Gaza, raising tensions with military chiefs.
In a meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, the IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, is said to have warned that controlling Gaza could entrap troops and further endanger the hostages. He is reported to have presented an alternative plan involving encircling remaining Hamas strongholds rather than full occupation.
Israeli media say that, despite some misgivings, the security cabinet is expected to approve Netanyahu’s plan.
The families of hostages have reacted with alarm, fearing such a move could push their captives into killing them.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that taking over Gaza was “really up to Israel”. The US has been mediating in indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas for months, but negotiations broke down two weeks ago.
The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a massive military offensive in response, which has killed at least 61,158 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov says a Trump-Putin meeting could happen as soon as next week.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are preparing to meet “in the coming days”, a Kremlin official has said, as a United States deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine or face economic penalties approaches.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday that a Trump-Putin meeting could happen as early as next week. A location has been chosen, he added, though it would be revealed at a later stage.
“At the request of the American side, both parties have effectively agreed to hold a high-level bilateral meeting in the coming days,” Ushakov told reporters.
The announcement follows Trump’s remarks on Wednesday that he was hopeful of holding a joint meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “very soon”. Trump has warned Moscow that unless a ceasefire is reached by Friday, it will face broader sanctions.
Ushakov said the prospect of a three-way summit came up during talks in Moscow with Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who met Putin for the fifth time earlier this week. Russia offered no official comment on the potential trilateral meeting.
Zelenskyy signalled support for such a summit, writing on X that “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side”. He added that discussions had included “two bilateral and one trilateral” format, insisting Europe must be involved in efforts to end the war.
Despite multiple visits to Moscow by Witkoff since Trump entered office in January after promising to end the war, no breakthrough has materialised. Trump acknowledged the lack of progress, saying: “I don’t call it a breakthrough … we have been working at this for a long time. There are thousands of young people dying … I’m here to get the thing over with.”
The Kremlin described Witkoff’s latest discussions as “constructive” and said both sides had exchanged “signals”, though it provided few specifics. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy confirmed he had spoken with Trump about the meeting, alongside European leaders.
Expectations remain low that a peace deal will be reached before Trump’s deadline. Russia continues to launch air strikes across Ukraine, and Moscow’s conditions for ending the war, such as Kyiv’s demilitarisation, neutrality and renunciation of NATO membership, remain non-starters for Ukraine and its Western allies.
Putin also demands Ukrainian withdrawal from Russian-occupied regions, the formal recognition of Crimea, and the lifting of international sanctions. Kyiv has consistently rejected those terms.
Meanwhile, the White House has approved an additional $200m military aid package for Ukraine, including support for drone manufacturing. And in a separate move, Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing 25 percent tariffs on Indian imports over its ongoing purchases of Russian oil.
A fragile truce between the Southeast Asian neighbours continues to hold, following five days of deadly border clashes.
Officials from Thailand and Cambodia have met in Malaysia for the start of border talks, a week after a fragile ceasefire brought an end to an eruption of five days of deadly clashes between the two countries.
The meeting on Monday came ahead of a key meeting on Thursday, which is expected to be led by the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers.
This week’s talks, which will be observed by representatives from China, Malaysia and the United States, aim to iron out plans to maintain the current truce and avoid future border confrontations.
They will include finalising details for a monitoring team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysian Chief of Defence Forces General Mohd Nizam Jaffar said on Monday.
The sessions in Malaysia follow the worst fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in more than a decade.
Relations between the neighbours deteriorated in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border skirmish, before worsening when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines in contested territory last month.
The Southeast Asian countries downgraded diplomatic relations and violence broke out, which both sides blamed the other for starting.
The recent fighting involved infantry clashes, artillery exchanges, air strikes and rocket fire.
A ceasefire was announced on July 28, in part following economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who warned both countries that they could not make trade deals with Washington without a ceasefire.
Despite the fragile truce, tensions remain high and mistrust between the two sides lingers.
Cambodia’s defence ministry has accused Thailand of violating the terms of the ceasefire by installing barbed wire in a disputed border area, while the Thai military has suggested that the Cambodian army has reinforced troops in key areas.
Both countries have given foreign observers tours of last month’s battle sites, while seeking to show the damage allegedly inflicted by the other nation.
Thailand and Cambodia also accuse each other of violating international humanitarian laws by targeting citizens.
Phnom Penh continues to demand the release of 18 of its captured troops, whom Bangkok says it will only release following “a complete cessation of the armed conflict, not just a ceasefire”.
The neighbours dispute how the troops came to be captured, with Thailand rejecting Cambodia’s claims that the troops approached Thai positions to offer post-conflict greetings.
THE SKINT celebrities that are struggling to make ends meet – from Dawn O’Porter to Mischa Barton.
Even if you have made lots of money, it doesn’t always mean you’re not going to run into money problems as these celebrities have found out.
Mischa Barton
8
Mischa Barton even sued her mother over moneyCredit: Rex Features
The OC actress Mischa, 39, has had a widely-publicised battle with her former momager, Nuala Barton, over her money.
In July 2015, she even sued her mother, alleging that she lied about how much Mischa was being paid for a film role and pocketed the rest of the cash herself.
She’s also struggled to make mortgage payments on her home in the past, at one point falling five months behind.
Though she eventually sold the Beverly Hills mansion in summer 2016 for $7.05 million reports The BBC.
The television presenter, 46, who has been married to Bridesmaids actor Chris O’Dowd since 2012, has opened up about her money woes.
She expressed to MailOnline: “I work pay cheque to pay cheque. I’m always broke. My card got declined last week. I’m like, what the f*** is happening? When will this end?”
The Scottish writer and director has had a varied career, presenting several documentaries and shows including BBC’s Super Slim Me and How To Look Good Naked on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, Chris, 45, has starred in some of Hollywood’s biggest productions, including This Is 40, Thor: The Dark World, Gulliver’s Travels and St. Vincent.
The couple have two children, sons Art, 11, and Valentine, who is eight years old.
Wife of Hollywood actor claims she’s ‘always broke’ and ‘lives pay cheque to pay cheque’
Lindsay Lohan
8
Lindsay Lohan had her bank accounts seized in 2012Credit: Getty
The Parent Trap’s Lindsay Lohan had her bank accounts seized in 2012, for reportedly owing $234,000 in tax.
Lindsay apparently sent her 18-year-old sister to haggle with second hand stores to make some emergency cash from her old clothes.
Ali Lohan went to the vintage clothing store Wasteland to flog the singer’s most valuable designer gear.
Ali was seen arriving at the Los Angeles store with bags bursting with shoes, clothes and accessories.
But she was reportedly shocked when she was offered a lot less than she was expecting.
She went through items including a pair of Chanel pumps and a Balenciaga handbag, saying: “These have to be worth more, Lindsay was photographed wearing them, that has to add value.”
But the manager would not be swayed, and Ali had to settle much lower than she had planned.
Her Scary Movie 5 co-star, Charlie Sheen, gave her $100,000 towards the bill and Lindsay now appears to have her finances under control.
50 Cent
8
50 Cent declared himself bankrupt in 2015Credit: Getty
50 Cent declared himself bankrupt in 2015, but said the move was a ‘strategic’ one, and not because he’d spent all of his money.
He made the decision after he was sued for leaking a sex tape of Lastonia Leviston, who has a child with his rap rival Rick Ross, and didn’t want other people to follow suit.
He told US talk show host Larry King in 2015L “It’s a move that was necessary for me to make at this point.
“So I didn’t allow myself to create that big red and white bulls eye on my back, where I become the person that people consistently come to.”
He still had to pay off debts of more than $22 million, though, with $6 million going to Lastonia for invasion of privacy.
Shane Richie
8
Shane Richie had to borrow from friends and familyCredit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
Back in 2020, the EastEnders legend said the coronavirus pandemic hit him hard and left him begging friends and family for loans.
Shane revealed how the pandemic and years of daft spending had left him “literally skint.”
At the time he was relying on loans from friends and family, and government help to pay his mortgage.
He told the Mirror at the time: “I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but it all got cancelled in March. Now I am literally skint!
“You save for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last eight months. Thankfully, I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank.”
He added: “I got rid of my car but only cos I lease a car for my wife for the school run. I can get around on a moped.
“I am alright, I have had a career and if it all finishes tomorrow, so be it. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll do stand-up or resurrect a musical.”
Shane also revealed that he blew thousands on the strangest things, in particular Planet of the Apes memorabilia.
He said: “It was my favourite show as a boy, I couldn’t resist. It harks back to Christmases when mum and dad couldn’t afford much.”
In April 2014, Courtney was hit with a $320,000 tax bill, as well as being ordered to pay $96,000 to a fashion designer she defamed on Twitter.
Later that year, the singer told the Sunday Times, “I lost about $27 million.
“I know that’s a lifetime of money to most people, but I’m a big girl, it’s rock ‘n roll, it’s Nirvana money, I had to let it go.
“I make enough to live on, I’m financially solvent, I focus on what I make now.”
And back in 2021 according to official tax records, theHole lead singerhad five outstanding tax debts that have accumulated from 2017 to 2021.
The iconic artist was hit with three outstanding Internal Revenue Service liens, totaling $1.9 million, while the rest of the debt was owed to the State of California.
The Grammy nominee explained that she was living with her parents for a while in Las Vegas before the situation became unfavourable.
She eventually moved back to Los Angeles after her manager suggested she move in with him for a bit.
But the home was too small so Dawn ultimately resided in a hotel for eight months before deciding to research “car life.”
Following her search, the singer began living in her car in 2022 and said that she “felt free.”
She added: “I felt free. I felt like I was on a camping trip. It just felt like it was the right thing to do.
“I didn’t regret it. You know, a lot of celebrities have lived in their cars.”
The singer admitted that though the experience is sometimes “scary” she’s learned “what to do in my car and how to do it, like, how to cover my windows and you don’t talk to certain people.”
She explained: “You’re careful of telling people that you’re alone, as a woman especially.”
Cat Power had to cancel her European TourCredit: Getty
Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall, better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter.
She spent a lot of her own money on recording 2012 album, Sun.
Then, when it came time to tour Sun, she took to Instagram to share some bad news with fans.
She wrote: “I may have to cancel my European tour due to bankruptcy & my health struggle with angioedema.
“I have not thrown in any towel, I am trying to figure out what best I can do.”
The tour was indeed postponed, with Chan later adding: “The American tour has been wonderful and amazing, and with me being unable to afford to bring my show with full production (which i helped create), to Europe.
“Financially, really dumped a huge additional amount of stress on me as I was and still am fighting trying to get tour support.”
A proposed international league described as the F1 of basketball gained attention over the weekend when Misko Raznatovic, the agent for Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, posted a photo on Instagram of him meeting in shorts and bare feet with LeBron James and the Lakers star’s business partner Maverick Carter on a yacht off the coast of the French Riviera.
Raznatovic accompanied the photo with an intriguing comment: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026! @kingjames@mavcarter
The post triggered speculation that perhaps James and Jokic could team up on either the Lakers or Nuggets, but more likely it suggests James has more than a peripheral interest in the new league.
Front Office Sports reported in January that Carter was advising a group of investors trying to raise $5 billion to jump-start the league but that James wasn’t involved. That may have changed.
So what’s the league about?
Early discussions are of a touring model with six men’s and six women’s teams playing in eight cities, none of which is likely to be in the United States. Investors include the Singapore government, SC Holdings, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, a Macau casino operator, UBS, Skype founder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, according to the Financial Times. Reports have linked VC firm Quiet Capital, tech investor Byron Deeter and Hong Kong-based Galaxy Entertainment to the effort.
Investors are leaning toward not allowing players in the league unless they cut ties with the NBA, making the model somewhat like LIV Golf — the professional circuit funded by (PIF). A better comparison in terms of format and scale might be Formula 1 Racing, which holds 24 races a year across five continents.
Raznatovic’s involvement would be key. His Belgrade, Serbia, agency BeoBasket has a partnership with Excel Sports Management and represents dozens of top European players, including Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
The EuroLeague is currently recognized as the world’s second-best basketball circuit, but can’t come close to paying players NBA-level salaries.
If Raznatovic’s social media post is an indication, the new league could launch as soon as the fall of 2026. Until then, fans wanting an alternative to the NBA can check out Ice Cube’s tour-based Big3 basketball league, which makes its single stop in Los Angeles on Aug. 9.
