silence

Strategic ambiguity, the US policy of neither explicitly supporting nor opposing Taiwanese independence, has been considered effective for decades in maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait. However, the summit between Trump and Xi Jinping on May 14-15, 2026, in Beijing revealed signs that this formula’s effectiveness is beginning to be limited. China pushed the US not merely to “not support” but to actively “oppose” Taiwanese independence. The US responded by displaying an inconsistent position. Taiwan openly asserted its sovereignty. All three responses emerged within less than 24 hours, and no international forum was able to manage the contradictions.

AT His strategic ambiguity is not simply a matter of US foreign policy. It reflects deeper limitations in the global governance system in addressing unresolved sovereignty issues. At the same time, China is actively promoting an alternative world order through its Belt and Road Initiative, non-interventionist principles, and multipolarity agenda, which indirectly influence how the Taiwan issue is positioned on the international stage. Without a concrete framework for joint governance, the potential for miscalculations across the Taiwan Strait will continue to increase.

On May 16, 2026, the day after Trump left Beijing, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official statement. Taiwan is a sovereign and independent nation. It is not under Chinese rule. This statement was not new rhetoric.

What makes this significant is the context. Trump had just called a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan a bargaining chip in negotiations with Xi Jinping. China had just successfully pushed the US to soften its tone on Taiwan. In less than 24 hours, three main actors make statements that cannot all be true at the same time. And there is no one international institution that has the authority to decide which is more valid.

This isn’t a sudden diplomatic failure. It’s the result of a policy of strategic ambiguity that has been in place for more than five decades and is now beginning to show its limitations.

Strategic ambiguity was once effective because all parties had an incentive not to test its limits. That situation is changing. China is becoming increasingly assertive. militarily and increasingly actively shaping an alternative global order. Taiwan is becoming more assertive in claiming its political identity. The US under Trump is increasingly unpredictable. In these conditions, the ambiguity that once served as a buffer for stability has now become a source of uncertainty. The global governance system lacks adequate instruments to fill the gaps left by this increasingly outdated formula.

Starting from the background, a US strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan was born of deliberate compromise. In the Shanghai Communique (1972), Washington used the word “recognizes” China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, not “accepts.” The difference in vocabulary was no accident. It opened diplomatic normalization with Beijing without formally abandoning Taipei.

This formula was then codified through the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and three joint US-China communiques. During the Cold War era and the two decades that followed, this formula remained relatively stable because China was not yet strong enough to challenge it militarily and Taiwan was not yet confident enough to challenge it politically. As noted by T.Y. Wang in the journal Politics and Policy, strategic ambiguity is designed not only to deter China from attacking Taiwan but also to restrain Taiwan from taking steps that Beijing might deem provocative.

But the conditions that made that formula effective have changed structurally. Taiwan’s democratization since the 1990s has produced a political identity increasingly independent of the “One China” narrative. The PLA’s military modernization has changed the cost calculations of conflict. And Trump’s return to the White House has brought a transactional approach that, as noted by the Global Taiwan Institute, exacerbates existing ambiguities with conflicting signals that are record arms sales accompanied by a striking rhetorical silence on US security commitments to Taiwan.

On the ground, this uncertainty has already resulted in a measured escalation. Military exercises: Justice Mission 2025 In December 2025, a full-scale blockade of Taiwan was simulated, with over 90 aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait in a single day. These median line violations were not an anomaly. Since 2022, they have become increasingly routine and have rarely elicited an organized response from the international community.

The most important part to understand next is about the One China Policy. The One China Policy affirms that a single label includes three irreconcilable positions. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an unreturned province and that reunification is a non-negotiable goal. Taipei maintains that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign state that predates the People’s Republic of China and that the two have never ruled each other. Washington maintains its own version, based on the Taiwan Relations Act, that recognizes Beijing’s position without explicitly endorsing it.

These three positions exist simultaneously because they have never been tested in an international forum that has the authority to decide which is more valid. Brookings Institution; he noted that this policy was originally designed for a period when China was not yet acting like a revisionist power. Now, conditions have changed, and the old formula requires a recalibration that has yet to materialize.

There’s a compelling argument here. Strategic ambiguity has also served as a deterrent to war. It prevents China from attacking because it’s unsure whether the US will intervene. It also prevents Taiwan from declaring formal independence because it’s unsure whether the US would defend it. In this logic, ambiguity is a feature, not a bug.

However, analyst Brandon K. Yoder in the European Journal of International Relations, The effectiveness of deterrence hinges on credibility, which is currently eroding. When Trump called weapons for Taiwan a “negotiating chip,” he indirectly communicated to Beijing that the US commitment was conditional. When commitments are conditional, their deterrent effect is significantly weakened.

What results is not new stability, but rather an increasingly unpredictable gray area. Each party operates based on its own assumptions about the limits that can be tested. Without governance mechanisms that explicitly clarify these limits, the risk of miscalculation continues to grow.

The Taiwan issue cannot be read in isolation from China’s broader agenda of reshaping the global order. Over the past two decades, Beijing has not only protested the existing international system but also actively developed an alternative.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which now encompasses more than 140 countries, is more than just an infrastructure project. As analyzed in China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, BRI serves as both a governance and economic mechanism, linking infrastructure development with new standards of connectivity and cooperation that reflect the Chinese model of development without political conditions.

Beyond the BRI, China is actively pushing three major initiatives: the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. They share a common thread that is strengthening the norm of sovereignty, rejecting intervention based on Western values, and promoting multipolarity as a substitute for single-party hegemony. Bruegel noted that the concept of “Community with a Shared Future for Mankind” popularized by Xi at Davos 2017 has even been included in several UN General Assembly resolutions, demonstrating how far China has succeeded in pushing its global narrative into multilateral institutions.

The relevance to the Taiwan issue is that the more countries accept China’s sovereignty-based, non-interference-based governance framework, the more limited the space for international mechanisms to challenge Beijing’s claims to Taiwan. China’s global governance agenda and its claims to Taiwan are not separate issues. They are part of the same project: redefining who has the right to set the rules of the game in what have traditionally been called “internal affairs.”

This also makes Trump’s and Xi’s bilateral approach a more suitable instrument for China’s interests. When the Taiwan issue is managed through negotiations between the two great powers, broader norms, such as the right to self-determination and representation of sovereign entities, are not discussed. Observer Research Foundation noted that BRI cooperation with the UN from 2015 to 2019 was more about mutual legitimacy than structural integration, and a similar pattern is seen in the way China uses multilateral forums to validate its diplomatic positions without actually committing to the process.

Trump’s and Xi’s meeting in May 2026 shows a pattern that deserves serious attention. That is, the Taiwan issue is now managed almost entirely outside the multilateral framework. There are no regional forums, no UN mechanisms, no activated joint protocols. There are just two leaders, two delegations, and an agenda far broader than just Taiwan.

Observation: Both sides reveal a glaring asymmetry. In China’s version, Taiwan is referred to as the “most important issue,” and Xi warned of potential conflict if handled incorrectly. In the US version, Taiwan is not mentioned at all. CSIS noted that the meeting resulted in a commitment to “strategic stability” without concrete instruments to realize it. The lack of crisis communication protocol. Limited incident management framework. There isn’t any commitment to refrain from provocative military exercises.

This is not simply a shortcoming of the meeting. It reflects a more systemic limitation. namely the limitations There is no sufficiently authoritative multilateral platform to address this issue. The UN Security Council is hampered by Beijing’s veto power. ASEAN adheres to the principle of non-intervention, which actually benefits China’s narrative. The G20 has no mandate to address sovereignty disputes.

The result is what could be called a governance deficit. This doesn’t mean there are no institutions, but rather that the existing ones are insufficiently effective for the situation. And it’s in this deficit that military escalation moves in to fill the space that structured diplomacy should be filling. Modern Diplomacy noted that the US approved an $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan by 2025 while simultaneously sending ambiguous rhetorical signals, a combination that makes it difficult for both China and Taiwan to read exactly where the real line is.

The following three recommendations are not intended to resolve the Taiwan status question. Their purpose is more limited and more immediate. namely for reducing the risk of miscalculation before a minor incident escalates into an uncontrollable crisis. All three rely on existing political conditions and momentum.

First, the momentum of the Trump-Xi meeting should be used to establish a permanent, dedicated military crisis communication channel for incidents in the Taiwan Strait. The most relevant precedent is the Washington-Moscow hotline, established after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, precisely because the world had nearly come to war due to miscommunication, not intention. CNBC noted the May 2026 meeting resulted in a relatively constructive atmosphere between the two leaders. This is a rare window of opportunity and should be used for something concrete.

Second, Indonesia, as a BRICS member and ASEAN dialogue partner with a relatively balanced working relationship with Washington and Beijing, could propose a regional consultation forum focused on managing incidents in the Taiwan Strait. This would not be a forum to decide Taiwan’s status, but rather a technical mechanism for de-escalation procedures and crisis communication. ASEAN has the foundation for this through the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and Indonesia’s current position within BRICS provides added legitimacy in Beijing’s eyes.

Third, the US, China, Japan, and South Korea need to negotiate a joint commitment that no party will change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait through force. This is inspired by the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, which successfully committed European countries not to change their borders by force, despite many of their mutual distrust. The agreement did not resolve existing disputes, but it did raise the costs of escalation measurably. With Xi seeking economic stability before 2027 and Trump seeking to avoid military engagement far from the US mainland, both sides’ calculations are now more open to this type of commitment than in previous periods.

It can be concluded that strategic ambiguity is one of the most ingenious products of Cold War diplomacy. It maintained stability in the Taiwan Strait for decades, not by solving the problem, but by making all parties unsure whether testing its limits was a good idea.

The conditions that make that formula work are changing simultaneously. China is stronger and more assertive. Taiwan is more assertive in its political identity. And the US under Trump is sending signals that are more easily read as conditional than committed. These three changes are not occurring one after the other, but simultaneously, and the global governance system has not yet responded accordingly.

The Trump-Xi meeting in May 2026 is neither a turning point in the war nor a step toward a resolution. It is a reflection of the current situation: three actors with three different interpretations, no referee, and increasingly little room for error.

What’s needed isn’t a final solution on Taiwan’s status, as that won’t come anytime soon. What’s needed are concrete steps that reduce the risk of miscalculation while keeping all options open. Crisis channels, regional consultative forums, and non-escalation commitments are small steps but have clear historical precedent. The question is whether the political will for these small steps can still be found amidst the escalating rivalry.

With the Lakers down 1-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, Luka Doncic has not yet ramped up to on-court contact drills while recovering from an injured left hamstring that had an inital eight-week timeline for his return.

Doncic, speaking to reporters for the first time since he hobbled off the court at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center on April 2, said Wednesday he has improved enough to begin running but he has not progressed to on-court contact drills. After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.

But it has not stopped him from trying to come back as soon as possible.

“I’m just doing everything I can,” Doncic said. “Every day I’m doing stuff I’m supposed to do. Obviously recovery, now I’m working … just going day by day, and I feel better every day.”

Soon after his injury, Doncic went to Spain and received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections with hopes to help his recovery. He stayed for roughly two weeks because he needed to wait four days between each injection. He received four in total.

Without their leading scorer, the Lakers fought through a six-game, first-round series against the Houston Rockets, playing four of those games without Austin Reaves, who was also injured in the same game as Doncic. The fourth-seeded Lakers lost 108-90 to the defending champion Thunder in Game 1 of the conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Doncic had dutifully cheered from the bench during the playoff games, offering as much advice to his teammates as he can.

“It’s very frustrating,” Doncic said of the injury. “I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is. All I want to do is play basketball, especially at this time. It’s the best time to play basketball. It’s very frustrating seeing what my team is doing, I’m very proud of them. It’s been very tough just to see and watch them play.”

ZAYN Malik shared a heartfelt statement with fans after cancelling 22 gigs following his shock hospitalisation.

The former One Direction star revealed he is now back at home and recovering from his mystery illness – but his world tour dates have taken a hit.

The singer has been forced to cancel the entire US leg of his KONNAKOL tour, as well as some UK performances.

In an Instagram story today, he wrote: “To my fans : Thank you so much for all the support and love you’ve shown me on the album release and more importantly, your love, prayers and well wishes for my health.

“I’ve felt it, and it’s meant the world. I’ve been at home recovering and I’m doing well and will be better and stronger than before.

“I’ve had to take another look at my schedule for the months ahead and reduce the number of shows on the KONNAKOL Tour.

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“I want to make sure I still get out and see as many of you as I possibly can. I’m really looking forward to playing these shows for you, and I hope to see the rest of you around the world very soon.”

The cause of Zayn’s hospitalisation is not yet known, but in a previous statement, he thanked his cardiologist, which suggests it could be to do with his heart and or blood vessels.

Alongside a photo of him in a hospital bed, he wrote: “To my fans – thank you to all of you for your love and support now and always.

“[It’s] been a long week and am still unexpectedly recovering. Heartbroken that I can’t see you all this week, I wouldn’t be in the place I am today without you guys and am so thankful for your understanding.

“Thank you to the incredible hospital staff or Drs, nurses, cardiologists, management, admin, and everyone who has helped along the way and continue to. You are all legends! Big big love xxx z.”

The health scare came amid the revelation from The Sun that Zayn had punched his close pal and former band member Louis Tomlinson as they found themselves in a vicious row whilst filming for their new Netflix documentary.

Louis and Zayn were joining forces to film a three-part road trip docuseries for the streaming service, which has since been axed.

Sources told The Sun their astonishing on-set row was triggered by a remark from Zayn about Louis’ mum Johannah Deakin, who died of leukaemia in 2016.

The Sun understands Louis and Zayn have not spoken since the incident six months ago.

Tennessee told Nico Iamaleava to go fly a kite, so UCLA said come fly it here.

That alleviated some homesickness, but it didn’t get Iamaleava’s career up off the ground. Of course, the conditions in Westwood last season weren’t ideal for takeoff.

But now they are.

Here comes Bob Chesney’s rebuild. And Iamaleava’s redemption. An exceptional head coach and an exciting quarterback, with the wind at their backs, racing toward a relatively breezy schedule?

USC defensive tackle Carlon Jones grabs UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava during a game on Nov. 29.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Sky’s the limit, man.

Watch them dip and dance and make defenders miss all the way to New York. Watch the cautionary tale about the perils of the transfer portal turn into a fairy-tale comeback.

No, that’s not me building castles in the sky.

Consider the unprecedented heights to which Chesney took tiny James Madison, and think of the places he can go with a junior QB whose trajectory had him headed toward Heisman Trophy hopefuldom before turbulence hit.

Iamaleava arrived in Knoxville, Tenn., with more hype than any quarterback since Peyton Manning. The 6-foot-6 Long Beach native, with an outside hitter’s rocket arm and the gazelle-like gait, was considered the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit out of Warren High in Downey. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he won 10 games and led the Volunteers to the College Football Playoff.

Heisman buzz was building. Until it wasn’t, deadened last spring by the contract dispute that was debated ‘round the college football world. There was disagreement between Iamaleava’s camp and Tennessee — which was reportedly paying him more than $2 million per season, less than the going rate for some comparable quarterbacks and more than the Bruins reportedly offered.

UCLA — 3-9 last season and with only two bowl appearances in eight years — isn’t anyone’s idea of a shortcut back to glory. But there is this: The Bruins seem really to have Ted Lasso’d a certain energy these days. A can-do frequency. Joy and positivity are in.

The women’s basketball team danced its way through the Big Dance and emerged as national champs.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney leads the Bruins through their first spring football practice at Spaulding Field on April 2.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Alysa Liu, the figure-skating psychology-student Olympic champion? She said there’s a new golden rule: Am I having a good time?

And mercy, the No. 6-ranked softball team — whose silly postgame interviews have gone viral — is having a record-smashing season.

Now we also have Chesney extra-cheesing out here, showing up with free pizzas at fraternities, outreach to get the bros out to the Bruins’ spring game Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

But how does Iamaleava fit into this bright motif?

Perfectly, actually. When I asked him last year what he was telling his teammates after head coach DeShaun Foster was fired three weeks into the season, sky falling, wheels falling off, Iamaleava smiled his easy smile: “Man, just keep the belief.”

If that reads like a cliché, imagine the coolest guy in school saying it, and meaning it.

Iamaleava has a Long Beach lean, laid back and comfortable in his skin. He’s super-tight with his seven siblings, and super-proud of their Samoan heritage. And even though he and his younger brother Madden, a backup UCLA quarterback, were always “the toughest dudes on the field,” former Warren coach Kevin Pearson said, “they are the nicest, sweetest off of it.”

But wasn’t Nico the villain? The bad guy? That disloyal, greedy kid at the center of college football’s first apparent holdout?

The criticism was so loud — and so wrong, Pearson said — it had the man stressing. “It made my stomach hurt,” he said, “what people were saying about Nico.”

Pan out and Nico is a face in a crowd. For example, of the top 600 football prospects in the class of 2021, more than 60% of them transferred at least once, and 42 of the top 50 quarterbacks changed schools, according to the Athletic.

And he was about the only thing that was good about last season’s Bruins.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava passes the ball during an upset of Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 4.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

He was their leading passer and rusher. Of UCLA’s 24 touchdowns, he accounted for 17, including five in the Bruins’ 42-37 victory over No. 7 Penn State, which earned him a slew of national weekly honors, including Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

But the Bruins won only three games. The whole season was a hot mess, though you wouldn’t have known it, talking to Nico.

He seemed to get it. Not like he understood the assignment of rehabilitating his image, but with the sincerity of someone who appreciates what’s actually hard.

You might remember, his mom, Leinna, was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 14.

“She definitely opened my eyes, just as a young kid growing up,” said Iamaleava, noting that she is OK now, busy traveling all over the country with his younger volleyball-playing sisters.

“She got diagnosed my freshman year and it was just kind of time to grow up and take care of the little ones. That changed my mindset and my perspective on life. Life’s short, you know? And we’re very blessed to be here and wake up every day.”

Nico could have been defensive in the face of criticism and failure, but he never was. Could have disappeared after defeats as some quarterbacks have, but he didn’t.

His mantra: “That’s on me, man.” Even when it wasn’t.

Despite everything, he was overly accountable, gracious under pressure, upbeat.

“Think about what he had to go through last year,” Chesney said. “He got the preseason, had a couple weeks with the guys, then he got into season, had a couple weeks with the guys, and then all hell broke loose, right?

UCLA offensive linemen Garrett Digiorgio, left, and Sam Yoon, right, help quarterback Nico Iamaleava up after he ran for extra yards against Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 4.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“To be able to stick with it and stay through that, you’re just probably trying to keep your head above water. And a lot of our conversations are about that, ‘Hey, this is different this time around.’”

Way different. Chesney has revamped UCLA’s roster with 40-plus transfers, including several key contributors from the JMU team that made the College Football Playoff.

And then there’s Nico, looking like everybody’s big brother at spring practices, smack-talking and celebrating the guys, as engaged as Chesney but easier to spot because his golden helmet glistens above everyone else’s.

“We did a leadership vote,” Chesney said, “and it was undeniable, [Nico] was the No. 1 vote on this entire team to be the leader. And I wanted to just share that with him and make sure he didn’t have to wonder, ‘Do these guys respect me?’ They do. And not only by the position you play, but by the way you play it. By the way you handle it off the field.”

By smiling through it all, even in the immediate aftermath of the Bruins’ loss to New Mexico, their third loss in as many weeks, when it looked like UCLA might not win all season.

“This is a game that as a little kid you loved to play,” Nico said that night. “A lot of [us] are treating this like a job. We gotta get back to having fun.”

And now that Nico and the new-look Bruins have that kite in the air, watch them run with it.

Adam Thomas has revealed David Haye reached out to him following his I’m A Celebrity win, but admits he fired back a blunt response as he opens up on his tough journey in camp

Days after the chaotic final, Adam Thomas has candidly opened up on his time in the I’m A Celebrity camp and explained exactly what went on between him and ex-boxer David Haye. The duo were embroiled in a bullying row on the ITV show and soap star Adam has now had his say.

The actor said he feels ‘dead inside and numb’ and claimed he wouldn’t have appeared on the show again even if he was paid ‘£10million’ , saying the ordeal has ‘eaten away at his soul.’ Adam said he felt the colour ‘drain from his face’ when Ant and Dec announced him as the winner as his worst nightmare came true.

While David is reportedly planning to sue the broadcaster for their portrayal of him in camp, Adam admits he believes the footage showed was the truth. He also revealed that David, who insists his alleged ‘bullying’ was nothing but ‘banter’ reached out to him over the weekend.

Speaking on his The Thomas Bro’s podcast with brothers Scott and Ryan Thomas, Adam said: Adam went on: “The most disturbing is that I look at David and even after the show and after everything he did, you know he sent me a voice note and was like ‘oh mate, what a great show that was. I’m so happy you won. Congratulations.'”

And he revealed the blunt message he sent his former campmate back. “I just sent him a message back just saying, you know ‘I think this is where we draw the line and I hope that you find happiness bro, but I’m done.'”

Adam said: “The relationship with me and David is even after the camp, even after he told me [out of camp] ‘you’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met and I just wanted to break you’, like, it’s cool. He apologised. I moved on.

“You know, we had voice messages back and forth and we’d just been bantering and having a laugh. I’d just put it all to bed. I think for David and some of the campmates that have come out and been on the live show and everything, I feel like it’s just a show for them. It’s entertainment. It’s fun. For me, it’s not about entertainment. I’m not playing a character or here for anyone else’s agenda. I’m just here to have a laugh and have fun and enjoy this experience.”

The actor said he felt he was “exploited” in the live show. “I think you can see at the end of it, I felt like I was just in the mist of it all and it wasn’t even about me.”

In camp, David was slammed for branding Adam “useless” after he declined to participate in a trial due to a medical condition. Meanwhile, Adam and Jimmy clashed when Jimmy withdrew from a trial, leaving Adam at risk of being sent home early.

Despite the show being filmed months in advance, things hadn’t eased between the trio. On Friday, as Adam was crowned, Haye reportedly goaded the star saying: “You’re not a worthy winner,” before Adam fumed: “This is bullying.”

Gemma Collins stuck up for Adam after his win, calling out David and Jimmy’s actions. Sharing a snap of the star wearing his crown, Gemma fumed: “What a show up!!! Absolutely disgusted with Jimmy and David’s behaviour, the biggest show up in TV history!!! What an embarrassment! To all the took part in the show it was a discredit to the production crew, cast, Ant and Dec biggest disrespect ever!

“Last night was meant to be a celebration instead it was very upsetting!! X Let’s hope Adam will find some energy to absorb his victory!”

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The Saturday soccer show, which looks ahead to the day’s games, is to end following a drop in ratings

Alex Scott has issued a statement after BBC bosses blew the final whistle on Football Focus after a run of 52 years. The presenter, 41, said: “I always knew this would be my last season on the show, which the BBC were aware of too. My intention was to move quietly into the next chapter, but sometimes things change.”

The show, hosted by Alex Scott, was first broadcast in 1974. The decision is said to be based on “changing audience behaviours”, with fans increasingly consuming football content in different ways.

She said: “To have been part of it has been incredibly special, and I’m so grateful and proud of the eight years I’ve been involved , including the five years I’ve had the honour of presenting it.

“It has been such an important part of my life, working with some of the very best people in the business, both on screen and behind the scenes. I’ve loved so much of it, the conversations, the laughter, and sharing so many big moments with you, the audience. Thank you for being part of it.”

It comes as the Corporation battles with its finances, with the BBC saying “it is appropriate to respond to this as difficult decisions are made around how the licence fee is spent”.

In an age of content creators and social media, many football fans are no longer tuning in to the BBC1 show.

But BBC Sport chiefs insisted the decision to end the show at the end of the current season was not a reflection on the performance of Scott, who took over in 2021 after Dan Walker’s 12-year stint.

Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport said: “Alex Scott is one of our finest presenters, is hugely popular across the men and women’s game and is a big part of our present and future.

“She will remain at the heart of our sports output across both the Men’s World Cup this year and the Women’s World Cup in 2027, as well as continuing her lead role on the Women’s Super League and BBC Sport Personality of the Year. We are also working on a very exciting new project with her – more to come on that soon.”

He added: “Football Focus has been a hugely important programme in the history of BBC Sport and has played a key role in telling the stories of the game for generations of viewers. This decision was made before last week’s wider BBC savings announcement, reflecting the continued shift in how audiences engage with football and our commitment to evolving how we deliver content to reach fans wherever they are.”

But Alex, who will be the last presenter of the long-running BBC stalwart, is said to have been left feeling “bruised” over the BBC’s inquests into its declining performance. The BBC has not published viewing figures but the audience had dropped off significantly from 849,000 in 2019 to 564,000 by 2023.

Walker predicted the end of the show back in 2023, when he said: “It’s hard to see Football Focus struggling… I hope it stays part of the TV landscape.”

VICTORIA Beckham has kicked off her early birthday celebrations with a lavish “girls” dinner in Miami after finally breaking her silence on her bitter feud with Brooklyn.

After her eldest son launched a scathing attack on the family with a bombshell Instagram statement back in January, the singer recently addressed the fallout for the first time.

Since speaking out on the “rift” between her family the fashion designer has been spotted letting loose at her early birthday celebrations.

Stunning Victoria took to her Instagram to show fans the incredible navy blue dress she decided to wear to the dinner.

Posing in the mirror of a huge dressing room, Victoria explained her dress of choice.

She said: “So I’m here in Miami and tonight I’m going out with my girlfriends for my birthday and I’ve got this amazing navy blue jersey dress which I love.

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“I love the waist detail here, which really brings the waist in making it look super super toned. It’s got a slit up the side as well… It is the perfect party dress for a night out with my girlfriends.”

Victoria, who turns 52 today, looked sizzling in the tight fitting dress as she showed off her toned physique.

The Spice Girls star had her hair styled in natural waves and her makeup was flawless, complete with a very subtle smoky eye.

She accessorised the chic outfit with some blue open toed stilettos, chunky diamond bracelets and an emerald ring.

Victoria and her closet gal pals sat down for a very bougie meal at Italian restaurant Casadonna.

For starters they had focaccia bread, followed by a choice of grilled octopus or a baby gem lettuce caesar salad.

And for their third and final course the girls had the option to pick between filet mignon, branzino or beef ragu bolognase.

Victoria’s daughter Harper, 14, was also present at the girls dinner as she was seen giving her mum a big hug.

The singer-turned-fashion-designer captioned the snap: “I love you so much @harperbeckham.”

Victoria appeared over the moon as Harper surprised her with a huge birthday cake, which was complete with regal white icing and a singular gold candle.

Earlier this week Victoria broke her silence on her long-running feud with her son, amateur chef Brooklyn, 26.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal magazine, Victoria did not refer to Brooklyn by name when asked about the rift but discussed how she had only ever tried to “protect and love our children”.

The Spice Girls star said: “I think that we’ve always—we love our children so much.

“We’ve always tried to be the best parents that we can be. And you know, we’ve been in the public eye for more than 30 years right now, and all we’ve ever tried to do is protect our children and love our children.

“And you know, that’s all I really want to say about it.”