“It doesn’t hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it’s a bit of a lazy criticism.
“It’s easy to blame the other players but he knows we do it together, trying to help each and every one of us to try to get out of this. Last year when things go well you don’t hear that at all. It is what it is.
“[Pundits] have to do that job. He has an opinion and we have to deal with it. There’s no hard feelings. I don’t take it personally.”
Liverpool are third in the Premier League and seven points behind leaders Arsenal heading into a two crucial games this week.
Slot’s side host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday before they visit Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
“I’ve heard the reports as well about [Slot] being under pressure, but I don’t think we play at a club that makes rash decisions,” added Van Dijk.
“We all felt that we can work our way out of this. It’s not a guarantee, but we can do it together. As long as we believe, stay humble and keep working, we can do it, and we all have that feeling.”
Duhan van der Merwe, for one, wants “to leave a legacy” as he prepares to earn his 50th cap versus the USA at Murrayfield on Saturday.
“There’s still a lot more to give. I wouldn’t say there’s something I want to achieve as an individual, but as a team, I probably want to look forward to this autumn nations and go and win all four games,” the Edinburgh wing said.
“Looking at the Six Nations, have a real go at that. We’ve been talking about that over the last couple of years. Hopefully, the day I retire, I’ll be able to say I’ve won a Six Nations.”
Things are looking brighter for Scotland heading into this campaign than they were for this year’s Six Nations, when a crippling injury list grew to such horrendous proportions that any chance of a title challenge was mortally wounded before the action even kicked off.
Sione Tuipulotu, Scott Cummings, Kyle Steyn and all the others have returned, with Huw Jones the only notable absentee for this autumn series.
The healthy Scottish representation on the summer British and Irish Lions tour – 12 Scots tasted action in Australia – should also inject some fresh confidence into the group.
For Van der Merwe, however, it was a mixed experience. Having played all three matches in the Test series in South Africa in 2021, he failed to break into Andy Farrell’s matchday squad for any of the three Tests against the Wallabies.
“It was obviously bittersweet,” the 30-year-old said.
“It was a really special tour to be involved in that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected in one of the Tests, but I’ll be taking it game by game just to try and be at my best for Scotland.
“I’m not going to particularly look at a single game and say, ‘you guys didn’t select me’ and I’m going to try and have my best game’. I’m just going to take it game by game to show what I can do as a player.”
Van der Merwe has shown exactly what he can do in a Scotland jersey since his Test debut against Georgia in 2020.
He delivered a taste of what was to come in his first Scotland outing with a try – and he has gone on to amass 32 of them in 49 caps to become the country’s record try-scorer.
Starting against the USA will give him a chance to extend that record – and an opportunity to enjoy a personal milestone that seemed unlikely when he started his rugby journey in Scotland five years ago.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “When I made my debut back five years ago, I never thought I’d be sitting here making my 50th. It’s just a very special moment for myself and my family.
“I came over as a pretty raw player back in 2017 to Edinburgh. So to be on the receiving side of a couple of walk-ins and a couple of lucky tries against England kind of just shows the hard work that I’ve put in over the last couple of years.
“There’s been a lot of special memories over the last five years. I’m not getting any younger, am I? I kind of have to make the most out of what I think I’ve got left. I’ve got so much more to give over the next couple of years.”
Rooney’s former club are also enjoying a resurgence, with a 4-2 win over Brighton making it three on the trot and lifting them up to sixth place – level on points with Manchester City and one clear of Liverpool.
Part of that success has been down to the form of forward Bryan Mbeumo, who has scored three of his five goals in the last two games.
Rooney admitted he was not convinced when United brought him to the club in the summer for £65m from Brentford, but said the 26-year-old Cameroon international is now living up to expectations.
“His energy, his work-rate, his desire, is what you need to be a United player. I did say that I was a little bit unsure, but I think what he’s shown is he belongs there,” added Rooney.
“He’s been consistent with his performances, I think that’s the main thing. If you’re consistently getting into the right positions, and getting chances, you will score 20 goals a season.”
Dutchman Gian van Veen shocked world number one Luke Humphries to win his first PDC title at the European Championship in Dortmund.
The 23-year-old beat countryman and four-time champion Michael van Gerwen 11-9 in the semi-finals before holding his nerve to come through a tense match with Humphries 11-10.
“I said it to my girlfriend when I walked on stage, whenever I win my first TV title I wouldn’t cry – and here I am crying,” Van Veen told ITV Sport.
“I will never forget this moment or even this crowd. It is phenomenal to win my first major in Germany.
“I said to Luke after the game, when he hit the bull to go 10-10, that is why he is world number one. That’s how amazing person Luke is. It is definitely a night to never forget.”
Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen was beaten by a fellow Dutchman in the first round of the World Grand Prix, but Luke Littler came through a high-quality opener.
Van Gerwen won a top-level tournament for the first time in two years by beating Littler in the World Series Finals in September, but on Tuesday he produced an error-strewn performance to lose 2-0 against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Although world number three Van Gerwen threw a stunning 171 in the first leg, he otherwise struggled and suffered first-round elimination for the second year running.
Littler, however, stormed into the second round in Leicester with an 11-minute straight-set win against another Dutchman, Gian van Veen.
Both players averaged over 100 in a superb first set as Littler came from behind to take it 3-2.
Despite Van Veen finishing with a 106.47 average – the highest average in tournament history – and Littler 105.58, it was the Briton who won through to continue his quest for a first World Grand Prix title.
“I am very happy. I don’t think I could have done a lot better there. I certainly played better than last year,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I said I would be fiery in my pre-match interview and I showed a bit of that. Hopefully this is my next major.”
Gerwyn Price defeated Ryan Searle 2-1, before Peter Wright lost to defending champion Mike de Decker by the same scoreline.
Ursula von der Leyen reacts after being re-elected as European Commission president during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on July 18, 2024. Russia is suspected of interfering with the GPS of a jet carrying her on Sunday. File Photo by Ronald Wittek/EPA-EFE
Sept. 1 (UPI) — Russia is suspected of interfering with the Global Positioning System of a jet carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union said Monday
She was in a chartered jet Sunday headed from Poland to southern Bulgaria as part of a tour of eastern EU countries, including “front line” states of Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Romania bordering Russia and Belarus. She was expected to discuss defense readiness as part of the tour.
Bulgaria borders Romania and is 1,000 miles from western Russia.
Despite no functional GPS, the plane landed safely at its intended airport in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, though pilots relied on paper maps, the Financial Times reported.
Von der Leyen, accompanied by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, visited an arms producer in Sopot.
Sopot, Bulgaria, VMZ ammunition factory.
Shells are produced here in large quantities.
Not only for Europe’s stockpile but also for Ukraine‘s defence.
1/3 of the weapons delivered to Ukraine at the start of the war came from Bulgaria.
“We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this was due to blatant interference by Russia,” Arianna Podesta, deputy spokesperson of the commission, said in a statement obtained by Politico.
“This incident underlines the urgency of the president’s current trip to frontline member states, where she has seen firsthand the everyday threats from Russia and its proxies.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Bulgaria’s information was “incorrect.”
Bulgaria’s government explained how the plane landed at the airport.
“Air Traffic Services immediately proposed an alternative landing approach using ground-based navigation aids [Instrument Landing System],” the Bulgarian government said in a news release. “The ground-based navigation aids used in Bulgaria are independent of GPS systems. We further clarify that there was no need to divert the flight.”
Without correct GPS information, there is a risk of colliding with other planes or unintentionally flying into the ground, water or other object.
“Threats and intimidation are a regular component of Russia’s hostile actions,” the European Commission said, adding they would “ramp up our defense capabilities and support for Ukraine.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, GPS jamming has worsened, Cyrille Rosay, a senior cybersecurity expert at the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, told the BBC.
The BBC reported no proven link has yet been established between Russia and GPS jamming.
Bulgaria, which was a satellite state in the Soviet Union with Russia until the collapse in 1989, has had a “noticeable increase” in GPS incidents, the nation’s Air Traffic Services Authority said.
In March 2024, a British air force plane carrying Defense Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russia’s Kaliningrad between Poland and Lithuania. Legitimate signals are replaced with fake ones, indicating an incorrect location.
“They have gone from isolated incidents to being normalized,” Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow at Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Program, told the BBC. “No one has been willing or able” to convince Moscow to stop an expanding “campaign of interference.”
Airlines operating around the Baltic coast in the last few years in three countries — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — have reported tens of thousands of jamming incidents.
The strawberry delivery driver was making his last drop-off in Little Tokyo, unloading nearly a dozen boxes onto the sidewalk outside the Japanese American National Museum.
Inside the building, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies were holding a news conference about a Democratic Party plan to fight back against President Trump’s efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives through redistricting in Texas.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios knew nothing of the powerful men’s clash as he stacked cardboard boxes filled with ripe, red fruit Thursday morning. He also didn’t know that dozens of Border Patrol agents were massing nearby.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios at his 48th birthday celebration this year.
(Courtesy of the family)
Minguela was caught between the two spectacles. His life was about to be upended.
In the days that followed, Newsom accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate the president’s political opponents by sending the immigration agents. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin has said the agents were “focused on enforcing the law” not on Newsom.
Newsom has since submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records from the administration about why agents arrived at the museum as he was announcing his latest skirmish with the president.
For Minguela, who has been in the country for close to a decade, that day felt a lot more personal. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and now faces deportation back to Mexico. Speaking from behind a plexiglass window at the “B-18” federal detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, Minguela stressed that he is not a criminal.
“One comes here to work, not commit crimes,” said Minguela, who wore the same red T-shirt and jeans he’d been arrested in four days prior.
When asked last week whether the person arrested outside the news conference had a criminal record, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency would share a criminal rap sheet when it was available. After four follow-up emails from a reporter, McLaughlin on Saturday said agents had arrested “two illegal aliens” in the vicinity of Newsom’s news conference — including “an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker.”
Asked twice to clarify whether the alleged gang member and narcotics trafficker were the same person, Homeland Security officials did not respond. But when presented with Minguela’s biographical information Monday, the department said he had been arrested because he overstayed his visa — a civil, not criminal, offense.
Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News on Aug. 15 that operations were based on intelligence about the alleged Tren de Aragua gang member. They arrested that man two blocks away from Newsom’s news conference.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios took this image of a federal agent looking at his identification outside the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 14.
(Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios)
Two law enforcement sources who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak with the media told The Times they had received word from federal authorities that Little Tokyo had been targeted because of its proximity to the Newsom event.
For those who know Minguela, it felt like mala suerte — bad luck.
As Martha Franco, one of Minguela’s employers, put it, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
::
Like every other weekday, Minguela rose before the sun to start his 2 a.m. delivery route Thursday. He had around eight places to hit.
He’d worked for the same produce company for around eight years and never missed a day.
That day, Minguela left his partner and their three children — ages 15, 12 and 7 — asleep in their home, hours before the kids would head off for their first day of school. His partner, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, had worked the night before as a cashier at a liquor store. She did not get off work until about 12:30 a.m. She brought him coffee as he started his day.
Shortly before 6 a.m., Minguela called his partner to wake her up so she could take the kids to school. Throughout the morning, they checked in with each other on how the day was progressing.
She called to warn him about immigration agents at Slauson and Miles avenues in Huntington Park. Over the last couple of months, as immigration raids became a part of daily life, the couple’s world had slowly shrunk.
Minguela had overstayed a tourist visa after fleeing the Mexican state of Coahuila in 2015 because of violence he faced there, his partner said. She said he had worked servicing ATMs there, was kidnapped twice and at one point was stabbed by people intent on stealing the money. After his employers cut staff, she said, he lost his job, helping drive his decision to leave.
Because he was undocumented, he rarely went out, leaving the house only for work and errands. Minguela began wondering whether it was even safe for him to pick up the kids from school, his partner said. He planned ahead, made copies of his keys and left money for his family in the event that he was grabbed by immigration agents.
That morning, he reassured his partner he was fine. He was heading to his last stop at a tea room in Little Tokyo.
“Ten mucho cuidado,” his partner told him.
Be very careful.
::
The Border Patrol agents descended on 1st Street in Little Tokyo about 11:30 a.m., just as Newsom’s news conference got underway.
They were decked out in camouflage and helmets, their faces obscured by black masks. One wore an American flag neck gaiter. They were armed, some with AR-15-style weapons.
Nearby, Minguela was busy unloading several boxes of strawberries and a box of apples. He didn’t notice the agents until they were close behind him. Then, he ducked back inside the van.
A video shared with The Times shows at least eight Border Patrol agents as they passed the van, its side door wide-open. They did not stop. Then, one appeared to double back and peek inside.
Minguela said he feels he was targeted based on his physical appearance.
When the agent began asking him questions, Minguela said he pulled a red “know your rights” card out of his wallet and handed it to the agent.
“This is of no use to me,” he said the agent told him. Another agent soon joined them.
Minguela told them he didn’t have to talk. But they kept asking questions, he said. What was his nationality? What was his name? Did he have papers?
“They demanded I show them some kind of identification,” he said. “Insisting, insisting.”
The agents were armed, and Minguela said he grew scared. Believing he had no choice, Minguela said, he gave one of the agents his California driver’s license.
Minguela tried to call his partner twice, but she was at a doctor’s appointment and couldn’t answer. At 11:22 a.m., he sent her three WhatsApp messages:
“Amor ya me agarró la migra..no te preocupes.”
“Todo va a estar bien.”
“Diosito nos va a ayudar mucho.”
Federal agents produced a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum, where Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding a redistricting news conference on Aug. 14.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Immigration had gotten him, he said, but everything would be fine. God would help them, he assured her.
Minguela sent her a picture of an agent holding his license and seemingly plugging the information from it into a phone. Then, the agent arrested him.
Video captured Minguela, hands cuffed behind his back, as the agent linked an arm through his. He walked Minguela away from the van, toward Bovino.
After conferring with colleagues, the agent walked Minguela back toward his delivery van. Bovino patted the agent on the back and said, “Well done.”
At about the same time, one of Minguela’s employers, Isaias Franco, received a call from Little Tokyo warning him about the immigration activity. He immediately called Minguela, whose cell number is saved in his phone under “paisa,” countryman. Both hail from the Mexican city of Torreón.
No answer.
Franco texted him, trying to tell him what was unfolding.
By that time, though, Minguela was already in handcuffs.
::
Hours before visitation began at the detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, families began lining up along a driveway where “B-18” was stamped in black on a concrete wall.
Someone had scrawled on the ground in chalk: “Abolish ICE” and “Viva La Raza.” Another message read, “Civil disobedience becomes a duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”
By 11:30 a.m., 18 people were waiting for visitation to start at 1 p.m. In less than an hour, that number had ballooned to 33.
Three siblings there to visit their uncle who had been arrested at a car wash in Long Beach the day before. A woman whose uncle was taken from a Home Depot in Pasadena. Two sisters whose loved one had been arrested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in.
They carried bags of medication and sweaters for detained loved ones, because they’d heard it was cold inside. Each person hoped to get in before visitation ended at 4 p.m., although it seemed increasingly unlikely for those at the back of the line.
Martha and Isaias, Minguela’s employers, were among the hopeful. It was their third attempt to see him. The day of Minguela’s arrest, they got there too late.
The next day, they arrived earlier and were in luck. On the advice of others in line, they brought a jacket to keep Minguela warm.
In the years they’ve employed Minguela, they’ve only ever seen his serious, professional side. But during the five minutes they got to visit with him Friday, he spent most of it in tears, hardly able to speak.
The couple assured him they would help however they could.
They returned on Monday, this time bringing a blue Ralph Lauren shirt and a pair of black New Balance socks so he could change clothing. Isaias and the couple’s son, Carlos, had both come, despite starting their workday at 2 a.m.
“We’re going to be with him until the end,” Martha said. “He’s part of our family. He’s one of us.”
As the hours wore on, people in line squatted or sat on the concrete to rest their aching legs. Martha flitted around, advising people to bring sweaters for loved ones and letting them know the officers allowed in only one item of clothing for each detained person.
By the start of visitation, 44 people were in line. Martha was No. 19. Families exited red-eyed, tears dripping down their cheeks after getting only a few minutes with their loved ones.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios several years ago, with his son.
(Courtesy of the family)
About 3 p.m., after waiting three and a half hours, the Francos handed the officer their passports and identification, before finally making it inside. They had to turn off their phones. They could give Minguela only the T-shirt. The officer said no to the socks, a prohibited second item of clothing.
Minguela beamed when he saw the Francos, who greeted him through the plexiglass window. He was trying to maintain his spirits, but said he felt “impotente.” Powerless.
The Francos told him not to sign anything.
“Vamos a estar con usted,” Isaias told Minguela, letting him know they would be with him. He and Carlos fist bumped Minguela through the Plexiglass.
“Échale ganas,” Isaias added, keep going.
::
Minguela’s children have hardly stopped crying since his arrest.
During the eight years he and his partner have been together, he’s helped raise her two children and their 7-year-old son, who is autistic.
Minguela’s lawyer, Alex Galvez, said the hope is that his client will be released on bond, as he initially entered the country lawfully and is the primary breadwinner for the family. The lawyer said he believes Minguela was arrested in defiance of a federal judge’s order that immigration authorities cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.
“It was a political opportunity. He was one of the two guys picked up right during Newsom’s press conference,” Galvez said. “They had to show something for it.”
Just days before his arrest, Minguela’s family had celebrated his 48th birthday. His partner made him his favorite dish, shrimp ceviche.
Her birthday was Tuesday. The family had planned to go on a rare outing for a dinner of enchiladas de mole.
But they spent the day without him. There was no celebration.
The children asked their mother, as they have every day for nearly a week: When is papá coming home?
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
Players from six Valley League football schools came to Granada Hills Kennedy High on Monday for a media day, and you can say without any doubts that Van Nuys senior quarterback Carlos Herrera has been changed by his experiences.
When he decided to try football for the first time as a freshman, he said he knew little about the sport such as putting on shoulder pads. By last season, he was the City Section Division III offensive player of the year after passing for 2,158 yards and 23 touchdowns and running for 807 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“It never crossed my mind,” he said of his football success. “It’s changed my life physically and mentally. It helps me mentally. When I go into the real world, nothing will be as tough a challenge.”
Cousins Diego Montes (left) and James Montes of Kennedy.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Defending league champion Kennedy has the Montes cousins, quarterback Diego Montes and defensive lineman James Montes. Diego has a 4.6 grade point-average, made All-City and is known for his versatility.
“Every time I try to sack him, he runs away,” James said.
Kennedy lineman Lazara Barajas has made big changes physically.
Last season he weighed 298 pounds. Now he’s 262 pounds after he stopped eating chips and used better cardio techniques to drop weight.
First-year Reseda coach Ed Breceda is a Reseda grad and former Regent assistant.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
First-year Reseda coach Ed Breceda, who graduated from the school in 2006 and was an assistant coach under former head coach Alonso Arreola, is going back even further, bringing back smash-mouth football from the days of coach Joel Schaeffer. He brought three running backs to the media day — Innis Marquez, Erick Figueroa and Jonathan Orantes.
Many of Reseda’s players are enrolled in the school’s police magnet program. Orantes also is part of the school’s cheer team.
Canoga Park coach Lucius Mills has spent months trying to convince one of his school’s top soccer players, Gabriel Trigueros Estrada, to join the football team. He finally arrived this summer and is showing promise as a senior safety with no football experience. Mills is hoping if Estrada has a good experience, other soccer players will follow in future years.
San Fernando coach Charles Burnley played for the Tigers and is always reminding his players about their strong football tradition. San Fernando produced a Heisman Trophy winner, Charles White.
The Tigers have been strengthened by two transfers from Heritage Christian, quarterback Julian Zarzo and running back Brandon Marshall. But the player to watch could be 6-foot-4, 290-pound junior tackle Paul Villegas.
San Fernando 6-4, 290-pound junior Paul Villegas.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Only 16 years old and part Samoan, he’s gaining physicality and adding strength. And what about his eating skills?
“What didn’t I eat,” he said.
San Fernando plays Sylmar at the Coliseum on Oct. 17.
Brothers Rayleo (left) and Elizeo Reyes of Sylmar might be small in stature but they play with heart and toughness.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Brothers Rayleo and Elizeo Reyes are key players for Sylmar as defensive backs. Never doubt their toughness, for Rayleo is a 5-6, 150-pound senior and Elizeo is a 5-5, 149-pound junior.
“We like to fly around and hit people,” Rayleo said.
Both can’t wait to play at the Coliseum. “I’ve always been a USC fan,” Elizeo said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Panorama is excited about sophomore safety Brandon Hernandez, who ended up starting as a 14-year-old freshman last season.
Asked how do you get someone so young ready to play on varsity, coach Adrian Beltran said, “You make them be best friends with the linemen. He hung out with them at lunch, after school.”
The first Ford Transit was built at Langley, Berks, an old Hawker Hurricane factory, on August 9, 1965. It cost £542 and had a 610g payload
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If the Pepsi van was not spectacular enough from the outside, the interior featured a mirrored cocktail bar with luxury seats and disco lights. It was the 70s, man
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Wills and Kate had a transit on Anglesey to avoid getting spotted
But when it comes to vehicles, it’s not even a debate.
Greatest Of All Transit.
The humble Ford Transit has been Britain’s best-selling van since day one – August 9, 1965.
That’s like Liverpool winning the Prem for 60 years on the bounce. Everyone else might as well give up and go home.
To celebrate Transit’s 60th, we’ve peppered today’s column with quirky facts, as well as hearing from owners with a cherished van from each decade.
Ford’s famous Backbone Of Britain telly ad from the Eighties was genius marketing. Yet also 100 per cent true. Transit keeps this country ticking.
Everything we see and touch was transported in a van.
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Every rock band travelled to gigs in a van, here’s Slade with their Transit
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Two baby elephants once hitched a ride at London’s Regent’s Park Zoo
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Boxing legend Henry Cooper drove a Transit pick-up, delivering fruit and veg
One reason Transit is successful is that Ford engineers sit with owners to find ways of making the next model even more useful.
Like the bloke who shoved a lump of wood through the bottom of the steering wheel to make a lunch table.
The latest Transit Custom has a tilt-up steering wheel with a tray for his quinoa tuna salad. Bosh.
Ford’s insane V8 1971 Transit Supervan
Retired builder Peter Lee, founder of the Transit Van Club, said: “Transit is like a forklift with two doors.
“Built to work. They’re good honest vans that will do the job.”
The OG and still the best. 3 MILLION UK sales and counting. Always available in white.
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Even Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was built on a Transit chassis
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Dinky produced 104 toy vans with 1,000,000 Transit stickers on the sides for factory execs
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Capital Radio circled the new M25 for seven days and nights in 1986
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A stuntman jumped over 15 cars in a Transit in 1985 to raise money for cancer research
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Gamers can drive an Mk1 Transit in Forza Horizon 4
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Today’s Transit can power your work tools and lights
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A 15-metre, 1.5-ton Cetiosaurus was driven from Kent to Scotland on a Transit
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The Monster Transit was mounted on axles from a US military vehicle
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Supervan 4.2 won Goodwood’s 2024 King of the Hill shootout against some pretty senior race cars
FORD TRANSIT FACTS
Ford took £33million of orders before production had even started
The Transit is nudging 3 million UK sales and 13 million worldwide
The largest 2t Transit can swallow 236,000 ping pong balls
There are 1,300 variations of the 2t Transit – before picking a colour
Luke Littler survived a real scare before fighting back to beat Jermaine Wattimena 13-11 in a thriller to reach the World Matchplay quarter-finals in Blackpool, but three-time champion Michael van Gerwen is out after defeat to Josh Rock.
World champion Littler looked out of sorts at Winter Gardens as he slipped 4-0 and then 7-2 behind against Dutchman Wattimena.
After pulling one leg back immediately before the second break, a clearly fired up Littler let out a roar of delight and gestured to the crowd that he was not going home just yet.
Littler returned from the break reinvigorated, winning six legs in a row, but Wattimena rediscovered his composure and the two players traded blows to send the game to a tie break
Littler missed two match darts as the nerves began to show, but after making the third he once again roared in celebration and pointed to the star on his shirt, which signifies his World Championship victory.
“When I pointed to the star on my shirt, I’m a world champion for a reason, I find these gears when I need it,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“I’ve not felt pressure like that since the first round of the World Championship. I was a bit nervous and it’s on to my third game here, I’ve won two of them.
“I want to get back on stage and right now I can’t wait to be in the quarter-final.”
Van Gerwen made a flying start against Northern Ireland’s Rock, taking the opening leg with a 150 checkout before surging into a 5-1 lead.
Rock narrowed the game to 6-4 at the second break only for Van Gerwen to move into a 9-6 lead and seemingly on the brink of victory.
But Rock fought back again and the momentum to swung in his favour when a superb 152 checkout cut Van Gerwen’s lead down to one, before winning the next two legs to take the lead for the first time.
Van Gerwen needed a 138 checkout to stay in the game and make it 10-10, but Rock held his nerve in a tense tie break.
“I kept my emotions, I think, throughout the game. I don’t know what was going on but I got into the game at the end,” he told Sky Sports.
“One of the most dramatic, my heart was pumping throughout the whole game. The stress has finally gone. What a game.”
Gerwyn Price stormed into the quarter-finals with an 11-3 thrashing of England’s Chris Dobey,
Welshman Price, who was involved in an angry confrontation with Daryl Gurney in the previous round, averaged 108.7, hit eight 180s and had a 146 checkout in a dominant performance.
“It was fantastic. In the middle part of the game I felt like I couldn’t miss,” he told Sky Sports. “I put Chris under a lot of pressure. I think he still played pretty decent in patches.
“I think early on we were both flying and I was just pipping him on a couple of legs, probably disheartened him a little bit. It’s a good game for me.”
Andrew Gilding set up a meeting with Littler after the former UK Open champion beat Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode 11-5 to reach the last eight of the World Matchplay for the second successive year.
World number one and defending champion Luke Humphries suffered a shock defeat in the opening round of the World Matchplay in Blackpool.
Humphries lost 10-8 to world youth champion Gian van Veen at the Winter Gardens with the 23-year-old Dutchman describing it as “the biggest win of my career”.
Humphries, who lifted the title 12 months ago after beating Michael van Gerwen, had been aiming to become just the fourth player to win back-to-back titles.
But Van Veen, who had six match darts before being beaten in a sudden-death leg on his debut last year by Rob Cross, started strongly, winning the opening two legs of the best-of-19-leg encounter.
And although Humphries took the next three, the 30-year-old struggled with his doubles throughout.
Van Veen edged 5-3 ahead only for Humphries to hit back again and go 7-6 up but a tense 15th leg won by Van Veen saw him take a key 8-7 advantage and, despite seeing a couple of match darts come and go in leg 17 to bring back memories of 12 months ago, he sealed the win in the next leg.
“To beat such a phenomenal player like Luke, I am over the moon,” Van Veen told Sky Sports. “He is a great champion and a great guy.
“At 6-6 and 7-7, I felt the pressure but I was happy I could keep up. Luke missed some chances but I took mine and it means so much.”
Van Veen’s reward is a meeting with compatriot Danny Noppert, who had a comfortable 10-2 win over Scottish debutant Cameron Menzies.
Earlier, former champion James Wade came through 10-3 against Joe Cullen.
The majority of Andy Farrell’s Test squad is more or less settled, but there were some guys out there playing for big stakes.
Hugo Keenan needed a reassuring display at full-back given that Blair Kinghorn will miss the first Test in Brisbane. And he delivered. Jac Morgan was competing for the open-side jersey that’s flitted between himself, Josh van der Flier and Tom Curry. Morgan was influential.
With the news coming through about Ringrose, Huw Jones picked a good night to have a big game. His partnership with Sione Tuipulotu was convincing.
By the time Farrell entered the fray the game was over as a contest, but he looked good all the same, although there are bigger examinations to come, of course.
After so many slow starts, the Lions must have craved a fast one – and they made it happen.
Hansen was good in the air, Morgan was good on the floor and Keenan was particularly good when taking a quick line-out throw that was at the heart of the first try, the brilliant Jones giving the pass for Van der Merwe to score.
Within a blink of an eye, White had taken advantage of a giant amount of space at the side of a ruck and he ran away to the posts. Smith’s conversion made it 12-0. The high hopes some might have had for the AUNZ side started to disappear into the night sky above the Adelaide Oval at that point.
The Lions were slick and sharp, the best they’ve been on tour. Ruthless, too. Pollock might have been held up in the corner, but it didn’t really matter. Soon enough, Tuipulotu and Smith were putting Van der Merwe away for the big man’s second try of the night.
More good stuff from Jones and more reminders of what a world-class attacker he is. If the Lions get bad news on Ringrose then what a player they have in Jones, who’s been getting better and better since returning from injury.
Dick Van Dyke was reportedly under the weather Saturday and couldn’t host his recurring Vandy Camp fan event with his wife at the couple’s namesake theater at Malibu High School.
Introducing herself as “not the Van Dyke you were expecting,” Arlene Silver explained, via People, that “when you’re 99½ years old, you have good days and bad days … and unfortunately, today is not a good day for him.”
Van Dyke and makeup artist Silver, who married in 2012 when he was 86 and she was 40, usually helm the celebrations together, along with their musical group the Vantastix.
Silver told the audience that she had to wear her “big girl pants and hold the reins without Dick here as the safety net.”
Fans were disappointed but undaunted as the show — described by Silver as a “whimsical, vintage circus” — did go on.
“All of the people at the event were so kind and amazing. Many had flown in from around the world and country. I did fly in from the Bay Area,” one fan, Christy Vaca, wrote on Saturday night on Facebook. “It turned into everyone sending amazing messages to Dick Van [Dyke] who was watching at home. He means so much to us all.
“It was really Heartbreaking.”
Last time we checked in with the “Mary Poppins” star, he was being rescued by neighbors during the Franklin fire, which started in Malibu in early December 2024 and burned for nine days.
“I’m out there laying on the ground trying to undo this fire hose, and the fire’s coming over the hill,” Van Dyke said a few days after the fire started. “What I did was exhaust myself. I forgot how old I am, and I realized I was crawling to get out.”
Neighbors managed to get the beloved entertainer, wife Silver and a number of their pets into a vehicle and out of danger, he said. Cat Bobo was missing, but he turned up when they returned home the next day. Thousands of people had to evacuate.
The neighbors “carried me out,” he said, “and came back and put out a little fire in the guesthouse and saved me.” Van Dyke’s home was spared. Twenty structures were destroyed and 28 were damaged in the fire, according to Cal Fire.
The Van Dykes did not evacuate a month later during the tremendously destructive Palisades fire, Silver said on social media in January.
“Keeping Dick warm and entertained has been the two things that have been my top priority, so, you know, we don’t have power […] or regular electricity, so we don’t have Wi-Fi,” she said, via Page Six. At the time of her Instagram live, they were cooking and charging their devices courtesy of her small camper-trailer.
“I don’t know of any other person of, you know, senior citizen age that would put up with this,” she added, calling her husband a “trouper.”
BBC Radio Leicester’s Foxes commentator Owynn Palmer-Atkin:
The agreement between Leicester City and Ruud van Nistelrooy to terminate his deal at the club should not come as a surprise to many.
This always felt like a case of when, not if.
Relegation from the Premier League, five wins from 27 games in all competitions and record runs without a goal at home – it doesn’t scream success for the Dutchman.
However, the timing and behaviour around the decision have to be questioned at the very highest level.
It’s been over a month since the end of the season and double that since relegation back to the Championship was confirmed. In every press conference, Van Nistelrooy told the media that no conversations about his future had started. I think he knew his fate.
But that does not make it acceptable.
Fans have a right to question the timing, too. Leicester City are clearly grappling with financial issues; they may well have been waiting for the new Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) financial year on July 1.
But the agreement underpinning this agreement can always have a date in July. Which begs the question, why was this decision not made earlier? The fans deserve an explanation for that.
This is another critical moment for the club. The search for a fourth manager in 12 months, the pre-season beginning on Monday and the Championship opener six weeks from this weekend.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen argues that the Trump has made his administration ‘a junior partner’ to Netanyahu.
US President Donald Trump has made his administration “a subcontractor, a junior partner” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s objectives in the Middle East, argues Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
As the president mulls further involvement in Israel’s attack on Iran, Senator Van Hollen tells host Steve Clemons that “This notion that you can just drop a few big bombs and be done with it misunderstands history, because there is a real risk that the United States will get dragged deeper and deeper into this war.”
Van Hollen also criticised the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as “death traps” for Palestinians.
FLORIAN WIRTZ will reportedly pocket a mammoth salary at Liverpool.
The Reds agreed a record Premier League fee for the Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder earlier this week.
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Liverpool are on the brink of announcing Florian Wirtz as their record signingCredit: GETTY
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The Reds have struck an £116.5million deal for the Germany international with Bayer LeverkusenCredit: GETTY
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The 22-year-old is set to become one of the Reds’ highest-earnersCredit: REX
The Merseysiders will pay the 2023/24 Bundesliga champions a whopping £116.5MILION for the 22-year-old.
Liverpool have fended off the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid to land Wirtz, who has reportedly been handed a mammoth five-year contract.
And according to Sky Sports, the German will pocket a whopping £245,000 a week during his Anfield stay.
That works out to a whopping £12.7m a year, a fee which is nearly TWELVE TIMES what he currently earns at the BayArena.
A whooping £10.2m of that figure is guaranteed for the attacking midfielder, who will pocket the remaining £2.5m if individual and team performance targets are met.
Wirtz’s salary will make him the THIRD HIGHEST-PAID player at Anfield ahead of Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac-Allister, Allisson, Ryan Gravenberch, Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.
Only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who both inked new one-year deals with the Prem champions last season, will earn more than him.
Egyptian Wizard Salah currently takes home a staggering £400,000 a week, which works out to be a jaw-dropping £20,800,000.
