Month: July 2019

The former Reds centre-back feels the Brazil international would offer the Reds something different as they look to overhaul Manchester City

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has revealed he would love to see Philippe Coutinho rejoin the ranks at Anfield.

The Brazil international midfielder left the Reds for Barcelona in January 2018 for £142 million ($201m) but he has failed to settle at Camp Nou and is rumoured to be on the market this summer as Barca potentially try to fund a move for Neymar.

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Carragher, who now works as a pundit, said Coutinho would offer the Reds a different option as a creative midfielder.

“I still think they could add a creative player,” Carragher told Pundit Arena.

“I said it before, I’d love to see Liverpool bring back Coutinho if that was possible in any way. Obviously, it hasn’t worked out for him at Barcelona. I just think he would be a great addition.

“You’ve got [Adam] Lallana and [Xherdan] Shaqiri in those positions, but they’re not Coutinho. He would give something that they don’t have compared to [Manchester] City.”

The Premier League title went to City last season despite Liverpool amassing 97 points, and only losing once all season against the champions in January.

And Carragher acknowledges that catching City is going to be a hard task for his former team.

“I mean, only losing one league game was a phenomenal achievement,” he continued.

“Ninety-seven points was a phenomenal achievement. So, in some ways, if Liverpool got 90 points, I don’t think they’ve gone backwards, because it’s so difficult to do again.

“But they’ve got to hope that City come back as well, a little bit.”

Liverpool did lift the Champions League trophy last season, something Carragher also achieved in a career that saw him appear 508 times for the Merseysiders, across 17 years.

The native Liverpudlian thinks the team is in their best position for three decades, and finally have the financial muscle to compete with the big clubs in the Premier League.

“Now, everyone has so much confidence in the club,” the 41-year-old added. “They know exactly what they’re doing.

“The other era was Gerard Houllier, but you never felt we could really compete with [Manchester] United at that time.

“Right now, it just feels like Liverpool, if they need to spend big, they can. They’ve got one of the top managers around, a great squad, the stadium now, the stand.

“It’s probably the best place Liverpool have been in over 30 years.”

The former Barcelona defender has until Friday to respond to the charge, which is thought to concern him appearing in a gambling advert in Colombia

Everton defender Yerry Mina has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association for a violation of the organisation’s betting regulations.

The Colombia international appeared in an advert for Betjuego in his home country, which has reportedly led to the charge.

Mina has until Friday, July 26 to respond to the charge, which could see him fined, or even suspended by English football’s governing body.

“Everton FC’s Yerry Mina has been charged with misconduct in relation to the FA’s Betting rules,” said an official statement.

“It is alleged that the defender breached FA Rule E8 (3) by participating in an advertisement for betting activity which he is prohibited from engaging in.

“He has until Friday (26/07/2019) to provide a response.”

Out-of-contract former Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge was fined £75,000 and suspended for six weeks by an independent regulatory body appointed by the FA last week for violating a different part of the betting rules.

A similar body is expected to decide on Mina’s case, with the nature of his plea thought to be a factor in any sanction.

The rule Mina is alleged to have broken says: “An individual participant, when acting in a personal capacity, shall not be permitted to advertise or promote any betting activity that the participant is prohibited from engaging in by Rule E8(1) or E8(2).”

The 24-year-old central defender had a difficult start to life on Merseyside last year after joining from Barcelona on the back of some star performances at the 2018 World Cup, where he scored three times.

He made just 13 appearances for the Toffees in the Premier League last term, adding two more in the FA Cup, having cost the club £28 million ($35m).

Despite his slow start, Mina is expected to have a greater impact at Goodison Park next season, especially if the club fail in their ambition to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea.

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Zouma impressed on-loan last year, but the London club are unwilling to send him to Everton permanently in the light of their transfer ban.

Another defensive option, former club captain Phil Jagielka, has left the club this summer after his contract expired and re-joined Sheffield United.

The 24-year-old, who spent temporary spells with Leeds and Reading last season, heads to the Bundesliga outfit for the 2019-20 campaign

Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker has joined Fortuna Dusseldorf on a season-long loan, joining Ethan Ampadu as the latest face deemed surplus to requirements under new manager Frank Lampard.

The 24-year-old spent the 2018-19 campaign away from Stamford Bridge with two different temporary spells, spending time in the Championship with both Leeds and Reading.

The Blues are currently contending with a transfer ban, leaving Lampard, who succeeded Maurizio Sarri in the hot seat at the London club following the Italian’s exit, with limited options in his first season in charge.

The former Derby boss has fielded a number of youngsters during pre-season so far, including former Rams loanee Mason Mount, but Baker has only made one limited appearance.

Now, he will spend the 2019-20 year away in the Bundesliga with Dusseldorf , who impressed last season in their first campaign back in the top flight following promotion, achieving a 10th-place finish.

“I am very happy that it has finally worked out after the negotiations in recent days,” Baker stated.

“I cannot wait to join my new team and meet everyone. It will be an exciting challenge for me to play in the Bundesliga. For me, the Bundesliga is one of the top leagues in the world.”

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An England youth international, Baker was a member of the squad that won the Toulon Tournament in 2016, where he won the Golden Boot.

However, he has been unable to force his way into the reckoning of a succession of Chelsea managers, making a lone FA Cup appearance under Jose Mourinho in 2014 and failing to feature in a competetive game for Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri among others.

Subsequently, he has spent time with half-a-dozen other sides, including Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons and Middlesbrough, along with a two-year spell with Eredivisie club Vitesse, the latter of which he won the KVNB Cup with.

He will face off against fellow Blues team-mate and Wales international Ampadu, who has agreed a temporary switch to RB Leipzig for the year too.

Chelsea face a trip to Manchester United in the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, following which they meet Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup.

English club’s disdain for fans and media all too apparent during farcical China tour

NANJING, Jiangsu province – It was a muggy Wednesday in Nanjing. Manchester City had just strolled to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League Asia Trophy.

Backstage, a gaggle of excited Chinese supporters waited patiently for legendary City manager Pep Guardiola to make his way to the team bus. Suddenly, there were cries of “Pep! Pep! Pep!” and “Over here, gaffer!”

Flanked by two security guards, Guardiola approached and the fans’ calls grew louder and more frantic, for this might be the only opportunity they get to meet their hero.

As Guardiola drew level with the cheering supporters, the excitement reached fever pitch – then suddenly died. Without breaking stride and with eyes fixed straight ahead, the Spaniard walked on, shielded by his two heavies.

Taken alone as a one-off occurrence, it might have been excusable, perhaps being due to jetlag or a packed schedule. But unfortunately for Chinese fans and local media here, it proved to be just one of many examples of the utter disrespect shown by Manchester City to its hosts.

The Premier League champion’s appearance in China was nothing more than a commercial obligation, and its lack of enthusiasm and indifference stood in stark contrast to the preseason tournament’s other teams.

For Wolverhampton Wanderers, for example, fan interaction was paramount, with players and coaches doing everything they could to engage and show them a more personal side to the club.

The tournament’s other two teams, Newcastle United and West Ham, sent some of their stars to help out at an under-12 soccer tournament in Nanjing on Tuesday, surely an experience the youngsters won’t soon forget.

In contrast, City CEO Ferran Soriano gave a presentation entitled “City Football Group: Creating a Truly Global Football Footprint”, which focused on how the club could best commercially expand in China and look to relieve Chinese fans of their money.

Despite autograph signing sessions for exclusive VIP ticket holders – which come at a premium – the reality of City’s time in Shanghai and Nanjing seems a long way from the promises of “hosting exciting events and welcoming local fans to our matches”, made by COO Omar Berrada back in March.

In addition, the City press operation has been woefully lacking. The club sent neither its director of communications nor its lead press officer to China, instead wheeling out a junior member of staff who arrived embarrassingly underprepared for the task at hand.

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The result has been that Chinese media were ignored and sidelined during the duration of the trip, with City only fulfilling contractual obligations, and doing so less than enthusiastically.

PP Sports, the Chinese media partner of the tour, was granted less than five minutes of a pitch-side interview with Guardiola, whereas British TV partners received a 15-minute sit-down session.

On top of that, Chinese media found themselves excluded from a number of other events. Following the final pre-match news conference on Friday, British media were invited to sit down with new signing Rodri, whereas Chinese media were ushered onto a bus.

This discrimination was highlighted further at a Puma event in Shanghai on Friday, when Chinese journalists were segregated from foreign counterparts.

TEHERAN – Iranian authorities said on Monday that security agencies had arrested 17 suspects and sentenced some of them to death after dismantling a CIA spy ring in a case announced last month.

The agencies “successfully dismantled a (CIA) spy network”, the head of counterintelligence at the Iranian intelligence ministry, whose identity was not revealed, told reporters in Teheran. “Those who deliberately betrayed the country were handed to the judiciary, … some were sentenced to death and some to long-term imprisonment.”

The announcement came as Iran-US tensions soar after the United States withdrew unilaterally from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

The suspects had been “employed at sensitive and crucial centers and also the private sector related to them, working as contractors or consultants”, said the official.

Seventeen suspects had been identified, all of them Iranians who had acted independently of each other, he said.

Some of them had been recruited by falling into a “visa trap” set by the US Central Intelligence Agency for Iranians seeking to travel to the US.

“Some were approached when they were applying for a visa, while others had visas from before and were pressured by the CIA in order to renew them,” said the official.

Iran said last month that it dismantled a spy network linked to the CIA.

“Following clues in the American intelligence services, we recently found the new recruits Americans had hired and dismantled a new network,” Iranian state news agency IRNA reported at the time, quoting an intelligence ministry official.

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IRNA said the Islamic republic had carried out the operation in cooperation with “foreign allies”, without naming any state.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled to chair an emergency security session on Monday to discuss how to respond to Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is also expected to brief Parliament on the Friday seizure of the Stena Impero tanker, now in a heavily guarded Iranian port.

Britain is considering several options to raise the economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran, but officials said military operations are not being considered at the moment. Britain is also seeking support from key European allies in an effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.

Agencies

It is not a surprise that KFC’s latest product innovation is chicken-related. But a bucket full of spicy chicken offal for night snack deliveries has shocked Chinese consumers.

The feedback was explosive. Photos of the KFC kebab spicy dipping sauce have gone viral on the internet.

On July 15, KFC started to sell late night treats including spicy kebabs and stewed fowl, traditional late night treats in southern China. The kebab bucket has cooked chicken heart, chicken stomach, agaric and bean curd and aorta of livestock.

The stewed category has stewed chicken wings, chicken heart, chicken stomach and chicken pieces.

The products were available on KFC’s mobile application, priced at 59 yuan ($8.5) for 12 pieces of kebabs and 39 yuan for the stewed fowl.

Though KFC and McDonald’s have previously experimented with including Chinese food on their menus such as porridge and fried twisted cruller, it is the first time that foreign fast food chains have put offal products on their menus.

Consumers in Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing, Harbin and Shenyang can buy the products currently. Beijing is not included in the list.

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“It is an attempt by KFC to localize its offerings especially for late nights in summer,” said Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel. “By doing so it can appeal to younger consumers.”

The two offerings are also considered easier for quality control and taste.

According to reports from the Ministry of Commerce, about 60 percent of dining consumption occurs at night. More than six out of 10 Chinese consumers have gone for food at night at least once, and the night food delivery market’s growth has been much higher than others, according to data from the China Dining Association.

Foreign companies in China have faced fierce pressure from local players, pushing them to roll out more localized products at a faster speed. For example, Skittles – a brand from US chocolate major Mars – has launched jasmine and rose flavored candies to attract local consumers. Nestle’s local research team launched a series of new instant coffee products with three flavors – peach, pineapple and green apple – to attract younger Chinese consumers.

According to the latest China Shopper Report from Bain & Company and Kantar Worldpanel in June, Chinese brands grew by 15 percent since 2016, contributing 76 percent of market growth in 2018.By comparison, foreign brands grew more slowly – by 9 percent since 2016 – and contributed 24 percent to last year’s market growth.

The encouraging news for foreign brands is that despite being outpaced by domestic companies, the 24 percent growth in market share is actually double the rate in 2017.Foreign brands are learning what it takes to win in China, according to the report.

It requires keeping pace with the market’s rapid changes, the report said.

The ongoing 2019 Qingdao Shinan Wind Music Week in Qingdao, Shandong, which runs until July 24, has brought together 13 international musicians, to perform 14 concerts.

The event also includes forums attended by presidents of music schools, workshops and master classes.

The program, supported by the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, was opened with a concert performed by flutist Han Guoliang, a professor at the Central Conservatory of Music, along with his students, on July 20.

Other musicians taking part in the event include New York-based flutist Carol Wincenc, who is on the faculty of the Juilliard School; Ayako Takagi, a Japanese flutist, who teaches at the Tokyo University of the Arts, and Italian flutist Luisa Sello, who is also a professor of the University of Music in Trieste.

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On July 24, the China Flute Orchestra will perform at the closing of the event with a concert, under the baton of Han Guoliang.

Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, opened its online ticket reservation service on Sunday to help manage the number of visits during peak tourism season, the palace’s management office said.

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Visitors to the palace in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, are now required to make reservations on its website or at a ticket window to ensure entry to the site.

Visitors can reserve tickets one day in advance at ticket windows while online reservations are available up to seven days in advance, the office said.

Each visitor can reserve a maximum of five tickets online.

The reservation window is open daily from 8 am until tickets for the following day are sold out.

Xiaoyu, a tourist from Shandong province, said this would be his first time touring Lhasa, and he was excited about visiting Potala Palace. “I prefer buying tickets online, as lining up under the hot sun is not easy. Online reservations are efficient and fast,” he said.

Tian Kuigang, a sales manager at a local travel agency, said the ticket reservation system helps avoid overcrowding at popular sites.

“During the peak season, it’s necessary. Otherwise, all the tourists will be crowded together at ticket windows,” Tian said.

The palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

Another major tourist attraction in the region, Jokhang Temple, has also begun on-site ticket reservation services, with reservations taken daily between 3 pm and 7 pm.

Architectural preservation is a concern, and the ticket reservation periods are timed so as to prevent overcrowding and stress on structures, Tibet Daily reported.

The region’s peak tourism period is from May to October. In off-peak periods, the region’s tourism authorities began offering bargains on hotels, flights and tickets to scenic spots in February 2018 as a way of attracting more tourists.

The region saw more than 13 million visitors in the first half of 2019, up 20 percent year-on-year, according to the region’s tourism development department.

The region raked in 14.93 billion yuan ($2.17 billion) in tourism revenue in the same period, up 19.8 percent year-on-year, according to the department.

The exhibition Lao Tzu in the Eyes of the World took place at the China Cultural Center in Cairo from July 8 to 21.

The show featured 40 comics created by artists from 24 countries including China, Egypt, Brazil, Spain and Morocco, presenting an understanding of Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher who lived more than 2,500 years ago, and his philosophy known as Taoism.

Taoism emphasizes the importance of harmony between man and nature. Taoist ideas have become popular throughout the world through tai chi, qigong (a practice to cultivate and balance the body’s vital flow of energy), and various martial arts.

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As the overture of the Circle of Life begins and the sun beams down upon the African savanna, the new live action-style remake of The Lion King calls back memories of Yuan’s first introduction to the young lion prince, Simba.

“It was a summer night in 1995, and I went to the cinema after my late-night work,” said Yuan, a big fan of the film, whose first album in his collection was the movie’s soundtrack and who has had “Hakuna Matata,” a famous line from the film, as his motto on Wechat for many years.

Though the original 1994 movie of the same name was screened more than one year later in China than in the United States, it was still regarded by many Chinese audiences, like Yuan, as an unprecedented work in their youth.

On July 12, the new version of The Lion King hit the big screens on the Chinese mainland, a week earlier than North American cinemas.

It has raked in a total of more than 550 million yuan ($79.94 million) in the box office since its premiere and led the Chinese mainland box office for almost a week, according to China Movie Data Information Network.

Unlike 1995, when Chinese audiences had to wait about one year after a blockbuster was released in the US, China, now the second-largest movie market, possesses over 50,000 screens nationwide and millions of movie-goers.

According to PwC analysis, China’s movie box office will reach $12.28 billion by 2020, surpassing the United States to become the world’s largest film market, which makes the country the first choice for the premiere of an increasing number of international film productions like the new “Lion King”.