Arrival of endangered cats, including rare white cub, revitalises team straining under fuel and medicine shortages

For the Cuban zookeeper Ángel Cordero, the sight of four Bengal ⁠tiger cubs playing in a cage at the Cuban national zoo is a small miracle on an island stifled by shortages ⁠of fuel, medicine and ⁠days-long power outages.

The ​birth of these endangered big cats – including an exceedingly rare white tiger – has revitalised a team of zoo workers, he said.

Continue reading...

European governing body’s dramatic move could have major implications for the future of the sport

Perhaps the only globally renowned figure who has been more conspicuous by his absence at this World Cup tournament than Donald Trump is the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, although both men have more than made up for their silence over the past 24 hours.

By endorsing a statement in which Uefa accused Fifa of crossing “a red line” in making the “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” decision to lift the USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension for the last-16 tie with Belgium on Monday, Ceferin has effectively put European football on a war footing with the world governing body, a dramatic move that could have major implications for the future of the sport.

Continue reading...

Nonchalance is out, as dating apps report a surge of interest in its opposite. So be more like the world’s most famous new bride, and wear your passions on your sleeve

Name: Chalant dating.

Age: New as a concept.

Continue reading...

Parts of 2018’s Golden Generation still remain, but there are more than enough good players in this Belgian side to give the US headaches

• Predict the winner | Daily podcast | Download our app

The whiff of unfulfilment lingers around Belgium. The Golden Generation – and the fact it never quite achieved what it might have done – has dominated coverage of their last three tournaments.This perhaps isn’t quite fair – either on those who were part of that group or those who have followed.

Beating Brazil in the quarter-final to reach the semi-final in Russia 2018 was a fine achievement, but that side featuring Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne then lost 1-0 to France in the semi. The squad was good enough to win a tournament, but that was as close as they came. Courtois, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Axel Witsel and the right-back Thomas Meunier have all endured since 2018. The 2026 Belgium squad is not, as 2022 felt, the Golden Generation redux, just a little bit older and a little bit more tired. A new wave is emerging and, while the likes of Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans, Jérémy Doku and Charles De Ketelaere may not have quite the star quality of the previous generation, they’re still decent players – perhaps not World Cup winners, but certainly not to be dismissed. And remember, this is Belgium, a country of just under 12 million; it’s not realistic to think it can consistently produce potential world champions.

This is an extract from Soccer Desk: World Cup edition, a newsletter from the Guardian US that will run regularly during the tournament. Subscribe for free here.

Continue reading...

While England conceded twice to Mexico and survived a siege at Azteca, numbers show a performance of true grit

Was this England’s best performance since 1966? On the surface, England conceded 20 shots in their 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium – which sounds alarming.

Yet if you drill into the numbers, the 19 non-penalty shots they faced were collectively worth only 1.09 expected goals (xG). Thomas Tuchel’s men defended superbly.

Continue reading...

Hard times have come to Microsoft employees. Thousands of Microsoft team members reported to work following the US holiday weekend to learn their jobs no longer exist, with Redmond gutting its Commercial business and Xbox team, and spinning off several game studios to cut costs. Microsoft human resources boss Amy Coleman announced that the company is eliminating some 4,800 roles Monday morning in a letter to employees the company published online. Coleman explained that Microsoft is doing the layoffs, which will reduce its global headcount by around 2.1 percent, because the business of technology is changing, which means that Redmond can’t be the same slow, unwieldy vessel it has been for years. “The way technology is built, deployed, and used is transforming faster than at any point in my time here,” explained Coleman, who has worked in HR at Microsoft for nearly 17 years. “That means we will need to adjust resources and roles and shift how we operate so we can have the greatest impact for our customers.” It doesn’t help that Microsoft’s stock price has fallen by nearly a quarter in the past 12 months either, although Coleman didn't mention that in her note. She did, however, mention AI. “I also want to be direct that the roles eliminated today are not being replaced by AI,” the Microsoft exec said before couching the statement in a necessary detail. “At the same time, what is true is that AI is changing how work gets done.” So no one is going to be forced to start working alongside a digital replacement for their former human colleague, but AI probably means fewer people overall. “Some of the tasks we do every day can now be automated, and that means we all need to keep learning, keep building new skills, and keep adapting as the work evolves,” Coleman added. How long until a bot can do an HR executive’s job, we wonder. Coleman noted that two units will be the heaviest hit by Monday’s announcements: Microsoft Commercial Business (MCB, which includes sales, marketing, and operations), and the Xbox team. It's also going to unload several gaming studios that Microsoft likely spent hundreds of millions to acquire over the past few years. Coleman didn’t share much about how the cuts will affect either group, though she did say that the MCB moves build on the company’s announcement from last week that it was spinning up a new MCB subsidiary called Microsoft Frontier Company to help customers deploy AI and realize returns on their rather costly investments. Xbox boss doesn't beat around the bush Asha Sharma, Microsoft’s Xbox division chief, was honest in her assessment of the state of her division, telling employees in an email posted on XBox Wire that the Xbox business “is not healthy.” Sharma said that she intends to cut the headcount on the Xbox team by 3,200 people during the 2027 fiscal year, which began on July 1. Monday's cuts included 1,600 from the group. The Xboss also admitted that Microsoft’s habit of buying up every promising independent game studio is “neither possible nor desirable” after several years of pursuing such a strategy, which is part of the reason that the company is cutting Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs loose from their corporate leash. The former two will be transitioning to full independence, while the latter pair have reportedly entered into terms to join new ownership. All of the studios’ various IPs and upcoming games are going with them. Microsoft is making cuts to remaining studios too, with Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang and Xbox’s own game studio all trimming staff and shifting their directions toward higher-priority projects. Redmond is reducing management layers as part of the Xbox restructuring as well, and the division now has a chief operating officer for the first time ever. The changes won’t be ending there, either, Sharma said. “It is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale,” she explained. “History is full of companies that mistake longevity for inevitability. We will not be one of them.” The fact Sharma had to say that isn’t encouraging, for either Xbox or Microsoft's other less-than-popular platforms. ®

Pulp

LES ANGLES (ANP) - Tadej Pogačar heeft met de zege in de derde etappe van de Tour de France het werk van zijn ploeg UAE Team Emirates terugbetaald. "Halverwege de rit besloten we dat het mogelijk was om voor de etappewinst te gaan", zei de Sloveense viervoudig Tourwinnaar in het flashinterview. "We moesten wel voor die kans gaan, hebben alles gegeven en het is gelukt."

Met de ritzege nam Pogačar ook de gele trui over van zijn Deense rivaal Jonas Vingegaard. "Het veroveren van de gele trui is een droom voor iedere wielrenner. Iedere keer dat ik die om de schouders heb, voelt speciaal", zei de Sloveen. "Ik weet niet hoelang ik de gele trui nu zal dragen, maar ik zal van ieder moment genieten."

Pogačar boekte zijn 22e ritzege in de Tour. Daarmee kwam hij op gelijke hoogte met de Fransman André Darrigade en staat in het klassement van de meeste etappezeges gedeeld vijfde.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Chiptoeleverancier Besi was maandag een opvallende daler op de beurs in Amsterdam met een verlies van 5,5 procent. Beleggers reageerden op berichten in Zuid-Koreaanse media dat de invoering van hybrid bonding door grote chipbedrijven als Samsung en SK Hynix mogelijk wordt vertraagd. Dat zou betekenen dat ze minder snel overstappen op de hybrid bondingsystemen van Besi, een nieuwe techniek waarmee verschillende soorten chips kunnen worden gestapeld en met elkaar kunnen worden verbonden.

In maart stond Besi ook al onder druk door berichten dat de invoering van de nieuwe techniek meer tijd zal vergen.

De AEX eindigde maandag nog geen 0,1 procent lager op 1082,41 punten, na de stevige koerswinsten op vrijdag. De index van de dertig meest verhandelde fondsen op de Amsterdamse beurs bereikte toen een nieuw slotrecord van 1083,18 punten. De MidKap sloot maandag een fractie hoger op 1095,87 punten.

ZWIJNDRECHT (ANP) - De politie heeft vrijdag een 23-jarige man uit de gemeente Zwijndrecht aangehouden op verdenking van het maken en bezitten van beelden van kindermisbruik. Hij wordt ook verdacht van sextortion, het online afpersen van mensen met naaktbeelden. De man zou een "groot aantal" slachtoffers hebben gemaakt in Nederland en in het buitenland. Zijn slachtoffers waren minderjarige meisjes en jonge vrouwen. Een politiewoordvoerder wilde maandagmiddag niet zeggen om hoeveel meisjes het gaat.

De man is maandag voorgeleid aan de rechter-commissaris, die besliste dat hij langer vast blijft zitten. Een tip uit het buitenland was de aanleiding voor het onderzoek. De politie vond op de telefoon van de verdachte "een grote hoeveelheid" beelden en chatgesprekken.

De politie roept slachtoffers van sextortion op zich te melden en zoveel mogelijk bewijs, zoals chats, screenshots en gebruikersnamen, te bewaren. "Blokkeer de verdachte niet, hiermee gaan gegevens verloren, maar reageer niet meer", aldus de politie.

Fabio Bruna posted a photo:

Bankjes in een parkje voelen als een wachtruimte bij de dokter :) Rembrandtkwartier, Rijswijk.

Fabio Bruna posted a photo:

Rembrandtkwartier, Rijswijk.

Het kabinet loopt zowel politiek als economisch vast. De Zalmnorm past niet meer in een tijd die om souplesse vraagt, vindt Kemal Rijken. Hij pleit voor ruimere begrotingsregels, zodat de overheid kan investeren zonder elders te moeten bezuinigen.

De leden van het kabinet-Rutte waren het eind 2020 oneens over de manier waarop de Nederlandse vaccinatiecampagne tegen corona moest worden vormgegeven.

De grote stroomstoring in Tilburg en omstreken van zondagochtend werd veroorzaakt door een meetinstrument dat een verkeerde waarde doorgaf. Vanwege die hoge waarde schakelde netbeheerder Enexis onderdelen van het net tijdelijk uit.

The Fun Shortage Is Real, and It’s Making America Miserable (gift link). “With fewer places to relax and socialize, and steeper prices for entry, having fun is quantifiably harder than it used to be.”