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Follow updates from the round of 32 clash – including the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the game.

Kathryn, a retiree who worked in healthcare, has throughout her life experienced “cyclical weight-loss, weight-gain”.“Every time that that has happened, it’s been a little bit greater of the loss and the gain, which is really unhealthy,” said the 66-year-old who lives in Denver, Colorado, and requested that only her first name be used. At her heaviest, the 5ft 1in-woman weighed 220lbs.But like millions of people who struggled with obesity, Kathryn started taking a GLP-1 drug about two years ago and was able to break that cycle. She now weighs 133lbs.“My blood pressure is great; my cholesterol is great. I feel…

By Godwin Oritse Managing Director  of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has expressed support for the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (Abuja MoU) Capacity Building Programme as a major step towards strengthening maritime governance and enhancing Port State Control across West and Central Africa. Speaking at the programme’s launch in Abuja, Dantsoho reaffirmed the NPA’s commitment to initiatives that promote maritime safety, security and regulatory compliance in the region. He said: “The Capacity Building Programme is designed to equip maritime administrations with the knowledge, skills and technical capacity required to implement Port State Control measures effectively, ensure greater…

How much does your mileage vary with speed? Every car is different, but the US Department of Energy estimates that for every 5 mph increase in speed over 50 mph, fuel efficiency declines by 7 percent. In equation form:Courtesy of Rhett AllainHere e0 and v0 are the efficiency and velocity at some benchmark, and this tells you the efficiency for any other velocity. The 0.93 is that 7 percent decrease. Let’s do a quick example. Maybe your car gets 30 mpg (e0) at a speed of 70 mph (v0). Then at 75 mph it would get 27.9 mpg, and at…

Keir Starmer was forced on the defensive in the Commons over his long-delayed defence investment plan announced this week, which critics argue leaves his successor as prime minister, expected to be Andy Burnham, with an extra £4.7bn to find in his first budget.Starmer defended his £298bn defence investment plan (Dip) at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday despite a growing backlash from insiders in Burnham’s team and from ministers and MPs resentful over cuts to key transport infrastructure projects to fund it.Overall, defence spending will rise from 2.6% of GDP in 2027 to 2.7%, or nearly £80bn, by 2030. Starmer said…

Pronunciation of the “happy vowel” is one of the key indicators of social class in Mancunian accents, researchers have found.A sociolinguistic study, by Lancaster University and Manchester University, found that the final vowel in words such as happy, baby, chilly and city – known to linguists as “the happy vowel” – varies clearly by social class across Manchester.The research, published in the journal Language Variation and Change, found that while the middle classes said “happee”, working-class people were more likely to say “happeh”, with the higher social classes using a tenser vowel overall.Researchers have said that while Manchester has changed…

The United States Men’s National Team will take the pitch again in the World Cup 2026 on Wednesday with a Round of 32 match versus Bosnia and Herzegovina. The USMNT went 2-0-1 in group play to win Group D with 6 points, while the Bosnians (1-1-1) were a third-place finisher in Group B. This is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first World Cup knockout round appearance, while USA have lost four straight knockout matches. USA are No. 15 in FIFA rankings, with Bosnia-Herzegovina ranked 61st.Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET from San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The USMNT have two wins and…

Nigeria’s creative industry is not being held back by a shortage of talent but by weak systems that continue to undermine its potential to become a globally competitive economic force. This is according to a new report released on Tuesday by the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive) in partnership with Frontyard Group. The report, The State of Nigeria’s Creative Economy 2026, draws on the experiences of 377 creative professionals across eight industry sectors, offering a data-driven assessment of the structural challenges facing one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing economic sectors. Rather than celebrating the industry’s global achievements, the report examines the systems surrounding…

Former Nollywood actress and United States Navy officer Grace-Charis Bassey Effah has announced her engagement to her partner. Bassey shared the news in a Facebook post on Tuesday, accompanied by photos of herself and her fiancé. Although she did not reveal his identity, she showed off her engagement ring in the pictures. Ex-Nollywood star Grace Bassey announces engagement. Credit: FB | Grace-Charis Bassey Effah Announcing the engagement, she wrote, “Answered prayers. Age is just a number. Found someone worth calling life with, beyond blessed.” In another post, she added, “It feels like a dream but when true love finds you,…

White House rejects conflict-of-interest concerns as Trump earns $1.2bn from crypto ventures in 2025Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The White House said that Donald Trump has “proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world” after the president recorded around $1.2bn in income from his family’s cryptocurrency activities.In his second term, the president and his family have heavily invested in digital money and various crypto businesses, giving a substantial boost to his income.According to a 927-page document released by the US Office of Government Ethics on Tuesday, Trump received nearly $550m from his ties to…