I enjoyed the Nothing Phone 2. I wasn’t bothered that it wasn’t as powerful as most flagship devices at the time, and I loved that I didn’t have to pay as much. Nothing stayed within itself, delivering a phone with a clean UI and smooth performance. We waited a bit longer than expected for an encore, but the Nothing Phone 3 is finally on the way.
The Nothing Phone 3 may not be for everyone, but that’s okay. Nothing is in a position to create a niche product with a unique design, as it is not constrained by the same pressures as other Android manufacturers.
Sure, the company wants to sell a ton of phones, but it gets to have fun in the process, taking chances that would sink other companies. The Nothing Phone 3 does what Samsung can’t — and I’m here for it.
Related
Nothing Phone 3 hands-on: The ultimate expression of Nothingness
Nothing calls the Phone 3 its first true flagship phone, and it’s right, but this is no spec-heavy super phone. It’s something better
I’m sorry to see the Glyph Interface go
But I’m willing to give the Glyph Matrix a chance
The Nothing Phone 3’s Glyph Matrix
I never set up my Glyph Interface with different patterns for each contact, but I loved the visual feedback I got from across the room when I received a call or notification. I mourned the loss of notification LEDs on modern smartphones, so the Glyph Interface appealed to me.
The Glyph Matrix is different, but it’s still a way to get visual information from my phone at a glance. I appreciate a well-done always-on display, but I struggle to differentiate notifications from a few feet away, unlike with an old-school notification LED.
I’m hoping that the Glyph Matrix can be programmed to display recognizable patterns from further away, but I applaud that Nothing has included something different from other Android manufacturers.
The Nothing Phone 3’s Glyph Matrix
The Nothing Phone 3 design is also something you won’t see from Samsung anytime soon. Between its clear back and funky camera placement, the Nothing Phone 3 is an original.
I’ll admit, it’s easier to take bold design chances when you’re not one of the top-selling Android OEMs in the world, but there must be an in-between. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s design was a snoozefest, and we saw hardly any changes from previous models.
Innovation under the hood
A silicon-carbon battery is a must-have
I’m expecting outstanding battery life from the Nothing Phone 3, thanks in part to its 5,150mAh silicon-carbon battery. I’ve heard numerous excuses as to why Samsung hasn’t adopted newer battery technology, but none of them hold water.
I find it hard to believe that a company with Samsung’s resources can’t find a safe way to fit a silicon-carbon battery inside its devices. We’ve heard rumors the Galaxy S26 may contain one, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Nothing doesn’t have to carry the baggage of the Galaxy Note 7, freeing up the company to include the latest and greatest in its phones. Yes, the Galaxy S25 Ultra did see improved battery life from the same 5,000mAh lithium-ion cell as its predecessor, but I’m getting a full two days of use from my OnePlus 13 that features silicon-carbon tech.
If the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is as battery-efficient as last year’s chipset, I’m looking forward to two days of use from a single charge on the Nothing Phone 3.
Doesn’t have to be the most powerful phone
I’ll take a lower cost instead
Nothing understands that you can build a phone that provides a flagship experience without including a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. I’ve made the same argument about the Google Pixel lineup. Raw performance is essential in a flagship phone, but we often grossly overestimate the amount of power we need.
I don’t edit videos or photos on my phone, and I’ve yet to find a mobile game that demands the power a Snapdragon 8 Elite provides. If you’ve found a use for all that extra power, you’re going to look for a device like a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
However, for the rest of us, I’ll take the savings I get from the Nothing Phone 3, only shelling out $800 for well-designed software, a unique piece of hardware, and snappy, high-end performance.
I hope Nothing isn’t the only one
We need more companies like Nothing, not fewer. It’s only when we get devices like the Nothing Phone 3 that we see the sharp contrast to a lackluster device like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Yes, there are market factors involved that prevent Samsung from taking too many chances, but I refuse to believe there aren’t some avenues for boldness. The Nothing Phone 3 does what Samsung can’t — and I can’t wait to use one.
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
RAM
12/16GB
Storage
256/512GB
Battery
5,150 mAh
Ports
USB-C 2.0
Operating System
Android 15
Nothing Phone (3) is the first “true flagship” from the London-based brand. It comes with a 6.67-inch OLED display, a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, triple 50MP rear cameras, and a 5,150mAh battery. It retains Nothing’s transparent design language and comes with an upgraded Glyph Matrix.
What if you want to see as much as possible of a mechanical movement, without compromising the practicality of an automatic one? The simplest answer, sort of, is the micro-rotor automatic, of course. This neatly integrates a small winding mass into the movement, without obscuring it from view. It also challenges manufacturers to flex their watchmaking muscles as it requires more and smaller components. It’s far from the easiest solution, though, but the end result is superbly rewarding. So with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the finest micro-rotor automatic watches on the market!
Schwarz Etienne 1902 Petite Seconde
Schwarz Etienne is quite well-known for its impressive in-house movements, and the 1902 Petite Seconde is one of the latest to carry that tradition forward. The elegantly proportioned time-only watch comes in three Sector-like dial variations: Silver, Slate Grey, or Rose Gold (salmon!). But the real star of the show is found around the back, with the Calibre ASE300.00. The micro-rotor sends up to 86 hours of energy to the barrel, and is joined by four elegant finger bridges. The finishing of it all is of the highest level, with hand-polished teeth on the ratchet wheel, for instance. Worn on a leather strap, it retails for CHF 18,000.
For more information, please visit Schwarz-Etienne.com.
Quick Facts – 39mm x 10.9mm – titanium, brushed & polished – sapphire crystal front & back – 50m water-resistant – silver, slate grey or rose gold dial – sector layout – polished indices & hands – recessed small seconds subdial – Calibre ASE300.00 – in-house automatic with micro-rotor – 191 components – 21,600vph – 86h power reserve – hours, minutes, (hacking) seconds – alligator or calfskin leather strap with titanium pin buckle – CHF 18,000
Louis Vuitton Tambour Ceramic
With the revamp of the Tambour two years ago, Louis Vuitton entered the luxury sports watch segment with a bang, and following from the stainless steel versions, came this surprising brown ceramic version! The scratch-proof exterior is combined with 18k rose gold elements for a unique look, a styling cue that also finds its way to the dial. The Calibre LFT023, developed with Le Cercle des Horlogers, is driven by a 22k gold micro-rotor with the famous LV motif as a decoration. The rest shows a rather contemporary style of finishing, and the watch is fitted with a ceramic and gold bracelet. It’s not limited per se, and it retails for EUR 75,000.
For more information, please visit LouisVuitton.com.
Quick Facts – 40mm x 8.3mm – brown ceramic & 18k rose gold case – ceramic crown – sapphire crystal front & back – 50m water-resistant – stepped brown dial – rose gold markers & hands – Calibre LFT023, proprietary micro-rotor automatic (Les Cercle des Horlogers) – 28,800vph – 50h power reserve – 22k gold micro-rotor – hours, minutes, small seconds – integrated brown ceramic & rose gold bracelet with invisible rose gold triple-folding clasp – EUR 75,000
The Calibre 96 series by Chopard is a legend in the field of micro-rotors. It has served as the base for plenty of winners in the brand’s wonderful L.U.C line, including this one, the L.U.C Qualité Fleurier 20th Anniversary Edition. Under the Qualité Fleurier certification, the yellow gold and brown dress watch surpasses the most stringent quality standards in the Swiss industry. At the heart of the watch beats the Calibre 96.09-L, an in-house micro-rotor automatic with Chopard’s Twin-Barrel system for 65 hours of power reserve. Limited to 20 pieces, one for each year the QF certification has been in use, this one retails for EUR 33,000.
If a dress watch has to incorporate a date display, the way Laurent Ferrier has integrated it into the design of its Classic Auto is perhaps one of the best ways to do it. The latest, finished in fresh Horizon Blue, continues the brand’s legacy in superb watchmaking, both in design and in mechanics. The pebble-shaped steel case, 40mm in width and fully polished, wears beautifully on the wrist and houses the brand’s Calibre LF270.01. This proprietary automatic has a platinum micro-rotor and is finished to the highest standards. It’s worn on a taupe goat-leather strap with a steel pin buckle, and is part of the permanent collection. The price is CHF 45,000.
For more information, please visit LaurentFerrier.ch.
Quick Facts – 40mm x 11.94mm – stainless steel case, polished – ball-shaped crown – sapphire crystal front & back – 30m water-resistant – light blue galvanic lacquered dial – dark blue transfers – drop-shaped indices, Assegai-shaped hands – recessed date ‘frame’ – Calibre LF270.01, proprietary automatic – platinum micro-rotor – 28,800vph – 72h power reserve – taupe goat-leather strap with steel pin buckle – permanent collection – CHF 45,000
Piaget Polo 79 White Gold
Probably the most outspoken design of the watches on this list, the Piaget Polo 79 in White Gold is a true stunner front to back. It rekindles Yves Piaget’s iconic 1979 design, with horizontal gadroons across the bracelet, case and dial. First presented in yellow gold, this white gold edition tones things down a touch without compromising its character. Inside ticks the Piaget Calibre 1200P1, an ultra-thin in-house micro-rotor automatic. A neat touch is the circular Côtes de Genève on the mainplate, which continues on the top of the rotor. The white gold bracelet is seamlessly integrated into the case. It will set you back EUR 85,500 incl. VAT.
For more information, please visit Piaget.com.
Quick Facts – 38mm x 7.45mm – white gold case, brushed & polished – horizontal gadroons – sapphire crystal front & back – 50m water-resistant – striped gold dial with gadroons – 18k gold hands – Piaget Calibre 1200P1, in-house automatic – micro-rotor automatic – 21,600vph – 44h power reserve – hours, minutes – circular Côtes de Genève – 18k white gold bracelet with gadroons – triple-folding clasp – permanent collection – EUR 85,500 incl. VAT
Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Yellow Gold
It goes without saying that the Bulgari Octo Finissimo is a modern-day icon of watchmaking. The ultra-thin collection has genuinely challenged the status quo, breaking records left and right. The Octo Finissimo Automatic is at the core of it all, perhaps, coming in at just 6.40mm in height. Over the years, we’ve seen it in all sorts of materials and finishes. This matte sand-blasted yellow gold edition is one of the latest and greatest in the series, relying on the ultra-thin calibre BVL 138, driven by a platinum micro-rotor. The equally edgy integrated bracelet matches the case in terms of finishing. Part of the permanent collection, it retails for EUR 51,500.
For more information, please visit Bulgari.com.
Quick Facts – 40mm x 6.40mm – 18k yellow gold case, matte sand-blasted – flat sapphire crystal front & back – screw-down crown with black ceramic cap – 100m water-resistant – sandblasted yellow gold dial – black markers & hands – Calibre BVL 138 – manufacture ultra-thin automatic – platinum micro-rotor – 21,600vph – 60h power reserve – integrated matte-sandblasted yellow gold bracelet – hidden folding clasp – permanent collection – EUR 51,500
India’s Neeraj Chopra in action during the men’s javelin on June 24, 2025. — Reuters
Olympic javelin star Neeraj Chopra headlined what was billed as India’s inaugural world-class field competition on Saturday, living up to his goal of elevating domestic talent while also walking away with another gold medal.
Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games, triumphed with a throw of 86.18 meters at the 12-athlete javelin Neeraj Chopra Classic event.
He finished ahead of former world champion Julius Yego (silver) and Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage (bronze).
“The biggest target of the competition was to uplift the Indian athletes alongside the international ones. We got the best javelin throwers to this competition,” Chopra told reporters after winning the competition.
The event drew more than 14,500 spectators — a figure that delighted Chopra, who has long championed greater public support for track and field events.
“We really wanted people to come and watch track and field,” said Chopra, who has single-handedly raised interest for athletics in India and has more than nine million Instagram followers.
“I always request people to come to the stadiums to cheer athletes as they work really hard.
“Track and field is one of the hardest sporting events. I request people to come and watch nationals as well… because our sport can only grow when people will come and watch us.”
The event featured three rounds with six attempts per participant, narrowing the field to eight after the initial round of three throws.
Among the five Indian competitors, three advanced to the second round including Chopra, outperforming international athletes such as former Olympic champion Thomas Rohler and the Czech Republic’s Martin Konecny.
“We have been doing really well in the sport. They (Indian athletes) were quite happy to get a platform to play alongside the world champions,” the 27-year-old said.
“We also plan to add more events to this competition going forward, which will help the Indian athletes more.”
Among the Indian athletes, apart from Chopra, Asian Athletics Championships silver medallist Sachin Yadav performed well, recording his best throw of 82.33m in the third attempt.
“Sachin could have performed better but he twisted his ankle in his opening throw. Overall, it was good. They will hopefully do well in the future. They are juniors and have time on their hand so will surely do better,” Chopra said.
Tanvir Islam took five wickets for 39 runs against SL in Colombo
What’s the story
Bangladesh leveled the three-ODI series against Sri Lanka with a hard-fought victory in the second match.
Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam’s brilliant bowling performance took the visitors to a 16-run win in Colombo.
He took five wickets for just 39 runs, proving instrumental in restricting Sri Lanka, who were chasing 249.
Tanvir became the second Bangladesh bowler with a fifer vs Sri Lanka in ODIs.
#1
Tanvir Islam: 5/39 in Colombo, 2025
In Colombo, Tanvir recorded his maiden five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.
The Bangladesh spinner recorded figures worth 5/39 from 10 overs. He bowled two maidens.
In two ODIs, Tanvir has raced to six wickets at 13.83. His economy rate is 4-plus.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the 28-year-old owns 171 wickets in List A cricket from 114 games at 24.45. He picked his third fifer.
#2
Abdur Razzak: 5/62 in Pallekele, 2013
Spinner Abdur Razzak is the only other Bangladesh bowler to have taken a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in ODIs.
His exploits came in the 2013 Pallekele ODI.
Razzak took five wickets for 62 runs as the Lankans racked up 302/9 in 50 overs. Bangladesh had a revised target of 183 in 27 overs due to rain.
They later won through the DLS method.
Information
Tanvir enters this list
As per ESPNcricinfo, Tanvir now has the best bowling figures for Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in ODI cricket. He is now one of only four Bangladesh spinners with a five-wicket haul in away ODIs.
LOS ANGELES — In a summer full of blockbusters, writer-director James Gunn’s “Superman” might have the most riding on it. It’s not just a reboot of one of the most beloved superheroes of all time — the film, in theaters July 11, is also the first entry in a new cinematic universe intended to revive DC Studios after years of misfires and scattered storytelling.
And for six weeks last summer, Gunn, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker named co-chair of DC Studios in 2022, brought the high-stakes production to a place close to the character’s roots: Cleveland.
“We cast cities in the same way we cast actors,” Gunn said in an interview with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer in Los Angeles. “We looked all over for the best Metropolis. We liked Cincinnati a lot, but we really liked Cleveland. It’s because of all the old Art Deco architecture that people really don’t know about. Although we were making whatever city we filmed in a much bigger city than it is, Cleveland worked best for all of the basic architecture we’re using up close.”
Indeed, Cleveland’s building stock provided the timeless aesthetic that production designer Beth Mickle envisioned for Metropolis, where Superman’s alias Clark Kent works as a reporter with Lois Lane at the Daily Planet, and where his nemesis Lex Luthor, operates a billion-dollar tech company.
In this age of digital effects and virtual sets, the city’s role is bigger than locals might expect. Gunn and his crew shot scenes at Public Square, the Arcade, City Hall, Progressive Field and the Leader Building, which stands in for the Daily Planet. During the opening battle, the Hammer of Boravia slams Superman to the ground at PNC Plaza, leaving a huge crater. Later, Superman saves a woman from a building crashing down on the Detroit-Superior Bridge. The scenes are dazzling, and the local landmarks are instantly recognizable.
The payoff isn’t just seeing Cleveland on the big screen — there was an economic boost, too. Based on the tax credit it received, the production spent an estimated $37 million in Northeast Ohio. (Gunn has pushed back, however, on reports about the exact size of the film’s overall budget.)
The Superman exhibit in the baggage area at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport lets travelers know Cleveland’s role in the creation of the Man of Steel. (Peggy Turbett / The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer
Honoring Superman’s roots
The city certainly looked the part, but filming here meant more to Gunn and DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran than architecture and tax credits. The character of Superman was created by Glenville students Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in the 1930s. The first iteration of Metropolis was based on their hometown.
“The idea that we were shooting in the town in which this character was born — there was something very poetic about that,” Safran said in the production notes.
Gunn didn’t make that connection until he arrived in the city last June.
“I didn’t really know that they were from Cleveland until I was in Cleveland,” he said. “Right after I heard that, I came around the corner and the Terminal Tower was there, and they had lit it up in the colors of Superman. It was a really magical moment.”
For his vision of Superman, Gunn was influenced by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s “All-Star Superman,” a 12-part comic book series that ran from 2005 to 2008. The series presented Superman as optimistic, selfless and compassionate. But there was plenty to mine from Siegel and Shuster’s original creation, too.
“The heart of Superman — the goodness and the purity — started with those guys, even the basic look of Superman,” Gunn said. “Superman has had many collaborators over the years, but none of it exists without the seed that was planted by Jerry and Joe.”
The director made sure to honor their legacy throughout the film. In the Arcade scene, every business sign is either a comic book reference or a nod to Siegel’s family. The street signs in Metropolis are named after DC artists and writers. Siegel’s grandsons, Michael and James Larson, actually appear in a scene inside the Daily Planet newsroom. Gunn also shared the script with them ahead of filming, as a way to include them in the process.
“The one moment I really shed a tear was when Jerry’s grandsons read the script for the first time,” he told Extra TV. “They were just effusive. They were like, ‘This is the Superman movie we’ve been waiting to see. Our grandfather would have been so proud.’ That meant a lot.”
Superman director James Gunn talks with Superman, played by David Corenswet, during the filming of the movie on Public Square in Cleveland.John Kuntz, cleveland.com
A fresh take on an icon
Gunn’s Man of Steel is a departure from the brooding, emotionally guarded hero portrayed by Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s Superman trilogy. The director also eschews the traditional approach of starting on Krypton, watching Clark grow up in Smallville and following him to Metropolis. Instead, this is a coming-of-age story that picks up three years after Superman reveals himself to the world, still struggling to find his place in it.
“We’ve seen Superman’s origin more times than we can count,” Gunn said. “We’ve also seen a lot of Superman post-relationship with Lois, whether they’re (already) boyfriend-girlfriend or married. I think seeing Superman when he’s in the first three months of the relationship, when Lois can’t figure out what she wants this to be, was fertile territory. It’s something that’s never really been focused on in any media.”
David Corenswet, stepping into the blue suit, red cape and trunks (yes, they’re back!) for the first time, praised the decision to skip the origin story.
“It allows us to meet these characters where they’re already embedded in the most basic, important parts of their lives, and yet it feels like the beginning of a whole new adventure,” he said in the production notes. “You get to just dive right in and pick up the pieces along the way, which is definitely how I like to watch a movie.”
Gunn wanted the franchise to move away from the dark, brooding antiheroes that have dominated comic book movies for the past two decades. His Superman is good and noble in a world that no longer values those things. His powers are almost secondary to his humanity. He’s grounded, relatable — he even has an unruly superdog named Krypto.
Gunn’s Superman isn’t made of steel. He’s not indestructible. In fact, in the film’s opening scene, he’s bleeding after suffering his first real defeat.
“One of the interesting things is we come into this movie and we’re like, hey, we want to be Superman. We want to be superhuman, super strong, fly, beams out of our eyes,” Gunn said. “And then we realize over the course of the movie that Superman wants nothing more than to be human, to be us. That’s what he cherishes.”
In the film, Superman is torn between his Kryptonian origins and the human values instilled in him by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (played by Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell). At his core, he doesn’t want to rule or dominate — he wants to belong. That, Gunn believes, is what makes the character feel more relevant than ever.
“Over the years, people have thought of Superman as old-fashioned and too Pollyanna. But I think all those things are what make him the world’s biggest rebel right now,” he said. “It goes against the grain of what our popular culture is like these days.”
To bring this version of Superman to life, Gunn assembled a cast that embraced the emotional depth of the story and his creative approach to filmmaking. Corenswet plays Superman/Clark Kent with warmth and vulnerability. Rachel Brosnahan brings sharp wit and fearless energy to Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is a worthy adversary whose sophisticated demeanor masks truly evil intentions. Cleveland native Isabela Merced portrays the flying, mace-wielding warrior Hawkgirl.
“The main reason I wanted to do this is because of James. I’m a big fan of his work,” Merced told cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. “He always has a clear vision. And it may be weird and out there, but it works because that’s his true artistic expression.”
The large cast of characters also features Daily Planet staffers Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and Perry White (Wendell Pierce); Hawkgirl’s Justice Gang teammates Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion); Lex Luthor’s goons the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan); plus a few surprises from the DC Universe. But Gunn made sure the world-building didn’t distract from the movie he was making.
“First and foremost, I always care about just this movie by itself,” he said. “I’ll never sacrifice any moment in this movie for some future thing. I’m not going to put stuff in there that hurts the movie. But it just so happens that because I wanted Superman to have friends — both superhuman like the Justice Gang and human like the Daily Planet gang — it works pretty well for setting up future stories.”
But when pressed about the through line for the first phase of the DCU, intriguingly titled “Gods and Monsters,” Gunn refused to take the bait.
“I think we’ll have to wait around and see that.”
He admitted that launching a franchise with a character as iconic as Superman was daunting at first — not just because it marks the start of a whole cinematic universe, but because of what Superman represents to so many people.
But once he dug in, that pressure turned into something more familiar — and personal.
“When I started working on the film, it became pretty easy because I’m a Superman fan,” Gunn said. “So, I found it pretty easy to be true to how I conceive Superman, how most people conceive Superman. Most Superman fans see Superman. But at the same time, adding some things that maybe we hadn’t seen in a movie before — that comes from my love of Superman in the comic books.”
Whether fans embrace his “Superman” — and how its box office performance shapes the future of the DCU — remains to be seen. Gunn and the cast are currently touring the globe, making sure people see it. But no matter what happens next, he’ll always have a soft spot for where it all began.
“I had the greatest time in Cleveland. The Cleveland people were great,” he said. “I think they know how much I like them, if they’ve seen any of my posts. They were just fantastic throughout (filming).
“And I’ve got a billion Cleveland T-shirts that I wear to this day.”
“Superman” opens in theaters on Friday, July 11
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The Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, officially opened the MOWA Heritage Athletics Exhibition Tokyo 2025 on Sunday (6). The exhibition is being staged for 11 weeks in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) building.
The TMG’s headquarters is a landmark skyscraper complex which, in addition to temporarily hosting the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA), offers visitors a 45th floor public observatory platform with spectacular views across the skyline of Tokyo.
The TMG building is situated just three metro stations – a six-minute journey – away from the National Stadium where the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 will take place from 13-21 September.
Distinguished gathering
The opening ceremony was honoured by an exclusive gathering of invited guests.
In addition to Governor Koike, among those actively participating in the ceremony were World Athletics Council Member Yuko Arimori, 2004 Olympic marathon gold medallist Mizuki Noguchi and Japan’s first world champion Hiromi Taniguchi, the Tokyo 1991 marathon winner.
The Japanese team was represented by Naoki Koyama, who will line up in the marathon during the World Athletics Championships in September. Mitsugi Ogata, President of the WCH Tokyo 25 local organising committee, made up the distinguished cast of participants.
The ceremony began with a welcoming address by Arimori, a two-time Olympic medallist and newly elected President of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, who was representing World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
In response, Governor Koike delivered her welcome on behalf of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Tokyo awarded World Athletics Heritage Plaque
In this prestigious context, World Athletics announced the award of the World Athletics Heritage Plaque to Tokyo, in the category “City”, with Arimori presenting the honour to the Governor. The plaque serves as a lasting tribute to Tokyo’s central role in the development and celebration of athletics worldwide.
In a statement read out by Arimori, World Athletics President Coe commented: “Tokyo’s credentials as a World Athletics Heritage City are beyond question. The host to the 1964 and 2020 Olympic Games and the 1991 and 2025 World Athletics Championships, Tokyo has historically been the stage for great competitions and has witnessed numerous world records.
“Bob Hayes, Abebe Bikila, Ann Packer, Betty Cuthbert, Carl Lewis, Mike Powell, Karsten Warholm, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Yulimar Rojas are just a few of the track and field greats, both past and present, whose performances in the Japanese capital have created headlines around the world.
“Annually, 38,000 runners also take to the streets of the Japanese capital. In a country where the marathon race is a sacred sporting tradition, the Tokyo Marathon is rightfully one of the World Marathon Majors.
“Yet among all other reasons, the heroic staging of the rescheduled 2020 Olympic Games during the pandemic exemplifies the unique contribution that Tokyo has made to the history of our sport.
“Congratulations, Tokyo, on the award of this exceptionally well-deserved honour.”
A highlight of this MOWA exhibition is the first-ever public display of the gold, silver and bronze medals from both editions of the World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo. The two sets embody the continuity of Tokyo’s deep-rooted legacy in global athletics and its renewed commitment as host of this year’s championships.
During the ceremony on Sunday, a historic photograph was taken of the two golds, with the Tokyo 1991 medal held by Taniguchi and Arimori alongside Koike and Ogata, who posed with the equivalent from Tokyo 2025.
Arimori donates Olympic shoes to MOWA
Arimori marked the opening of the exhibition by generously donating her Barcelona Olympic Games marathon shoes, which she wore when taking silver in 1992, to the collection of the Museum of World Athletics. She presented her donation to the Governor, who received the shoes on behalf of the MOWA. The shoes will go on display on Monday (7) when the exhibition opens to the public.
Arimori made her marathon debut in 1990 and set a national record on her second attempt. The 1991 World Championships was a turning point in her career, as she finished fourth in the women’s marathon, a performance that set the stage for her global breakthrough.
Reflecting on her personal connection to the World Athletics Championships, Arimori commented: “I remember vividly the great excitement of watching on television the first World Athletics Championships, which were staged in Helsinki in 1983. Then, eight years later, I felt enormous pride when the championships came to Tokyo for the first time.
“I was competing in the marathon and finished fourth, while in second place Sachiko Yamashita took Japan’s first-ever World Championships medal. Then, on the last day of those 1991 championships, Taniguchi courageously won the men’s marathon, Japan’s first-ever gold medal.”
Coached by Yoshio Koide (recipient in 2019 of the World Athletics Heritage Plaque in the posthumous category of ‘Legend’), Arimori went on to win not only silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but bronze four years later in Atlanta, becoming the first Japanese woman to claim two medals in the event. Arimori’s achievements elevated the status of women’s distance running in Japan, and she now serves as a member of the World Athletics Council.
Ribbon cut
Sunday’s ceremony, which included archive footage of the 1991 and 2023 World Athletics Championships and the global victories of Taniguchi and Noguchi, concluded with the Governor and her fellow principal cutting the ribbon to officially open the exhibition.
Though Morgan Stanley’s Innovation Lab sits firmlyin Manhattan’s Financial District, I hardly saw any of the finance bros who dot the streets outside during my recent tour.
I didn’t know quite what to expect ahead of my visit — robots analyzing market moves? intricate gadgets? — and Megan Brewer, the head of firmwide market innovation and labs, tempered my wildest expectations when she described the space as “effectively a very large data center.” The lab, she said, gives people “all the infrastructure that is needed to test ideas in a secure, scalable fashion.”
Morgan Stanley employees who want to experiment with their own ideas or test third-party products that might help the firm can use the Innovation Lab. Brewer told me that most of the people who use the space are technologists, but that everyone at the bank has access.
“Most people don’t think of banks as where people are sitting there soldering and working on custom design trips,” she said. “But we offer that as well.”
Kids made Lego sculptures for the Innovation Lab during a recent tour.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is sure to celebrate innovators
And it became clear to me that Brewer’s team is pulling multiple levers to attract and retain the firm’s technologists.She helps run the bank’s Patent Accelerator Program, which guides innovators through the patent process. When someone’s invention earns a patent, Brewer’s team sends a message to their manager. They post on internal sites, frame the physical patent, and note the accomplishment on the person’s company profile. Morgan Stanley has even put patent-holders’ faces on their digital ads in Times Square, Brewer said.
Patents don’t only grant legal control over an invention, but also acknowledge something as a creative, genuinely new idea. Inventions have to be “non-obvious” to get a patent, and they’re a quantitative way for banks to flex their technological chops.
Banks are generally racing to embrace the newest technology. A McKinsey report from late 2024 found that banks have massively increased their tech spending in recent years, and are especially focused on hiring people to produce products in-house.
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Whiletech companies are cutting back on new-hire offers, my time at Morgan Stanley made it clear that banks might be keen on snapping up some of the available talent. Citi also has a network of physical innovation labs across the world, and many banks have accelerator or innovation programs.
When we were ready to enter the lab, Brewer told me I might need to leave my notebook behind, since it’s flammable. The first room, though, seemed pretty innocuous: a bunch of computers with black screens, and a lone guy sitting at a desktop. I almost felt like I was in a “Black Mirror” episode, the rows of blank monitors a dystopian end-of-world tableau.
The rows upon rows of blank computers seemed almost dystopian.
Morgan Stanley
The lab was full of high-end, deceptively plain machines
As we kept moving through the lab, the image of a stereotypical bank continued to fade. It was hot and loud inside the data center, with a white noise of whirring machines and fluorescent lighting. Brewer advised me to stand on a vent if I got too hot amid the rows of equipment.
Most of the time, I didn’t know what I was looking at — at one point, it turned out to be the lab’s first GPU. I asked how much it was all was worth, and everyone laughed, saying I didn’t want to know.
The lab got its first GPU in 2017.
Morgan Stanley
“Many millions,” Brewer said, adding that some pieces cost as much as rent on a New York City apartment. (I became very conscious of not stepping on the many blue wires grazing the floor in my kitten heels.)
Huge investment aside, though, some parts of the lab seemed almost scrappy, evidence of exploration and technology that’s still in the works. There were labels made of blue tape and Sharpie, stickers that looked like they came from a name-tag machine, flame-retardant Post-Its.
At the end of the tour, I met an electrical engineer, who was standing in front of a clearly very complex, very impressive machine he’d made. My tour guide told me that he’d already built and patented multiple versions of the chip machine sitting before us, which he was too polite to mention himself.
He carefully explained his project — Morgan Stanley asked that don’t get into specifics here — and indulged my many questions, talking to me in what were likely excruciatingly simple terms. When I asked whether he ever expected to work at a bank, I got an emphatic no and some knowing head-nods from those leading my tour.
Morgan Stanley has around 23,000 tech employees, 15,000 of whom are developers. At the time of this writing, the bank had 249 full-time technology jobs listed on its site.
The equipment in the lab is worth many millions.
Morgan Stanley
The lines between banking and Big Tech
I didn’t talk to, or maybe even see, a single banker the whole time I was there, which makes some sense given that Morgan Stanley’s main New York headquarters are in Midtown and I was at a smaller office downtown. People talked in the terms of a startup, pushing themes like innovation that may appeal to an engineer more than the average investment banker.
We eventually left the lab and emerged into a similarly harshly lit hallway, the walls lined with cardboard boxes, before passing through a door and into the shinier, more central office area. I stepped into the bathroom before leaving; it was designed in the crisp image of the finance aesthetic, with a few cubbies holding hair straighteners.
Looking around, I remembered where I was: a bank at the tip of Manhattan, not a tech company in California. I wondered, though, how the lines between the two will continue to blur — and how much they’ve blurred already.
Nationwide is under fire for refusing to give members a binding vote on a controversial 43% pay rise for its chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, which could total up to £7m.
Campaigners say it leaves the mutual’s members with fewer rights than shareholders of listed UK banks and exposes a worrying “loophole” in building society rules.
Nationwide argues that after its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money Crobie’s pay should compete with that offered by banks such as Lloyds and NatWest. However, the board is only offering members an “advisory” vote at its annual general meeting (AGM) on 25 July, meaning there are no repercussions if they reject it.
Large high street banks are required to hold a binding vote on their pay policies at least once every three years, under laws governing large businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange. If shareholders reject the policy, they have to revert to the old pay plan and put a revised pay deal to shareholders within 12 months.
Nationwide could do the same, but said it is already going further than required under the Building Societies Act, which only requires binding votes for the election of board members.
“As part of our commitment to member engagement and transparency, Nationwide voluntarily puts the remuneration policy to the membership on an advisory basis at the AGM and we currently have no plans to change this approach,” a spokesperson said.
While Nationwide has never held a binding vote on pay, it has also never proposed such a large renumeration package for its chief executive, which could result in a record payout worth up to £7m from current levels of £4.8m. That is close behind NatWest Group, which in April secured backing for a package worth up to £7.7m for chief executive Paul Thwaite.
Luke Hildyard, the director of the High Pay Centre thinktank, described the situation as a “loophole in the governance of building societies”.
“Mutuals are supposed to have a more collective approach to business than corporate banks, but while the banks are required to revise pay policies that are rejected by a majority of shareholders, and provide a response to the stock market if more than 20% vote against, building societies can in theory ignore their members.”
“The Nationwide case, where there may be significant discomfort with the huge pay out planned for the chief executive, highlights the need for the loophole to be closed,” he said.
Crosbie’s £7m pay deal has angered some members. “I’m a Nationwide customer and didn’t know about this? Please send me a voting form immediately,” one posted on X. “Building societies are supposed to be the good guys. The apple has fallen far from the tree,” another claimed.
Sara Hall, the co-executive director at campaign group Positive Money said Nationwide “hiking its chief executive’s pay because that’s what the big banks are doing would be completely at odds with what building societies are supposed to stand for”.
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The move is “counterintuitive for an institution whose main selling point is putting its customers before shareholders”, Hall added.
A Nationwide spokesperson pushed back against the criticism, saying its pay proposals – although advisory – “always received overwhelming member support”.
“Any suggestion that we would ever ignore a vote against it is simply ridiculous. We always consider their views and at the last AGM over 94% of votes were in favour of the proposed remuneration policy,” they said.
“Nationwide delivered record member value last year, we are still first for customer satisfaction among high street banks, and more people switched their current accounts to Nationwide than to any other brand.
“We have managed this because we can attract, retain and motivate talented leaders. Even after the changes that are being proposed at the AGM, Nationwide’s chief executive will still be paid substantially less than the other large banks.”
Step aside, Bloomin’ Onion. Get back in the batter, onion rings.
There’s a new onion dish that’s going viral on social media, and it’s not like anything you’ve seen before.
It’s the onion boil.
What is an onion boil?
An onion boil is simply a different way to prepare an onion as a vegetable to accompany a meal. According to Southern Living, the onion boil goes well with a steak and some fresh green beans.
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TikTok makes onion boil trendy
While the onion boil has lived quietly in cookbooks, TikTok has brought it to the forefront.
Search for “onion boil” on TikTok, and you’ll find a plethora of videos showcasing people’s onion boil talents. Each person is doing it a little differently.
How to make an onion boil
Don’t let the name fool you, there’s no boiling involved. As the videos show, it’s not incredibly difficult to make.
Take a yellow or Vidalia onion and cut off the top and bottom, then remove the outer layer.
Core out the center of the onion
Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the core.
Add spices of your choice – paprika, garlic powder, parsley, black pepper are popular – along with either Old Bay or a form of Cajun spices.
After spicing the onion, wrap it in aluminum foil.
Bake the onion at 350°F for 1 hour, or until tender.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Onion boil trends on TikTok. How to make it
