Purely in football terms, the tournament could be considered a success.
The group stages were a slow burner, with mismatched games like Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City.
There have been plenty of dramatic games and surprising scorelines – and an average of more than three goals per game.
Manchester City were knocked out 4-3 in extra time by Al-Hilal. Benfica took Chelsea to extra time thanks to a 95th-minute penalty – after a two-hour weather delay – before the Blues won 4-1.
Chelsea scored a late winner in the quarter-final against Palmeiras, with Estevao Willian, who joins them after the competition, netting against his soon-to-be team-mates.
Lionel Messi scored a free-kick, amateur side Auckland City picked up a point against Boca Juniors, having lost their first two games by a total of 16-0, and there have been games with scorelines of 4-4, 4-3, 4-2 and 5-2.
PSG, who have been sensational at times, beat Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Inter Miami 4-0.
PSG beat Bayern 2-0 despite having nine men – and there were three stoppage-time goals and a red card as Real beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2.
“We saw a few games at the start of the tournament which were a bit of a mismatch, but after that all the games have been competitive,” said Brown.
“The mixture of cultures has been amazing. We’ve seen some different styles of play but a lot of quality everywhere.
“The Brazilian teams in particular contributed to that in a massive way. They set the standard in matches, put pressure on European teams and made them respond.
“What we do have to understand is that the European teams had not hit their stride when the tournament started because they’d had a bit of a rest first [after the end of their domestic seasons].”
Skin fades and sculpted bobs are out. Messy tops and longer locks are in. For fashion hawks, the move towards lengthier hair is hardly news, but it may not be fashion alone that is driving the shift. Rising costs and tightened belts are among the reasons some believe are behind the trend for longer hair.
The average cost of a haircut for men and women in the UK has soared by more than 30% since 2020, according to government data. As a result, many of us have adapted our hairstyles.
“We’re still in a cost of living crisis,” said Phil Smith. “Most people are struggling. Anything that’s going to give your hair a bit of a longer life is going to stay in fashion.”
For Smith, the owner of the salon Smith England in Salisbury, which caters to men and women, the move towards longer-lasting styles has hit business. “It’s been disastrous,” he said. “People are not coming in as often.”
The most common shift he has seen among men is a move away from skin fades, where hair on the sides is cut tightly and blended to created a faded look – a style that needs regular maintenance.
The English actor Tom Hardy has his hair textured on top and close-shaved at the sides. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
Instead, people have opted for taper fades, which provide a similar blended look but retain more length on the upper sides and top.
“Short hair is dying out and longer hairstyles are back in fashion,” he said. “When the taper fade is done properly, it lasts that little bit longer. The skin fade lasts two weeks and you’ve got to do it again. When the taper grows out, it looks a bit cooler and messier.”
Mullets are also back in fashion, but Smith has a note of caution for those wanting the in-demand do. “If it’s been cut badly, it’s just a throwback to Chris Waddle.”
A Sydney man sporting a sleek haircut known locally as a ‘Mullet’. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
The collision of the cost of living crisis with the salon is most keenly felt by women, who have traditionally paid more for their hair styling than men. Smith said here too, there have been cost-influenced fashion trends.
The treatment that has undergone the largest change is hair colouring. Dyed roots, which need to be redone every 10 to 12 weeks, are out. Balayage, where colour is applied directly to the hair, is all the rage. This treatment only requires a bi-yearly visit to the salon.
The actor Rose Byrne has distinctly sun-kissed looking hair. Photograph: Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie
“It looks like sun-kissed ends, lovely hair that’s being lifted by the sunshine,” he said.
In his own shop, Smith said he has had to raise his prices by about 15% to 20% as rising costs, including the recent national insurance rise and inflation on salon products, hit hard.
“I’ve been doing this for 41 years and this is by far the hardest I’ve ever seen it. The recession and 2008 banking crisis was a walk in the park compared with how things are now,” he said.
Bobby Gordon, the owner of the men’s barber Fella, which has branches in London and Kent, has found the climate similarly challenging.
“There’s a limit to what people will pay for certain things,” he said. “It’s the same with a haircut. I think the work has been cheapened for a very long time and we’re playing catch-up.”
“For a long time, people just assumed a men’s haircut was a tenner. But the quality of work that barbers are doing now is, on the whole, a lot better.”
He said the skin fade and shorter styles in general were on their way out. “Hair couldn’t get any shorter unless we started to take people’s scalps off,” he said.
He has been forced to raise his prices owing to rising costs, but time is also a factor.
“Clients are more demanding, they know what they’re after. They’re not bringing in a picture of a footballer like they did a long time ago. They’ve seen stuff on Instagram and the cuts people want now take a long time to do. It’s not a five-minute job, they take 40 to 45 minutes to do, maybe even an hour,” he said.
With longer styles booming in popularity, Fella has introduced a “back and sides” option to entice those who don’t want to pay full whack for a touch-up.
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“It’s been quite popular,” he said. “We felt that with the way styles are changing, people don’t necessarily want a full haircut and they find the back and sides to be the problem areas.”
Richard Scorer, the creative director of the women’s salon chain Haringtons, said people were “having higher-value services left less often”. He has seen a similar surge in demand for balayage treatments.
“Time is a big issue for people. People used to come in every week and have a blow dry. Now, they’re coming in less regularly, so they want services that last,” he said.
Scorer said his salons, located around the Thames Valley, are at the “higher end of the market” for the area. Despite this, he has seen new customers expecting to level up their treatments, especially as prices in less-luxury hairdressers have also risen.
“People want experiences now, having a haircut here is a lovely experience,” he said. “Beware of false economies. If you come to a salon like ours, the initial price might be more, but we do things like fringe trims for free for three months.”
Our experts’ top tips for long-lasting hairstyles
For men
Taper fade For those who still want a bit of tightness in their cut, the taper fade offers a good balance between some shortness on the sides while retaining some volumising length on top. Because it’s left longer towards the blended top of the head, when it grows out it still retains a good shape, which means less frequent visits to the barber.
Mod cut This longer, textured trim will give your mop some flexibility. You can leave it soft and unkempt and still look fresh or apply some product for a more defined look. The fringe also gives you some hair to play with, which can be slightly parted or left to sit on your forehead. This cut can be done every four to six weeks.
Timothée Chalamet shows off his textured mod look. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
For women
Forward graduation This layered, textured cut will give your long, luscious locks some bounce and make your facial features pop. It involves cutting shorter layers in the front and longer layers in the back, which will make it grow out more evenly. It is a particularly good style if you want to add some shape, volume and bounce to long, flowing hair.
Jennifer Aniston is known for having plenty of bounce and volume in her hairstyling. Photograph: Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images
Square layered haircut This boxy cut, which involves cutting layers at a 90-degree angle to the head shape, will give your hair a neat but bouncy look. Like the forward graduation, the layered cuts mean it will grow out more evenly and is fairly maintenance-free.
A newly developed artificial intelligence model is showing promising results in simulating human behavior with a level of accuracy not previously achieved in cognitive science. The model, called Centaur, is designed to predict how people make decisions across a wide range of situations, including unfamiliar ones.
Developed at Helmholtz Munich’s Institute for Human-Centered AI, Centaur is based on a large dataset—over ten million individual decisions made by more than 60,000 participants across 160 controlled psychological experiments, according to the press release. These included studies on risk-taking, reward processing, moral reasoning, and more. The dataset, named Psych-101, was specifically structured to train a language model on cognitive behavior.
Earlier models were built on rigid rules or task-specific designs. Centaur, on the other h learns generalizable patterns in human decision-making. It processes inputs described in natural language and predicts not just outcomes, but also likely response times—offering a layered understanding of the decision process. This capacity to model cognition dynamically brings researchers closer to replicating the underlying mechanisms of thought.
One of the model’s potential applications is in clinical psychology. By simulating how individuals with mental health conditions approach decisions, the model may help researchers identify behavioral markers for conditions like anxiety and depression. Future versions of the dataset will incorporate psychological profiles and demographic factors, expanding its relevance for personalized mental health research.
Beyond psychology, the model may offer tools for decision-making in fields such as healthcare, social policy, and behavioral economics. The ability to simulate human reasoning in response to complex, real-world scenarios could assist in designing more effective interventions or services.
The research team emphasizes ethical deployment, advocating for transparent and open systems. Their goal is to maintain full control over data and model behavior, ensuring that such tools are used responsibly—particularly in sensitive domains.
As research progresses, the team plans to examine how internal computations within the model correspond to actual cognitive strategies. This could provide further insight into how individuals process information, and how those processes differ across populations.
The findings were published in Nature and mark a step forward in the use of AI to explore human cognition at scale.
The first song I fell in love withFight the Power by Public Enemy from their Fear of a Black Planet album touched my soul. Hearing the vibrant production on that record is what really inspired me as a child to become a musician. I listened to it so much, I nearly wore it out. It was crazy.
The first single I bought Ruff Rhyme (Back Again) by my friend King T on cassette tape from Tower Records in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It has the Ruff Mix remix on the B-side, and to this day he and I fight about which is best.
The song I do at karaoke In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. Is it in my vocal range? I don’t give care if I’m singing it right. I’ll do my best.
The best song to play at a party It depends on what they’re serving. If it’s a wild party and there’s a whole bunch of drugs involved, it’s gotta be uptempo. If it’s kick back with some weed, then some 90s or 00s gangsta rap like Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang by Dr Dre featuring Snoop Dogg.
The song I secretly like I love Everything by Mary J Blige from her Share My World album, which samples You Are Everything by the Stylistics and The Payback by James Brown. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since she came out. She’s one of my favourite artists who integrates hip-hop and R&B.
The best song to have sex to It’s not about the music. Sometimes it’s just about being into your partner: that’s the music right there. Would I have sex to my own records? Hell no. Have you heard my shit, like Choke Me, Spank Me (Pull My Hair)? You can’t have sex to those records.
The song that changed my life Bitch Please by Snoop Dogg featuring Nate Dogg and Xzibit was the beginning of an era. It launched us into the stratosphere, turned the page, and kicked everything up in my career.
The song that makes me cry You just reminded me I haven’t cried in a minute. I gotta go look for that.
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The song that gets me up in the morning Yankee and the Brave by Run the Jewels because it’s adrenaline and goes good with coffee.
The song I’d like played at my funeral Play This at My Funeral, the first song on my new album.
Canada continues to see an alarming rise in measles cases in 2025.
Through the spring, the virus spread most intensely in Ontario. But after over 2,200 cases, hundreds hospitalized and one measles-related death, it seems to be dwindling in that province.
Now, Alberta’s seeing a spike, with almost 1,300 confirmed cases so far.
With every province except Newfoundland and Labradorreporting cases of measles, here are some common questions from CBC readers, viewers and listeners — answered.
I’ve had measles as a child. Am I safe from getting infected again?
Most likely yes, says the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
It says those who have had a past measles infection should be immune against another one, as long as they have a normal immune response.
I’ve lost my vaccination records. Should I get another dose?
Generally, yes, says PHAC.
PHAC recommends that children and adults who don’t have records of their vaccination history be started on an immunization schedule appropriate to their age and risk factors.
Even if you’ve already been vaccinated, it’s generally considered safe for health-care providers to give another dose, PHAC says, because they haven’t seen additional side effects from repeated immunization.
But this is why a national vaccine registry would be hugely helpful, says Dawn Bowdish, a professor of immunology at McMaster University.
“The number of people who are looking to figure out if they got one dose, if they got two doses, if they were vaccinated as children and perhaps they just moved provinces and they can’t get their records is extremely high.”
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine offer almost 100 per cent effectiveness against the virus in the long term.
Can I check my immunity to measles?
That depends.
PHAC says routine testing for laboratory evidence of measles immunity is not recommended for the general population.
Some populations, like health-care workers who work with vulnerable people, as well as some pregnant women, can get a blood test looking for antibodies against measles.
Those who have received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, or those who are born before 1970, are presumed to be immune against the virus.
Do we screen for measles vaccination status among people who enter Canada?
No. Proof of vaccination is not mandatory to enter Canada.
Canada does require permanent residents and certain temporary residents to have an immigration medical exam before arriving in Canada, said a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The test also screens for certain communicable diseases.
During that medical exam, some may be offered vaccinations — including the measles, mumps and rubella shots.
Doctors who work with recent immigrants and asylum seekers tell CBC News their patients generally don’t hesitate to get any childhood vaccinations they might have missed.
But, they say, the federal government can do more to ramp up pre-departure vaccination programs, and make it easier for health-care providers to access medical and vaccination records across borders.
Two facts about Alice Warner Johnson were as important as anything else about her time on earth.
One, she loved The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and her family above all else. And two, she devoted her life — even after it became nearly impossible to carry on — to help others through their trials, explained her obituary in 2019 after she died at age 55.
Johnson is the author and composer of “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me,” which was included in the latest batch of new hymns for “Hymns — For Home and Church.”
She wrote the hymn while suffering from a progressive form of multiple sclerosis, which came with episodes of blindness and numbness and led to increasing, then total incapacity.
Alice Warner Johnson, nee Alice Anne Warner, is pictured in 1982. She wrote several books and hymns, including “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me” in the Church’s new hymnbook. | Provided by the Johnson family
The About the Hymns section of gospel library says this for this hymn:
“Devastated as she declined, Sister Johnson pled with the Lord for more time to serve Him and her family. While learning to trust Him and surrender her will to His, she was inspired to write ‘O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me.’”
Her daughter, Katherine Pearse, remembers going into her mother’s office in the basement and watching her “hunched over her keyboard, meticulously working on the melodies and chords. … She spent hours writing and rewriting that beautiful hymn as her disease worsened and became more severe.”
The hymn speaks of humbly going to the Lord and offering a sacrifice of a contrite soul and broken heart. The second verse talks about bearing His yoke. In the end, the hymn says, “Now bind my grateful heart to Thine.”
Scripture references in the new hymnbook for this hymn are Doctrine and Covenants 59:8 and Matthew 11:28–30, which include the Lord’s teachings on these themes.
Alice Warner Johnson plays the piano in a picture from 2006. Johnson wrote the hymn “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me.” | Provided by the Johnson family
Pearse said even in the worst moments, her mother remained positive and continued to share and serve however she could.
“Most importantly her faith never wavered,” Pearse told the Church News. “She gave thanks to God constantly, she looked to Christ as her support, and she lived by the Spirit in hopes that she could find ways to reach out to others in need.”
‘The perfect way to honor her legacy’
Johnson grew up in Provo, Utah, as the oldest of 10 siblings. She showed remarkable gifts from a young age, including learning to read by the age of 3 and teaching herself piano. She performed in many musicals, wrote stories, sang in University Singers at Brigham Young University and served a full-time mission to Taiwan.
After college, she had a prestigious job in Boston, Massachusetts, and always wanted to become a wife and mother. After moving back to Utah in her 30s to help her dad start a new company, a mutual friend set her up with Paul Johnson and they were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1996.
Paul, Alice, Annie, Katie, Sam and Molly Johnson are pictured in 2006. Before dying in 2019, Alice Warner Johnson wrote the hymn “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me,” which is included in the Church’s new hymnbook. | Provided by the Johnson family
Two months after her second daughter, Pearse, was born, Johnson woke up in the morning to sudden blindness. She learned that she had an advanced form of multiple sclerosis.
“This devastating blow did not stop my mom,” Pearse said. Johnson continued pursuing and sharing her musical and writing talents from her home in Lindon, Utah. Several of her hymns won Church music contests at this time. Later, moving to Eagle, Idaho, Johnson directed ward choirs and made it a joy for people to participate, Pearse said.
Despite the danger that the disease would progress more rapidly with more children, the Johnsons — after much deliberation, prayer and priesthood blessings — had two more children.
Soon Johnson was unable to walk or drive. Pearse said she continued to write books and hymns from her bed, and would call people to say she was thinking about them and offer ways to help them. Relief Society sisters who went to visit her would leave saying they felt served by her instead.
After five years of being completely bed bound, Johnson passed away. Her funeral included a choir with people from her childhood and her wards in Boston, Lindon and Eagle singing in her honor.
“Her life was filled with loving friends and family, incredible experiences, and so much music,” Pearse said.
Alice Warner Johnson and her children, Annie and Katie, play music together in 2004. Johnson wrote the hymn “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me,” which is in the Church’s new hymnbook. | Provided by the Johnson family
While Johnson received many awards and accolades throughout her life, she would say her crowning jewel was being a mother to her four children. While all of them are also musical, they strive to honor her by remembering her words — “kindness is the most important thing.”
“Her hymn being included in the hymnbook is the perfect way to honor her legacy,” Pearse said. “The lyrics follow her story of terrible loss, but giving it over to the Lord. She truly did lay her burdens at His feet, trust His will, and even feel profound gratitude for her many blessings.”
O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me
1. O Lord, who gave Thy life for me, I come now in humility And here my sacrifice impart: A contrite soul, a broken heart. Oh, may Thy love in mercy shine And bind my sorrowing heart to Thine.
2. My burden at Thy feet I lay— My pride, my hurt, each willful way, The weight of all my sin and care— And in its place Thy yoke I’ll bear. Oh, may Thy love my soul refine And bind my trusting heart to Thine.
3. My heart is full of love for Thee, Because I know Thou first loved me. Now by that love I’ll seek to live; Like Thee, I freely would forgive. Oh, may Thy love my life define And bind my willing heart to Thine.
4. And as I strive to thus endure With cleaner hands and heart more pure, In all around I see Thy face And feel the bounties of Thy grace. O Savior, may Thy love divine Now bind my grateful heart to Thine.
Learn more about all the new hymns in the “About the Hymns” resource in of Gospel Library.
Sally Pearson and Christian Taylor have been announced as World Athletics ambassadors for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, with two months to go until the 20th edition of the global showpiece in Japan.
Australia’s Pearson and USA’s Taylor have claimed a sensational six World Championships titles between them, and they will both be in Tokyo to see the sport’s current stars go for gold medals of their own during nine days of action from 13-21 September.
It was in Japan that Pearson made her individual World Championships debut, reaching the semifinals of both the 100m and the 100m hurdles at the 2007 edition in Osaka. She had formed part of Australia’s 4x100m squad as a 16-year-old at the World Championships in Paris four years earlier.
She went on to win two world 100m hurdles titles, in Daegu in 2011 and in London in 2017, as well as world silver in 2013, Olympic gold in 2008 and Olympic silver in 2008. At the time, her 12.28 in Daegu placed her fourth on the world all-time list. Indoors, she secured the world 60m hurdles title in 2012 and silver in 2014.
“I remember, as a 16-year-old, racing at my first World Championships way back in 2003 in Paris,” said Pearson, whose first major medal was the world U18 gold she gained in Sherbrooke the same year she made her senior World Championships debut.
“There I was, standing on the side of the track, getting ready to anchor the 4x100m relay. I look up and there are 80,000 people in the stands. That’s when I decided I wanted that as my career; I wanted to be a professional athlete. My dreams came true, and I represented Australia at six editions of the World Championships. Being at peak performance at the highest level of our sport is something dreams are made of and I am so glad that I got to experience it. That’s why being selected as an athlete ambassador is a huge honour. This sport is so important to me, and I can’t wait to see you all there in Tokyo in September.”
Taylor’s global journey also began at the World U18 Championships and he soared to triple jump gold and long jump bronze at the 2007 edition in Ostrava.
He started his senior World Championships career in style, winning triple jump gold in Daegu on his debut in 2011. After claiming the first of his two Olympic titles in London in 2012, he regained his world title in Beijing in 2015 and repeated the feat in London in 2017 and in Doha in 2019 to become a four-time winner and the most successful athlete in the history of the men’s triple jump at the World Championships. He won his second Olympic title in 2016 and claimed world indoor silver in 2012.
The North American record of 18.21m that Taylor achieved to win his second world title in Beijing places him second on the world all-time list, just eight centimetres behind the world record Jonathan Edwards set at the World Championships in 1995.
“I am very excited to announce that I have been selected as one of the World Athletics athlete ambassadors for the World Championships in Tokyo, my absolute favourite city in the world,” said Taylor.
“As a World Athletics athlete ambassador, I have the privilege of cheering on and witnessing my fellow athletes in phenomenal performances which will be held on the runway, in the circle and on the track. One of my favourite World Championships experiences has to be my first World Championships, because I went there with everything to gain and nothing to lose, and I came out with a world title. That was the snowball effect that really changed the trajectory of my career. Reflecting on that and passing that positive energy towards you athletes, I just wish you nothing but the absolute best.”
PARIS – Ms Gisele Pelicot, who became a feminist icon by publicly testifying over the mass rapes she endured, and rapper-turned-fashion designer Pharrell Williams were among 589 people awarded France’s top civic honour on July 13.
They were both named knights of the Legion of Honour on a list announced ahead of France’s July 14 national day.
Ms Pelicot, 72,
earned international tributes
for her courage in testifying at a French trial in 2024 against her former husband, who drugged her and arranged for her to be raped by dozens of men over a decade.
She has since been named on lists of the world’s most influential people by international media and the case helped forced a change in France’s rape law.
But Ms Pelicot has remained silent since the trial. Her lawyer says she is concentrating on writing a book giving her side of the mass rape story, which is to be released in 2026.
American musician Williams, 52, made his name as a rapper and singer but earned a second fortune as a music producer and after designing clothes and accessories for several brands. He has been the Louis Vuitton men’s creative director since 2023.
His recent Paris show attracted a host of international celebrities, including singers Jay Z and Beyonce, film directors Steve McQueen and Spike Lee, and football and basketball stars.
Actor Lea Drucker, veteran singer Sylvie Vartan, writer Marc Levy and Auschwitz deportee Yvette Levy, 99, were also among the figures awarded the Legion of Honour along with a host of former ministers, academics and top legal names. AFP
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has stated that US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue opened the door to peace, but India’s closed it by refusing it.
“India’s rejection of peace is a proof of its aggressive mindset,” Naqvi said in his message on Kashmir Martyrs’ Day.
He paid tribute to the Kashmiris who sacrificed their lives on July 13, 1931: “We salute the 22 Kashmiri martyrs who faced bullets out of respect for the call to prayer.”
He said that July 13 marked the first call of conscience against a system that sought to silence the oppressed. “The guns of the Dogra regime and India’s violence are two forms of the same oppression,” he remarked.
Interior Minister Naqvi stated that the suppression of faith, identity, and opinion in Indian-Occupied Kashmir through state power is an insult to human dignity. “The Modi government, like the Dogra regime, is taking brutal actions against Kashmiris. The cry for freedom rising from the blood of martyrs cannot be silenced. Pakistan remains the protector, advocate, and guarantor of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.”
