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  • Last Pundit Standing – a star-studded line up and transmission details confirmed

    Last Pundit Standing – a star-studded line up and transmission details confirmed

    The BBC announced that Last Pundit Standing – an exciting new competition series from BBC Creator Lab and BBC Sport that’s set to shake up the punditry game – will premiere on Monday 7 July on BBC iPlayer.

    Episodes 1 and 2 will be available from 6am on Monday 7 July with new episodes dropping on iPlayer each week until the final on Monday 11 August. Each episode will also be available to watch on the BBC’s TikTok and YouTube channels.

    Fronted by footballing legend Troy Deeney and renowned football YouTuber and presenter James Allcott, the seven-part digital-first series follows 12 of the UK’s most passionate football fanatics, who love creating content about the beautiful game on their social media channels, as they compete to become BBC Sport’s next big football content creator.

    But they won’t be facing the challenge alone.

    Joining the game are some of football and broadcasting’s most iconic figures, who will be setting tasks and offering expert insight. Star guests include Max Fosh, Martin Keown, Sami Mokbel, Rebecca Welch, Calum Leslie, Robbie Savage, Chris Sutton, Kelly Somers, Sean Dyche and Alex Scott.

    These well-known names will be challenging the contestants to prove they have what it takes to inform, educate and entertain football fans across the UK.

    Selected through BBC Creator Lab’s nationwide talent search — in collaboration with TikTok — the 12 contenders represent a new generation of digital-native football voices.

    BBC Creator Lab is a talent search scheme, in collaboration with TikTok, for social and digital creators with an interest in developing a career in television.

    The Last Pundit Standing line up has been confirmed as:

    • Toby Addison @blindtobes
    • Ally Tomlinson @ally.tom7
    • Cathal Traquair @calluketraquair
    • Fuad Abdul Aziz @vipersport
    • Rukiah Ally @Rukiah.ally2
    • Jess Watkins @_jesswatkins
    • Raees Mahmood @pythaginboots
    • Reggie Yembra @reggieyembra
    • Nancy Baker @nancebaker
    • Nahyan Chowdhury @nahyan.chowdhury
    • Lia Lewis @lia.lewis
    • Oscar Browning @oscarbrowning

    Filmed at legendary football locations and packed with high-stakes challenges, Last Pundit Standing promises to bring fresh perspectives and exciting drama to the world of sports punditry.

    Last Pundit Standing (7×20’) is a co-production between Boom Social (part of ITV Studios) and JLA Productions for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. The series was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, BBC Controller of Youth Audience, BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, and Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Director of Sport. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Nasfim Haque, Head of Content, BBC Three, with Ciara Murray and Maeve McLoughlin as BBC Commissioning Executives. Cai Morgan is Executive Producer for Boom, with Luke Rudland and Trent Williams-Jones as Series Producers and Katie Fazackerley Mason as Head of Production.

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  • Fear of childbirth among pregnant women in hospital for delivery and its impact on birth outcomes and lactation initiation: a prospective longitudinal study in Wuhan | BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

    Fear of childbirth among pregnant women in hospital for delivery and its impact on birth outcomes and lactation initiation: a prospective longitudinal study in Wuhan | BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

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  • Asia-to-US e-commerce shipments fall after tax exemption ends

    Asia-to-US e-commerce shipments fall after tax exemption ends

    Air cargo shipments from Asia to the United States fell sharply in May after the U.S. ended a tax-free rule for low-value packages from China.

    Data from the International Air Transport Association showed a 10.7 percent drop in demand compared to the same month last year.

    The decline followed the U.S. decision on May 2 to cancel the de minimis exemption, which allowed goods under $800 to enter duty-free. These packages, often shipped by Chinese platforms such as Shein and Temu, were taxed at rates as high as 145 percent before dropping to around 30 percent after a mid-May trade agreement.

    Estimates from air cargo consultancy Aevean showed a 43 percent fall in low-value shipments from China to the U.S. in May compared to April. Shipments to other markets, including Europe and Southeast Asia, increased during the same period.

    Direct freighter capacity between China and the U.S. in June was 11 percent lower than in March, removing the growth seen over the past year. Airlines reduced flight frequencies, with some cutting from three to two weekly charters.

    Dimerco Express reported that its e-commerce bookings fell 50 percent in May and June, leading to continued cancellations of scheduled cargo flights.

    The de minimis rule dates back to 1938 and had been used to support cross-border trade in low-value goods. In recent years, it allowed a growing share of goods from Asia to enter the U.S. by air.

    By 2023, such shipments accounted for 55 percent of all goods shipped by air from China to the U.S., up from just 5 percent in 2018.

    The U.S. has since eased some export restrictions on software, ethane, and aerospace products ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose wider tariffs on several countries. Companies continue to shift shipments to other regions amid ongoing trade negotiations.


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  • Agreement with Real Betis for the transfer of Riquelme

    Agreement with Real Betis for the transfer of Riquelme

    HE JOINED OUR ACADEMY IN 2010

    We have reached an agreement with the Andalusian club over the transfer of the Spanish player.

    Atlético de Madrid and Real Betis have reached an agreement for the transfer of Rodrigo Riquelme.

    The Madrid-born footballer joined our Academy in 2010 and was a member of the historic Juvenil A team that won the treble in the 2017/18 season. He fulfilled his dream on Sep. 1, 2019, when he made his first team debut in a match against Eibar at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. He spent the 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons on loan at AFC Bournemouth, Mirandés and Girona, respectively, before returning to our club in the summer of 2023. Over the last two seasons, he was part of our first team, playing 75 official matches, scoring five goals and providing seven assists. In addition, his performances with our club opened the door to the Spain senior national team, with which he made his debut in November 2023.

    Atlético de Madrid would like to thank Rodrigo Riquelme for his dedication and effort during all these years at our club. We wish him the best of luck in his future personal and professional endeavours. 

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  • Israel aims to maintain ‘aerial superiority’ over Iran – Financial Times

    Israel aims to maintain ‘aerial superiority’ over Iran – Financial Times

    1. Israel aims to maintain ‘aerial superiority’ over Iran  Financial Times
    2. Israel warns of action if Iran resumes nuclear weapons pursuit  ایران اینترنشنال
    3. Israeli defence minister instructs military to prepare ‘enforcement plan’ against Iran  Dawn
    4. Israel minister says army will ‘ensure Iran cannot threaten’ country again  Arab News PK
    5. Israeli military prepares plan to ensure Iran cannot threaten Israel, defence minister says  DD News

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  • Abee launches high-powered mini PC with built-in AI engine

    Abee launches high-powered mini PC with built-in AI engine

    Chinese tech manufacturer Abee has unveiled a compact AI workstation powered by AMD’s most powerful AI-focused processor to date, the Ryzen AI Max 395, at the AMD Industry Solution National Conference.

    Dubbed the Abee AI Station, the desktop-class device features a 16-core, 32-thread APU with boost speeds reaching 5.1GHz, supported by a dedicated NPU rated at over 50 TOPS and a combined AI throughput of 126 TOPS.

    Designed for developers, AI engineers, and edge-computing professionals, the machine delivers enterprise-grade performance in a chassis measuring just 21 x 22 x 15 cm.

    Despite its compact form factor, the system includes a platinum-rated 400W Flex ATX power supply, liquid cooling via an internal radiator and pump assembly, and dual 92mm fans to ensure thermal stability during sustained workloads.

    The AI Station integrates an AMD Radeon 8600S GPU clocked at 2900MHz, supporting up to 96GB of shared memory for compute-intensive tasks, as reported by Tech Radar.

    It also features 128GB of LP-DDR5X RAM running at 8000MT/s, although this memory is soldered and non-upgradeable.

    Storage includes dual 56GB modules and a 1TB DOGE SSD, rounding out a system clearly intended for heavy local inference workloads.

    The AI Station’s hardware is complemented by a custom ATX12VO motherboard and modern networking options including dual Ethernet ports, one 2.5GbE and one 10GbE, for high-speed data transfer.

    The package supports a 27-inch AOC Q27P3U display with 2K resolution and a 75Hz refresh rate, and ships with additional accessories such as the V700 958FI webcam and a VT60 wireless mechanical keyboard and mouse set.

    Though positioned as a business-class machine, the Abee AI Station’s feature set places it in direct contention with traditional workstation towers, offering a local, cloud-free compute option for AI developers.

    Abee joins a growing list of Chinese vendors like GMKTec and SDUNITED to build mini-PCs around AMD’s Strix Halo-class silicon.

    However, global brands such as Asus and HP have so far confined the chip to larger workstation-class desktops.

    Whether this mini PC form factor will catch on outside China remains to be seen, but the Abee AI Station’s specifications place it among the most ambitious compact AI systems available today.

    Real-world performance testing, however, will determine if it can deliver on its considerable promise.


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  • Saudi Arabia's current priority is a permanent Gaza ceasefire, foreign minister says – Reuters

    1. Saudi Arabia’s current priority is a permanent Gaza ceasefire, foreign minister says  Reuters
    2. Saudi Arabia’s current priority is a permanent Gaza ceasefire, foreign minister says  Dawn
    3. ISRAELIRANWAR. Riyadh Does Not Want Hamas in Gaza Before Normalizing with Tel Aviv. Iran Kicks Out IAEA. Gaza: Ultimatum to Yasser Shabab  agc communication news
    4. Gaza ceasefire takes priority over Israel ties, says Saudi FM  The Express Tribune
    5. Level of Gaza reconstruction to decide future of Arab-Israeli normalization – veteran Saudi journalist | Opinion  i24NEWS

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  • Pakistan to launch ferry service to Iran, Iraq for ‘Arbaeen’ pilgrimage – ARY News

    1. Pakistan to launch ferry service to Iran, Iraq for ‘Arbaeen’ pilgrimage  ARY News
    2. Interior Minister chairs task force meeting to streamline issues of pilgrims traveling to Iran and Iraq  Ptv.com.pk
    3. Pakistan increases flights to Iran, Iraq during Muharram and Arbaeen  24 News HD
    4. Government decides to increase flights for pilgrims traveling to Iran and Iraq  Dunya News
    5. Special task force meeting held to resolve issues faced by pilgrims traveling to Iran and Iraq  Associated Press of Pakistan

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  • This Sony WF-C500 deal might be tempting, but we’d pay £4 more and go for their successors

    This Sony WF-C500 deal might be tempting, but we’d pay £4 more and go for their successors

    When I first saw that the Sony WF-C500 wireless earbuds were down to £35 at Amazon, I was tempted. Then I realised that not only are they refurbished, but also their successors, the Sony WF-C510, were on sale at Amazon for only £39.

    At only £4 more, that’s one of the clearest no-brainer deal decisions you’ll have to make.

    They’re superior in almost every conceivable way – they’re smaller and lighter, have a more robust Bluetooth connection, and, most importantly, they sound better!

    I know which one I’d recommend you go for…

    Best Sony WF-C510 wireless earbuds deal

    The Sony WF-C500 are a tough act to follow, but Sony has pulled it off.

    The follow-up WF-C510 offer more advanced features like Bluetooth Multipoint and an Ambient Sound Mode, which lets in outside sounds without having to take out the earbuds.

    These are the only pair of earbuds we’ve tested without active noise cancellation to offer this feature.

    Their battery life is slightly longer than the C500’s too, with 11 hours from the buds and the same again from the case. That makes for a total battery life that’s two hours more than their predecessor’s.

    Crucially, they sound better too. By keeping the C500’s musicality and rhythmic abilities, but creating an overall richer, more well-rounded sound, Sony has crafted a superb audio experience.

    They even make their predecessors sound a little lean and diminutive in scale.

    The C510 are also better at capturing dynamic shifts, while their midrange and treble are also superior, sounding more refined and subtle.

    So, better all round, then. The C500 are still a great pair of ‘buds, but at this cheaper price, the C510, for only £39 at Amazon, are the definition of a no-brainer.

    MORE:

    Read our Sony WF-C510 review

    Sony WF-C510 vs C500: which are better?

    The best wireless earbuds you can buy

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  • Victorian Romance Meets ’80s Edge

    Victorian Romance Meets ’80s Edge

    Isabel Marant blended her signature softness with an edge for resort, in a collection that took notes from Victorian romanticism and 1980s attitude.

    Building on the strong tailoring seen the previous season, artistic director Kim Bekker softened the silhouette ever so slightly with flowing fabrics, rounded shoulders, and subtle detailing such as lace and delicate, fabric-covered buttons.

    Faux fur coats were cinched at the waist and came with voluminous, rounded sleeves as a nod to Victorian fashion, while leather jackets adopted an ’80s edge, softened by delicate embroidery and laser-cut floral patterns.

    The collection leaned heavily into textiles for a relaxed, feminine feel: think washed cotton-linen blends, soft velvets, laser-cut lace, and guipure bobbin stitching motifs for added depth and dimension. Bekker played with prints, mixing Western-inspired and petite Victorian florals, as well as motifs in metallic studs.

    The brand’s bestselling low-heeled, slouchy boot was reimagined this season with laser cutouts, in a cute heart motif or a half-moon shape that breathed with swish and movement.

    Matching the men’s collection, colors were toned-down and dusty, such as a soft pink and a sandy beige.

    Bekker said sales of accessories and jewelry have been strong across seasons, and faux fur coats from the winter collection sold particularly well. However, buyers are more cautious and seeking out essentials that strongly communicate the DNA of the brand.

    “They want to have the total look, or the one iconic piece that really reflects the brand or the season,” she said. “And we try to play into this.”

    Hence the new twists on Marant’s elevated classics that appeal across markets. The collection carried all the markers of the label’s Parisan cool-girl, boho chic look, with an on-trend cowboy edge.

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