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Along with some styling tweaks, the mid-size sedan swaps out its old turbocharged 1.6-liter engine for a more potent naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Kia drew back the curtains on the U.S. spec for the 2025 K5 sedan, showing updated styling in line with what we saw on the Korea-market car in October. The front and rear ends of the mid-size sedan are restyled with new daytime running lights, and the interior hosts a larger central touchscreen. The big news is the new 191-hp naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder, which takes over as the standard engine for all but the GT trim. There's no official date yet, but we're expecting to see the K5 on dealer lots sometime in the spring. After first revealing the Korea-market car back in October, Kia revealed the U.S.-specification K5 sedan at the Chicago auto show today. Along with revised front and rear ends, the mid-size sedan gains new tech, more standard features, and a new engine for the base models. Fewer Turbos, More Power When Kia revealed the Korea-market K5 back in October, we professed that we weren't expecting any major changes to the mid-size sedan's powertrain. Unfortunately, we can't bat a thousand (please don't tell your friends; our ego is fragile), even though we strive to be as close as possible. Thankfully, while we were wrong, we're happy to report that the 2025 K5 is up on standard power. Gone is the 180-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder previously found in most K5s. In its stead is a new (for the K5) 191-hp naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder for all but the GT trim. The new engine still pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive comes standard and all-wheel drive is available, though only on the GT-Line. Unfortunately, the loss of a turbo has resulted in less torque, with the 2.5-liter engine producing 181 pound-feet compared to the old 1.6's 195. The much more powerful GT returns with an unchanged powertrain. It's once again propelled by a 290-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter four-pot mated to an eight-speed wet dual-clutch automatic that it shares with the Hyundai Sonata N Line. The sportiest K5 features bigger brakes, a unique suspension tune, and wider tires on larger 19-inch rims. A New Look Just like the Korean version, the U.S. K5 adds new headlights and taillights for its restyled front and rear ends. The re-visioned front end incorporates new amber-colored daytime running lights carved into the K5's front end in a zigzag pattern. Around the back, the taillights are larger than before and slash downward into the bumper. There's a plethora of new wheel choices as well, with the base LXS trim riding on a set of 16-inch wheels and the EX and GT-Line coming standard with unique 18-inch wheel designs. At the top of the lineup, the GT earns 19-inch wheels wrapped in 245/40R-19 Pirelli P-Zero rubber. The GT also gets a standard set of bright green brake calipers to match the seat stitching. It's What's Inside That Counts Speaking of seat stitching, the interior of the 2025 K5 is overhauled with new tech and a few quality-of-life improvements. Available as an option, the new 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster and new standard 12.3-inch central touchscreen can be stuffed behind a single piece of curved glass. Kia has added the wireless versions of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard features across the K5 lineup. The screen is also more responsive, and over-the-air updates are now possible. Controls for HVAC and audio are updated to Kia's familiar one-screen, two-function format. The small screen toggles between the two functions, letting you change the A/C or volume with a single dial. Changes for 2025 are rounded out with a new center console that gets larger cupholders, a wireless charging pad, and USB-C ports for the front and rear. As for when you can expect the K5 to start showing up on sale, Kia hasn't offered any specific dates, but we're expecting they'll begin hitting dealer lots in the spring. Official pricing should be released in the months before then. Even with the new standard features, we aren't expecting to see a major jump over the 2024 model's $26,745 entry price. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46682181/2025-kia-k5-us-details-specs/

After a record-breaking round of games we assess the key factors, including the impact of new added-time directives Luton’s Carlton Morris celebrates after scoring one of the eight goals in his team’s 4-4 draw at Newcastle. Photograph: Scott Heppell/Reuters Once Phil Foden completed his hat-trick at Brentford to secure Manchester City’s 3-1 win, he set a record collective 45-goal haul for a Premier League round. It followed a weekend where only West Ham, losing 3-0 at Manchester United, and Sheffield United, beaten 5-0 by Aston Villa, failed to score. It eclipsed two weeks of 44 goals, the first in front of Covid-restricted empty stadiums in the second round of the 2020-21 season, and then last season’s 34th round, which included Brighton’s 6-0 walloping of Wolves and Crystal Palace’s 4-3 defeat of West Ham. Saturday’s haul of 26 goals over five matches was a record for a single day, heavily nudged towards that by Newcastle and Luton’s 4-4 draw. The 2023-24 season has brought comfortably the highest rate of goalscoring in Premier League history, with 730 goals rattled in from 228 matches, an average of 3.20 per game. Last season’s 380 matches delivered a previous record rate of 2.85 goals per game for 1,084 goals; no season’s matches have averaged above three goals per game. The self-proclaimed best league in the world just got better, though a statistical curiosity is that after last weekend the Bundesliga had a near identical rate of 573 goals in 180 matches – 3.18 – and the Eredivisie had 577 at a 3.21 average. La Liga’s 2.64, Ligue 1’s 2.51 and Serie A’s 2.55 rates show no vast difference from last season. Only the Premier League has made such a leap. Where might this season’s glut have come from? More attacking football from managers, better forward play, the rise of counterpressing, the decline of the classic defender, clubs struggling at the bottom, including Sheffield United who have conceded 59 goals and are in danger of setting a 38-game record? (The Blades are conceding at a rate of just over 2.56 goals a game; Derby, the holders of that 38-game record, let in 89 goals in 2007-08 at 2.34 per match.) The answer may be as simple as the 20 teams playing more football than before. Directives brought in at the start of the season, where officials are instructed to add the exact time lost to the end of each half rather than the previous nominal additions for subs and injuries and VAR checks, have led to much longer halves. Opta statistics show this Premier League season has featured by far the highest amount of added time, 11min 41sec a game on average. Last season, it was 8min 27sec. Incidentally, during that 2020-21 season without crowds, when it was suggested players were able to get away with less play-acting and time-wasting was similarly reduced, the average was as low as 6min 34sec. Those time directives, following those employed by Fifa for the 2022 World Cup, seek to keep the ball in play for longer. The more exacting time additions have had the desired result. This Premier League season, the ball has been in play for an average of 58min 31sec when compared with 54min 52sec last season. The previous highest came – that statistical outlier again – from the closed-door season in 2020-21. More added time leads to higher fatigue from defenders, more margin for errors, as matches lengthen. There have been 67 goals scored beyond the 90th minute – the record since Opta started recording this in 2006-07 is 72 – and the rate of 9.2% towers above the record of 6.7% set in the 2021-22 season. As might be expected, teams towards the top of the Premier League, with stronger – perhaps younger, more athletic? – squads are the beneficiaries of bonus football, with Liverpool and Arsenal level on eight goals scored beyond the 90-minute mark. Wolves and Aston Villa, two teams in fine form, have five each. Only Nottingham Forest have failed to score in time added on and one surprise lies in Manchester City, champions and looming title favourites, having scored only twice beyond the 90th minute. Perhaps they are saving theirs for later. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/08/premier-league-goals-why-so-many

Culling of M90 comes amid ongoing legal battles over how to deal with bears deemed dangerous to humans A bear at the Parco Faunistico in Spormaggiore. An animal rights group said Trentino’s policy was ‘shortsighted and hostile to animals’. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian nimal rights activists have decried the “brutal” culling of a bear by forestry police in Trentino following orders from the president of the mountainous northern Italian province. M90, a brown bear, was deemed to be a “danger to public security” after the animal was alleged to have intentionally followed people on three occasions, most recently a couple of hikers who were walking along a mountain path 1,400 metres above the town of Ortisé in the Val di Sole. The “excessively confident” bear, who was identified by its radio collar and ear markings, was also seen on 12 occasions “in residential areas or in the immediate vicinity of permanent dwellings”, provincial authorities said. Officials said Italy’s environmental institute Ispra had confirmed the need to “remove M90 as soon as possible”. The bear was traced to a forested area in the lower Val di Sole on Tuesday and put down. The killing comes amid ongoing legal battles between the president of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, and animal rights groups over how to deal with bears that are deemed dangerous. The debate intensified in April last year when Andrea Papi, 26, was mauled to death by a bear called JJ4 while jogging along a mountain path close to his village of Caldes. JJ4 had also attacked two hikers in 2020. Animal and environmental activists said they would protest in the provincial capital, Trento, on Saturday, arguing that the speed at which the order and execution of M90 occurred did not give them time to seek a reprieve. Lucia Coppola, a provincial councillor for the Green party, said: “It was a brutal act. The animal had never caused any damage, it should not have been considered dangerous.” Oipa, an animal rights group, said the province’s policy was “shortsighted and hostile to animals” and did not protect biodiversity. “We hoped until the end for a change of heart … but President Fugatti was deaf to the request of public opinion,” the group said. “M90 was a young bear guilty of having been spotted a few times near inhabited areas.” It said the only damage caused by M90 was to a farm fence and a bin for organic waste. Bears were brought to Trentino from Slovenia in the early 2000s as part of a project aimed at reversing the area’s dwindling brown bear po[CENSORED]tion. There are about 100 bears in the province. A committee established in the memory of Papi had expressed concern over the more frequent bear sightings, especially during winter when the animals would ordinarily be hibernating. It is believed they are venturing closer to inhabited areas in search of food, even in winter, due to the warmer temperatures. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/07/animal-rights-groups-decry-brutal-killing-of-bear-by-italian-forestry-police

Silvia and Pepe on their roof terrace in Mexico City, 2024. How we met Relationships How we met: ‘I wasn’t open to a relationship. But we ended up kissing and it felt very welcome’ Silvia, 54, met Pepe, 56, at a party in Mexico City when they were in their early 20s. At first she had no intention of dating him … Silvia was 19 when her mum died. “I’d been living in Boston on a gap year, learning English,” she says. “I came home to Mexico City when my mum was ill, but I didn’t know she had terminal cancer. I thought she would get better.” Her death came as a huge shock and Silvia plunged into a depression. Two years later, she was still struggling with grief. “My sister suggested we set up a screen printing business together, which was a nice distraction from everything because I became so busy with work.” A friend encouraged her to come along to a party. “I didn’t have many friends then, nor did I go to many parties, but she wanted to get me out of my little cocoon,” says Silvia. “I didn’t feel like going but I decided to give it a go.” Whenever we move around, coming back to Silvia gives me the base I need Another friend picked her up from her home, and brought Pepe along, too. “I’d just finished university and was living with my grandparents,” he says. “As soon as I saw Silvia, I was interested. We started talking in the car and I really liked her; she seemed different from the other girls I’d met.” Silvia enjoyed their conversations that night, but “wasn’t open to a relationship”. “My friend asked if she could give him my number and I said ‘no way’. But she ignored me and did it anyway,” Silvia says with a laugh. When Pepe called shortly afterwards, she was shocked to hear from him. “I told him I was going on holiday the following week and that I didn’t ‘do’ dating.” Still keen to get to know her as a friend, Pepe called again when she returned and suggested a “non-date” coffee and a walk. Silvia agreed to go and found she liked the way he listened to her. “He wasn’t just looking at me; he made me feel as if I was interesting. We discovered we loved cinema and had seen many of the same art exhibitions.” From then on, they met up as friends more frequently and Silvia began to realise how much she liked Pepe. “I felt really comfortable around him. I grew up with little self-esteem but, being with him, I felt I could be myself without fearing judgment. We ended up kissing one day and it felt very welcome.” The pair soon became inseparable: “On weekends, we used to watch three films in a row, or go to exhibitions, on road trips, to gigs or clubbing.” Pepe began working in marketing for a management consulting firm, while Silvia continued her business. In 1995, Pepe was offered the chance to move to London. “I invited her to come with me and she said yes,” he says. “We hadn’t considered marriage, but our families were more traditional, and it was seen as proper to get married before living together. So that’s what we did.” Pepe, Silvia and their son by Glastonbury Tor in 2005. They loved being in London, describing it as “the world’s creative capital”. “Pepe was having a ball and I had made the best group of friends,” says Silvia. “The only difficulty was finding work. So I retrained as a chef in 1998, got a job with a restaurant and fell in love with the kitchen’s smells and flavours.” Their son was born in 2004 and Pepe’s work was transferred to the Netherlands two years later, with stints in Switzerland. Although they loved the Netherlands, by 2020 Pepe wanted a change. “Our son was keen to learn more about his roots, so we decided to come back to Mexico City,” he says. Settling back in has been more challenging than they expected, but they’re enjoying the experience. “As we are older and have been to many places, we now see the city in a different light. We’re rediscovering Mexico with a curiosity we wouldn’t have had if we had stayed here,” says Silvia. She also loves her partner’s determined nature. “It doesn’t matter what the situation is, Pepe never quits,” she says. “He makes me feel so loved. When we became parents I fell in love all over again, because he’s such a great role model for our son.” Throughout their travels, Silvia has been Pepe’s “constant”. “Whenever we move around, coming back to Silvia gives me the base I need to land, rest and take strength so I can carry on.” says Pepe. “Regardless of where we are, she represents home, stability and family to me.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/08/how-we-met-i-wasnt-open-to-a-relationship-but-we-ended-up-kissing-and-it-felt-very-welcome

Growing fears among more than a million displaced people in Rafah as Israel threatens large operation in the city. People gather to inspect the remains of a wrecked vehicle that was destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip [Said Khatib/AFP] Israeli forces bombed areas in the southern border city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s internally displaced po[CENSORED]tion is sheltering, as the United States warned that a military push into the city could be a “disaster”. Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel follows through on its threat to enter Rafah, where people are desperate for shelter and one of the last remaining areas of the Gaza Strip into which its troops have not moved. “To conduct such an operation right now with no planning and little thought in an area” where one million people are sheltering “would be a disaster,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Thursday. He said Washington had “yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation”. Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that more than a million civilians were trapped in the city in southern Gaza. “Half of Gaza’s po[CENSORED]tion is now crammed into Rafah. They have nowhere to go,” he said. Palestinians in Gaza are desperately hoping a ceasefire could arrive in time to head off the threatened Israeli assault on Rafah, hard against Gaza’s southern border fence and now home to more than a million people, many of them in makeshift tents. Israeli planes bombed parts of the city on Thursday morning, residents said, killing at least 14 people in attacks on two houses. Tanks also shelled some areas in eastern Rafah, intensifying the residents’ fears of an imminent ground assault. Diplomatic efforts The warnings come as diplomats sought to salvage ceasefire talks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas proposal. In a sign that the diplomacy was not over, a Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Thursday for ceasefire talks with key mediators Egypt and Qatar. Netanyahu said on Wednesday terms proposed by Hamas for a ceasefire were “delusional”, and pledged to fight on, saying victory was in reach and just months away. Despite Israel’s rejection of the Hamas proposal, more talks are planned. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met mediators this week on his fifth trip to the region since the start of the war, said he still saw room for negotiations. Blinken also said that the civilian death toll was too high and reiterated that Israel’s operation should put civilians first. “And that’s especially true in the case of Rafah, where there are somewhere between 1.2 and 1.4 million people, many of them displaced from other parts of Gaza,” he said. He said he had suggested some ways to minimise harm in talks with Israeli leaders, but gave no details. Blinken departed to return to the US on Thursday afternoon. The Hamas delegation in Egypt is expected to meet officials including Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, Egyptian security sources said. Hamas proposed a ceasefire of four and a half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops and an agreement would be reached on an end to the Israeli offensive. Its offer was a response to a proposal drawn up by US and Israeli spy chiefs with Qatar and Egypt, and delivered to Hamas last week. Hamas says it will not agree to any deal that does not include an end to the offensive and Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will not withdraw or stop fighting until Hamas is eradicated. Israel began its large-scale military offensive after Hamas fighters killed 1,139 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military said on Thursday that, during the past day, its troops had killed more than 20 fighters in Gaza’s main southern city Khan Younis, now the site of some of the war’s most intense fighting. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 27,840 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, and more than 67,000 injured since the war began. The Israeli bombardment continued in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, killing Palestinian television journalist, Nafez Abdel-Jawwad, and his son. At least 124 journalists and media representatives have been killed in the enclave so far, Gaza’s information ministry said. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the main UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said on X that the agency had not been permitted to bring food to areas where people are on the verge of famine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/8/israel-escalates-rafah-bombardment-as-us-warns-of-a-disaster

As the war enters its 716th day, these are the main developments. A woman walks through debris from a badly damaged residential building in the town of Selydove [Genya Savilov/AFP] Fighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Syrsky, who has led Ukraine’s ground forces since 2019, as the new head of Ukraine’s armed forces, after he dismissed General Valerii Zaluzhnyi in the biggest military shake-up since Russia began its full-scale invasion. Zaluzhnyi conceded that military strategy “must change”. Mayor Vitaly Barabash told state media that large numbers of Russian forces were “storming” Avdiivka, which has been under sustained Russian assault since mid-October and lies about 20km (12 miles) east of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Dmytro Lykhovyy, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, told national television that Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in fighting “within the town”. Russia and Ukraine exchanged 100 prisoners of war each with the United Arab Emirates acting as an intermediary, both countries said. Zelenskyy said most of those brought home had been captured in the three-month defence of Mariupol, which fell in May 2022. In one of the only independent assessments of the death toll from the brutal battle for Mariupol, Human Rights Watch said at least 8,000 people were killed by fighting or war-related causes, and named Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu among 10 people with “command responsibility” it said should be the focus of possible war crimes investigations. Ukraine’s air force said 11 of 17 Russia-launched drones targeting four regions of the country were shot down. No casualties were reported. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it destroyed a dozen Ukrainian missiles headed for the border city of Belgorod. Politics and diplomacy The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Russia to “put an end to the forcible transfer or deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territory” and return those taken to their families. Kyiv alleges some 20,000 children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia without the consent of their families or guardians. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner over the deportations. The Kremlin said Putin spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping for an hour and that the two leaders rejected the “US policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other states”. Putin and Xi also saw eye-to-eye on the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin added without elaborating. Beijing has not condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion and claims neutrality in the conflict. Presidential hopeful and prominent Ukraine war critic, Boris Nadezhdin said the elections commission had blocked his bid to challenge Putin in March’s elections and that he would challenge the decision in the country’s highest court. Russian President Vladimir Putin told right-wing US journalist Tucker Carlson that Western countries needed to understand that it was “impossible” to defeat Russia in Ukraine. He also said Russia would fight for its interests, but had no interest in expanding its war into other countries such as Poland and Latvia. Putin and Carlson spoke for more than two hours in an interview that was dubbed into English and uploaded to Carlson’s website. Putin also told Carlson, who asked few tough questions and mostly just listened, that he thought “an agreement could be reached” in the case of jailed Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich who has been detained since March last year accused of spying. Gershkovich and the Journal have rejected the charges. A court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don jailed a Ukrainian woman for 10 years for spying, after she was accused of providing information about Russian air defence and military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces. Weapons A bill that includes $61b in aid for Ukraine moved forward in the US Senate after the failure of a broader bill including border control measures demanded by right-wing Republicans failed. It was not clear when the Senate would consider final passage, and the bill is likely to face hostility in the Republican-led House of Representatives. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-716

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Music title: Bebe Rexha - Meant to Be (feat. Florida Georgia Line) [Official Music Video] Signer: Bebe Rexha Release date: 2017/10/23 Official YouTube link:

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Now in its sixth year, the XT4, Cadillac's smallest and most affordable SUV offering, has grown to become the brand's third-bestselling model, and yet it lives in the literal shadow of the Escalade and gets just a fraction of the attention garnered by the pavement-scorching Blackwing sedans. Such is life for subcompact luxury crossovers: leased often, loved rarely. Cadillac hasn't done a whole lot to stoke the fire since the model's 2019 launch, with revisions since then limited mostly to equipment changes. For 2024, however, the XT4 gets a more substantial update. It starts up front with a redrawn fascia that features a more horizontal motif, aping the look of the larger XT6 and the Lyriq EV. The exterior design tweaks extend to the tail and also bring a new look to the wheels. A new dash makes way for an ultra-wide (33.0-inch) curved-screen display, also lifted from the Lyriq. Behind the pretty face, things in the engine room are unchanged this year. All XT4s continue to be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that musters 235 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It's mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and drives the front wheels or, as in our test car, all four. The modest mill gives the lie to our test car's Sport badging, with a quarter-mile result of 15.4 seconds at 92 mph and the benchmark run to 60 mph taking 7.0 seconds. This segment doesn't exactly bristle with scintillating performers, but the XT4's 60-mph time trails rivals including the BMW X1 (5.4 seconds), the Volvo XC40 B5 and the Lincoln Corsair (both 6.1), and the Lexus NX350 (6.6). To its credit, though, the Caddy's 2.0-liter utilizes a twin-scroll turbocharger that helps reduce turbo lag, aiding drivability in the real world. Note that the XT4's rolling start, 5-to-60-mph acceleration time of 7.3 seconds matches the Volvo's and betters the Lexus's. The nine-speed gearbox is also game, willing to downshift in answer to a flexed right ankle. HIGHS: Sharper looking outside, screen-tastic new dash, well packaged. The direct-injected turbo four's induction honk is typical of the species, and it reaches 75 decibels under wide-open throttle, receding to 69 decibels at a 70-mph cruise. Both figures are noisier than what we measured in the Corsair, although the wide-open-throttle number is no worse than our results for an Audi Q3. One odd element of the all-wheel-drive XT4's drivetrain: It remains front-wheel drive unless the driver selects AWD via the console-mounted Mode button. And the car reverts to front-wheel drive at each startup, so all winter long, XT4 drivers must remember to stab at that second button if they want the benefits of all-wheel drive. Fuel economy estimates are fractionally different this year, with the AWD model's city figure up by 1 mpg and the highway number down by one, netting out to 25 mpg combined versus 24 previously. (The front-drive version also sees 1-mpg differences in its city and highway estimates, but the result is the same 26-mpg combined rating as before.) We got 26 mpg in our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test and averaged a rather disappointing 20 mpg overall. LOWS: No hybrid or PHEV powertrains, interior doesn't shout luxury, Sport in name only. Those EPA numbers are on par with others in the segment, but many of this Caddy's rivals offer more economical alternative powertrains. The Corsair can be had as a hybrid, while the Lexus NX is available as a regular hybrid or a plug-in hybrid. Volvo and Mercedes, meanwhile, both offer an EV version of their small SUVs. Our test car was optioned with the Active Sport Suspension (adaptive dampers), a standalone item priced at a modest $700. We didn't find that the adaptive dampers lived up to their promise of simultaneously improving ride and handling. It's likely that the standard suspension setup would be more comfort-biased, and of course smaller wheels provide more tire sidewall to cushion sharp impacts. Rolling on 20-inch wheels (18s are also available), the XT4 let too much road harshness filter through, although body motions are well controlled. At the same time, we wouldn't characterize this car's cornering as lively—more like stolid, with plenty of understeer and lateral grip of 0.86 g. The steering has some weight to it but is not progressive in effort buildup. The XT4's big news is inside, in the form of a Really Big Screen. The digital instrumentation and the central infotainment screen merge under a single piece of glass that makes for an impressive presentation. Borrowed from the Lyriq EV, the new digital display features a Google-based operating system, and its resolution is as sharp as any you'll find. There's a welcome hand rest at the base of the screen, and we appreciate that Cadillac also has retained its rotary controller on the center console. Another plus is that there are still physical buttons for most climate controls. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections are wireless, although their displays aren't able to fully utilize the digital acreage. Look away from the outsize screen, and the interior is less dazzling. The subdued design doesn't scream luxury, and while the materials don't seem cheap, neither do they have the wow factor of some rivals, such as the Mercedes GLB or the (larger but no more expensive) Genesis GV70. Tall drivers may find that, even with a power-adjustable steering column, the wheel is too far away. In the rear seat, the cushion is comfortably up off the floor, and still headroom is good. Knee clearance is only just adequate for a six-footer sitting behind a similar-sized driver. Cargo space is pretty good for the segment, with 23 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 49 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks flattened. That translates to seven carry-on-size bags with all the seats up or 21 with them folded. The price of entry climbs by $1600 this year, the base Luxury going for $39,090 before options, while the Premium Luxury asks $42,690 and the Sport $43,190. That's with front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive tacks on another $2500 in all three cases. Our all-wheel-drive XT4 Sport was larded with more than $11,000 in extras, eroding the value proposition. The $57,215 as-tested figure puts it up against the 312-hp BMW X1 M35i or even a well-equipped Genesis GV70 2.5T. VERDICT: Latest updates won't push this Caddy into the spotlight. Stick closer to the starting price, and the XT4 makes a lot more sense. Even if it's probably never going to be celebrated in rap songs or race for pink slips at a drag strip. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a46630606/2024-cadillac-xt4-350t-test/

Old Trafford has had no notable modernisation for almost 20 years. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA With Ineos sources suggesting a new ‘Wembley of the North’ could be in the works, we assess the options Isn’t Old Trafford good enough as it is? No. Old Trafford is 114 years old and tired with no notable modernisation since Malcolm Glazer bought the club in 2005. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the incoming 25% owner, wishes to address this. One option is to build a new stadium on the land that surrounds the current one which, according to Ineos sources, could be billed as “the Wembley of the North”. How would that work? The idea would be to construct a bespoke state-of-the-art facility with a capacity of about 100,000 that would cost more than £3bn. Alongside this glittering new jewel in the club crown could be boutiques, restaurants, fast-food eateries, a multiscreen cinema, a club museum and copious other attractions that would make this a destination venue. Think the £2bn Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but even grander to ensure bragging rights befitting England’s record 20-times champions and Ratcliffe’s sense of ambition as United’s moderniser. Thus “the Wembley of the North” soundbite. ‘Wembley of the North’: really? Erm, kind of. Yes, because Old Trafford’s failure to be a venue for Euro 2028 points to its decrepit, fading condition as a relic from the 1990s so a reset is required. No, because, actually, it can already be billed as the de facto Wembley of the region. Why: because despite being decrepit, the 75,000-seat ground has a storied history dating from 1910 graced by Billy Meredith, George Best, the Sirs Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, plus copious others. And it is comfortably England’s biggest football stadium besides Wembley. Could government money go towards this? Probably a no on this, certainly with regard to a sizeable chunk of the finance required. United could lobby the government for finance as part of its levelling up project and although there may be a few million pounds – possibly in tax breaks – for the project, the Guardian has been told by those with knowledge of the plans that because this is a private business initiative the money, in the main, will have to be sourced from this sector too. How likely is the building of a new stadium there? Call it 60-40 in favour. Ratcliffe’s arrival nudges up the likelihood because he has (so far) demonstrated he means business, embodied by the hiring of Omar Berrada from Manchester City to be the new chief executive. But there should be caution because even with the $300m he is injecting into the club later this year that raises Ratlciffe’s holding to 28%, the six Glazer siblings remain majority owners and their track record regarding Old Trafford is unimpressive. When Ratcliffe’s deal was announced on Christmas Eve it was said he would “provide an additional $300m intended to enable future investment into Old Trafford” but it could also be used for other purposes. How long would the project take? Six to eight years. Where would United play during construction? Good question. United sources have previously indicated it may not be possible to play at Old Trafford while a new stadium was being built. Across town there is a 53,000-seat stadium (soon to be 60,000) but could United really play at City’s Etihad Stadium? One answer is that once fans of each team became used to it, why not? The Milan clubs, for example, share San Siro, and United used City’s former ground, Maine Road, when Old Trafford was bombed during the second world war and in the 1950s for three European games because their stadium lacked floodlights. If the Etihad is a no-no then this presumably rules out Anfield for the same reason (Liverpool are even fiercer rivals) so maybe the new Everton stadium? Or, how about the Wembley of the South: Wembley. After all, according to the tired joke, the vast constituency of United’s fanbase are Londoners. What would happen to Old Trafford? It may be downsized to become the women’s and academy stadium. Or somehow reconfigured to be the site of the museum. Any alternatives? Yes. A revamp of Old Trafford. However, the train track adjacent to it means limitations. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/07/manchester-united-and-the-future-of-old-trafford-key-questions-answered

The employees, who made clothes for western clothing brands, were legally entitled to the money after losing their jobs Workers at Style Avenue factory in El Salvador which closed in May 2023, laying off about 250 workers. Photograph: Courtesy of Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social de El Salvador More than £4bn in wages has been withheld from millions of garment workers making clothes for western clothing brands over the past 15 years, according to new estimates on severance “wage theft” in the global fashion industry. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a labour rights investigative organisation, says that garment workers have been denied billions of pounds of legally mandated severance pay, which they should have received after being sacked or losing their jobs due to brands cancelling orders or factory closures. Severance pay is financial compensation that workers are legally entitled to if their employment is terminated or the business closes. “It doesn’t grab headlines, but when workers lose their jobs and are then denied severance they spent years earning, it has devastating consequences for them and their families,” said Scott Nova, executive director at the WRC. Nova said the issue of severance “theft” was a “hidden crime” in the global fashion industry that received little attention, while victimising millions of workers across the world. “Apparel brands have known about severance theft for years but have done nothing to stop it. Their voluntary labour standards have allowed them to ignore the problem with impunity,” Nova said. The WRC highlighted an ongoing case involving workers at a factory making Disney products in El Salvador, which it claims owes 250 workers a total of £1.4m in severance pay. For some, their share of the total is the equivalent of more than two years’ wages. The factory, Style Avenue, which made branded sportswear, ceased production in February 2023 and closed in May, making hundreds of workers unemployed. Disney had granted a licence to Outerstuff, a US designer and manufacturer of licensed children’s sports clothing, to make Disney children’s clothing. The clothing was made at the factory and was co-branded with the logos of US National Football League (NFL) or National Basketball Association (NBA) teams. The WRC says that one of the owners of the factory was temporarily jailed for failing to pay healthcare and pension contributions for employees. Instead of being paid what they were owed, the WRC says that Style Avenue employees were paid about £45 each, less than 1% of their legal entitlement. The WRC claims that this failure so far to pay workers made Outerstuff an outlier in the industry and that as companies making clothes for certain brands, including for the NFL and the NBA, were subject to enforceable labour standards, that obliges them to repay stolen severance pay. In response to the WRC’s claim, Outerstuff claims that the WRC’s analysis is factually inaccurate and denies that it is obliged to pay the severance money. However, after the Guardian approached Outerstuff for comment, the company confirmed it would pay nearly $1m. In a statement to the Guardian, Outerstuff said it “takes and has consistently taken worker rights very seriously. We manage a structured, global compliance programme that outlines and requires a code of conduct for all our suppliers. At this time, despite our strong feeling that we have met all licence requirements, Outerstuff is nonetheless working on a structured plan that will provide nearly $1m in finances to the workers as soon as possible.” Nova said: “In addition to Outerstuff, you have Disney with annual revenue of $89bn, the NFL and its teams with $18bn, and the NBA with $11bn. With combined revenue of $120bn, you would think these brands could scrape together $1.8m to pay the workers who sewed their onesies the money they earned.” Disney, the US National Football League and the NBA have also been contacted by the WRC to appeal for them to intervene in the dispute. They did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian. One former worker at the factory said she had been working at Style Avenue for 12 years and is now facing destitution after losing her job and not getting her severance pay. “They never told us the factory was going to close but when it did, I knew they had to pay us severance,” she said. “I was owed $7,700 in total. The factory told us they would pay us 50% of what we are owed but they never did. I have debts to pay off and since I haven’t been able to make payments, the interest is accumulating. We have had to borrow money for electricity and water. I haven’t been able to buy clothing or shoes for my children.” Another worker who said she worked at Style Avenue for more than 10 years said that, after the factory closed, she went to the Ministry of Labour for her severance calculation and was told she was owed $12,000 (£9,500). “My monthly salary at the factory was $360 (£282) but that never covered my living expenses. Not getting my severance has had a big impact. Our house has a tin roof and water is coming in but I don’t have money to fix it. I can’t buy food or get medicine for my stomach infection.” The WRC says that severance wage “theft” has spiked since Covid shuttered high streets and led to clothing brands cancelling millions of pounds worth of clothing orders with their overseas suppliers. As a result, hundreds of thousands of garment workers lost their jobs as factories closed and brands continued to cancel or reduce orders in an attempt to recoup the losses they suffered. Shortly after the pandemic, WRC investigations found that workers had been denied nearly $1bn in severance pay and other unpaid wages from 2020-2022. In 2022, a coalition of more than 200 rights groups urged brands to sign a binding agreement with unions to establish a global severance fund that they would pay into to help workers who had lost their jobs and were not paid what they were due. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/05/garment-workers-have-lost-out-on-4bn-of-severance-pay-says-rights-group

Calver Weir, Derbyshire: Quite how many there are in the bare alders is hard to tell, but to hear them is pleasure enough A female siskin collecting seeds from alder cones. Photograph: Phil Gates It’s interesting to reflect that until the 19th century, breeding siskins were confined to the northernmost Scottish pinewoods. Even now they’re erratically spread and often no more than wandering winter visitors to this county. This was the perfect place to find them. The Derwent ran under the road bridge as a glimmering black plane then vanished into a skein of alder branches along each bank. Siskins love alder seeds, and even above the river roar I could hear their distinctive “be-Doo” calls. Perhaps the best way to convey the species’ tiny size – it measures approximately 12cm and weighs 12g – is that I could see the birds in the bare alders only when they moved. The flock rotated around the canopy in a random churn, birds pinging bough to bough in search of seeds, so that it was almost impossible to estimate their numbers. Even worse, as I made a tally I could never relocate them the moment they landed, so that the count never proceeded beyond about fifteen-ish. I guessed, therefore, that in total there might be 20. Then they flew sequentially, one after another, to an adjacent alder. I logged the whole thing. There were 56. Needless to say, the tree into which all moved still looked as bare as its predecessor. It was as if they had vanished into the grey winter light. Yet I could hear them and that was more than enough. The odd title “siskin” derives from a German equivalent Erlenzeisig (erlen simply means alder) but the zeisig element was almost certainly taken from an older Czech word čižek. Language fails miserably before siskin sounds but the Middle European name is beautifully onomatopoeic of the song’s prelude. It is a weird invertebrate wheeze that rounds out and swells into a jumbled run of liquid twittering notes. Best of all is when a male delivers the whole thing during an aerial display. He appears little more than a silhouetted blob bounding above the treetops, except that the wingbeats are slow and deep and exaggerated, and his creaking song unfurls among all that cold air like brightly coloured streamers in the hands of a dancer.