A man who was injured by the explosion of a handheld device triggered by Israel sits outside the Eye Specialist hospital in Beirut, Lebanon [Hussein Malla/AP] A senior United Nations official has told the Security Council that further violence between Israel and Iran-aligned groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon risked igniting a far more damaging conflict. “We risk seeing a conflagration that could dwarf even the devastation and suffering witnessed so far,” UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the 15-member council on Friday, which met about attacks this week on Hezbollah. “It is not too late to avoid such folly. There is still room for diplomacy,” she said. “I also strongly urge member states with influence over the parties to leverage it now.” As its war in Gaza nears one year old, Israel killed at least 14 people and wounded 66 in an air raid on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday. The Israeli military claimed that a top Hezbollah commander and other senior figures in the Lebanese movement were among the dead, and pledged to conduct a new military campaign until it secures the area around the Lebanese border. Hezbollah has not confirmed the deaths of any commanders on Friday. Israel’s air raid followed two days of attacks in which Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. Those attacks were widely believed to have been carried out by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the Security Council that the attack on Hezbollah communications devices violated international law and could constitute a war crime. Turk said it was “difficult to conceive” how the attacks on Hezbollah’s communications devices “could possibly conform with the key principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, under international humanitarian law”. He added that he was “appalled” by the attacks using communication devices. “This has unleashed widespread fear, panic and horror among people in Lebanon, already suffering in an increasingly volatile situation since October 2023 and crumbling under a severe and longstanding economic crisis. This cannot be the new normal,” he said. Turk called for an independent, thorough and transparent investigation and for those who ordered and carried out the attacks to be held to account. Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council that the US expects all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and take all reasonable steps to minimise harm to civilians, especially in densely po[CENSORED]ted areas. “It is imperative that even as facts emerge about the latest incidents – in which I reiterate, the United States played no role – all parties refrain from any actions which could plunge the region into a devastating war.” Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in October in support of Gaza, where Israel is waging a devastating war that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians. Israel, which last fought an all-out war against Hezbollah 18 years ago, has said it will use force if necessary to ensure its citizens can return to their homes in northern Israel. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/20/un-warns-escalating-israel-hezbollah-violence-risks-devastating-conflict

Music title: Teddy Swims - The Door (Official Music Video) Signer: Teddy Swims Release date: 2024/04/16 Official YouTube link:

Nick movie: ABSOLUTION Time: Movie Trailers Source Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 2min Trailer:

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The 2025 Jeep Gladiator lineup gets more streamlined, with Jeep scrapping the previously standard six-speed manual transmission. As with the Jeep Wrangler, every Gladiator now comes standard with power windows and locks. Despite the automatic transmission previously costing $2500, pricing for the Gladiator starts at $39,995, just $205 more than last year's base price. The world of manual pickup trucks just got a little smaller with Jeep yanking the third pedal from the 2025 Gladiator lineup. Previously equipped as the standard transmission on the Gladiator, the six-speed manual is gone for 2025, leaving behind the previously optional eight-speed automatic. Before this year, Jeep charged $2500 for the automatic transmission. Despite the auto becoming standard, the entry price for the Gladiator has only risen by $205. The base Sport can now be had for $39,995, the Nighthawk for $42,790, and the Sport S for $43,495. Upgrading to the Willys runs $47,095, while both the Mojave and Rubicon cost $52,995. In addition to the powertrain change, Jeep brought the Gladiator into the modern era by finally making power windows and locks standard across the range. There are also two new paint options, including a blue color and a new olive-drab green. The changes are rounded out with a newly available software option that lets owners pre-condition the cabin through the Jeep Connect mobile app. All 2025 Gladiators continue to be powered by the Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6, which pumps out 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. The towing capacity is unchanged at 7700 pounds, and payload figures carry on at 1105 and 1725 pounds, depending on the trim. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62259508/2025-jeep-gladiator-manual-dead-pricing/

‘I wondered how I would ever do life without him’ … a young Melissa Blake with her father. Photograph: Courtesy of Melissa Blake On a cloudy Monday morning in March 2003, my father came into my room to check on me. I felt him pull the blankets up around my neck – something he used to do when I was a child. He lingered for a moment, then quietly left the room. That was the last glimpse I ever had of him. On that day he took his own life. He had been suffering from sinus cancer for the last four months. A marble-sized tumour was found wedged inside his nasal passage after he began having unexplained nosebleeds in late 2002. He had surgery to remove the tumour and even though it was a success, I could see the huge physical, mental and emotional toll treatment was taking on him. His death was a huge shock. We desperately searched for answers. The only explanation the doctors could give us was that my dad’s frontal lobe was significantly damaged from the radiation treatment he was receiving, which could have led to changes in his personality and behaviour. I was devastated. For more than two decades, my father had sat by my bedside through every single one of my hospital stays. I was born with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, a rare genetic bone and muscular disorder. I had my first surgery, to turn my legs and feet around, when I was just ten weeks old, and had various procedures throughout the years. My disability shaped my childhood, but my father’s suicide and its aftermath is what has informed so much of my identity as an adult. I was 21 when he died, that in-between age where you’re too old to be a kid, but too young to feel like an adult. In my grief, I found myself straddling the line the same way I did during my days in hospital as a kid. While in the hospital, I had these very adult, sometimes life-or-death experiences, yet I wasn’t an adult. I was a child. Only, I didn’t feel like a carefree kid, either. Child or adult, I didn’t feel as if I fit in either category. ‘His death was a huge shock’ … Melissa Blake, pictured with her father, mother and sister. When my father died, I walked that same tightrope. This time, I may have been an adult but I felt like a little girl. A little girl who had just lost her father and felt confused and scared. I’m forever trying to find the right words to accurately describe what it feels like to lose a parent when you’re disabled. It’s a unique kind of grief because the relationship between a parent and their disabled child is a special one – during childhood, of course, but well into adulthood too, which is something that non-disabled people might not fully understand. I relied on my dad in ways that my non-disabled peers didn’t on theirs. He helped me with everything, from showering and getting dressed in the morning, to cooking dinner in the evening. I’ve often said that he was “my legs”, and he helped me experience the world around me when it often felt inaccessible. When he died, this only added a more complicated piece to my grief puzzle. I wondered how I would ever do life without him. I knew deep down that this went well beyond literal, tangible assistance such as food prep; to be disabled means to feel a certain level of vulnerability because so much is out of your control. I have felt vulnerable for most of my life and my father was the one who always made me feel safe and protected. His suicide ripped away my sense of safety and replaced it with a fear of abandonment that I’d never experienced before. Will I lose everyone I love? Will everyone leave me? Will I end up alone? These were the sorts of questions that circled around in my head. My fear of losing those I love plagued me and I became hypervigilant about my mum and sister, worrying about them constantly. More than two decades after my dad’s death, I started seeing an amazing therapist. I initially went to talk through my grief, but opening up about losing him led to me opening up about my disability, too. I began processing what it meant to be disabled: how it had affected my life, how I never really felt like other people my age. And I gave voice to my worries about navigating life as a disabled adult – a fear I had been wrestling with since the day my dad died. When you are disabled the bond you have with your parents can be heightened, but thankfully, as I’ve learned, that bond can also never be broken. Because even in death, my dad continues to shape my life and push me onward. I know that whatever happens he’ll always be with me. Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability by Melissa Blake is published by Hachette Go (£25). To support the Guardian and the Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Blake can be found on Instagram at @melissablake81 In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/sep/18/a-moment-that-changed-me-dad-helped-me-suddenly-he-was-gone

Lucy Bronze joining Chelsea is an indication of the calibre of the new coaching staff. Photograph: Dave Shopland/Shutterstock There is no simple formula to winning a league, but there are critical ingredients every team in the new WSL season will be seeking to inject. Chief among those are team spirit and unity. The bonding process, the trust-building between players and staff, and developing those connections quickly, is so important. The aspect that often gets overlooked as part of that, though, is enjoyment. What keeps players motivated every day to show up, even when they are tired or frustrated, even when things are not going their way or they have got a niggle? It is enjoyment. It means players keep pushing for their personal and the team’s goals. Establishing collective values ensures they show up every day, give their all and support each other. Having an awareness that performing does not always get you the outcomes you want, even when you are at your best, and being able to dig deep, are also vital. That edginess, grittiness, is a core component of the most dominant and consistent teams. Teams that can win pretty and ugly, that find a way, are the ones that end up with silverware. It is about adaptability, as a group and individuals. Being able to have players ready to show up and add value, staying in a constant ready state, is a big test of management. Players are not happy all the time. Being transparent with the selection process and making clear the expectations and standards is an important part of keeping on board those most unhappy at not starting. You do that in part by facilitating an environment where people can be authentic in their feelings, be authentic on the pitch and express themselves, but also by creating a high-performance environment where players know they are being stretched and can grow regardless of whether they are making the starting XI. That creates belief and that belief is infectious. That is when you start to bring the fans with you. They really back their teams when they see them fighting for the collective cause. It was no accident Chelsea pipped Manchester City to the title, because not only have they had almost all the right ingredients year-on-year, they have also faced down the final third of the season, and the challenges it presents, over and over again. Vivianne Miedema’s signing is a major boost for Manchester City. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA Chelsea are mentality monsters, there is a relentlessness in what they do, and once City dropped points against Arsenal, conceding in the 89th and 90th minutes to cancel out their one-goal lead, nothing was going to stop them. The eight goals Chelsea put past Bristol City and the six they scored at Manchester United, either side of a 1-0 defeat of Tottenham, were mental muscle memory kicking in. It was not a shock they could overturn a goal difference gap of seven in a single game at the business end of the season because they have been there so many times before. Whether they can maintain that under Sonia Bompastor will be really interesting and in pre-season it looks as if they have maintained that ruthless edge. The addition of Lucy Bronze is fascinating. She comes in with so much experience, having won multiple trophies in different countries, but that she wanted to follow Bompastor and her assistant, Camille Abily, to the club, having known them from Lyon, is a signal to everyone of the calibre of the new coaching staff. They obviously have a really good relationship and she clearly believes they can deliver. Every WSL season gets more exciting but Chelsea and City stand out and the title race will be close again. City, with a very settled squad, have the most continuity among the top three. They were so close last season and that will have hurt them. Vivianne Miedema is also going to feel extra motivated to produce her best after leaving Arsenal at the end of her contract. There is pressure on Jonas Eidevall and Gareth Taylor, at Arsenal and City respectively, to deliver. They fell short last season despite some strong performances and runs. With Chelsea in a period of transition, there is an opportunity to unseat them. Taylor and Eidevall are at clubs with big trophy aspirations and they cannot go another season with the quality in their squads and the money they have spent without winning more silverware. Predictions are almost impossible in the WSL because the margins are so fine. So many teams have done good business in the summer. Plenty of them will be just underneath the top three, pushing for those fourth and fifth spots and they could have a big say in the destination of the title. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/sep/18/wsl-race-chelsea-arsenal-manchester-city-moving-the-goalposts

‘We are increasingly wary of cattle and these days will avoid their fields.’ Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Reuters I would like to add my voice to those urging greater caution when walking in fields with cattle (The hell and horror of cow attacks: ‘I told my husband to leave me to die’, 12 September). I had to be airlifted to Southampton hospital from the Isle of Wight earlier this year and spent 10 days in intensive care and the acute trauma ward being treated for chest injuries. As a retired vet, I thought I knew how to behave around cows and calves and followed good practice when walking through a local field with my dogs on leads. In the event, the speed of the attack and the determination of the cows to knock me down and trample me was astonishing. We need to work with farmers to reduce risks and work with walkers to raise awareness. My final recommendation is to support your local air ambulance, which is run as a private charity, as without the Hampshire and Isle of Wight service I would not be here to write this letter today. David Mackay Niton, Isle of Wight I read your article on the dangers of cows with great interest. My husband and I are keen walkers and not easily discouraged. However, we are increasingly wary of cattle and these days will avoid their fields. As modern farming practices are becoming more automated, the animals are less accustomed to human contact. This means that cows should be viewed as essentially wild animals and treated with the appropriate respect. You wouldn’t try to walk through a herd of buffalo, for example. There is a need to make everyone aware of the Countryside Code so that we can safely walk the footpaths through farmland without causing distress or harm to livestock. Equally, landowners need to make sure paths are not blocked by water troughs where cattle gather. Clearly marking footpaths would also avoid walkers straying off allowed routes. Sara Davis Tonbridge, Kent I am French, living in England, and I have done many walks in both countries. In Britain, with your strange rights-of-way paths across the middle of fields, you are bound to find yourself in the middle of a field with cows: in France that does not exist – we have miles of lovely paths throughout the country on the sides of fenced fields. Why not reroute paths in the UK along the periphery of fenced fields? The enclosed field for the cows, where they belong, and the safe path for the walkers: it would not cost a fortune to do and everyone would be happy. Danielle Stevenson Richmond, London In this article it takes 10 paragraphs to get to “Adding dogs to the equation…”. Attacks by cattle occur regularly when walkers cross a meadow with a dog, which is a predator in the cows’ eyes, and which they are programmed to attack. The other mistake is coming too close to calves in the herd. In Austria, it is mostly inexperienced holiday walkers (from Germany) who cross a meadow with dogs and get chased away or end up in hospital, or walkers who attempt to “acquaint” their child with calves. Both behaviours are a no-no. Try to take the cows’ perspective; they are not pets. Leave dogs at home or stay out of cattle enclosures with them. In general, always give standing or lying cattle a wide berth when crossing their turf – and don’t stop to watch. Never shout or try to scare them. I never had a problem with cattle in my long life of hiking in the mountains. Wolfgang Wagner Linz, Austria https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/sep/18/as-a-vet-i-thought-i-knew-cows-then-they-attacked

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the rest of the members of the central bank's rate-setting committee held their last policy meeting this week before voters go to the polls in what is expected to be a close US presidential election on November 5 [File: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo] The United States Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by half of a percentage point, kicking off what is expected to be a steady easing of monetary policy with a larger-than-usual reduction in borrowing costs that follows growing unease about the health of the job market. “The committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance,” policymakers on the US central bank’s rate-setting committee said in their latest statement on Wednesday, which drew a dissent from Governor Michelle Bowman, who favoured a quarter-percentage-point cut. Policymakers see the Fed’s benchmark rate falling by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, another full percentage point in 2025 and a final half of a percentage point in 2026 to end in a range of 2.75 percent to 3 percent. The endpoint reflects a slight upgrade, from 2.8 percent to 2.9 percent, in the longer-run federal funds rate, considered a “neutral” stance that neither encourages nor discourages economic activity. Even though inflation “remains somewhat elevated”, the Fed statement said policymakers chose to cut the overnight rate to the 4.75 percent to 5 percent range “in light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks”. The Fed “would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals,” with attention to “both sides of its dual mandate” for stable prices and maximum employment, the statement said. “The Fed cut of 50bps [basis points] shows they are serious about easing and trying to catch up,” Rachel Ziemba, economist and adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera. “It’s a bit more than the consensus expected … I don’t think it’s a sign they expect a recession, but is a sign that the recent softening labour market and easing inflation has given them space.” Fed’s strategy Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in a news conference came closer than the committee has before to declaring victory over inflation. “We know that it is time to recalibrate our [interest rate] policy to something that’s more appropriate given the progress on inflation,” Powell said. “We’re not saying, ‘mission accomplished’ … but I have to say, though, we’re encouraged by the progress that we have made.” “The US economy is in a good place,” he added, “and our decision today is designed to keep it there.” The Fed’s policy meeting this week was its last before voters go to the polls in what is expected to be a close US presidential election on November 5. Powell was pressed at his news conference about whether the Fed’s decision to cut its key rate by an unusually large half-point is an acknowledgement that it waited too long to begin cutting rates. “We don’t think we’re behind,” he replied. “We think this is timely. But I think you can take this as a sign of our commitment not to get behind. We’re not seeing rising claims, not seeing rising layoffs, not hearing from companies that’s something that’s going to happen.” He added: “There is thinking that the time to support the labour market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs. We don’t think we need to see further loosening in labour market conditions to get inflation down to two percent.” Inflation is currently about half a percentage point above that, and the new economic projections now show the annual rate of increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index falling to 2.3 percent by the end of this year and to 2.1 percent by the end of 2025. The unemployment rate is seen ending this year at 4.4 percent, higher than the current 4.2 percent, and remaining there through 2025. Economic growth is projected at 2.1 percent through 2024 and 2 percent next year, the same as in the last round of projections issued in June. The Fed had held its policy rate in the 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent range since July of 2023 as inflation fell from a 40-year high to a level that is now approaching the central bank’s target. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/9/18/us-fed-cuts-rates-by-larger-than-usual-half-percentage-point

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned about 'a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon' [File: Pamela Smith/AP] United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says civilian objects should not be weaponised after a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeted communication devices used by Hezbollah. “I think it’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponise civilian objects. That should be a rule that … governments should be able to implement,” Guterres said on Wednesday at a briefing at UN headquarters in New York. Hundreds of wireless paging devices belonging to members of the Iran-backed group exploded simultaneously on Tuesday, hours after Israel said it was broadening the aims of the Gaza war to include its fight against Hamas’s Lebanese ally. The explosions on Tuesday killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800. Guterres warned that “there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid the escalation”. “What has happened is particularly serious not only because of the number of victims that it caused but because of the indications that exist that this was triggered, I would say, in advance of a normal way to trigger these things because there was a risk of this being discovered.” Later on Wednesday, more device blasts across Lebanon killed at least nine people and wounded about 300, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health. Lebanon’s state media reported that walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members blew up in Beirut on Wednesday with reports of similar blasts in southern and eastern Lebanon. Hezbollah, which has traded near daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said it will retaliate for the pager blasts, which it blamed on Israel. Israel has not yet commented on the explosions. Meanwhile, Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said in a statement on Wednesday that those responsible for the deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon “must be held to account”. “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/civilian-objects-should-not-be-weaponised-un-chief-guterres-lebanon-explosions

Music title: Top 20 Songs: September 2024 (09/14/2024) I Best Billboard Music Chart Hits Signer: A lot of singers Release date: 2024/13/09 Official YouTube link:

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Now that GM and Hyundai have signed a non-binding agreement to begin cooperating at several levels, the question is what they'll do together. While no concrete plans have yet begun, everything from raw materials to software is on the table. Sharing resources on EV development makes sense, but this tie-up could also share costs on developing emissions-compliant combustion engines for the global market. Two of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, Hyundai and General Motors, have now signed an agreement to begin working together on raw materials sourcing, supply chain management, and even vehicle design. The announcement obviously highlights the possibilities for developments in clean energy, EVs, and hydrogen power, but also extends to future developments in combustion engine technology. It's early days yet, as the memorandum of understanding is non-binding; the agreement is more a first handshake between companies deciding to start working together. Both Hyundai and GM are already in process on their respective battery-electric powertrain rollouts, so don't expect to suddenly be able to buy an Ioniq 6 rebadged as a Chevy Cavalier. However, with the sword of Damocles of competition from Chinese automakers like BYD hanging overhead, it's no surprise that even the big car manufacturers are looking to form partnerships. Even with U.S. and EU regulators looking to protect domestic production with tariffs on Chinese imports, the best way for manufacturers to compete is by optimizing production from raw materials right through to software programming. General Motors has formed partnerships in the past with several other manufacturers including, most recently, Honda. That teamup was specifically aimed toward building more affordable EV offerings, and it resulted in the Acura ZDX and Honda Prologue, both of which use GM's Ultium battery technology. However, both of the aforementioned could be seen as Honda working to provide a stopgap while its engineers work to create in-house EV solutions for the future. Hyundai, by contrast, doesn't necessarily need GM's Ultium, as it already has a successful EV rollout in progress. Where synergies between the two companies exist could come at various production levels—for instance, Hyundai produces tens of millions of tons of steel every year and even has its own mines for raw-material extraction. So while it's fun to think of a Camaro-shaped sports coupe that drives like an Ioniq 5N, or a Hyundai full-size pickup with Silverado underpinnings, this new partnership is likely to be more about supply chains and software. It's also possible that Hyundai's persistence in the field of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles could dovetail nicely with GM's experience in fleet sales. Refueling has long been hydrogen's weak spot, and a fleet of vehicles operating from a central depot solves this problem. Meantime, Hyundai and GM are just getting to know each other. Both bring various strengths to the table, GM in scale, Hyundai in fast-paced innovation. It's a smart move for both, especially as the global automotive manufacturing business gets more cutthroat than ever. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62242166/hyundai-gm-collaboration/

Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton drew a huge crowd to Croke Park but there are no guarantees a British & Irish League would succeed. Photograph: Damien Eagers/PA In a perfect world the countdown to a new season would be all about the rugby. Can Northampton Saints and Glasgow Warriors successfully defend their hard-earned respective Premiership and United Rugby Championship titles? If not, who will be their biggest threats? And which individuals have the ability to exchange relative anonymity for a place in Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad next summer? The weather is half-decent, the pitches firm, the scent of freshly cut grass and embrocation reliably evocative. There is just one sizeable drawback, as every professional club executive can testify. Primarily, it is all about the price tag and whether or not the sums stack up. Out in the real world it is less a case of smelling the Deep Heat than absorbing the financial pain. If anyone needed proof it came late last week. An eve-of-season board meeting would usually be about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s to ensure the best chance of a shiny, happy campaign. Instead, the Premiership’s power brokers have been debating whether or not a British & Irish men’s league may be a better way forward. Efforts have since been made to pour cold water on the story but there is rarely smoke in rugby without some glowing embers. Well-placed insiders have been offering up a simple three-letter explanation: CVC. In normal circumstances, the private equity company that splashed so much cash for the privilege of investing in rugby union six years ago would now be poised to check out. It did not get involved to chat endlessly about scrums and mauls; the chief priority is a significant return on that investment. As things stand, that has yet to materialise. Recently, even the supposed pinnacle of the club game, the Champions Cup, has failed to tempt England’s most established broadcasters. Good luck to Premier Sports but awarding it the rights does not obviously solve the competition’s steady slippage in profile. And what happens if Sky, TNT Sports, Discovery and the terrestrial channels decide they can do without the expense of cross-border club rugby indefinitely? Little wonder the Premiership’s next television contract, once TNT’s deal expires in 2026, is already concentrating minds. There is one twinkling solution in clear view. A bespoke rugby channel, broadcasting all the best club games worldwide, with millions of subscribers keen to register. CVC, which has stakes in the Premiership and the URC, would be ignoring the marketing elephant in the room if it did not at least float the idea of a simplified offering. “Sign up for the best league in the world” – even more competitive on a weekly basis than the Top 14 – would be a useful tagline. All of which fuels the British & Irish League speculation. Twenty-five years ago, in the earliest days of professionalism, it would have made even more sense. Work together to stabilise the player wage “arms race”, dovetail the fixture list with the Five/Six Nations and save several decades of angst? Hurrah! These days things are far more logistically tangled and complex. Glasgow Warriors begin the defence of their URC title on Saturday. Photograph: Steve Haag Sports/Inpho/Shutterstock Let’s be brutally frank. Would any resultant “Super League” be a massive improvement or shift the dial in terms of its financial uplift? Compared with the increasingly buoyant and eye-catching Top 14, Newcastle v Dragons or Connacht v Sale on a Friday night would hardly be a gamechanger. A conference set-up works in American sport but would it capture neutral imaginations here? And what about the South Africans and the Italians, both of whom are being sworn in as full voting partners of the URC next year? Speaking to representatives of both leagues this week, there is certainly little sense of breathless excitement or talk of a magic bullet. Unless, maybe, the various national unions could all be persuaded that the still-lucrative Six Nations – particularly in the event of the old European Cup faltering – would be stronger as a result. Then, maybe, there could be a virtuous circle: the fixture list would dovetail more effectively, the best players would play in bigger and better club games and those who only watch the international game could be more easily enticed. For that to happen, though, a deft scalpel will have to be applied to both existing leagues. If the broadcasters are ever going to be persuaded to pay top dollar again in an uncertain market, they will want to be showcasing the best players on the continent, not also-ran sides full of journeymen. Some of the scenarios being discussed would also involve eight English sides. In that event, which two would drop out? AOn that subject, how many competitive men’s professional sides can Wales sustain? Enough. History has long since taught us that self-interest is rugby officialdom’s guiding light. This instantly renders the idea of an Anglo-Welsh league – which would benefit relatively few and dilute everyone’s share of the central pie – a non-starter for the English and makes a British & Irish league similarly unlikely for the foreseeable future. Admittedly, there has been some tentative interest from Ireland but, ultimately, the lessons of rugby’s past echo loudest. Without an intense whiff of historic rivalry and, ideally, fervent away support, no amount of televisual magic will generate the same emotional pull. Which is why, as the Prem and the URC prepare to kick off on Friday night with Bath hosting Northampton in a repeat of last season’s final and Edinburgh entertaining their old rivals Leinster, we should all be extremely careful what we wish for. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/sep/17/why-british-irish-league-would-not-be-panacea-rugby-union-needs-the-breakdown