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In Venezuela, students have been killed while protesting against the government of Nicolás Maduro, who is jailing opposition leaders and just closed a television station that dared broadcast the demonstrations. Argentina is irresponsibly racing toward a dangerous economic cliff. The Brazilian economy is in recession and 2014 will mark its fourth consecutive year of subpar growth, as the country reels from its largest capital flight in more than 10 years. Amid all the bad news in the region, the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru met with little fanfare in Cartagena last week to seal an economic pact launched in 2012. They call their project the Pacific Alliance, and it will soon include Costa Rica and possibly several other countries. The four founding members are the most successful economies in Latin America; they boast the region's highest economic-growth rates and lowest inflation rates. Together, they represent 36 percent of the region’s economy, 50 percent … [Read more...] about The Most Important Alliance You’ve Never Heard Of

What struck me about the weekend's Champions Cup semi-finals was the way in which the styles of Leinster and the three French sides that contested the Champions Cup semi-finals are redolent of their national teams. It suggests that there is unity of purpose between country and clubs and that makes the transition from one to the other smoother and quicker. When you look at England and the English Premiership there is little or no communality and has not been since the ‘Saracens-style’ that came because so many of their players were first choice internationals. Does this matter? Not necessarily if both are flourishing but in the case of England it does show that their players are having to alter their accustomed styles to fit in with different systems and philosophies. This takes time and is not a certainty – has Eddie Jones got that time before the World Cup? It must be open to doubt. It did not take the wisdom of Solomon to identify Leinster as the team to beat in the European … [Read more...] about French and Irish clubs have a national identity that the English lack

For the past three years, England women have been reaping the fruits of professionalism. Gone are the days of combining jobs as firefighters, vets and plumbers with gruelling training schedules. The results? The Red Roses are on an unstoppable 18-match winning streak and are favourites to win a third consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam . While the rest of the women’s game ponders the move towards professionalism, England have ploughed ahead, leaving other nations trailing in their wake. Head coach Simon Middleton’s side have not lost a match since the summer of 2019. With the Women’s Six Nations now upon us – and more than three years since England’s players dropped their second careers to become full-time athletes – Telegraph Sport delved into the former lives of four key players to explore how their livelihoods before professional rugby intrinsically link to their skill set on the pitch. Marlie Packer, back row As someone who used to juggle plumbing alongside rugby, … [Read more...] about England’s Women’s Six Nations defence built on prisons, plumbing and painting – and how that translates to the pitch

This season has shown that a ringfenced Premiership does not necessarily guarantee opportunities for youngsters. Just last month, Conor O’Shea, the Rugby Football Union’s director of performance, stressed his desire for emerging players to see more game-time . Even so, there have been a number of breakthroughs over the course of an intriguing campaign. Here is a list of six men that have established themselves at their respective clubs, with some honourable mentions thrown in. Rotimi Segun: Saracens, wing, aged 25 As will be emphasised later on, Saracens recruit promising prospects as well as developing their own. Segun, previously affiliated to Northampton Saints, was picked up as a teenager and has patiently climbed the pecking order. He only needs to glance across the backline at Nick Tompkins to see the benefit of biding your time at Saracens, and has kicked on over the past year or so. A brief yet explosive cameo against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday underlined his quality. … [Read more...] about Inside Line: The six breakthrough stars of the Premiership season

In March 2019 , the retired police detective Mike Crowley met me in the lobby of a hotel near the Miami Dolphins’ stadium. Crowley, a 71-year-old Vietnam vet, was wearing shorts, a white undershirt, and a camouflage baseball hat that said MARINE in block caps. Over the course of three hours, he sipped a single rum and Coke. Four years earlier, Crowley said, he’d noticed a pattern in a string of jewelry-store robberies happening all over Florida: The same means of entry had been used every time. As he spoke, I eyed a large stack of paperwork teetering on the table in front of us, including thick folders labeled DRILL TEAM in black marker. At first, Crowley had had multiple suspects for these crimes. He walked me through a laundry list of itinerant safecrackers who had passed through Florida in recent years, pulling off heists in various cities throughout the state. Florida, seen through Crowley’s eyes, is a migratory stopover for the most elite burglars and safe teams. If you … [Read more...] about The Rise and Fall of an All-Star Crew of Jewel Thieves

I would like to take you back to a certain time in the young life of our republic—a time that was filled with a deep sense of foreboding, a grim expectation that our national life was about to change radically, and a giddy appreciation nonetheless of the possibilities held out by the rapid advance of human knowledge. It was a time that has perhaps more than a little in common with the times we inhabit now. The year was 1857. Railroads did not yet cross the North American continent, but everyone knew that one day soon they would. The publication of Darwin's Origin of Species was two years away, but loud rumblings in the halls of science had already warned the keepers of religious faith that serious challenges lay ahead. The largest wave of immigration in the nation's history was pouring through the cities of the eastern seaboard. Though he would become President in four years, Abraham Lincoln in 1857 was no more widely known nationally than any former one-term Congressman is today. … [Read more...] about The Atlantic: A History

Over recent years, international teams have been rewarded for concerning themselves with ceilings rather than flaws when it comes to the selection of their wings. Cheslin Kolbe, whose size was questioned throughout his formative years in South Africa, became a hot-stepping star of the Springboks’ glorious World Cup victory in 2019 . Gabin Villière of France, another diminutive dynamo , was a stand-out of the Grand Slam campaign. Both have a grounding in sevens, which hones breakdown skills as well as footwork, passing and composure in open space. They are now Toulon teammates and, though Kolbe is sidelined with a fractured thumb, Villière defied three would-be tacklers to finish a remarkable, match-winning try against Toulouse at the weekend: Mack Hansen only needed half a season with Connacht – albeit one spent compiling a blockbuster highlight reel – to convince Andy Farrell that he was worth a punt in Ireland’s starting line-up for the Six Nations . That trust … [Read more...] about Adam Radwan proves why England need to focus on what players can do – not what they cannot

England’s Red Roses sit atop the world and secured another Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam in the febrile atmosphere of a baying Bayonne crowd on Saturday, and it was no more than they deserved. After a campaign that saw them sweep away every other opponent , it showed how far behind the other Unions have allowed their women’s rugby to languish without committing to the professional setup established by the Rugby Football Union. Let us get this out of the way. It is no fault of anyone involved with the Red Roses that their opponents have simply not been good enough, bar the French, to mount anything like a serious challenge to England on the field. Wales have started to address the situation, and the Celtic unions have the money, they just have not bothered to act timeously, or at all in some cases. The problem is that even if they acted tomorrow, it will be at least three years before the effects of a professional structure come to fruition and in that time England should … [Read more...] about England’s celtic rivals should be embarrassed but Simon Middleton’s side still have to improve

Manchester: Shocking moment postman kicks family’s dog Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info The footage was recorded via a video doorbell and shows a member of Royal Mail staff booting the hound which then tumbles across a driveway. It is understood that the postman involved has claimed the dog nipped him on the ankle and he reacted as a reflex. Related articles House price crash fears: Millions face owning unsellable homes Furious protester hurls EGG at new Margaret Thatcher statue Video shows the worker muttering a few words at the door of a woman's home before it is opened one morning in April. The sound of a dog … [Read more...] about Horror as Royal Mail postman caught kicking helpless dog while delivering parcels