Less than 12 months after his appointment, Newcastle United’s sporting director Paul Mitchell will step down with mutual consent at the end of June.
Dan Ashworth left St James’ Park for Manchester United in July 2024, and the former Spurs sporting director took over as manager.
After only five months in his new position, Ashworth left United in December 2024, and earlier this month agreed to work in the Football Association as head of the elite’s development.
Mitchell and Newcastle CEO Darren Eales, who hired him at Tottenham Hotspur in 2014, had previously spoken, but Eales will soon step down due to health issues.
“I want to thank everyone at Newcastle United for their support over the past year,” Mitchell said.
“I’m leaving at a moment that’s right for me and the club, particularly Darren Eales, with whom I have worked so closely throughout my career, who will soon be moving.”
The club is “in a fantastic position to continue growing,” the club said. “The club is in excellent hands both on and off the pitch.”
As the Israeli military continues to bomb the enclave with the alleged goal of capturing all of Gaza, a controversial aid organization funded by Israel and supported by the United States announced that it has begun operations in southern Gaza.
According to the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 180, 000 people were displaced in Gaza between May 15 and May 25.
After announcing its first distribution hubs in southern Gaza, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which bypasses aid distribution networks established by the UN and charities, announced it had distributed boxes of food to Palestinians on Tuesday.
Concerned that the plan could be used to “weaponize” aid, causing further displacement of Palestinians, the UN and international aid organizations have stated that they will not cooperate with the Swiss-registered company, which is dispensing aid under the protection of armed security contractors.
UN Humanitarian Office spokesperson Jens Laerke said the deliveries were “a diversion from what is actually needed,” instead calling for more Israeli approval for emergency supplies that are waiting to be let in just outside Gaza’s borders.
Despite executive director Jake Wood’s resignation on Sunday, who claimed it couldn’t adhere to “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,” the GHF continued to carry out its mission.
According to aid officials cited by the Reuters news agency, the new operation will rely on four main distribution centers in southern Gaza to screen families for involvement with the Palestinian group Hamas, possibly using biometric or facial recognition technology.
However, many details about how the operation will proceed remain unclear, not the least of which is how Palestinians who are spread out across central and northern Gaza, many of whom are ill and deficient, will have to travel far to receive the aid.
According to Tareq Abu Azzoum, an Al Jazeera correspondent from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, “only those who move south will receive aid.” People will have to travel long distances under “very dangerous security conditions” to get packages that will suffice for a few days before having to go back home.
According to Abu Azzoum, “many Palestinians are concerned about the use of aid as a political tool… to control the movement of Gaza’s population,” the association’s ties to the Israeli government “were incredibly concerning.”
The Gaza-based Ministry of Health reported that more than 54 000 people died as the GHF operation began on Tuesday.
(Al Jazeera)
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union, described Israel’s deadly wave of attacks on civilian targets as “abhorrent.”
Her remarks came after Israel bombed a school in Gaza City the day before, killing 36 people, most of them children and women.
“Aid washing”
Israel’s situation in Gaza, where 2.1 million people are constantly under attack and are facing a looming famine, was the subject of the GHF announcement as it faced international condemnation.
Chris Gunness, a former UNRWA spokesman, called the new initiative “aid washing.”
Gunness told Al Jazeera, “It’s quite simply the use of humanitarian aid to justify both the weaponization of humanitarian aid and the justification of ethnic cleansing and genocide.”
He also raised questions about the use of security contractors to oversee the operation, claiming that the “subcontracting of aid to mercenaries” could result in a disaster similar to the “flour massacre” from the previous year, when at least 112 people were killed while waiting for food in Gaza City.
If Israel doesn’t “cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid,” France, the UK, and Canada have pledged to take “concrete actions.” Germany joined them this week, which argued that the humanitarian impact of Israel’s offensive “can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.”
Germany and Finland demanded on Israel on Tuesday that it “put pressure” on it to allow Gaza desperately needed humanitarian aid. Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, previously argued that Israel should be subject to sanctions from the EU.
Gaza should not be denied aid, according to Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who defied international critics on Tuesday.
I tell the prime minister, “We must not provide them with humanitarian aid,” ” Dear Prime Minister, I say that.” Our enemies only deserve a bullet to the head, he told a sizable crowd of people marching in occupied East Jerusalem as he argued, “We must not give them fuel.”
Houthi missiles are intercepted by Israel
Houthi rebels have regularly launched attacks in self-declared solidarity with Palestinians who are under attack in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, which was reported on Tuesday.
Since the Houthis began the conflict in October 2023, they have launched missiles and drones at Israel. They halted their attacks after the two-month ceasefire in Gaza, which ended in March, but they resumed them once Israel resumed its occupation of the area.
A missile launched by the group in early May hit the Ben Gurion airport’s perimeter for the first time near Tel Aviv despite the group’s majority of the projectile interceptions.
Naim Azar and Wadee ‘a Aghabi, the filmmaker’s Palestinian grandparents, are the subject of a documentary short about their lives and their experiences in Jaffa as a result of the Nakba, the Zionists’ ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. The three daughters and other family members’ oral histories provide a glimpse into their lives. The movie combines family dynamics and personal experiences to depict a couple’s life before their expulsion. a movie starring Najwa Najjar.
Dan Cole, a prop for England and the Tigers of Leicester, will retire at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old has made 118 appearances for his country, making him the second-most successful men’s player in English history.
Cole, who has won four Premiership titles with his boyhood club and twice toured with the British and Irish Lions, graduated from Leicester’s academy.
Cole claimed that Ben Youngs, his long-time team-mate for both club and nation, who just announced he would be hanging up his boots, had an influence on his decision to retire.
The Tigers’ full-back Mike Brown, who is a decorated 39-year-old, left after the season, while Julian Montoya, who is also a former Tigers and England team-mate, is leaving as head coach.
With the end of the season and the start of a new chapter for the club with Geoff Parling serving as head coach, “it’s time for me to leave,” he told the club website.
Physically speaking, I am 10 years older than most of the men in the changing room, which is challenging, and that’s because it’s harder to carry on as you get older.
It hasn’t yet reached its full potential.
Last autumn, Cole participated in the final of his 118 England Test matches.
Only Youngs, who has 127 caps, has played for the men’s national team more than the prop, who missed more than three years without starting for England after their 2019 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.
When Cole took over as head coach of the Tigers in 2023, it was Steve Borthwick, the Tigers’ 2022 Premiership winner, who brought him to the international stage.
Cole then won his fourth World Cup, where the forward claimed that his performance in England’s semi-final defeat to South Africa taught him the lesson of redemption.
Overall, he said, “I have loved my career but not loved every minute, which has made the good times even more special,” he continued.
With Tigers next month on top and a quest for their 12th Premiership title, Cole is the latest player to aim high with them.
It’s obvious that the world is still in its infancy, Cole said.
“Multi-layered person”
After playing against the prop in the past against Australia and Argentina, Tigers head coach Michael Cheika, who is also leaving at the end of the season, described it as “super interesting” getting to know Cole in their year together.
Joe Heyes established himself as the first-choice tight-head under the Australian team this season, making 13 appearances and starting just once.
He has a number of facets, Cheika told BBC Radio Leicester.
As a podcast host with Youngs, he says, “He loves his footy but he is a smart guy in other areas as well, as you can see from what he is building.” He approaches the game both in terms of his strategy and his plan of attack.
“But he still possesses the joy and emotion of playing for the club or being a part of England, and he uses that as inspiration to improve.”
Dan Cole, a prop for England and the Tigers of Leicester, will retire at the end of the season.
The 38-year-old has made 118 appearances for his country, making him the second-most successful men’s player in English history.
Cole, who has won four Premiership titles with his boyhood club and twice toured with the British and Irish Lions, graduated from Leicester’s academy.
Cole claimed that Ben Youngs, his long-time team-mate for both club and nation, who just announced he would be hanging up his boots, had an influence on his decision to retire.
The Tigers’ full-back Mike Brown, who is a decorated 39-year-old, left after the season, while Julian Montoya, who is also a former Tigers and England team-mate, is leaving as head coach.
With the end of the season and the start of a new chapter for the club with Geoff Parling serving as head coach, “it’s time for me to leave,” he told the club website.
Physically speaking, I am 10 years older than most of the men in the changing room, which is challenging, and that’s because it’s harder to carry on as you get older.
Images courtesy of Getty
Cole, who won three Test caps for the Lions between 2013 and 2017, played in the final of his 118 Test matches against England last year.
Only Youngs, who has 127 caps, has played for the men’s national team more than the prop, who missed more than three years without starting for England after their 2019 World Cup final defeat by South Africa.
When Cole took over as head coach of the Tigers in 2023, it was Steve Borthwick, the Tigers’ 2022 Premiership winner, who brought him to the international stage.
Cole then won his fourth World Cup, where he praised his performance in England’s semi-final defeat to South Africa as a lesson in redemption.
Overall, I have enjoyed my career but not every minute, which has made the good times even more special, Cole said.
Borthwick described playing alongside Cole as a “privilege” and later as a privilege.
The England head coach said, “He’s a brilliant team player as well as a rare talent.”
His devotion to both England and the Tigers of Leicester has been “absolutely outstanding.”
With Tigers next month on top and a quest for their 12th Premiership title, Cole is the latest player to aim high with them.
It’s obvious that the world is still in its infancy, Cole said.
“Multi-layered person”
After playing against the prop in the past against Australia and Argentina, Tigers head coach Michael Cheika, who is also leaving at the end of the season, described it as “super interesting” getting to know Cole in their year together.
Joe Heyes established himself as the first-choice tight-head under the Australian flag this year, making 13 league starts and starting just once.
He has a number of facets, Cheika told BBC Radio Leicester.
As a podcast host with Youngs, he says, “He loves his footy but he is a smart guy in other areas as well, as you can see from what he is building.” He approaches the game both in terms of his strategy and his plan of attack.
“But he still possesses the joy and emotion of playing for the club or being a part of England, and he uses that as inspiration to improve.”
