Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will “not properly fall out,” according to McLaren Formula 1 boss Zak Brown.
After Norris ran into Piastri in Canada in June, Brown, the company’s chief executive officer, predicted that the pair would “swap paint again at some point.”
He continued, “I don’t believe they’ll fall out because of the communication, trust, and respect we all have for one another.”
We have two wonderful people, they say. The challenge is our passion. I’m anticipating them to compete against one another.
This season, Piastri has won six races while Norris has five, and they have won 11 of the previous 14 races.
On August 29 and 31, Brown and the Dutch Grand Prix will resume racing, with Brown saying that he anticipates that the game will continue to be fair.
Has your team-mate ever irritated you in any way, as I’ve said to both of them individually when I had the chance? Never’. And that is what both said, “Brown added.
There is therefore brewing competition. There is no sign of tension in our household. I’m sure there will be more tension as the championship develops, but like Montreal, I’m happy we got it out of the way because Lando owned it and Oscar recognized that it was wrong.
Brown expressed his “very confident it won’t be deliberate” when he said he was “very confident it won’t happen because he expects the two drivers to collide once more.
He continued, “I’m certain they’re never going to run each other off the rails, and that’s where you get into bad blood.”
And he claimed that McLaren would handle any tension in the same way they have handled the drivers’ relationship so far.
He said, “We’ll deal with it if something bubbles up,” he said. And how we operate, which is a transparent, deal-with-it immediately [manner] approach.
When you’ve witnessed fights between other team members, it seems like from the outside, and you kind of wonder, “have they jumped on that, or are they just kind of letting it build up?”
If we think anything is bubbling up in the balloon but haven’t seen any, we’ll take the air out right away.
Because both McLaren and McLaren have long-term contracts, Brown said it was crucial for them to stay in good terms.
They both “can smell the championship,” the commentator said.
Despite being 97 points behind Piastri, Brown thinks Max Verstappen has a chance of winning the title even though he is still in with a lead over Piastri.
However, he claimed that he and team principal Andrea Stella will talk about how to deal with the unavoidable situation where one McLaren driver wins the title while the other loses it if the championship is clearly clearly between just the two McLaren drivers.
According to Brown, “Only one can win the championship, and they both can smell it,” so I’m sure it’ll be difficult on the one who doesn’t win, assuming the other does.
“We’ll just sit down and actually have a conversation and say, “Right, one of you is going to win, and it’s going to be the best day of your life, one of you is going to lose, and you’re going to be devastated,” “How do you want us to handle that, and how do we want us to act?”
Because that’s how we think, it comes back to thinking about our people, we’ll be very considerate about that.
Brown refuted the claim that the narrative “almost” Norris was mentally more fragile than Piastri because he thought it was “untrue.”
“Lando’s open, he kind of wears his emotions on his sleeve, so to speak,” Brown said. He’s in a great place, but everyone’s unique. He’s never been in a better state, in my opinion. He does a fantastic job.
After a few victories slipped away last year, he compared the current commentary on Norris to a previous one, which some observers claimed he was unable to take the lead.
New Delhi, India — Numerous Indian analysts hailed Donald Trump’s ostentation when he re-entered the White House in January, arguing that his bonhomie with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would protect the nation from the chaos it might engender.
The two leaders had effectively campaigned for each other previously, attending joint rallies. They have repeatedly referred to one another as friends, and Modi was one of the first leaders from around the world to visit Trump in the White House in February.
But six months later, a sobering reality has hit New Delhi, with Trump punishing it with a 25 percent tariff on imports and near-daily threats to increase those levies further because of India’s oil purchases from Russia, as he tries to force Moscow into accepting a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine.
Some experts believe that there is still room for improvement in an India-US trade agreement and that bilateral relations are slipping. “US-India relations are at the lowest point in decades”, Biswajit Dhar, a trade economist who has worked on several Indian trade deals, told Al Jazeera. Lower tariffs are being applied to dozens of other nations, including those with which India has tense ties, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Addressing a public rally on Saturday, Modi took a defiant stance against Trump’s tariff assaults. “The world economy is experiencing a lot of anxiety.” There is an atmosphere of instability”, Modi said.
There should be just one scale for everything we buy, he said, adding that we will only purchase items made by Indian laborers.
Modi’s comments come as Indian officials reportedly reject stopping the buying of Russian crude.
Trump has attributed part of the Russian oil boom to India, which helped pay for Moscow’s occupation of Ukraine. “They]Indians] don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”, , Trump said Monday. I will significantly increase the tariff that India has already paid to the USA because of this.
So, how did we get here? What are India’s and the US’s growing points of disagreement? And could India give up on Russian oil to save its relationship with the US?
What issues are the US-Indian relations experiencing?
Modi and Trump might speak highly of each other, but there is a growing number of areas where India and the US are at odds, ranging from trade agreements to strategic alignment.
No agreement on trade
Trade has long been a sticking point in US-India relations, even as strategic and defence ties have deepened. For the past several years, the US has consistently pushed for greater market access, lower tariffs, and stronger protections, particularly for its tech, pharmaceutical, and agricultural exports. India, on the other hand, has resisted what it sees as disproportionate pressure to open up its economy in ways that may harm its domestic industries and small farmers.
Despite their imbalance, India sold twice as much to the US as India did before Trump. The US wanted access to India’s growing markets, and India needed to export to the US, so keeping ties afloat was important to both.
Indian and US officials began discussions to put together a trade deal after Trump first imposed tariffs on almost all trading partners on April 1. But disagreements over e-commerce regulation, digital data flows and price controls on medical devices have reportedly stalled progress.
Officials in India were relentlessly pursuing Trump’s August 1 deadline to avoid tariffs. But despite occasional breakthroughs, like India cutting tariffs on some US goods, the two countries have not yet concluded a full bilateral trade deal.
Trump has threatened unspecified additional penalties related to India’s energy and arms purchases from Russia as a result of ongoing negotiations.
“This is a pressure tactic by Trump”, said Anil Trigunayat, a former Indian diplomat who has served as India’s trade commissioner in New York. He continued, using the acronyms “micro, small, and medium enterprises,” noting that India has not given in to what the Americans want.
Almost half of India’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, making the issue politically sensitive for every Indian government.
He told Al Jazeera, “Everyone is playing hardball on both sides, and it’s necessary to come to a mutually beneficial solution.”
US President Donald Trump and Indian , Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, on February 13, 2025, in Washington, DC]Alex Brandon/AP]
India’s close ties to Russia
As Trump’s frustrations with Russia mount over stalled peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, the US president has been looking for more ways to corner Moscow. Washington has become increasingly interested in India because of its long-standing relationship with Russia.
While the US views India as a key partner in countering China’s rise in the Asia Pacific, it has grown increasingly uneasy with New Delhi’s continued defence and energy ties with Moscow, analysts say.
Vladimir Putin, a Russian president, is also facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for the crimes he did in the Ukraine during his two visits to Russia last year. In July 2024, Putin conferred upon Modi the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First‑Called, Russia’s highest civilian honour.
Russia continues to be one of India’s largest arms exporters, providing essential technologies like nuclear reactors and missile systems. And after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India ramped up imports of discounted Russian crude oil.
ceasefire in Kashmir
After an attack by gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort town on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed, India and Pakistan engaged in their most expansive military conflict in decades.
Trump claimed he intervened and demanded a ceasefire from both countries as the nuclear-armed rivals from South Asia exchanged missile and drone attacks in May.
“Fellas, come on. Make a deal, folks. Let’s do some trading. Numerical missiles should not be traded. Let’s trade the things that you make so beautifully”, Trump said a few days later in Riyadh.
“I used trade extensively to carry out [the ceasefire].” And it all stopped”, he added.
Trump’s claim that he orchestrated the May 10 ceasefire that put an end to the fighting has sparked criticism from Modi in India, which has long held the position that all disputes with Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally and without using third-party mediation.
Modi’s government has insisted that the truce was brought about bilaterally, that Modi did not speak to Trump during the conflict, and that – contrary to the US president’s claims – trade was never discussed as a factor in negotiating the ceasefire. Trump has since repeated his assertions, mentioning the phrase “broke the peace” more than 30 times.
Growing US-Pakistan ties
Asim Munir, the army chief of Pakistan, was hosted by Trump at the White House following the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May. Never before had a US president hosted a Pakistani military boss who was not also the head of state.
After years of tense ties, the US military officials credit Pakistan with aiding in the capture of wanted “terrorists” for their growing warmth.
The government of Pakistan also officially endorsed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for “recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis”.
Trump called Modi a “fantastic man,” but added that Munir had been “extremely influential” in bringing about the ceasefire the day after meeting him.
“I love Pakistan”, Trump said, and repeated: “I stopped the war between Pakistan and India”.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to claim that he had reached a deal with Pakistan that would allow them to collaborate on developing oil reserves as he attacked India in his most recent tariff attack. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day”! he wrote.
Later, the US imposed a 19 percent tariff on imports from Pakistan, which Islamabad hailed as “balanced and forward-looking”.
hiring big tech, deportation, etc.
Days before Modi visited Trump in February, visuals emerged of Indian citizens in the US, shackled in chains, parading towards a US military aircraft, prompting anger in India over the treatment of its nationals.
Returnees, who are illegal immigrants entering the US without visas, described being stranded for nearly 40 hours on the flight to India. Like trade, the issue of deportation has been at the centre of Trump’s re-election campaign.
Additionally, there are other types of illegal immigrants.
After assuming the presidency, Trump’s administration has also come under pressure from the president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base to crack down on H1B work visas, nearly 72 percent of which go to Indians.
Trump praised tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple for hiring employees from India at a summit on artificial intelligence in Washington, DC last month. Trump declared, “The days of hiring workers in India are over”, and urged companies to prioritise jobs for Americans and disconnect from outsourcing models tied to India and China.
On July 9, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle in Moscow, Russia. [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters]
What’s the latest spark in US-India tensions?
Trump tried to persuade Putin to accept a ceasefire, but now it appears that Russia is at the forefront of a new wave.
On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits”.
One of the US president’s most influential aides, Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff at the White House, previously attributed India’s purchase of Russian crude to funding Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.
“What]Trump] said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia”, said Miller.
“People will be shocked to learn that China and India are essentially tied to one another when it comes to buying Russian oil.” That’s an astonishing fact”, Miller told Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China, which imports nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil each day from Russia. Russia also tops the list of India’s arms suppliers.
What is India’s response to Trump?
On Monday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded sharply, calling the US’s targeting of New Delhi over the buying of Russian oil “unjustified and unreasonable”.
It criticized the West for using double standards, citing Russia’s increased trade with Russia in 2024 as well as US imports of fertilizers and chemicals.
It also said that the US has “actively encouraged” it to buy Russian oil, so that global crude prices would stay under control while the West could reduce its dependence on Russian energy.
The statement read, “India will take all necessary steps to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
Will India stop buying Russian oil to please Trump?
According to experts, that is highly unlikely.
India has historically — since independence from Britain in 1947 — cherished its strategic autonomy, including during the Cold War, when it stayed non-aligned. It has strengthened its traditional friendship with Russia while preserving its strategic and military ties with the US since the end of the Cold War.
“Trump is trying to wean India off its strategic autonomy policy by going after its ties with Russia and membership in BRICS”, Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera, referring to the Trump’s threats of higher tariffs against members of the bloc that includes several leading nations of the Global South.
“But in response to Trump’s pressure, Delhi won’t abandon this policy.” On the contrary, I expect it to double down”.
Ajit Doval, India’s national security adviser, flew to Moscow late on Tuesday. Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar is expected to visit Russia later this month. Additionally, for the first time since the Ukrainian invasion of 2022, New Delhi has confirmed that Putin will be traveling to India later this year.
In recent weeks, India has also indicated that it is open to reviving a trilateral grouping including Russia and China, the West’s two big rivals.
Can America or Europe renounce their strategic autonomy? asked Jayati Ghosh, economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “India has more people than the two countries combined,” he says. It is absurd to even think that India can give up that”, she told Al Jazeera.
On the eve of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet.
What does this mean for future of US-India relationship?
In response to Dhar, the economist, Kugelman claimed that US-Indian relations have “seen at their lowest level over the past 20 years of strategic partnership,” which began to develop in the early 21st century.
Non-alignment with foreign governments “remains a critical component of India’s foreign policy”, said Kugelman, adding that he expects that to continue.
Trump is penalizing [New Delhi] for trying to maintain the balance [between the US and Russia] because “India maintained this balance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “]That’s] something that the Biden administration never did”, he added, referring to the previous administration of US President Joe Biden.
Former diplomat Trigunayat argued that “strategic autonomy for India is more important than ever.” India, with the world’s largest population, has its own approach to strategic autonomy that’s in the DNA of Indian foreign policy”.
Kugelman predicted that in the long run, New Delhi would have hoped that Trump’s anger would eventually subside, which would most likely happen if Russia agreed to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
When Sheffield Wednesday reached the Championship play-off final in 2016, the clubs’ fans believed they were on the verge of a new era of success under Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri.
But in the years since losing that final, Chansiri’s reputation and supporters’ morale have taken a steady hammering.
Late payments to HMRC, delayed salaries for players and staff members, and transfer embargos have clipped the club’s wings.
There were concerns about whether their first match of the season against Leicester on Sunday would go ahead, but it is understood the players will fulfil the fixture.
Now, with a skeleton squad, enforced stand closure and dire financial prospects, fans have told the BBC what they feel Chansiri’s failure to sell is doing to the club, the city, and its people.
“We’re all struggling,” says Hillsborough season ticket-holder Gaz Robinson. “It’s been terrible for everybody – mentally exhausting.
BBC Sport
In Chansiri’s early years in charge following his 2015 takeover, Wednesday spent heavily as they targeted a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2000.
But in the 2020s the level of spending has receded significantly, debts and creditors have risen sharply, and though Chansiri has indicated he is open to selling the club, no takeover has materialised.
That has led to fans worrying they might not have a club left to support if things do not change soon.
“Absolutely everything has gone wrong,” says Natalie Briggs, who has been landlady of The Park pub – a few minutes’ walk from the stadium – for 10 years.
“Twelve months ago some people were still 50/50 about whether he [Chansiri] should stay or go. But now it’s got to a stage where everyone wants him gone.
“He claims to be a family man, yet he can’t see that he is destroying the biggest family of all – the family that he bought into. He made that decision. And where is he now? Nowhere to be seen.
BBC Sport
The impact of the crisis on those who have followed the club for decades is stark, and fans are determined to face Chansiri head-on.
“There have been bad times before, but this is certainly the worst in my life,” says 84-year-old retired ambulance driver Bill Button, who first went to a match at Hillsborough 79 years ago.
“It’s doing my head in. I just don’t know where Chansiri is coming from. We won’t buy a new shirt for the simple reason that the money is going in his pocket. You’ve got to hit his pocket. If not, it won’t make any difference.”
Button’s season ticket is located in the disabled section of Hillsborough’s North Stand, which has now been closed after the Safety Advisory Group refused to renew its safety certificate until renovation work is undertaken.
The club has not provided Bill with any information about what is happening with his season ticket.
“I’ve rung up many times and just get hold music,” he says. “They can’t even give you an answer for anything.
BBC Sport
While fans’ anger is primarily directed at Chansiri, some are frustrated the club has not been protected from one man’s decision-making by the English Football League (EFL), whose owners’ and directors’ test Chansiri passed in 2015.
“What we’ve seen from the EFL is nothing,” says fan Ryan Goodison. “And we’re not alone in that. Look at what has happened at Morecambe.
“I think Chansiri would rather see no Sheffield Wednesday than Sheffield Wednesday without him, and I don’t know what the EFL can and can’t do because obviously it’s a private business. But if there is nothing they can do, then what is the point?
“I’m 40 and been coming to Hillsborough since I was five. For that to suddenly be possibly taken away is awful.”
The EFL’s measures for assessing potential owners’ credibility have been amended since Chansiri bought Sheffield Wednesday, but are based on whether individuals are able to provide proof of funds at the point of purchase, rather than whether owners can continue to fund their clubs throughout their tenure.
The incoming Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will have the power to potentially revoke operating licenses from club owners during their tenure in some circumstances.
This summer, Chansiri claimed he had turned down two potential bids for the club worth £30m and £40m.
Fans who spoke to the BBC said they believe the 57-year-old’s valuation of the club is too high, and insisted they will protest against him inside and away from stadiums for the foreseeable future.
Getty Images
“We are going to be protesting in our own way,” Robinson says. “The atmosphere is going to be toxic.
“But we all have jobs and we don’t want a criminal record so we need to act appropriately. We have to show that we are above some things and have more respect than the owner has for us.
“This is our everything – to him it’s a plaything. We have to show him that his time is up, that we don’t want or need him any more, and that he needs to leave.”
Whether Chansiri will seal his own exit in time to avoid a likely points deduction, a descent down the divisions, and further misery for fans, remains unclear.
Following recent exercises in the Sea of Japan, Russian and Chinese naval vessels have plans to conduct a joint patrol in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Russia’s official Interfax.
According to a statement released on Wednesday from the press service of the Russian Pacific Fleet, ships from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and the Russian Navy will form a new task group to carry out joint patrol missions in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Russian Navy’s and the PLA Navy’s crews will form a new detachment to carry out joint patrol missions in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the news agency.
According to Interfax, Russia is conducting a number of military exercises with China in response to the Asia-Pacific region’s growing US military potential, citing Russia’s top genitalia, Valery Gerasimov, in 2022.
Moscow and Beijing have jointly conducted air patrols in the Asia-Pacific region since 2019, the report continued.
The two nations are wrapping up five days of joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan that focused on anti-submarine and air defense missions as the joint patrol announcement is made.
Russian crews practiced searching for and neutralizing a mock enemy submarine while conducting live-fire drills on the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the corvette Gromky, according to Interfax.
The drills were defensive in nature, according to Russia’s Pacific Fleet, and not against any other nations.
China’s rumored formation of the Asia-Pacific joint patrol coincides with its plan to modernize and upgrade its naval arsenal to become a “blue water” force capable of conducting long-range operations in the world’s oceans, similar to those of the United States and other Western forces.
At the Lionesses Euros celebration, football star Lauren James embraced the divisive Gen Z beauty trend with star-shaped pimple patches.
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Lauren James joins in with divisive Gen Z beauty trend (Image: Harriet Lander – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Gen Z beauty trends regularly disrupt the internet. We’re talking about under-eye bags, blush blindness, and the morning shed, just to name a few. Pimple patches are the most recent topic to bring up some debate.
And now, football star Lauren James is getting in on the action, sporting the £9 spot stickers that have already found fans in celebs like Pink Pantheress, Hailey and Justin Bieber, and SZA. Cute, controversial, and clinically effective, these tiny patches are making a major statement.
The 23-year-old was seen rocking Starface’s Pink Hydro-Star Patches, $8.99, while observing the Lionesses’ victory parade around London.
While looking adorable on your face, this pack of 32 pink, star-shaped stickers helps reduce redness, absorb gunk, and reduce spots. These patches are made of 100% hydrocolloid, which helps to control inflammation, prevent acne, and stop skin wrinkling (a bad habit I’m sure we all have once had).
This £25 vanilla body mist is in demand because Love Island’s Toni and Billykiss can’t stop ingesting it.
READ MORE: Lindsay Lohan’s youthful appearance in the “weightless” skin tint for the Friday premiere was
Lucy Bronze and Lauren James pose with winning trophy at Euros celebrations(Image: Harriet Lander – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Starface disrupted the pimple patch trend with its distinctive design(Image: Starface)
When you’re running around, cooking dinner at home, or celebrating your recent Euros win, Hydro-Stars are precisely shaped to hug your skin and stay put.
They’re vegan, cruelty-free, and dermatologist-tested, so they actually help you get breakouts rather than just concealing them. They’re safe for all skin types, including sensitive skin.
Pimple patches were initially intended to cover up spots without appearing too obvious and blend in with skin. There are some fantastic invisible designs that don’t stand out from ordinary on the face from The Inkey List and Mighty Patch.
However, Starface completely changed the game with its instantly recognisable star patches, which were created specifically to stand out after its launch in 2019.
Continue reading the article.
The recent shift in beauty standards is highlighted by the popularity of these patches. Gen Z embraces and highlights previous “shameful” imperfections rather than cover-up acne, scars, or blemishes in secret. It’s both a conscious choice to reject overly airbrushed or filtered faces as well as a form of fun and self-expression.
A new Australian government report claims that ocean temperatures rose in 2024, making coral bleaching the most widespread on record in the Great Barrier Reef.
The reef health was examined by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) on Wednesday, and the results were “most spatially extensive” bleaching since records began in 1986, which was “predominantly fueled by climate change-induced heat stress.”
The southernmost third of the reef, where there is the highest recorded level of heat stress, saw a decrease in coral cover of almost one-third, down to just 26.9 percent, according to scientists.
The authors of the study wrote in The Conversation that “the declines in the north and south were the largest in a single year since monitoring began 39 years ago.”
The Great Barrier Reef, which is characterized as the largest living structure in the world, is a 2,300 km (1,400 km) long stretch of tropical corals with a stunning range of biodiversity.
According to Professor Selina Stead, the CEO of AIMS, “mass bleaching events are occurring more frequently and more intensely.”
Stead said, “The future of the world’s coral reefs depends heavily on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
She added that it was also crucial to manage local pressures and aiding in the reefs’ “adaptation to and recovery from the impacts of climate change.”
The Great Barrier Reef is home to the largest collection of coral reefs in the world, including 400 different types of coral, according to UNESCO, which has designated it as a World Heritage Site.
According to UNESCO, it also has 1,500 different species of fish, 4, 000 different types of molluscs, 240 different bird species, and dugong and large green turtle species.
Clownfish are found in the Great Barrier Reef, as portrayed in the 2003 Disney film Finding Nemo.
The Australian government has fought to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the endangered list because it fears it will have an impact on the billions of dollars in tourism revenue it generates annually.
The Great Barrier Reef could be protected from climate change, according to Australia’s Climate Change Authority, which released a report last week. Major fossil-fuel exporting nations are also able to adopt low- and zero-emission alternatives, and take stronger measures against climate pollutants like methane, which “contribute most to near-term climate warming.”
However, Australia continues to be a major exporter of fossil fuels, including coal from the contentious Adani coal mine, which is exported beyond the Great Barrier Reef.
