Brighton stunned a lacklustre Manchester United with three first-half goals to secure a famous victory at the Amex Stadium.

The Seagulls beat United in May to retain their Premier League status, but few expected a repeat on Sunday.

However, Brighton capitalised on a poor start from United to take the lead on 25 minutes, when Glenn Murray flicked home Solly March’s low cross.

And they doubled their lead just two minutes later, Shane Duffy taking advantage of the visitors’ inability to clear by stroking home his first Premier League goal.

Romelu Lukaku halved the deficit 11 minutes before the break, rising unmarked to nod in Luke Shaw’s ball.

But Eric Bailly’s rash challenge on Pascal Gross inside the area presented Brighton with the chance to restore their two-goal advantage, which Gross took.

United improved marginally after the break but never really looked like threatening a fightback, though Paul Pogba netted an injury-time penalty after Duffy brought down Marouane Fellaini.

It was a day to forget for United fans, especially after their neighbours City swept aside Huddersfield 6-1.

Mourinho’s fears come to fruition

United boss Jose Mourinho warned in the summer that his side faced “a difficult season” if they did not strengthen before the transfer window closed.

The Portuguese had highlighted his side’s defence as an area that needed bolstering, but deadline day passed without any new arrivals.

Mourinho’s concerns were laid bare here, with his defence caught out on a number of occasions by Brighton’s quick movement.

Bailly, in particular, struggled. Aside from giving away the penalty he also miscontrolled a pass in the second half that momentarily put March through before the Ivorian was able to recover.

Bailly and centre-back partner Victor Lindelof – both Mourinho signings – have now been a part of a defence that has conceded four goals in the first two games of the season. It took United nine to let in that many last season.

Fortress Amex as intimidating as ever

Brighton’s home form played a huge part in their survival last season, with 29 of their 40 points secured at the Amex Stadium.

Once again, it looks like a trip to south coast will be a difficult one for their Premier League rivals.

United may have been well below par but that should not take away what was a controlled and confident display by the Seagulls against a side that finished second last season.

They took the game to their opponents from the outset, March working the defence with an early cross, and even the loss of influential defender Lewis Dunk did not disrupt them as Anthony Knockaert got in behind before putting his shot just wide.

Brighton did not have a shot after the break, but they did not need to as they changed tack from attack to containment. In the end it was a comfortable afternoon for Chris Hughton’s side.

Martial fails to take his chance

Alexis Sanchez was a surprise absentee from United’s starting XI, with Mourinho confirming before kick-off that the forward was injured.

That meant Anthony Martial, who has been linked with a move, was handed the chance to impress.

Mourinho was critical of Martial for his performance here in May, and another ineffective display will surely not have impressed his manager.

Martial lasted until the hour mark before he was substituted with neither he nor Mourinho appearing to acknowledge each other as he went down the tunnel.

Man of the match – Solly March

A first for Paul Pogba – the stats

• Since taking charge of United at the start of the 2016-17 season, the only opponent Mourinho has lost against more often than Brighton (two) is his former club Chelsea (four).
• Brighton have lost just one of their past eight home games in the Premier League (W5 D2 L1), with the two most recent both being wins against United (1-0 in 2017-18 and 3-1 in 2018-19).
• United lost their first away game of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 2012-13, when they were beaten 1-0 by Everton.
• Twenty three of Murray’s 24 goals in the Premier League have been scored from inside the box, including 100% of those scored for Brighton in the competition (13/13).
• Gross has scored eight goals in the Premier League, with all eight at home. Only two players have netted more goals exclusively at home in the competition’s history – Georginio Wijnaldum (18) and Clive Wilson (nine).
• In competitive games since the start of the 2018 World Cup, David de Gea has conceded 10 goals from the past 14 shots on target he has faced.
• Lukaku has scored against 18 of the current 20 Premier League teams, with Cardiff and Wolves the only teams he is yet to find the net against.
• Pogba ended on the losing side in a Premier League game he scored in for the first time – prior to today, United had won each of the previous 11 games he had netted in, which was a joint-record in the competition (with Ryan Babel for Liverpool).
• This was only the 10th time in Premier League history that United conceded three first-half goals in a game, and the first time since October 2015 against Arsenal.

What next?

Brighton travel to Liverpool on Saturday, 25 August (17:30 BST) while United host Tottenham on Monday, 27 August (20:00 BST)

More than 800,000 people have been displaced in Kerala, as the death toll from the worst flooding to hit the southern Indian state jumped to at least 370, with losses to infrastructure pegged at almost $3bn.

As the rains subsided on Sunday, relief efforts focused on rescuing those marooned in isolated places for days and airdropping supplies to others, police and officials said. 

Kerala has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains since the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages. Incessant downpours since August 8 have killed more than 190 people and left thousands more stranded. 

“In a matter of three to four days, we have been able to move nearly 850,000 people to shelters,” TM Thomas Isaac, Kerala’s finance minister, told Al Jazeera.

“I think the total number of displaced persons, including those who have been moved to relatives’ or friends’ houses, would be well over 1.5 million,” he added in a phone interview from Alappuzha, Kerala.

On Sunday alone, 22,000 people were evacuated from their homes, but a large number of people continue to voluntarily live in flooded houses. 

“We saw many people whose ground floors of their homes were knee and waist-deep in the water,” said Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas, reporting from Andoor.

“They are living upstairs because they want to stay where they are,” he added.

“So, the overall figure of people whose homes have been flooded and have been affected by this disaster is in the millions,” he added. “It really is a huge disaster in this part of India.”

Unsung heroes

Thousands of army, air force and navy troops, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are undertaking the search and rescue operations.

Fishermen from across Kerala have also come together to aid the relief efforts. 

“The fisherfolk have played a very remarkable role,” said Isaac, Kerala’s finance minister. “About 500 fisheries boats have been at the forefront of the rescue and shifting operations.

“The fisherfolk have been able to move to interior lakes systems and rivers to help the people.”

On Saturday, fisherman Jaisal KP, a 32-year-old resident of Tanur, rescued three stranded women – one with an infant – in the Malappuram area.

Putting his back into it. Quiet literally. Jaisal KP a fisherman in Vengara puts himself in water so women and children can use his back as a step into the boat. 600 fisherman helping out in #KeralaFloods the unsung heroes. #Salute pic.twitter.com/DXo1CbKIs2

— Shreya Dhoundial (@shreyadhoundial) August 19, 2018

“NDRF personnel who were leading the rescue operations informed us they won’t be able to reach the place where these women were stranded,” Jaisal told Al Jazeera.

“I, along with my co-workers [fishermen], helped them. We have no safety guards or any equipment. We are risking our lives to rescue these people.” 

Anunand, 22, who was trapped for four days in Paravoor, was also saved by the fishermen. 

“If it wasn’t for them [fishermen], I would’ve died inside the flat,” the graduate student told Al Jazeera in a phone interview.

On Monday, the military will continue to fly helicopters in order to drop aid materials in the more remote communities, Al Jazeera’s Thomas reported.

Rebuilding 

As of Sunday, two districts out of the state’s 14 were still under red alert. 

The Indian government has pledged $71m for flood victims, but Isaac said the state will have to re-negotiate to get a “better deal”. 

“One-third of the roads have been completely damaged and the cost of rebuilding them would come over $1bn rupees ($14.3m), so this is a very serious matter.” 

Around 100,000 houses will also have to be rebuilt and large amounts of plastic rubbish – comprising mostly water bottles provided in aid packages and washed away by the floodwaters – will have to be cleared out, he added.

The state government will reach out to multinational agencies to rebuild the water systems, Isaac said. 

“This calamity also points to some serious imbalance in development and the environmental consideration,” the finance minister added.

“Hope this disaster will prompt us to pick a more sustainable development path.”

The amount of rain that has fallen is unexpectedly high this year, according to Al Jazeera’s senior meteorologist Steff Gaulter.

“Normally, by this point in the monsoon season, we expect to see about 1,649mm of rain. But this year it was 2,344mm. This is well over what we’d expect in the entire monsoon season, and we still have another month to go,” she said.

Additional reporting by Aslah Kayyalakkath in Kozhikode, Kerala

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Sunday slammed a report that he was not fully aware of the extent of White House counsel Don McGahn’s cooperation with the special counsel’s investigation.

In several tweets, Trump complained about a New York Times story that reported McGahn opened up to special counsel Robert Mueller in a series of interviews that lasted 30 hours. And the president compared the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election to McCarthyism.

The Times’ report says McGahn’s legal strategy of full cooperation with the Mueller probe was motivated by McGahn’s concern that Trump was setting him up to take responsibility for any possible obstruction of justice actions. 

“The Failing New York Times wrote a story that made it seems like the White House Councel had TURNED on the President, when in fact it is just the opposite,” Trump wrote Sunday morning. 

In a tweet Sunday morning, The New York Times said it stood behind its reporting.

Here’s a look at why McGahn’s interviews with the special counsel are getting so much attention from the public and the president:

A key player

As White House counsel, McGahn has had extraordinary access to the president and some of his most controversial moves.

McGahn reportedly has told investigators what he knew about the president’s role in the firing of former FBI director James Comey, Trump’s repeated criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his role in the Russia investigation before the president hired outside counsel to deal with the matter, The Times reported, citing a dozen anonymous sources.

McGahn’s testimony likely would be central to any obstruction of justice charge brought by Mueller.

Privilege waived

Trump could have invoked attorney-client and executive privilege to prevent McGahn from talking with investigators who are examining possible obstruction of justice by the president.

The president waived those privileges. Trump and the outside lawyers initially representing him in the probe hoped that transparency would help to quickly put an end to a probe that began more than two years ago.

In tweets over the weekend, Trump emphasized that he granted McGahn permission to talk with Mueller and his investigators.

“I allowed White House Counsel Don McGahn, and all other requested members of the White House Staff, to fully cooperate with the Special Counsel,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “In addition we readily gave over one million pages of documents. Most transparent in history.”

Too much cooperation?

On Sunday, Trump reacted angrily to indications that he was not fully aware of how much McGahn has shared with Mueller’s team.

TheTimes reported that McGahn and his lawyer were surprised by Trump’s decision to allow him to talk with the special counsel and worried it was a trick designed to set up McGahn to take the blame for any possible obstruction charges. So, McGahn and his attorney William Burck came up with their own strategy to cooperate fully and prove McGahn engaged in no wrongdoing, the Timessaid.

“It is not clear that Mr. Trump appreciates the extent to which Mr. McGahn has cooperated with the special counsel,” Times reporters added.

Trump has reacted angrily to that assertion. McGahn, he said, isn’t a “John Dean type ‘RAT,’ ” the president tweeted, in a reference to the White House attorney who turned on President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.

“I have nothing to hide,” he added.

McGahn’s response

In a statement to USA TODAY over the weekend, McGahn’s attorney said his client answered the questions from Mueller’s team both “fulsomely and honestly” and added Trump declined to claim attorney-client privilege.  

“President Trump, through counsel, declined to assert any privilege over Mr. McGahn’s testimony, so Mr. McGahn answered the Special Counsel team’s questions fulsomely and honestly, as any person interviewed by federal investigators must,” Burck said.

Ongoing saga

This isn’t the first controversy to erupt between Trump and his top White House lawyer. 

McGahn reportedly threatened to quit when Trump raised the possibility of firing Mueller last year, a month after Mueller had been named as special counsel. McGahn and others convinced Trump that firing Mueller would be a bad idea and eventually Trump pledged to work with the special counsel’s office.

More: Trump confirms that White House counsel interviewed with Mueller

More: The man tapped to be Trump’s White House counsel rocks — no, seriously

Contributing: Kevin Johnson and Christal Hayes

 

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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
Published 12:26 p.m. ET Aug. 19, 2018

Manchester United’s Women’s began their new era after a 13-year absence with a 1-0 win against Liverpool Women in the Continental Tyres Cup.

United, who disbanded their senior women’s team in February 2005 as it was deemed not to be part of the club’s “core business”, made a winning start thanks to Scotland international Lizzie Arnot’s back-post finish with just eight minutes to go.

It marked a successful return for United manager Casey Stoney to her former club, after she was given the job of creating a squad and a team just weeks before the season.

Her new-look team showed they will be a tough proposition in the FA Women’s Championship this season with this win against higher division opposition.

Liverpool, who had their own summer of upheaval with the arrival of new head coach Neil Redfearn and 12 departures to replace, might have levelled had Christie Murray’s free-kick not struck a post and bounced out late on.

Among those 12 exits were seven players that moved along the M62 to United, notably England full-back Alex Greenwood and goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain who played key roles in the victory with an assist and key saves in particular.

Fresh face versus old head

The late winner was a huge fillip for Stoney, who along with assistant Willie Kirk, won the tactical battle against the experienced Redfearn.

It was strictly business for former England international Stoney, who only hung up the boots in February, as she emerged from the tunnel smiling in a suit to take her place in the dugout.

The 35-year-old was cool and calm on the bench, but still a vocal presence as she issued regular instructions to her side throughout.

Her opposite number Neil Redfearn donned shorts and a tracktop, and looked happy and relaxed for much of the game, but his side came away with nothing.

Rivalry: Was there spice on and off the field?

There was an enthusiastic crowd at Prenton Park to cheer on both sides, although the nature of the singing was aimed towards encouragement rather than antagonising any opponents.

Fans mixed without incident in the stands, but the crowd of 829 in a 16,500-capacity stadium made it difficult to create an atmosphere.

On the field, it was fiercely competitive and spirited but that, it could be argued, was down to the competitive nature of two well-assembled, well-matched sides rather than any derby fervour.

Despite the hard tackling and committed challenges, the only card to be shown went to United’s teenage midfielder Lauren James for leaving the field too slowly on her substitution.

What can United take away from the game?

On this evidence against an extremely competitive top-flight side, Manchester United Women will be a second-tier force this term.

The top level experience of ex-Juventus playmaker Katie Zelem, Greenwood and Chamberlain showed in a composed performance and will prove useful to a squad with an average age of 21, while the most exciting prospect proved to be 16-year-old midfielder James who shone in the hurly-burly of midfield.

Stoney was able to persuade the Arsenal academy talent to swap north London for the north west, and her selection suggested regular game-time will be available going forward.

Is this the start of a new rivalry?

With Manchester City already well established as a Women’s Super League force, the presence of a second Manchester club can only add to the spice, but United will have to wait at least a year before the prospect of regular matches against the likes of Liverpool and City.

There is every chance of progress in the cups, which would generate the possibility of such rivalries being further developed, and success would certainly make United a team to pique the interest of their more established neighbours.

Mohammed Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, has said any US effort to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran was bound to fail, just days after Washington announced the creation of a group to coordinate and run the country’s policy towards Tehran.  

Zarif made the comments in a Twitter post on Sunday, on the anniversary of a United States-backed coup that toppled Iran’s first democratically elected government in 1953.

“65 years ago today, the US overthrew the popularly elected democratic government of Dr. Mossadegh, restoring the dictatorship and subjugating Iranians for the next 25 years,” Zarif said. 

“Now an ‘Action Group’ dreams of doing the same through pressure, misinformation & demagoguery.

“Never again.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday announced the creation of the Iran Action Group (IAG), whose stated goal is to “change the Iranian regime’s behaviour”.

“The IAG will ensure that the department of State will remain closely synchronised with our interagency partners,” Pompeo said, adding that the group “will also lead the way in growing efforts with nations which share our understanding of the Iranian threat”.

The US’ decision to back Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh’s overthrow 65 years ago in concert with the United Kingdom has cast a lasting shadow over relations between Washington and Tehran.

In May 1953, about three months before his ouster, Mossadegh ordered the government’s takeover of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, now British Petroleum (BP), after contending that an earlier oil exploration deal was not in favour of the Iranian people.

The move angered the UK government, which sought the help of the US to carry out a plan to force Mossadegh out of office, with the tacit approval of the Iranian monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. 

After his overthrow, Mossadegh was imprisoned for three years on charges of treason. He died in 1967 under house arrest upon the order of the shah.

Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since the shah’s fall in 1979.

In March 2000, then-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright became the first senior American official to acknowledge the American role in the coup, calling it “a setback for Iran’s political development”.

Decades of hostility eased somewhat with the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and then-US President Barack Obama’s administration and five other world powers.

But high tensions resumed after US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal in May, calling it flawed in Iran’s favour, and reimposed sanctions.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s speaker of parliament, said on Sunday the 1953 coup is an indication that the US cannot be trusted.

“How dare you talk about the freedom of the Iranian nation with your dark record of the August 19 coup and the appointment of a totalitarian regime,” Larijani was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

“Americans are imposing sanctions they claim they are supporting freedom, human rights, and global and regional security.”

Tehran has accused the Trump administration of pushing for “regime change” in Iran, deepening distrust. The US has denied the allegations, despite its ties to the Iranian exile group, MEK. 

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Image: Getty Images for Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is still trying to convince conservatives that his service treats them fairly.

Speaking to CNN’s Brian Stelter in an interview that aired Saturday, Twitter’s top executive again reiterated that the social media company does not make content decisions on the basis of political views, even though Twitter itself has a “more left-leaning” bias.

“But the real question behind the question is, are we doing something according to political ideology or viewpoints? And we are not. Period,” Dorsey said in response to a question about “shadow bans,” Twitter’s practice of using algorithms to limit the visibility of certain tweets. “We do not look at content with regards to political viewpoints or ideology, we look at behavior.”

“We need to constantly show that we are not adding our own bias, which I fully admit is… more left-leaning,” Dorsey added. “But we need to remove all bias from how we act and our policies and our enforcement.”

The interview highlights just how thorny these questions have become for Twitter. Dorsey is in the midst of a media blitz, which has included interviews with Sean Hannity and other Fox News hosts. He has also reportedly held quiet meetings with conservative leaders, like Ted Cruz. 

Each time, the CEO faces questions about Twitter’s treatment of conservatives, as well as the network’s alleged “shadow bans.”

What Dorsey and Twitter say is a necessary step to limit the visibility of toxic behavior has become a sort of rallying cry for members of the far-right, who believe the social media company is censoring conservatives with whom it disagrees. 

Dorsey’s latest comments appeared to add fuel to those theories, as many Twitter users latched onto his comments about Twitter’s “left-leaning bias” as proof there is in fact a widespread effort to censor conservatives. 

The Glenn Beck-backed conservative site The Blaze quickly labeled it a “stunning admission,” while Twitter users, some of whom have been adding the emoji to their Twitter names in order to indicate their supposed shadow ban status, quickly piled on.

But Dorsey said it was necessary to reckon with the company’s own bias in order to improve transparency with users.

“I haven’t done enough of articulating my own personal objectives with the service,” he said. “I think people see a faceless corporation that has… they don’t assume that humans are in it. They just assume based on what the output is. That’s on us, that’s on me.”

If you are looking for a binge-worthy Netflix show to feast your eyes on, don’t bother looking at what other users had to say. 

The streaming service deleted all user reviews of TV shows and movies from its website on Friday. The company announced the move last month and stopped allowing customers to leave criticism or praise under a program title on July 30.  

“Netflix customers were able to leave reviews on Netflix.com until mid-2018, when reviews were removed due to declining use,” the company’s help center says under the heading “How do I post reviews on Netflix?” 

But don’t fret, the removal shouldn’t affect your Netflix experience. The reviews were only visible through the web, likely adding to the feature’s downfall.  

More: ‘The Break with Michelle Wolf,’ ‘The Joel McHale Show’ canceled at Netflix

Also: Parent group calls for Netflix to pull ‘Desire,’ calling it ‘child porn’

Purging reviews is the latest change Netflix has made to its rating system.

The streaming service switched from a five-star system to a simpler “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” rating in 2017. Netflix said the change was made to clear up confusion on how to rate the quality of a series or movie, but the company probably had other reasons — like user sabotage.

Trolls would purposefully “review bomb” a show title with hopes of bringing its ratings down. Most notably, Amy Schumer’s Netflix comedy stand-up, “Amy Schumer: The Leather Special,” was given a one-star rating last year after being spammed with negative reviews.

Users can still look forward to Netflix’s own recommendations. It’s a “great built-in way to only suggest content we think you’ll love based on your viewing history,” the company says. 

Regardless of the change, most of us will still be watching. 

More: Netflix’s odious ‘Insatiable’ is just the latest example of TV hating fat women

 

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