KOROR, Palau (AP) — Far from New York or Davos, leaders of some of the world’s least populous states are meeting in a placid tropical archipelago with no traffic lights. The population of the summit host, Palau, was due to swell from 18,000 people to 20,000 as delegates from dozens of countries arrived at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.

Ahead of the summit officially opening Monday, the country’s president and other senior officials walked the main road around the island picking up trash. Barbers and tattoo artists prepared to become drivers for delegates and student volunteers to usher dignitaries.

But beneath the distinctively Pacific character of the event, where matters unfold in their own unhurried time and decisions are made by consensus rather than by a vote, simmered a fraught and escalating geopolitical debate about who gets to shape the future of the vast ocean region.

Powerful nations interested in the Pacific have raced in recent years to shore up alliances among its leaders, intensifying a contest for influence between China and the United States, Taiwan, and forum members Australia and New Zealand. The sometimes-conflicting bids to win sway have also drawn dividing lines among the forum’s members, threatening to derail annual summits.

“The Pacific is our home, not a theater for geopolitical competition,” Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. told reporters Sunday, as he urged the bigger countries closely observing this week’s event not to interfere in talks that he hoped would center on problems desperately imperiling small Pacific island nations, such as climate change and struggling economies.

“Let’s not use this as a place that we should be threatening or making people feel uncomfortable,” he added. The reality, however, was unlikely to be simple.

Small island nations have become important allies

Some of the 18 member countries and territories that make up the Pacific Islands Forum have populations in the low thousands or tens of thousands and were once known mostly as picture-perfect holiday destinations. But many also have sprawling and lucrative exclusive economic zones, rich with fisheries and seabed minerals, and their locations across the wide Pacific Ocean have become strategically important points on the map as global tensions rise.

While Forum countries often reference a “Pacific family,” members come from diverse cultures and political systems and their remote locations mean few opportunities for leaders to speak in person. The annual leaders’ summit was once a relaxed and casual affair, where officials from countries with little power in the global order sought to amplify their voices by reaching unified positions, particularly in urging bigger countries to curb greenhouse gas emissions as rising seas began to threaten low-lying atoll nations.

As major powers over the past decade have escalated their efforts to secure access to Pacific waters and ports by inking security deals and offering funding, immigration access to their countries and other sweeteners, the leaders’ ability to speak with one voice at their annual summit has come under pressure.

“We see examples of this where that consensus-based model, which is referred to as the Pacific Way, can sometimes lead to a bit of paralysis in taking action,” said Oliver Nobetau, Pacific Islands program director at the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank.

Pacific nations face worsening climate and fuel shocks

In a recent episode, the Forum’s foreign ministers failed to reach consensus on a statement criticizing Beijing’s launch of a ballistic missile into the South Pacific Ocean in July. While most member states strongly opposed China’s actions, the refusal of two to endorse a statement saying so meant none was issued.

Among the issues vexing Pacific island nations are the effects of the latest El Nino weather chaos, which has brought droughts and floods across the region. The volatile weather threatens food security and access to clean water, already vulnerable in island nations dependent on imported goods and funded largely by foreign aid.

Fuel volatility from the Iran war has also prompted some Pacific countries experiencing severe economic shocks to declare national emergencies in a region overwhelmingly reliant on imported diesel and gasoline, arriving via a fragile supply chain.

Whipps this week suggested that the wealthy countries seeking involvement in the region could open their wallets to finance the widespread establishment of solar power capabilities across the region.

“What are they doing together with us to partner to get a 100% renewable Pacific?” Whipps said.

Conflict over members’ alliances is expected

However, some of the powers at loggerheads over the region were always going to see this year’s summit as a showdown. Palau is one of just 12 countries worldwide to recognize Taiwan, incurring the ire of Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

It also sits at the nexus of other great power struggles. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, next to the Philippines, Palau draws from the Asian tourism market and has closer ties to the United States than much of the Forum’s members. A Compact of Free Association allows defense and security access for the U.S. in Palau’s territory in exchange for tens of millions of dollars in U.S. funding each year.

Palau’s turn as host also comes as the summit’s leaders try once more to draw up a structure governing how other countries are permitted involvement in its meetings. Countries approved to engage in the Pacific Islands Forum, including the United States and China, are known as dialogue partners, while Taiwan holds separate status as a development partner.

Beijing has ramped up pressure on forum hosts to exclude Taipei’s envoys from the annual summit, a dispute that grew so fractious ahead of the 2025 event in Solomon Islands that all countries except member nations were entirely barred from attending. Palau’s warm diplomatic relations with Taipei have this year drawn the attendance of Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and provoked a warning from Beijing that China would oppose Taiwanese officials’ participation.

That in turn has prompted exasperation from some officials and Pacific-watchers at the prospect of another summit overshadowed by rivalry between non-member countries. Early arrivals over the weekend were roiled by the news that one leader, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale — a newly elected leader more friendly to Australia than the more Beijing-aligned leader before him — had returned home just hours after arriving because an opponent had mounted a leadership challenge.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much his forced departure, and the absence of others such as Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau, whose country’s China ties have warmed during his tenure, could be attributed to unease about the summit’s geopolitics.

“You’d be defying gravity and logic if you said it wasn’t a big problem,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told reporters in Koror on Sunday, referring to bids for foreign interference in the event.

The leaders’ non-attendances were “seriously disappointing” and did not help, Peters added.

“But in the main the delegations are of the highest standard,” he said. “So let’s see how we go.”

Dame Priti added: “With Labour axing key transport schemes, cancelling plans for a new school, threatening to destroy our countryside, councils and communities and cutting policing, I will be a vocal champion for my constituents in the House of Commons defending their interests and demanding action.”

Big tech firms “enjoy $160bn (£118bn) paper boost from stakes in AI groups”, the Financial Times reports. Companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft have seen big gains, but there are concerns they “are overstating the strength of the AI boom” and “risk distorting the financial picture at a time when investors are closely scrutinising tech earnings”.

Marcus Rashford made his first start for Man Utd since December 2024 and was impressive as Michael Carrick’s side beat Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick praised Marcus Rashford’s return to the Manchester United starting XI and said the forward had been “fantastic” on and off the pitch since returning to the club three weeks ago.

Rashford’s United career looked over when he was cut adrift by Ruben Amorim in December 2024 and he has spent the last 18 months on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona. The La Liga side had the option to make the move permanent for £26million this summer, but decided against doing so and Rashford is now back in the fold at his boyhood club.

He looks certain to stay beyond the end of the transfer window and Carrick believes the 28-year-old feels like a new signing this summer, given how long he has been away from the club.

After coming off the bench at Hull last weekend, Rashford started the 5-2 win against Ipswich and delivered an impressive display from the left.

“He’s adding to the group for us, for sure,” said Carrick. “I’ve known him for a while, and then he wasn’t here when I’ve come back, and now he is.

“I think he’s making the most of that for us and for him as well, to have the opportunity to be here. He’s one of our own. He’s living his dream, playing here now and trying to be successful and win.

“Whatever’s gone on, I think part of this club, there’s players that have come back sometimes, or players that maybe were going to leave, didn’t leave. It’s always about what you do next, and what your intentions are. He’s been fantastic since he came back, I have to say, and it was great to see him on the pitch today for us.”

The presence of Carrick, a former teammate of Rashford and someone who coached him when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge, has helped to ease the 28-year-old back into the fold and he looked bright against the Tractor Boys.

“I thought he dealt with the whole day as normal, really,” said Carrick. “I’m sure it was nice for him to be back and starting games here and enjoying being involved in a good performance.

“I thought he did particularly well in not easy circumstances, particularly as the game was going through the cycle. And then second half, it all clicked. I thought he did all-around very good, and he’ll only get better. I was really pleased with him.”

By CAITLIN LENG

Published: 01:39 BST, 31 August 2026 | Updated: 03:02 BST, 31 August 2026

A London-based mother who is thought to have died while trying to save her husband after he became trapped in a hot tub in Spain has been pictured. 

Spanish police believe mother-of-two Thomasina Tobin, 51, passed away when attempting to save her husband, 48-year-old Patrick Tobin, after he became stuck underwater at a spa in a luxury villa the couple were holidaying at in Colina del Sol, Valencia. 

The couple, who had lived and worked in London for several years, were staying at the gated complex – which forms part of the Cap Blanc residential estate in Cullera – when their bodies were discovered by their two teenage sons on Tuesday at approximately 5pm. 

The two boys, aged 14 and 16 and understood to have special needs, searched the luxury villa for their parents before finding them close to the hot tub on the lowest floor and raised the alarm with a neighbour.

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Investigators on the case now believe the pair were victims of suction entrapment, which occurs when a powerful vacuum pull from a hot tub drain or swimming pool traps a person’s body, hair, or clothing underwater. 

Post-mortem exams conducted on Ms Tobin, from Co Monaghan, Ireland, and Mr Tobin ruled out foul play, and no signs of forced entry or suspicious activity on nearby CCTV cameras were detected.

Marks and scratches found on both bodies as well as blood in the cloudy water of the jacuzzi, and a strong chemical smell were noted by police.

Valencian newspaper Levante-EMV said suction marks were found on the couple by authorities; however, were more pronounced on Mr Tobin –  leading investigators to believe he was pulled under the water first and his wife passed away attempting to recover him. 

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Spanish police believe Thomasina Tobin passed away when attempting to save her husband after he became stuck underwater at a spa in a luxury villa in Spain

The couple who were found dead in the seaside resort town of Cullera on Spain’s east coast (File image)  

It is understood both bodies were found partially outside the hot tub, adding to the theory Ms Tobin was able to free her husband at some point during the incident.  

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Police had also been examining if either Mr or Ms Tobin had been electrocuted in the small pool, but this has since been ruled out.   

At this stage, the results of a post-mortem examination will not be released officially, in keeping with Spanish practice.  

Ms Tobin was working at the London consultancy firm Turner and Townsend as a quantity surveyor in the high-end hotels industry for the past five and a half years.

She had worked in the UK for the past 30 years since graduating from Trinity College Dublin and had run her own quantity surveying firm as well as serving as partner in another before becoming head of hotels at her current company where she had worked on famous luxury sites including the Ritz.

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Her father, Tommy McArdle, had been a director for RTÉ and goalkeeper for the Monaghan senior county football team in the 1950s and 60s.

Mr Tobin is understood to have worked in the tech industry in London.

Relatives of Ms Tobin arrived in Spain on Wednesday to comfort the couple’s children who are believed to be traumatised after discovering the bodies.

The pair had alerted the property owner who lived nearby and called the police, who then went through contacts in one of the boys’ phones and got in touch with family members in Monaghan.

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It’s understood that three relatives, including an uncle of the teenagers, flew out to comfort and care for them after the harrowing event and landed at 3am on Wednesday morning, less than 12 hours after the bodies were found.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was providing consular assistance in this case, while New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it was aware of Mr Tobin’s death and was assisting his relatives at home and in the UK.

Sydney Sweeney sent temperatures soaring as she stripped down to lingerie in a new SYRN social media post.

This week, the 28-year-old bombshell, who has been gearing up for her September 12 birthday, captivated in behind-the-scenes content from her brand’s latest campaign.

Sweeney put on a busty display in one photo that featured her in a racy blue lace bra that left little to the imagination.

‘Birthday suits look a little different around here,’ she captioned the post, adding a cake emoji and revealing that the collection, which drops on September 1, was named ‘Birthday Boobs.’

Another stunning photo showed the blonde beauty in a semi-sheer baby-blue bra, garter belt and thong as she posed in a kitchen, and she added a polaroid-style photo snapped during the photoshoot in a follow-up post on Sunday.

A brief video snippet showed Sweeney in another three-piece set, but black, as she looked over her shoulder and coyly smiled for the camera. 

Sweeney put on a busty display in one photo that featured her in a racy blue lace bra that left little to the imagination, while another snap highlighted her matching garter belt and thong

‘Birthday suits look a little different around here,’ she captioned the post, adding a cake emoji and revealing that the collection, which drops on September 1, was named ‘Birthday Boobs.’

‘Step into the world of Birthday Boobs,’ SYRN’s Instagram caption teased to its 482,000 followers.

She tantalized her fans while suggestively making a mess with flour as she baked cakes scantily clad.

Throughout the clip, a gritty, slowed, vintage-inspired iteration of Happy Birthday played to set a sexy tone.

The actress subsequently set multiple cakes on a long table before mounting the surface and seductively crawling across it.

The wild advert drew a mixed reception in the comments, with one fan asking if Sweeney was teasing a potential OnlyFans launch.

‘I’ve seen more of Sydney than some women I’ve dated,’ added another. 

A third commented, ‘Where can I buy the cake? Asking for a friend.’ 

The Housemaid star has consistently rolled out sexually-charged promotional material since launching SYRN in late January.

On Sunday, the 28-year-old bombshell captivated in behind-the-scenes content from her brand’s latest campaign

Sweeney has been gearing up for her September 12 birthday

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The actress will turn 29 in just a couple of weeks

A previously shared photo showed the blonde beauty in a semi-sheer baby blue bra, garter belt, and thong as she posed in a kitchen

In April, she took her products to Stagecoach music festival for a pop-up activation, in which she nearly spilled out of a $269 ‘Date Night’ corset from her brand. 

The Euphoria star opened up about her mission for SYRN earlier this year, insisting she wants to ensure every piece fits well and works on a ‘beautiful range of body types.’

She told Cosmopolitan magazine in January: ‘My designers are all women, and I have an amazing diverse team.

‘My models are a beautiful range of body types. I’m always like: “I want to see it on every body.” I can’t be the only model. I need to make sure everyone feels really good in it.’

Sweeney emphasized, ‘If I wouldn’t wear it, I wouldn’t want to make it.’

The lingerie range is just one of the entrepreneur’s latest business pursuits.

She also recently launched a production company called Honey Trap.

Its first project is Hollow, a reframing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, seen through the eyes of Katrina Van Tassel, played by Sweeney.

The event began with an emotional tribute to the two Cleveland Police officers who died in a horror head-on smash on the A66 .

PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were remembered with applause before the start of the race as competitors gathered on the start line.

Middlesbrough’s Max Creasey took first place in the men’s race, crossing the line in 30 minutes and 32 seconds.

The 22-year-old, who represents Middlesbrough Athletic Club (Mandale), narrowly held off Finn Brodie, who finished second in 30 minutes and 35 seconds. Adam Theaker was third in 32 minutes and two seconds.

Creasey said: “I’m really happy to take the win on my home course. I’ve had a few second places so it’s really nice to finally come first.

Max Creasey, 22, was first place in the men’s rankings. (Image: MAX CREASEY)

“Big thanks to all the event organisers and volunteers for putting on a great event.

“It’s been a tough week for Teessiders with the loss of two of our heroic police officers and a load of negative stories about the area, but it was really nice to see the true spirit of Teesside from thousands of runners and supporters.”

Jessica Robertson-Dover, of City of York AC, was the first woman home, completing the course in 37 minutes and six seconds.

Jessica Robert-Dover came home in first place in the women’s category. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Ruth Cole finished second in 38 minutes 53 seconds, with Abby Codling taking third in 39 minutes and 35 seconds.

Others ran not for to set a personal best but raise money for charity, while some donned extravagant costumes including Paul Waugh who dressed as Fred Flinstone and Helen Carr who ran as an inflatable triceratops.

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

The Middlesbrough 5 and 10k run. (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Hand grip strength. Balance tests. Standing up from a seated position on the floor. These physical challenges are often touted as measurements of healthy aging and even predictors of longevity.

They can provide valuable indications of your stamina and strength. They can estimate the risk of falls, which increase older adults ‘ risk of death. And they’re useful to doctors who work to address aging or people with injuries.

But they’re no crystal ball.

“A poor or declining result is a reason for a health professional to investigate why function is changing, rather than gauging how long someone will live,” said Auriel Willette, an expert on brain aging at Rutgers University.

Here’s a look at what mobility tests entail and how to apply the results to your health.

A sit-to-stand test goes viral, but what does it really show?

“Sit-to-stand” tests come in several forms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 30-second chair-stand test is designed for patients older than 60, to see how many times they can stand up in that time period.

Another test, popularized on social media, asks someone to move from standing, to sitting cross-legged on the ground, and then back up to standing. Making your way down to the floor is worth 5 points, as is standing up, for a total score of 10. You lose a point for each support you use (such as a hand or knee) and half a point if you’re unsteady. The score is zero if you’re unable to sit or stand without external help.

Doctors said they haven’t seen the test used with older U.S. adults, but researchers in Brazil published studies in 2020 and 2025 that concluded middle-aged people who scored higher were less likely to die within about a decade.

Many American doctors use a test called “Timed Up and Go,” or TUG. It requires the patient to get up from a chair, walk 10 feet (3 meters) and come back to their seat. That allows doctors to evaluate a person’s balance, mobility and lower extremity strength all at once.

Dr. George Hennawi, who treats older adults at MedStar Health in Baltimore, said all the tests are meant to pinpoint specific weaknesses and narrow down their underlying cause, whether that’s knee pain, slow reflexes, poor balance or feeling winded or dizzy because of cardiovascular issues.

“The key to react to it is to understand where did we not do well,” he said.

A full picture of a person’s health is important

Tests like the viral sit-to-stand one are what doctors call screening tools. They’re helpful in narrowing down issues, but they don’t provide enough information for a full diagnosis.

Other popular tests for a person’s “physiological age,” or how your body is aging, include tests of grip strength, walking speed, gait steadiness and balance. Such tests look at how hard your hand can squeeze something, whether you favor one side while walking, how long and well can you stand on one leg and how far forward can you reach without becoming unsteady.

Many doctors also use these challenges to understand a person’s risk for “frailty,” a medical condition that means the body is less able to handle strain from illness or injury.

Doctors sometimes use a 10-minute assessment called the Short Physical Performance Battery, which includes several tests including gait, balance and strength. It was developed by the National Institute on Aging and large clinical trials have shown it predicts mortality, disability and more.

At the University of California, Los Angeles’ Multidisciplinary Falls Clinic, Dr. David Lee said it’s important to look across multiple tests in combination. Grip strength, for example, is predictive of many different things, but it can be affected by arthritis, stroke or even simply not conditioning those muscles.

“It’s one measure of many,” Lee said.

Good health is about more than a good score

Experts note that strength and mobility are just one part of healthy aging. Tests of cognition, memory, hearing, eyesight and many other measures are key to evaluating how someone is aging.

They also cautioned against training to pass a test. Instead, keep the big picture in mind. Exercise your whole body. Eat nutritious meals. Address stress in a healthy way. Prioritize your sleep. Take care of your heart.

Finally, experts said it’s important to know the context in which a test has been studied and verified. If it’s shown to predict an outcome for one age group, the performance standards won’t necessarily apply to others.

If you score poorly in a mobility test and are concerned about your fall risk, or have recently fallen, talk to your doctor. The test results are the first step in determining if you need an assistive device, physical therapy, a change in medications or something else, said Emily Nabors, a falls prevention expert with The National Council on Aging.

She cited one estimate that more than a quarter of older adults fall each year, but most of them don’t tell their doctor about it.

“If you’ve fallen, you might feel fine,” she said, “but you might not be fine at all.”

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

‘We have just watched the greatest football Championship in history. Only in the GAA then could we then have a proposal for some newer rules.’

We have just watched the greatest football championship in history.

Perhaps that sounds excessive. It probably is. But after years of being told that Gaelic football was broken, that something had to be done, it is worth pausing for a moment and considering the evidence.

Everything was good about it. The famines ended. Westmeath won Leinster. Armagh won Ulster. And Mayo, eventually, completed the story by winning the All-Ireland.

There were the great narratives away from the main stage, too. Louth beat Dublin for the first time in more than 50 years and reached an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 1957. Cork produced their best win in more than a decade. Wicklow won the Tailteann Cup.

There were comebacks, shocks, great goals, extraordinary finishes and matches that remained alive until the final whistle.

The new structure worked and the new rules worked.

Only in the GAA then could we then have a proposal for some newer rules.

Kevin McStay, appointed by GAA president Jarlath Burns to chair the Football Expert Advisory Group , has been overseeing a series of proposed amendments which will be trialled in the Ryan Cup.

Among the most significant are a ban on fisted points unless the ball is in flight, a limit of three consecutive handpasses, a modified kick-out rule, a four-point goal and a backcourt rule preventing a team from playing the ball back across its own halfway line.

There are other proposals, too: increasing the number of substitutes from five to six, a 50-metre advancement where a mark is impeded, extending the 40-metre arc to the end-line and aligning advanced frees with the 13-metre line.

Individually, most of these ideas are perfectly reasonable. The fisted point has always felt like the football equivalent of taking the lift because you cannot be bothered with the stairs.

Handpassing can become a scourge. A four-point goal would make comebacks more plausible and leads less secure. A backcourt rule could force coaches to think differently.

There is nothing inherently foolish about any of this. And yet I find myself asking a rather awkward question.

Why?

Why are we changing a game which has just produced an extraordinary championship?

The Football Review Committee, chaired by Jim Gavin, produced a revolution. At the 2025 Special Congress, 62 motions and rule changes were passed.

Sixty-two.

That is not evolution.

That is revolution.

And we are still getting used to it.

Perhaps the most sensible thing the Expert Advisory Group could do now is recognise that there is a difference between improving a game and endlessly modifying it.

There is a point at which refinement becomes interference.

Look at the summer we have just had. Mayo against Kerry in the All-Ireland final. Down against Wicklow in the Tailteann Cup. Roscommon’s extraordinary late comeback against Galway in the Connacht final.

Dublin against Donegal. Dublin against Kerry. Dublin against Louth. Dublin against Westmeath.

Westmeath against Kildare. Westmeath against Meath. And that is before you mention Cork beating Donegal or Down beating Donegal.

It was a summer of shocks, a summer of compelling games and a summer in which teams had to adapt to the new rules and, eventually, supporters began to understand them.

So why immediately start changing them?

McStay has described the work of the Expert Advisory Group as “polishing” and “tweaking” the work of the Football Review Committee.

That is a perfectly reasonable description.

But there is another possibility.

They could decide not to polish or tweak anything.

They could decide that the best thing they can do for Gaelic football is leave it alone.

That would require more courage than it sounds.

Committees are not generally established so that their members can announce they have found nothing to do. There is a natural expectation that a committee will produce recommendations, otherwise somebody will eventually ask why the committee exists.

But sometimes doing nothing is the most consequential decision available.

The members of this group — McStay, David Coldrick, John Tobin, Conor McManus, Maurice Fitzgerald, Pat Doherty, Seamus Kenny and Johnny Bradley — are all serious football people.

They know the game. They care about it.

Which is precisely why I would trust them to say this: We have watched it. We have studied it. We have considered the evidence. And for now, we are changing nothing.

That would not be failure. It would be confidence.

Five years from now, perhaps the game will need another adjustment. Perhaps some of these proposed changes will prove essential. Perhaps handpassing will once again become a problem. Perhaps coaches will find ways around the new rules and another intervention will be necessary.

Fine.

Football evolves.

But it does not have to evolve every Tuesday because there is also a danger that constant tinkering begins to alienate the people who actually watch the game.

Supporters should not require a rulebook before they can understand what they are seeing.

The 2026 championship has provided something that Gaelic football desperately needed: evidence that the game can work.

Not theoretically.

Not in a committee report.

Not in a presentation.

In front of people.

At Croke Park and in provincial grounds across the country.

The game was alive.

The new rules survived the ultimate test.

They produced football worth watching.

So perhaps the boldest decision the Expert Advisory Group can make is not to change anything.

Leave the game alone.

Let coaches work it out.

Let players master it.

Let supporters get used to it.

And let us have the confidence to accept that, for once, the game is not broken.

Doing nothing, in this case, would actually be doing something.

It would be saying that Gaelic football has finally found a formula worth trusting.

And that might be the most important change of all.

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Manchester United face an intriguing couple of days as the summer transfer deadline approaches for Michael Carrick’s team

Manchester United will look to strengthen their squad in the final days of the summer transfer window. Manager Michael Carrick has already welcomed several new signings as the club prepare to compete in several competitions.

United have ushered in a new-look midfield, with Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba being added to the engine room. Experienced goalkeeper Karl Darlow was also snapped up to be a veteran backup to Senne Lammens.

However, Carrick is yet to add new players in attacking positions. Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen has been linked with several Premier League clubs this summer and has been tipped to head to Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, United prospect Toby Collyer has sealed a move away from the club. Here, Mirror Football looks at some of the biggest transfer stories surrounding Carrick’s side.

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Victor Osimhen ‘waiting’ for Man Utd

Former United star Louis Saha has argued that Galatasaray star Osimhen wants to join the club. The 27-year-old has been linked with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during the transfer window, but Saha insists the Nigeria international would choose to sign for United.

“I know for a fact that Victor Osimhen is a Manchester United fan,” Saha told MrGamble. “He loves Man United. I have seen it in his eyes, the impact the club has on him, and he sees the impact he could have on this team.”

He continued: “‘Osimhen can be another player like Bruno Fernandes. He would quickly come to know the club inside and out. All United have to do is make the connection but that’s why it hasn’t happened yet. Osimhen is still waiting.

“United missed out on signing Harry Kane and that was one of their biggest mistakes in the transfer market but they can correct that mistake by signing Osimhen. I think Osimhen is a better fit for United now than Kane because of Benjamin Sesko. Osimhen can teach Sesko about movement and being a striker but they could also play together and combine better than Kane and Sesko could.”

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Toby Collyer speaks out on Man Utd exit

Toby Collyer has completed a permanent move to West Bromwich Albion. The 22-year-old midfielder, who made 13 appearances for the Red Devils, has discussed his reasons for returning to West Brom permanently, having previously spent time on loan with the Championship club.

“There were a few reasons why I was so keen to return,” Collyer told West Brom’s club website. “The size of the club is one of them. I also really enjoyed my time here on loan in the first half of last season.

“Another reason was the manager, James Morrison. He was really keen to have me back and that’s all you want in football – a manager who wants you and wants to see you do well.

“As I say, I really enjoyed every second of my loan spell here last season even though I didn’t reach the levels that I wanted to reach. That’s another reason why I wanted to come back here, to show everyone what I’m about and prove to everyone how much of a great player I am.”

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