MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has traded his signature long blond hair for a short buzz cut, capturing the moment on video along with the surprised reaction of his girlfriend, Isabel Haugseng Johansen.

In a YouTube video posted Sunday, the 26-year-old Norwegian forward sat for the dramatic transformation as his hairstylist sectioned and cut away the locks that had become a recognizable part of his public image. Johansen, who has been dating Haaland since 2021, watched the process unfold and offered a series of candid responses.

“I think I will cry,” Johansen said early in the video as the haircut began. Later, holding a thick lock of the blond hair bound by a tie, she added, “Oh my god.”

She briefly left the room during the final stages of the buzz cut. Upon returning to see the finished result, her reaction was immediate. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God, darling!” she exclaimed. “It looks nice! I think you look cute.”

Haaland responded with a humorous challenge: “Cute?” Johansen then adjusted her assessment while holding his face between her hands. “You look really tough,” she said, before making a playful face toward the camera as if second-guessing the wording.

Johansen joked about the scale of the change. “I will wake up in the morning and be like, ‘Who’s that’?” she said. When Haaland asked whether she preferred the longer hair or the new short style, she answered, “Both?” He replied, “Good answer.”

Haaland framed the haircut as a deliberate reset. In the video and accompanying social media posts, he described it as preparation for the new season. “New season, new trim,” he wrote on Instagram alongside before-and-after images. He elaborated that he had considered the change immediately after the World Cup but delayed it because of a busy schedule. “Season starts now, so it’s time to get a fresh start,” he said.

The forward noted that he wanted a military-style cut. He also recalled advice from retired Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had once told him never to cut his hair because “your strength is in your hair,” a reference that Haaland linked to the biblical story of Samson. After the cut, Haaland shared reactions from others in his circle, including light-hearted responses from Ibrahimovic and Oasis musician Noel Gallagher, a known Manchester City supporter.

Haaland’s long hair had been a distinctive visual element throughout recent seasons and during the summer’s World Cup, where he drew widespread attention. The decision to remove it marks a visible shift as the Premier League campaign begins. He debuted the new look in Manchester City’s opening match, continuing his role as one of the league’s most prominent attacking players.

The video of the haircut and Johansen’s reactions circulated quickly among soccer fans and on social platforms. Many noted the contrast between the flowing style that had become familiar and the much shorter result. Haaland’s willingness to document the process, including the emotional and humorous exchanges with his girlfriend, added a personal dimension to what might otherwise have been a routine grooming update.

Johansen’s presence in the video underscored the couple’s long-term relationship. Their public appearances and occasional shared moments have occasionally drawn media interest, though both have generally kept personal details limited. Her progression from near-tears at the start of the cut to approving descriptions of “cute” and “tough” provided a light narrative arc within the short clip.

For Haaland, the change aligns with a pattern among athletes who alter their appearance at the start of a new campaign as a symbolic reset. High-profile players frequently use haircuts, new kit or training routines to signal a fresh mental approach after major tournaments. In this case, the visual impact was heightened by how closely the long blond hair had been associated with Haaland’s on-field identity.

Manchester City enters the season with expectations of contending at the top of the Premier League and in European competition. Haaland remains central to those ambitions as the team’s primary goal threat. The haircut itself carries no bearing on performance, yet it generated more immediate conversation than many routine preseason stories.

The video also captured intermediate stages of the process, including a temporary look with shorter bangs before the full buzz. Haaland posted additional selfies documenting those steps. The final result is a close-cropped style that contrasts sharply with the shoulder-length hair he had maintained for several years.

Public reaction mixed nostalgia for the previous look with acceptance of the new one. Some fans expressed mild disappointment at the loss of the distinctive long hair, while others welcomed the change as a clean, practical option for the physical demands of a long season. Haaland appeared unconcerned by the range of opinions, focusing instead on the personal meaning he attached to the timing.

Johansen’s final measured response — preferring both styles — reflected a pragmatic stance common in long-term relationships when one partner makes a visible change. Her initial emotional reaction and subsequent supportive comments illustrated the mix of surprise and affection that often accompanies such moments.

Haaland has built a reputation for direct communication with fans through social media and occasional video content. The decision to film the haircut and include his girlfriend’s unfiltered responses fits that approach. It offered supporters a brief, unpolished glimpse into a personal decision rather than a carefully staged announcement.

As the Premier League season progresses, attention will return to Haaland’s performances on the pitch. The buzz cut may fade as a topic once match results and goal tallies dominate discussion. For a brief period, however, the transformation and the accompanying reactions provided a light counterpoint to the usual focus on transfers, tactics and results.

The episode also highlighted how even routine personal choices by high-profile athletes can generate widespread interest. Haaland’s hair had become part of his recognizable brand. Removing it created a moment of novelty that fans, media and fellow players registered immediately.

In the video, the sequence from long hair to buzz cut unfolds with a mix of hesitation, humor and eventual acceptance. Johansen’s comments — from the fear of tears to the dual endorsement of “cute” and “tough” — gave the clip its memorable core. Haaland’s own explanation tied the change to the rhythm of the soccer calendar: a new season, a clean slate and a willingness to leave a familiar look behind.

Whether the shorter style remains for the full campaign or evolves further remains to be seen. For now, the Norwegian striker has marked the transition with a public, light-hearted record of the moment and the people closest to him reacting in real time.

Sapporo USA reportedly plans to lay off 220 workers at three Stone Brewing locations in Escondido, California, as production of the craft beer brand shifts to facilities elsewhere in California and Missouri.

The layoffs will begin with 58 workers on Oct. 19, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letters filed by Sapporo with the state.

FOX Business has reached out to Sapporo USA for comment and confirmation of the total number of employees expected to be affected.

The workforce cuts follow Sapporo’s sale of the Stone Brewing brand and select hospitality locations to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA. The transaction was announced in April and closed May 15.

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Brewmasters at the Stone Brewing Company in Escondido keep an eye on the process in the giant stainless steel vats. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Under the deal, Stone beer production is transitioning from Escondido to Firestone Walker’s brewery in Paso Robles, California, and Duvel USA’s Boulevard brewery in Kansas City, Missouri.

The acquisition included Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, along with taprooms in Little Italy, Oceanside and Pasadena. Stone’s Escondido brewery and bistro were not included in the transaction.

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When the deal was announced, Sapporo said it would continue producing Stone beer at its Escondido and Richmond, Virginia, breweries during a transition period. It also said it would continue operating the Escondido bistro while evaluating “long-term strategic options” for the site.

Stone Brewery co-founder Steve Wagner poses for photos at Stone Brewing on Aug. 5, 2021 in Escondido, California.  (Eduardo Contreras / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)

Sapporo USA CEO Zach Keeling told the Los Angeles Times that the company is now winding down the Escondido brewery in phases after failing to find a “viable long-term solution” for the property.

“This is an understandably difficult time for our Escondido employees and community, and we’re committed to supporting them through this transition,” Keeling said in a statement reported by the newspaper.

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Firestone Walker and Duvel said in April that they expected to offer jobs to a significant number of Stone employees in hospitality, sales and marketing, while production roles would be evaluated as brewing shifted to the companies’ other facilities.

Cases of Stone IPA are displayed at a Costco Wholesale store on May 15, 2026, in San Diego, California.  (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Stone Brewing was founded in Southern California in 1996 and became one of the best-known brands associated with the West Coast craft beer movement. Sapporo acquired the brewer in 2022 before selling the Stone brand this year as it moves to concentrate its U.S. resources on its namesake beer.

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The Stone brand will continue under Firestone Walker and Duvel USA, while the Liberty Station location will remain both a hospitality venue and an active brewery, according to the companies’ acquisition announcement.

Peel Group had planned ‘campus style’ facility at Bridgewater West

Campaigners say ‘the fight isn’t over’ after Wigan Council U-turned on plans to free up former greenbelt land in Astley for a huge business park.

Bridgewater West was tipped to become the home of around 540,000 sq ft of ’employment space’ under the council’s Local Plan. Peel Group, which owns the land, planned to turn the area into a ‘campus style’ business park, alongside new homes and a Park and Ride.

Campaigners have opposed the scheme from the start, arguing the open fields separating Astley and Boothstown are ‘vital’ to the local community and wildlife as well as protection from flooding. After a year of disputes, Wigan bosses have now rowed back on the scheme.

Four ‘controversial’ sites will be removed from the local plan. The document was due to be greenlit for public consultation at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, August 27. The Bell, north of Junction 26, the Moss Industrial Estate extension, a pocket of land West of Winwick Lane in Lowton, and the Bridgewater West site will no longer be up for development.

Joanna Allsopp, a high school teacher campaigning for the protection of the land, said the shift was a ‘positive step’.

“It’s a significant U-turn,” the Astley resident said. “It’s extraordinary to see the councillors making videos in the fields here saying ‘this clearly isn’t the right place for development’ after they’ve spent a lot of time and money creating this plan, which included the Bridgewater West site. We appreciate them listening. It shows when the community comes together we do have power – but only if we stick together.”

She said the fight was far from over for the Save Our Astley and Boothstown Greenbelt campaign group.

“We’re still up against Peel,” Joanna added. “They’re keen to develop the land and could try to fight against this decision.”

While the council has said they have enough other land available to meet its development targets, Joanna feels the future is still uncertain.

She said: “This plan could be revised next year. The targets could change. Nine months down the line, we don’t want to end up back in the same position. That’s why we need to keep fighting to get some long-term protection for this incredibly important space.”

Sandra Leyland, who leads the campaign group, suggested the biggest problem was that the land is still included in Places for Everyone (PfE) – a GMCA scheme that designates land across the region for development into housing or employment uses. Under PfE, the land in Astley has technically been ‘de-desginated’ as greenbelt land.

“The fight is still on,” Sandra told the LDRS. “This was just one battle. Peel won’t like being told no – and they’re a huge corporation with a lot of money to throw at this to fight legal battles. We are just ants.

“But we are working behind the scenes to make it more probable the site will be taken out of PfE. My kids grew up running through these fields, my grandkids take the dogs for a walk there. We want to keep this green space for the future, for our children, and their children, and their children.”

A Peel Land spokesperson said: “Bridgewater West was a proposed allocation in the draft Wigan Local Plan of 2025, having previously been acknowledged as grey belt land. We are naturally disappointed that the Council now intends to remove the draft allocation and will be considering our options for bringing forward Bridgewater West.”

They defended their ‘high quality proposal’ to create a business park that ‘could play a key role in meeting the lack of sites in Wigan for professional, scientific and technical, creative and related manufacturing businesses’. The proposal would also have ‘helped alleviate local congestion’ through the Park and Ride and improved connections to Chat Moss, and would not have included large scale warehousing, according to the spokesperson.

In an official statement from the council, Councillor Paul Kenny, cabinet holder for planning, environmental services and transport, said the change of heart came after ‘listening to feedback’ from local communities.

Coun Kenny said: “We are aware of the depth of feeling surrounding these four sites. By removing them from the latest version of the Local Plan, we believe we have struck the right balance between supporting economic growth and protecting our environment.”

The final order, passed by Whole-Time Member Amarjeet Singh, covered 12 noticees, including Max Financial Services, Max Life Insurance, Axis Bank, Axis Capital, Axis Securities, Analjit Singh, Mohit Talwar, Rahul Khosla, Sujatha Ratnam, Rahul Ahuja, Jatin Khanna and V Krishnan.

The case arose from Sebi’s investigation into transactions between Max Financial, Max Life and Axis Bank from FY10 to FY22. The regulator had examined whether the entities violated securities laws, listing norms and fraud regulations in relation to a series of share sale and buyback arrangements involving Max Life shares.

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The proceedings followed a show-cause notice issued in October 2024. Sebi had alleged that Max Financial made inadequate or delayed disclosures about the bancassurance arrangement with Axis Bank and related share transactions in 2010, 2015 and 2020. The notice had also alleged that Max Financial, Max Life and Axis entities devised a fraudulent scheme to benefit Axis Bank at the cost of Max Financial and its shareholders.

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The matter had also drawn from earlier findings by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. Irdai had informed Sebi that it had imposed penalties of Rs 2 crore on Axis Bank and Rs 3 crore on Max Life for violation of its directions. Irdai had observed that the transactions had circumvented limits on commission, remuneration or reward payable to insurance agents and intermediaries.
Under the 2010 arrangement, Max Life issued shares to Axis Bank at Rs 10 per share, while later tranches saw the shares bought back at prices ranging from Rs 54 to Rs 111 per share. Under the 2015 arrangement, Max Financial and Mitsui Sumitomo sold a 4.99% stake in Max Life to Axis Bank at Rs 10 per share, and later bought back part of that stake at higher prices.Under the 2020 arrangement, Max Financial sold stakes in Max Life to Axis Bank, Axis Capital and Axis Securities. The order said Max Financial transferred 2% of Max Life to Axis Capital, 1% to Axis Securities and 9.002% to Axis Bank in March-April 2021. Max Life later became Axis Max Life Insurance.

The show-cause notice had alleged that the transactions caused a loss of Rs 3,912 crore to Max Financial and gave a corresponding benefit to Axis Group entities. It also alleged that disclosures by Max Financial were incomplete and misleading.

Sebi, however, said the disclosure framework applicable to listed entities had changed significantly since 2010. It said the old listing agreement left more room for judgment on materiality, while the later LODR framework introduced clearer thresholds and more detailed guidance.

The regulator said Max Financial’s disclosures could have been more comprehensive and that a more cautious and consistent approach may have been desirable. But it added that the conduct of the company and other noticees had to be tested against the law that existed at the relevant time.

On the disclosure-related charges, Sebi said there was no material establishing violation of the specific provisions invoked in the show-cause notice. The order said liability could not be sustained merely because some disclosures could have been fuller.

On the fraud allegation, Sebi said active concealment of material information by Max Financial was not established. It also said there was no evidence of price or volume manipulation, creation of an artificial market, or any other interference with market integrity.

The order said the show-cause notice did not establish injury from the alleged wrongful acts, including inducement to deal in securities. It also did not show such blatant conduct or circumstances that would establish wrongful intent to defraud or manipulate the securities market.

As a result, Sebi held that the allegation that Max Financial, Max Life, Axis Bank, Axis Capital, Axis Securities and other noticees devised a fraudulent scheme to defraud shareholders was not established.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Starting a business in the UK used to mean choosing an office address before choosing anything else, largely because a proper phone number depended on it. That’s no longer true.

A UK virtual number lets an entrepreneur present a genuine local presence to customers, suppliers, and partners without a physical premises anywhere near the number’s area code. And for a growing share of UK small businesses, that shift has quietly become the default rather than the exception.

What a Virtual Number Actually Is

The virtual UK phone number is a UK-based phone number without being connected to any actual SIM card or fixed line entering into the building where it is located. The UK virtual phone number is simply a routing system whereby the call or text message will enter the phone number and be redirected based on the instructions that the business owner gives regarding the number, such as to a mobile phone, team inbox, or call handling software.

For a businessman who works from home, a co-working office, or even from abroad, this is an important aspect since customers will call a UK number and deal with a UK-based business.

Why UK Entrepreneurs Are Adopting Virtual Numbers

A handful of practical drivers explain why this has become common practice rather than a niche workaround:

• to be able to separate business calls from personal calls without the need to have two handsets or SIM cards;
• to establish a local presence in a certain location in the UK before having an office in that area;
• to easily scale a line whether upward or downward without having to order new equipment each time;
• to have the same number regardless of office change or personnel change;
• and finally, to avoid the costly and time-consuming installation of a business line.

The above statement has become increasingly pertinent in recent times. In fact, the UK’s existing telecom network is currently undergoing a fundamental transition to move completely away from copper wiring, with Openreach announcing that the national decommissioning process will take place in January 2027, moving even the conventional telephonic systems towards the same IP-based structure used by virtual numbers for years.

Setting Up a Virtual Number: What to Expect

The process is considerably simpler than setting up a traditional business line, and it doesn’t require any physical installation. In practice, it usually breaks down into a few steps:

1. Select the appropriate type of number based on whether you require a traditional UK geographic number allocated to an area code or a national non-geographic number.
2. Pick a provider and find out what kind of call forwarding is available, as some services will not forward to other destinations equally effectively.
3. Make arrangements for the call forwarding setup by choosing to forward calls to your mobile, your landline, a group of operators, or an application.
4. If required, set business hours during which all calls will be forwarded to voicemail or to a voice message, while no answer is given.
5. Before publishing the number, make sure it works through a test of both call forwarding and messaging if necessary.

None of these steps requires a technician visit or a lengthy contract commitment with most providers, which is a meaningful contrast to how business phone lines traditionally got set up.

What to Check Before Choosing a Provider

Not every virtual number provider offers the same reliability or feature set, and a few details are worth confirming before committing:

Weighing these five factors against actual usage patterns, rather than picking the cheapest headline price, tends to save more money over the first year than the upfront savings would suggest.

Where Virtual Numbers Fit Into a Growing Business

The virtual number will not remain alone for too long. When the business evolves, it usually gets surrounded by other types of light infrastructure – a virtual office address, accounting done online, work done remotely, and a payment system without the need to have a physical cash register in the office. Thus, the business is represented by its virtual number and other features that are necessary to demonstrate professionalism to the client without any need to create a real location for all of these aspects.

This tendency is especially frequent among UK sole traders and limited companies which exist only for a year or two and thus do not have enough cash flow and cannot make big investments, a pattern reflected in Companies House data showing a large share of newly incorporated UK businesses dissolve or restructure within their first two years. In addition, there is a high risk of signing a contract to rent the serviced office together with a phone number since the requirements might become different in a few months.

The Bottom Line for UK Entrepreneurs

For a UK company, the need to have a telephone number resulting from a leasing agreement, a scheduled installation, and a long-term contract is a thing of the past. For most newly formed UK companies, the requirement for a local presence can now be met using a virtual number without the added costs and restrictions that traditionally went with it. The fact that the United Kingdom’s communications network is moving further away from the use of copper connections means that the distinction between traditional and virtual business phone numbers will continue to get smaller.

CHICAGO — Mondelez International, Inc. is introducing its Grenade brand of protein bars in the United States. Grenade products initially will be available at Amazon.com, GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe and Bodybuilding.com with plans to expand retail distribution later this year.

“We know today’s consumers want products that deliver on both taste and function, and that’s exactly what Grenade was built for,” said Alan Barratt, co-founder. “As we continue to grow our presence in the US, we’re excited to bring more consumers the bold flavors, high-protein nutrition and unapologetic attitude that have made Grenade a favorite with fans around the world.”

Grenade bars feature 20 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. The US launch will feature four flavors, including a collaboration with Mondelez’s Oreo brand, the company said.

Grenade was founded in the United Kingdom in 2010 by Alan and Juliet Barratt. Mondelez International acquired the business in 2021.

In an interview with Food Business News earlier this year, Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez International’s chairman and chief executive officer, identified the company’s bar business as a growth opportunity.

“It’s not just in the US, but it’s also in the rest of the world,” he said this past February. “We have a bar in the UK called Grenade, a very good tasting protein bar that probably would beat anything in the US market. I think that is going to be the one that for us is going to be giving the biggest growth.”

Other bar brands in Mondelez’s portfolio include Perfect Bar, Hu and Clif.