Enzo Maresca believes Phil Foden can step up on and off the pitch this season as Manchester City’s new era takes shape.

The Blues have seen a significant player turnover this summer with key players such as Rodri and Bernardo Silva departing and a host of fringe players also leaving. Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi have arrived and City are expected to add further between now and Tuesday’s deadline.

Foden is the longest-serving player at the Etihad but has struggled for his best form since spearheading City to the title in 2024, the year he was named Premier League player of the year.

The 26-year-old was used on the right flank in the opening day win over Bournemouth with Jeremy Doku out injured but Maresca feels Foden’s best position is in the No.10 role where he will vie with Rayan Cherki to be first choice.

And while Foden had bright moments against the Cherries, he couldn’t stamp his authority on the contest but Maresca felt there were positive signs and believes there is more to come from a player who he hopes will grow into a leader at City this season.

‘I’m quite happy for Phil’s game, the last game against Bournemouth, to be honest,” said Maresca. “Also, he played winger. Second half he was a little bit more inside the pitch. That is the position that we know is the best position for him.

“But again, in this moment, with the Jeremy injury, we are trying to find solutions. I’m happy with the feeling, the way it was the other day, knowing for sure that he is going, he can give much more. But no doubt that is going to be, again, the Phil that we all know and we all want.”

Foden signed a four-year contract at City last month and has a close bond with Maresca, who phoned him after Thomas Tuchel left the midfielder out of his England World Cup squad.

The City boss has taken counsel from staff members at the Etihad on how Foden looks ‘completely different’ in terms of mood and what he is showing in training, and Maresca feels the signs are good for the campaign.

“I don’t know if he can be one of the leaders,” Maresca added ahead of the trip to Crystal Palace on Friday night. “But for sure, because many players left he has to give one step forward in terms of personality, leadership, and these kind of things. But again, since day one I’m very happy, very pleased, with the way he’s working, and also in the way he’s with, you know, his mood – happy, he’s good.”

At Kathmandu’s TU Teaching Hospital, families of those missing in the floods wait anxiously for updates.

Holding up her phone, Ram Khumari Shrestha says: “This is my husband. He was off to Rasuwa as a part of his driving job. He was in contact with me until 8 pm yesterday.

“But I couldn’t call him this morning. The phone was switched off,” she told the BBC.

Mani Shrestha Bishwa was also camped out at the hospital on Wednesday night, hoping to hear from his younger brother, cousin, uncle and friend.

“I last contacted them at 8:30 in the morning,” he said.

Trekking guide Sonam Dorjee missed the flood in his home village of Rasiwa Syafru by about an hour. He had left at 08:00 local time.

As he was driving to Kathmandu, Dorjee told the BBC he had heard the sound of floods gushing into their village.

“It [sounded] like an earthquake,” he said. “My house has collapsed… I have seen a photo.”

Dorjee said his sister, Dechen Tamang, was missing, along with her husband and several other family members.

He described the flood as “sudden and devastating”.

“Many survivors are now left without homes and they need emergency rescue and evacuation, as well as food, temporary accommodation and medical support.”

He is praying his sister is found alive. “There is a 10% chance, we hope,” he said.

“That is where cities are moving, and we do not want to fall behind the times”

Belfast City Council is to formally propose to Stormont the pedestrianisation of Donegall Place and Castle Place, following the success of Fleadh.

In 2019, SDLP Councillors Gary McKeown and Dónal Lyons proposed a motion asking Stormont to consider city centre pedestrianisation, after the Primark fire.

At the August meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee on Wednesday, Councillor McKeown said that the motion should be revived, with a particular stress on Donegall Place and Castle Place, in the light of a groundswell of public feeling after the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.

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The committee agreed to the proposal, as well as a Sinn Féin suggestion that representatives from the Stormont Department for Infrastructure give councillors an update on their plans. The decisions will have to be ratified at the full meeting of Belfast Council next week, where they are expected to pass.

Two weeks ago, just after the Fleadh, the Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said she would forward a consultation including proposals for the expansion of pedestrianisation in Belfast city centre. No details have been given of the consultation, which is part of the Eastern Transport Plan, a strategic framework to guide transport policy and investment decisions up to 2035.

11 years have passed since the predecessor framework to the Eastern Transport Plan, the Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan, expired in 2015. Local representatives have criticised the time it has taken for the ETP to be presented.

Councillor McKeown said at the City Hall meeting: “After the Primark fire, we saw the benefits of pedestrianisation, and it was the council’s view, and many people’s view, that we should use it as an opportunity to springboard to a place where more of the city is transformed into something that is pedestrian friendly.

“In my mind, that would look like something beyond just closing down streets, and more like using it as an opportunity to develop activities, animation, cafes, things that become attractions bringing people into the city. Not just for transactional purposes but to actually increase dwell time.”

He said: “At that time we were concerned that with the barriers being removed around Primark, we would revert back to form, and unfortunately that has been the case. There has been very little movement in trying to identify an opportunity to transform the city centre to something which is much more attractive for people, other than a route for buses to choke up the place with fumes.”

He said: “We saw during the Fleadh that there is a real demand to animate the city centre and populate it. None of us are under the impression that every day is going to be a Fleadh, but it has shown the opportunities that are there for some intelligent use of the city centre.

“What we want to do is to write to the Minister for Infrastructure. I know she is proposing to carry out a consultation, but there is a lack of specificity around that.

I am asking this committee to reiterate the point it made back in 2019.”

He proposed writing to Minister Liz Kimmins specifically requesting Donegall Place and Castle Place be included in a pedestrianisation programme, “and anywhere else in the periphery deemed appropriate” in collaboration with Belfast City Council, the Stormont Department for Communities and other partners. He said this would make the city centre “person focused and not vehicle focused.”

He said: “When you look at the core of other cities, you see Grafton Street pedestrianised in Dublin and, as it is soon to be, Oxford Street in London. That is where cities are moving, and we do not want to fall behind the times in what we are offering.

“This is an opportunity, and the Fleadh showed it, in sharp contrast to what it is normally like, to make this city centre something that actually works for people, rather than just providing a route for vehicles. But we have to push for that, and it is frustrating sometimes.

“It has to be done in a way that is appropriate, and facilitates access for deliveries and people with disabilities. If that can be done in other cities, there is no reason why it cannot be done here.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Ronan McLaughlin said: “Councillor McKeown is right that the Fleadh has shown increased pedestrianisation for the city centre is a good thing. But we also have to make it accessible.” He said it had to “be made as inclusive a space as possible.”

He added: “I would probably go further, because we do need to take the talk of pedestrianisation into action. The Minister has said she is looking to release the Eastern Transport Plan. We should ask that a further briefing is given to this committee in relation to proposals within the ETP.”

Alliance Councillor Fiona McAteer said: “We have to be very careful that people with mobility issues are getting in at the very beginning. As everyone will have seen on social media, people were complaining they would not be able to use Belfast city centre the way they used to.”

She said: “It is not going to be 24 hours/seven days a week. It could be one day a month, or “diet traffic” where lanes are reduced, there are lots of different things we could do. But we have to make sure we are talking to the right people from the beginning, so that no one feels left out.”

SDLP Councillor Dónal Lyons said: “I was lucky to go to Galway over the summer, where I was struck by the fact that on 5pm on a Friday evening, in the West End of Galway, you will see half a dozen forklifts come out with concrete blocks, and just pedestrianise an area for the weekend. People flood in and enjoy the streets.

“One fellow I was talking to, a wheelchair user, welcomed it because he didn’t have to be dodging traffic in medieval streets of cobblestones, a similar environment to our cathedral quarter. Of course there is a solution to all of these questions, and a further briefing on the Eastern Traffic Plan would be useful.”

DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting said: “We have to be really careful, and it has to be a really in-depth consultation, because we need to protect that access for people with disabilities, and we don’t want to be counter-productive by asking people to use public transport more and then restricting routes they are used to.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

It comes as part of Labour’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls

Andy Burnham has announced the Government will roll out investigators across the UK tasked with tackling violence against women and girls. Specialist rape and sex offences investigators will be introduced to every police force by the end of next year

The Prime Minister criticised an original summer 2029 deadline for the teams to be set up as “too slow”, bringing it forward by 18 months. He added that ministers must be “laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes”.

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The measures were first announced under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership in December 2025 as part of a violence against women and girls strategy. Speaking today (August 27), Mr Burnham said: “The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable. We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes.

“These measures were going to be introduced in 2029, but I think that’s too slow. So we’re taking action to accelerate the roll out of specialist rape and sexual offence teams, who will go after perpetrators, enforce strict new protection orders to protect survivors, and invest in programmes to intensively manage offenders to break the cycle of abuse.”

Safeguarding minister Satvir Kaur said: “We are going further and faster to ensure victims and survivors of these devastating crimes get the protection and support they deserve.

“By ensuring every police force has specialist rape and sexual offence teams sooner, and funding for new protection order teams, we are strengthening our response, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators and helping victims live their life without fear.”

Funding has also been announced to bolster protection orders, which can be enforced through electronic tagging, exclusion zones and behaviour change programmes.

Up to 10 police forces across England and Wales will receive a share of a £13.3 million pot to help specialist teams improve the enforcement of the orders to better protect victims.

Domestic abuse protection orders are being rolled out with no maximum duration, meaning victims will not need to repeatedly apply for continued protection.

Under the orders, courts can set conditions for as long as needed to protect victims of all forms of domestic abuse, including physical, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and stalking.

A programme aimed at curbing reoffending by working with abuse perpetrators to address issues such as drug and alcohol misuse, first announced in July last year, is also being expanded.

Guidance and training on establishing specialist rape and sex offences teams has been made available to police forces by the Home Office and the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection.

The announcement comes as Mr Burnham faces pressure over the early release scheme to avert prison overcrowding, with campaigners urging him to exclude male perpetrators of violence against women or pause the scheme due to start in October.

Charities have warned him it “directly contradicts” Labour’s manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls.

Justice Secretary Alex Norris is due to set out findings of his review of the scheme when Parliament returns from summer recess next week.

The Friday letters page has a surprisingly mixed reaction to the GTA 6 extended look, as one reader laments the death of physical media.

You can’t please everyone
Good lord that extended preview of GTA 6 was dull as dishwater. I’m not sure how that was supposed to get anyone hyped for the game, though at this point they probably don’t need to try to sell the game.

It was so oddly paced, with weird cuts, a hodge podge of cut scenes, missions and slice of life activities. None of the needle drops landed for me, it didn’t seem stylish or funny or even fun.

The graphics were nice, with good lighting, but it all seemed like PlayStation 3 gameplay, nothing that enticed me or felt groundbreaking.

Someone should show Rockstar Nintendo’s 2017 trailer for Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, as an example on how to sell a same in a good sixth of the time.
Euclidian Boxes

Best. Graphics. Ever.
I’m just astonished about the graphics in GTA 6, really. I just don’t see how they could be any better, given how long it would take and how much it would cost to do even more detail. Not to mention how much the machine would cost to run it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if GTA 6 ends up having the best graphics for all time. Who else is going to spend $3 billion making a video game? I do think it was a bit odd there was no narration, because without it the skips to different scenes seemed a bit random but what was actually shown was incredible. The last bit where they’re acting like bodyguards could’ve been its own movie!

It also makes me realise just how pointless all the leaks have been. Was he purposefully trying to make the game look as bad as possible? I know people said that already, but when you see those clips next to the real video it barely even seems like the same game.
Hammeriron

Out in the cold
I mean… it was alright. The GTA 6 thing on Netflix… the graphics were good, nobody could deny that, but the whole thing just looked like it played exactly like GTA 5. Maybe the shooting is better, we can’t tell, but GC were right to point out the conversations in cars being lame. There must be a hundreds of ways to make that more interesting but they just did it exactly the same as before and I always hated those bits in GTA 5.

I guess there’s not really anything completely new you can do with a game that’s meant to be the same as real life, but I was hoping for something to make me surprised. I just don’t think there was anything. I mean, a Die Hard knock off in 2026? Is that really the best they could come up with in 13 years?

I’m not saying I won’t even get it, at some point, but I was hoping to be blown away. But while I can’t criticise anything about the graphics the rest of it left me pretty cold.
Gantz

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Sensible pricing
This is probably just anecdotal, but I’ve noticed that quite a few upcoming releases seem to be launching at quite reasonable price points. Star Wars Zero Company, Control Resonant, and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy all have RRPs under £50 and have had decent pre-order discounts on physical editions (I got Zero Company for £39.99 from Amazon).

I don’t know if these publishers have consciously ignored the first party premium prices that the console manufacturers are charging because they know their games won’t sell at £59.99 or £69.99, but it’s good to see these slightly more experimental titles stay at just about an impulse buy price point.

Enjoying the glut of interviews, previews, and reviews just now. Make sure you’re staying hydrated.
Magnumstache

GC: We noticed that too, at least in terms of Zero Company and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy – both of which are out on the same day and both the same, relatively, low price. More importantly, they’re both great games.

No backsies
RE: ‘I’m very happy with my pre-order,’ from Cranston’s letter on Thursday.

I don’t really get why people pre-order so early, on a digital game that won’t run out of stock and we don’t know how the day one build will be.

There’s no benefit to the customer pre-ordering months in advance and it encourages devs and publisher to push out unfinished games.

But at least Xbox and Steam offer a refund, if applied for in 14 days of purchase and with less than two hours playtime with Steam, and minimal playtime with Xbox.

I would avoid pre-ordering on PSN (not sure about the Nintendo eShop) though as Sony offer no such refund policy. Sony regards downloading with no actual playtime as cause not to refund if you change your mind.

The most understandable reason for digitally pre-ordering up to a week before release is to pre-download, especially if you have a slower connection and a big triple-A game takes a while to download.

With Sony you’ll do that before the game reviews are up and if it turns out to be a dud have no recourse to change your mind and get a refund.

Sony need to match Steam’s and Xbox’s refund policy now they are taking away a physical option where you can at least recoup most of your money on any regretful purchases.
Simundo

Understandable upset
Maybe I’m odd, but I don’t get the furore over the GTA leaks.

I’m sure Rockstar are mighty annoyed and I’m sure if they find the person they will come down on him like Nintendo on… well… anyone who messes with their IP.

But it’s just that it’s so easy to avoid. It’s not like the footage is plastered everywhere, the only way of seeing the leaked footage is to actually track it down.

I personally haven’t seen any leaked footage and it’s not like I don’t seek out gaming news. I just haven’t clicked on anything that may show me footage

So the answer is, if you don’t want to see the leaks don’t look for the leaks.

And let’s face it, the leaks will make zero difference to sales anyway.

Anyway, other than Rockstar I’m struggling to see why anyone else is getting worked up about them.

Whatever you’re playing, have fun gaming!
The Dude Abides

GC: We don’t think anyone is upset about it other than Rockstar, but the whole business is extremely peculiar. And getting stranger by the day.

Dying media
It’s a sad state we’re about to reach. Going from the ‘80s where we had VHS/Betamax, cassettes, and game cartridges. The 90s gave us floppies, CDs, and DVDs. Our sense of ownership is about to be removed, and we were too apathetic to care.

If a big company like Sony leaves gaming and they switch off the servers everything you’ve bought after 2027 goes bye bye. Gamers became the cliche that lazy sitcoms would push. We can’t go outside, we are too lazy to move from our chairs to a shelf and over to the console.

Perhaps we can get a few more years of gaming under our belts or however long they give us. I’m just going to try and enjoy the time we have left before the notion of traditional gaming goes away.

Oldish grump.
Bobwallett

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War memories
The games industry as a whole is heading into a nosedive. I cannot see it lasting 10 more years, to be honest, and I would not be surprised if a repeat of the grand old video games crash of 1983 happened again, albeit in different circumstances.

For starters, we have the 25th anniversary Xbox, which wouldn’t look out of place in a bathroom as an ornament, given its putrid green colour.

Then we have Sony thinking they will get away with becoming all-digital, they do not know yet that this will damage their brand in the long run.

And Grand Theft Auto 6, the almighty video game, which premiered on Netflix on Thursday, just feels like a trailer for a hotly anticipated Hollywood movie.

No video game ever has had a promotion such as this, so why now?

Project Helix and PlayStation 6, I dread to think what the future will hold for the overpriced next gen machines.

I wish I could go back to the golden age of the Sega and Nintendo wars, but alas it’ll remain as a fond memory.

The games industry had a much more positive vibe then, as compared to now.

It’s a shame to see how corporate and greedy it has become.
G4RBO

Inbox also-rans
Dear GameCentral, I keep hearing about these GTA 6 leeks. What, are they the most realistic vegetables ever seen in a video game?
Tim Keeling

GC: The leaker’s mascot is a cartoon leek.

I’m beginning to think the graphics in GTA 6 might be pretty good. Just the impression I get.
Kent

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MORE: Games Inbox: What will be in the Netflix GTA 6 show?

MORE: Games Inbox: What was the best game at Opening Night Live 2026?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will the new The Witcher 3 DLC be worth getting?

By SONIA HORON, US ASSISTANT SHOWBIZ EDITOR

Published: 03:02 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 03:14 BST, 28 August 2026

Rapper J. Cole’s Sacramento concert has been cancelled after a member of his crew was killed in a horror trucking accident on Thursday morning.

The driver was transporting equipment for Cole’s, 41, show when the big rig overturned on southbound Interstate 5 near Woodland, California, at around 6.00am. 

No one else was inside the truck, authorities told CBS News Sacramento.

The Golden 1 Center venue, where the show was set to take place, shared a statement via Instagram that read: ‘Following the tragic passing of a member of the touring crew in a trucking accident this morning, J. Cole’s show scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.’ 

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‘Our thoughts are with the crew member’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.’

The truck drifted onto the right shoulder and overturned as the driver tried to steer it back onto the freeway, according to authorities. 

Rapper J. Cole’s, 41, Sacramento concert has been cancelled after a member of his crew was killed in a horror trucking accident on Thursday morning; Cole pictured on August 24

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The driver was transporting equipment for Cole’s show when the big rig overturned on southbound Interstate 5 near Woodland, California, at around 6.00am (pictured) 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Cole’s representatives and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for comment. 

The driver was freed from the wreckage and a helicopter was dispatched to the scene, but the truck operator was later pronounced dead. 

The big rig was hauling gear from the rapper’s previous tour stop in Seattle on Tuesday. 

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The driver’s identity has not been publicly released. 

Authorities have not yet determined why the truck veered off the road. 

CHP Sergeant David Barker told CBS that authorities are considering a number of possibilities, including distraction or the driver falling asleep, but added that the cause remains unknown. 

Cole’s current tour is in support of his seventh studio album, The Fall-Off, released in February. 

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It marks the rapper’s first solo headlining tour in five years.  

The Golden 1 Center venue, where the show was set to take place, shared a statement via Instagram, confirming the tour member’s death

The big rig was hauling gear from the rapper’s previous tour stop in Seattle on Tuesday; Cole pictured at his Vancouver show in Canada on August 24

The hip hop star’s current tour is in support of his seventh studio album, The Fall-Off, released in February. It marks the rapper’s first solo headlining tour in five years; Cole pictured in 2016 

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The Love Yourz hitmaker’s next scheduled dates are set for Oakland, California, on Saturday and Sunday; Pictured in 2020

The hip hop star’s next scheduled dates are set for Oakland, California, on Saturday and Sunday.

He is then set to perform in Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 1, and Thursday, September 3.

It’s currently unknown if any of the upcoming dates will be affected.

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Cole, born Jermaine Lamarr Cole, first rose to prominence as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. 

He has won two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Music Award and eight BET Hip Hop Awards. 

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR

Published: 23:30 BST, 27 August 2026 | Updated: 02:33 BST, 28 August 2026

Police are responding to multiple incidents across Teesside on Thursday night, August 27, as suspected gang-related violence and criminal activity intensifies in the area

Disorder has broken out in the North East with disturbing footage capturing vehicles being set alight in a field while balloons were released during a memorial gathering.

The gathering was believed to be for Michael Robert Cahill, 23, who died in the A66 collision.

Officers are dealing with numerous incidents across Teesside on Thursday evening, August 27, as disorder and unlawful activity escalates in the region, connected to criminal gangs.

Nine people have lost their lives in five days following the deaths of seven, including two police officers, in a crash on the A66 at the weekend.

Video material shared online depicts several vehicles engulfed in flames in a field while balloons are launched at a memorial ceremony, thought to be for Michael Robert Cahill, 23, who passed away after the fatal smash.

Police have been observed responding to multiple incidents throughout the locality after 200 officers, including firearms units were brought in from other regions to support Cleveland Police.

This follows two men being arrested on suspicion of murder after two individuals perished in a house blaze including a youngster, authorities have confirmed.

The fire in Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, ignited shortly before 05:30 BST and also left a 48-year-old woman in hospital in a critical state, along with three additional people who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the blaze that claimed the lives of Natalie McDonald, 34, and seven-year-old Valentina Foster, while leaving four others injured.

Cleveland Police is working to determine whether the A66 collision was connected to the fire in Birchington Avenue.

Ms McDonald’s heartbroken brother Josh Kirton told reporters: “My sister was not involved with anything to do with gangs, or the (crash on the) A66. That’s what makes this so senseless.

“People think they can do whatever they like. There’s some terrible people in the world and now my sister and Valentina have gone.”

Alec Brown, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, posted on social media: “Thank you so much to the superintendent from Cleveland Police that has just taken their time to give updates to myself, Anna Turley (MP for Redcar), South Bank and Grangetown Ward councillors.

“They are working 20-hour days to ensure the ongoing safety of innocent residents. Over 200 extra police officers from forces around the country are here and are en route, from detectives to armed response.

“I will be sending a letter today to our Prime Minister asking for even more resource. The police really are doing an amazing job.

“If it is any reassurance at all, jobs called in to the police are actually down this week, however, the seriousness of the ones that have been called in need serious and swift action.

“Everyone is heartbroken over the loss of the aunt and little girl in Grangetown yesterday. People need to feel safe in their homes.”