David Beckham plays alongside son Brooklyn in Unicef charity match

Before kick-off the minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris attacks was observed impeccably and the mood during the match was suitably light-hearted, but David Beckham revealed there had been concern before this contest between his Great Britain and Ireland XI and a Rest of the World side at Old Trafford went ahead.

The former France internationals Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira dropped out and, after his side won 3-1, Beckham said: “There was slight concern obviously once the news hit last night. It is terribly devastating to see the scenes we saw but unfortunately we have seen those around the world. I think security was very tight in this game and I am sure for a while now security will be heightened at every major sporting game that goes on. It definitely will be looked at.

“I understood why Zizou took the decision not to play. I totally understand. He is a friend and a very passionate man. Being French that hit him very hard what happened. On behalf of myself, the managers and the players, we send our condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

“Paris has always been one of my favourite cities in the world and I have great memories from Paris over the years, not just when I was with PSG. I played my 100th game for England there and the support I had from the French people was amazing. I got a standing ovation. To go back as a PSG player and finish my career there, it has always been a special place. Our condolences to everyone there.”

A 75,381 sell-out crowd was present at this Unicef game to help the world’s under-privileged children on a day that was about football’s ability to unite and cause joy. Ryan Giggs had shown the kind of occasion this was during the warm-up. In a small-space game the Welshman was a whirr of pace and dribbling as the ball stuck to that famous left boot before up went his arms in mock-jubilation to tease the team-mates who could not dispossess him.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

YOUNG people will not be able to get unemployment benefits until they turn 25 under reforms introduced by the Turnbull Government today. The coalition has unveiled wide-ranging welfare reforms in parliament today, including changes to the Newstart program. It hopes to stop people aged 22 to 24 getting Newstart or the Sickness allowance, and they will instead be shifted to the Youth Allowance payment. This will reduce the amount of money that they will be able to get, costing a single person living away from home about $90 a fortnight. They will also be required to study in order to qualify for the payments. “The key aim of this measure is to provide incentives for young unemployed people to obtain the relevant education and training to increase employability,” according to an explanatory memorandum for the bill. However, it says Youth Allowance does allow students to earn a higher amount of money from part-time or casual work than Newstart, before this begins imp...

Janitor earning $327,000 a year caught ‘slacking off’

THIS janitor clocked so much overtime that he took home $327,000 in a single year — but was allegedly caught out hiding in a closet for hours. Liang Zhao Zhang earned a base salary of $75,874 ($US57,945) in 2015 for cleaning San Francisco’s Powell Street station. But once overtime was taken into account, his salary and benefits added up to a whopping $327,000 ($US250,000)— giving his earnings a boost of $212,190 — revealed in public records released by Transparent California. An investigation by local broadcaster KTVU found that Mr Zhang was paid for working 17 hours a day for 18 days in a row in July 2015, and clocked fulltime hours during his annual leave. This superhuman feat prompted the station’s 2 Investigates program to take a closer look at just what Mr Zhang was up to during these marathon-length work days. What they say they found raised “serious questions” about the municipal transport authority’s oversight of its employee timesheets. Investigative reporters examine...

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