World
No murder please! Royal Shrovetide is a wild ancient version of soccer still played today
ASHBOURNE, England (AP) — This ancient form of soccer has a rule forbidding players not to murder each other.
Every year, thousands of people descend on a small town in the English countryside to watch a two-day game of mass street football that, to the casual observer, could easily be mistaken for a riot.
This is Royal Shrovetide — a centuries-old ball game played in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, that, frankly, looks nothing like the world’s most popular sport.
Or any other game for that matter.
“It’s like tug of war without the rope,” says Natalie Wakefield, 43, who lives locally and has marshaled the event in the past. “It’s mad in the best possible way.”
Hundreds of players
Played between two teams of hundreds of players, the aim is to “goal” at either end of a three-mile (five-kilometer) sector that could take the match through rivers, hedgerows, high streets and just about anything or anywhere except for churchyards, cemeteries and places of worship.
The ball is thrown into a crowd that moves like a giant herd, as each team tries to carry it toward their desired goal. Rules are limited but “no murder” was an early stipulation for the game that dates back to at least the 1600s.
Good players need to be “hard, aggressive and authoritative,” says Mark Harrison, who “goaled” in 1986 and is one of multiple generations of scorers in his family.
“You can’t practice,” the 62-year-old Harrison adds. He stopped competing seven years ago and now serves up burgers to throngs of spectators from a street food truck.
“You’ve just got to get in there and be rough. I am a rugby player … I’m also an ex-boxer so that helps.”
Royal approval
Harrison had the honor of carrying the then-Prince Charles on his shoulder when in 2003 the now-King of England opened that year’s game.
“He loved it!” Harrison says.
Played over Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday each year, the event is a source of immense pride for the people of Ashbourne in Derbyshire’s Peak District.
Yet, such a unifying tradition is actually based upon splitting the town into two halves between the “Up’ards” and the “Down’ards,” determined by whether players are born on the north or south of the River Henmore.
Don’t park there
On any other days, Ashbourne, around a three-hour drive from London, is quiet and picturesque with a high street lined by antique shops, cafes and pubs. Visitors include hikers, cyclists and campers.
For two days that all changes.
Large timber boardings are nailed up to protect shop fronts. Doorways are barricaded.
“Play Zone” signs are strapped to lampposts, warning motorists not to park there for fear of damage to vehicles, which can be shoved out of the way by the force of the hoards of players trying to move the ball.
In contrast, colorful bunting is strewn high above from building to building and revelers congregate, eating and drinking as if it is a street party. Parents with babies in strollers watch on from a safe distance. School holidays in the area have long since been moved to coincide with the festival.
“There are people who come and they have a drink and they’re just like, ‘This is a bit of a crazy thing and it’s a spectacle, and now I’ve seen it, box ticked off,’” says Wakefield, who also used to report on Royal Shrovetide for the local newspaper. “And there are people who are absolutely enthralled by it all, and they get the beauty and complexity of the game of it and those people follow it year on year.”
Where’s the ball?
Play begins with an opening ceremony in a car park, no less, in the center of town. The national anthem and “Auld Lang Syne” are sung. Competitors are reminded, “You play the game at your own risk.”
A leather ball, the size of a large pumpkin, filled with cork and ornately painted, is thrown into what is called a “hug” of players.
And they’re off.
As a spectator sport, it can be confusing. There can be little to see for long periods during the eight hours of play each day from 2 p.m. local time. Players wear their own clothes — such as random soccer or rugby jerseys — rather than matching uniforms.
On Tuesday, it took more than 45 minutes to move the ball out of the car park.
Onlookers stand on bins, walls and park benches, craning their necks to look down alleyways to try to get a better view.
“Can you see the ball?” someone will ask. The answer is often “No.”
One person thinks it might be in line with a tree over to the right of the car park, but can’t be sure.
Later that day there had been no sight of the ball for almost two hours until rumors started to circulate that the Down’ards scored what turned out to be the only goal over the two days of play for a 1-0 victory.
Deception and cunning
With so many players, the hug can be difficult to maneuver but gathers pace quickly, prompting crowds of spectators who’d previously been trying to get a closer look to suddenly run away from the action.
The ball can be handled and kicked. Play can be frantic, with players racing after a loose ball wherever it may take them, diving into the river and up and out the other side. While strength is needed in the hug, speed is required from runners if the ball breaks free.
Royal Shrovetide, however, can be as much about deception and cunning as speed and strength, it seems.
“There’s a bit of strategy involved in that somebody’s pretending they’ve still got the ball in the middle of the hug,” Wakefield says. “And they’re quietly passing it back out to the edge to get it to a runner who has to sneak away in a kind of, I imagine, very nonchalant manner and then leg it down an alleyway.”
A famous goal in 2019 came as a result of the hug not realizing it didn’t have the ball until it was too late. Hidden by two schoolboys standing meters away, the ball was passed to a player who ran, largely unimpeded, for 1 1/2 miles (2 1/2 kilometers) before scoring.
A ball is goaled when it is hit three times against one of the millstones at either end of the town in Clifton or Sturston.
The beautiful game
Scorers have likened the achievement to winning Olympic gold. They are carried on shoulders, paraded through the town and celebrated like heroes.
“If you can imagine playing for Manchester United in their heyday and they’re at Wembley in a cup final. You score the winner. You’re there,” Harrison says.
Scorers also get to keep the balls, which are repainted and become treasured family possessions.
It is the game, however, that is treasured most of all.
“I just live and breathe it,” says Janet Richardson, 75, from Ashbourne, who has been going to Royal Shrovetide since she was a 1-year-old. “I can’t sleep because I’m excited. It’s so lovely to think that all these people still want to come here and watch this beautiful game that we’ve got in our town.”
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
World
Neon Closing in on Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman Open AI Movie ‘Artificial’ After Amazon Drops Controversial Film
“Artificial,” Luca Guadagnino‘s movie about Sam Altman and OpenAI, is about to get a new home.
Neon is closing in on a deal to acquire the nearly-completed $40 million film — set during the tumultuous time when Altman (played by Andrew Garfield) was fired and then rehired by the AI giant — after Amazon MGM Studios announced that it believed it would “be better served if it were released by a different studio.”
Variety reported that, of those who had seen the movie in screenings put on by CAA Media Finance — which is handling sales — Netflix, A24 and Focus chose not to pursue it. Mubi was also in the mix for the distribution rights.
Amazon’s decision came just months after the company signed a major partnership with OpenAI, including a $50 billion investment, and less than a year Altman’s relationship with Jeff Bezos was underlined by his appearance at the Amazon boss’s wedding. Variety heard that test screenings had been positive, but the studio still chose to exit, raising eyebrows about its motivations.
According to various people who have seen the film and read the script, “Artificial” portrays Altman as deeply untrustworthy and Elon Musk (played by Ike Barinholtz) as highly dislikable.
Alongside Garfield and Barinholtz, “Artificial” has a starry cast including Monica Barbaro as former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and Yura Borisov as former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Angus Imrie, Chris O’Dowd and Mark Rylance also feature. The film was written by “SNL” alum Simon Rich.
Currently in the final stages of post-production, “Artificial” had been eyeing a festival launch at SXSW before Amazon’s departure. Given the latest acquisition, the movie could now potentially be in play for a slot at the Venice Film Festival, where Guadagnino’s previous films debuted.
Spokespeople for Amazon and CAA declined to comment, and a spokesperson from Neon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Puck first reported Neon’s pole position in the dealmaking.
Angelique Jackson contributed to this report.
World
Trump admin backs Bolivia state of emergency as leftist ex-leader’s loyalists fracture nation
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The conservative, pro-U.S. government of President Rogrigo Paz is being challenged in the streets by radical elements led by a former socialist president recently forcing the new Bolivian government to introduce a state of emergency.
The landlocked mineral-rich nation is facing one of its deepest political crises in decades as economic turmoil, nationwide protests and a battle over the country’s future threaten to reshape the balance of power in South America.
The unrest comes after years of political divisions following the tenure of socialist President Evo Morales, whose Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) dominated Bolivian politics for nearly two decades. Internal fractures, economic decline and public frustration have weakened the movement and opened a new chapter of uncertainty.
US, SHIELD OF THE AMERICAS CONDEMN ‘ONGOING EFFORTS’ TO OVERTHROW BOLIVIA’S ELECTED PRESIDENT AMID UNREST
Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz delivers a speech in La Paz on June 3, 2026, after naming Ernesto Justiniano as defense minister following the resignation of Marcelo Salinas amid protests. (Claudia Morales/Reuters)
The Trump administration recently signaled strong backing for the Paz government while condemning efforts to destabilize the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “Will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere” and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Bolivia’s “stability, security, and a better future for all Bolivians.”
Speaking on background, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, “The United States strongly supports President Rodrigo Paz’s decision on June 20 to declare a State of Exception to restore order and ensure the free flow of food, medicine, and essential supplies to the Bolivian people. We are glad that the blockades in Bolivia have ended and the government has restored order.”
Bolivia’s crisis has been driven by Morales and his supporters furious at the Paz reforms. Protests and road blockades have disrupted transportation, caused shortages and increased pressure on the Paz government.
José Luis Lupo, chief of staff and minister of the presidency of Bolivia told Fox News Digital: “After more than 50 days of blockades that severely disrupted the supply of food, fuel, and medicines, paralyzing much of the country’s economic activity and straining its democratic stability, I am convinced that Bolivia now faces a unique opportunity to transform a deep crisis into the starting point for a new phase of national reconstruction.”
26 June 2024, Bolivia, La Paz: Military police stand amid tear gas fired in front of the presidential palace on Plaza Murillo. (Photo by Radoslaw Czajkowski/picture alliance via Getty Images)
He noted that “for weeks, we sought agreements with various sectors because we believe that, in a democracy, every avenue for mutual understanding must be exhausted before resorting to extraordinary measures.”
He said the state of emergency [state of exception] “was the constitutional last resort to restore freedom of movement, protect critical infrastructure and ensure that Bolivians could once again access essential goods. It was not a measure intended to restrict rights, but rather to protect lives, preserve democracy and restore freedom of movement to millions of citizens.”
PETE HEGSETH WARNS NARCO-TERRORISTS AS US BACKS BOLIVIA’S GOVERNMENT AMID COUP WARNINGS
The turmoil has also had consequences beyond Bolivia’s borders. The country holds some of the world’s largest lithium resources, a key mineral for electric vehicles, batteries and advanced technology supply chains. Competition for influence in resource-rich Latin America has become increasingly important for Washington as China and other global powers expand their presence in the region.
Bolivia’s political crisis reflects a broader trend across Latin America, where voters in the last few election cycles have elected conservatives who challenged the left’s business-as-usual politics and in doing so have taken the continent in a rightward direction.
The socialist Morales remains an influential figure and continues to command support among rural and indigenous groups, keeping Bolivia’s political divisions alive even as the country searches for a path out of the crisis.
Mauricio Ríos García, manager of Crusoe Research and editor of FRACTAL Index in Bolivia, told Fox News Digital, “The 50-day blockades have caused estimated losses of $2.5 billion and the closure of around 13,000 companies. Once the blockades end, a rebound in demand combined with excess liquidity is expected to drive inflation higher.”
A police convoy clears one of the main highways after Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency following 50 days of blockades, in El Alto, Bolivia, on June 20, 2026. (Jorge Mateo Romay Salinas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ríos said, “The government is nearing an IMF agreement that would likely include a new devaluation (exchange rate unification) and other adjustments in exchange for financing of around $3.3–5 billion. This marks growing dependence on the IMF and the United States, while the gradualist approach has left the economy with very little room for maneuver and risks further instability.
“Expectations for Bolivia’s economy in the second half of the year have been revised downward. Blockades and deeper structural problems rooted in the government’s gradualist fiscal and monetary policies have worsened the difficult inheritance from the previous administration,” he concluded.
COLOMBIA’S ‘EL TIGRE’ SECURES PRESIDENCY AS LEFTIST RIVAL FINALLY CONCEDES DEFEAT
For Washington, Bolivia’s future represents more than a domestic political dispute. The outcome could influence America’s strategic position in the Western Hemisphere, the future of critical minerals, and whether Latin America’s recent political shift continues moving away from the left-wing movements that dominated parts of the region during the last two decades.
“I am convinced that stability will only endure if it is accompanied by inclusion. There can be no peace where neglect and inequality persist. That is why we are driving a development agenda for historically marginalized regions, particularly the provinces of La Paz, focused on infrastructure, basic services, productive development and the participation of the communities themselves,” Lupo said.
And as the barricades have lessened, Lupo, chief of staff and minister of the presidency of Bolivia, says, “A different phase is now beginning. I believe the country needs a broad political and social agreement involving the government, parliamentary forces, the regions, the productive sector, and civil society. Bolivia needs to pass reforms that provide legal certainty, promote investment, and modernize strategic sectors such as hydrocarbons, mining, lithium, renewable energy and the justice system. Such consensus is essential to restoring confidence, stabilizing the economy and generating sustainable growth.
“I hope to see Bolivia definitively replace confrontation with dialogue, strengthen its institutions, and build a more robust economy characterized by clear rules, democratic stability and greater opportunities for all,” Lupo concluded.
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The Trump administration had increased emergency humanitarian assistance to help address food and medical shortages caused by weeks of unrest, underscoring U.S. concerns that prolonged instability could have broader implications for regional security and democracy.
World
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