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Manchester City: ‘Hysterical and ‘hated at times’ – Pep Guardiola is already the greatest

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Guillem Balague's BBC Sport column

Pep Guardiola will become the first manager in history to win the Treble twice if his Manchester City side beat Inter Milan to lift the Champions League trophy on Saturday.

Having already achieved the holy grail of league title, domestic cup and European glory with Barcelona in 2009, Guardiola and his City players are one win away from becoming the 10th team to ever achieve the feat.

But, win or lose in Istanbul on Saturday, Guardiola is already the greatest coach football has ever known.

Not because he wins things – 16 major trophies and counting – but because he has changed football.

I recently met up with one of Europe’s most coveted young coaches and the conversation turned to what made the 52-year-old Spaniard special.

“Pep gave an instruction to Joao Cancelo,” the coach told me. “I heard it and all I could think was: ‘I know what you are are about to do and I can’t defend against it.'”

The coach said what made Guardiola so special is his search for perfection is relentless, even though it doesn’t need to be. His team are good enough to win anyway. But he still pushes for 100%.

‘Light years ahead of the rest’

Former France, Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry recently told Guardiola he is “the greatest manager of all time”. Others have a similar view.

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho says he can convince you that what he tells you is what is going to happen in a match. Then gives you all the information you need to deal with the situation.

“The way I see football now… I’d never, ever seen it like that before I met him,” he said.

Recalling the team talk before Barcelona’s 2011 Champions League final success against Manchester United, midfielder Javier Mascherano said that as Guardiola spoke, it was as if he was referring to a game that they were playing there and then.

He said: “You shut your eyes and you were out there in the middle of the action. During the match I was thinking: ‘I’ve seen this already. Pep has already told me about it.’

“Everything that he said would happen, happened as he said it would.”

Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan describes him as a “genius who reads the game and covers every situation imaginable”.

According to the late Johan Cruyff, from the moment Guardiola took charge at Barcelona in 2008, all he wanted to do was, “make football better, take his team to another level”. Former Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli has called him “the coach with the most imagination in football”.

He has an ability to get the very last drop out of his team and a ruthless, dispassionate willingness to discard players unable to give him total commitment.

Those qualities, matched by the standard of his players, put him light years ahead of the rest.

‘I thought he was crazy’ – where it all started

An anecdote that encapsulates Guardiola’s philosophy occurred just after he had taken over at Barcelona in 2008.

His goalkeeper Victor Valdes explained: “I remember my first conversation with Guardiola. It was in his office at the Nou Camp. He had a tactics board with two small magnets either side of the goal just outside the box. He said: ‘Do you know which players these two are?’

“He said: ‘These are your centre-backs.’ I had no idea what he was talking about and he said: ‘When you’ve got the ball. this is where I want them to be.’ I thought he was crazy.

“Then he said: ‘You’ll pass to them. And it’s from here we’ll build the play.’ I still thought he was completely mad. But given I’m a bit crazy myself, I felt in tune with him. So I replied: ‘The defenders would have to be brave and want the ball.’ Pep said: ‘Don’t worry, that’s my job. I’ll make sure they want it.’ And that’s how it all started”.

The door was opened to a new world.

From then on, his job has been to convince players through his training sessions to do what he needs them to do. That is something that goes against the grain for most footballers.

Let’s remember for a moment how football has evolved; it comes from the streets, from each player and his own individual initiative.

But gradually it becomes a more organised collective process. While Guardiola has said in the past that “the player is the one who deserves all the credit”, you sense that he knows that the player without instructions is nothing.

This Manchester City side are an optimum version of him. Eleven players all working towards a single idea. A coach’s dream.

That is no less than he demands. In the past – at Bayern Munich and Barcelona – when he felt he no longer had that, he packed his bags.

Pep Guardiola with Lionel Messi
Pep Guardiola led Barcelona to the Treble back in 2008-09

‘A schoolteacher you hated at the time’

Guardiola has pushed football into new directions.

In 2008, the prevailing football concept was about solid, organised defensive structures, from which quick transitions were played. Guardiola was the pioneer in constructing a team built not to use the defence as a means of closing the game up, but rather as the starting point of attack.

“He is the first coach to start working on what is theoretically called ‘the construction phases of the attacking game,'” explained Pep Segura, a former sports director of Barcelona, and perhaps the person who has studied most the influence and legacy of Guardiola.

“He starts by working the exit phase [the building from the back] and then the construction phase, what happens when the ball gets to midfield. He developed those two and started working on the third, preparation phase of the last pass.”

His demands are based on simple principles. Keep possession, play it simple and play it fast.

And sometimes it can come at a price.

Bernardo Silva has admitted in the past to some Portugal team-mates that he has frequently become tired at Manchester City because of the constant repetition and exhausting demands, although it is these measures that have taken him to the level that he is today.

Guardiola is like the schoolteacher that you only appreciated in later years but hated at the time because he demanded so much more of you.

Not all players grow under his intensive training demands. Those that progress will do so because they learn a better reading and knowledge of the game, better positioning, and better support for team-mates.

There is an enormous psychological pressure on the player to do what he must for the team. In that, we see one of Guardiola’s greatest attributes: his ability to change the mentality and thinking of those players that have no desire to be changed.

Since leaving Barcelona, he has coached Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery, Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, and Jack Grealish, all of whom – despite their forceful personalities – have bought into his philosophy.

Dani Alves once said of Guardiola at Barcelona: “If Pep had told me to jump off the third tier of the Nou Camp, then I’d jump because I’d think there must be a good reason for it.”

Guardiola is constantly on top of every situation, always correcting, always demanding more. Sometimes, his players can get frustrated. It happened with De Bruyne during the emphatic Champions League semi-final win over Real Madrid in May. At one point, the Belgian lost possession, and Guardiola expressed his disapproval. Exasperated, De Bruyne shouted: “Shut up, I’m fed up with hearing your voice.”

That voice continues to cajole teams towards success. Each each club he has managed, in each different country, Guardiola has moulded his ideas to fit, without ever giving up on his essence. The basic philosophy doesn’t change. Neither do the demands on his players.

He spends most of his waking hours planning ways to be one step ahead ahead of his opponents. His sleeping pattern is unconventional, with messages sent to his coaching staff at early hours in the morning. He often relies on long siestas during the day to recharge his batteries.

He spends most of the time indoors and his family have developed a routine. His wife Cristina continues running her shop in Barcelona and lives there with son Marius and daughter Valentina. Their other daughter Maria, an Instagram influencer, lives in London. The family get together with the use of a private jet.

‘He can be hysterical’

Not many in the boardrooms at Guardiola’s clubs have understood fully his processes. But they know they work.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Manchester City’s chairman, knows he has a leader with an extraordinary capacity for work and sometimes he has to make allowances for some of his insecurities.

Guardiola prepares everything to win. If he does not get the right results, he becomes “hysterical”, as a close friend said with humour.

Khaldoon witnessed that after the first draw of Guardiola’s second season. “It is impossible, I will never be able to do what I want to do, impossible,” he kept shouting in his private room after the game.

The chairman’s role is to calm him down and remind him of the club’s total support. Guardiola needs the insecurity, the drama to feed himself. If necessary, he even makes drama when there is none. It is a mixture of obsession, the need to control everything. He has to feel that everything matters. It is his way to check if his passion is still there.

He has been known to demand a better presentation of the food. He wants the perfect behaviour from security personnel. He likes to see those in reception smile. He wants players to feel the standards are the highest they have ever experienced.

He has four short meetings per game. Every season, he has between six and 10 meetings with everyone – from waiters and medical staff to physios and receptionists – in a room at the training centre. Everyone is squeezed like sardines in a can. He reminds them they have to keep pushing.

If a Guardiola team wins, outsiders say he is a genius. If he loses, they say he overthinks, the laziest word ever to be used about Guardiola’s work. They are missing the point.

The standard of excellence does depend on having the very best players, a stick sometimes used to beat him with without understanding the trail he is blazing for new coaches and players.

There is more to come. His friends and those closest to him believe that City will be his last club before he takes charge of a national side.

The search for perfection continues

Guardiola is the most advanced coach in the game. His ideas work on the four phases of attack and developing them.

The first – the build-up – is the one Valdes has explained. From that opening phase, much depends of having one more player than your opponents in a particular area of the pitch.

The second phase – constructing the play – is based on numerical superiority attained by moving players into different positions and lines of attack. Who else would have thought of achieving this by converting John Stones, a centre-back, into one of City’s most effective midfielders?

The third stage is all about creating the final pass, the assist. This is the one Guardiola believes is still a work in progress.

That phase is one he has worked harder on in the last couple of years – the movements of full-backs, centre midfielders and forwards before the last pass. He uses the last 10 minutes of training to do that, instead of letting players do shooting or crossing.

He knows, despite City’s success, he is not yet there with that third stage, nor with the establishing of the fourth stage, the ‘finalising’ – the technical coaching term for finishing.

There is a sense there that football culture is not yet ready for what he wants to do. Players want to have the freedom to dribble when they want, and shoot when they want – and not when they are told to.

But it will happen. It is part of his continuous search to refine the way of thinking about and playing the game.

Many are watching on and learning. His new football culture is here to stay.

In the Premier League alone, there are at least five managers who have been inspired by him – Thomas Frank, Marco Silva, Mikel Arteta, Erik ten Hag and Roberto de Zerbi, soon to be joined by a fifth, Vincent Kompany.

The influence is not all one way. Guardiola has taken on board things he has learned from Brighton’s De Zerbi.

But the world game has felt the impact of Manchester City’s manager. Seven of Spain’s starting line-up in the 2010 World Cup final came from his Barcelona side. Five of Germany’s 2014 winning first 11 came from his team at Bayern. There are the titles, domestic and European, that he has won.

Ultimately, though, his most notable achievement can be found everywhere from the grassroots to the top of the game.

When people thought there was nothing new to invent in terms of how to play football, he proved them wrong. Guardiola has built a reputation for seeing things others don’t.

Fresh challenges lie ahead. In two years’ time, when his contract expires, he will leave Manchester City. He has been surrounded by people who prepared the ground for his arrival, and who have given him the tools to take the game to a new place. After City, he will receive offers from national teams, where that kind of work will not be possible.

Whatever happens, though, we should enjoy Guardiola’s football – the product of an amazing brain.

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Use These Govt-Approved Malware Tools To Keep Your Phone And PC Secure: How It Works

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Last Updated: June 09, 2023, 13:09 IST

Android phones and Windows PC can make use of these tools

Android phones and Windows PC can make use of these tools

These tools can help you clean up any malware in the device and also safely let you use other devices.

If you have a PC or phone and are worried that it might have some malware or other security issue then the Indian government is helping out in its own way. The government has set up a security agency which looks into these issues and now has a botnet cleaning and malware analysis centre which has developed special malware removal tools.

As per the given details, these tools are claimed to help remove any malware from your system which keeps it secure and clean. The Cyber Swachhta Kendra has a website which talks about these tools being developed with the help of internet service providers (ISPs) and even the antivirus companies. The tools are available for Android devices and Windows PCs through their respective app stores.

What Are The Malware Removal Tools And How It Works

The Cyber Swachhta Kendra has made free bot removal tools. For Windows PC users, the website of the security body offers these three tools:

– eScan Antivirus

– K7 Security

– Quick Heal

You also have the built-in Windows Defender security solution that comes with any Windows machine running on Windows 10 or later version.

If you want the malware removal tool for Android, these are the following apps that can be downloaded from the Play Store:

– eScan CERT-In Bot Removal

– M-Kavach 2

The second app has been developed by the C-DAC Hyderabad.

But the cyber agency also has other useful tools that can help you safely use external devices like the pen drive or hard disk drive. It has an app called USB Pratirodh that can be installed on a PC and help you monitor the device that is plugged into the machine. Using the app you can set up a username and password before using the plugged in device. It can also help you scan the USB device for any malware or encrypt data and more.

5 Drapes That Will Go Down in History

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Celebrated couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee once said: “The saree belongs just as much in board rooms as tailored suits, and as much on red carpets as evening gowns.” For Sabyasachi it’s always a moment of pride and joy to see women drape the six-yards of sheer elegance on a global stage. From Cannes, MET Gala to Bollywood Brides, the saree is a story Sabysachi will never stop telling.

Having designed for celebrities brides including Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif and Patraklekha, Sabyasachi’s saree journey has also seen international celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell being enamoured by his craftsmanship. Recently, on Season 2 of Never Have I Ever, the Netflix TV series, in one of the episodes actor Poorna Jagannathan was seen draped in one of Sabyasachi’s classic sarees.

Rooted in tradition with a global connect, every Sabyasachi saree moment narrates a story of its own. Here are five Sabyasachi saree styles that will go down in history:

Deepika Padukone, who was one of the jury members at Cannes Film Festival in 2022, wore the Bengal Tiger couture saree at the opening ceremony (Image: Instagram)
Deepika Padukone at Cannes 2022

Saree: Bengal Tiger Couture

Deepika Padukone is one of the many stars who loves adorning ensembles designed by Sabyasachi. In one of her interviews, Deepika had mentioned how during her modelling days she saved up to buy herself a Sabysachi saree. From limited edition hand painted sarees to the iconic red sarees, Deepika has draped them all.

In 2022, when Deepika Padukone was announced as one of the jury members for Cannes Film Festival, the global star graced the red stairs in a custom Bengal Tiger couture saree. The black and gold stripes were block printed and hand embroidered by some of India’s finest craftspeople at the Sabyasachi atelier. A part of the Aakash Tara collection, the couture saree celebrated heritage Indian crafts and techniques through a modern lens. The saree became one of the most talked about silhouettes at Cannes in 2022.

Natasha Poonwalla graced the MET Gala 2022 red carpet in Sabyasachi gold tulle saree (Image: Instagram)
Natasha Poonawalla at MET Gala 2022

Saree: Gold Handcrafted Printed Tulle

When philanthropist Natasha Poonwalla had to grace the iconic MET Gala red carpet in 2022, she chose Sabyasachi to give life to her vision, which was to interpret the dress code ‘gilded glamour’ with an Indian gaze. Celebrating Indian craftsmanship, Sabyasachi created a gold handcrafted printed tulle sari and a trail embroidered with silk floss thread and embellished with bevel beads, semi-precious stones, crystals, sequins and appliquéd printed velvet. The opulent saree was paired with a Schiaparelli hand-forged metal bustier.

The saree was not only a hit on the global platform in 2022, but this year, it found a special place at the Offbeat Sari exhibition hosted at The Design Museum in London. The exhibition which celebrates the contemporary saree in its numerous forms, is curated by Priya Khanchandani and features an array of saree designed by celebrated Indian designers, and will be open to the public till September 2023.

Kangana Ranaut received her Padma Shri award draped in a beige and gold Sabyasachi saree (Image: Instagram)
Kangana Ranaut at Padma Awards 2020

Saree: Beige saree with golden motifs and border

Kangana Ranaut who was announced as one of the Padma Shri awardees in 2020, attended the award ceremony hosted in 2021 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Receiving the prestigious award at the hands of former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, Kangana celebrated the precious moment draped in a Sabyasachi beige saree featuring gold motifs and an intricately embroidered border. Paired with a dark brown blouse, the saree was a perfect blend of power and elegance. The golden motifs and border on the saree added a hint of sparkle to her overall traditional look.

Laxmi Agarwal draped the iconic red saree designed by Sabysachi (Image: Instagram)
Laxmi Agarwal at Chhapaak screening in 2020

Saree: Banarasi Silk

Laxmi Agarwal, a motivational speaker and acid attack survivor attended the screening of Chhapaak in a Sabyasachi saree. Looking radiant in red and gold, the saree has been one of Sabyasachi’s iconic pieces. Called the Sabyasachi Red, the colour holds a special place in the designer’s collections. You will see the colours used as a perfect canvas to highlight the impeccable craftsmanship in varied colours.

Kim Kardashion looked ravishing in a red sequin saree designed by Sabysachi (Image: Instagram)
Kim Kardashian in Vogue 2018 photoshoot

Saree: Red Sequins

Be it weddings to red carpet events, the Indian film and fashion industry won’t deny a Sabyasachi saree. But did you know that back in 2018, reality TV star and entrepreneur, Kim Kardashian was draped in one of Sabysachi’s sarees? The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star was seen in the Vogue 2018 edition looking ravishing in a hot red sequin sari, styled by celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania. Sabyasachi has now and again proved that the six-yards of fabric is not only a versatile garment but can also be an extension of your personality.

Kate Garraway a big fan of Kelis and Bill Murray’s rumoured romance

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Kelis and Bill Murray‘s rumoured relationship has blown people’s minds – including that of Kate Garraway.

The Milkshake singer, 43, and Ghostbusters star, 72, were on Thursday reported to be in a relationship after a whirlwind romance.

It comes after the comedian was seen bopping away to Kelis’ set at Mighty Hoopla festival in London over the weekend, with his attendance making headlines – but no one presumed he was there to support the woman he was dating.

The pair are said to have been ‘getting close for a while’ with sources claiming they stayed at the same hotel and are ‘having fun despite the fairly big age gap.’

Fans of the musician and actor were surprised to say the least about the reported link, and Good Morning Britain regular Richard Arnold discussed the news on Friday’s show.

He started off by discussing the upcoming Ghostbusters movie, but said the film is currently being ‘overshadowed’ by reports Kelis and Bill are in a relationship.

Kelis and Bill Murray are rumoured to be dating after a whirlwind romance (Picture: Getty)
The actor was seen watching Kelis fro side of stage at Mighty Hoopla in London

Richard joked: ‘The milkshake evidently brings the Ghostbuster to the yard..’

But while most people have been reacting to the news with bewilderment, presenter Kate had nothing but joy over it.

Upon hearing the news, she said excitedly: ‘That’s lovely!’

Despite the almost 30-year age gap, Kelis and Bill have a lot in common, with a source saying the pair have ‘both shared relatively recent bereavment and have that common bond between them.’

A source told The Sun: ‘Whatever it is that has brought them together, and however unlikely it seems, they are both single and are having fun despite the fairly big age gap.’

Kate is a big fan of the news (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)

The romance rumour comes after Kelis’ husband Mike Mora died aged 37 in March last year, following a stomach cancer battle.

Bill’s ex-wife, Jennifer Butler, died in 2021; they had been divorced since 2008 and shared four sons together.

Bill is currently said to be in London filming the sequel of Ghostbusters, alongside Sigourney Weaver and Dan Ackroyd.

Alongside a return of old faces from the 1984 classic, filmmakers reportedly planned to shift the action from New York to London.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITVX

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MORE : Ghostbusters actor Bill Murray, 72, ‘dating Milkshake singer Kelis, 43, after whirlwind romance’


MORE : Bill Murray spotted bopping away to Kelis at Mighty Hoopla festival in London

ON THE BRINK releases campaign for Sharks and Rays on World Ocean Day

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‘ON THE BRINK’ is a national campaign initiated by environmental NGO WILDTRUST.

In the video, the campaign team sat down with five South African women and asked them to share their heartfelt stories about their ‘sanctuaries’. Each woman expressed the significance of their safe space and the devastating impact it would have if they were to lose it.

According to the group, the narrative beautifully intertwines their personal experiences and vulnerability with the urgent need to create more safe spaces in South Africa’s waters to preserve sharks and rays — arguably one of the most endangered species on the planet.

Participant Bernice Mosala says, “It is a very scary thought because those are places where I can completely be myself,” while another participant, Buyi Makhoba-Dlamini, adds, “It would be a dark and unhappy place.”

The resounding message from the video is that we can choose our sanctuary, according to the group. We can choose our safe spaces, whereas sharks and rays cannot.

The primary objective of the ‘ON THE BRINK’ campaign is to spread awareness about the vulnerability of sharks and rays and highlight the substantial benefits of establishing new sanctuary areas for them in South Africa’s Ocean.

A shark and ray sanctuary is a demarcated area in the ocean established to protect their populations and their habitats, says the group. And considering the latest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Assessment reports that 42% of shark and ray species occurring within South African waters are threatened (vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered) — we need to increase these sanctuary spaces with urgency.

The WILDOCEANS programme of the WILDTRUST spearheads the ON THE BRINK campaign as part of the Sanctuary for Sharks and Rays project, a three-year endeavour in collaboration with the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and funded by The Rainforest Trust, with co-funding from Oceans 5 and the Shark Conservation Fund.

“Presenting an ocean conservation video through personal-human stories may initially seem unusual,” says Lauren van Nijkerk, WILDTRUST director of campaigns and Communications.

van Nijkerk adds, “It is becoming increasingly challenging to capture public attention amidst the online noise, especially for crucial messages that we want to resonate, have an impact, be relatable and inspire action, and even more so messages about a not-so-cuddly or popular species like sharks. That is why I am so proud of this campaign because it has the potential to achieve just that.”

“We have a responsibility as a highly biodiverse country to create safe spaces in the ocean for all species and the habitats they call home, and while we have 41 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in South Africa, they only protect 5.4% of our ocean space,” says van Nijkerk.

Recent data suggests that out of approximately 90 shark and ray species found in South Africa’s Ocean, only 28% of their habitat is currently safeguarded within MPAs. Expanding the coverage of MPAs from 5% to at least 10% of our ocean could double their protection, effectively safeguarding up to 50% of their range.

The 2021 report by the IUCN indicates that approximately one-third of all shark and ray species globally face threats, making them highly vulnerable to extinction. Sadly, South Africa has already witnessed the local end of two species: the Largetooth Sawfish and Green Sawfish.

Encouragingly, a team of scientists is mapping out areas along the South African coastline to determine where sharks and rays would benefit the most from new or increased protection areas. The increase in adequate protection is crucial, as most sharks and rays are slow to mature and produce few young, which makes their population recovery a ‘slow burn’.

Recent statements from Dr Tsepang Makholela, the chief director of Biodiversity Monitoring and Specialist Services at DFFE, suggest positive progress from the South African government.

Dr Makholela concludes that South Africa fully supports the global 30×30 target (protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030), expanding MPAs and integrating Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in our waters.

For more information, visit www.onthebrinksa.co.za. You can also follow ON THE BRINK on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.

ON THE BRINK Sharks and Rays on World Ocean Day World Ocean Day ON THE BRINK video release Marketing Marketing campaign

Stanley Cup: Florida Panthers beat Vegas Golden Knights to cut finals deficit to 2-1

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Carter Verhaeghe scores the winner for the Florida Panthers
The Panthers are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference while the Golden Knights are top seeds in the Western Conference

The Florida Panthers cut the deficit in the Stanley Cup finals to 2-1 after beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime.

Playing at home for the first time in the best-of-seven series, Carter Verhaeghe netted the winner for the hosts five minutes into overtime.

Matthew Tkachuk had tied the game for the Panthers with just over two minutes left in regulation.

The Panthers had lost all six of their previous Stanley Cup finals matches.

Florida were swept 4-0 by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 end-of-season finals.

The Golden Knights, formed in 2017, are chasing a first Stanley Cup triumph.

Vegas’ Mark Stone levelled in the first quarter after Brandon Montour’s opener before Jonathan Marchessault gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the second period.

The pair face each other in Florida again on Sunday (01:00 BST).

Of the previous 55 teams to trail 2-1 in the Stanley Cup finals, 11 have gone on to lift the trophy.

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Kangaroo care gets another boost. Here’s what it looks like : Goats and Soda : NPR

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New father Yappe Pako gets help with his kangaroo care carrier from midwife Marie-Josée Miezan. His newborn son is named Ambo Crisostome. They’re in the kangaroo care ward at the University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville in the Ivory Coast. A new program teaches the technique to moms — and dads. It’s especially beneficial for preterm and low birthweight babies.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


New father Yappe Pako gets help with his kangaroo care carrier from midwife Marie-Josée Miezan. His newborn son is named Ambo Crisostome. They’re in the kangaroo care ward at the University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville in the Ivory Coast. A new program teaches the technique to moms — and dads. It’s especially beneficial for preterm and low birthweight babies.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR

Kangaroo care received a ringing endorsement in a study published in the British Medical Journal this week.

It’s the latest affirmation of skin-to-skin care for small and preterm babies to reduce the risk of infection and mortality.

Reviewing 31 trials that involved over 15,000 infants, the new study noted a reduction in childhood mortality by approximately a third among those who experienced kangaroo care starting within 24 hours of birth.

The World Health Organization offered a similar perspective last November, advising “immediate skin to skin care for survival of small and preterm babies.”

In other words: When a baby is born prematurely, a good way to help the baby survive and thrive is simply to hold it close to a parent’s naked chest.

The name conjures up the way that kangaroo moms hold their offspring in their pouch.

The technique is especially valuable in low-resource areas of the world that may be short on medical technology, including incubators. Kangaroo care, in effect, turns parents into pseudo-incubators. No technology needed!

In 1978, physician researchers Edgar Rey Sanabria and Héctor Martínez-Gómez introduced the technique at the maternity ward of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Bogota, Colombia. They were hoping to find a way to reduce the country’s high death rate for premature infants — approximately 70% at the time.

Formerly, these premature babies were placed in incubators — when they were available — to control the infants’ temperatures, provide an optimal amount of oxygen and keep them away from disturbing loud noise and bright lights. But resource-poor countries have precious few incubators, and babies were dying for lack of technology.

The Colombian researchers found that parent-child snuggling had benefits similar to incubators.

Kangaroo care works, researchers believe, because the infants pick up heartbeat and breathing rhythms from the parents’ bodies, helping to stabilize their own heartbeat and breathing. The body warmth of a parent also helps control the baby’s temperature.

The researchers published their results in the 1983 Spanish language journal Curso de Medicina Fetal. They presented their results that year at a UNICEF conference: The babies in kangaroo care sleep more, and cry less, than those in incubators.

UNICEF, recognizing the potential of kangaroo care, began distributing information on the technique worldwide.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, starting kangaroo parental care immediately after birth has the potential to save up to 150,000 infant lives each year.

Since 1983, the practice has slowly spread around the world – for low-weight full-term babies as well as preemies and in wealthy nations as well as resource-poor countries. Fathers are being recruited as well – babies don’t care which parent is the kangaroo.

A nurse holds one of Kunoe Zamia’s quadruplets — a daughter — as she is placed in incubator in the newborn intensive care unit at the Ivory Coast’s University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville. The child’s mother is taking a class on kangaroo care in a room next door.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR

One of the countries that has started to encourage this practice is Ivory Coast, where in 2019 the infant mortality rate for children under 12 months was 59 deaths per 1,000 births. By comparison, the average infant mortality rate in industrialized countries was 4 deaths per 1,000 births; the U.S. rate was 6 deaths per 1,000 births.

In 2019 with the help of UNICEF, the University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville in Abidjan, the largest city in the country, opened its first kangaroo care ward. In the ward, referred to by the World Health Organization as a mother-infant ICU, the mother is available to the baby around the clock. This intensive care unit is under the guidance of pediatrician Dr. Some Chantière. It’s a pilot program to educate mothers and fathers in a technique not widely known in the country.

Dr. Some Chantière checks on children in the newborn intensive care unit at the University Hospital Medical Center at Treichville. “There was a lot of death and lack of knowledge on how to take care of premature babies among the parents we were discharging, so we had to start this,” the doctor says of the kangaroo care training program.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR

“There was a lot of death and lack of knowledge on how to take care of premature babies among the parents we were discharging, so we had to start this,” says Chantière. “We knew about the program from its roots in Colombia. Before the program, 60 to 70% of all the premature children that would come out of the NICU boxes [or incubators] would die. Now we are saving over 90%.”

One of the quadruplets born to Kunoe Zamia, a son, rests in an incubator while his mom takes a class on kangaroo care.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


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The new program is “of critical importance in reducing the mortality of premature babies and can influence hospitals from the public to private sector in Cote d’Ivoire,” says Dr. Berthe Evelyne Lasme-Guillao, associate lecturer of pediatrics at the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny and head of the neonatology department at the CHU hospital in Yopougon.

She believes kangaroo care is a perfect fit for Cote d’Ivoire because of the high infant death rate and the dearth of medical technology, including incubators. “Programs like this can be adapted anywhere with dedicated and trained people,” say Lasme-Guillao.

Mothers rest in the kangaroo care ward. Youal Emmnual (right), 15, holds her daughter, Lucy. The other mothers are Kunoe Zamia (center), who gave birth to quadruplets, and Diara Subs Aisha, whose baby was born weighing 2.7 pounds.

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Dads are being trained in the technique, too, according to Mark Vincent, UNICEF representative in Cote d’Ivoire. “The fathers see the importance of the close proximity of the babies to the mother’s body,” he says. “They realize they can do it as well.”

In April 2022, I was able to interview and photograph a number of couples who have participated in the Ivory Coast’s pilot program of kangaroo care at the Treichville hospital.

These are the stories of the moms and dads – and babies – I met.

Bru Adjen (right) and his wife, cradle their twins Bru Andu (right) and Kris Emmanual during their weekly checkup. Daughter Kris was part of the hospital’s kangaroo care program but was discharged when she passed the 4 pound weight marker.

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‘It was what we had to do and it saved my child’s life”

Not all kangaroo care starts in a hospital. Bru Adjen learned the program at home. His wife, Inzuwe Rose, gave birth to twins. The son weighed over 4 pounds but the daughter weighed only 2.7 pounds, making her a strong candidate for kangaroo care. Inzuwe Rose learned the technique in the hospital’s ward and brought the knowledge home with her when her daughter had reached 4 pounds and could be released. She taught the technique to her husband.

He had never seen mothers, much less fathers, use kangaroo care. “The start was strange for me, but over time I got used to it,” he says. “It was what we had to do and it saved my child’s life.”

At home with a newborn daughter, Abuwa Kristien helps her husband, Kubyes Abuwaka, hold the child in the kangaroo care position. “I have been doing kangaroo care with my wife for a month and a half,” says Abuwaka.

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At home with a newborn daughter, Abuwa Kristien helps her husband, Kubyes Abuwaka, hold the child in the kangaroo care position. “I have been doing kangaroo care with my wife for a month and a half,” says Abuwaka.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR

“It creates a link to my child and brings me closer with my wife”

Pastor Kubyes Abuwaka lives in the northern Yopogoon district. His wife, Abuwa Kristien, gave birth to twins. The boy, born weighing 2.6 pounds, died in the incubator. He and his wife feared they would lose their daughter, who weighed 2.7 pounds at birth, as well.

But when mother and daughter were admitted to the hospital’s mother-infant ward, their girl gained weight rapidly. By the time she reached 4 pounds, she was discharged to continue the program at home.

“I saw the benefit, and I have been doing kangaroo care with my wife for a month and a half,” says Abuwaka. “We both do it. It creates a link to my child and brings me closer with my wife.”

The snuggling technique, he says, has made him a better father. “I want other fathers to take part in this. I know fathers have time issues with work, but it is important to get more involved helping mothers.”

“I started taking part … to give the love of a father to my children”

Ablodie Kouwasi gave birth to triplets. One of the babies died; the couple spends hours at a time holding the two surviving newborns in the hospital’s kangaroo care ward. Dad Yappe Pako is multitasking, holding his son, Ambo Crisostome, while he takes a photo of his wife holding their daughter, Ambo Mari Este.

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Ablodie Kouwasi, 35, gave birth five weeks prematurely to triplets. Each baby weighed under 4 pounds. Soon after birth, one infant died.

The surviving babies went into two of the hospital’s scarce incubators long enough to stabilize their breathing and heart rates before coming out to make room for other infants in need. But Kouwasi and her husband, Yappe Pako, could only take their daughter, Ambo Mari Este, home. Their son, Ambo Crisostome, had contracted malaria and had to stay in the hospital.

But without the support of the incubator, neither infant thrived. Their baby girl lost weight at home, and while their son recovered from malaria, he did not gain weight.

The hospital staff suggested kangaroo care, and mother and her two infants were admitted to the kangaroo care ward. The couple learned the techniques of skin-to-skin care, and mom was on hand around the clock.

It worked quickly. “My wife has been doing it for three weeks, and now my son is healthy, and gaining weight. My daughter gained all her lost weight back, and more,”says Pako. “I started taking part myself to give the love of a father to my children.”

Day Adeline, 40, looks on as she rests in a bed holding one of her twins at the Kangaroo Care ward. They were born at 32 weeks and weighed under 4 pounds, so doctors say it is too risky to take them home. She has not left the ward since her twins were born.

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“I love it because I can walk with them and have them with me”

I met Day Adeline, 40, when her babies were two weeks old. “My twins were born at 32 weeks, both under 1.3 kilograms (3 pounds),” she says. “The doctors say I cannot walk outside [and risk contracting an illness] to make sure they do not get sick. I have to stay inside this room.” But she loves to walk with them. Holding one at a time, bare skin to bare skin, she walks laps in the small ward to pass the time, and to get her own exercise. “The kangaroo experience has been good. I love it because I can walk with them and have them with me, and it encourages growth.” When the babies reached 4 pounds, she was able to go home with them. Doctors say it typically takes 2 to 3 weeks of kangaroo care before a newborn can leave the ward.

“I can see my children growing”

Youal Emmnual, 15, holds her daughter, Lucy, as she is put into a kangaroo care carrier.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR


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Youal Emmnual, 15, is in 9th grade. Her twins, born at 32 weeks, both weighed under 3 pounds. Mother and babies were all admitted to the kangaroo care ward, where Emmnual was happy to be taken under the wings of some older mothers. In addition to the education provided by hospital staff, some of the older mothers in the ward form a kind of impromptu village, passing their knowledge and experiences on to younger mothers. “There is a community in this ward,” says Emmnual. “The other mothers are always here for me. I can see my children growing. I will be here for another week or two. I want to go back home to continue school. I will continue to do kangaroo at home.”

Aluneumua Kalmel (center) holds her son, Komasi, as she speaks with newly arrived mothers at the kangaroo care ward.

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“I want to be an advocate for the program in my community”

While Aluneumua Kalmel, 40, is taking care of her premature son in the kangaroo ward, her grandmother watches her other three children at home. “In this community that we have formed we do everything together,” she says of the ward. “When one person wakes up, we all wake up to help each other. We eat together, and we make sure we are all looking out for each other. We have formed a village. We like it so much, even if we didn’t need to be here, we would want to stay. It’s safer and healthier for the child. If we were home alone, we would not have this knowledge. When I am out of here, I want to be an advocate for the program in my community. I have seen how it has saved children.”

Diara Subs Aisha looks down at her daughter's hand as she waits to take a class on her first day in kangaroo care. When this photo was taken she had not yet named the child: Some in Ivory Coast mothers do not give names to premature children until they are sure the child will survive.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds for NPR

“I need to learn about this [kangaroo care] so I can take care of my child”

Weighing just 2.7 pounds, the baby girl had no name when I met her in April, 2022 in Cote d’Ivoire. Her mother, Diara Subs Aisha, was following a common local practice among parents to put off naming premature babies until they’re confident the infants will survive. On her first day in the mother-infant kangaroo ward at the hospital, Aisha waits to take a class, her baby on her chest, as the infant pokes a tiny hand from under a blanket.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds is a freelance photographer based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He was a staff photographer and editor with AFP. He worked as the Reuters chief photographer in Sri Lanka and as a Gulf News staff photographer in Dubai. He has also worked as an emergency logistics coordinator for Doctors Without Borders and a National Forest Service firefighter in Oregon on a hotshot crew.

Huawei says sorry over private call to EU industry tsar

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Good morning. We have agreement on a new EU asylum and migration system, struck last night in Luxembourg after seven years of negotiations. Laura has the details.

Two pieces for you today that you won’t read anywhere else. First, our competition correspondent reveals that Chinese tech company Huawei called the EU’s industry chief on his private mobile phone just as the bloc was debating curbs on Beijing’s participation in telecoms projects, in a flagrant breach of protocol. And Germany’s finance minister tells our Berlin bureau chief we should remain calm over the startling rise in support for the far-right.

Unknown caller ID

Huawei has apologised to EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton for a breach of protocol that indicates how intensely the Chinese group is lobbying Europe.

One of the Chinese company’s executives rang the senior EU official on his private number, according to documents seen by the Financial Times, at a time when the EU was looking into curbing the influence of Beijing in key 5G projects, writes Javier Espinoza.

Context: For years, Huawei has been fighting to be included as a key vendor for crucial telecommunications projects in the EU. Last December, the EU published guidelines for member states to ban high-risk vendors (ie, Huawei) from crucial projects.

The exchange between the company’s rotating chair, Ken Hu, and Breton highlights just how much Europe matters for the Chinese group.

On December 11 2020, Hu wrote to Breton: “I am sorry for the distress this incident has caused you. The staff member responsible has been made aware of the seriousness of this mistake and I am assured that this will not occur again.”

Breton replied saying he was concerned about the “seriousness of the event”, according to a letter seen by the FT. “I am willing to put this episode behind us and pursue any future discussions we may have in full respect of the highest transparency and ethical standards.”

The correspondence between the Chinese company and the EU official exposes a breach of protocol, but also raises concerns about the lobbying tactics pursued by Huawei, say Brussels officials.

This comes after revelations that the EU is considering making it mandatory for member states to ban Huawei from the bloc’s key telecommunications infrastructure activities. A report next week will say only a third of countries have introduced a ban.

Huawei did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Chart du jour: The deluge

Map showing Flood-hit areas of Ukraine following Kakhovka dam breach. As of Jun 7 more than 288 sq km have been flooded

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has flooded towns and villages under Russian control and left thousands stranded. Russian-backed authorities have said five people have died.

Nothing to see here

Few polls have triggered more alarm in Germany than last week’s Deutschlandtrend. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached 18 per cent support — putting it on the same level as chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), writes Guy Chazan.

Context: The AfD seems to have benefited from widespread disenchantment with Scholz’s coalition of SPD, Greens and Liberals (FDP), and anger over its bungled plans to ban gas-fired boilers. Concerns about rising migration have also boosted the AfD’s fortunes.

Finance minister and FDP leader Christian Lindner, though, is taking the latest polls in his stride. “The current situation is not unique,” he told the FT in an interview, pointing to a 2018 survey which also put the AfD and SPD head to head at 18 per cent. All parties, Lindner said, suffered ups and downs. His own was polling at 7 per cent.

“You won’t cut [the AfD] down to size by acting nervously and hectically, by appeasing it or demonising it,” Lindner said. “You’ll do it by solving people’s problems.” His priority was “to enact good policies and take this country forward, and if we succeed in that then the coalition’s approval ratings will improve.”

The big question on many people’s minds, though, is whether this government is capable of enacting good policies, with the boiler ban debacle giving ammunition to those who have doubts. Lindner said “some people” (ie his coalition partner, the Greens) cared more about getting the ban passed quickly than ensuring it was a well-written law.

He said that Scholz’s coalition had a lot to be proud of and was implementing a “huge number of big, important projects”, such as reforming the welfare state, speeding up planning procedures and providing tax relief for the middle classes.

And one particular source of pride for an FDP finance minister: reintroducing Germany’s debt brake, its constitutional restriction on new borrowing, “after years of very expansive fiscal policy”.

“Yes there’s this narrative that it’s all just gridlock and we’re always arguing,” Lindner said. “But that’s not the reality.”

What to watch today

  1. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the University of Toulouse.

  2. European parliament president Roberta Metsola opens the European Youth Event.

  3. EU justice ministers meet in Luxembourg.

Now read these

Britain after Brexit — Keep up to date with the latest developments as the UK economy adjusts to life outside the EU. Sign up here

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Parents are planning their pregnancies around star signs

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Would you try it? (Picture: Inbaal Honigman/Getty)

There are lots of big decisions that come with choosing to have a baby – things like which cot should you get? How many babygros will you need? And, can you really name your child Asparagus?

Often, people will talk about the decision to try and time having a baby born at a particular time of year – like a September baby so they’ll be the oldest in the school year, or a summer baby, to avoid the expense of Christmas.

But now, some parents-to-be aren’t just thinking about what age their child will be when they’re sitting their SATs, they’re also thinking about determining their star sign.

Some keep astrology in mind believing their baby will grow up with personality traits that are reflected in their Zodiac sign, or will be more compatible with other family members because their signs work together.

This is an idea that Inbaal Honigman, 49, a psychic from Holmfirth in Yorkshire, fully understands – because all four of her children’s star signs were planned.

‘I wasn’t raised in an environment that was open to spiritual ideas, and when I was 20, I accidentally stumbled onto Tarot and loved it. Practising Tarot readings and learning the spiritual world fascinated me, and one of the most attractive parts in learning Tarot was how the different elements, earth air fire and water, responded to one another. Star sign compatibility has fascinated me ever since,’ she explains.

Inbaal and her family of Pisces and one Capricorn (Picture: Inbaal Honigman)

Long before children were on the radar for Inbaal, she knew that star signs were important when it came to meeting a future partner, and she filtered through online dating profile matches hoping to find someone who was a compatible sign.

‘In 2005 I set up a dating profile, and one of my criteria was that they had to be Pisces or Sagittarius. Not only are they my favourite signs, but I thought they’d be my most compatible signs,’ she explains.

I’m a Pisces and would have loved someone my own sign, and I have my moon in Sagittarius, so I thought a Sagittarian would be compatible with my more adventurous, fun loving side. I met my husband, Sean, this way – he’s a Pisces with Sagittarius rising and we were a wonderful match.’

Two years later, Inbaal and Sean began trying for a baby – and although the child’s zodiac sign wasn’t her number one criteria, Inbaal still hoped that she would have a child whose sign was compatible with her own.

‘I struggled to conceive, so I’d have been happy with any baby. But, in one of my many conversations with friends and colleagues, a fellow psychic suggested that I send my husband a Father’s Day card from our unconceived baby. That was June 21 that year, which coincided with the Summer Solstice, a traditional day of conception, and I thought, if we conceived right now, it would be a Pisces. I loved the idea so much – a happy family of three happy Pisceans!

‘We did conceive and her due date was in Pisces.’

With her baby overdue, Inbaal was offered an induction – and, although she wanted to try and hold on without intervention, she also knew how important it was to her to have her Piscean baby.

‘I was relieved.’ (Picture: Inbaal Honigman)

‘I was offered two induction dates, one would be in Pisces and the other in Aries. Even though I wanted to wait for her to arrive naturally, my desire for a Pisces baby made me pick the earlier date,’ she says.

‘I was absolutely elated to get my Pisces baby, I was relieved, as I know Pisces so well and what makes them tick. I felt that I could be an amazing mum to this baby, there’s nothing about Pisces I didn’t know, and I was thrilled.’

Although she admits her husband has no idea which sign is associated with which dates, when it came to planning for further children, Inbaal says he supported her desire to have children with Piscean or Saggitarian zodiac signs.

Inbaal’s husband has no idea about star signs, but supports her wishes (Picture: Inbaal Honigman)

But, even with careful planning, Inbaal’s pregnancies didn’t always result in the star signs for her babies that she’d hoped for. While her second child, born in 2012 was also a planned Pisces, her third pregnancy in 2015 hit complications and resulted in a Capricorn son – a sign that wasn’t on her wishlist.

‘Originally a twin pregnancy, the due date was in Capricorn season, which was never on my wishlist. If I’d delivered as a multiple, I’d have had a caesarean scheduled for Sagittarius, and I adored the idea of two Sagittarius babies together. Only one twin made it, and he’s a Capricorn, but he’s perfect. I’ve searched my soul for any signs of regret or sadness that he wasn’t Sagittarius, and there are none. He’s a gorgeous, smart and sassy child, and I wouldn’t change him for the world.’

Inbaal’s fourth child arrived in 2017 – another Pisces, born on the same day as their first child, who she jokes arrived ‘nice and Pisces, just the way I like them!’

While the reasoning behind this trend might be to get certain traits in your child that are synonymous with their star sign, Inbaal does admit that the plan isn’t foolproof – especially as only 5% of babies actually arrive on their due date – which could spell disaster if you’ve got your heart set on a flexible Gemini but end up with a stubborn Taurus.

‘Even if you get exactly what you asked for, you may not get what you want,’ she says.

‘I planned my Pisces babies specifically to avoid Aries babies. Some of my favourite people are Aries, but I didn’t think I’d be a great mum to a boisterous, overactive baby like an Aries.

‘I got my perfect Pisceans, but they do all have strong Aries placements in their charts, which means they’re all boisterous and overactive despite being Pisces.’


MORE :
Which Tarot cards are the most dark and dangerous? The worst omens in the deck explained


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Adam DeVine witnesses man being shot dead outside his home

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Adam DeVine witnessed man being shot dead from his home (Picture: Getty Images for Champagne Collet)

Actor Adam DeVine witnessed a man being ‘gunned down’ outside his home as he watched from the balcony.

The Pitch Perfect and Modern Family star, who has a large following of fans for cult classic sitcom Workaholics, was home with his wife Chloe Bridges when they witnessed the shooting.

He explained that he and Chloe were enjoying the sunshine on the balcony of their $2.6 million (£2 million) mansion in Hollywood when they witnessed a commotion in their neighbour’s house.

Expensive cars had been arriving at the home all night, including Bentley’s and Rolls Royce’s and the couple decided it would be ‘fun to sit and watch.’

Speaking on the This Is Important podcast, Adam added: ‘This is when it gets sad. Someone was murdered there.’

‘Sure enough, someone is gunned down,’ he said.

Adam is best known for appearing in the likes of Pitch Perfect and Modern Family (Picture: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
The actor says he and wife Chloe were watching from their balcony as they were sure something ‘dastardly’ was going on (Picture: Getty Images)

Appearing on the podcast with Workaholics co-stars Kyle Newacheck and Anders Holms, Adam continued: ‘People be dying, this isn’t Hollywood, this is a story about my actual life.’

The victim has since been identified as millionaire father-of-five Emil Lahaziel, while the gunman has not been apprehended, the Daily Mail reports.

It’s understood the incident happened on June 7 at around 2am, when Lahaziel was standing outside the building talking to a man who pulled a gun and shot him multiple times.

Adam has worked with Kyle and Anders on multiple popular projects, along with pal Blake Anderson, including Workaholics and feature films Game Over Man and The Package.

He has also found mainstream success through his roles in the likes of Pitch perfect, Pitch Perfect 2 and playing Haley Dunphy’s love interest in Modern Family.

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