EVIAN-LES-BAINS (France), June 17 — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday the firing of warning shots by a Russian frigate to divert a UK-flagged civilian yacht near British territorial waters was reckless and deeply concerning.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, according to statements from the defence ministries of Britain and Russia. They said the firing was designed to prevent a collision after unsuccessful attempts by the Admiral Grigorovich to contact the yacht.

“What happened in the Channel was deeply concerning. It was reckless,” Starmer, who is in France for the G7 summit, told BBC News. He said the Ministry of Defence’s assessment was that the Russian vessel was “drifting, and they were warning shots”.

“That shouldn’t have happened. It is reckless, and the couple on the yacht must’ve been terrified.”

The Russian ministry said on Tuesday the crew of the frigate spotted a yacht travelling on a course that risked collision with the ship.

After repeated attempts to establish radio contact failed, the frigate fired warning shots, including small arms fire, ahead of the yacht, the ministry said. It said the yacht then altered course and moved away.

Britain’s defence ministry described it as “an isolated incident” and not linked to the interception of a Russian shadow fleet vessel intercepted by British commandos over the weekend. — Reuters 

Getting more convenience store food for our yen is always a fun time, but this campaign is bordering on ridiculous.

On 12 May, 7-Eleven Japan kicked off its its “Founding Anniversary Sale” by giving us over 50 percent more of some of our favourite products in the first phase of its so-called “Thank You Extra Large” series.

▼ We immediately visited our nearby 7-Eleven and managed to get our hands on four of the upsized products.

The products we procured were:

• Corn & Mayonnaise (170.64 yen [US$1.08])
• Egg Salad Sandwich (291.60 yen)
• Radish, Cucumber, Carrot, Rice Malt, Miso & Mayonnaise  (280.80 yen)
• Mega Pork Ramen with Extra Fat (734.40 yen )

There are actually six products in the range, but despite visiting several stores to purchase the complete set, we were unable to find the following two items:

• Flame-Grilled Pork Fried Rice (496.80 yen)
• Fluffy Dorayaki with Red Bean Paste & Whipped Cream (213.84 yen)

This was probably a blessing in disguise, as the size of the four we had already looked like a lot of food. The ramen, in particular, produced under the supervision of award-wining Chiba-based ramen restaurant Chuka Soba Tomita., looked especially ginormous.

We decided to test this hefty beast first, popping it on the scales to reveal its true weight, which turned out to be…

▼… an astonishing 1,084 grams (2.4 pounds)!

As the container weighs about 23 grams, what we have here is more than a kilo of food, which is a great deal given that the price remains unchanged despite the 50-percent upsize. Although the pork fat is highlighted as an increased ingredient, it’s also said to have more vegetables, noodles, soup, and garlic, so we were curious to know how these extra ingredients would affect the taste.

▼ We popped it into the microwave, for 10 minutes at 500 watts, which is quite a long time for microwaveable food.

As it was heating, we felt slightly intimidated by the intense garlic smell that filled the room, and when we opened the lid we couldn’t quite believe the amount of food that lay before us.

The ingredients were so huge they made the container look tiny, and we began to wonder how we could eat our noodles without them spilling out everywhere.

Carefully lifting the char siu, we could see a huge pile of bean sprouts and cabbage beneath it, with the rest of the meal consisting of garlic, noodles, and pork fat.

With big noodle meals like this, locals make use of a special move called “tenchi gaeshi“, which literally translates as “heaven-and-earth flip“. This involves lifting the noodles from the bottom of the bowl and “flipping” them over the vegetables on top, to prevent them from getting soggy and to mix the broth, noodles, fat, sauce, and vegetables more evenly.

▼ Performing the “tenchi-gaeshi” mixing maneuver requires extra skill with this huge meal.

After carefully flipping heaven and earth, we were even more impressed at how much food was in the bowl, and when we took a sip of the broth, we were hit by the intensely powerful flavour of garlic and pork fat, which was absolutely delicious.

This was a high-quality meal, and the noodles were equally fantastic, providing just the right amount of chewiness to help round out the bold flavours.

The sheer volume was truly unbelievable, and nothing like what you’d normally see at a convenience store. It was so filling that by the end of the meal, we didn’t have any belly room for the other items we’d picked up.

▼ The vegetable sticks, with rice malt, miso and mayonnaise dip, would’ve been a nice way to cut through all the fat, but we just couldn’t fit them in.

The Egg Salad sandwich, or “THE Tamago” (“THE Egg”) as it’s called in Japanese, now contains three cut sandwiches instead of two, making it a great deal.

▼ And finally, the Corn & Mayonnaise bread has also been upsized, so it’s now almost twice as large as a smartphone.

The first phase of the campaign is scheduled to run from 12 May to 25 May, with the second phase bringing us a new line of upsized items from 19 May to 1 June. After receiving flack from customers who claimed that some convenience stores have been skimping on their offerings recently, there’s certainly no skimping with these campaign products, so hop in and try them while you can!

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MONTMELÓ, June 14 — George Russell of Mercedes claimed pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after a thrilling end to the qualifying session on Saturday.

The Briton clinched his third pole of the season by finishing just 0.064 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton in his upgraded Ferrari, who bumped championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the other Mercedes on to the second row for Sunday’s race.

After a difficult outing in Monaco last weekend and a disappointing start to the campaign for the pre-season title favourite, Russell said it was good to “feel the groove” again as he secured a career 10th pole.

Antonelli has won the last five races and is aiming for a sixth on Sunday, but he will have to start from third after a superb late run from Hamilton.

The seven-time champion had endured a tough weekend but looked far quicker in qualifying and came extremely close to claiming pole himself.

It will be the first all-British front row in Barcelona.

“It’s been a great weekend so far, I’m always fighting. I came into this weekend with a clean slate, felt good and it is great to be on pole,” said Russell.

“It will be an interesting race tomorrow, Lewis did a great job to get up there so I’m sure there will be a fight. Tomorrow will not be easy.”

Antonelli has been dominant this season but admitted it was tough going for him at Montmelo.

“It’s been a little bit of a difficult weekend so far. I didn’t really have the feeling with the car,” he explained.

“The long run was strong yesterday but today I’ve been lacking a little bit, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

It seemed like McLaren were closest to challenging Mercedes this weekend but 2025 champion Lando Norris came in fourth and Oscar Piastri was seventh.

With track temperatures edging beyond 50 degrees centigrade tyre management was key, with the soft compound only good for one flying lap.

Max Verstappen moved top of the timesheets briefly in Q1 before Charles Leclerc laid down a benchmark of 1:15.964s.

Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya before the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in Montmelo on June 12, 2026. — AFP pic

Hamilton turns up

Antonelli fell just behind him but Russell replaced the Monegasque driver, and then Hamilton powered past him too in 1:15.625.

The Briton had toiled in the practice sessions as he worked to get to grips with Ferrari’s heavily upgraded car.

Lance Stroll triggered a brief yellow flag as he hit the gravel and both he and his Aston Martin team-mate, home favourite Fernando Alonso, will fill the back row on Sunday.

Williams’ Alex Albon, set to beat Nigel Mansell’s record of 95 Grand Prix starts for the team on Sunday, also failed to progress.

Drivers were in no hurry to emerge for Q2, but once the session came alive Verstappen again set the early running. Leclerc quickly usurped him, before being himself replaced by Russell with a time of 1:15.22.

Antonelli improved to third in Q2 while Nico Hulkenberg survived the cut after his first flying lap was erased for track limits, getting a second on the board late on.

In Q3 Leclerc spaked a red flag when he came off the track between turns four and five and hit the barriers, with the front wing of his car destroyed.

The medical car was deployed but the Ferrari driver, who also crashed in his home Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, was able to walk away from the incident.

Only Piastri and Verstappen had set lap times, leading to a gripping final eight minutes once racing resumed.

Antonelli took pole provisionally before Russell’s fastest time of 1:14.679 and Hamilton’s last gasp dart which means he starts the race in a Mercedes sandwich.

“I have no idea whether I will be able to keep up, we will find out tomorrow,” said Hamilton.

“All weekend we’ve been four tenths off, even with the upgrade, that’s where we thought we were.

“For us to be that close, less than a tenth between us, that’s a real showing of the hard work of everyone at the factory.” — AFP

LILLE, June 9 — France coach Didier Deschamps challenged forward Michael Olise to make his mark at the World Cup after he hit a hat-trick in a 3-1 World Cup warm-up win over Northern Ireland in Lille yesterday. 

The Bayern Munich winger and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe were joined in a fearsome attack by Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele. The Paris Saint-Germain pair had been rested for the previous friendly—a loss to Ivory Coast—after winning the Champions League.

But Olise shone brightest, drilling home rebounds just before and just after half-time before curling in a superb shot from outside the area to finish off the visitors after Patrick Kelly had pulled a goal back.

“We’ll need a Michel Olise at that level,” Deschamps said. “Michael stands out because of the season he has had at Bayern and with us.”

“He has achieved some really great things, he is full of confidence. He also has the ability to put in the effort, which is remarkable,” Deschamps said.

Another Champions League finalist, William Saliba of losers Arsenal, showed he has shaken off an injury scare as he returned to give France a look similar to how they could line up for their World Cup opener against Senegal in New Jersey on June 16.

The French though were frequently disjointed in attack, with skipper Mbappe, who needs one goal to equal Olivier Giroud’s team scoring record, often lacklustre.

Yet they still pressed the packed Northern Irish defence, forcing desperate blocks and loose clearances.

Although the Lille stadium roof was kept closed on a chilly and damp evening, play was stopped for drinks breaks in the middle of each half to help Les Bleus prepare in every detail for the World Cup.

France, who leave for their training base near Boston on Wednesday, will also face Iraq in Philadelphia and Norway in Foxborough outside Boston in Group I. — AFP

This chilled sando is a convenience store must-try.

When you’re travelling around Japan and learning the language, you’ll find yourself picking up new words in odd places, and right now the word at 7-Eleven is “yokubari“. Literally translating as “greedy” or “indulgent“, the chain is using the word to describe a range of single-serve “one-piece” sandwiches that are so loaded with decadent fillings they’re bulging at the seams, and now there’s a new variety on the shelves.

▼ Chocolate Chip & Whipped Cream

At first glance, you might wonder where the chocolate chips are, as the cross-section shows what appears to be flakes rather than chips.

The chocolate chunks are there but they’re hiding inside the sandwich, scattered within the cream filling.

We only found out about the chunks after picking up one of the “yokubari sando” at our nearest 7-Eleven. It took us a while to get to the inside of the sando, though, as we were mesmerised by just how beautiful it looked.

▼ The combination of white, brown and pink created a wonderfully harmonious colour palette.

The pink slices are called “sakura bread”, and are said to add more than just visual appeal as they’re slightly salty, with a flavour that’s reminiscent of pickled cherry blossoms.

Opening the sandwich for a closer look, we were pleased to see that the filling hadn’t just been pushed to the cross section – it covered the entire surface area of the bread, proving the chain wasn’t skimping on the chocolate chip cream.

This is when we discovered that the cream was actually filled with chunks of chocolate, making it look like chocolate chip ice cream.

▼ Flakes up front, chips out back.

Putting the sandwich back together for a taste, we took a big bite and lost ourselves to the super soft texture.

The bread was plump and chewy, the cream was fluffy and exquisite, and the mixture of chocolate flakes and chips made it taste chunky and melty at the same time.

This meltiness actually had another surprising effect, as it made the whole thing taste like an ice cream sandwich. The chocolate itself tasted like the hardened sort you get on chocolate-covered ice creams, so every bite fooled the taste buds into thinking this was an ice cream.

It was such an unusual sensation that we hardly noticed any saltiness from the sakura bread – if it was there it only added to the ice cream effect – and we were glad we had it chilled as this made it taste even more like chocolate chip ice cream.

We didn’t think the chain could outdo itself after wowing us with its previous Yokubari Sando, filled with colourful chocolate sprinkles, but we’re happy to say they’ve blown us out of the water with this new variety. Sweet, delicious, and very indulgent, the Chocolate Chip and Whipped Cream Yokubari is a convenience store must-try, and it’s perfectly timed for summer, when its ice cream-esque character will keep you cool and refreshed during Japan’s scorchingly hot days.

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“Life” magazine
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