Haaland’s haircut: Man City star chops off his locks for the new season

By The Associated Press
August 23, 2026 | 1:28 PM

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Erling Haaland’s famed flowing locks are no more.

The Manchester City superstar has a new hairstyle for the new Premier League season: A buzz cut that went viral on social media on Sunday ahead of the team’s opening match against Bournemouth.

The Norway striker has become one of the most easily distinguishable sport stars in recent years because of his long hair.

In a video on Haaland’s YouTube channel, Zlatan Ibrahimovic asked if the City striker had “lost a bet” when he was shown the new hairstyle.

“You gonna be faster now, or what?” Ibrahimovic said.

Former City manager Pep Guardiola reacted to the haircut by saying: “You’re lucky to have hair. I would love to have it!”

Haaland arrived at Etihad Stadium for the Bournemouth game wearing a cap, but that had been removed for the warmup — revealing the buzz cut.

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China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission launch

By The Associated Press
August 23, 2026 | 1:30 PM

HAIKOU, China (AP) — China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang’e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on China’s southern Hainan island. The mission does not meet the launch conditions, said the China Manned Space Agency in a brief statement, and “cannot take place during the planned window this year.” The decision was made following a “comprehensive assessment,” the agency added, and was based on the principles of “prudence, reliability and absolute mission success.” It did not further elaborate on the reasons behind the decision.

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